Henry blinked and he appeared in a new forest. He looked around him in search for Hercules, but he was nowhere in sight. A noise suddenly startled him from above and he looked up to discover a man riding a flying Pegasus. Hercules! Henry quickly emptied Mat out into the open and the yoga mat uncurled itself before him.

"Come on Mat! We've got to catch up to that Pegasus!"

Henry immediately hopped onto the floating mat and they took off like a bullet in the air. Mat and Henry dodged and swerved to avoid lingering branches from the trees as they made their way to the open clearing in the sky. Above the tree line, Henry could make out a tiny speck in the distance; Hercules and the flying horse.

"See that speck? I need to speak to that man!"

On Henry's command, Mat took off in a flash. The wind was whipping so quickly at his face that he regretted not packing a pair of goggles to protect his eyes. Mat flew Henry over to Hercules in almost no time at all. As Henry got closer, he noticed Hercules' wardrobe; various animal skins all with different shades of tan that covered the majority of his body, leaving only his muscular arms and legs exposed. His long straight hair flicked against his massive shoulders and his focused and chiseled face faced toward the abrasive winds undeterred by the clouds that whipped past. Hercules looked every bit the hero that Henry pictured in his mind from the book he read.

"Hercules!" shouted Henry from Mat towards the iconic figure.

Hercules glimpsed over at Henry then did a double-take. His piercing sky-blue eyes stared at Henry as he shouted back, "What the… Who are you? What are you doing up here kid?!"

"I'm not a kid. I'm a teenager! I came searching for you so that I could talk to you!"

Hercules hesitated on the idea of talking to this stranger riding a strange contraption, but curiosity got the best of him. Questions flooded Hercules' mind, like how was he able to find him? And how is he able to fly? Could he perhaps be a deity of some sort? And if so, could he have a message from his father, Zeus? So Hercules gestured to Henry to wait a moment and that he was looking on the ground for a safe place to land. After a few minutes, Hercules spotted a safe clearing and both he and Henry landed softly onto an open grass field.

"So… you know who I am, but I didn't catch your name," said Hercules giving this unique young man his undivided attention. "What's your name, so that I don't have to keep calling you 'kid' all the time."

"You know what's funny?" said Henry walking a bit closer to Hercules, "My mom still calls me kid too sometimes, so I'm actually kind of used to it. The name is Henry."

Henry extended a friendly hand to Hercules, which Hercules took and shook gently.

"Henry, huh? What kind of god are you? Are you related to Aeolus in any way? Because most people don't approach me from the air unless they're a god of some sort," Hercules asked as he petted his Pegasus who was grazing in the field as they walked.

"No, I'm not a god," corrected Henry as he commanded Mat to return to its cloth casing.

"If you're not a god, then how did you get that?" Hercules said pointing at Mat.

"It's my mother's yoga mat. I enchanted it so that I can visit you and ask you questions."

"You have magic?" said Hercules unbelievably.

"You know, you sure do ask a lot of questions for a guy who's in such a rush."

"Well, you interrupted my flight to Thebes and I was making good time too. I think for that interruption I deserve every right to question. Especially since every day I'm getting closer and closer to achieving my dream. You see, I'm on a quest to—"

"-achieve god-like status by seeking out opportunities for heroism. Am I right?"

Henry caught the hero off guard and Hercules found himself fumbling at his words, "Well… yes… How…? Can you read into the future as well?"

Henry shook his head 'no', "It's all in this book I have."

"I'm in a book?"

"Yeah. You're actually quite famous where I come from."

"And where might that be?"

"Storybrooke."

"Storybrooke," repeated Hercules. He racked his brain trying to remember ever hearing the name of before. He gave up, "I've never heard of it. Is it in Greece?"

"No, it's uh… nowhere near Greece."

"Alright, Henry the Teenager, let me see if I understand everything… you're not a god and you hail from a place called Storybrooke. You're a magician that wields powerful magic, enough to conjure flight via that magic cloth… thingy. You also claim that I'm in this book. You do realize that I don't possess any magic like you, right? I'm only really good at the heavy lifting and that sort of thing. So Henry, unless there's a boulder you want me to lift, how can I possibly help you?"

"In my book, you defeat Hades thwarting his mission to overtake Olympus. Hades… he's like your uncle, right?"

"Hades? God of death? King of the Underworld? I… suppose he's my uncle, though I don't really view him that way."

"It's ok. My grandfather's supposedly this evil grand sorcerer, but he's really just misunderstood. I guess there's one in every family."

"I'm afraid my family is a bit different than yours," Hercules contradicted and his face twisted with confusion, "I… haven't defeated him in anything… yet. In fact, I don't recall ever meeting him or having issues with him before."

"Oh, I guess that hadn't happened in your story yet," said Henry, realizing that his interaction with Hercules may actually be affecting how his story unfolds. "I… was kind of hoping you would give me pointers on how to handle… uh, negotiations with Hades."

"If what you say is true, about him taking over Olympus, then Hades sounds sinister and dangerous. Why, of all the gods, would you want to meet him?"

Henry stopped walking and looked sadly at his feet on the ground. When he looked up, he explained, "My father… was a hero. He died saving me and my entire family from an evil witch that brought mayhem to my home. I… miss him. A lot. Everyday. I was hoping to speak to Hades about bringing my father back."

"Henry," Hercules said trying to empathize with Henry, "In my experience living amongst mortals I've discovered that death, as awful and painful it can sometimes be, is essential to living. It makes living life meaningful and precious. Like, if this is our last shot at controlling our own fate, then we might as well make the most of it. I find that even with my own family has a hard time understanding that. And you would think that gods, who get their power from the faith of people, would want to get even closer to their faithful. I mean, my own father is Zeus, and all my life he's always felt so distant. I think my mortality prevents us from getting close."

"Is that why you want to become a god?"

"I just want to be reunited with my family again. I've never felt like I belonged here. I've always felt… alone."

"I can understand wanting to be with your family. I love mine very much. We're actually known for finding each other. Don't worry. You will be reunited with your family. I believe it."

Hercules smiled amicably at Henry. Because of Henry, Hercules felt rejuvenated in his pursuit of becoming a hero. At first he couldn't put his finger on why he felt so inspired, but then he recognized it; hope. Hope in that he would one day be reunited with his family again. If this young stranger could believe it possible, then so could he. Hercules looked down at Henry as they continued walking through the field, "Talk to me more about your father. In order to be a god I must first prove myself to be a hero in the eyes of my father. And since your father was a hero, I'm interested to hear more of his story; about who he was and what he's done."

"So, you don't mind that I tag along on your trip to Thebes?"

"Not at all. I love stories. Stories make legends! It'll pass the time while we get there."

… …

Hercules and Henry spent the weekend together. At night over a campfire, they talked about their families and exchanged stories on their adventures from back home. Henry learned from Hercules the art of hunting and preparing a meal over an open flame. Hercules questioned the extent of Henry's magical abilities, to which Henry was only too glad to demonstrate. They had just settled for lunch and Henry insisted on exhibiting his magical prowess by preparing a meal for them. Over the open flame, Henry conjured a pan filled with scrambled eggs.

"Is that all?" Hercules asked.

"What were you expecting, a buffet? I'm only an apprentice. Both my mother and grandfather are much better at this than I am. Though, I suppose they've been using it for years."

"I'm just joking. I'm really impressed. This is much easier and much more convenient than catching a fish for lunch."

Henry looked anxiously down at his pocket-watch. Today was Monday and he knew that he should be at school right now. He dreaded the inevitable conversation he would be having later with his mothers. Sure he went off to another world, but skipping school… he could only think of the kind of punishment that was waiting for him when he got home.

"Are we any closer to Thebes?" Henry asked.

"It's just over the hilltop there," said Hercules pointing to a giant hill visibly a couple of miles away. Hercules observed Henry nervously check his pocket-watch throughout lunch. The frequency made Hercules concerned for his new friend, "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah… uh, I just missed school."

"Is that mandatory where you're from?"

"Well, yeah."

"What happens if you don't show up?"

"My mom will kill me."

"Which one?" Hercules asked, remembering that Henry told him he had two mothers. One of the many things he and Henry had in common.

"Both of them."

"Eek. Sounds gruesome."

"Yeah, I should probably get going-" Henry started to say when suddenly a scream was heard in the distance, followed by a monstrous roar.

"You should go home," commanded Hercules, quickly standing to his feet, "I've got to go handle this."

Before Henry could protest, Hercules immediately hopped onto his Pegasus and bolted in the direction of the distress.

"Dang he's quick," Henry observed. He hurriedly pulled out Mat from its casing, "C'mon, let's go help Hercules."

Henry jumped onto Mat and they both followed quickly after Hercules. They rose above the trees and Henry strained to hear the location of the commotion. A few giant trees were seen being tossed into the air and Henry darted in that direction. When he got closer he was better able to see the monster causing chaos to the neighboring city.

Close to the city's fountain stood a 15-foot tall monster, with scales like a lizard and claws like a bird. The head of the beast was grisly, resembling that of an angler fish. Only this fish-headed monster had teeth sticking out at odd ends and drool that constantly dangled grossly from its mouth. It's T-Rex arms would be something to laugh at, if you could stare at them long enough without being seriously injured by the tail that whipped dangerously back and forth.

Hercules dodged the flippant tail and the creature became frustrated trying to catch the brave defender with it hideous mouth. The monster gave another angry howl as Hercules brandished his sword and cut the creature. Out of the corner of Hercules' eye, he spotted Henry approaching the action and shouted at him, "Henry! Get out of here! It's too dangerous!"

"No! I'm here to help!" called Henry back to Hercules.

Hercules hopped onto the ferocious beast and hung on fiercely as the creature struggled with the new threat on its back. As Henry got closer to Hercules, the scary creature turned quickly. Its' dangerous tail, whipped around rapidly, knocking Henry off of Mat and onto the ground. The force of the blow knocked the wind out of Henry and his book bag away from his body. Mat disappeared from the dangerous commotion and flew away, leaving Henry immobile to the ground. After catching his breath, Henry stood up in place and saw Hercules doing his best in attempting to strangle the mangy creature.

Henry thought quickly. He tried to think of any spell that could help him and Hercules out of this circumstance… The Vanishing Spell. In a blink of an eye, Henry disappeared from the ground and reappeared on Hercules back.

"Henry! What are you doing?!" shouted Hercules with alarm.

"Saving you!" exclaimed Henry. Henry pulled out Cogsworth and shouted to the device, "Cogsworth take us back to Storybrooke!"

With Henry's left arm around Hercules neck, Henry quickly tapped the watch using his right thumb turning the minute-hand a quarter turn to the left. In a giant magical cloud, Henry, Hercules and the monster disappeared. When they reappeared, they found themselves disoriented and in the middle of a paved road next to the sign that said, "Welcome to Storybrooke".

As soon as they arrived at Storybrooke's entrance, Henry lost his grip on Hercules and was flung into the grass at the side of the road. The impact of his fall caused his whole body to ache. He felt light-headed. He felt… lighter. His book bag! He left it in Hercules' land. He needed his book bag because of the precious library books and the spells they carried. Henry pulled out Cogsworth again and called, "Cogsworth, take me to my book bag!"

In an instant, Henry left Hercules to fight the monster alone in Storybrooke. Henry only intended on leaving Hercules alone for just a moment, but he needed his books. He reappeared in front of his tossed book bag back in Hercules' land. He quickly gathered the items that were scattered across the ground when a cold deathly hand gripped Henry's arm causing him to drop his book bag again.

"I hear you're looking for me," said the tall creature dryly. Henry looked up to discover a ghastly 7-foot tall deity with blue flames for hair. "Come with me. Let's step into my office…"

Henry disappeared, entering the Underworld with the king himself… Hades.

First of all, thank you all for your patience. The next leg of our journey I have a lot happening. So there was a lot of planning and story strategizing this past week and of course, real life. THANK YOU, thank you, thank you OUATgirl17, Montreat11, Grace5231973, Katelynberg, and BreathingintheSun for your reviews from the previous chapters! All of your reviews are brilliant and oh so encouraging. You guys definitely inspire me. So I didn't give up on the story! And I hope you didn't too. Thank you for having faith in me and this story.

Hercules, ok… So there are many different interpretations on the story of Hercules. But I figured, since OUAT is Disney influenced, that it only be appropriate to model this version of Hercules after the Disney version too. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that I did a decent job capturing Hercules and eventually Hades in the chapters to come. Let me know what you think.