Iolaus (Michael Hurst) and young Alcmene (Kim Michalis) continue to run from Callisto (Hudson Leick) who torments them with fireballs. Meanwhile, Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) and his evil double, the Sovereign (Kevin Sorbo), are still trapped in the Netherworld where they are able to see their real worlds through windows that periodically appear, but are unable to get to them. Through one of these windows, Hercules sees Iolaus and his mother as a young woman, running for their lives. Once the two have a chance to stop, Iolaus tells the astonished young Alcmene that he is from the future and has traveled back in time to stop Callisto from killing her and her unborn child. Back in the Netherworld, the Sovereign is sick of Hercules and tries once again to kill him, even if it means his own death. But the two only end up knocking each other out cold. Meanwhile, Iolaus tells Alcmene that Callisto wants to destroy her because if she's allowed to give birth, her son Hercules will grow up to be the most famous hero in history. He explains that the only way they can stop Callisto is to kill her and the only way to do that is to get the pendant of Hind's blood from around her neck. Later, when Iolaus encounters Callisto, he learns that she has agreed to do Hope's bidding and kill Hercules in exchange for the chance to change everything that went wrong for her. When Iolaus suddenly snatches the pendant from her neck, Callisto tells him she doesn't need it anymore and knocks him down. She then lets loose her biggest fireball yet, aiming it directly at the mill where Alcmene is hiding. The mill goes up in flames and Iolaus watches in anguish as Alcmene perishes inside. Hercules observes what has happened through a window in the Netherworld and realizes that now he doesn't exist in his real world.
Still back in the past, Xena, who is an evil warrior princess yet to be redeemed, is consorting with Ares (Kevin Smith) when her guards drag in King Quallus, who offers her the Cronos Stone as tribute. Suddenly, Iolaus arrives in Cirra where the villagers are running for their lives. They tell Iolaus that Xena is laying waste to most of the countryside and Iolaus sets out to find Callisto. When he locates her, he pours Hind's blood onto his knife and is almost within striking distance when three ruffians put a knife to his throat and forcibly recruit him into Xena's army. They bring him to Xena's tent and she begins to play deadly games with him using her chakram, staff and trademark backflip. He tries to tell her what's going to happen to her and to Callisto in the future and attempts to convince her that he knows her. But it's only when he mentions her son Solan that she becomes furious and scared -- nobody knows this secret. Iolaus then disappears and Xena, despite Iolaus' warnings, commands her officers to waste the town. Hercules watches everything through the Netherworld window and suddenly reacts to what he sees on the ground in Xena's tent -- Quallus' tribute, the Chronos Stone. Now he realizes there is a way out.
Upon his return, Hercules angrily confronts Ares to stop any interference in his marriage to Serena and to demand that his deceased family be left alone. Ares tells him that the gods are against the marriage given the kind of powerful offspring it might produce, and will sanction the union under one condition only: Hercules must surrender his god-given strength. Because of his deep love for Serena, Hercules agrees to relinquish his powers to Ares, who in turn demands that Serena give up her life as the Golden Hind and become mortal.
Inside a barn, Callisto finds little Callisto (Rebecca Kopacka) and her mother Arleia (Lee-Jane Foreman) hiding as the village burns. When one of Xena's warriors rushes in and pulls roughly at Arleia, Callisto explodes in rage and slaughters the warrior, much to Arleia's horror. Sensing another man running towards them with his sword drawn, Callisto instinctively flings her own blade and winds up impaling her own father, Pankos (Jim McLarty). When her stricken mother flies at her with a sword, Callisto lets loose with a fireball and her mother is swallowed up by the flames. As Callisto looks down numbly at what she's done, little Callisto faints. Callisto picks her up and places her close to the fire, sadly deciding that she must die for both their sakes. But Iolaus manages to rescue the little girl and after handing her over to her Uncle Oronis (Geoff Clendon), he disappears.
Iolaus reappears in Corinth where Xena the Conqueror is now in command and is preparing to crucify the outspoken Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor). He races to Ares' Temple to ask the god if he will send him back in time once again to make right everything that has gone so terribly wrong. Ares, however, couldn't be more pleased with the way things are and refuses. As Hercules watches the scene through the window and thinks about the Chronos Stone, Iolaus is able to pick up on his thoughts telepathically. Hercules tells him that he must get the Chronos Stone from Xena's scepter in order to be able travel back in time without Ares' help. Iolaus steals the scepter and narrowly escapes Xena's men as he jumps back into the past using the Stone. He is now back at young Alcmene's farm, once again stalling Callisto as before. Suddenly, thunder cracks in the sky, a bolt of lightning strikes, the vortex opens and Hercules flies out of it. Hercules, it turns out, was able to create a makeshift lightning rod and use it to reenter his world. He lands on Callisto and a fierce fight ensues. Hercules refuses to kill her with the Hind's blood dagger. Instead, he hurls her into the vortex before it shuts. Since the Hind's blood dagger is too dangerous any god or mortal to have, Hercules pounds it into a stone slab. He knows, however, that the greater evil behind everything that's happened is still out there and will have to be dealt with in the future. Unbeknownst to Iolaus and him, Hope (Amy Morrison) watches from on top Ares’ Temple as they leave the vicinity.
Starring: Kevin Sorbo (Hercules & Sovereign), Michael Hurst (Iolaus)
Guest Starring: Kevin Smith (Ares), Hudson Leick (Callisto), Renee O'Connor (Gabrielle), Lucy Lawless (Xena), Kim Michalis (Young Alcmene), Amy Morrison (Hope), Matthew Chamberlain (Darphus), Lee-Jane Foreman (Arleia), Jim McLarty (Pankos), Rebecca Kopacka (Young Callisto), Geoff Clendon (Oronis), Alex Moffat (Beckerus), John Dybvig (King Quallus), Mark Sinclair (Village Man), Marcel Kalma (One-Legged Man), Crawford Thomson (Ruffian), Slade Leef (Warrior), Patrick Kake (Hercules/Sovereign Double)
Teleplay by Gene F. O'Neill & Noreen V. Tobin
Story by Paul Robert Coyle
Directed by Mark Beesley