There was something unnerving about how devoid of life the cavern was; the heat and threat of an eruption had driven away any animals such as bats that could have called the cavern home.

The tunnel split off into chambers as they progress; Daphne was keen on following the direct route to the Lyre, but Shaggy couldn't resist a peek down an adjoining tunnel, and he froze in his tracks.

"Zoinks!"

"What is it?"

"Gold!"

Daphne veered off-course to take a look for herself, her eyes widening. That was the unmistakable glint of gold.

"Well, Vincent did say there were all sorts of treasures in these caverns…" she noted. "I guess it's to be expected."

"You know… I bet there might be magical items in some of these tunnels that can help us get the Lyre from the Hydra without letting it know," Shaggy pointed out, heading down the parallel tunnel.

"Shaggy!" Daphne protested, but she shook her head and followed him, nearly crashing into him as he stopped short. "What is it?"

"It's a pair of golden sandals!" he exclaimed. "With wings on them!"

"They may be gold, but they certainly aren't in vogue," Daphne commented. "You wouldn't see that in Paris."

"No, but you would in Old Athens," Shaggy said. "Something about them seems familiar."

"You're right—these are from those stories that Vincent is always telling us," Daphne realized. "They're the Talaria of Hermes—Hermes could fly because of his sandals and his helmet, both of which have wings on them. Hermes does lend out his sandals; it's how Perseus was able to get the drop on Medusa—he used Hermes's shoes, Hades's Helmet of Invisibility, and Athena's Mirror Shield."

"Like, wow—so how did they end up here?" Shaggy wondered.

"Well, Medusa's sisters are immortal, and one of them hid her mask with a Cyclops here in Sicily—remember how we had to teleport into one of these caves and get the mask from the… Cyclops…"

She trailed off, and Shaggy gulped.

"Like, that Cyclops and the Mask of Euryale are still here somewhere."

"So we have to avoid waking that up, too," Daphne sighed. "I think we'll be okay, though—we didn't need the anti-heat potion for that cave, so it's probably father away from the volcano than the one we're in. Of course, that doesn't rule out the Cyclops coming here for whatever reason…"

"Then let's get that Lyre and get outta here," Shaggy gulped.

"Right—but I'm taking the sandals," Daphne said. "They might be helpful in a pinch when we really need to be stealthy."

"Right," Shaggy echoed. He paused as they doubled back. "Hang on, you said that Perseus used these sandals, Athena's shield, and Hades's helmet?"

"Yeah, that's…" Daphne trailed off again. "Wait, Hades helped Perseus defeat Medusa…? No, wait—I think Vincent mentioned that Athena borrowed the helmet during the Trojan War."

"Still, that would mean that Hades was once on her side if she has it," Shaggy pointed out. "I wonder what happened…"

"I remember she mentioned something to Vincent about an uprising, and that Hades had been against them since then," Daphne said. "Something must've happened that turned Hades against the other Olympians."

"Well, that's a shame," Shaggy sighed. "Imagine if Hades wasn't against the other Olympians—Asmodeus would be on his own, and Vincent could just turn into a Paladin and overpower him, and we could lock him back up in the Chest of Demons."

"…Say that again," Daphne instructed.

"I said if Hades wasn't against the other Olympians, Asmodeus would be on his own, and Vincent could just…" Shaggy trailed off, realizing where she was going with this. "Oh. Oh, no. Daphne, no—come on. I know you've got a real knack for persuading people, but there's no way you're going to change a Greek God's mind—and especially Hades; I think Orpheus was the only mortal who ever pulled that off, and even that didn't end up working out for him, either."

"You don't have to tell me that—Hades told me that himself, remember? When I was begging him not to take Vincent? 'You are not the first to beg for the life of another—though I will admit that a mortal begging for the life of a warlock is unique.' But the fact that he acknowledged it at all—"

"Daphne, you know another big part of all those stories Vincent tells us?" Shaggy interrupted. "It's the fact that any mortal who thinks they can match wits with a God ends up regretting it."

"I know," she sighed. "But you also know that I'd do anything to make sure Vincent gets out of this alright."

"Well, so would I!" Shaggy pointed out. "We've all stuck our necks out for him more than once—just like he's done for us. But Hades isn't like anything we've had to deal with before!"

"I know, but—"

She was cut off as Vincent's face appeared in the crystal she was holding, his expression unreadable.

"…Oh, no…" Daphne winced, realizing that he would've heard everything. "Vincent, I was just speculating—"

"This is not the time to discuss this," he said, calmly but firmly. He was hiding whatever emotions he had excellently. "Get back to your task at hand."

"Yes, Sir!" Shaggy exclaimed, saluting.

"We will," Daphne added, an apologetic expression on her face.

Vincent nodded in approval and ended the transmission, and Daphne turned back to Shaggy.

"He's right, though—we've got work to do," she said.

Shaggy nodded and followed her back through the main tunnel, the green light of the crystal guiding them onward.