Athena had met the gods of the Yucatan only a few times. Her main contact
with that world was Quetzalcoatl, the culture-god. He described his pantheon
as what the Olympians might have been like had the Titans remained in power
with them. Itzamna ruled the hierarchy with benevolent intent, but there
were dark members of his family who demanded blood sacrifices and even
darker practices. Their world was quite unlike Olympus. Adjacent through a
portal hidden below ground from mortals, Xibalba was a multi-layered realm
with pyramids almost but not quite the Egyptian pyramids.
"Pyramids ?" Hercules looked down from an underground canyon to a land
covered with its own sky.
"Don't ask them about it." Athena led the way cautiously than appearing too
suddenly and insinuating an invasion. "They claim the Egyptian gods stole
the idea from them." She lead the way down the golden path into the gold
city as a shadow scurried above their heads. It pranced and glided from rock
face to rock face on leathery wings.
"How well do you know them ?" Hercules asked. "How can they help Zeus ?"
"They were killing Nagas long after the Titans were overthrown." Athena
continued slowly. "They have weapons and access to secrets even those
obnoxious Mesopotamian gods don't possess."
"You can stop there," A voice came out of nowhere. A bearded figure wearing
lizard skins and feathered arraignment stepped into the path. His hair was
darker than Greek and his skin tone almost red. His manner was tribal with
regal overtones. "Athena, you take a chance bringing a mortal here." His
voice stammered with an accent over their foreign language.
"Quetzalcoatl," Athena stood defiant in this mission of peace. "We come for
assistance against a Naga in possession of one of our own, and this is no
mere mortal. My brother, Hercules."
"Hercules ?" The Feathered-Serpent spoke it as if he knew the name. "The
infamous half-god whose name reverbarates through the many heavens. I've
heard tell of your glories."
"Believe me," Hercules was in no mood to be smug. "Most of it is actually
exaggerated............."
"Exaggerated or not............." A voice answered from the shadows. "It's
blood of a worthy champion........"
"Camazotz ?!!" Quetzalcoatl heard the scream of his hated cousin, the
bat-god. Hercules barely looked up as the speed of the creature paralleled
that of Pegasus. He felt human-like claws grab his shoulders and pull him
off the ground as Athena drew her sword. She darted with urgent haste
herself as she climbed the jagged peaks to reach her brother. As hard as she
climbed, and as hard as Hercules fought, the sinister god of caves carried
off the son of Zeus with malevolent glee.
"What will he do with him ?" Athena turned to her old ally as Camazotz
vanished as fast as he came.
"Sacrifice." Quetzalcoatl answered hesitantly. "And then a blood
feast........."





TV Fan Fictions ! Hercules, Xena, Batman, Star Trek, Dark Shadows, Ally
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