53. Fallen Idol
BARDO, THE UNDERWORLD
"Okay," Hades said, "so the last attack was…less than ideal. Can we all agree on that? Less than ideal?"
Euryale, Stheno, and Medusa nodded. Medusa had been reanimated, and the Underworld, as always, negated the automatic petrification that Euryale's bracelet had prevented.
"Note to self," Hades muttered. "Install a failsafe on those bracelets so breaking them doesn't invite everyone with a mirror to come play hero as soon as they're gone. Now, we lost ANOTHER tree, we lost ANOTHER polis to the heroes, and Jerk-ules AND the bearers of the Elements of Deus Ex Machina are all still alive and kicking. However, there IS a bright spot. You ladies did happen to bring back an absolutely PERFECT new recruit for the army."
He gestured to Adonis, eyes still blood red, who stood at attention in the corner. "Whatever you wish, my liege, it is my command!" The prince bowed.
"Y'know, I told that kid once he had a good future in the world domination field," Hades remarked. "Too bad it needed to come down to hypnotism to convince him of it, but whatever. If nothing else, he'll be good cannon fodder. So, no, maybe NOT worth losing face at Thrace, but it's something. Now, let's look over your performance reports." Hades turned toward the throne room entry and yelled, "PAIN! PANIC!"
Pain skidded into the room. "Pain, sir, reporting for duty!"
Hades rolled his eyes, then sighed deeply. "Do I even want to know where – "
"PANICREPORTINGFORDUTY!" Panic slid into the room next to his partner in crime.
"Status report," Hades said. "How did the Gorgon sisters do on their first outing?"
"Well, first I watched Euryale, and she did really good," Pain commented. "One of the warriors that turned up had a celestial bronze blade, y'know, the kind that non-mortals like Euryale are weak to, so Euryale made her into a minion like Adonis and had her fight her friend. That Kentauride just got in a lucky guess that she even knew Euryale's power was in her bracelet."
"Very nice!" Hades complimented.
"It would have been better if my bracelet hadn't been broken," Euryale snapped.
Stheno elbowed her hard. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Euryale! Especially from Lord Hades!"
"Then Medusa got confronted by Hercules, and they were talkin' about their friendship and all," Pain went on, "but she petrified the winged guy anyway, and she tried to petrify Hercules with a sneak attack, but he blocked her at the last minute and reflected her own vision back at her, and that's why we had to bring her down here as a statue."
"VERY nice!" Hades commended. "And here I was thinking I'd have to worry about you going soft, Medusa. Turns out, I bet on the right flying horse when it comes to you after all."
"Thank you," Medusa said coldly, not wanting to engage Hades any more.
"Er, I was in charge of observing Stheno," Panic picked up where Pain had left off. "She came very close to killing one of the Element bearers, even when the odds were pretty bad, but out of nowhere, someone threw a rock at the back of her head, and that gave the Kentauride the edge."
"I wasn't EXPECTING it!" Stheno growled. "If I ever find the person who threw that, I'll DESTROY them!"
"Hey, listen, Fury, babe," Hades assured her, "we're on the same page. Sounds like all three of you check out. And if I ever find your mysterious rock-thrower, they're earning a one-way pass to Tartarus. Though coming up with good punishments has been getting harder. Hey, when I was strapped for time with Ixion, I basically just thought up something I could cover up with flashy pyrotechnics."
"Hey!" Panic griped; Hades was unaware that he'd settled Cassandra's argument.
"So we'll work on the technicalities with the bracelet," Hades resolved, "you three will keep practicing your battle skills, and we'll regroup for the finale of eternal darkness. Sound fair? You three may go."
"What, no reward?" Stheno snapped.
"Don't push it," Medusa warned quietly.
"In due time," Hades answered. "Do as well as you did in Thrace or better during our finale – I'd prefer it if nobody got petrified, energy drained, or blinded this time – and you will get the domain of your dreams. I already have something picked out for you. Trust me, you're gonna love it. Now run along."
"I can't WAIT!" Stheno squealed as the three left the room.
"And now for the next act," Hades muttered as the one he'd sent a summons to entered the throne room.
"You called me," Orcos said plainly.
"That I did, Orcos, my friend!" Hades confirmed. "Have I got a mission for you! Today, you get all of Corinth to just do what you do best. Destroy things, I mean. Not keep blood oaths."
"Your orders disgust me," Orcos replied calmly.
"And you are in the palm of my hand," Hades reminded him. "Want me to make you wish for death? Eh? Or should I call your mom Alecto up and ask her what just grinds your gears?"
Orcos sighed. "Then I shall do your bidding."
"One more thing," Hades added. "When certain goody-two-shoes show up to combat you, aim for Hercules or the six Kentaurides with the glowy amulets. Capiche?"
"Understood," Orcos replied before turning to stride from the throne room.
"Keep an eye on him," Hades ordered Pain and Panic. "Make sure he's a good boy."
"Of course!" Panic said excitedly. "We won't let you down! Now, let's go, Pain! Time's a-wastin'!" He charged from the room, dragging Pain along.
"I do not even want to know," Hades muttered as he sat down and rubbed his brow with his fingertips. "I do not even want to know what it is with those two today."
"So, uh, Panic?" Pain asked as the two imps made their way to the surface. "That rock that got thrown at Stheno? I mean, you were pretty mad at her for petrifying Cassandra. Did you…?"
"I had my revenge on her," Panic confirmed. "She had it coming."
"Y'know, Hades would be really angry if somebody were to, I dunno, tell on you for – "
"I'll do your half of the Cerberus chores for a century if you keep your mouth shut."
"DEAL!"
CORINTH, OLYMPIC GREECE
As the wagon neared Corinth, Hercules told everyone, "This time, I handled the strategy part."
"Everybody brace yourselves," Phil warned. "This is probably gonna hurt."
"Phil!" Hercules chided. "Anyway, it's only one monster, right? And I'm an expert at taking down monsters. So I'm going to fight it while the rest of you look for the tree!"
"Thou art being very foolish," Zoë argued. "Let us assume that these attacks are the fault of Hades, Discord, or, most likely, Eris. All would know that thou hast had extensive training fighting ordinary monsters. They would not send any second-rate monster to fight you, especially when you are in the company of so many."
"I can handle it!" Hercules insisted. "I don't care what turns up. I've got this!"
It was as if he'd rehearsed it. As soon as Hercules completed his declaration, the earth trembled. With a mighty roar, the creature erupted upward from just within the gates of Corinth, reaching its claws upward to the sky.
When he had reached the full capacity of his gigantic form, Orcos began to destroy at random. He swept down tall buildings with his mighty claws, watching them clatter to the streets below. He crunched smaller houses beneath his feet, observing the residents running outside as fast as they could in order to avoid becoming jam, feeling that any other member of Hades' summoned army would probably be taking pleasure in this while he just shut off his emotions so that he wouldn't feel regret.
And on a rooftop at the city limits, Pain and Panic kicked back to watch the show.
"That…is a little bigger than I expected," Hercules said weakly. He steeled his confidence. "But I can handle it!" He drew his sword. "I'm going to run in and challenge it. The rest of you find the tree!"
"Hercules," Meg cautioned. "Don't bite off more than you can chew, okay? I kind of need you back in one piece."
"I've GOT this!" Hercules insisted. He leapt out of the wagon, unhitching Pegasus and leaping on the winged horse's back. Pegasus took off for the skies, and the duo flew toward Orcos.
Phil ordered the horses pulling the wagon to halt. "Better that we don't make ourselves a giant target while we're in there," he said. "Now let's go!"
The group disembarked in ensemble, running to the city gates. Once inside, Twilight led them down a street that turned sharply away from the radius of Orcos' destruction.
"Do you really think he can handle it?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We should help him!"
"We need all six of us to get rid of that tree," Applejack reminded her, "and the sooner we get rid of it, the better chance any of us will have against whatever that thing is!"
"But he will not survive it," Zoë stated. "That is no ordinary monster. That is Orcos. He is a demigod, and his other parent one of the Fury queens. He has demonic strength."
"Here's my plan," Pit stated. "You six with the Elements go get that tree taken care of, and Zoë and I will hang back and dramatically swoop in to save Hercules at the last minute. Since I'm an Olympian and she's a Hesperide, we should have this in the bag!" He looked at Zoë. "You in?"
"I am with you," Zoë said with a nod. She unclipped the bronze hair accessory, producing the sword from it. Pit took his bow off his back.
"Then let's DO this!" Pit cried, and he and Zoë turned back to make their way toward Orcos.
"Wait a minute!" Icarus realized. "I can't just leave one of my best buddies to get slaughtered by Orcos! I have to do something! HANG ON! I'M COMING!" He charged after Pit and Zoë.
"Not again!" Twilight and Cassandra moaned.
"Maybe we should focus on the tree," Applejack suggested, looking at the roads ahead.
"It can't be too hard to find," Rarity said. "We should probably look for the center of town."
"And we should probably have mentioned that Corinth is laid out like a maze," Meg pointed out.
She, Cassandra, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Phil looked at the twisting streets ahead with sinking hearts.
Orcos had cleared out a rather large radius of destruction; buildings were flattened, knocked over, smashed to bits. The people fled; the streets were cleared. Orcos turned to see where he could begin widening that radius, creating more destruction in the name of Hades.
Hercules arrived in this open space, charging Orcos' clawed foot. "YOUR TIME HERE IS DONE, MONSTER!" he yelled, swinging his blade.
The sword glanced off Orcos' skin as though it were stone or steel. Not even that. With all Hercules' strength behind it, that swing could usually have cracked stone or bent steel. On Orcos, it did nothing.
Orcos recognized his assailant as Hercules. Remembering Hades' words, he reached down with one great clawed hand.
Hercules wrapped his arms around Orcos' ankle, hoping to be able to pick him up and throw him the way he had done with the Titans, but Orcos proved too heavy. What kind of monster, Hercules wondered in horror, could weigh ten times as much as a Titan?
He then found himself in the monster's grip. His sword arm was free, and he took a swing at Orcos' wrist, but again, nothing happened. He wriggled; there was no breaking the grip. In fact, the more Hercules struggled, the tighter Orcos clenched his fist – like metal bands contracting. Hercules felt a deep fear run through him. The same sort of fear he'd felt when facing off against the many-headed Hydra…when he couldn't think of anything to try, a way out.
Orcos pitied him. The greatest hero that world had known, and he'd gotten himself captured helplessly in under a minute. He lifted Hercules up so that he could look him in the eye.
"I am sorry," he said. His voice was still smooth, resonant – the sort of voice you'd expect from a mortal or a god, not a monster. He didn't know where in town Pain and Panic were, but he could feel their piercing gazes upon him, judging him for Hades. "I do not want to do this," he concluded. "But I must."
He prepared to squeeze his fist closed. He would have crushed Olympic Greece's greatest demigod hero in one pulpy moment.
But a sharp pain entered his wrist, and he ended up dropping Hercules instead.
Hercules fell fast, but now he did not fear; he had planned for this. Pegasus swooped upward, catching him; Hercules and Pegasus turned their attentions toward Orcos. "Let's go," Hercules told his steed, and Pegasus charged the monster.
Orcos examined his wrist to see what had hit it. A light arrow. It dissipated into the air as Orcos beheld it. He barely had time to wonder who had fired it and from where before Hercules and Pegasus came barreling at him in midair.
He swiped outward to grab them; Pegasus expertly ducked. Horse and hero sailed past Orcos' chest, and Hercules dragged his sword uselessly across the skin. "Circle around!" Hercules suggested. "Maybe we can get him from behind!"
Orcos twisted and grasped again and again; the agile horse evaded him easily. Orcos bellowed to the sky: a roar more befitting of a great demonic entity. Pegasus then charged directly at Orcos' back; Hercules stood up on Pegasus' back, balancing perfectly, before leaping, fists directed at Orcos. He hoped to knock Orcos off balance, but when his fists connected with Orcos' skin, he felt the pain and Orcos did not even flinch. Falling again, Hercules was caught a second time by Pegasus.
"What's with this guy?" Hercules asked Pegasus worriedly. "I can't do a thing! He's invincible!"
And then, just to prove that Hercules' point of Orcos' invincibility was off the mark entirely, Orcos was hurt. Light arrows pierced his shoulders, his chest, his stomach.
"YEAH!" Pit cried, firing the arrows from midair. He circled Orcos, shooting more arrows, peppering him from all angles. Then he looked down. "It's all you, Zoë!"
While Orcos attempted to grab Pit out of the air – Hercules got the idea, and guided Pegasus to fly around as well, giving Orcos another moving target to distract him – Zoë charged from the streets, sword in hand, leaping at Orcos' ankle. She slashed out with her bronze blade; it left a gash, and instead of blood, a sparkling dust flowed out. Zoë then whirled to cut Orcos' other ankle, causing another fountain of sparkles.
Orcos soon tired. Whenever he turned his attention to Zoë, Pit's light arrows slammed into him. Whenever his attention was on Pit, Zoë's blade cut him. There was no more he could do.
To add insult to injury, Icarus chose that moment to show himself. "TAKE THIS, GIANT MONSTER THING!" he bellowed, aiming a flying kick at Orcos' leg. He missed completely, faceplanting onto the stone.
It was all too much. Orcos knew it. He knew Hades' spies would know it. So he vanished. After all, taking too many light arrows and too many strokes from a blade of Celestial Bronze…he could be incapacitated. Or he might die, but he hadn't yet judged if the benefits of returning to Hades in spirit form would outweigh the drawbacks.
So he left. He simply faded away. Icarus stood, approaching Zoë as she gazed upward, watching the colossus of a monster become as nothing. Pit touched ground beside them, and Pegasus landed as well, allowing Hercules to disembark.
"We did it!" Hercules cried, breathing the sighs of relief. "We destroyed him!"
"Not quite," Zoë clarified. "He vanished of his own accord. If our weapons had ended him, we would know." She glanced over at Hercules. "Thy weapon was useless against him – "
"I know," Hercules stated. He began to walk; the others followed him. "It's…weird. I've never met a monster like that before. Why did your sword hurt him?"
"My blade is forged of Celestial Bronze," Zoë explained. "The metal of the gods." With a shimmer, the sword returned to the form of a hair clip, which Zoë affixed to her head. "It is useless against mortals, but divine and demonic creatures are banished to the Underworld by it. I believe the creature we faced was Orcos, half god, half Fury. Of course he is stronger than any other creature we would have seen! My blade could not have felled him in one blow, but it was able to corrupt his essence. Pit's blades are also edged in Celestial Bronze, and his arrows are light from Palutena."
"Guess I better think about getting a weapon like that," Hercules mused.
"I would advise it," Zoë agreed as they made their way down the twisting streets of Corinth.
The rainbow enveloped the tree; the golden apples became multicolored. As the sphere of light dissipated from around Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash, the footsteps sounded that heralded the arrival of Hercules, Zoë, Pit, Pegasus, and Icarus.
"You found the tree!" Pit cried.
"After a lot of getting lost, yeah, we did," Meg confirmed.
"And dodging rioters!" Rarity complained. "Someone threw a vase at me! And it was a lopsided vase with a low-quality painting! If you're going to throw something at me, at least have the decency to throw something of good taste!"
"Uh…sure," Hercules commented.
"Did you beat the monster?" Pinkie asked excitedly.
"Well, it's gone, isn't it?" Cassandra replied, bored.
"Yeah, but HOW did you beat it?" Pinkie continued.
"Hercules attempted to charge it with mortal weapons," Zoë began, "but – "
"Oh MAN!" Icarus interrupted. "You shoulda SEEN it! Just as the monster had Herc, Pegasus, Pit, and Zoë in its clutches and was about to horribly mangle them, I dove in at the last minute and dealt the killing blow! The monster couldn't take it! It retreated back to the pits of Tartarus from whence it came!"
"Okay, that is IT!" Pit cried, stamping a foot and glaring at Icarus. "That is NOT what happened! You just charged at it like a total idiot and the rest of us took care of it!"
"'It' has a name," Zoë tried to remind everyone. "Orcos…"
"And you know something else?" Pit ranted. "Everything you've done has been stupid! Everyone says you're this big famous genius, but when we needed an actual plan, you wanted to throw cake at the Athenians!"
"We did actually end up throwing cake at the Athenians," Phil pointed out, rather resentfully.
"But that's not what STOPPED them!" Pit cried, exasperated. "It was Twilight's plan that did most of the work! And back in Thrace? You ran RIGHT AT a Gorgon! Everyone knew you were going to get turned to stone! Except apparently you! You're not that smart at all, are you? You're…" It was hard for him to admit. "You're an idiot."
"HEY!" Icarus growled resentfully. "I'm smart! I'm the wax wing king of Athens, are I not?"
"Am I not," Twilight corrected.
"No, you're not," Icarus told her. "I am."
"THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Pit cried. "And those wings were your dad's design in the first place! You know what? I get it now! The genius kid who was brave enough to fly into the sun was a great story, and that's why everyone keeps telling it! No one wants to admit it was just an idiot who didn't know better! I HATE that they nicknamed me after that dumb story, especially when I'M STARTING TO SEE WHY THEY KEEP SAYING YOU DIED IN THAT ACCIDENT!"
No one spoke for a long time.
Then Twilight opened her mouth to try and say something.
Icarus beat her to the punch. "I SEE HOW IT IS!" he cried. "You don't want me on the team anymore!"
"I don't think I do," Pit confirmed.
"Well, you can just…you can just…!" Icarus tried to form an argument, but everyone present could see the tears welling in his eyes.
"Icarus – " Hercules attempted.
"NO!" Icarus cried. "IF I'M JUST GONNA HOLD YOU BACK, THEN THIS IS WHERE I GET OFF THE WAGON!" He turned and ran into the mazelike streets of Corinth.
"Finally," Cassandra sighed.
"ICARUS!" Pinkie Pie took off after him. "ICARUS, WAIT!" Hercules followed her, and then Pegasus, Megara, Phil, Fluttershy, and Twilight.
"Who needs this?" Pit grumped, storming in the opposite direction.
"Pit!" Zoë followed him, and so did Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity.
Cassandra shrugged and sat down at the base of the tree. "I'm not getting involved in this one…"
BARDO, THE UNDERWORLD
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY BEAT YOU?" Hades took a moment from his rage to turn to Pain, who stood by the throne near a pile of vases with Zeus painted on them. "Pull," he snarled.
Pain lobbed a vase into the air, and Hades blasted it into smithereens with a column of fire. "You're supposed to be UNSTOPPABLE!" he roared. "YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO LOSE TO THREE MEASLY WARRIORS!"
Orcos simply stood in place, against the wall, calmly watching Hades' rage. "Would you rather I did what I did, or die at their hands?" he asked.
"Well, you see, the thing is with that, if you die, I lose my hold on Medusa, and if I lose my hold on Medusa, then what you'll see will make it look like I'm positively OVERJOYED right now," Hades told him. He turned to Pain again. "Pull."
Pain threw another Zeus-dedicated piece of pottery into the air. It was reduced to dust in flames.
"What I WANTED," Hades emphasized, "was for you to CRUSH them!"
"I almost had Hercules dead in my hand," Orcos informed him. "His strength and his weaponry could not harm me. But he was defended by Pit, the servant of Palutena who thwarted Medusa and myself in the past. And there was another. I believe she was one of the Hesperides. She wielded a blade of Celestial Bronze, to which I and everyone in your army are weak. I was attacked by this blade and a barrage of light arrows. The opponents may have been smaller than me, but I was outmatched all the same. I fear, Hades, that you are prone to underestimating your opponents."
Hades' entire body glowed a bright orange at that statement. "WHAT…did you just say to me?"
"Take heed of my words," Orcos said, "or you will find yourself at another loss. You underestimate your opponents. I know of your past attempts to thwart Hercules. You sent him monster after monster, though monsters were exactly what he was trained to defeat. If you do not take your enemy into account, you will lose. Especially when there are so many warriors working together now. Hercules. The Kentaurides bearing the Elements. The Hesperide. Pit. And I believe there are others."
"I would put you through TARTARUS now," Hades growled, simmering back down to blue, "if it weren't for the fact that I have to stake my entire eventual claim to Olympus on whether or not I actually do underestimate the people I'm trying to kill. So you get off the hook for now. Watch it, though. Hey, wait a second." He turned back to Pain. "Where's – "
"Uh, Panic's watering your extra togas," Pain said. "I mean he's cooking your asphodel garden. I mean he's ironing the falafel!"
Hades sighed. "Actually, I don't care."
Maybe you should, Pain thought, but he knew better than to say anything. As much as he liked holding the threat of ratting Panic out over his partner in crime's head in order to reap the rewards – relief from Cerberus duty was a prize indeed – he would never intentionally put Panic in any danger. Their bond was too strong for that. Their "friendship," actually, though the word was anathema to Hades.
"Anyway, I'm making sure the NEXT takedown goes off without a hitch," Hades told Orcos.
"What member of your army are you sending to face them?" Orcos asked.
"Actually, I'm going to shake things up a little," Hades replied. "I've got some contacts in high places. Let's see how our goody-two-shoes, or goody-four-horseshoes or whatever, stand up against some OLYMPIAN-strength power." He removed a drachma from his pocket. "Pain, fetch me one of the bottled rainbows from the storeroom. I've got an Iris-message to make."
CORINTH, OLYMPIC GREECE
Pinkie, Hercules, Meg, Phil, Pegasus, Twilight, and Fluttershy found Icarus sitting on the curb of the street. "Icarus!" Pinkie Pie cried, bounding toward him. "Are you okay? Please don't be sad!"
"No," Icarus sighed, "I am not, in fact, 'okay.'"
"Don't let what Pit said to you get you down," Hercules attempted. "He's just…well…"
"Rude," Meg supplied.
"Actually, I think he's just going through a temporary anger from finding out that his idol has flaws," Twilight added. "He'll probably figure out he crossed the line and apologize."
"It's not just Pit," Icarus groaned. "Is this what I am to society? The idiot who flew too close to the sun, so everyone says I died in order to make me look like I'm actually competent? IS THIS ALL I AM?"
"Oh, no, no, no!" Pinkie cried. "It's not like that! Sometimes, when ponies, or people, I guess, are quirky, and we get a little spacey, a lot of OTHER ponies, or people too, can think they're stupid or annoying or things like that! But what makes us different actually makes us way better! You're kinda like me! We're definitely both smart. Real smart!"
Twilight bit her lip.
"But actually, back home, Twilight's the one with all the book smarts," Pinkie went on, "and there are a lot of other talents I don't have that my other friends do! But I really really REALLY really really love all my friends, and I like making people smile! And I always like helping out, even if I'm not that helpful in the end! I've gotta try! You're like me, so YOU make people smile a lot! And you ALWAYS try to help out when there are monsters attacking because you don't want your friends to get hurt! And the ponies, or people too, who like you because of THAT are the ones that matter!"
"Huh…" Icarus mulled that over.
"You speakin' from personal experience?" Phil asked.
"Back home, Pinkie Pie is special," Twilight explained. "I mean, you've seen that she's very loud and random. And she turns everything into a joke. There are a lot of ponies back home who turn up their noses at that and think she's annoying, but that's all stuff that I and the rest of our friends really like about her. But where she really shines is making others happy. She always tries her best to do that."
"You know," Hercules contributed, "Icarus, one of the biggest reasons that you were my friend when we were younger is that you did always make me smile. You're just so enthusiastic about everything! Tell you the truth, I kinda missed that when we went separate ways."
"The more you hang around," Meg added, "the more I see what he sees in you."
"It shouldn't matter if everypony thinks you're better as a fake story where you die in the end," Fluttershy burst out angrily. "You just shouldn't give a flying feather about them!"
"You're a true friend," Hercules said, "and that's all I care about. You could be holding this entire mission back for all I care – "
"Like, for example, keeping us stranded in a town where we already vanquished the monster by having drama," Phil grunted, but Pegasus lightly kicked him in the shoulder.
" – and I'd still want you on our team," Hercules finished.
"Me too," Twilight confirmed.
"And me," Meg said.
Fluttershy nodded.
"And ESPECIALLY me!" Pinkie cried.
"You…really all think that?" Icarus asked. He brightened visibly, standing up and suddenly enveloping Pinkie Pie in a vice-grip embrace. "YOU DO LIKE ME! YOU REALLY LIKE ME!"
"Well, duh!" Pinkie confirmed. "Oh, and do you need a song before you can be happy again? Because I can sing a song if you need it!"
"I'VE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER IN MY LIFE!" Icarus cried, letting go of Pinkie and leaping to hug Hercules. "Well, except that one time at the comic scroll convention…" He then transferred his embrace to Meg. "And that one time they thought I defeated the Nemean Lion…" Then Twilight. "And that one time Cassandra kissed me, which was to wake me up from that curse, but STILL COUNTS, BABY!" To Fluttershy.
"Okay," Pinkie said with a nod. "I'll save the song for another time!"
"NOW can we get back to business?" Phil asked.
"Well, now I'm just mad at Pit for being ungrateful!" Icarus grumped.
"Like I said, I think that will blow over," Twilight said. "Or at least…I hope. I don't want us to have to split up over this…"
"He owes you an apology," Hercules said sternly. "So we're going to ask him for one."
"I'M GONNA MARCH RIGHT UP TO HIM AND GIVE HIM A PIECE OF MY MIND!" Icarus decided.
"YEAH!" Pinkie cheered.
"Then let's head back!" Twilight said, leading the group to the tree.
Cassandra shifted out of her trance. The least she could do with her free time, she thought, was check the next vision. The upcoming disaster surprised her. Not overwhelmingly – it had consisted of the usual formula, something terrible attacking a city-state – but it was the attacker who was unexpected. Cassandra wasn't quite sure what to make of it. She'd always gotten the impression that said attacker would rather die (though that was probably impossible, at least in the permanent sense) than ally with Hades, Eris, or anybody named Discord.
Her contemplations were interrupted by footsteps approaching the rainbow apple tree from behind, and a male voice stammering, "…H-hi."
"Huh?" Cassandra looked behind her, then stood up. "Oh, Thanatocrates!"
Panic, in his human disguise, replied, "Fancy seeing you here!"
"Same. Did you see that giant monster destroying everything? It was kind of epic."
"I know!" Panic grinned. "That was actually Orcos. Half-god, half-Fury."
"That explains a lot. So what are you doing in Corinth?"
"Oh, you know…sightseeing…" Panic answered. "Geez, did they build this city to confuse the minotaur?"
"I know," Cassandra replied. "I'd love to invite you to go see the damage, but I'm waiting on the rest of my friends to get over some needless drama, and if they don't find me here, they're just going to get all sorts of lost looking."
"Why aren't you with them?"
"I repeat: needless drama. Why should I have to suffer because one of my friends is rude and the other is overly sensitive?" Cassandra groaned.
"This is probably not my place to ask," Panic inquired, "but if they're causing you that much trouble, why even have them around at all? Why not break away on your own? Or join another team? I bet you'd make a great villain, you know!"
"I KNOW I'd make a great villain," Cassandra agreed. "But I kinda, you know, LIKE my friends. My life's pretty much gloom and doom, and I love it, I'm not complaining, but a break in the monotony is nice. They balance it out, you know?"
"I see your point," Panic said with a shudder. "It's nice underground, but sometimes you've got to see the sunlight…get away from all the threats of eternal torment…I mean, it's fun when it's happening to someone ELSE, but to me or my friend? No way!"
"Where do you get threatened with eternal torment?"
"It's a…metaphor…"
"So you have at least one friend," Cassandra pointed out.
"Yeah, we're pretty close," Panic confirmed. "Almost like brothers. We've known each other since childhood! So I get it, about you and your friends."
"You know, you're kinda like another break in the monotony when you turn up," Cassandra pointed out.
"R-really?" Panic blushed.
"Yeah," Cassandra confirmed. "The way you're all shy and stuff. It's different. In a good way."
"Th…thanks." Panic was honestly stunned. He hadn't expected that. "Your different isn't bad either. In fact, it's really really good."
"Eh, I know." Cassandra winked.
Pit kicked a rock along the side of the street, silently fuming until Rainbow Dash galloped up alongside him. "Hey," she snapped, "that was NOT cool."
"I should've seen this coming," Pit sighed. "Look, I – "
"Don't give me any excuses!" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "You just told somebody he was so stupid, you liked it better when you thought he was dead! How is THAT okay?"
"I must admit that was INCREDIBLY rude," Rarity added.
"But…!" Pit tried to defend.
"But nothin'," Applejack told him. "That was over the line."
"SILENCE!" Zoë shouted, and Pit, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity all fell quiet. "Please, let Pit say what he has to say before we continue. I too agree that your words were harsh, Pit, but I do not intend to let you go unheard."
"THANK you!" Pit sighed. "It's just…I know that was bad, okay? I know! But all my life, I've been told that Icarus was an amazing hero and a brilliant inventor! He's been my hero ever since I saved Palutena's court! I DREAMED of meeting him for years! I thought when I did, he'd be awesome! But he's nothing like what everyone let me believe. This is the guy I've spent a lot of my life trying to be like…and he's not even like that!"
Applejack sighed, then nodded. "I get it, Pit. It ain't easy to find out your idol ain't what ya thought."
"But at least Icarus is kind," Rarity pointed out. "He appreciated you as a fan!"
"Yeah," Pit snorted, "back when I was a fan of an Icarus that didn't really exist."
"You could have found out that your idol was a stuck-up brute," Rarity continued.
"I guess everypony probably did make a mistake, the way they talked about him," Rainbow Dash admitted.
"Thou wert misled by a great many people who wanted him dead more than thou ever didst," Zoë affirmed.
"But why do you even need to be like Icarus to be awesome?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You ARE awesome!"
"And if you didn't actually build your life to be like the real Icarus," Rarity added, "that means you built your life to be something all your own."
"Basically, you're cool enough just bein' Pit," Applejack said with a smile.
"Thanks," Pit replied, brightening.
"But if you're gonna be cool just bein' Pit," Applejack went on, "then you GOTTA be okay with Icarus bein' Icarus."
"It's not my fault everyone else in Greece and on Olympus is a jerk to him," Pit argued.
"But thou art responsible for thy direct actions toward him, no matter what others told thee or let thee believe," Zoë pointed out. "Had thou not thought of him as the hero thou didst, would thou wish to be his friend?"
Pit took a moment to think it over. He realized he had to think through his biases, his impulses, his emotions, to what he would really think of the man had he not known him as the fabled Icarus. "Yeah," Pit admitted. "Even when he's stupid, he's a great guy."
"So tell him that!" Rarity encouraged. "Just…leave out the 'even when he's stupid' part."
"I feel like the idiot now," Pit admitted.
"Do not," Zoë encouraged. "It was a misunderstanding. Yes, a grave one, but it can be repaired."
"Then let's go." Pit turned and began to walk back toward the tree.
Icarus, Hercules, Meg, Pegasus, Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Phil arrived at the tree first. For a moment, all thoughts of Pit and self-worth and reputation were wiped from Icarus' mind when he saw Cassandra there, speaking with a familiar blonde man. "YOU!" he roared, pointing at Panic.
"YIPE!" Panic leapt behind the tree as though it was necessary to use as a shield.
"Do we have to go through this every time?" Cassandra groaned. "Down, boy."
"Why does HE have to turn up everywhere we go?" Icarus accused. "Isn't that a little SUSPICIOUS?"
"He's only turned up two places we've been," Cassandra pointed out, "and he SAID he was going to be touring Greece."
All the same, Panic made a mental note to NOT reveal himself, at least in the guise of Thanatocrates, at the site of the next attack.
"Maybe we should focus on the issue at hand," Twilight suggested. "Look! Here comes Pit right now!"
Pit, Zoë, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack approached the tree, and Icarus remembered his prime directive. He stormed towards Pit, shaking a finger at his face. "LISTEN UP, MISTER!" he cried. "I've been thinking about what you said, and I think YOU owe me an APOLOGY!"
"Yeah," Pit agreed. "I kinda do."
"SAVE IT!" Icarus cried, sweeping his arm dramatically across the air. "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR EXCUSES FOR – wait, did you say you agree with me?"
"Yeah," Pit reiterated. "I'm sorry I said that stuff. I do have a list of excuses, but they're all really bad. You're cool the way you are. You're not better off as a legend." He paused. "Or dead."
"So…you really do like me?" Icarus asked hopefully.
"Yeah!" Pit answered. "Somebody's gotta help me keep up the team spirit!"
"I'M SO GLAD TO HAVE MY BIGGEST FAN BACK!" Icarus cried, hugging Pit tightly. "I FORGIVE YOU FOR EVERYTHING!"
"Wait," Pit muttered, "I didn't say I'd be your…okay, whatever. Thanks, man. Glad we're cool."
"So that's it?" Phil asked. "We're done? We can get moving? Or does anybody have any more baggage to take care of?"
"I think we can get movin'," Applejack said. "Back to the wagon, everypony!"
"So I…I guess this is where we split up again," Panic told Cassandra. "See you around sometime, maybe?"
"Yeah," Cassandra replied, smiling. "I could always use a break in the monotony. Have fun on your tour."
"Tour…right…well…have fun saving Greece!" Panic replied.
He watched the others walk away from him. Then, once they were out of sight, he began the short trip back to the Underworld. He was starting to think that he wouldn't be satisfied with only seeing Cassandra the few times he'd promised to Pain. Speaking with her made him happy. And speaking with him seemed to make HER happy, which surprised him more than anything else could have. He didn't want that to end.
BARDO, THE UNDERWORLD
"So what's my lesson today?" Mozenrath asked Hecate as he strode into the crystal hall.
"Tough lesson?" Xerxes asked, trailing after him.
"Oh." Hecate clasped her hands in anticipation. "Today's not going to be easy by ANY means. I should probably warn you that your next lesson is going to be painful."
"Try me," Mozenrath replied immediately.
"Today," Hecate said, "you're going to learn to – "
There was a shimmering; a ripple of color in the air. "GET BACK!" Hecate snapped.
"Why should I?" Mozenrath replied coldly.
"Because I'm getting an Iris-message from someone higher up on the food chain, and if they catch you in the field of vision, it's both our necks on the line," Hecate snapped.
"Three," Xerxes pointed out, "not both…"
Mozenrath nodded in understanding and moved against the wall, away from the shimmer of color. Xerxes hovered nearby.
Hecate looked directly into the shimmer. It shifted into a view of Dr. Facilier's face; he stood before the gates of the old palace of Persephone.
"There's something rotten going on in the Underworld," he said, "and I ain't talking about the corpses. I want to see all staff in this palace's Great Hall as soon as possible. And that means NOW!"
The Iris-message dissipated.
"I take it you have to be somewhere," Mozenrath stated.
"Unfortunately," Hecate sighed. "That was Hades' right-hand man."
"Another god?" Mozenrath asked.
"No," Hecate muttered. "A mortal. It's a long story, and even I don't understand it all. I'll tell you when I get back."
"And that would be…"
"Whenever I'm done running whatever errand Facilier's about to send us on," Hecate said simply. "You get a break for now. Entertain yourself. Just don't leave the palace and don't break anything."
She turned and stalked out of the room.
"Well," Mozenrath remarked, "I guess this means I don't have to undergo any painful lessons today." He shrugged and made his way to explore the crystal palace.
The crimson-walled Great Hall of Persephone's palace was packed. Hecate had to file into the back. She looked around to see who she could see. Near her was Hel, dressed in skin-tight black and green. Against a far wall, Anubis stood tall and proud, sporting golden bangles and adornments, and at his side was green-skinned Osiris in snow-white robes. At the opposite wall, Nergal leaned, ebony black with olive green eyes and dressed in a dapper suit, grin oily as usual. Some feet away from him was Sedna, she of luxurious dark hair but no fingers on her hands, the joints of her fingers having been severed and turned into the sea life of her home world.
Even the shinigami were there. Hecate was surprised. Generally, the official Underworld workers didn't acknowledge the shinigami, and vice versa. The shinigami usually answered up to Death himself while the gods maintained organizational hierarchy. Not to mention that while the gods of the Underworld adhered to Hades' system whether they liked it or not, the shinigami acted of their own free will, often routing Hades and his system, organizing rebellions, smuggling souls to afterlives they felt were more deserving than where Hades put them – usually out of the Styx or Tartarus and into Elysium or Valhalla, the lot of do-gooders. Well, that was mostly the goal of the Soul Society crowd dressed in black and white. The trendily dressed shinigami of the Netherworld (or as they liked to call it, the "Underground" or "UG") were more prone to bucking Hades' orders so they could play games with souls for their own amusement. Hecate wondered why any of them had come at all, then realized that given their ambiguous position within the Underworld and their shaky standings with Hades, if one of Hades' higher-ups gave them a direct order via Iris-message, failure to respond would probably capsize all their operations.
A raised platform, like a stage, was at the end of the Great Hall opposite where Hecate was crowded in (as those gathered filed in, her elbow accidentally jabbed Hel in the stomach and one of the shinigami nearly knocked off her headdress). Upon this stage, Facilier took his place. He slammed the end of his cane on the floor, and when he spoke, his voice was amplified to fill the Hall.
"My official records of all the soul counts and transfers were corrupted," he began. "All my devices were sabotaged! Now, I'm currently in no position to point fingers, but I'd like to take this time to remind you that if I did, whoever I pointed at WOULD suffer consequences whether they tampered with my records or not!"
Hecate rolled her eyes. It wasn't prudent, she thought, for him to make a threat against failure when no one even knew what the assignment was. Oh, she was sure there was a task to be assigned. He wouldn't have bothered calling this group unless he wanted them to do something.
"If we're going to have the Underworld run smoothly," Facilier continued, the anger fading from his voice, "we're going to need accurate numbers. That means manual collection. We'll need to track newcomers, resurrections, and transfers from ALL afterlives. I want all headcounts delivered to me by the end of the day. Now, from what I've seen, this Underworld works like a well oiled machine, so I've got no doubt that we can fix this little mix-up if everyone does their part. If not, well, then I might just get to pointing fingers. Any shinigami in the audience today will be particularly interested in how much non-syndicated action the system is willing to overlook if accurate initial records are delivered…and how much power the system actually has to take DOWN non-syndicated action if they're not. Now. Does everyone understand?"
There were murmurs, nods, general agreement that yes, they understood.
"Then let's put the records back in order," Facilier said with a tip of the hat. "For the good of all of us, of course. Y'all are dismissed."
The crowd turned to make for the exit in one convoluted rush. Hecate was jostled roughly before she finally had enough space to walk on her own. Inwardly, she fumed. Counting all the souls in the Underworld was possible to be done in a day, especially with the crowd gathered, but it would still be a tedious process. And there would be absolutely no sneaking back to continue training with Mozenrath until she'd secured and delivered her numbers.
She stopped to softly stamp a foot and clutch her fists in frustration.
"Something wrong, Hecate?" a deep, British male voice with strangely slimy undertones asked; Hecate turned to see who'd addressed her, though she recognized the voice right away.
"Not now, Nergal," she hissed.
"I don't understand why you wouldn't want to do your part to gain favor with Hades," Nergal taunted.
"And I understand that you want him to put up a plaque of your face labeled Employee of the Month," Hecate snapped. "Can you ever NOT turn everything into a giant plea for attention?"
"Oh, Hecate, that hurts," Nergal replied, though the sharp-toothed grin didn't fade from his face. "Maybe I just want to do a good job, that's all! That's why I plan to be the first to deliver my reports back to Facilier!"
"You know what I think would be just delicious?" Hecate asked. "If someone DID manage to drop off her records before you did. And if that someone earned praise and recognition while you got nothing!"
"And you think that's going to be you?" Nergal challenged. "With YOUR attitude problems?"
"It would be worth it just to knock that stupid smile off your face!" Hecate snapped.
"Now, Hecate – "
"Can't talk now. I've got records to collect!" Hecate took off running. She had always been annoyed by Nergal's constant need for attention. Beating him to the punch, even if it meant complying with Hades and Facilier, would be hilarious.
Besides, the sooner she delivered the proper reports, the sooner she could get back to Mozenrath and her own agenda.
CORINTH, OLYMPIC GREECE
The wagon rolled down the road, leaving Corinth behind.
"I feel a little bad just leaving the buildings in pieces," Hercules said.
"Tough," Phil reprimanded. "Buildings can be put back together. We've got bigger fish to fry in…where are we going, anyway?"
"Abacus Valley," Cassandra said. "What? I used the mist while you were having your pointless drama. Anyway, from what I saw, Nemesis is going to show up and start smiting anyone who tries to take the golden apples because they're forbidden fruit from mortals."
"Then we'll be there to stop her!" Rainbow Dash resolved.
"Right!" Hercules agreed. "After all, we can…wait. Did you say NEMESIS?"
Chapter 53:
· As I said, canonically in HTAS, Hades DID tell Adonis he'd have a great career in evil. I'm just helping fulfill that.
· Corinth is a twisted town because…I say so. I remember learning that it was a center for architecture and column styles, so I bet it was pretty convoluted.
· The fight against Orcos was quick. Maybe too quick. But I couldn't think of anything else to do in order to spice up the battle, and it did serve me the purposes of calling out Hades and focusing on the Pit and Icarus drama.
· So Hercules wants a sword like Zoë's and every Percy Jackson fan knows EXACTLY where this is going.
· The Pit and Icarus subplot was one I'd been meaning to do for a while and the opportunity just presented itself. It also added a neat little headcanon as to why Icarus is, in fact, alive when the myths say he's dead…it also gave me the chance to focus on emotions again as opposed to just battles and action.
· I seriously do think that one of Hades' fatal weaknesses is underestimating his opponents. If the whole montage during the song "Zero to Hero" is any indication at all.
· One of my favorite things about Pinkie Pie and characters similar to her are that even though they do "annoy" some, if they're good people, they do deserve friendship. Everyone in Ponyville could just shrug Pinkie Pie off for being too loud or too weird, but they accept her instead, and it works out best for everyone. I feel the concept is applicable to Icarus.
· All of Icarus' "That one time"s are canon from HTAS.
· Iris-messaging is a concept from Percy Jackson; Iris connects people to communicate if they throw a drachma to a rainbow. I actually do intend to explain this later on in the prose when it's relevant.
· I actually had planned less stuff for Mozenrath to learn than I had stops planned for the heroes, so this little diversion works out in my favor.
· ROLL CALL! Hel is the version from Marvel. Anubis is the version from Gargoyles. Osiris is kind of my own take on the traditional art. Nergal is the version from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. Sedna is my own take on the traditional telling. "Soul Society" shinigami are from the anime Bleach. "Netherworld" shinigami are from the video game The World Ends With You.
· I kind of have shinigami and Hades' system of Chthonic gods at odds because it works out better for me and I don't actually see either Soul Society or the UG working under Hades' rule.
· I watched a couple eps of Grim Adventures so I could characterize Nergal correctly for his cameo, and I ended up realizing that he and Hecate made a GREAT rivalry. If I wasn't so concerned with keeping dialogue in character to the point of not having those who wouldn't swear say curse words, Hecate would have hurled a statement at him about "having to kiss Hades' ass all the time." From just the eps I originally saw, I deduced Nergal is a MAJOR attention whore. And then from there, I actually ended up watching the whole show and it's one of my favorite things and he's one of my favorite characters ever, so there.
· DUN DUN DUNNNN! NEMESIS! One of my absolute favorite HTAS characters!