Meg was out in the garden tending flowers when suddenly she caught the sound of footsteps rushing down the graveled garden path. She looked up, expecting to find her daughter there, but was surprised – and somewhat confused – to see it was only Alexa. The young girl called out her name and seemed unusually relieved at the sight of her.
Alexa came to a stop, panting, and Meg furrowed her brow. "Hi Alexa," she said. "What's the rush? You're all out of breath." Still panting, Alexa asked, "Where is Hercules?" Meg did not like the urgent tone in the young girl's voice. Something wasn't right.
"He's round the back training with Phil," she said, but that was hardly important right now. What Meg wanted to know was where her daughter was. "Alexa, where's Hebe?" The answer she received was not the one she'd hoped to hear.
"She's in danger! You have to come help!"
Meg's blood ran cold and she dropped her gardening tools to follow Alexa to the outdoor gym in their backyard. "Hercules!" they both called in perfect unison and the redheaded hero lowered the dumbbells in his hands to the ground. He could instantly tell by the look on their faces that something had happened. "Meg. Alexa. What's up?" he asked with concern and Alexa told him and Meg about the situation.
"There's a fire in a house on the outskirts of the village! Hebe's gone in to try to save the man who lives there!"
Hercules's eyes widened in terror and his breath stilled for a moment while Meg gasped audibly. It was worse than she'd feared. Their daughter was in grave danger. Hercules looked up towards the village and could now see the smoke rising up into the sky. "Pegasus!" he called and his trusty steed came running to his side. He mounted with ease and urged Meg to get up behind him.
"What about Phil and Alexa?" she asked, glancing down at them.
"Don't worry," the little satyr reassured, "we'll be right behind you. You two go." Time was of the essence and he would hate to slow them down. Phil was not one for sentimentality, but he had had a soft spot for Hebe since the day she was born. He didn't know what he would do if anything happened to her.
Hercules looked down at Alexa and thanked her from the bottom of his heart before urging Pegasus into the air. His heart was pounding louder and harder than it ever had before and he was suddenly overcome with a sense of déjà vu. Suddenly he was eighteen years old again, flying faster than the wind just to make it in time to save the woman he loved, and he felt a terrible ache in his chest. But this time, it was infinitely worse. Meg's arms were tightly wrapped around his torso and he swore he could feel her heart beat rapidly in time with his own. She leaned in close to his face and spoke the very words he was thinking: "I just hope we're not too late."
The fire had now spread and built up enough smoke to attract the people in the village and they were relieved to see their great hero descend from the sky to help them. Hercules's jaw dropped at the sight before him and the ache in his chest was making it painful to even breathe. "Oh my gods," he said, staring wide-eyed at the burning flames. The villagers gathered around him and begged him to help. His thoughts were rampant, but he had to keep his head cool. Being a hero came with huge responsibilities and these people trusted him to be their leader and savior in their time of need. But in this moment, he couldn't have cared less about these people. All he cared about was his little girl.
Realizing there was no time to think things through, Hercules told Meg to lead the villagers and help them gather as much water as they could get to help put the fire out. As for himself, he would go in after Hebe. Meg told him to be careful and watched with a heavy heart as her husband disappeared into the black smoke.
The front door was already open as Hercules rushed inside. The smoke stung his eyes and he raised one arm to cover his face. "Hebe!" he called out."Hebe, where are you?" His heart skipped a beat when he heard her voice answering his call.
"I'm here, dad! Come help me!" Hercules followed the sound of her voice and soon found her on her knees by a wall.
"Hebe!" he exclaimed and instantly coughed after inhaling the smoke. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Hebe reassured and coughed herself. "There is a man stuck inside that room!" she said and pointed to the door right in front of her. A beam had fallen and was blocking the door. "I can't lift the beam!" she said and gave it another try, but to no avail. "You have to help me get him out!"
Hercules motioned for her to step aside. "I've got this," he told her. "You need to get out of here, now!" Hebe got to her feet, but made no move to leave.
"No, I want to help!"
"Hebe, do as I tell you!" Hercules ordered. This was no time for arguing. Once more he coughed and then began calling out to the man on the other side of the blocked door. "Hello? Can you hear me? I'm going to get you out of there!" He didn't get the opportunity to listen for a reply, because in the same moment, another beam fell from the ceiling and Hercules jumped out of the way. Now there were two giant beams blocking the door. Not that it made any difference to Hercules. This was an obstacle he could easily move, but the fact remained that they were standing inside a house which could collapse at any second. Burning embers were falling all around them and now Hercules could hear the wood in the ceiling begin to break. It wouldn't last for much longer.
Hebe watched as her father stood there doing nothing. He was completely immobile! What was he waiting for? "Dad, don't just stand there!" she exclaimed impatiently. "Do something!" Her words seemed to reach him through the thick smoke and the falling embers, for he suddenly took action, but not in the way she had hoped.
Before she had time to react, Hercules had picked her up into his arms and carried her outside. It was fortunate that he did, because as soon as they'd made it across the threshold, the roof caved in. The villagers, who had begun tossing buckets of water at the flames, drew away from the house with gasps and screams of terror. Nothing could save the house now or the lonely soul who lived in it. The fire was simply too great.
Hebe made protests and demanded that they turn back, but Hercules refused. He carried his daughter away from the crumbling house and laid her down with her head in his lap. She tried to get up, but it appeared she was too weak to even protest anymore. Her skin was stained with soot and she began to cough again, which had Hercules worried. "We need a medic!" he cried out and prayed someone heard him.
Meg, who had followed close behind, knelt down by her daughter's side and gently stroked her red hair out of her face. "Hebe! Oh, my darling girl." She was beyond relieved to see her daughter was alive. Whether she was well or not was another question, but it wasn't long before a medic arrived and asked to leave her some space to examine the young girl. While they waited for the results, Phil and Alexa finally arrived at the scene and they both grew worried when they saw Hebe lying on the ground almost entirely covered in black.
The medic asked for some water which Hercules promptly fetched. The medic used it to wash Hebe's face and also gave her some to drink. Then she checked Hebe's pulse as well as her eyes. Meg was practically shaking with worry as she asked if her daughter would be okay. "She'll be fine," the medic assured once she was satisfied with all of her tests. "Just make sure she stays hydrated." Meg and Hercules thanked her and wasted no time to hail a wagon so they could get their daughter home safely.
Hebe didn't speak a word the entire way to their house. She seemed to be feeling all right though, all things considered, but as soon as they were home, Meg filled a tub with water so she could wash up and left a clean dress for her to put on afterwards. Hercules washed up quickly as well, getting rid of the worst of the soot. Then he joined Meg and Phil to wait for Hebe in the kitchen.
It was quiet between the three of them until Hebe finally came to sit down at the kitchen table. Meg was ready with a cup of cold water and Hebe accepted it with a quiet 'thank you'. She had not even looked Hercules's way ever since she came into the room. He quickly understood she was avoiding him and he had a feeling he knew why. "How are you feeling?" he asked carefully and attempted to look into her eyes, but she wouldn't raise them from the cup in her hands.
"I'm okay," she whispered hoarsely and took a sip from her cup, but still she would not look at him.
Hercules pursed his lips and sighed, already starting to regret the words that had yet to leave his lips. "Hebe, what were you thinking? You risked your life in that fire!" His voice was now raised to a level which was very rare for him, but it elicited the response he was looking for. Alarmed, Hebe finally looked up to meet his stern gaze, but it did nothing to deter her from responding with an equal amount of passion.
"Because that's what heroes do!" she retorted. "They face dangers and save people!"
"If they know what they're doing, yes!" Hercules countered and Hebe had to agree on that. She may have been foolhardy to run into the house all on her own without a proper plan. But her father must have faced similar situations several times before. Surely he would have known what to do? But no. He chose to take the easy way out. He didn't even try.
"So then why didn't you?" Hebe questioned, suddenly feeling disappointed in her father. "You always tell me that giving up is for rookies. You gave up." Hercules shook his head.
"Hebe, it's not that simple. The roof was collapsing on us! I had to make a choice: either save the person on the other side of that door… or save you." He didn't sound angry anymore – only regretful. Heaving a deep sigh, Hercules went on: "Sometimes heroes are faced with difficult choices. And then they have to live with the consequences of those choices, no matter how hard it is."
Hebe heard what he was saying, but she wouldn't accept any of his excuses. "Then I hope you can live with a helpless man's blood on your hands." Hebe pushed the cup of water away from her and rushed out of the kitchen. Hercules and Meg called after her, but the door to her room slammed shut, firmly telling them that their daughter did not wish to be disturbed.
Hercules suddenly felt so heavy, like a huge boulder had been placed on his chest. Then his knees began to buckle and he was forced to sit down. With a groan, he buried his face in his hands and repeatedly shook his head. "Phil, you never told me fatherhood would be the hardest labor of all," he told the satyr who was right by his side. Then he felt his wife coming up behind him to place her hands on his shoulders. "I let her down, Meg," he sighed. "Big time."
"Herc, there was nothing you could have done," she said, trying to console him.
"But that's the thing!" Hercules exclaimed in frustration. "What if I could have?" What if Hebe was right? Perhaps he gave up too easily? It had seemed like the right decision at the time to simply grab her and run, but now he was starting to doubt himself.
Phil agreed with Meg. "She's right, kid. That's the hardest lesson a hero will ever learn: no matter how much you want to… ya can't save everybody." Hercules looked down at his trainer. He had gotten wiser with age, as well as grown a few grey hairs. But he spoke the truth, however sad it may have been.
"I should go talk to her," Hercules said and made to stand, but Meg gently pushed him back down.
"Maybe you should wait until she's calmed down," she suggested. "When she's ready to talk." As always, Meg was right. It was no use trying to get through to Hebe while she was still upset. So Hercules would wait patiently, even though he was dying to make amends and set things right with his daughter.
Once she'd made it to her room, the first thing Hebe did was throw herself down onto the bed and cry. Tears of both rage and despair spilled from her eyes and down her cheeks. Everything seemed so hopeless. All she had wanted was to save that poor man – to prove that she could be a hero, too. And she had failed. Perhaps she hadn't done enough? Perhaps she should have tried harder? Maybe then that man would still be alive?
Hebe sat up in her bed and wiped the tears from her face. She didn't want her parents to walk in on her in this state and she knew they would, sooner or later. No, she needed time to collect herself first. She looked out her window and saw that the sun had almost set. Soon the stars would be out and it always made her feel at peace gazing up at them. It seemed like a good idea right about now.
Carefully, Hebe leaned out of the window to check if the coast was clear. There was not a single soul in sight, so she jumped down onto the lawn below and started walking towards the swings on the hill where she'd taken refuge only a day prior. For a second she thought about taking Pegasus to her grandfather's temple where she might ventilate, but decided against it. Why would she assume that the almighty Zeus would be on her side in this matter? He would probably just give her another lecture, although maybe not quite so harsh. At the very best he might acknowledge her bravery, but nothing more than that. No, better not bother if it wasn't going to make her feel any better.
All alone on the hill, Hebe could finally let herself cry until her tears were truly spent. Little did she know that she was being watched. Suddenly, a voice whispered, "Psst!" and Hebe sat upright in her swing, listening. What was that? The voice spoke again: "Psst! Over here!" She leaned forward in the swing to see two small figures emerge from behind the tree. They were pretty funny-looking figures at that. One of them was blue with long pointy ears and nose. The other was pink and rather round, but they both had long, thin tails dragging behind them. Were they monsters?
"Who are you?" Hebe asked and quickly wiped at her tears, but did not get up from the swing. The blue little imp approached, somewhat tentatively.
"We don't mean to intrude," he said, "but we couldn't help but overhear your crying and, well…"
"We'd like to know if there's anything we can do to help," the other finished. "I am Pain and this is my associate Panic." He gestured to his friend with a smile.
"My name is Hebe," Hebe said, thinking it would be rude not to introduce herself. "And I appreciate that you want to help, but… I don't think you can." She lowered her gaze to the ground, evidently despondent.
"Try us," Panic said, gently urging her to tell them about her dilemma.
Hebe hesitated for a moment. Should she tell them? But on the other hand, what reason did she have not to? What could really be the harm in telling them when the harm was already done? "Okay…" she started, "I don't know if you've heard, but there was a fire this afternoon in a house not that far from here. I went in to try to save the man who lived there, but I couldn't. And my dad didn't even try." She added that last part with more than a little resentment.
"Oh yeah, we heard about the fire," Pain confessed, shaking his head solemnly.
"It's so tragic," Panic concurred and wiped a tear at the corner of his eye.
"I would give anything to save that man," Hebe said. "Is there any way to change the past?" she asked them in hopes that maybe they knew of a way.
"Alas, there isn't," Panic admitted regretfully. "Not that we know of, anyway. But there is one who does. He can help you!" Her hopes restored, Hebe was all ears.
"Really?" she said. "Who?"
"Why, the one and only Hades, of course!"
Panic's words gave Hebe pause and a cold shiver ran down her spine. "Hades? You mean… God of the Underworld?" From what she knew, Hades was not someone you wanted to cross paths with.
"Yup," the imps confirmed in perfect unison and they gazed up at her with anticipation. They were waiting to hear what she would say next.
Hebe looked down at the house below the hill, contemplating, but it didn't take long to make up her mind. She only hoped her parents wouldn't go looking for her. "Could you take me to him?" she asked her new acquaintances. "To the Underworld?"
"Of course we can!" Panic exclaimed with glee. "Right this way, missy! Follow Pain and Panic!" And thus, the imps encouraged her to come with them. Before she left, Hebe threw one last glance over her shoulder to look at the house. Her parents could never know about this. No one could. But it was something she had to do, no matter the consequences. With a deep, determined breath, she faced forward and never looked back again.
A/N: The plot thickens! I realized while writing this that my story kind of resembles the plot of The Little Mermaid II. So much for originality. Anyway, stick around for the next chapter (it's one of my personal favorites)!