"You sold your afterschool and weekends soul to Hades?!" Hercules repeated, shocked by the news.
"What were you thinking?" Myrrhine finally asked, standing up as her tone became stricter. "Do you have any idea what you ended up agreeing to?"
"I was thinking about Icarus' disgusting lips, how my friend Myrrhine gave a very bad idea that ended up making the situation worse" she started, pointing a finger at her before she pointed at Hercules. "And how my friend Hercules, was not doing anything to stop it"
"Cassandra wait!" Hercules called her name but she just kept walking away.
The dup left out a sigh, sitting back on the bench. "Great" was all Myrrhine muttered as Pegasus approached them with his head low.
The witch had met Hercules' signature and only flying horse a few times and the two of them had some…neutral, so to speak, relationship. The horse did not seem to be very fond of Myrrhine but he did not hate her either. While the young witch was not a big fan of horses in general, especially one that was created purely by the gods.
"How do I save her soul from Hades?" Hercules asked out loud and his friend shrugged her shoulder.
Despite working for him all this time, she was not aware of how his deals worked exactly. There were deals in her case, which were eternal and could not be broken because of the contract. And then, there were other deals which could be broken, if Hades could not keep his part of the deal.
However, she was not present to know what kind of deal exactly Cassandra agreed to. To her surprise, though, Pegasus seem to know as he tried his hardest to land a human-like kiss on Hercules' cheek.
The girl lifted an eyebrow at the odd reaction before her mind connected the dots. It seemed Hercules to be thinking the same thing, for he stood up with a huge smile on his face. "The kiss! If I make sure that Icarus and Cassandra kiss, the deal is off!"
The teenage witch stood up, not sure what more to comment. "Are you sure?" she asked him, truly hoping that was the case and it was not some eternal and unbreakable contract.
"What else do we have to lose? And I know exactly how to fix it all" Hercules said, hugged Myrrhine in his excitement and jumped on Pegasus' back before the horse flew away.
The witch was left standing there, shocked by the sudden contact given to her by the demigod. Yet, a small smile formed on her magenta-painted lips and she kept her eyes on the flying horse as he flew further and further away.
Good luck Wonderboy, she said in her mind before she checked the time and realized she had to return to Hades.
Back in the Underworld, Myrrhine was seated on a chair in the meeting room. Across from her were Pain and Panic while Hades was the head of the table. In front of him was his lift with all the monsters loyal to him while his cunning brain formed yet another plan.
The witch had her sandals above the table and her hands in front of her chest. She leaned back with her chair, balancing it on the two back legs as she tried to keep her mind focused. Hercules might have a plan but so did she. Well…sort of.
Knowing that Hades would try the extreme way to handle Icarus, she most likely would have to find a way and interfere; to ensure the kid will be alright and that Hercules can make him kiss Cassandra; thus freeing her from this deal.
"Okay boys and lady" Hades started, too much in a good mood after he had managed to make the deal with the sheer. "It's a simple mission. Keep this Icarus from sucking face with my new sheer, okay?" he asked, orange flames covering the back of his neck and shoulders as he tried to prove how serious this job is.
"No sheer sucking got it," Panic said, writing down notes.
"Your faith in our skills is truly appreciated, your evil-headedness," Pain said, trying to sweet talk Hades.
Myrrhine rolled her eyes at their attempt to stay on Hades' good side, considering just how many missions they constantly failed. Sometimes, she truly wondered how come Hades still kept them around.
However, she did not comment anything. For if she only had to work with Pain and Panic, it would be much easier to sabotage them without drawing attention to herself. Yet, Tyche did not seem to favour her on that specific day.
"This is why I am sending backup" Hades continued, making the trio look at him.
"What?" they exclaimed at the same time, Myrrhine lowering her feet to the ground.
"Come on, they have me. They do not need backup" she said, trying to persuade Hades otherwise. Any other monster of Hades would make her sabotaging even harder, and Hercules' mission more troublesome.
The imps seem to agree with her, nodding their heads excessively. "That's right. The three of us can do this" Panic said.
Hades, though, did not seem to be persuaded. "Myrrhine is not coming. She will remain here, doing her job. You two with some backup should be more than enough to handle the job"
"But your evilness" Pain tried to argue but then something was summoned behind them.
"Boys. I would like you to meet Doubt"
From behind them, a huge brown cobra stretched its elongated body and bit on the air between the two imps, shocking them almost to death. The henchman was not a mere cobra, for he had a human-like muscled chest and arms to add to the package.
"Maybe, we do need backup" Pain corrected himself, shaking at the sight.
Ever Myrrhine was left watching with her lips parted, not sure what to address first. The fact that Hades would keep her in the Underworld or the monstrous abomination that had just been summoned.
The Imps had left with Doubt, the mighty monster that made you fear almost everything with one single bite. With them gone, Myrrhine tried to form a plan to go to the festival and assist Hercules.
The clock was ticking and Myrrhine was getting more nervous by the second. Thankfully, Tyche decided to show mercy upon her as an idea came to her mind. "I am going to continue this in my room. Since I am forced to stay here and do this job" she said, grabbing all the papyruses and holding them in her arms.
Hades was so used to her attitude, that he barely paid attention as he kept staring himself in the mirror. "Sure thing, babe. I am going to see that new sheer of mine and then get ready for the plan. I expect you will have finished those by the time I return" he said casually, ignorant of what the girl had in mind.
"Sure, boss" was all she said, trying not to draw too much attention to herself.
Without another word, Myrrhine headed for her room. Hades was too much in his world to notice and so, the girl entered her room and locked the door behind her, Of course, Hades could easily break it open any time he wanted, but she would like to hope that she could leave in secret, ensure Hercules' plan work and return before anyone realizing she was ever gone.
In seconds, she had taken the form of a falcon and was already on her way to fly out of the underworld. She just hoped, she was not too late.
Her first stop would be the house of Icarus, to check on the progress of Pain, Panic and Doubt. She hoped she would not arrive too late or that Hercules would have, miraculously, be present at the right time.
Landing outside the window of Icarus' room, she took her normal form and spied inside. Pain and Panic had failed to stop Icarus and Doubt had taken the lead. He had just bitten Icarus, forcing him to roll into a ball on the floor and shake from the pure feeling of fear rushing through his veins.
Just as he was about to exit and Myrrhine try to use her magic to help him, Hercules kicked the door open.
"Icarus!" he called his name and rushed to his shaking friend on the floor. "Come on, Icarus. We have to go"
"No! I do not want to go out. Don't make me!"
"What happened to you, Icarus" Hercules questioned, trying to hold his friend.
"I was bitten…by this thing!" he shouted, pointing behind Hercules where Doubt had lifted himself on his tail and was about to strike him too.
Hercules saw and at the last moment, he grabbed his friend and jumped to the side. Doubt bit empty air and turned to attack again when a lion jumped through the window. The powerful animal launched at the back of the serpent, trying to bite its shoulder and the momentum also forced the monster to fall forward to the ground.
Hercules did not stay to question, having already a mission in his mind. He tossed Icarus above his shoulder and rushed outside of the house. Leaving the lion and the monster snake to fight one another.
"What?" Pain and Panic exclaimed, exchanging a look between them.
Then, they focused back on the fight as the Lion delivered a strong bite on Doubt's tail and tossed him on the wall, breaking it. The monster was furious and tried to attack, only for the lion to dodge and jump out of the window. Filled with revenge, Doubt rushed to chase after it.
"Wait!" Pain shouted as the two imps transformed themselves into birds and tried to fly after him.
"You forget your mission!" Panic shouted next, trying to catch up on Doubt who kept chasing the lion, putting more distance between them and the city.
Back at the Underworld, Hades was still ensuring he looked good, even throwing on his hair something that made the fire burn orange before turning back to neon blue. Behind him, stood Pain and Panic, who tried to explain to him what had just happened. "A lion you said, interfered?" he asked calmly.
"Yeah…what are the odds, huh?" Panic asked, feeling extremely nervous at how calm Hades was.
"Wait…Aren't you mad?" Pain asked him.
"Mad? Why be mad?" he asked rhetorically, ensuring he was looking spotless in the mirror. "The show can still go on, boys. The night is not over yet" he said and then turned to them. "You know, I do feel the need for some marshmallow" he waved his hand, forming a red trident in his arm.
The imps knowing exactly what he meant and why he was saying that, they formed themselves into that specific delight just as Hades pinched them with his mini red trident. He then placed them above the fire of a wall torch and let them there. "You know how I like it, boys. Not too crispy" he said and started to walk away from them. "I will be right back. I first need to check on something" his tone grew darker as he uttered that sentence, something passing through his eyes as he headed for the room of the only person he knew could be behind all of this.
Back at the festival, Hercules was constantly trying to bring Icarus to Cassandra. After having hit her with a big love arrow, given to him by Aphrodite, the seer wanted nothing else but to kiss the short teenager.
That proved problematic since Icarus was terrified and constantly tried to dodge. Yet somehow, in the end, he managed to find the courage and he prepared his lips. The sight, though, was so horrific that snapped Cassandra from the love spell and caused her to run away, screaming.
Myrrhine had managed to watch everything from an alley, having arrived seconds before Cassandra ran away. She was panting slightly, having spent a lot of energy fighting and outrunning Doubt, who in the end, was summoned back. She should have made her way back to the Underworld, to ensure Hades would not figure out her plan; but she first had to check.
To her luck, Hades made his appearance and stopped Hercules from firing the last arrow. Summoning doubt from his shadow, he allowed the powerful monster to clash with Hercules and toss him to a nearby cart with food. Ducking and avoiding him, the demigod tried to shoot an arrow only to realize that he had dropped the bow and the quiver during the process.
The god of the Underworld walked toward his nephew, only to be stopped by Cassandra. "Hey, you were supposed to stop this!" she demanded, pointing at the love-sick Icarus that tried to kiss her.
Getting tired of dealing with teenagers, Hades shot his magic at the boy, causing him to become white and pass out in eternal sleep.
"Icarus!" Hercules called his friend's name but was grabbed by Doubt, who did not let him approach.
Myrrhine watched everything from her hidden place, her mouth open at the sight. While she did find Icarus annoying, she did not like seeing him getting hit like that and trapped in endless sleep. Her eyes went from the guilt-feeling Cassandra kneeling by his body, to a struggling Hercules.
She wanted to interfere, help put an end to it but she could not. Hades was present and soon, even the gods would be. If she made any move, she threatened to expose not only her gifts to everyone but also her alliance with Hades. On top of all, Hades would torture her eternally for running his plan.
When all seem to be lost, someone made their appearance. None other than the goddess of love appeared in a small hurricane of expensive perfume and flower petals. Upon witnessing her charming form, Hades was at a loss for words. He tried to keep himself cool and compliment the goddess, only to fail more miserably than Hercules.
At least now, it was obvious to Myrrhine from where Hercules got that awkward flirting side and a need to humiliate himself when trying to play cool.
Aphrodite turned to doubt and blew him a kiss in the shape of a heart. Once it touched the monster, it made him all sweet and nice. He gave a big kiss on Hercules' cheek and put him down gently. Then, the goddess focused on the one behind all that trouble.
"Hades, Hades. Doing that 'eternal sleep' again? That is so last week" she said as she stood next to Cassandra, eyeing the girl and then the innocent boy that was hit by the curse.
"What? No, no…I mean… yeah, yeah-"
"Okay, shut up," Aphrodite said, lifting her hand to interrupt and also silence Hades with only three words.
'Wow' was all Myrrhine mouthed quietly, never seeing someone treating Hades that way and having any effect on him. She made a mental note to never anger Aphrodite or get on her bad side. A thing she wished, she was not already considering how her mother used love potions and blackmail to win over men.
"Here is the catch. He is not dead and he can be awakened, only by a kiss from the one he loves" Aphrodite explained to Cassandra.
"You kidding me," the Sheer said, looking between Icarus and the goddess. "She is kidding, right?" she asked Hades.
"Well…no, not really…" Hades admitted as he marched towards them. "But, hey, look, we got a deal. You cannot kiss him-"
Once again, the goddess of love interrupted him. "You, stay out of this"
Hercules clasped his hands together. "Cassandra, you have to kiss him"
"Don't worry, I will provide the atmosphere," Aphrodite said, doing exactly that.
Cassandra looked around and let out a sigh. "Just like in my vision" she muttered before she bent and kissed Icarus on the lips.
As it was told, the boy was awoken from the Eternal Sleep. Yet, Hades was not over yet. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he pushed her to the side and tried to explain the situation to him. Much to Myrrhine's dismay, Hades never had a big plan. He simply had a crush on Aphrodite and wanted to ask her out.
Of course, Hades being Hades, said that too loud and the goddess heard him. Yet, the god of the underworld tried once again his luck, only to be rejected on multiple levels by the goddess's comments about his attitude, clothing, breath and the cherry to the top; her husband.
"Hephaestus" the woman shouted and the mighty god of blacksmiths appeared.
All muscled and carrying a huge hammer, he seemed to have noticed pretty much everything and he was not happy about the situation. Hades tried to sweet talk his way out but the god did not have any of this.