The Godly Triplets

Part 6: Talk of Mothers or Xena finally guesses

It was a few weeks after the costume festival and the group was heading to visit Xena’s mother for her natal day. After that they were going to stop and see Gabrielle’s family. In the last few weeks Gabrielle has been nicer to Joxer and while she still didn’t like some of the gods she kept her mouth shut most of the time… Well at least when Bliss was around she did. She’d noticed that small misfortunes happened every time she said something about Strife or Cupid so she tended not to say anything about them just to be on the safe side.

“So Xena, what are you to give your mom?” asked Gabrielle.

“I thought I would do all the chores around the house for a few days so she could rest.”

“That’s really thoughtful,” said Joxer. “Would you like my help?”

“I’ll help too,” Gabrielle added. “Your mom has always been nice to me when I visit.” After a moment she said, “Um…When we go to my folks’ place we might have to stay in the barn. My sister moved back in after her husband was killed so there isn’t a lot of room.”

“That’s okay with me. What about you Joxer?”

“It’s fine,” he said.

“Hey Joxer, what do your parents think about your adventuring like this?” asked Gabrielle curiously.

He started to clear the ground for his bedroll as he answered. “They’re happy that I’m happy but they would much rather that I came home every night.”

Gabrielle seemed satisfied with that answered but Joxer noticed a slightly confused look cross Xena’s face before she quickly hid it. Joxer decided to drop a few more hints to Xena about his parents. He knew Gabrielle might not get them but Xena would. “Pops understands that this is something that I have to do. There are things that I need to do with my life before I can settle down in one place like Dad wants.”

“Our parents only want to best for us but sometimes it can be a bit much,” said Gabrielle.

“Yeah. Dad’s always been a little overprotective. He never thinks we eat enough. Pops loves us all though…. Except the time my brother and I fed his favorite boots to Grandpa’s dog.”

They talked a bit more and Gabrielle went to collect more firewood. Xena moved over to where Joxer was setting out the cooking supplies and asked softly, “I noticed that you used ‘Dad’ and ‘Pops’ instead of one or the other. It also sounded like you were talking about two different people, both male. Can I assume that you’re a full god and not a demi-god?”

Joxer nodded and she continued quickly, “So is Cupid your father or your ‘mother’? From things that have happened and that you’ve said I’m guessing that Strife is your other parent.”

Joxer grinned at the warrior princess and said, “Strife is my ‘mom’ actually. Can I ask you not to tell Gabby yet? I think she’ll get it eventually but I think it would be better if she didn’t know right now. I’m not going to hide it as much but I’m not going to be obvious either.”

“Alright…You just want to see the look on her face when she finds out don’t you?”

“Maybe. She’s on her way back now.”

Xena smiled at her friend and finished preparing the fish to cook.

Part 7: Further Adventures in Babysitting or Gabby Gets a Clue

They were a few hours down the road from Gabrielle’s home town when a harried looking Strife appeared in the road holding Bliss.

“Joxie Cupe’s in labor. I need you to watch Bliss. I’m going to tell your brothers. They may come to you. I’ll let you know when the baby is here. Bye.” This was all said very fast, Bliss was shoved into Joxer’s arms and then Strife flashed away.

Xena took one look at Joxer and moved off the road to set up camp.

“I wanna go home. Daddy needs me. I help him,” Bliss said.

“I’m sure you’re a huge help to him Blissy but he’s busy right now. When Pops comes back the baby will be here and you’ll finally be a big brother,” Joxer told him. He moved over to where Xena was setting up camp.

Gabrielle followed behind them with a pensive look on her face. There was obviously more going on here than she realized. She helped Xena set up camp while Joxer kept Bliss occupied. She had just about worked up the courage to ask Joxer what was going on when both of his brothers strolled into camp.

Jett flicked his eyes to Xena and Joxer nodded. A quick look at Gabrielle got a shrug.

“Hey little brothers; are we in time for supper?” asked Jayce.

“Yes,” Xena answered. “We don’t have enough in our supplies for everyone so I was about to set some traps.”

Jett looked at his brothers and said, “Don’t bother. This is a happy occasion so we’ll provide the food.”

“The three of you are gods, aren’t you?” said Gabrielle.

“Yeah Gabby we are,” said Joxer. The three brothers then dropped the glamours they had been wearing. The bard blinked when she realized they were wearing their ‘costumes’ from the festival.

“Well that explains some things,” she said. Gabby smiled at Jayce as he handed her a plate of food. The group then settled down to eat while they waited.

The stars had started to come out when Strife flashed into the camp. Bliss launched himself and grabbed Strife around the neck. “Is Daddy okay? Can we go see the baby?”

“Feathers is fine. Of course you can see the babies. I came to get you for the naming and announcement.”

“Babies?”

“Twins.”

Just before the little family flashed out Joxer said, “I’ll catch up with you later ladies. I want to help Dad get settled. Oh. Don’t tell Herc if you see him? I want to see the expression on his face when he finds out.”

There was a flash and Xena and Gabrielle were alone in the camp.

Part 8: Meanwhile back on Olympus…

The little family appeared in the main room of their home temple on Olympus; when the triplets looked questioningly at their father he looked sheepish and said, “I forgot to take the shield down. Right before he went into labor he decided he needed to look for the three of you. I put the shield up to keep him from leaving to look for you. That was one of the reasons I wanted you all in one place. Anyways…come on he wants to see you.”

They entered the bedroom to find Cupid talking in quiet tones to Ares, Aphrodite and Hephaestus. Surprisingly Aphrodite wasn’t holding a baby; she was hugging Cupid and smiling as her husband and her ex gently rocked the little babies trying to get them to sleep. The four of them looked up when Strife entered with the boys.

“As much as I love seeing you triplets…is it alright for you to be here?” Cupid asked.

“It’s fine Dad. Xena figured it out a couple weeks ago and Gabby figured it out just a little while ago,” Joxer told him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jayce holding Bliss up so he could se the baby Heph was holding. He turned his head when he heard a low growl and saw Jett attempting to take the baby that Ares was holding.

“Unc,” said Strife, as he sat down next to his husband. “Let the kid hold his new sister. You’ll have other chances later and it’s the first time in years that he’s set foot on Olympus.”

Ares handed the baby to Jett and went to stand next to Joxer who was holding his other granddaughter. He gave Joxer a one armed hug and grinned at him. Just then Zeus and the rest of the Pantheon flashed in. Eris went and put a hand on Strife’s shoulder and he smiled at her.

Jett and Joxer moved to stand on either side of the bed while still holding their sisters. Jayce and Bliss sat on the end. Zeus looked around the room and said, “Everyone ready? Alright then…What are their names?”

“The oldest is Impetua and the youngest is Acacia,” said Cupid gesturing to Jett and Joxer respectively.

“I present to you Impetua, Goddess of Jealousy and Acacia, Goddess of Envy.” The other gods congratulated the new parents and welcomed the new little goddesses to Olympus. “We’ll do the official presentation to the mortals in a few weeks,” Zeus said. “That would also be a good time to let them know about the triplets; that is unless the Fates make another prophecy. Now let’s leave them all to have some bonding time.”

The Pantheon flashed out with several offers to watch the twins and invitations for the triplets to visit.

Part 9: Great Uncle Hercules

It had been two months since the twins were born and Joxer was heading for Athens with Xena and Gabrielle. They were about a day’s walk from Athens and Joxer had assured the two women that he could find them a place to stay if they didn’t mind kids. They looked askance at him but he declined to elaborate on what he meant. Knowing rooms would be at a premium with the upcoming presentation and the following festival the two women accepted.

They were about to make camp for the night when they ran into Hercules and Iolaus. Since they were all headed to the city for the presentation they decided to travel together. Sitting around the fire that evening talk turned to the presentation the next afternoon. Joxer kept grinning as they speculated on what the new god would be. Xena and Gabrielle knew about the twins and had told the other two, who hadn’t known about them. None of them knew about the triplets being officially presented or that the twins were girls.

“Say, Hercules,” said Joxer. “How do you feel about being a great-uncle again?”

“Zeus that makes me sound really old….Okay I guess. Does anyone know if they are boys or girls?”

Everyone shook their heads no, except for Joxer who made a show of tending to the fire.

“Do you two have a place to stay? I’m pretty sure there would be space where we’ll be staying if you’ll help with the kids.” The offer was again accepted after a few odd looks.

The little band of travelers entered Athens early the next morning and Joxer took them towards the temple district. As they neared the edge of the district the four mortals could hear children’s voices. Joxer stopped and they realized that they were standing in front of Strife’s temple and the children’s voices were coming from the side courtyard.

“Here we are…Did you still want to stay?”

Hercules looked like he wanted to leave but seeing that Iolaus wanted to stay all he said was, “Why are there so many children here?”

“Well all kids cause some mischief whether they mean to or not. All children that need shelter are welcome here since Strife feels he should keep an eye on them. This temple shares a courtyard with Hebe’s temple so they set up a runaway shelter/orphanage.”

Hercules looked surprised at this but he followed the others to the courtyard entrance. There was a loud chorus of “Joxer” and then the lanky man was swarmed with children. “Not right now,” he was saying. “I’ll see about after the presentation. I know they’ll come here for a while afterwards. Now I have some friends that need a place to stay tonight. Can you be nice to them for me?”

“Yes Sir.”

He motioned for the others to come in. Little jaws dropped when they saw who Joxer’s friends were. Hercules felt a small tug on his pants and looked down to see a scruffy little boy who said, “You’re Hercules right?” Hercules nodded. “Cool. Would you get my kite out of the tree?”

After he got the kite out of the tree he played with the children. One of the priests called the kids in for lunch and the five of them left for Zeus’s temple for the presentation.

The group made sure that they were at the front of the crowd. There was a flash and the Council of Twelve appeared in front of the altar with the more minor gods to the sides.

“People of Greece,” Zeus began. “Welcome to this momentous occasion in history. Today we will be welcoming not one but five new gods to the pantheon.” There were shocked whispers in the crowd. Hercules glowered. Xena and Gabrielle looked to see Joxer’s reaction only to find that he wasn’t there. “Three have been traveling among you as dictated by the Fates and the time to reveal them has finally come. Two have just been born and this is their revelation to the world. I call forth Jett, God of Assassins.”

There was a flap from the shadows near the ceiling and a gush of wind as a man flew over the crowd to land next to Zeus. He was wearing a black mask that covered his whole face but went well with the leather pants he was wearing. There were black leather straps crossing his chest that looked to be filled with all sorts of things. He flexed his wings, which were a very deep red, then reached up and removed his mask. Hercules blinked and turned to look at Joxer only to realize he wasn’t there. He didn’t get a chance to say a word because Zeus started speaking again.

“I call forth Jayce, God of Lust and Actors.” There was a swirl of feathers next to Jett and there as a winged man wearing a deep red veil, leather pants and a backless leather vest. He reached up and unhooked the veil. Hercules was resigned, surprised, but resigned. The only thing he wondered now was what Joxer was the god of.

“I call for Joxer, God of Love Avenged.” There was a flash near the ceiling and Joxer descended to land on Jett’s other side. His outfit was like Jett’s only brown and the mask only covered his eyes. The triplets stepped back as Zeus said, “I call for Cupid, God of Love, and Strife, God of Mischief to present their daughters.” The two of them appeared carrying the little green clad goddesses. “I present Impetua, Goddess of Jealousy,” indicating the little winged bundle Cupid held, “and Acacia, Goddess of Envy,” gesturing at Strife.

The newly revealed gods started to greet mortals and talk to people who wanted to dedicate themselves to the new gods. Off to one side Xena, Gabrielle and, surprisingly, Iolaus, were chuckling over Hercules’s expression.

“Hey Uncle Herc, you alright? You look a little pale.”

The hero turned to find Cupid standing there with Strife. He noticed that they didn’t have the babies with them.

“I’m fine. I was just a little shocked to find out that Joxer and his brothers were gods.”

“I could tell,” said Strife. “I’ve been getting a buzz off them for hours about this. I told you the boys were up to something Cupe.”

“Yes our kids all have some mischief in them,” Cupid said with a long suffering sigh.

“So Joxer and his brothers are your children as well?” asked Iolaus.

“We sure are,” came a quiet voice from behind them. “Hey Dads, Bliss is getting bored and most of my followers won’t contact me in the open so I thought I’d run him over to the shelter. X stopped by there earlier and said the kids were eager to play.”

“That’s fine Jett. We’ll stay here a little longer and then meet you there.”

The assassin nodded and looked to the quartet of heroes. “Did you want to come? I could flash us all there if you want.”

Before Hercules could say anything he staggered a few steps as Bliss plowed into his shoulders. “Sorry Uncle Herc. You gonna come with us? We’re gonna play hide and seek.”

The four of them looked at the God of Assassins who shrugged. “I like kids.”

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AN: For those who asked...No I didn't mention wings being part of the costumes in the first part of the story. I didn't really give a description of them other than the masks. Please review and let me know what you thought.