True to his word, Hermes did not go back to Olympus. Instead, he stayed in the mortal realm, spending time with his children and visiting those being punished. It was novel for Hermes to have so much time to himself. He enjoyed resting for a week or two and then he dove into intellectual pursuits across the world. And for the first time since he became the messenger of the gods, he completely shut off all calls from the immortals. The silence was disturbing at first, but he quickly grew to like it. It was nice to not have gods and goddesses screaming for him all the time. 'No,' he thought pleasantly, 'they are screaming, but I finally can't hear them!'
It was with great joy that he took on the form of Mercury permanently, at least for the near future. He met Hercules every single day after school, and he treated his brother, his cousin, and Cassandra and Icarus to excitements and pleasures across the entire country. From Athens to Delphi, Hermes took great pains to show the teens the wonders of the world, and they were so appreciative of everything.
One afternoon, Hermes was leaning against the gates of Prometheus Academy, waiting for Hercules with two beautiful women at his side. One was tall with rich chestnut hair hanging around her beautiful face. Her eyes were an enchanting shade of brown, intense and focused on everyone that passed. The other woman was shorter, softer in face and body, and she had brilliant green eyes and raven hair with a slight wave. Hercules, Triton, Icarus, and Cassandra approached with some hesitation. The women were clearly powerful, though it was an almost transcendent quality that was intangible.
Hercules smiled at the women, and they both smiled back, the short one with kindness, the tall one with some measure of aloofness.
"Who are these young women?" Hercules asked politely.
"This is Tyche," Hermes said brightly, gesturing at the shorter woman. He touched the hand of the taller woman. "And this is Angelia. Let's get out of here before I say any more."
They strode away from the school and toward the nearest forest. Hermes and the teens talked about the school day while the women led the way. Hercules was fascinated by them. They held themselves tall and moved with grace and authority. Most of the women he knew were soft and gentle, and yet these two had a hardness about them, like they had been around for years. And then the boy knew who they had to be. He waited until they were under the boughs of the forest before asking Hermes.
"So are they your daughters?"
Tyche turned and smiled with pleasure. "I knew you'd get it. You owe me dinner, Angie."
Angelia turned and appraised the teens. "You know the odds are always with you, Ty."
"I get it from Daddy," she told Hercules.
"So, what are you supposed to be goddess over?" Triton asked eagerly.
"Chance. Fortune. Whatever you want to call it," Tyche said, pleased. "I got it because of Daddy's luck."
"And you?" Triton asked, turning to Angelia.
"I focus on bringing news and proclamations," Angelia said briskly.
"Proclaim your loss then," a male voice said, a smirk in its tone.
Hercules turned to see Pan sitting on a boulder, a pan flute in his hands. He grinned at his younger sisters. Tyche snickered.
"Heya, Pansy. Still making trouble for the nymphs?"
"Always, Ty."
There was obvious affection between Hermes's children. Hercules had several questions, but he was hesitant in speaking them. He didn't want to offend any of them. But Hermes always gave him the answers he sought, so he spoke up.
"Do they have the same mother?" he asked quietly.
Tyche, Angelia, and Pan turned their eyes upon him, curiosity in their gazes. Pan was the one who answered first.
"My mother became a tree shortly after she gave birth to me," he said casually. "Apollo cursed her."
Angelia studied him. "I'm the daughter of Chione. She was a mortal woman who loved Daddy very much. Unfortunately, Apollo liked her, too, and raped her. I have a brother by her and Dad as well, Autolycus. He's around here somewhere, probably with Hades's helmet of invisibility. It's his most prized possession. Mom died over three hundred years ago."
Tyche smiled patiently. "My mother is Aphrodite herself, though she is no longer aware of my existence. It doesn't matter, though. She never liked me much. I'm not beautiful enough for her."
Hermes grew sharp at once. "You are beautiful in your own way, Ty," he said firmly. "Just because you're not thin as a wraith doesn't mean you're not beautiful. Chione was plump, too, and I loved her just the same. Your sister isn't exactly beautiful according to Aphrodite, either. Too muscular, and her focus is on things that Aphrodite would consider too masculine and not worth her time. Each of you is individual and unique, and I love you anyway."
Pan flashed a smile. "Dad, you always say stuff like that."
"Because it's true," Hermes replied, placing his hands on his hips. "Auto, don't even think about it."
There was a muttered curse, and Hercules and his friends looked around for the source, but nobody new had joined them. At least they thought nobody had joined them, but then a shimmering outline was revealed as a young man tugged off a rich blue helmet edged with gold and painted with silver, which he tucked under his arm. Like Tyche, he had thick black hair, but his eyes were grey, not green. He was, as Hermes had put it, as thin as a wraith. Ropy muscles were defined in his arms, and he looked coolly at Hercules and the others.
"Hermy won't come out, Dad," he said blandly.
"Understandable," Hermes said, but he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Thank Aphrodite for that." He raised his voice. "Hermaphroditus, please come here."
"No!" somebody responded.
The voice was strange, and Hercules wondered if it was a man or a woman that spoke. It could have been either.
"Hermy, please," Hermes said, his voice tired.
"No, Dad. They'll stare at me. Everybody does except the nymphs!"
"They stared at first," Autolycus said calmly, striding over to sit by Pan. "Anybody would," he added.
"Auto," Hermes said, a warning in his voice.
"Come on, Dad. It's not surprising. The sooner he comes out to meet them, the sooner they'll stop staring at him."
Hermes gritted his teeth, torn between his two sons. Finally, he sighed. "Fine, Hermy. Stay hidden."
There was a long pause, then a cloaked figure came slinking out from behind a large tree. He was hooded, but there was something off about the way he moved. He stopped beside his father and crossed his arms under his breasts.
"Wait, what?" Hercules said, too stunned to think straight.
Pan and Autolycus grinned. "Meet our brother, Hermaphroditus," Pan said. "The man who was turned into a hermaphrodite because he rejected a crazy nymph."
Hercules didn't know what a hermaphrodite was, but as the man pulled his hood down, he saw a face that was both masculine, with a small beard, yet also femininely beautiful. His body was also torn between masculinity and femininity. He had a womanly shape, but he was obviously strong and had broad shoulders like a man. And as the group of teens stared, he scowled at them.
"Yeah, yeah, look at the freak," he spat, his face red with humiliation.
"What happened?" Triton asked, a tinge of horror in his tone.
"It won't happen to you," Hermes said, wrapping an arm around the man's shoulders. "Aphrodite owed a nymph a favor, and the nymph desired to never be parted from Hermaphroditus. Aphrodite decided to have some fun with that request."
He sounded bitter and angry, and the faces of all of his children darkened. Autolycus spoke first.
"At least she had the excuse of not knowing that he was her son." He turned to Hercules. "Dad had already wiped their memories of us. Ironic that this happened, considering that he was the child that Aphrodite loved. He was so handsome."
"Mom sucks," Hermaphroditus spat. "She got drunk once and tried to seduce me."
"Sounds like Aphrodite," Hermes said grimly. "Once upon a time, she would bring a statue to life just to have some fun. She's calmed down now. Not that it helps us."
Hercules didn't like the way that everybody looked depressed. And he didn't like the callous nature of the gods that so often came up when he was with Hermes.
"Can't you undo it?" Cassandra asked.
Hermes's face pinched and he shook his head. "No, Cassandra. I can't. I've tried. Aphrodite is much older than me, and she has more authority on Olympus. I can't fix this. I can't turn Pan's mother back into a nymph. I can't make Aphrodite love Tyche. I can't change that Apollo raped Chione. I can't heal Daphne from Hera's strike. I can't…" He swallowed hard and looked down. "I can't do anything."
Hermaphroditus's expression turned from bitter to sorrowful. "I don't blame you, Dad," he said gently. "You've done more for me than Mom ever did. It's okay."
Hermes didn't look happy, but he nodded and straightened. "Well, Herc, I thought you'd want to meet my kids."
"We aren't kids anymore, Dad," Pan argued, though he was smiling.
"You'll always be my kids," Hermes said, a smile playing around his lips.
Hercules looked around at the group of men and women. They were his nieces and nephews, each older than he could fathom in his mortal mind. They all looked so different, but they all had an aura around them that spoke of their godly parentage. They were all fair in appearance, but there was a strength behind their sharp eyes. He met each gaze, studying them. Then he smiled.
"It's nice to meet all of you."
Hermaphroditus couldn't help it. "All of us?" he asked, venom in his tone.
Hercules faltered for a moment. "Well, yeah. I didn't know I had so many nieces and nephews."
"What about both in one?" Hermaphroditus snarled.
The demigod didn't know how to respond, but words came before he could think about it. "I don't care that you're both," he said, his voice sharp in its defensiveness. "Not as much as you do. It's not my fault you're a hermaphrodite, so I'd appreciate you not snapping at me, Hermy."
Hermaphroditus paused for several moments, studying Hercules's face. He turned to the others, who looked as unbothered as his uncle. Icarus and Triton flashed grins at him, shrugging, while Cassandra met his gaze without flinching. None of them were horrified or ashamed of him, so he finally uncrossed his arms and relaxed.
"Sorry," he said after an awkward pause. "I… People always laugh at me."
"I see nothing funny about it," Hercules said honestly, his jaw clenching in his anger. "I don't see how any of the punishments are funny."
"This wasn't my punishment," Hermaphroditus said, raising his eyebrows.
"It might as well be," Hercules said, stomping his foot; the earth caved in beneath his foot, and he automatically shifted back as he glared at the ground. "You don't like it any more than Prometheus liked being chained to a rock, or Arachne being turned into a spider, or any of the other horrible things they've done!" Pain wrenched through Hercules and he cried out in despair. "I don't want to be a part of this family!"
That admission sobered all of Hermes's children as Triton nodded his agreement, his expression dark as he hugged his thin frame. Tyche's eyes filled with tears, and Angelia's frost melted at the admission. Pan slid off of the rock and strode over to Hercules and Triton, pulling them both into a nearly bone-crunching hug. Neither minded as tears overwhelmed them. Hermaphroditus walked over to touch Hercules's wet cheeks.
"It's okay, Herc."
"Something Dad always taught us," Autolycus said calmly, his fist clenched in his lap as his face flushed with emotion. "Is that you do not get to choose which family you are born into. But you can choose how to respond to challenges and struggles in your life. You are not responsible for anybody's actions but your own. Neither Dad nor Angelia and I are at fault for the rapes of our mothers. It was Zeus and Apollo who raped them. They are responsible. And one day they will be held accountable for all of the terrible things they have done."
"How?" Triton burst out, shoving away from Pan. "I don't know if you've noticed, but my dad is the god of the seas! Besides Zeus himself, how is he supposed to be punished?"
"And my dad is Zeus," Hercules sighed, his face pinching in resignation. "Who is brave enough to punish the king of the gods?"
Hermes watched all of this in silence, his heart aching for his brother and cousin. This was the harsh truth that he hadn't wanted to share, and now they knew of his own difficulties. He was so much older than them, and he hadn't found a satisfactory answer. Before he could respond, Cassandra took a step back and her eyes swirled with green and yellow. Hermes moved quickly, catching her as she stumbled back and tripped over a branch. He eased her to the ground as his mind was bombarded with images.
"Dad! Dad, are you okay?"
Hermes came to with a cry of shock. His entire body was slick with sweat, and Cassandra was lying unconscious on the forest floor. Icarus had her hand clutched in his, looking frightened. Hercules stood there, his face pale as he stared between Hermes and Cassandra. Hermes blinked at them, the images still swirling through his mind. Could it happen? Would it? She was a prophetess, but she was so young. His entire body shuddered as Apollo's curse ran over his mind, demanding that he not believe a single image. But he fought it with all of his might because he knew it would happen, that it was real. She had never been wrong before… He looked up when Pan's voice broke into his reverie.
"Dad! Do I need to get Daphne?"
"No," Hermes said, his tongue feeling fat inside of his mouth. He slurred the words, and he could hear it. He shook his head, sitting up. "How often does she pass out after visions?" he asked, leaning heavily against his eldest son's strong frame. His limbs felt like jelly from resisting Apollo's curse.
"Never!" Hercules and Icarus exclaimed.
"On second thought," Hermes said, struggling to get the words out as his head throbbed. "Go get Daphne, Pan. And bring me a wind nymph. I need to talk with Mother."
"Grandmother?!" his children demanded in shock.
"I only have one mother," Hermes said. "So she is your grandmother. Go on. I need to sit down a moment."
Hercules gripped Hermes's arm and easily carried him over to a rock to lean against as Pan dashed into the forest. "What happened?"
"Not sure yet," Hermes said, feeling nauseated as the curse fluttered through him. The images needed to be thought over and studied before he mentioned it to anybody, let alone his little brother. "Ty, try and wake her up. See if she remembers anything. Auto, I need a drink from the stream. Hermy, go and find some honey so Angie can make tea."
They obeyed without another word. Hermes placed his head between his knees as the world spun. The curse screamed at him to not believe a single thing Cassandra had seen, demanded to be listened to. But he would not listen. This was important. The vision was going to come true. And it might finally give him an opportunity to change things. If he could fight off the curse, things would be most advantageous for him and his family. If there was anybody in the world that had even the slightest chance to break through a god's curse, it was Hermes. If it didn't kill him first.