The next night, Hades summoned Myrrhine and the Imps to inform them of the new plan. He sat on his throne, the Witch leaning against it while the two imps were down.
"I have a great Scheme" he informed with a grin. "Hercules has been put in charge of the sun. We steal the sun from the kid, make him look bad, make Zeus look worse…ensuring that he has…*moves hand in circles trying to think of the world* no-confidence vote by the next meeting and Bada-Bing! Zeus gets dumped and I take his place. Isn't this brilliant? Come on! It's brilliant!"
He looked at the Imps, who barely paid any attention. Pain was busy trying to make fart noises with his hand under his armpit while Panic watched. Suddenly, they stopped, and they looked at their boss.
"Were you talking to us?" Pain asked.
Myrrhine immediately backed off the throne, knowing what was coming next as a second later, half of Hades was engulfed by orange flames. Only his eyes and sharp white teeth could be seen, giving a frightening image to the two minions.
He managed to calm down, but his hair flames still stayed a bright orange as he leaned to their height. "Just still the sun from Hercules! You think you can do that for me? Don't worry, Myrrhine will help".
"I will what?" she asked, stepping forward as Hades leaned back on his chair.
"You heard me, babe. You will help them steal the sun or be more precise, you will ensure Hercules messes it up so they can still the sun" The girl blinked, wondering how she could do that. She then looked at the minions who were unsure as well.
I mean, he was talking about the godamn sun. The giant sphere of melting hot…stuff that could melt you if you touched it. Now, she actually wondered about the IQ of the gods since they were the ones to put Hercules, Hercules, responsible for such a task.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Up to the sky already" Hades said, snapping all 3 of them from their own thoughts.
Suddenly, the faces of the Imps changed to that of happiness. "Does that mean…?" Pain asked.
"Yes…. *sigh* You can take the Harpies".
The duo grabbed hands and started to spin while jumping, singing from joy which made the young Witch cringe because of their very off tone, true torture to someone who enjoyed good music as much as she did.
Hades just leaned on the side of his throne, watching them dance away happily. Myrrhine was about to follow when his fingers wrapped themselves around her wrist.
What was with people and grabbing her wrist?
She stopped and was quickly pulled back, ending up losing her balance and falling on Hade's laps. She cleared her throat, feeling instantly uncomfortable at the position. Yet, the lord of the underworld didn't seem to mind.
"What is it?"
"I forgot to congratulate you on the great news. Wouldn't be aware of Zeus plan if it weren't for you and your spy skills," he grabbed a cheek and started to pinch it, but she slapped his hand away.
"What am I, some sort of baby?" she asked, rubbing the sore spot while the man looked intrigued.
"Oh, did I hurt your feeling?" he grinned, bringing his face closer to her, making her blush.
She simply turned her body and jumped off his laps, wanting to be at a fair distance from him. "Yes and right now I will go and cry. I am not the imps you know" she said, hand on her waist.
Hades enjoyed watching her click, seeing the different phases she passed through. She could be sassy and speak back, be a total pain or fully obedient. It was funny how she immediately reacted whenever he came into her private space.
It was clear from day one that she didn't like too much contact. Pain and Panic had tried that many times and ended up getting beaten by her. Of course, she never truly raised her hand on him because she knew the consequences.
Yet, Hades wanted to see if she would ever cross that line. However, now it was not the time for him to mess around. She had a job to do, a very important one.
"Speaking of them, you might want to hurry".
She looked towards where they had gone, hearing the sound of Harpies and knew that her time was running out. She was quickly covered by red smoke, immediately taking the form of an eagle before flying away from the throne room and towards the stairs that led to the exit, unaware of the fascinating look Hades was giving her.
Just like the imps, she could also transform but only to animals. Her mother could transform others thanks to special potions and magic, but Myrrhine was born with the innate ability to combine the two and transforming herself.
That was one of the main reasons why Hades had chosen her since the transformation was only the tip of the iceberg of what she could do. Well, of what she would eventually be able to do since she was still training.
By the time she flew above Athens, the lights of the sun had already started to be seen. Making sure to fly at safe space, she watched mid-air as the sun chariot was pulled by the two mighty white horses.
Hercules was trying hard to control it, flying too low many times and burning the forest beneath him. It was a disaster and Myrrhine wanted to facepalm if was possible, but she needed her wings to stay on the air.
She hated to ruin the fun, knowing that this would hurt Hercules, but she had no choice. She was ordered to do a task and unfortunately, the two imps were there to ensure that all went smooth. If she was alone, perhaps she could find an excuse but right now if she tried, most likely end up facing dire consequences and a good threat to her wellbeing.
Leaving a mental sigh, she watched as Hercules passed above them and she almost got burnt by the big ball of heat. However, she was fast to fly lower before flying right after it. Flapping her wings, she managed to catch up with the chariot only for Hercules to somehow slam the reins by mistake, while he was busy showing off to Paris.
That resulted in the horses running faster, leaving her behind. Frustrated, she took a different path, trying to catch up with the fast chariot. Thankfully, Hercules started to lose control and she managed to find her opening.
Attacking fast, she aimed for the chain that connected the sun to the chariot before using her sharp claws to break them. It was easier than she expected and immediately the sun started to descend back.
Pain and Panic, on top of the harpies, quickly joined the fun and grabbed the chain before pulling the sun away. Myrrhine turned her head, looking in the direction the chariot went, and she followed, wanting to check on Hercules.
She arrived too late, only catching a glimpse of him slamming the chariot against the side of a mountain and breaking the reins that held the horses. The mighty animals galloped across the sky and the wonder boy started to fall to the ground.
He passed through branches before landing on the hard ground. Thankfully, his godly heritage kept him safe and only resulted in few bruises and maybe a fractured rib in a worst-case scenario.
Since he was alright, Myrrhine flew back to Athens since she had a job to attend. She wasn't exactly sure if that would be possible, only imagining the consequences of the loss of the sun.
And she was right.
Athens was in turmoil, constant chaos whenever you dared to look. Without the sun, the sky had turned back to midnight black of the night but with barely any stars. Without the sun, many could not be seen, only faint figures and shadows.
It had not taken long for the citizens of the capital to realise the benefit of it. Grabbing the chance, they started stealing. Without the light and the panic that was everywhere, it was the easiest thing to do.
Instead of waiting for money to buy stuff they wanted or liked or expensive stuff they could never afford. Myrrhine even noticed people with pitchforks and torches, destroying stuff and acting as if monsters were about to attack them.
Well, it wouldn't be unlikely for that scenario to happen. Monsters and creature did live across Greece and the sudden darkness could make them appear for a quick snack. She actually wondered what the gods were doing and why no one was interfering or something.
She flew lower before landing behind a column. In a small cloud of red smoke, she had taken her human form and walked towards the Information Booth, Cassandra was still in. She seemed to enjoy the chaos around as she handed a pitchfork to a woman.
"Having fun?" the witch asked, leaning against the booth.
One of the perks of working in the underworld, nothing truly fazed you any longer. Especially, the flames and the darkness that was the main background and theme of the market. It was like the underworld, with more alive people and fancier architecture.
"A lot. You have no idea how much I do" Cassandra replied with a smile.
"Trust me, I can see it," she said, leaning on her booth with one hand bent while looking at the chaos around her. Soon enough, she spotted Hercules coming their way. He looked so lost and guilty, it actually hurt her heart somehow.
Mostly because she knew she was responsible for this. It was odd, guilt was never something she ever felt until she was forced to enrol into the Academy. Now, she was becoming more human, and she could imagine her mother mocking her if she would ever see her like that.
Hercules noticing them, walked towards the two girls while being careful of avoiding fallen columns. "Girls, what is going on here?"
A piece of rock was shot and Myrrhine sidestepped to the last minute, dodging it. However, Hercules was not so lucky and was hit by it on the stomach, sending him flying back.
"I do my job and get to watch some chaos as well" Cassandra replied.
Myrrhine watched him walking back to them. "Well, my job will only exist once this chaos is over and there are casualties. But to answer your question wonder boy, 'In utter darkness, lies Chaos'".
Hercules looked at her lost for a moment, not getting her philosophical approach and her metaphor, which made her lose a sigh and lower her head slightly. "The sun is gone. No sun, no light. No light, no one can see you when you steal and take things for free".
His mouth took an O shape finally getting it. However, his face quickly showed the feelings of guilt, deeper than before once he connected the dots. He was the root of this chaos after all.
"Oh no, this is all my fault," he said, covering his face with one hand. Then, a familiar voice reached them.
"Unhand those pretty things you thief," Icarus said, his voice coming from the store he was assigned to work in.
Hercules wasted no time to rush to his aid, leaving the two women alone. Myrrhine pushed herself off the booth and stretched her limps slightly. Transformations did take a small toll on her body after months of no practice.
"Well then. I am off. See you later I presume" she said, not sure exactly what else to say or what to expect in happening.
Giving a small wave she started to walk away from the booth and the agora, dodging flying obstacles and people as she walked.