"You know we're home when you can count how many steady potholes we hit," Megan commented as her and Herkie jumped out of the carriage, Megan shading her eyes to take in everything. "You'd think they'd have fixed that by now,"
"They don't call Thebes the City of Problems for no reason!" Herkie laughed.
"Yeah, but surely Dad did something about it?"
"Even for someone with godlike strength, I imagine it's hard to keep up," He took out his phone. "Hold on, let me take a picture of you by that statue!"
Megan wandered over and posed with her hands on her hips, smirking next to the statue of Dionysus. Herkie tilted his phone every way until he frowned.
"Uh, I don't think we get service here,"'
"What?! Let me see that!" Megan pulled out her own phone and tried to look up something on the Internet before she groaned. "You're right! For all the cool stuff we get from Auradon City, you'd think they'd warm up to the idea of the Internet!"
"I can't take my after-workout Selfies," Herkie sighed.
"I can't take any Selfies in general!" She added.
The two grumbled over the loss of technology for a few minutes before they finally gathered themselves up, grabbed their bags, and raced through the city to their grandparents' house, unable to miss it because of the giant addition on the back despite being in the countryside.
"Grandmom! Grandpa!" Herkie announced as he walked in. "We're back from school!"
"Already? It's time for break?" Their grandmom asked nicely.
"No, we're just bored with school and it's crazy there and we want some relaxation," Megan said. "Do you mind?"
"Of course not! We love you kids!" Their grandpa laughed.
"What's going on at the school? Are they still upset over that whole Family Day fiasco?" Megara asked, wandering into the room. "Seriously, you'd think the children of royals would have better things on their mind,"
"You'd think," Megan huffed.
"It brought you two here, and you know what that means?! More training!" Hercules hugged Herkie and Megan at once, easily scooping the two teens into his arms. "How's school? Oh, don't tell me. You're on all the sports teams, aren't you?" He addressed Herkie, who nodded.
"Yup!" He flexed. "My speed and strength really come in handy! My favourite is probably Tourney though. And basketball!"
"And you?" Meg sat Megan down. "Those two will talk for hours on athletics, so tell me about something more interesting,"
"Boys keep hitting on me. I don't see why they don't stop. I get they mean no harm, but it's annoying to constantly tell them I'm not into boys," Megan adjusted her ponytail, retying it high on top of her head.
Meg rolled her eyes in disgust. "What have I told you about men? They think no means yes and-"
"'Get lost' means 'take me I'm yours!' Yeah, I remember," Megan finished for her mom.
She smirked. "I taught you well, I see. How about school?"
"Good. I'm on the basketball team, and I also sing in choir. My favourite songs to do are gospel tracks,"
"Any friends?"
Megan silenced at that, just looking at Meg.
"Megan?"
"I don't need friends. Most of the girls there are perfect pink princesses with shallow heads."
"But sis, you love pink too! And magenta!" Herkie butted in with a surprised gasp.
"So? It doesn't mean anything. I might like those colours, but I'm definitely not shallow or vain."
"Okay, how is choir?" Meg asked instead, thinking she'd get an answer.
"Good. There's not very many people in it which is weird, but whatever. Mostly tons of those princess types like I said. There's one girl Frederique I think or something. She's a VK so I don't go near her but at least she's not stuck-up."
"Dinner!" Alcmene announced, and everyone sat down to it.
"Uh, forgive me if I'm intruding on something personal, but how was Family Day? You two came home very early and I thought you planned to spend a week there." Amphitryon said.
"Nonsense." Meg said. "People having debates and disagreements and whatnot over families. Or so I hear. When it was going down, we were in the gym and got rounded up to attend a meeting with the Headmistress purely because we were adults."
"We didn't say anything and just left. We thought it wasn't our place," Hercules said quickly.
"But now we're together so it's okay!" Herkie smiled.
"Indeed!" Alcmene smiled back.
"It's why I invited them to Thebes and not Mount Olympus. I love my godly parents, but they need some rustic scenery in them too," Hercules continued.
"You flatter us, boy!" Amphitryon laughed.
Megan just smiled, infected by the good cheer.
###
That night, Megan was woken up by Herkie shaking her. "Hm? What? This better be important,"
"Let's sneak out on Dad's Pegasus! We could see the city so much better!" He spoke.
"No." Megan declined flatly. "Pegasus only likes people with godly blood, remember? All of them are like that."
"And our grandparents are Hera and Zeus! What's more godly than that!?" Herkie was already out the door, making her sigh and throw on a sheer wrap and do her hair in a hurry, racing after him. That was Herkie for you, determined to do whatever he wished without any actual sense. She bet that's why her parents had her, because someone needed to keep an eye on Herkie.
She followed Herkie outside and watched him whistle for Pegasus, doing his favoured bird call. "Come here, Pegasus! Come here, boy!"
Much to Megan's surprise, Pegasus did swoop down, mimicking the call and dancing in place.
"Good boy!" He patted his snout. "Let Sis and I ride you real quick? Okay? Just around the city!" He jumped onto Pegasus' back and gently pulled Megan up too, sitting her behind him.
"This is a bad idea," Megan said, just as Pegasus reared up and took to the skies, zooming through the clouds at a fast speed.
"Maybe you're right...I can't even see anything!" Herkie gasped, tightly grabbing Pegasus' mane. Megan screamed as the wind whooshed past her. She buried her face in Herkie's back.
Pegasus just snickered and flipped himself upside-down, spinning around and doing several dives. The siblings gripped each other tighter, screaming. Pegasus snickered more and remained upside-down, throwing the pair off into a marble fountain.
"Ugh...never again," Megan groaned, clutching her stomach. Somewhere, during the ride, her wrap had been lost, and her hair got undone.
"Yeah...that was not fun," Herkie was pale and woozy, stumbling around. The two trudged out of the fountain, groaning over their soaked hair and clothing. "But who tells Dad?"
"Nobody." Megan wrung out her hair. Pegasus had flown off, finding a flock of birds to chase after. "Pegasus probably won't tell him, but we're definitely not going to either."
Herkie nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan!" He then looked around the city. "But how do we get home?"
"Walk I guess," Megan sighed. "Walk that whole distance..."
"We have to hurry back before they wake up!" Herkie raced past her, making her gasp.
"Hey! Come back here! That's not fair!"
###
The next morning, their grandmom and grandpa decided to take the siblings out to make their own pottery at a local place at the market, which both of them perked up at.
"That's a true Greek tradition you can't go wrong with," Megan said. "I can't believe our school doesn't have a class for it,"
"Me neither!" Herkie said. The two ate lightly and dressed before they joined their grandparents outside, eager to get going. Hercules and Meg opted to stay inside that day, not needing anything from the market. The siblings walked beside their grandparents, staying by the cart, until they approached the market and Megan ran ahead.
"It's so busy!" She said in amazement. The shops were open-aired and arranged in a circle, with shoppers bustling around. Some teenagers were running through the square, playing discus. "Where's the pottery shop?"
"Up there," Alcmene pointed it out and they walked inside, finding a man cleaning some of his wares.
"Greetings to you, what brings you here today? Anything catch your eye?" He asked politely.
"We're looking to have the kids make their own vase," Amphitryon said. The man nodded.
"Of course! It's a bit cramped in here, but we still have the tables set out..." He led Megan and Herkie to a long table in the middle of the shop, surrounded on all sides by shelves filled to the brim with pottery. They sat across from each other and got wet clay slapped down in front of themselves messily. "I have a few templates available if you need them!"
Megan began to work on hers, slowly shaping it into a vase. Herkie got a look of sheer concentration on his face as he worked, smoothing out the cracks in the clay. The two were quiet for a bit until Herkie finally grinned over his project.
"Done!" He motioned to it.
"The heck is that supposed to be?"
"One of those vases with a super huge top but thin bottom,"
"It looks like a plate," She deadpanned.
"Oh," Herkie looked at it. "I could still paint something on it,"
Megan etched out a simple scene from the stories she remembered, drawing a scene of Persephone happily sitting in a field of flowers, so flowery herself she almost blended in. She spun the vase around a few times as she did so, shaping the handles and making sure she was satisfied with it. Herkie had already tossed his into the kiln and raced off to play with the boys.
"That brother of yours...he's not an actual troublemaker, but trouble still follows him," The man shook his head.
"Yeah. That's what happens when you inherit Dad's big heart and clumsiness and powers," She motioned to her vase. "I'm ready for this to be fired up,"
"Okay, just come back in half an hour, it'll be ready,"
Megan nodded and wandered through the market, seeing her grandparents buying food. Most of the shops were for weapons or armor or decorations, though she did stop at a shoe store selling an eye-catching pair of violet flats.
"You like? Shipped straight from Auradon City." The shopkeeper bragged. "Most of them are boring sandals, but these are unique,"
"I want them. How much?" Megan asked instantly.
"Hmmm...10,000 Drachma."
Her jaw dropped, unused to the exchange rate. "That much for shoes?!"
"Shoes from Auradon City, the capital! And they're the only pair,"
Megan knew that was a lie, everyone in the capital wore shoes like that, and she knew that there they would be less expensive too. On the other hand, though, she didn't want to wait to get some at school, she wanted them right then and there.
"Fine," She forked over the money and held the shoes close to her chest, wrapping them up in her shawl.
"Look out!" Herkie cried as the discus sailed over her head and slammed into the display, knocking over several pairs. "Uh, sorry!" He winced and picked the discus up.
Megan just shook her head and took her vase when it was ready, wincing at how heavy it was. She handed it off to Herkie when they met back up with their grandparents.
"How was the day?" Amphitryon asked nicely.
"Fun! Except for the fact I kept knocking stuff over by accident. And I messed up on my vase. It turned into a plate," Herkie winced again.
"Just like your old man!"
"I bought a nice pair of shoes, and look at my vase!" Megan said. "I'm going to use it to decorate my dorm at school," Her dormmates might complain, but she really couldn't care less. Part of it was her room too and thus she could do whatever she wished with it. It wasn't taking up that much room.
###
Lilo was saddened that most of her classes had been generic study periods over the past week or so. She knew the teachers were trying their best despite the awkward aura but come on! Somebody talk to somebody already! The only fun she was having was with her swim team, even though she found Coach Shelly to be unbothered and childishly cruel at the best of times.
She sat with her friends during Magical History, paying attention but also swapping notes with them, glad the class was one of the few that wasn't segregated by year but rather just offered in different time slots.
"Now we get to a more modern period of our lessons. Most make the argument that magic no longer exists in some form due to many people being unable to channel it, but that is nonsense I say! A key moment on our lesson today is the power of transfiguration and transformation, one of the most common and powerful that takes on many forms. The most famous example is of course the magic that Cinderella's Fairy Godmother used to create her ball gown and shoes, but there are several other types," Mister Merlin explained. "But I've been doing all the talking up here! Does anyone have any good examples of their own?" He scanned the room once several students put their hands up eagerly. "Yes, you!"
"The magic that Aunt Ariel and Melody used to become mermaids and humans and whatever else!" Arabella answered.
"Correct!"
"Because of her story, many other merpeople and humans wished to see each other's worlds. So Grandfather found a way to recreate the magic used to grant both groups their wishes! It also makes my life far more comfortable, as both of my parents are merpeople..."
"I can't believe there's still people who are confused about that," Melody said. "I can obviously walk; do I look like I have a tail to you?!"
Arabella laughed. "Your dream to become a mermaid is so tied to you though,"
Melody returned to her notes, tapping her pencil against her notebook.
"Anyone else?" Mister Merlin scanned the room again and pointed to someone random. "You!"
"Um, The Blue Fairy with Pinocchio?" Pacha guessed. "She literally transformed him into a real boy, so does that count?"
"Yes, actually! It's not the sort of thing we usually think of when it comes to that type of magic, but it counts and is another important example." He nodded in approval. "The first time, she brought Pinocchio to life but he was a puppet. Once he sacrificed himself, that's when he became a real boy. Transformation."
"Wow, I got that right?! Well, I guess I always had it in me," Pacha grinned.
"I don't know if I would've gotten it right," Lonnie admitted, sitting next to him. "I come from a realm with no magic, so sometimes I can't keep the facts straight,"' She ran her hands through her hair, never tiring of that activity.
"What Dad's old advisor did wasn't magic, that's for sure. It was science, she just made it look like magic. But it was still transformations," he said. "So I get it. I like it that way though. Magic is unpredictable,"
"I think that's a good place to stop for now. You all can just talk amongst yourselves," Mister Merlin adjusted his hat and went back to his desk, making the others talk and close their notebooks.
"I honestly feel so bad for everyone!" Arabella sighed. "With all that's happened,"
"Same! But do the teachers have to be so awkward too?! I miss actual classes!" Lilo complained.
"Hey, we don't even get homework anymore! That's a good thing, right?" Mike tried to soothe her.
"You know what? Let's skip the rest of school and go to the community pool. They just installed a wave pool I want to try,"
"Skipping classes?! Is that a good idea?!" Arabella asked.
"Why not? Lilo's right, most of our classes right now are just study periods, we won't be missing anything," Melody said. "I'm ready when you are!"
"Great! We take our lunch with us!" Lilo decided. The group made no attempt to keep their voices down, yet somehow Mister Merlin didn't hear them or didn't seem to care.
Unlike Melody, Lilo didn't actually wear her swimsuit under her clothes, so once that class let out, she headed back to her dorm to change, putting on a solid green one-piece and tying her hair into a low ponytail. She thought about grabbing her board, just briefly, but then decided against it. It wasn't the beach, just the pool! She did grab her camera though, wearing it around her neck, then slipped her clothes back on and headed out to meet her friends.
"Let's go!" She cheered, and her friends followed her on the bus to the community pool. As she got off the bus though, she was aware of someone staring intensely at her. "Huh?"
"What happened?" Arabella asked nervously, wondering why Lilo stopped.
"Come out! I know you're watching us!" She waved her hands around in a threatening manner, and eventually a tall but lanky girl walked out of the bushes, dressed entirely in grey.
"Who are you, strange girl? Stranger! We've never seen you before," Ally questioned.
"She was at Family Day!" Melody said. "The one who ripped her veil off!"
"Claudine." Claudine said firmly. "Claudine Frollo. I'm sorry to be so direct but I couldn't think of who else to turn to. Even though I am far older and your elder, I want to...dance. Have fun. You five have so much fun, I'm jealous. Show me!"
"But won't your dad be mad at us if we did?" Arabella asked.
"He can't reach me here." Claudine said firmly. "I don't want to be scared. I don't want to live my life for him, I want to live it for my mother!" She clutched her Rosary. "He can never take back the words he said to me, but I can make them meaningless,"
"I like your determination!" Lilo decided. "You came to the right place! Problem is, we're going swimming, and I don't think you're up for that,"
"Hey, why don't Ally and I take her out somewhere? We're bad at swimming anyway, and you three get to enjoy the pool," Mike suggested.
"I see nothing wrong with that!"
Claudine nodded.
"Then it's settled. Let's go!" Mike and Ally gently led Claudine off into the downtown area while the other three waved them off, heading to the community pool. The three paid their way in and changed in the locker room, emerging in their swimsuits. Arabella had a magenta one-piece that had a frilled skirt attached and frills around her neck as well, while Melody wore a white bikini top and bottom with non-descript green gym shorts on top. She also kept her hair pulled back into a ponytail.
"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Lilo headed over to the diving board, doing a few jumps before she jumped in gracefully, smiling. Arabella did a backflip that made her skirt fan out, and Melody spun around in the air. Once they came up, they laughed at each other and swam over to the shallow end, their tails visible under the water. "I just wish this was the beach, then we could surf,"
"I always thought surfing was more your sister's thing," Melody said.
"Yeah, but I like it too! It's fun!" Lilo noticed a play area for younger kids and waded over there, spinning around under a fountain showering water onto her. "Too bad you guys can't try this, because you can't stand up!"
"How rude!" Arabella gasped in mock offense, putting her hands on her hips. Melody snickered and shot her cousin a look, then the two dove underwater. Lilo remained under the shower, oblivious until she spotted Arabella's tail and tried to run away from her.
"Got ya!" Melody and Arabella shouted at the same time, grabbing Lilo's legs and pulling her under the water. They then let go, allowing her to float to the surface.
"How unfair!" Lilo quipped back at them, making the three girls giggle.
"Is there anybody here you want to take pictures of?" Arabella asked.
"Hmmm..." Lilo looked around, swimming to different areas of the pool. Not very many were there due to the cooler weather, and the few that were seemed to be nondescript families. "No...they're all normal,"
"Darn," Melody teased.
"Too bad there's no waterslide here or something, I'd love to go down it," Arabella pulled herself up and sat on the ledge of the pool, dipping her tail into the water. "They're fun and not as cumbersome with my tail."
"But you still can't get back out," Lilo reminded her teasingly, getting splashed by her friend's green tail.
"Oh shush!"
Melody dove back underwater and snuck up behind Lilo again, dunking her under the water. "Got you again!"
Lilo just laughed and managed to swim away from her, ducking her head underwater to deter her.
The three girls swam around and splashed each other for several hours before Melody suddenly grew tired and pulled herself out of the pool, rubbing her forehead.
"I think I lost my hair tie!" Lilo gasped, grabbing her hair.
"That's why you cut your hair. I never have to worry!" Arabella boasted.
"But who's ever seen a short-haired mermaid? Her strands can't flow through the water," Melody teased.
"Can we get something to eat? Like crab? I'm hungry,"
"I'm not," Melody slowly stood up and took a few steps once her legs returned, trying to keep herself steady. "Honestly, today was fun but I want to go home."
Lilo thought it was still early in the day and there was still plenty of stuff they could do but hauled herself out of the water in agreement anyway.
"Today was fun!" Arabella echoed. "We should do it again, but next time invite even more people!" Once her legs returned, she ran over to the concession area, her skirt flying behind her.
Melody sat down on a beach chair and played with her ponytail.
"Mermaids eat crabs?" Lilo finally asked, making Melody burst out in laughter.
"Don't you eat livestock? It's like that. We raise special seafood for that purpose."
"I just eat whatever. Except alien food. Tried it once but that was somehow the one thing that didn't agree with me,"
"And yet you put spicy pepperoni and ice cream in your oatmeal!"
The two girls laughed.
"What?!" Arabella asked in horror, holding a small cup of shrimp. Her face just sent the two spiraling into even more giggles.
###
Meanwhile, Mike and Ally treated Claudine with care and took her to the town square which was bustling. She eyed the stone sidewalk and carefree animals and looked back at the two, helpless.
"You've never danced before?" Mike guessed.
"No, but I have watched." She spoke. "My city has festivals, especially in the weeks leading up to Lent. The whole square comes alive with music and colour and dancing...it's amazing. I've never participated but I'd watch from my high tower. My mother would be down there, amazing everyone with her magic tricks,"
"It sounds positively amazing!" Ally praised.
"I don't know if I could dance here though."
Mike looked around the square, seeing people walk past with no hurry. He took out his phone and scrolled through it, finding a playlist of upbeat folk music to dance to. He placed it on a random bench and held Ally's hands. "We just have to get everyone going!" He tapped his feet and swayed her to the rhythm, starting slow. Claudine just sat on the bench, watching them.
"You know I trip over my feet," Ally said, but Mike spun her around.
"That stuff doesn't matter in country dances!" He grinned and they twirled around more. Some people stopped and watched in interest, a few joining in. Others took out instruments they had on them and began playing.
"Whoo! Now we're getting it!" Mike cheered and widened the circle to grab the hands of more people, stepping in place. Ally kept her steps slow, getting swept up in another crowd.
Claudine toyed with her crucifix, pulling some objects out of her dress folds. One was the crescent necklace she got months ago, and the other was a sheer purple scarf patterned with astronomical shapes. She gulped as she begun to slip the necklace around her neck, letting it entangle with her cross. She frowned and pocketed the crucifix instead, telling herself God would still love her.
The music picked up to a faster pace and the crowd clapped and cheered in response. Mike spun in and out of different groups, tapping his feet on the ground. Ally was picked up and twirled around in the air, dipping down low to the ground. She joined hands with Mike again and the two spun each other around, hooking their arms up.
Claudine jumped in at that point, tripping because she went slow to try and memorize the moves.
"You can do it!" Mike cheered her on. Ally offered her a reassuring smile. Claudine took a deep breath and spun around, allowing strangers to take her hands gently and dance her through the circle.
"I am. I'm doing it!" She gasped in awe as she clapped her hands to the beat, kicking her knees up. She smiled genuinely and grabbed other people to join the circle, spinning around with them. A few times she got to dance with either Mike or Ally or even both again, smiling at them.
When the song ended, everyone posed with their hands in the air, gasping and sweaty but smiling happily. They went along their own ways after that. Claudine collapsed on a bench in exhaustion.
"How was it?" Mike asked.
"Fast." Claudine slowly removed her habit and let her curls fall down her back. "For once, I felt connected to my mother." She retied her hair up with the scarf, fingering her necklace. "Father would say I look like my harlot mother, or even worse words. But I think I look...nice." She struggled with the word.
"Yes, you look positively wonderland-iful! And better for it!" Ally praised her.
###
Hiro was loving his time in Zena so far. While he wasn't much of a social type, he did make a few friends, most notably a cheerful girl named Riley who was super into hockey. He decorated his room and even got along well with the Parrs, who were the most normal family he could ever hope for. Well, he thought, anyway.
Sometimes all of them were late getting home from work and school and sometimes didn't arrive home at all, leaving a note explaining to Hiro what to do for dinner. He'd hear Mr. and Mrs. Parr whispering in the hallways at night sometimes, talking about how 'he has to know' 'he can't know' and he never knew what they meant. He didn't think they were doing anything bad, but he didn't understand the secrecy.
He had a secret of his own though.
Sometimes he'd hear on the news about some trouble brewing and he'd sneak away and put on his outfit, suit up Baymax, and fly off on him to deal with the troublemaker. It never took him very long and he couldn't do much without the rest of the team, but he knew he still had to keep it secret. The Parrs were a normal family who provided for him like he was their own. Superheroes were a foreign concept to them, much like San Fransokyo was the only place in Auradon that had them. He couldn't risk them finding out. Luckily he had Baymax to take care of any injuries he sustained during his fights.
"How's school?" Mrs. Parr asked one particular evening, looking over everyone.
"It's going good. I mean, university is boring overall so I don't have much to say," Violet answered. She wore a green headband to keep her hair out of her eyes.
"I get it. It's just high school but nothing fascinating happens. Except for science. Right now we're doing a robotics unit and I'm so excited! I'm going to make a prototype that analyzes your cravings and gets you something from the fridge," Hiro gushed.
"You think robots are cool?" Dash asked. "I guess they can be, but sometimes we have to fight against-"
Mrs. Parr loudly cleared her throat.
"Sounds like you've settled in well at school," Mr. Parr said. "That's great news. I know how tough it can be to completely uproot and start a new life, even if it's only for a little bit, so I'm happy to hear it,"
"Yeah. Back home I wasn't very popular in school. My friends were just the friends of my older brother. And they're nice and all, but they're so much older than me..they have their own lives," Hiro said. "The only thing we really have in common is s-science. Yeah, they're all scientists in their own ways,"
Violet stabbed at her food.
"I know it's not my business, but where do you guys go most nights? You guys do family game nights or something?"
"Yeah, game nights. We go to the bowling alley," Mr. Parr responded. "Trust me, it's nothing you'd be interested in,"
"I mean, I've never been bowling before, so I wouldn't mind coming once,"
"Bowling! I wanna bowl!" Jack-Jack announced from his high chair. "Bowl with monsters!"
"Huh?"
"It's a movie he saw," Violet said, still moving her food around on her plate.
"I'm not hungry anymore. I'm going to bed," Hiro bowed his head and they sent him off, though Hiro shut his door silently. "I don't know why, I just get the feeling they're hiding something from me...and I'm hiding something from them. But how would they handle knowing I'm a superhero?" He looked up at Baymax.
"You. Should. Tell. Them. The. Truth." Baymax said. "Keeping. A. Lie. Will. Only. Lead. To. Guilt. Which. Can. Affect. Sleeping. And. Eating. Patterns."
"I know! But being a superhero, it's a huge thing to just suddenly spring onto someone!" He looked out the window instead. "Next time. Next time I go out to fight crime, I will tell them," He looked back at Baymax. "I just wish the others could be here, they'd know what to do,"
"Platonic. Friendship. Is. Very. Important." Baymax agreed. He flashed Hiro a picture on his belly of the whole team together, posed for a photo in silly ways. As usual, Hiro was in the middle, Honey Lemon hugging him teasingly.
"I hope they're all doing okay back home,"