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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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Published:
2020-11-05
Completed:
2008-04-04
Words:
12,105
Chapters:
7/7
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2
Kudos:
31
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4,515

In Love's Defense

Summary:

Cupid makes a horrible mistake, and Strife is the one who has to pay the price.

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Notes:

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter Text

 

 

Golden sunlight filtered through a skylight in the temple’s ceiling, reflecting off the pure, snowy whiteness of the wings on the small Godling playing on the floor. Aphrodite was busy preparing new potions in her workshop, leaving Bliss to his toys in the main temple chamber.

It was a rare moment of angelic sweetness – silent Bliss – as the Godling bit his bottom lip in quiet concentration as he attempted to figure out the new puzzle, his Uncle Strife had given him.

So wrapped up in his game, young Bliss never heard the hooded figure enter the temple. He never heard the electric hum of energy as a portal opened behind him. He never heard the hiss of the energy ball that was released. He never saw the twisted, satisfied smile of his attacker when he screamed in pain and fell back into the portal, falling to Earth in an unconscious mass of pain and feathers.

************************

Strife grinned mischievously from his hiding place behind a temple column and watched Xena’s little Bard Gabrielle and her actors, as they rehearsed her newest play. It was some drabble about a warlord named Zacron, who saw the “light” and chose the “way”. It was so fluffy and sweet; it made Strife want to gag. Instead, he did his best to drive the little Blonde Bimbo batty. So far, he’d made the star of the show forget his lines four times, pushed a few supporting actors into the musicians’ pit, and caused the lead actress’s dress to catch on a nail and nearly tear right off her. Strife chuckled wickedly; he was just warming up.

He was just about to make the lead actor say “Let’s screw in the hay” instead of “Show me the way”, when he felt the presence of another God, and great pain. He spun around in time to see little Bliss slam into the ground, broken and bloody.

Strife’s heart dropped into the pit of his stomach and he screamed in outrage. He had always loved children, but mischievous Bliss held a special place in his heart. He rushed to the little Godling’s side, and gathered the broken body to his chest. Bliss whimpered in pain and Strife shushed him and nuzzled Bliss’ cheek, cooing softly in an effort to comfort the boy. He didn’t notice the group of actors and villagers who had gathered around. He didn’t care that tears were streaming down his cheeks. He most certainly didn’t care that the Bimbo Bard’s mouth was opening and closing in shock, making her look like a fish (a sight that normally would have made him giggle any other time).

Strife knew what he had to do. He didn’t question his actions, nor did he consider the danger. He simply reacted to Bliss’ pain. He lay Bliss back down onto the ground and stood over him, concentrating hard. Beads of sweat appeared on his brow, and Strife began to glow. He reached deep inside and brought his own life-force to the surface and channeled it through his hands and into Bliss.

The bystanders gasped in shock and wonder, as Bliss began to heal before their eyes. Bones and wings mended. Cuts and wounds closed and healed without leaving any scars. Bliss’ eyes opened and he cried out in fear and called the one name that meant everything to him. “DADDY!!!”

Strife knew he should stop pumping energy into the Godling. He was close to collapsing himself, and had no energy left to transport himself or Bliss in the face of danger. He forced himself to pull his power back inside himself. He felt dizzy and weak, and staggered back a step.

Suddenly, Cupid appeared in a brilliant flash of golden sparks. He took the scene in at a glance. He saw his precious baby boy laying on the ground, crying and scared, his clothes torn and bloody. He saw Strife standing over Bliss, his hands still glowing from energy. Cupid instantly came to the wrong conclusion, and the War side of his heritage came out in full force. He went into a black rage, and with all the power he possessed, he lashed out at Strife.

What had begun as relief when he had first seen Cupid appear, soon became horror when he realized that Cupid believed that he had hurt Bliss. Strife’s eyes widened in terror, when Cupid suddenly blasted him with a ball of energy more powerful than any he had ever felt before. In his weakened state, he had no defenses, and he flew across the clearing and smashed into a temple wall. He barely had time to register the pain when Cupid picked him up and flew into the air and then slammed him into the ground again and again. The pain became unbearable, and with what little consciousness he held onto, he prayed for death to come soon.

“No, Daddy! No!! Stwife help Bliss! Please, Daddy! Stwife save Bliss!” Bliss’ screams slowly penetrated Cupid’s rage. He looked down at Strife’s broken body and with a surge of power entered his thoughts. He saw how Bliss had fallen out of the sky. He watched as Strife saved Bliss by tapping into his own life-force. Finally, he heard Strife begging for death. With a sob, he let go of the leather clad God, and backed away, shaking his head in shocked denial. What had he done? What had he done to his best friend – the man who had saved his son??

Cupid sank to his knees and roared, the pained sound echoing throughout the heavens. Aphrodite gasped, dropping the potion she had been preparing, as her son’s pain swept through her. She flashed to her son’s side in shower of flower petals and wrapped her arms around him. A bundle of feathers rushed into her arms, and she was startled to find Bliss crying and pulling at her. “Stwife! Stwife! Pwease, Gamma – Pwease help Stwife!”

Aphrodite turned and spotted her nephew who lay motionless on the ground. She patted Cupid’s back reassuringly, and made her way to Strife’s side. Aphrodite gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, as she viewed the horrible state Strife was in. “Asclepius!” She called, and in a flash, God of Healing appeared.

Asclepius was tall, blonde and tanned, with a muscular physique that made mortals and gods weak in the knees. While Asclepius did not possess the arrogance of his father, and genuinely wanted to help people, he was also never one to bother with formalities. He pushed Aphrodite out of his way and went to work on Strife. After a few minutes, he had stabilized the young God enough to transport him, and with a quick word of explanation to Aphrodite, he returned to his temple on Olympus with Strife.

Cupid looked at his mother with a the most lost expression she had ever seen on his handsome face. His son was held tightly in his arms. Bliss had finally stopped sobbing, and warn out from the day’s events, settled into a deep sleep.

“Is Strife going to be all right?” Gabrielle asked. Aphrodite was startled, and turned to find the warrior bard stepping forward hesitantly.

“Like you care?” Aphrodite asked, trying to calm her emotions. She didn’t notice Gabrielle flushing and hanging her head in shame, silently acknowledging that Aphrodite had the right to question her sincerity. Aphrodite looked around at the bystanders and with a flash, moved her son and his child to one of the bedchambers of her nearest Temple. Cupid placed Bliss on the centre of a huge heart shaped bed, and sat with his head in his hands.

“I don’t know what happened, Mom. I saw Strife standing over Bliss, power resonating from him, and I just… reacted. I didn’t think! I know Strife loves Bliss more than anything. I know that!”

Aphrodite couldn’t’t stand watching her son in pain. She knelt before him and took him into her arms. “When our children are involved, we don’t always think, Cupie. You made a mistake. A huge mistake, granted, but you have a chance to make things right. Strife will recover, and you can help him.”

“Help him?” Cupid laughed bitterly. “I almost killed my best friend. He might still die! Strife won’t want me anywhere near him after what I did to him.”

“Sweetie, you and Strife have been friends for a long time. I’m not saying this is going to be easy, but you have a chance to regain his trust. If you don’t try, you’ll always regret it.”

“You’re right, Mom. Strife means too much to me. I’m not going to give him up without a fight!” He grinned with new hope and kissed his mother gently on the cheek. “There is, however, one other thing we need to deal with.” Cupid’s face darkened suddenly. “Someone tried to kill my son. We need to talk to Dad and we need to make sure Bliss is protected until we can figure this out.”

“Get some rest, Cupie. We’ll figure this out in the morning.” Aphrodite tucked her son into bed for the first time in over 300 years. She stroked his hair off his forehead and kissed his cheek. She moved to the other side of the bed and cuddled next to her grandson, and after putting up her most powerful protection shield…she let herself drift to sleep.