Chapter 1: The Return of Typhon (and Aria)
"Thank you for coming to the Mediterranean Tea!" Mom announced to the leaving customers. "We'll be open after Titan Smitin' Day."
"Ma'am, this is the best, and only, tea shop in the whole city-state." a rich-looking blonde woman complimented as she started to leave the shop.
"Why thank you." Mom kindly smiled at the woman. "My daughter and I worked hard on making this shop perfect for all of our customers."
"Well, my compliments to you and your daughter." the woman smiled.
"Thank you." Mom said as the woman left the store.
Well, it's officially been almost four months since Mom and I decided to stay in Ancient Greece, and since then, a lot of changes have happened. Mom opened up another tea shop, and it's become the biggest trend in Athens thus far. Heck, on opening day, we had a line that reached the store door to nearly two miles down the street; becoming an Ancient Greek version of Starbucks, only without the Pumpkin Spice Lattes or any of that other fancy crap. I'm honestly really happy that Mom's business practically boomed overnight. If anyone deserves this kind of appreciation for what she does best, it's my mom.
As for me, well, I've been doing better myself. I've had four months to help heal over the lies I had to tell and the guilt I had while working for Hades, and I'm proud to say that I feel a thousand times better than when I did a while ago. Sure, the guilt likes to pop up every now and again, but I've learned to forgive myself for what I did. Mom says that's the best way to start healing, after all. And in another week, I'll be ready to face my friends again in school. Only this time, I won't be working for Hades. All that's behind me now.
Once all the customers left, Mom locked the door and flipped the 'Open' sign to 'Close'. "Alright, shop's closed. Aria, did you-"
"I washed down all the tables, dust mopped the floor, and threw out the uneaten baklava and cinnamon pita." I listed all the closing chores I normally do before she could tell me.
"You're on a roll." Mom smirked as she ruffled my hair.
"Well, we've been working hard all day, and you deserve to rest from standing up and brewing tea all day." I told her as I finished putting the chairs on the tables.
"Thanks, sweetie." she smiled as she yawned. "And with that, I'm heading to bed early tonight."
""I'm about to take out the trash before heading up, is that okay?" I asked her.
"So long as you don't make any loud noises." Mom told me.
"Got it." I gave her a thumbs-up. "Night, Mom."
"Goodnight, sweetie." Mom told me as she started to make her way upstairs.
I sighed a breath of relief after working so hard that day. I went over to take out the trash can to the garbage bin we had out in the back of the store. When I went back out there, I heard something rattling in a crate next to the garbage bin. I quickly dumped out the trash, and when I set down the trash can, I went to inspect the crate. I was expecting a stray cat or a rat that got a paw stuck in the wooden sections, but the moment I lifted up the crate, I was tackled by a flash of magenta and teal.
"What are you guys doing here?" I laughed as I hugged the imps back.
"Came for a visit." Pain said as he looked up at me.
"It's been so boring in the Underworld since you left!" Panic added dramatically.
"You said that two days ago when you last visited." I told him when we broke off the hug.
"The point still stands." Panic defended himself.
"You bunch of dorks." I giggled as I pulled out a small bag from my pocket, revealing two pieces of baklava. "Here, these were supposed to be my breakfast for tomorrow, but might as well give them to you two."
Both imps smiled as they each snatched a piece. "Thanks."
"So, how are things in the Underworld?" I asked them.
"The usual." the imps said in unison as they ate their snack.
"And Hades still hasn't come for a visit?" I asked a rhetorical question.
Pain gave a nod as he finished the baklava. "He wants to, but y'know how it is."
"Yeah, I know:" I said before I stated one rule about Hades. "'The Lord of the Dead's work is never done"."
Yeah, unlike the imps who try to visit whenever they could, I hadn't seen Hades once after he set me free to live with my mom in the mortal realm. I get that he's busy with the Underworld and his plan to takeover Olympus, but he should've at least made an effort to stop by to say "Hey, how you doing?" or something. Hate to admit it, but I kind of missed his nonstop talking and sarcasm, and honestly, I think Mom was missing him too. It's still pretty weird to know that they used to date and now that she could see him again, she can't just leave Athens to visit him. She still has some feelings for him even after their break-up.
"Well, if he won't come to visit, maybe I could." I decided as I stood up. "And knowing Hades, that's probably what he'll want."
"But what about your mom?" Panic asked me.
"I could leave her a note." I thought out loud.
"Maybe you and your mom could see him during the Titan Smitin' festival?" Pain suggested.
I blinked in interest of the idea. "Really?"
"Yeah, all the gods go every year." Pain explained. "I mean, Hades does go there for a couple of minutes, but he'll be up there with the other gods."
"And I know just the person who can take me up to see him!" I smiled largely as I scooped up the imps and twirled them in a hug. "Oh, you little geniuses are the best!"
Unfortunately, while we were having our usually friend group hug, I accidentally kicked over the trash can. Causing it to crash loudly onto the ground and cause a racket, and with a single light turning on upstairs from an oil lamp, I knew that I had screwed up big time.
"Crap! That's my mom!" I panicked.
The imps flew out of my arms and hovered next to me.
"Uh, see you next time?" Panic asked me.
"Hopefully, if I'm not grounded." I told him before giving he and Pain each a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead. "Love you guys."
"Love you too." they both said before disappearing in puffs of magenta and teal smoke.
I did my best to sneak back inside the shop without drawing too much attention to myself, but that didn't work. The moment I stepped foot back inside, a dim light shone my way, and I turned with wide eyes at my mother standing on the stairs in her night gown, one hand holding an oil lamp and the other hand was tapping fingernails against the banister as she gave me a stern look. That, dear readers, was the look of disappointment. Something no one wants their parent to give them.
"What did I say about making loud noises?" Mom asked me.
I eyed outside at the fallen trash can and then looked back at Mom. "A stray cat spooked me?"
Mom arched a brow at me. "I thought we agreed that if you wanted to see the imps at night, go at least two miles away from the house or at least visit them in the Underworld."
"In my defense, they came here as a surprise." I told her in defeat, knowing that she really knew what happened in the alley.
Instead of talking about what I did further, I just made my way upstairs to go to bed with Mom following me. But just before I entered my room to turn in for the night, a little suggestion from the imps' and I's conversation popped into my head. If Hades wasn't going to visit me, then I might as well go visit him.
"Hey, Mom?" I spoke up. "Can we go to the Titan Smitin' Day festival this weekend?"
Mom gave me a confused look. "Why?"
"Well, we both deserve a break from working, and what better way to do that than going to a festival?" I explained.
Mom thought about it for a moment. "I guess a small vacation wouldn't hurt, but we're not even real Ancient Greeks, Aria. Won't that be kind of rude?"
"It won't matter." I assured her. "Only, like, a few people know that we're really from an alternate universe in the future, so what's the harm in going?"
"Alright, we'll go." she finally said. "But don't expect us to be there at a decent time. Traffic will be miserable."
"I know, Mom." I nodded with a smile.
Mom gave a small laugh. "Good, now go to bed."
"Yes, ma'am." I nodded and went into my bedroom, satisfied with the fact that Pain's suggestion was a good one.
The Next Day
Well, we closed the shop for the weekend, rented ourselves a chariot, and drove miles to Mount Etna were the Titan Smitin' Day festival was being held. For those who are unaware, this festival was supposed to celebrate Zeus defeating the monster Typhon. But I was mainly excited for two reasons: One, obviously, I might get to see Hades again and two, I might bump into my friends from school. Particularly Hercules, Icarus, and Cassandra. I hadn't seen any of them since the day Mom came to this world, so it'll be great to see them again.
"This is gonna be the greatest three-day weekend ever!" I smiled when we finally arrived at Mount Etna.
"Why are you so excited about this?" Mom asked me with a small laugh.
"My school friends are gonna be at the festival, and I wanna surprise them." I told her. "We haven't seen each other since the day I tried running away."
"So, in equivalence to our world, what exactly is this festival like?" Mom asked me about the festival and the special weekend.
"I think it's kinda like a Memorial Day or Labor Day weekend? I dunno." I did my best to describe the festival. "All I know is that it's the remembrance of Typhon's defeat."
"And that is?"
"The father of all monsters."
"Why did I have to share you the stories from my father's country?" Mom rolled her eyes and gave a small laugh. "You just had to take an interest in Greek Mythology."
"There was no way I was ever gonna read those crappy romance novels." I stated. "Besides, Greek Myths are actually cool and interesting."
"Romance novels are cool too." Mom said. "You just don't want to grow up."
"Honestly, I'd rather keep my youth than read about a staler-than-breadcrust girl falling for a sparkly, monster-inaccurate stalker." I remarked.
Mom laughed at my comment, but I didn't seem to understand the humor in my statement. I was being honest. Why bother reading about the same, boring cliché romance trope only with bad writing and characters over and over again when you could read about supped-up humans fighting monsters or immortal gods doing stupid stuff and taking their anger out on humans? Now that's entertainment.
"Okay, you remember the rules?" Mom changed the subject as we drove to a designated parking spot to drop off our rented horse and chariot.
"Don't spend all my drachmae at one booth, don't get lost, and don't talk to strangers." I listed impatiently. "I know, Mom."
"Hey, it's a mother's job to look after her kid." Mom gave me a quick hug. "Make good choices, sweetie."
"I will. I love you." I told her as I began to go my own way and started walking towards the fairgrounds.
"Love you too." she waved back.
Yeah, since I was sixteen going on seventeen, this meant that I was old enough to explore a fairgrounds by myself. Back home, when we could spare the cash during any fall festival or pop-up carnival, Mom always made me follow her around so she wouldn't lose me, but now, she let me do my own thing so long as I was responsible enough. Besides, apparently one of Mom's business partners was also at the festival and wanted to talk to her about something. I wasn't sure who Mom's partner was, but all I knew was that the lady was kind and rich.
Anyway, when I left Mom to her business partner, I made the most of the day and went to look around to see if there was anything I would find interesting. Only problem was that the set-up for the festival itself was interesting. There were so many cool things to see for being a time set in Ancient Greece. I mean, yeah, the whole place looked like a pop-up carnival for the Fourth of July but seeing everything the way it was almost 4,000 years before any technology made it possible just kept reminding me how cool it really was to live in this dimension. Heck, the place even had a Ferris wheel, a rarity for this time period.
During my walk, I spotted someone I was excited to see again. A familiar red-headed boy in a white single strapped toga, followed by a handsome white winged stallion. I knew I would bump into Hercules at some point during the festival, but I didn't think it'd be so soon. Pegasus then gave a sniff in the air and looked my way, and instead of him being mad at me for lying to his master, the horse gave a happy whinny and trotted over to me. Nuzzling his head against me and licking my face in excitement. I guess when Hercules forgave me for what I did, so did Pegasus.
"Hey, easy, bud!" I laughed as I tried pushing his head away. "I missed you too."
"Pegasus? Where'd you go?" Hercules called out.
Hercules looked through the crowd and spotted Pegasus, but when he came over and saw who his pet got excited to see, Hercules could hardly believe his eyes.
"Aria?" he asked.
"Hey." I smiled.
Hercules smiled brightly and picked me up and spun me around in a hug. I had to admit, I missed him hugging me like that, and I missed him the most out of my school friends. Especially since he, with a somewhat exception to Cassandra, was the first to accept and understand why I was in his world and time when I told him the truth.
"How are you here?" he asked me in happy disbelief once he put me back down. "I thought you had to leave for your world."
"So did I, but that stupid secret I told you about revealed itself, so you're stuck with me for life." I told him.
"That's awesome." Herc smiled. "So, what was the secret?"
"Promise you won't overreact?" I asked him.
When he gave me a nod, I took a deep breath and told him Mom and Hades' secret. "It turns out that when my mom came here years ago, she used to both work for and date Hades."
"Hades?" Hercules repeated in shock.
"Yep." I replied. "Apparently, their personal relationship didn't end as well as their business relationship."
Herc rubbed the back of his neck as he processed the information. "Wow, seems crazy."
"It was." I gave a chuckle.
"Well, it's good to know that you're staying." he said with a kind smile. "We've got a lot of catching up to do."
Hercules and I walked together to see all the different booths and we just spent a while catching up with each other. His summer was pretty steady, what with him spending more hours training with Phil and helping his godly parents patch things up after Hades tried to ruin their marriage, and I told him about working at my mom's shop. It was nice to talk to him again after so long, especially since the last time we saw each other was kind of a tense situation.
"Take a shot at Typhon!" a man from one game booth called out. "Three bolts for a drachma!"
I examined the game at the booth and saw that it was one of those moving target games, like the ones you would use darts at. Only this one used wooden pieces of wood carved in the shape of thunderbolts and the moving targets were cutouts of some red creature with snakes for arms and a dog-like face: Typhon, I assumed.
"Oh! I love these games!" I beamed in excitement as Herc and I stopped at the booth.
"Aren't they supposed to be rigged?" Hercules asked me as I paid for three bolts.
"My friend, I have a crystal clear, pin-point vision." I smirked at him. "Observe."
I aimed the first bolt and got it right in the center of one target. The same thing happened with the second bolt, and as well as the third. I stood there proud as I folded my arms and smirked at Hercules.
"Hey, not a bad shot, missy." the guy at the booth complimented as he took out the bolts and gave me a small thunderbolt charm as a reward -not the best reward, but I thought it was cute.
"Thank you." I smiled as I put the charm in my pocket.
"Hey, kid, why don't you give it a shot?" the guy in the booth asked Hercules. "Maybe you got a little bit of Zeus in you?"
"Maybe I do." Herc smirked as he paid his one drachma.
"Atta boy!" the guy said as he gave three bolts to Hercules. "Take your best shot."
Hercules took one bolt, aimed it at one of the targets, but the moment he threw it, the bolt landed above one of the targets and got stuck in the wall. He gave a nervous chuckle and tried to take his chances with the second bolt and threw it too, only for it to get stuck in the wall just below the targets.
"You make this look easy." Hercules gave a small complaint as he held the third bolt.
"Try it like this." I helped him aim the last bolt. "Don't focus on where the target is, focus on where it's gonna be."
Hercules took my advice to heart, focused on one of the targets that was slowly making its way to shooting view, aimed the last bolt right before said target was in sight, and finally…
"Ah, Hercster!"
Hercules panicked at the sudden jump scare, lost focus on the target, and he accidentally threw the bolt right at an unsuspecting woman three booths down. Herc bowed his head in defeat just as Hermes approached us, indicating that he was the one who called for Hercules.
"Been lookin' all over for you." Hermes said before looking at me. "Oh, hey, Aria. Good to see you again."
"Nice to see you too, Hermes." I greeted him.
He smiled at me before looking at the damage he accidentally let Herc cause. "Ooh, just missed. Tough luck."
"Story of my life." Herc sighed.
"Well, here's some good news:" Hermes said as he handed Hercules a scroll invite. "You're invited on Cloud 33."
"Really?" Hercules' eyes lit up as he looked at the invitation.
"Saddle up, Herc-babe." Hermes told him. "Let's fly."
"Hey, is it okay if I bring Aria along?" Herc asked.
"Hey, the more the merrier, babe." Hermes said.
Hercules helped me up onto Pegasus and he sat right in front of me. "You ready?"
"Let's do this." I told him just as we took off.
We flew right above Mount Etna onto a large patch of cloud. I squinted my eyes and saw a bunch of the gods and goddesses mingling amongst themselves to enjoy the celebration; a formal party, if you want a better description. I kept a lookout for Hades so I could surprise him, but he was nowhere to be seen. He must've done his usual stay for a drink and then immediately leave the party shtick, which meant that I had just missed my one chance so far to meet up with him. It was alright though, even if I couldn't see Hades, I still got a free invite to celebrate among the gods.
"Wish us luck, Pegasus." Hercules said as he and I were led into the party by Hermes.
"So, this is what an Olympian party looks like?" I asked as I looked around.
"It's, uh, warmer than I thought." Herc stated in a sort of awkward tone.
"You sure it's okay if I'm here?" I then asked him a more serious question. "I mean, don't your parents kind of hate me when they found out I used to work for Hades?"
"Well, I never really told them." Hercules said.
I blinked in surprise. "You didn't?"
"It was just Icarus and I who saw you that day, and I thought it was best not to tell anyone else." he explained to me. "I knew you wouldn't want every person in Greece to hate you for what happened."
I gave him a smile. "Well, thanks. I guess."
"You think you'll be okay?" he asked me. "The last time you went to Olympus, you almost died."
"I should be fine." I told him. "The record is about an hour or so, so if you see my hair turning white any time after that, it's time for me to leave."
"Gotcha" he smiled.
"I'm sorry, sir and madame." a pink cherub stopped us from going any further. "This is a private god party."
"Well, I-I'm a demigod, and she's my guest." Hercules did his best to explain.
"Hey, get back, cat!" Hermes snapped at the cherub. "They're with the Zeus party."
"Uh, yeah, look under Z." Hercules added.
"O-oh, right this way, young sir and madame." the cherub apologized with a bow and let us pass. "Do enjoy yourselves."
"Thank you." Herc told the cherub.
Hermes then led us to a formal table where Zeus and Hera were talking about something. Something that sounded a bit serious considering that Hercules and I only heard what sounded like the last part of their conversation.
"I just don't see why it has to be today of all days." Zeus said.
"Because it is the perfect opportunity to tell Hercules." Hera told him.
"Tell me what?" Hercules asked them.
Zeus hesitated before answering. "Uh, nothing."
"Oh, how nice to see you again, Ariadne." Hera greeted me with a warm smile.
"It's nice to see you again, your majesties." I addressed her and Zeus with a respectful bow. "I can see you're both doing great after that little tiff a few months ago."
"We're doing much better, thank you." Hera said.
"So, why did you send for me?" Hercules asked his father.
"I sent for you, Hercules, because I thought your father had something important to tell you." Hera continued.
"Oh, Father, before I forget." Hercules said as he handed a scroll to Zeus.
""With a dad like you, I cannot lose. You're up there with the mighty Zeus."" Zeus read what was written on the scroll. ""Happy Titan Smitin' Day, from your loving son.""
"Actually, you're more than right up there with Zeus." Herc pointed out. "You are Zeus."
"Oh, son!" Zeus smiled largely as he hugged Hercules.
I gave a small smile at that little scene, but still felt a little jealous of it too. Y'know, because Herc actually had dads in his life while I had none? I tried my best not to show it, but the only one who noticed was Hermes. Who gave me a supportive pat on the shoulder. Yeah, sometime after he found out my secret, I did end up telling Hermes about my dad and how he was somehow related to me being in this world, and Hermes had been so supportive about it and even knew exactly how I felt. He grew up without a dad too, so knowing that someone else knew how I felt on the subject of fathers helped a lot.
Anyway, enough about my problems. Let's get back to the story…
"So, what did Mother think you would tell me that you decided not to tell me?" Hercules asked his father.
"Well, I get a lot of attention this holiday because of the Typhon battle," Zeus began as he put Hercules back down. "And I decided that this year, you should be the first to throw the bolt. In my honor."
"Really? You mean it? In front of everyone!?" Hercules asked excitedly.
"Of course! You're my son." Zeus said. "You should get your chance to shine!"
"Oh, thank you, Father!" Hercules hugged his father in excitement.
"C'mon, let's rock 'n roll, Hercanator." Hermes told him. "You're on in five."
Hercules gave a large grin as he followed Hermes.
"Hey, remember what I told you about the target!" I called out just before he left.
"Will! Thanks!" Hercules smiled back at me before he ran off to throw the bolt.
"I'm glad that Hercules brought you here to celebrate with us, Ariadne." Zeus addressed me. "He'll need the confidence from a friend like you."
"It's such an honor to be here, sir." I said. "It's actually my first time celebrating Titan Smitin' Day."
"Is that so?" he asked me.
I nodded. "Yeah. I came here with my mom to celebrate. We don't really do festivals a whole lot."
"Speaking of the celebration." Hera said as she arched a brow at her husband.
"Don't look at me that way!" Zeus said to her. "I couldn't disappoint the boy."
"I know." Hera agreed before getting to a point. "But he is our son. He deserves to know the truth."
"Truth?" I repeated. "What truth?"
"Nothing to be concerned about, I assure you." Zeus told me as he got up to watch Hercules throw the bolt.
"Won't you join us for the celebration?" Hera asked me as she followed Zeus.
"It'd be my honor, my lady." I told her as I walked beside her.
I followed the queen, and we stood just inches away from the border of the cloud. Where we could see the festival about a solid fifty or so feet below us. I would've been more nervous if I were scared of heights, but it was actually really cool to see. From where I was, the mortals down below looked like a bunch of little ants. I wondered if that's how the gods saw us from the view of Olympus.
"Morpheus, hit the lights, babe!" Hermes called out to the god of sleep -in which Morpheus carefully used his sleep blanket to make the twilight sky look like the night sky and miraculously didn't make anyone fall asleep.
"This is so cool." I beamed at what I was seeing.
"Ladies and gentlemen, cats and chicks," Hermes told the crowd. "That crazy day is upon us, and that day is…"
"Titan Smitin' Day!" the crowd below cheered.
As another bonus and to entertain the crowd, Hermes sang a little ballad about this infamous festival. Mostly talking about how exactly Zeus defeated Typhon, which was by the ever-so-usual Zeus tactic of throwing a thunderbolt at Typhon. But the way he did it was admittedly impressive: Zeus threw the bolt behind the shoulder right into Typhon, who was sent right into Mount Etna and where he was buried alive for centuries. And that's how the story goes. It's a lot cooler when Hermes tells it though.
Speaking of which.
Once the messenger of the gods was done telling the story, the crowd of mortals applauded Hermes and even the gods and goddesses clapped for him too. I also may have been clapping too. What can I say? Hermes is a really good performer -and not a bad singer either- when it came to some pretty epic stories.
"Wow, Hermes, what a finale!" I clapped in amazement as he flew my way.
"Impressed, huh?" Hermes smirked at me.
"Well, I never did take you as a music god." I told him.
"I have many talents, babe." he winked.
I felt my face turn red and warm and I turned myself away from him before I could say anything else to make me look stupid. Why did I always feel so awkward around him? And it's not because he almost saw me naked, okay? I was way too awkward in front of Hermes before all that mess happened. I had to mentally remind myself to get a grip; no crushing on anyone. Especially a charming god such as Hermes. I'm not going to be traumatized with a failed relationship like Mom was.
Anyway, enough about that.
The moment finally arrived for Hercules to throw the first bolt to enact the celebration. Everyone cheered and clapped him on as he prepared to throw the bolt at a Typhon shaped target on the ground. Unfortunately, I saw a cocky look on Herc's face as he began to aim the bolt; by aiming the bolt from behind the shoulder with his eyes closed and stood on one foot, just like Hermes said Zeus did all those years ago. Not to mention he completely ignored my advice on aiming for targets.
Zeus facepalmed in embarrassment. "Oh, my gods, not from that stupid myth!"
"You should've told him!" Hera told her husband.
"I take it you didn't really do all that stuff they said you did?" I casually asked.
Zeus sighed in defeat. "You're a clever girl."
"You know, I really hate that sometimes." I admitted.
And with that, Hercules threw the bolt. And you didn't need the Fates or Cassandra to predict what happened next. The lightning bolt missed the target an hit a pillar, which then ricocheted off it and was sent zooming through the crowd below -I was worried about my mom being down there during all that chaos above anything else. The bolt then stuck an Ancient Greek version of a haunted house, and soared right back towards the cloud all the gods and goddesses were on. The moment the bolt hit the cloud; it all went tumbling down like a deflated blimp.
I tried what I could to balance myself, but I lost my footing as the cloud fell right out of the sky. Hera tried to save me in time, but I couldn't reach her hand and I ended up falling right off the cloud. I would've fallen to my death, but I thankfully had someone save me just before I hit the ground. Hermes caught me just in time and got me back to the ground safely.
"You good, babe?" he asked when he placed me on my feet.
"I'm okay." I panted. "Not the first near-death experience I've had."
"What is it with you and either getting hurt or almost dying every time I see you?" he cynically asked. "Is that just like the theme of your life here?"
"You'd be surprised how often I ask myself that." I told him.
Just then, Hercules arrived on Pegasus. I could tell by the look on his face that he was positively mortified about what he had done, especially with all the grimaces some of the other gods threw at him when they walked away from the downed cloud. I guess sometimes being the human offspring of a god can make one carry the expectations of both mortals and immortals alike. Fortunately for Hercules, Hermes and I weren't like said mortals or immortals.
"Herc, don't sweat this, man." Hermes told him with some words of encouragement. "What good is immortality if you don't test it once in a while?"
"And, hey, at least no one got hurt." I added some positivity.
Hermes turned to me. "Really?"
"Well, maybe somebody got hurt," I shrugged. "But probably nobody we knew."
Hercules shook his head. "But I really didn't-"
"Look, forget about it." Hermes stopped him. "Your dad's smoothing everything over."
"Sure. Of course." Herc said sadly.
"You two go." Hermes ushered us towards the fairgrounds. "Have fun."
"Thanks, Hermes." I told him as Hercules and I started to walk off.
But before I could follow after Hercules, Hermes stopped me once again. "Uh, there was, however, some talk among security staff about him being a public hazard."
"I'll tell Herc later." I assured him. "He's too depressed right now."
"Thanks, babe." Hermes smiled before flying back to the other gods.
After he left, I decided to try and follow Hercules to try and comfort him, but when I turned back around, I saw that Herc was already accompanied by two other people. Icarus and Cassandra had shown up to give Herc some support after his epic fail. And as much as I was happy to see them again and wanted to talk to them, I was a little indecisive. I didn't really know how exactly they felt about what happened a few months ago, especially Icarus. So, I decided to just stay behind and watch and listen to their conversation.
"I've been there, pal." Icarus patted Hercules on the back.
"And hey, you stuck to the story." Cassandra added.
"Oh, yeah, that over the shoulder, eyes closed on one foot thing, that was so Zeus-" Icarus mimicked the pose Hercules did but stopped himself when he finally noticed me. "Wait. Aria, is that you?"
I gave him and a surprised Cassandra a small smile. "Uh, hey, guys. I, uh-"
Icarus stopped me with a hug and a dramatic cry. "I missed you so muuu-uuu-ch!"
"Feeling's mutual, bud." I hugged him back.
"What happened to you ditching this world?" Cassandra asked me with a smile on her face -shocker, I know.
"Eh, I decided that staying here ain't so bad." I told her an abridged version of what happened as Icarus broke off the hug. "Besides, unlike home, I got some friends here. That is, if you still want to be friends."
"Oh, sure we do!" Icarus grinned. "The weirdo, future seer, future girl, and son of Zeus gang is back, baby!"
"Patton-pending with the name?" I questioned.
"I still vote for the Loser Club." Cassandra shrugged before looking over at one member of our group. "But speaking of the son of Zeus."
"Oh, yeah," I remembered as I turned to Hercules. "You wanna tell us why you threw the bolt like your dad did? Was it just to honor him or something?"
"No." Herc shook his head sadly. "He can pull off that kind of stunt. I can't."
One Hour Later
Well, Hercules was in no better mood after what happened, and it showed for the rest of the evening. The poor guy looked bluer than a bushel of valerians in the rain, and nothing Icarus, Cassandra, or I could do to make him feel better. In fact, when the four of us went to the stables to leave -well, the three of them were going to leave, I wanted to stick around the festival a little while longer- Hercules just wanted to load up all of the stuff Icarus got at the festival onto Pegasus and leave as soon as ASAP.
"Can't believe what a fool I made of myself." Hercules pitied himself. "It's the worst Titan Smitin' festival ever."
"Will you stop being so dramatic?" I cynically stated before giving him some advice. "You made a mistake, the important thing is you learn from it, let it go, and do things right."
"I'd like to see that happen." Hercules rejected my advice.
"Then you better brace yourselves." Cassandra stated dryly. "It gets worse."
I rolled my eyes at her. "As usual, Cass, your prickly cynicism entices the situation."
"Yeah." Herc agreed with me. "How can things get worse?"
Cassandra pointed at something behind us, and when we turned around, our jaws nearly dropped. A large, strange looking, green monster flew across the sky, roaring a terrifying roar and flying closer to the crowd. The monster had to have been at least twenty-feet-tall -maybe more, had large horns on the head, and the upper half of its body was humanoid with a lion-like mane sat on the neck like a fluffy collar while the lower half was a dragon's body complete with dragon wings, a scorpion-like tail added to the look of the monster. In its arms was chubby purple dragon that had to have been at least ten-feet-tall.
"Holy Styx!" I exclaimed. "What is that?"
Hercules gulped as he stared at the green monster. "I think that's Echidna."
My eyes widened and I gave a gulp as well. For those who are either uncultured, just forget the basics of Greek Mythology 101, or think that the name only belonged to the Australian animal most commonly associated with a popular red variant from a video game, Echidna was known as the mother of all monsters. Every unholy offspring made famous by myth was either one of her kids or the outcome of one of the gods getting pissed off by a mortal. But more often than not, they were Echidna's kids. You're probably wondering why she was to defend Typhon's honor, well, he's her husband. So, her terrorizing everyone was to probably honor her mate's wishes.
I looked over at the purple dragon Echidna was holding through the chaos and made a horrible realization. If that thing came here with Echidna, and was much smaller than her, that must've been one of her newest babies. My guess was that she couldn't find a babysitter or something to take care of her dragonet while she went off to terrorize and eat a bunch of mortals.
Echidna landed in the center of the fairgrounds, sending people running to their chariots and the docks in a panic and destroying every building in her path. I looked through the crowd to try and find my mom to make sure she was okay, but she was nowhere to be seen. I only hoped she managed to get away from the chaos in time. Meanwhile, Hercules got Icarus and Cassandra to the docks safely and I followed after them. Hercules was already geared up in his hero-in-training armor. Which meant that he was ready to fight Echidna off to try to keep everyone safe. And you all can take a wild guess as to whether or not I decided to get in with all this chaotic fun. Spoiler: I totally got into it.
Hercules tossed Icarus' stuff into a boat. "You guys take the boat and get outta here."
"What about you?" Icarus asked him.
"It's time I did something right." Hercules said as he hopped on Pegasus. "My father defeated the father of all monsters, I'm gonna defeat the mother of all monsters."
I grabbed his wrist before he took off. "Hey, if you think you're going after her alone, you got another thing coming."
Hercules shook his head. "Aria, it's too dangerous."
"Look me in the eye and tell me when have I never did anything dangerous in the year we've known each other." I told him with a mean look.
"Fair point." Hercules shrugged as he gave in. "Just stay close."
I hopped on Pegasus and sat behind Hercules, I looked over to Cassandra and Icarus with one request. "If you guys find my mom, tell her I'm okay and get her to safety."
"Gotcha!" Icarus gave me a thumbs-up as he and Cassandra hopped into the boat and rowed away.
And with that, Pegasus took off, and Hercules and I headed right for Echidna -who let her baby down to play while she went on with her carnage. Now, handling an orthus, Cerberus, the River Styx's waters, Hecate, a gold-lust monarch and his lackeys, Jafar, and man-eating mares were pretty easy to tackle -even if one of them turned me into an imp for three days- but Echidna was different. Sure, she had no magic powers like Hecate or Jafar, but she was just as terrifying as any monster I've faced with Hercules. Not to mention, she probably had experience dealing and eating heroes and their accomplices. Clearly, we were outmatched.
"As a hero-in-training, I insist you return to your domain." Hercules tried to order Echidna.
"As a monster in a mood, I insist you feed the baby." Echidna retorted as she grabbed Hercules and threw him right into the dragonet's mouth -in which case, Hercules literally punched himself out of and landed on the ground unharmed and covered in saliva.
I tried to go after him, but I accidentally caught Echidna's attention as Pegasus and I flew past her.
"Two of you?" she questioned. "I hadn't seen a female hero in a long time."
"Hey, I'm no hero," I started as I turned Pegasus back around to face her. "But as someone with a temper, I insist you and your baby back off!"
Echidna laughed at me. "And what exactly are you going to do about it?"
"I'm on a horse, aren't I?" I retorted before giving Pegasus an order. "Buck her, bud!"
Pegasus gave a grunt and bucked Echidna right on the nose, which hurt her so much she lost focus on us for a moment and held her nose in pain. Which gave Pegasus and I plenty of time to fly away before Echidna could get us back. We circled around the fairgrounds to try and find Hercules, witnessing first-hand the damage of Echidna's carnage, and eventually found the demigod laying on the ground in a heap, wiping off any of that dragon saliva from his person.
"Need a lift?" I asked as I helped him up.
"Thanks, guys." Herc told Pegasus and I as he sat in front of me again.
With that, Pegasus took to the sky once again, right back towards Echidna.
"Ok, of all the dumb things we've ever done, I think this is by far the dumbest thing ever!" I stated.
"We've gotta head her off!" Hercules yelled back. "Drive her away from everyone or do something to stop her."
"Have you considered tying her legs and wings together?" I asked him cynically with the idea of going all Empire Strikes Back on Echidna.
"Actually, I think I've got a better idea." Herc said as we swooped down towards one of the fair rides that looked like Zeus' head and slammed it over Echidna's giant face. Temporarily blinding her.
"Ha. She looks good with a beard." Hercules joked.
"She's still kinda ugly." I reminded.
"I heard that!" Echidna yelled offendedly from underneath her mask. "When I find you two, these stupid fairgrounds won't be the only thing that's broken!"
"Oh, yeah?" I taunted her. "Come and get us then!"
Echidna swung her claws, but Pegasus was too quick for her to swipe at him.
"Where are you, you little demibrats?" Echidna roared as she tried to feel around for Hercules and I.
I was just about to correct her that I wasn't a demigod when Hercules jumped off Pegasus and right onto Echidna's back. He slid down towards her scorpion tail, and while I though he had a death wish, I watched in amusement as he brought the stinger and jabbed it right into Echidna's rear. She roared in pain and tried pulling it out of her. Hercules jumped off her back and signaled Pegasus and I to pick him up again. Yep, this little adventure was just like old times.
Unfortunately, it also led to another major slip-up like old times.
You see, when Echidna was trying to pull her stinger out of her butt, she started to lose her balance and that gave Hercules the advantage to bring her down. So, he took the Ferris wheel I saw from earlier, and flung it like a discus at her. Well, Echidna finally managed to get her mask off her and saw the Ferris wheel coming right at her. She ducked, and we all watched in horror as the wheel sawed right through Mount Etna. Freeing Typhon from his centuries-long imprisonment. Gotta say, he was just as ugly as his wife. Dog face, snakes for hands, tentacles for legs, and all.
"Man, have I got the mother of all headaches!" Typhon roared when he was finally set free. "Somebody, get me a bromo."
"Love muffin!" Echidna cooed as she went to see her husband. "Don't worry, I'll make it all better, poopsie."
"Echidna?" Typhon question as he kissed his wife. "Where am I, baby? What's happened?"
"Don't you remember, babycakes?" Echidna asked him. "The big battle?"
"That's right!" Typhon's pointed ears perked up in realization. "I was conquering the world, minding my own business, when Zeus threw a mountain on me!"
That last memory forced smoke to come out of Typhon's nose and he blew fire out of his mouth in anger. And that's when Hercules and I flew up towards the monster couple to try and get them to leave once again. Hey, I may be one for madness and the excitement of the heat of battle, but even I know when to call a fight quits. Typhon was free, Echidna got her husband back, so technically, the fight was over, right?
Wrong!
"As a hero-in-training," Hercules started his schtick again when we approached Typhon. "I insist that you return to your eternal prison."
"What's with you and the insisting?" I casually asked him. "They're not gonna agree to your insisting."
"Well, asking them doesn't really work either." Herc retorted. "Believe me, I know. I've tried."
Typhon arched a brow at us before talking to Echidna. "Oh, honey, those Ionian horse flies are big this year."
Hercules gave him an offended look. "I-I-I'm not a fly! I'm Hercules. Son of Zeus."
Typhon's eyes widened before his face shifted into a nasty and angry growl.
I gulped as I looked at Hercules. "Uh, maybe don't mention your dad's name to him?"
Just then, Typhon snagged Pegasus with one of his snake hands. The titan glared angrily at Hercules. "Should've listened to your little girlfriend-"
"Not his girlfriend!" I corrected.
"Whatever." Typhon snarled before he went back to staring daggers at Hercules with his wild green eyes. "You go tell Papa I'm on my way for the rematch."
And then Typhon flicked us halfway across Greece. Right smack-dab into Zeus' temple, where we smacked hard into the god's statue before sliding onto the mosaic floor in a heap. Gotta be honest, I was starting to get flashbacks from last school year during the whole Apollo Mission fiasco -you know, when the imps stole the sun and I got dragged into returning it? Although this time, it wasn't as humiliating for me.
"Are you okay, Aria?" Hercules asked me as he rubbed his head.
"I'll live." I grunted in pain as I sat myself up. "Now, go talk to your dad about what happened."
Hercules nodded and then turned towards his father's statue. "Father? Uh, Could I have a word with you?"
Zeus' statue then came to life like it did in the movie after Hercules beseeched him. "Yes, son? You're not still upset about today's little accident, are you?"
"That? Nah." Hercules brushed that incident off. "I'm completely over that."
"B-but there is something else that happened." I spoke up.
Hercules gave a nervous nod. "Yeah, W-we do have some new news."
"What is it?" Zeus asked.
I gave Hercules a nervous look before addressing Zeus again. "We'll only tell you if you promise not to get angry."
"Ariadne, I assure you, whatever happened, I could never be mad at my son or his good friend." Zeus assured me.
Hercules and I exchanged nods before he spoke to his father. "I sort of freed Typhon."
"You WHAT?!" Zeus yelled in a frantic tone as he stood up, knocking down some of the temple's ceiling doing so.
Hercules and I ducked our heads to avoid the falling debris. Let's see, extremely nervous about pissing off a higher ranking god and trying not to get hurt from them? Yep, it's official. Now I knew what it really felt like to be Pain and Panic.
"I didn't mean to! I tried to put him back, but-" Hercules tried to explain before doubting himself again. "Oh, what's the use? I'll never measure up to you."
"That's what's got you so worked up?" I asked him as I put my hands on my hips.
"What are you two talking about?" Zeus asked.
"Come on, Father, you're perfect. You single-handedly defeated the baddest titan there ever was. You cast a pretty big shadow." Hercules told his dad with a sad sigh. "What are they gonna write about me in the history scrolls? "Jerkules single-handedly let loose the baddest titan there ever was"?"
I gave an annoyed groan. No one's really got that kind of low self-esteem in them, do they?
I then began to do my motivational pep-talks to try and cheer Hercules up. "You screwed up, tried to be someone you're not, and the consequences are really biting you hard, I know exactly what that feels like."
"Aria-"
"I'm not finished, so do not interrupt me." I kept going. "Yeah, your dad trapped Typhon in a heated battle that seemed impossible to win, but do you want to know something else?"
Hercules gave me a confused look. "What?"
"Nobody's perfect." I told him as I put a hand on his shoulder. "You just need to do your best. Not as the son of Zeus everyone wants, but as you. Flaws and all."
"Your friend's right, son." Zeus agreed before he started to say something else. "And I really need to talk to you about tonight."
Just then, a loud roar and thousands of people screaming in the distance cut Zeus off. We all turned towards the temple's entrance, and while we couldn't see anything, we all knew that Typhon and his family were on a rampage in some city-state in Greece.
"Typhon's coming for me." Zeus continued. "I must prepare for battle."
"We." I corrected him. "We have to prepare for battle."
"Both of you fighting by my side against Typhon?" Zeus asked before shaking his head. "Never. Much too dangerous."
"Zeus, Hercules and I can handle it." I stood firm with my decision. "If Typhon wants a fight, then we all have to hold down that line. You're not alone in this rematch, Zeus."
Zeus gave a heavy sigh as he looked down at me. I don't exactly know why, but something about the way he looked at me told me that, while reluctant to get his son and a mortal girl in a fight, he knew that we weren't going to let him fight Typhon off by himself. Besides, something tells me that whole "Zeus single-handedly fighting off a titan" spiel from the myth seemed just that: A myth.
"You've got fire in you, Ariadne. Reminds me of my brother, Hades, when he was your age." he told me before coming to a decision. "Very well, you both can come. But leave Typhon to me."
"Yes, sir." I nodded.
"Yes, Father." Hercules said.
Two Minutes Later
The three of us arrived on Athens on a floating cloud with a caddy-bag full of thunderbolts, and in case you were wondering, the screams we heard all the way from Zeus' temple were all coming from the city-state. Typhon, Echidna, and the dragonet were wreaking havoc, destroying every building in sight and terrorizing any mortal they saw -which was pretty much everyone. I looked through the crowd to find my mom, but she was nowhere to be found. I only hoped she got away from the chaos in time.
To try and get a long-waited snack in, Typhon then grabbed a building and started shaking it just above his head to get some of the people inside to fall right into his mouth.
"Stop right there, Typhon!" Zeus stopped him. "Put down those innocent Athenians."
"Gimmie a break, they're lawyers." Typhon shot back.
Zeus rephrased himself -sort of. "Put them down anyway. Besides, you know they give you gas."
Typhon thought for a moment and then literally threw the temple away. "Got me there. Good point."
Zeus readied himself as he grabbed a thunderbolt. "It's time for me to put you back under your rock."
But before he did anything, Typhon threw Zeus right into the air and right into a billboard. And when Hercules tried to fight back, Typhon did the same thing to him. Thankfully, since I was neither a god nor a hero, Typhon didn't pay a lick of attention to me. Although, one of his snake hands did look at me kind of funny and licked its lips like it wanted to eat me right then and there.
"Who's smitin' who now?" Typhon cackled as he slithered towards Zeus.
Typhon then snatched Zeus up with one of his snake hands in an attempt to eat him alive. Hercules pulled himself free and rushed to save his father, all while I was standing around waiting for my chance to join in. Of which I got when I saw Typhon making his way towards a very familiar shop and house combo I knew all too well.
"Keep your tentacles away from that tea shop!" I growled as I pulled one if Zeus' thunderbolts from the caddy and ran right towards the nearest of Typhon's tentacles.
The bolt burnt my hands like crazy, but I didn't care. Nobody, and I mean, nobody threatens my mother or her career. And when I was finally close enough, and without another thought, I dug the bolt deep into Typhon's tentacle, shielding my eyes as a bright light exploded from contact. How I didn't explode from impact was beyond me, but the titan roared in pain as I managed to drive him away from Mom's shop. I took another bolt out from the caddy and started making my way towards Typhon's head to give him a few new holes in it.
But before I could do that, Zeus changed his size into his godly form to get an advantage in battle. Ramming himself into Typhon to throw him off, but having no idea I was on the titan. I accidentally dropped the bolt trying to hold onto Typhon's ear, which he then grabbed and held like a sword to fight Zeus off with. Hercules threw his father another bolt, and I witnessed up close and personal to a thunderbolt duel that reminded me of any lightsaber duel from Star Wars. Typhon then used his snake arms to grab pillars and a roof to get an unfair weapon and shield advantage to the battle as he tried to strike Zeus, but Zeus was given another thunderbolt from Hercules to help with the battle. This repeated until there were no more bolts left in the caddy next to Hercules.
I managed to pull myself up onto Typhon's head to avoid falling, and saw Zeus slip on an olive cart and fall onto his back. Typhon took advantage of this and tried to plunge the thunderbolt he had into Zeus' heart, of which the god then grabbed the bolt and tried forcing it away from him. Things were looking bad, I still had to do something to help him out. Geez, if Hades ever found out I helped save the brother he hates the most, he'd kill me.
So, since I was on Typhon's head, I decided the best thing to do was to grab his ears and pull them down hard. This worked, and Typhon threw the bolt -not at Zeus- but up into the night sky as he yowled in pain and tried throwing me off. Once again, I was playing a very dangerous game of "pulling the monster away", but this time, I wasn't going to screw this up.
"Why you little-" Typhon growled as he tried grabbing me with his snake hands.
I took one hand and punched them all away from me right on their noses -which hurt my already burnt hands when I threw punches, but I didn't notice one of them sneak up from behind me and grab me by my belt. Forcing me to let go of Typhon's ears and leaving me suspended in the air. Typhon brought me in front of him, and the hungry look in his eyes sold it. This was the night I was going to die. A pretty cool way to go out, but I wasn't ready for death yet. I had my mom, the imps, and my friends to worry about.
Typhon licked his lips as he slowly brought me towards his fanged jaws. "It's suppertime, ya little brat."
I braced myself for the worst of the worst and prayed for forgiveness of all the bad stuff I did when I first came to this world, hoping I'd end up in a decent afterlife when I died.
"Aria, heads up!"
I looked up and saw Hera throw a lightning bolt headed right towards Typhon and I. To avoid being electrocuted to death, I punched Typhon's snake-hand in its eye to force him to let me go. When that did the trick, I fell out of his grasp right onto a cloud that was conveniently below me. Hercules and Hera were on the cloud and must've come to help me. And in good timing too, because by the time I fell onto the cloud, the three of us saw the lightning bolt Hera threw go right up Typhon's nostril.
"YEOW! Man, that stings!" Typhon roared in pain as he held his injured nose.
"I hope that hurt, Lizard-Boy!" I yelled at Typhon with a mean cackle.
Hercules turned to Hera with a wide smile. "Good shot!"
"Why, thank you. I've had practice." Hera smiled before thinking out loud. "Although, the last time it went up his other nostril."
"Last time?" Hercules and I repeated.
"Last time!? Time out! It was two against one?" Echidna roared at the reveal. "This time, I'll help even the odds."
"No. This time, the fight will be resolved peacefully, or else." Hera threatened as she put an arm in front of Hercules and I to protect us from Echidna.
Echidna realized that it would be a mistake to make Hera angry, so she turned around and went back to her husband and the dragonet -much to Typhon's frustration and him wanting a rematch of the rematch of his fight with Zeus. The three of them left Athens to go back to wherever Echidna and Typhon's domain was, and once again, one of the major problems Hercules caused for himself was resolved. Gods, how I missed having this level of adventure in my life!
"Are you alright, Ariadne?" Hera asked me as she helped me step off the cloud and back onto the ground.
I winced in pain when she touched my torched hands that looked as fried as an electrocuted lamp. "Not really."
"Here, let me help." she told me.
Hera's hand glowed a soft pink color and she placed it over my exposed palms. A second later, she used her magic to heal my hands to show no signs of me handling the thunderbolt and removing any pain I felt in them. I could actually move my fingers again without the burning feeling coursing through them.
"Thank you!" I beamed at her thankfully.
"You're very welcome." she smiled at me.
"Mother, you threw the bolt the first time?" Hercules asked her.
Hera gave a reluctant nod at the truth. "Yes, Hercules. It was the only way to buy your father enough time to win the battle."
"It takes a lot out of a guy to slam a mountain on his opponent." Zeus admitted as he shrunk himself down to mortal height. "So, I needed a little help."
"So, this whole three-day weekend, this whole festival, is all based on a myth?" Hercules asked.
Zeus gave a nod. "Myths happen son."
Hercules looked over at me for confirmation, or to back him up. I couldn't tell.
"Your dad's got a point." I finally decided to tell him.
Hercules turned back to his father as he backed away in disbelief. "But you're the king of the gods! Y-you're Zeus!"
Hera exchanged a look to Zeus before speaking. "The truth is-"
"Don't say it!" Zeus interrupted with a wounded look.
"He's only human, so to speak." Hera continued.
"Hey, that makes two of us." Hercules pointed out before looking at me. "Well, three if you count Aria."
"Everybody expects me to be perfect." Zeus said. "Even I expect me to be perfect."
"Father, trust me on this one, nobody's perfect." Hercules reminded him what I had said back in Zeus' temple. "You just have to do your best."
"And if you need backup," Zeus added as he looked back towards Hera with a smile. "Hope you've got a wife with a real barn-burner pitch."
"Or a good friend with a clever mind." Hercules added as he patted my shoulder.
"Of course." Zeus said as he turned to me. "Thank you for the assist in that battle, Ariadne. I owe you."
I gave him a bow of respect. Again, I reminded myself to keep saving Zeus a secret from Hades because I really didn't want him getting on my case for helping his brother again in battle. So, here's hoping that secret lasts longer than me keeping my triple life a secret from my friends at school. Let's see if I can beat a year as a record.
"Aria!"
That voice rang through my head. I whipped my head around and saw my mother running from the shop right towards me. I gave a smile of relief when I saw that she was okay and ran right back towards her, where we met each other with a hug.
"Aria, sweetie, are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked me as she checked for injuries.
"Yeah, Mom, I'm fine. I'm fine." I assured her.
"What are you talking about?" Mom asked me. "You held lightning and you almost got eaten!"
"Not to worry, madame. Your daughter is stronger than she seems." Hera assured her when she, Zeus, and Hercules approached us. "Ariadne may be human, but she has the strength of a god."
I felt a small wave of pride rush over me when Hera complimented me. I never thought in a million years I'd ever get the approval of the Queen of Olympus/goddess of marriages to ever like me. It felt nice to know that another immortal was fond of me hanging around the son of Zeus. Especially if he was also her son. My only worry was if Hera started liking the idea of Hercules and I as a couple and wanted us to be together. If I turned him down -whoo- I really don't want to upset Hera that way.
"Thank you, your majesties." Mom bowed to the king and queen of Olympus.
Hercules then looked at me with a small and hopeful smile. "See you at school?"
"See you at school." I winked at him.
He nodded and left to join his parents on a nightly walk. It was nice seeing the three of them as a happy family, knowing that they never really got the chance to do that after -well, after my best friends were ordered by our boss to kidnap him and made him mortal to try to kill him. But in any case, a happy family's a happy family. Hercules had his, and I had mine.
"Y'know, if he didn't already have the right girl for him, you two would be a cute couple." Mom told me after Hercules and his family left.
"Mom, gross! He's like my brother." I said disgustedly with a laugh.
"I'm just saying." Mom gave a shrug as we started to walk towards our house and shop. "And I can't believe you got the queen of Olympus to like you."
"She gets a bad rep in classic myths, but that's no reason to not treat her with respect." I said.
And with that final comment, Mom and I left for our thankfully unharmed tea shop for some well-deserved rest after such a wild night. But then again, how could I possibly sleep in such a fun world and time period? Everything's either a new adventure or a new danger waiting to be found in Ancient Greece. Frankly, a few months ago, I would've either not be too interested in messing with that balance or I would be the cause of most of that danger, but now, things were different. This time, I get to call the shots of how my life turns out for me. And nothing was going to stop me now.