Not wanting to risk getting bad seats, Hebe's family made sure to arrive in good time for the performance. They stood in line to the amphitheater and, slowly but surely, they moved forward until they reached the entrance where a woman stood to welcome all of the guests. When she saw there was a horse in their company, she put her hand up, stopping them. "Sorry, we have a no-animal policy in the theater," she said and pointed to a sign distinctly showing it was forbidden to bring your pet inside the theater.
"Oh, right," Hercules turned to his trusty steed. "Sorry, buddy. You'll have to wait outside." Pegasus dropped his head in disappointment and reluctantly stepped out of the line only to plop down on the grass with a pout. The woman wasn't finished, however.
"And your other friend?" she said to Hercules, gesturing towards Phil who was immediately offended.
"Hey, lady, I'm a satyr, all right?" he told her. "Half human, half goat. I ain't no animal." The woman rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Fine, go ahead then." She stepped aside to let them through and Hercules thanked her on everyone's behalf.
Plenty of people had already taken a seat inside the theater, but they were happy to find that the front row hadn't been filled yet. They made their way to the left side of the aisle where five empty seats were waiting for them. "This is perfect!" Hercules said as they sat down, feeling more excited than ever. He couldn't wait to see his daughter perform again. Knowing how hard she and her friends had been practicing, this was sure to be a great show.
The seat which was closest to the aisle was reserved for the AAPA representative and Meg gently nudged Hercules in the side when she arrived. Hercules leaned forward slightly to get a better look at her. Dark of hair and skin, she was quite tall and definitely had the figure of a professional dancer. "Fingers crossed," Meg said, crossing them, and Hercules did the same.
As more people filed into the theater, Hercules and Meg soon found themselves at the center of attention. This was not unexpected given that Hercules was so famous, but the attention they received was usually positive. Needless to say, they were greatly surprised when a woman stomped towards them with a look of great disapproval on her face. Seemingly having no respect for personal boundaries, the woman leaned forward to stare Hercules in the face, and the hero leaned back into his seat in fear.
"You'd expect the great hero of Greece to raise his daughter better," the woman scoffed loudly. "You should be ashamed." In a haughty manner, she turned her nose up and left and Hercules could finally breathe again. His mother, who was sitting on his left, was completely horrified by what she'd just witnessed.
"Oh, my poor sweet boy, are you all right? What a terribly rude woman!" Hercules didn't know what to say. This had never happened before.
"What was that about?" he asked, turning to his wife. Meg stared after the woman, bemused.
"Your guess is as good as mine." It was most strange indeed and it was about to get stranger still. Only seconds later, Meg spotted Alexa's mother just passing by. "Hello, Jacinda! How are you?" she said.
Jacinda stopped to return the greeting, but she did not look particularly happy to see them. If Meg didn't know any better, she would say Jacinda was trying to avoid them. "Oh. Hello Meg. Hercules", she gave a small nod to each of them. "If it's all the same to you, I think it's best if Alexa didn't spend any more time with Hebe. Please don't take it personally, but I don't want your daughter to rub off on mine." Before they could respond, Jacinda sheepishly walked away, leaving them as befuddled as ever. Looking around, they realized that parents and students alike were giving them judging glances.
"Geesh!" Phil said and scratched his head in confusion. "What's up with everybody?" Hercules was wondering the same thing. From the looks of things, it couldn't be anything good and that concerned him. He looked to his wife to get her perspective on it.
"Do you get the feeling everyone knows something we don't?" he whispered, afraid people might hear. He felt so unwelcomed in this place – like the day he'd accidentally destroyed the agora.
"You took the words right out of my mouth," Meg answered, feeling just as concerned as her husband and hoping their daughter wasn't in any kind of trouble.
Suddenly, the audience broke into applause when Ms. Penelope stepped out onto the stage. The show was about to begin. "Welcome!" she proudly announced with her arms spread wide. "Welcome one and all to the annual spring dance recital! This year's group has worked really hard these past few months to give you the best show ever and I dare say this is going to be our best recital yet! So, without further ado; let the show begin!" The applause recommenced and Ms. Penelope left the stage. The sound of a drum made the audience go silent and as the music began, the curtain rose to reveal the stars of this year's recital.
The girls started with their backs turned against the audience, standing in a line across the stage. Hebe, the only redhead of the group and therefore easy to spot, was standing at the far left. The music began to swell and when the beat dropped, the girls turned around, one by one to begin their first number – a combination of classical and contemporary dance. Hercules and Meg smiled upon seeing their daughter, but upon closer inspection, they could see that something was not right. While Hebe moved across the stage with the grace and stamina they knew she possessed, something was distinctly missing: her passion. She had been looking forward to this day for such a long time. Why wouldn't she let it show?
"Why isn't she smiling?" Hercules said, leaning closer to Meg. "She loves to dance. Shouldn't she be smiling?"
"Yeah," Meg agreed. "Something's not right. Perhaps it's just nerves?" More than anything, she wanted to believe that's all it was, but her gut told her this was more serious than that.
On stage, Hebe was trying hard to focus on the dance by pretending that no one was watching her, but the presence of the audience could not be ignored. She spotted her family in the front row shortly after the curtain was raised, but she couldn't bear to make eye contact with them. She couldn't get distracted by anyone or anything. Thankfully, she made it through the first dance which ended with the girls striking one pose each. Hebe posed with one hand on her hip and the other raised high into the air. There was a short pause for the audience to clap and for the girls to catch their breaths before the next song started. For one moment, Hebe dared to believe that she could actually do this. Then tragedy struck.
The next thing she knew, something big and wet hit her on the shoulder, splashing onto her face. There was a gasp from the audience and when Hebe looked down, a big and overripe tomato was sliding down her arm before it hit the stage floor. But that wasn't all of it. A number of voices were now calling from the audience: "Devil's worshipper! Get off the stage, loser! We don't want you here!"
Hebe looked out over the crowd and saw a sea of blurry faces. She found her family once more and this time, she did make eye contact. Her father and mother rose from their seats and looked at her with great concern and sympathy. She couldn't take it. What were they going to say once they found out the truth? Hebe didn't know what to do. All she knew was that she had to get out of there – get as far away as she could.
Like lightning, she bolted from the stage as tears began to well in her eyes. She heard Alexa and Ms. Penelope calling after her, but she was too fast for either of them to catch up. She fled backstage and kept running with the intention of leaving the school grounds, but she didn't make it any farther than the courtyard where an obstacle suddenly popped into view, blocking her way. It was Hades: the last person – or god – she wanted to see right now.
"Whoa!" he said as he caught her running. "Slow down! Where do you think you're going?"
"Away from here," Hebe said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Away from you." Hades remained apathetic and completely uninterested in hearing what she had to say.
"Uh-huh, yeah, if only it were that easy. How about you come with me instead?" Hebe looked him up and down as though he were crazy. How could he even suggest such a thing?
"No!" she said, sounding like a petulant child. "I don't want to."
Knowing she had no choice in the matter, Hades only smirked. "I wasn't asking." Hebe did not like the way he was looking at her and she was starting to think that she quite preferred standing on that stage with tomato on her face. It suddenly became clear to her that she was powerless against him, but she was somehow still foolish enough to fight.
"You can't make me!" At this, Hades actually laughed, apparently amused.
"Au contraire, little miss ballerina. Have you forgotten all about this?" With a snap of his fingers, he procured the contract she'd signed and practically shoved it in her face. "You rightfully belong to me and that means you have no freedom of choice."
Before Hebe had time to comprehend what was happening, with another snap of his fingers, Hades had transported the both of them to a different location. Confused, Hebe looked around to see that everything was dark and dismal. There was no questioning where he'd taken her. She had been here before, but she'd had no intention of returning until the day she died.
"You've taken me to the Underworld?" she asked the gloating god. "That's not fair!"
"Oh, it's not?" Hades said, walking past her, and she followed him with her gaze. "You really should have thought about that before you signed the contract. But then, you were so eager to prove yourself a hero that you would have done just about anything, wouldn't you?" He turned to face her anew with that chilling smirk of his and everything suddenly fell into place. She had been looking for a chance to prove that she could be a hero just like her father and then the fire had happened. In a moment of vulnerability, Pain and Panic had presented her with a solution to her problem. Desperate and gullible, she had followed them to Hades who had offered her a chance to be the hero her father couldn't be by saving Mr. Pancras's life. It all seemed too easy. Not like it was fate, but like it had been meticulously designed.
"It was you, wasn't it?" Hebe questioned. "You orchestrated that fire!" Hades seemed pleased that she had figured it out.
"Now she gets it. Too late for second guessing now, though."
"You tricked me!" Hebe all but yelled, but Hades did not so much as flinch.
"And it was all too easy. You heroes are so gullible." She might have been gullible and he might have enjoyed tricking her, but surely there had to be a reason for him doing so? It couldn't have been simply for his own entertainment, could it?
"But why?" Hebe asked. "Why did you do it?" She couldn't think of a single logical motive.
"Oh yes, that's right," Hades said as if he'd just remembered something. "You don't know, do you?" Hebe furrowed her brows in confusion. What was he getting at?
"Know what?" she asked and he began to explain.
"To be fair, this really isn't about you. This is about a personal grudge I hold against your dear parents and especially your father." For a split second, the blue flames on his head turned red and Hebe realized this was more serious than she'd thought. She had to know what this was really about.
"Why? What has my father ever done to you?" The bitter god stopped to look at her and his eyes glowed with an unmistakable thirst for vengeance.
"He was born."
A/N: Updating one day in advance again! So now Hades is back in the game and we've got two more chapters to go before we get to the end. What do you think will happen next?