Chapter 13: The Gorgon
A solid five days had passed since Hercules freed Prometheus, and all was starting to feel pretty tame for my friends and I. It was the usual Wednesday afternoon. Bright day, few spotty clouds in the sky, and Apollo was making his afternoon rounds in his solar chariot. All seemingly normal, that is, if you exclude three teenagers racing each other to see who could outfly the other and pass the solar chariot. Yeah, this little race between Hercules, Icarus, and I just something for fun we did after school.
"Hello, Sunshine!" Icarus grinned wildly as he kept flying towards the sun, again, with his wax wings.
"Icarus, pull back!" Hercules called towards him as he rode on Pegasus. "You're getting too close!"
"Negatory!" Icarus replied back as he kept flying. "I'm like a moth. I must maintain an intercept course with flame!"
"You're gonna be a moth on flames if you don't pull back!" I yelled as I flew in on the imps in their two-headed dragon form.
Okay, so, a bit of backstory on the imps' inclusion here…
Usually, I would've ridden on Pegasus with Herc during our races, but since Hades had been watching me like a hawk ever since the 'incident' and me still being grounded after the trial by fire during the whole Prometheus affair, he made the imps my little chauffeurs and makes them pick me up from and drop me off at school. They usually don't like coming out in public in their normal forms, so disguises are much needed. But today when Icarus betted that he could beat Hercules and I chasing after Apollo's chariot, the imps wanted to get in on this action.
And so, we raced against Hercules and Icarus to see who could outfly Apollo, and Icarus was proving to be quicker with his wax wings. Unfortunately, he still didn't learn his lesson from both the first time he ever used the wax wings and when he accidentally fell into Rome, because the moment he got close enough to Apollo's chariot, the wax started melting off and was sent splattering at Hercules, the imps, and I. Thankfully, the wax wasn't as hot as you'd think, so it was easy to scrape off, but unfortunately for Icarus, the melted wax only meant one thing…
"Oh-no, I did it again…" I heard Icarus say right before he fell down to the river below. "MAYDAY! MAYDAY! I'M GOIN' DOWN! AW, MAN!"
"We warned him." I shrugged at Hercules before giving an order to my imps. "Let's go, boys!"
"C'mon, boy, dive!" Herc ordered his horse.
Pegasus gave a whinny and dived down right as the imps dove after Icarus. As we flew, we saw that Icarus had landed in a river and was swimming -yes, I said swimming. He took lessons after the whole River Styx incident- around like he didn't just fall like three hundred feet in the air. Thank God for cartoon logic keeping him unharmed, but there was no cause for celebration just yet. As Icarus was swimming, the river's speed started picking up. And I noticed that the water was falling right off a very high edge.
"He's heading for that waterfall!" I pointed as Herc and I flew over the water.
Hercules noticed and immediately took action. The imps and I watched as he jumped off Pegasus, grabbed the horse's tail, and partially skied on the water as Pegasus flew faster. Picking up the pace in order for Hercules to grab Icarus before he got too close to the waterfall's edge. A risky thing to do, but this was also Herc's duty as a her-in-training: To help and save his friends when they needed it.
"Hold on!" Hercules called out.
Herc was then able to grab Icarus by the collar of his chiton and flung him onto Pegasus' back. Icarus was safe, but Hercules wasn't so lucky. Not long after he got Icarus out of the water, Hercules tripped over a rock and lost his grip on Pegasus' tail, and he was sent falling into the river. Thankfully, Icarus and I saw this all happen, and went to try and save our friend before he went over.
"We're coming, buddy!" Icarus shouted out as he led Pegasus towards the edge of the waterfall..
"You know the boss doesn't like it when you're all noble!" Panic told me as we flew in closer to Icarus.
"Hey, less talk, more save!" I snapped at him.
Panic immediately shut his mouth and hovered over the waterfall's edge right next to Pegasus and Icarus. Since I had been riding on Pain's neck -and since he was shorter in general- I quickly and carefully climbed onto Panic's longer neck of the dragon form to try and get in closer so I could reach out and grab Hercules the moment he got to the edge. And I only hope Icarus and mine's efforts would be enough because the height of the waterfall looked like it wouldn't be enough to keep Herc alive if he fell off.
"Come on, buddy! Grab our hands!" Icarus called out as he held out his hand.
I held out my hand to try and grab him, but the moment Hercules reached for Icarus and I, the moment he touched our fingers with his, the current of the water immediately pulled him away. And Icarus and I watched in horror as we saw Hercules getting swept away, and falling off the waterfall screaming.
"HERCULES!" we cried out.
This couldn't be happening. This could not be happening.
I breathed in disbelief before getting Icarus to follow me. "C'mon!"
I made the imps dive down the waterfall and land safely on the river bend when we finally found shore. Icarus followed shortly after on Pegasus, and we hopped off our steeds in order to find our friend, who most likely was drifting further and further deep into the forest. Look, I knew Hercules would be alright, we all know this, but after seeing him go overboard from the waterfall at the height he was at, it causes for major concern. One that Icarus and I had planted on our faces as we started searching for Hercules.
"Herc! Where are you?" Icarus called.
"C'mon, answer us!" I yelled.
We must've searched for about an hour, and there was still no sign of Hercules. I was starting to get really worried about him and feared the worst. That is, until I felt myself getting picked up by the belt on my dress. I looked up to see that Panic had grabbed me with his mouth like a momma cat would pick up a kitten and was holding me in the air for a moment. This was weird. He's never done this before, so he'd better have a good explanation for this.
"What the-" I stammered in confusion. "What are you doing?"
"Wefve oun um." Panic tried saying with his mouth full.
I blinked. "What?"
Pain then rolled his eyes and used a talon to move my head in a specific direction. "We found him!"
I looked at what Pain was showing me, and saw that Hercules was lying on the ground unconscious on the shoreline of the river. I have no idea how he got out of the river in his condition, but judging by some nearby footprints, I'd say that someone had found him and helped him out. A relief, but still scary to see my friend lying motionless the way he was. Breathing, thankfully, but motionless.
"Oh, my gosh!" I gasped before pulling myself free from Panic's mouth. "Icarus, he's over here!"
"Hercules!" Icarus exclaimed as he rushed over to Herc's side. "Whoa, buddy, are you okay?"
Herc didn't budge. The imps each used their talons to try and nudge Hercules' side to try to get him to wake up, but that did nothing -but y'know, I'm proud of them for putting their petty issues with Herc aside to try and help him. It's been a while since they've done that. I then went and tried gently shaking his shoulder, but that didn't wake Hercules up. But Pegasus then went to lick Hercules' face, and that is what finally got him to wake up. Horse spit. Who knew, right?
"I am now." Herc groaned. "Thanks for pulling me out of the river, you guys."
"Oh, no thanks necessary, Herc," Icarus told him as he helped him up. "'Cause we didn't actually pull you out of the river."
"Yeah, we just found you lying here." I added.
Hercules gave a confused look. "Really? Then who did?"
"I dunno." Icarus looked around before seeing someone in the distance. "Maybe it was that guy over there."
"Uh," I felt Panic nudge me with a nervous whimper. "Aria…"
I looked over at him only to see both his and Pain's frightened gazes on something else. On the ground in front of them were a bunch of broken pieces of stone. And while that doesn't sound like something that could cause concern, it was what the chunks resembled that got me freaked out. I picked up the largest one only for it to have the carved face of a big cat with spots. Followed by another piece that resembled the same cat's paw.
"A leopard?" I questioned the chunks.
"Yoo-hoo, Mister! Thanks for saving our friend here. You really saved his-" Icarus cut himself off when he screamed in fright. "OH NO!"
I looked up from the chunks of stone to see what Icarus was now freaking out about, and what it was only made my skin crawl. That guy Icarus saw wasn't exactly a guy at all. I was a statue of a frightened armored man. And next to him were several other statues of more men in armor and weapons, all with matching frightened looks. Normally, any person wouldn't think much of these statues, but considering they all bore frightened expressions, like they saw something or someone that scared them, I knew that these weren't normal statues.
"Okay, things just got creepy." I shuddered as we looked at the statues.
"Icarus, Aria, what is this place?" Hercules asked us.
"Get on the horse and dragon, NOW!" Icarus told us as he bolted onto Pegasus.
"Don't have to tell me twice!" I said as I immediately hopped onto Pain's neck.
"Uh, right!" Hercules agreed as he saddled up on Pegasus.
The moment Herc was on his horse, we all flew right out of that grove and made a beeline right back to Athens. You may be wondering, 'Why were you so scared of a bunch of statues in the middle of nowhere?' Um, no offense, but were you born yesterday? Those statues weren't statues -I mean they technically are, but I'm just gonna get right into it- they were real people at one point. People who got too cocky and ended up tracking down and meeting their deaths at the eyes of the most infamous and terrifying monster in all of Greek Mythology: The gorgon.
The Next Day
The fact that I was in a gorgon's lair with the guys still buzzed through my mind. But what got me more was the fact that there was no gorgon in sight when we entered their lair. Which meant one of two things: One, it was an abandoned lair and the gorgon living in that forest was hopefully long gone. Or two, there was a gorgon still living there and didn't attack us for intruding. But why? Why didn't they go for the kill when they had the chance?
In any case, Icarus and I kept talking about it the following day and how mind-blowingly crazy it was that we and Hercules managed to escape with our lives, and the only other person, aside from Herc, that we told our story to was already starting to get bored with what we were saying. But you try trespassing into a gorgon's lair and being lucky enough to live to talk about it! That's something you have to ramble about!
"It was just the craziest thing!" Icarus processed what happened to Cassandra as we walked to our lockers.
Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Really? I couldn't tell from the seventy-nine times you've already told me."
"You should've been there, Cass." I told her. "It was like a graveyard, but the bodies were the tombstones."
"Just thinking about being in the same place as something that could kill a guy with their eyes makes my skin crawl." Icarus shuddered at the thought.
I then came to a sudden realization. "But if it was a gorgon's lair, then that must mean that a gorgon was the one who pulled Herc out of the river. They saved his life."
"But why would they do that?" Icarus asked me. "I always thought gorgons have a 'turn people to stone first, ask questions later' sort of gimmick?"
"Maybe it was a sign of empathy?" I shrugged unsurely. "Gorgons can't be monsters both inside and out."
"Whaddya gonna do?" Cassandra scoffed. "Go back to that forest and ask the gorgon if they saved Herc?"
"Well, I might." I said. "It never hurts to ask."
"Hey, guys!" Hercules' voice called out.
The three of us turned to see Hercules walking towards us with a girl. A girl I've certainly never seen before which only meant that she was new at school. She was about our age, wore a purple single-strapped dress with a black belt -which kind of reminded me of my old dress before I made a switch, had dark brown hair tied up into a bun, beautiful olive skin, a kind face, and pretty amber eyes.
"Who's she?" Icarus questioned.
"I don't know." I said. "She's kinda pretty, though."
Pretty was an understatement. She was, admittedly, beautiful, but beautiful girls and Hercules usually mean trouble. I mean, remember what happened with that Marigold girl? I mean, she turned over a new leaf, but she did kind of help her dad plan to turn the whole world into gold. And don't remind me about what happened with Meg and the amphora -although, we know how that eventually ends with Herc so, good for her, I guess. But, my skepticism was high with this new girl in town. Especially with the way she walked. I can't explain it, but it was almost like she slithered with the way she moved. It was a little suspicious.
"So, where have you been all day?" Cassandra asked Herc.
"He was showing me around. I'm new here." the mystery girl told us.
"Well, welcome to Prometheus Academy." I gave her the Loser's Club welcome. "This is Icarus, Cassandra, and I'm Aria."
"My name's Medusa." the girl introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you."
I stared blankly for a moment before speaking again. "…Pleasure's all mine."
We shook hands, but I kept a poker face on as Medusa gave me a friendly smile. There was just no way in Tartarus this sweet girl was the most famous monster in any mythology or fiction. Then again, Medusa in the actual Greek myths is more of a broken character than a complete villain, any smart feminist could tell you that. So, maybe this version of her defined that brokenness of her. Either that or this was Medusa before she was cursed to be a gorgon.
"Medusa, the guys and I are going to the Agora after school to hang out." Hercules gave her an invite. "Care to join us?"
"Are you sure?" Medusa asked. "I'd hate to impose."
"No, no. Y-you won't be i-imposing." Herc assured her with a stutter.
Medusa then gave a small smile and nodded her head eagerly. "Well, okay then!"
Later
Man, I've only known Medusa for a few hours, but, boy, she was really something else. She's smart, fun, pretty, and just nice to be around. Not to mention she had a nice voice. It's a little weird to know that she's supposed to be one of the most famous monsters in all myth and legend when you're out having milkshakes and having fun conversations with her. Heck, she was already adjusting well into the Pro Ac Loser's Club while she was hanging with Hercules, Icarus, Cassandra, and I at Speedy Pita.
"Okay, I know I'm new and all, but that Adonis guy -ooh could he stand to get over himself a little?" Medusa said as she saw the pampered prince being accompanied by his girlfriend. "And his girlfriend, Helen, who could be that happy all the time?"
"I like this girl." Cassandra smiled at Medusa.
"Same here." I agreed.
"So, you're real impressed with the school, huh?" Hercules then asked.
"Hmm." Medusa nodded as she took a sip from her milkshake.
"Um, Medusa, I-I was just, um…" Hercules then tried to say. "Uh, I was just wondering, you know- I-I mean, i-i-if you're not busy or anything-"
"So, Medusa!" Icarus interrupted. "Is there anyone special in your life? 'Cause, uh, my boy Herc here is, uh-"
I then caught Cassandra stepping on Icarus' foot to shut him up before he could do something to accidentally embarrass Herc in front of his new crush, but instead Icarus cried out in pain and accidentally swung a fist at his strawberry milkshake. The impact knocked over the drink and it spilled all over my lap. I gave a disgusted look as I stood up to see the spilled milkshake mess all over my dress. And I just got this one cleaned too.
"Whoops." Icarus chuckled nervously. "Sorry, Aria."
I gave a groan. "I'll be back."
I excused myself from the table to go clean up in the ladies room. When I entered, I made a beeline for the nearest sink and used some paper towels and water to try and rub off most of the milkshake before it could stain. It did most of the job, but I ran out of paper towels and was forced to use some toilet paper from one of the stalls. Right as I heard some terrified screams coming outside. Instinctively, I hid inside the stall right as somebody came rushing in.
"This is getting ugly!" a voice called out from the bathroom before a hissing sound came up and the voice got angry. "Oh, who asked you?"
Confused, I opened the door to confront this mystery girl and the hissing. "Uh, excuse me?"
"Close your eyes!" a panicked voice yelled.
The next thing I knew, I felt someone's hand cover my eyes, preventing me from seeing anything in the bathroom. Most importantly, themself. I used my hand and felt the stranger's own. Their skin was rough but smooth, almost like snake scales. I should've been confused or scared, but when I heard the hissing of multiple snakes coming near the stranger's direction, I knew exactly who had just come into the bathroom.
"Oh, hey, Medusa." I casually greeted her.
"H-how'd you know it was me?" Medusa asked in a surprised way.
"Long story." I briefly explained.
"I'm ready to face you, vile monster!" Hercules' voice called from outside of the restroom before I could respond. "But, uh, could you come out of the ladies' room, please?"
Wait. Hercules told me that morning at school that Phil was teaching him how to fight gorgons after the incident at the river yesterday. If Herc knew that there was a gorgon in the vicinity of the restaurant that evening, but had no idea that Medusa was the gorgon in question, then he had no idea what was really going on. Well, things just got both more interesting and scarier. Who knows what would've happened if he found out the new girl in town he had recently developed a little crush on was really a gorgon? Well, I won't snitch her out. Medusa's a nice person.
"Well, this just gets more and more humiliating." Medusa scoffed at the sound of Hercules' voice.
"Ta-da!" I heard the sound of flames and Hades' voice appearing out of thin air.
"No kidding." I added cynically.
"So-" Hades started talking before addressing someone. "Would you open your eyes? She can only turn mortals to stone, dimwits."
"It's not that. It's-" I heard Pain speak up in a sheepish tone.
"It's just that we're in the ladies' room." Panic's voice giggled.
Oy, not the imps too.
"So, you ready to start your first day at work on Team Hades, huh?" Hades then asked.
"Sure, whatever." Medusa said. "Just get me outta here!"
"Don't forget me!" I added as I grabbed Medusa's hand.
"Wait. What?" Medusa asked as Hades teleported the five of us back into the Underworld.
Two Minutes Later
It didn't take long to get back to the Underworld, but Medusa was asking me so many questions as we walked with Hades. Mainly about how and why I knew she was a disguised gorgon, about how I was affiliated with Hades and the Underworld in general, that sort of thing. But the only question that kept popping up was something I found myself being constantly asked when it came to my current job position.
"I still don't get it. Why do you work for Hades?" Medusa questioned. "I mean, I've heard rumors about people selling their soul to work for him, but why did you?"
"Another really long story." I explained while I still had my eyes closed -with her guiding me by holding my hand- before I projected my voice towards Hades as he walked next to me. "So, let me guess, you made a deal with Medusa so that by day she's human, and come sundown she turns back into a gorgon and works for you?"
"Ari, babe, you already know the answer, and yes, I did. It's done. It happened." Hades said before the sound of his voice started to address Medusa. "But, ya know, I believe that any day now, you'll find your one true friend, and then -badda bing! You're human!"
"Let's just get started." Medusa said in annoyance. "What do you want me to do?"
"HEY!" Pain stopped her. "Whoa! Not so fast!"
"Everyone goes to orientation on their first day." Panic added.
Medusa scoffed. "Orientation?"
"I run a professional organization." Hades explained to her.
"Unfortunately, he has a point." I added.
"Hey, you get no say in this. You didn't get an orientation when you came here." Hades told me. "By the way, Medusa's gonna be your new roommate for a while."
I made a confused noise. "Heh?"
"C'mon, ya can't expect Medusa to sleep in that little forest of hers, now, do ya?" Hades explained. "It'll take a week tops to prepare her own room, so you two will have to share."
"No. I get that, but how are we supposed to be roommates if I can't see her without becoming a statue?" I asked the most important question before talking to Medusa. "No offense."
"None taken." I heard a twinge of annoyance in Medusa's tone when I mentioned her unique ability.
I then heard Hades snap his fingers. "Open your eyes, babe."
"Why?" I asked. "What'd you do?"
"I just gave you sunglasses." Hades explained. "You wear those, and gorgons won't turn ya into stone, happy?"
I opened my eyes, but the sunglasses helped with absolutely nothing because of how dark the Underworld already is, but I was a start, I suppose. I then turned my head to see Medusa, where I was able to see her gorgon form. Granted, I couldn't really see her all that well because of how dark it was, but I was able to make out her figure, face, and the movement from her head snakes -which I found kind of cute the way they all looked at me in confusion.
"See you later, I guess." Medusa said sheepishly before leaving with the imps for orientation.
One Hour Later
"And… Boom! Okay. Done." I said proudly after finishing up the final touches on the second bed in my room.
After finding out that Medusa and I would be roommates for a while until she got her own place in the Underworld, I spent the last hour taking one of the spare beds from a spare room and moving it into mine. It didn't take as long as I'd thought it would, especially considering I used to help my Uncle Homer out with odd jobs like that back home in Salem, so I used what extra time I had before Medusa got out of her orientation to get into my pajamas and made my new roommate a little sleeping area, complete with comfortable blankets and pillows. Just a little something to welcome her to the Underworld that wouldn't be boring.
Just then, I heard a knock at the door. I knew it didn't come from Hades because he never knocks, and the imps usually call my name before they knock, so I had a feeling who this knock belonged to. Especially since after I put my sunglasses back on, I opened the door to see Medusa standing outside my room -or, our room as the case may be. I invited her in where she took in the size of the whole place to get a good feel for it.
"So, this is our room, huh?" Medusa asked.
"It's not much, but it's pretty cozy." I shrugged as I closed the door. "You like it?"
"Yeah, it all looks great." she said as she laid herself down onto her new bed. "You don't mind that I'm rooming with you, do you?"
"No, of course not. Sure, it'll be weird at first, but I'll get over it." I said before offering her some spare sleepwear. "Here, you can borrow some of my pajamas."
"Thanks." she said before going into the bathroom to change clothes. "So, Aria, where are you from, anyway?"
"Far away, but not so far at the same time." I started to explain my interesting story to her. "I am proud to say that I'm not really from this time."
"What do you mean?" Medusa asked.
"I'm from the future." I stated. "And all this, you, everyone in this world are figures found in mythology books."
Medusa peaked her head out of the bathroom in interest. "Even Hercules?"
"Yeah, in fact, he's-" I stopped myself when I realized something. "Do you like him?"
"A little." Medusa smiled a little, showing a cute pair of fangs.
"I'm not surprised." I gave her a playful smirk. "He always stutters when he's around someone he likes, so I think he likes you too."
"R-really?" she hopefully asked.
I nodded. "Yeah."
"Do you like him?" she then asked me as she exited the bathroom in her pajamas.
"Nah. He's more like a brother to me." I shook my head.
"No wonder you were so worried about him when he fell in the river." Medusa pointed out.
"Yeah, and hey, thanks for saving him." I told her.
Medusa gave a sheepish smile. "Was it obvious it was me?"
"Actually, I have a talent for knowing certain things." I explained more of my backstory to her. "I know a lot of stuff about this world, and what happens in it. Think of it like I have future vision."
"Cool." Medusa said. "So, how did you end up working for Hades, anyway?"
"Well, I worked for him before, but I just got back working for him a few weeks ago." I told her.
"How come?" she asked as she sat down on her own bed.
"He and my mom were pretty close," this part was still sour for me to say. "And he was the only one she trusted to look after me when she…"
"Oh." Medusa gave a soft gasp when she realized what I meant. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
"No, it's okay." I assured her. "I'm doing better, but it's still hard to fully accept it."
"Yeah…" Medusa sadly sighed. "My mom's gone too. My older sisters practically raised me when we lost her."
It felt awkward for a bit. True, it was a little nice knowing someone knew what I was going through when it came to a dead mom, but I don't really know how to move conversations forward or change the subject after having it hit so hard. Miss Kore says that it's all part of the healing process and I shouldn't have to worry about things being so awkward and just do what I think is best to avoid talking about it further if it were to make me uncomfortable.
So, I did exactly that.
"We, uh, better get to bed," I finally changed the subject before crawling into my bed. "It's getting late."
"O-oh, right." Medusa agreed as she snuggled up underneath her blankets. "G-goodnight, Aria."
"Night, Medusa." I replied before falling asleep.
Great. I've gotten my first roommate that isn't an imp and already things are awkward. Way to go, Aria. Way to freaking go.
The Next Day
Medusa and I had a pretty solid first night as roommates. Granted, some of her snakes did kind of snore a little, but I was fine by it. And we woke up the next morning to Medusa turning into her human form right as the alarm went off, so I was spared of wearing my sunglasses so early. We got ourselves dressed and ready for school and left the Underworld about ten till school started. Unfortunately, by the time we got to school, all the students were being rushed towards the amphitheater.
Medusa and I exchanged confused looks before joining the crowd. While Medusa wasn't paying too much attention, I could hear some people gossiping about what had happened the night before at Speedy Pita. Apparently, Medusa accidentally turned a waitress to stone, which was why so many people were screaming while I was in the bathroom getting that milkshake off my dress, and that scare caused a city-state wide panic. My guess was that this gathering at school was to inform the students about some curfew at night to avoid gorgons. I hoped that's what this was all about.
Anyway, Medusa and I were able to find Hercules, Icarus, and Cassandra sitting on the bleachers towards the middle of the school amphitheater. And we decided to sit with them to really know what all was going on, and why it was a solid excuse to get me out of my math class.
"Hey, you guys." I greeted the three of them.
"What's all this about?" Medusa asked as she looked around the amphitheater.
"Emergency assembly." Cassandra groaned. "I predict utter boredom."
"It can't be as boring as math class." I shrugged before sitting down next to Medusa and Hercules.
"Hey, where were you guys last night?" Hercules asked us. "You missed all the excitement."
"Oh, it was just a, uh-" Medusa struggled to find an excuse. ""Bad hair day" thing."
"And "needed a change of clothes" thing." I added.
"Again," Icarus chimed in with a regretful tone. "Really sorry about that!"
"You're fine." I assured him.
"Well… ahem, anyway," Hercules cleared his throat before talking to the new girl in town. "Um, M-Medusa, there was something I was going to ask you. Would you consider-"
"Zip it, punks! All right, quiet down."
All mouths slammed shut as we all looked at the amphitheater stage to see a City-State Trooper, the one I recognized as the same cop who passed Hercules' driving test last year, standing with his arms folded and a poster of a gorgon standing right next to him. I didn't like the looks of how the cop had that poster up, and I got a really bad feeling in my stomach when I saw him pull out a piece of chalk.
"Now listen up, people, we've got a gorgon at large!" the cop announced as he drew a line across the neck of the gorgon in the poster. "The only sure-fire way to slay a gorgon is by chopping off its head. Sever the head with a quick but forceful slice."
Yep. I was right. This was bad. An emergency school assembly about the danger of gorgons and how to kill them? Wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't sitting next to a gorgon in disguise. I looked over at Medusa to see her brow sweating and shivering in fear just by looking at that red line on the poster. I did what I could to try and ease her worries by putting a hand on one of hers, but it wasn't enough to not draw attention the moment Cassandra noticed Medusa shivering.
"Is something wrong?" Cassandra asked her.
Medusa responded with a squeamish yelp and a fake shake of the head and an even faker smile. Clearly not alright and severely uncomfortable with this whole situation. I tried to calm her worries by placing a gentle hand on hers, which did seem to work for a bit. Especially when Medusa looked at me and gave me a relieved smile despite still shivering about what was going on at the assembly.
"Now once you've removed said monster's head, carefully put it in a purse." the cop continued.
"Purse?" one boy from the crowd snickered.
"Not a wallet, men, a purse. This is no time to be macho! I, myself, own a little patent leather on the shoulder, but any quality handbag will do." the cop explained to us. "Now, once the head is safely inside the purse, you take it to your nearest "A"-level god for disposal. Got it?"
"Are you sure you're okay?" Hercules then asked Medusa when he noticed how uncomfortable she was.
"Um, yeah, yeah. It's just that this Gorgon-killing stuff it, uh, just kinda gets me worked up." Medusa lied.
"Hey, it gets us all worked up." Herc gave an oblivious smile.
Look, I love the guy like a brother, but for Tartarus' sake! You'd think Hercules would get a clue! I wanted to say something then, but there was something more important than pointing out Herc's obliviousness. I could tell that something else was eating at Medusa, not just the whole decapitation thing. Something that went much deeper than the thought of being slaughtered. And I had a sinking feeling it involved her little secret and not being able to tell anyone other than me about it.
Later
After the assembly, school went on as normally as it could in Ancient Greece, but the moment school let out, everyone went to the Agora to go purse and or satchel shopping. Taking the gorgon situation seriously. Medusa and I only tagged along with our classmates in hopes that we could distract her from the whole thing, but it didn't really turn out well. In fact, I left to go get some after-school snacks for the two of us, and I left one store to find Medusa running into an alley with a frantic expression.
I figured something bad must've happened while I was gone, so I immediately dropped the snacks and ran after her. I reached the alley she was in right as she started to have a full-on panic attack. My gut instinct immediately knew that bringing her here after an emergency assembly on how to kill gorgons was a bad idea, but I had to do something to both make amends to my obvious mistake and try to help my friend.
"Medusa?" I called out to her in worry. "Medusa!"
"A-Aria, hey." Medusa swallowed away a frightened tone. "I-I'm f-fine."
"Fine? You look like you're gonna throw up!" I said before leading her out of the alley. "C'mon, let's get you some place quiet."
Medusa gave a quick nod at the suggestion. "Please."
I immediately pulled out one of my teleporting pearls and threw it hard on the ground with Medusa close to me. The only place that was private enough where we could talk was a park that sat just outside of Athens. Pretty secluded, especially since the groundskeepers made a sign that forbade any monsters or immortals from entering, so Medusa and I had plenty of peace and quiet. And when we sat down on some swings, Medusa let out her frustrations and troubles. All about her being forced to hide her identity from everyone else, especially Hercules, and how'd they'd potentially react if they found out she's really a gorgon.
"I just don't know what to do." Medusa's voice trembled as she sadly swung beside me.
I didn't really know how to answer her, especially since my experience with hiding my own identity from our friends ended very badly for me. Heck, I'm still surprised they even forgave me -well, except Cassandra because she already knew who I really was way before the guys did. But that's not the point. The point is, I really wished I could give Medusa some sound advice about how to solve her problem, like I used to whenever Hercules used to have problems. But I didn't know how to without giving her scary thoughts worse than what she was already having.
And as if our problems couldn't get worse, I heard a low growling noise creeping up behind Medusa and I followed by the sight of a large shadow casting over us. Medusa and I turned around to see a cyclops had found us and was reading himself for an easy kill. That is, until Medusa reached into my pocket and grabbed my Underworld ID card followed by her immediately grabbing her own.
"Zool, wait! It's us!" Medusa stopped him as she showed him the IDs. "Aria and Medusa!"
"Medusa?" the cyclops blinked before smiling. "Geez, I hardly recognized ya."
Oh, right. I completely forgot about him! Hades made me write out Zool's file for him after I interviewed him for a job position wreaking havoc and Medusa told me that Zool was also in her Underworld orientation the other night, so my fault entirely for not recognizing him sooner. There's a lot of monsters out there interested in job opportunities in the Underworld, and it's hard to say no to most of them because Echidna's their mom, and she already doesn't like me.
"It's her day gig, big guy." I told him as Medusa gave me back my ID.
Zool then gave me a kind grin. "How ya doin', Aria?"
I gave a shrug. "Decent."
"Great," he said before turning back to Medusa. "And how are you, Medusa?"
Medusa sighed. "So-so…"
Zool cracked his knuckles at a thought. "Oh, do I gotta bust some heads?"
"No. No. I just feel like I'm…" Medusa then started to sob. "I feel like I'm living a lie!"
"C'm here, sweetie." I pulled her in for a comforting hug.
"Aw, well," Zool told her in a saddened way as he handed her a handkerchief. "Technically you are."
"Thank you. And, hey, you know... You're right." Medusa told him as she wiped her tears as she came to a realization. "You're right! I'm just gonna show Hercules the real me."
"You sure you wanna do that?" I asked her.
"I can't live like this, Aria." Medusa said in desperation. "Please try to understand. I don't want to live a lie."
Those words struck me into some bad memories. Memories of when I was forced to live a lie when I first came to this world, when the Fates gave me that prophecy that changed my life forever. I was forced to lie and hurt my friends up to the point where I wanted to run away and leave everything broken and forgotten when they all found out about who I really was and about how I secretly worked for Hades.
I didn't want Medusa to go through what I did. I know she'd get hurt in the end after revealing her secret to Hercules, but it'll be better if she told him about it willingly instead of Herc finding out by accident like how he and Icarus found out about me. She'd be devastated if that happened, but if she confessed, it wouldn't hurt as much. I only hoped that Medusa really knew what she was doing.
"I do." I finally admitted. "I've made that mistake before, so don't do what I've done."
Medusa then gave both Zool and I big hugs. "Thank you both."
"Aw, go on." Zool brushed off the sweet gesture with a smile.
"Should I come with you?" I asked her.
"No, this is something I need to do on my own." Medusa told me. "Meet me in my grove after sundown. I'll tell you how it went."
"I will." I promised.
Medusa then took a deep breath, held her head up high with a determined look on her face, and left to go tell Hercules the truth about who she really was. I only hoped it goes better for her than it did with me when Hercules found out about me working for Hades. Maybe he'll go easy on Medusa because he actually has a crush on her, who knows?
"Do you like her?" Zool then asked me. "Like, like like her?"
"In what context?" I questioned.
"Like how Apollo like liked Hyacinth?" he continued.
I hesitated. It's true, I did think Medusa was pretty cool. Amazing, in fact. But I don't think I could ever see myself being in a relationship with her. Granted, it wouldn't be so bad having a girlfriend, I would worry less about getting pregnant by a girlfriend, but the fear of abandonment if she found someone more attractive is still there. I know Medusa probably wouldn't hurt me like that, but it's still there. Also, I did test myself to see if I was strictly a Lesbian before I found out I was Ace, and you guys obviously know how that turned out, so, yeah.
"I don't fall in love. But I'll keep you posted in case I do." I finally told him before changing the subject. "Hey, what's your assignment today, anyway?"
"Eat some people." Zool proudly stated. "It's a no-brainer."
I mean, he's not wrong.
Later That Night
I waited in Medusa's grove for hours. Waiting for her to return with an update about how her confession went with Hercules. I figured that Hercules wouldn't purposefully hurt Medusa for being a gorgon, but if spending too much time around Panic has taught me anything, it's that there is always something more to worry about. And so, I sat there on a boulder playing on my still fully charged phone to distract myself from potential things that went wrong for Medusa.
It was after nightfall by the time I heard footsteps approaching the grove. I turned my phone off and put it in my pocket to try and look around to see who was here, worried that it was a potential gorgon slayer looking for my friend so they could cut off her head. But when I heard the sound of several snakes hissing and a familiar figure approaching me, I knew exactly who had arrived and was thankful that she was alright.
"There you are, Medusa!" I sighed in relief. "I was starting to worry."
"Why?" Medusa's voice cracked in sadness. "Worried the monster would turn you to stone?"
Something was wrong.
"Medusa, are you okay?" I asked her.
I heard sobbing as Medusa looked up at me, and even though it was too dark to see her expression, I could tell that she was bawling her eyes out. Which was more evident the moment Medusa came running towards the boulder and to me. She then immediately held me close to her as she started sobbing more, making it painfully obvious that her talk with Hercules didn't go as smoothly as we had hoped. I gave her a comforting hug in hopes that it would help her, but I know from experience that nothing really heals a broken heart. Things can mend it, but never really heal it.
"I-I-I thought h-he was my f-friend…" Medusa cried.
"I should've been there." I regretted. "I could've helped you."
"No, it's better that you're here." Medusa sniffed as she wiped away her tears with her palm. "At least you don't care about how I look."
Medusa's sobs started to cease as I just held her close to me. It's true that I didn't really care about the way she looked or if she was a gorgon or a human, I liked Medusa for the way she was. Heck, my best friends are imps, and I certainly don't care about the way they look -granted, I think they're both absolutely adorable, but that's not the point. The point is that, gorgon or not, Medusa was my friend. And as her friend, she needed me in that moment for comfort during her heartbreak.
And then the moment was ruined when Hades showed up in a blast of flames.
"Okay! Let's rock 'n roll!" he joked about Medusa's power to get him more souls. "See, rock is a little joke, 'cause you turn people to stone. Get it?"
I gave him a mean look. "We were kinda having a moment."
Medusa agreed with a sigh. "Yeah, count me out, I'm not up to it tonight."
"Pardon? You signed a contract, remember?" Hades reminded her. "No pay, no play."
Medusa scoffed as she looked away from him. "Don't I get any sick days?"
Hades rolled his eyes at the situation. "Okay, why don't you tell Uncle Hades all about it, and then you'll feel better?"
Oy, not that stupid line again.
"Well, okay." Medusa started to tell him. "There's this boy, and he's really cute, and-"
"Medusa!" a familiar voice called out from the grove
"I know that voice." Hades and I said when we recognized that voice.
"Hercules." Medusa gasped softly.
"Hercules? That's the guy?!" Hades then started to ramble. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but Hercules is a hero, is he not? And heroes kill monsters like you, am I wrong?"
"Sure, he was being a jerk, but I don't think he would kill me." Medusa pointed out.
"Yeah, he's not that heartless." I agreed.
"That's a cute world you two live in. It really is. It's so nice, everybody gets along." Hades said in a sweet tone before dropping it in a more warning tone. "Wake up, little girls! This kid is a gorgon-slayer!"
Medusa's eyes widened. "Then, he's coming here to…"
Hades then used a finger to literally chop off his own head. "Duh."
Medusa shook her head fearfully. "N-no… No, I can't believe that."
"Ok -Hey- But if I were you, I'd… turn him to stone." Hades said as he reattached his head to his neck. "Just a suggestion."
"I'd bet you'd like that." I remarked.
"Excuse me? Hey, I'm not a selfish guy." Hades defended himself. "I'm not like those high-and-mighty snobs back up on Olympus. I stand for the masses! And is this a massive idea!"
"Not all of them are snobs." I defended the only Olympian that came to mind. "Hermes is pretty cool."
"Maybe to you." Hades then started rubbing his neck. "How's my head look? Is it on straight?"
"Medusa, are you here?" Hercules called out. "Come out!"
"Go on, get outta here." Medusa then shooed Hades and I away into some bushes. "I can take care of myself."
"All right, all right." Hades said as he hid himself. "I'll just be over here if you need me. I gotta see a man about something."
"Be careful." I told Medusa.
"I will." she nodded.
Medusa then went to go meet Hercules while Hades and I remained out of sight. But judging by the mean smile planted on Hades' face when he saw Hercules slowly making his way towards her, I could tell he was about to do something that would cost Medusa her chances of becoming a permanent human. And as her friend, I couldn't let Hades make Medusa turn Hercules to stone.
"Um, o-over here, Hercules." Medusa called out as she revealed herself.
Hercules then turned around, shield in hand, to see her. "Medusa?"
Medusa scoffed. "Lose the shield, hero. It's too dark to see the monster."
"Heh, I deserve that." Herc said as he started pulling something from behind the shield. "That's why I brought you this."
Just then, Hades ignited his flames brightly as he gave a loud fake sneeze. "AAAHH-CHOO!"
Without thinking, I ran out of my hiding spot, pushed Hercules out of the way and accidentally knocked him out cold when he hit his head on a tree, and I looked right at Medusa the second the glow from Hades' flames showed. I saw her; the real her. Not darkened by sunglasses, not kept hidden by the night. I saw who Medusa really was. But I wasn't scared. She was more beautiful as a gorgon than as she was a human, as if someone carved her out of emeralds. I could only give a small smile after seeing the real her. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I felt frozen, and my vision went black shortly after.
Medusa's POV
"Oops." Hades nonchalantly said as he got out of the bushes.
"Ugh! You creep!" I shoved him.
"Hey. Hey, not my fault. I've got a cold." Hades said as he took my hand to his forehead. "Do I feel warm? I feel warm."
I growled as I pulled my hand away from Hades, my snakes giving him mean hisses in the process. I couldn't believe he would purposefully light up the grove just so I could turn Hercules to stone! I mean, I tried not looking at him, but everything happened so fast. And I figured Herc was a new lawn ornament for my grove by now. However, when I looked to see what damage I had done, a pained groan caught my attention. Hades and I looked and saw that Hercules was laying on the forest floor, still fleshy and still alive. Unconscious, but alive.
"Wait a sec-" Hades gave a puzzled look. "If he's out cold, then who's…"
He stopped himself from talking. Right as we both looked to see who was standing in Hercules' place right before he was knocked out. Only to see that the newest statue in my grove was none other than Aria. I raced over to her statue and just cupped my hands over my mouth. I couldn't believe what I just did. I turned her to stone! My best friend… How could I do such a thing to her? After all she's done for me, too?
"What have I done?" I felt tears sting my eyes as I held her tightly. "I'm so sorry, Aria."
"Look, Jerkcules was clearly going for his sword." Hades tried to defend his actions, with a hint of what looked like regret in his eyes when he saw Aria. "And she just wanted to protect you from him. C'mon."
I didn't want to believe him. At least that part about Hercules going for his sword to kill me. He wouldn't do such a thing, and my thoughts were proven right when I looked down and noticed something. On the ground right between Aria and Hercules was the shield, and sticking out from underneath it was something I never expected to see from a hero-in-training: A bouquet of freshly picked flowers.
"Flowers?" I said in realization. "H-he was coming to apologize, and Aria took the blow for nothing."
"Oops. Gee, guess I misjudged the guy. Gee, I feel awful." Hades said in a carless tone. "Oh, well."
"What about Aria?" I asked.
Hades waved off Aria's new sedimentary lifestyle as if it were nothing. "I can bring her back, no sweat."
"Ahem, aren't you forgetting something, Hades?" a familiar voice asked.
Just then, a pink spotlight shown down from the sky, and that short and campy song I heard the other day started playing as someone started appearing out of thin air:
"Aphrodite,
Aphrodite,
Aphrodite…
The goddess of love!"
And just like that, Aphrodite appeared right before us.
"Oy, Aphrodite," Hades rolled his eyes. "Again with the song."
"Mm-hmm. Now, I don't know, I'd say this qualifies as 'one true friend'." Aphrodite said as she picked up a stray flower. "Make her human, loser!"
"Fine, okay. I'll give ya that one." Hades said as he summoned up a ball of fire I recognized as the one he used to make me a temporary human. "Bada-bing! Human time!"
I hesitated. On one hand, I'd finally be rid of my gorgon form and become human forever. But on the other hand, I wouldn't have my one true friend. If I didn't act fast, Aria would remain a statue forever. I know Hades said he could turn her back to normal, but after what he did to try and turn Hercules to stone, I couldn't take that risk. So, right as Hades used his power, I quickly picked up Hercules' shield, angled it towards Aria, and held it up against my face. Watching the magic ricochet off the shield and onto Aria, turning her back to normal.
Aria's POV
I don't know what exactly happened after I saw Medusa -I mean I know what happened, but you know what I mean, but I'm pretty sure I died and came back to life. With my head feeling like I got slammed but a hunk of rock and a very woozy feeling in my legs that forced me to stumble backwards a little before I finally got my balance back. Have no idea how all that happened, but at least I was alive again.
"W-what hit me?" I asked as I shook my head in dizziness.
"Nothing much," Medusa stated as she helped me keep balance. "But, hey, what good is a true friend if she's a rock?"
Now, I remember. I looked at Medusa instead of Hercules. But, I couldn't believe what I just heard when Medusa spoke up. She gave up the chance to become a permanent human to bring me back to life? She gave up the chance to be human and date Hercules just to save me? I admit, nobody's really done something like that for me before, except for that time the imps protected me from Hecate's wolf, but aside from that. I don't think anyone's ever done such a thing for me before.
"You," I stammered a little. "You gave up permanent humanity for me?"
"Because you sacrificed yourself to save Hercules." Medusa pointed out.
"Because I wanted you to be happy." I told her. "I thought you wanted to be human."
Medusa shook her head and gave a little smile. "I don't need to be human to have you as a friend or to be happy."
I gave her a smile right before hugging her, and I'm pretty sure I could tell that a witnessing Hades was getting very annoyed with this touching moment. The guy said it himself, he's not the sentimental type so this sort of thing was sickening to him. Although, to tell you guys the truth, I swore I saw him give a relieved smile when he saw me turn back to normal. Can't blame him, this was the second time I almost died after being on suicide watch. I keep this up, I might actually give a god a heart attack.
Just then, our hug was interrupted when we heard Hercules groan. "Wha… What happened?"
"You, uh, ran into a tree and hit your head." I gave a small lie as I helped him up.
"I did?" Herc just went along with it before getting the bouquet for Medusa. "Uh, look… I don't know what all this is about, but I came here on a mission."
An apology? And he's finally asking Medusa out on a date? Gotta hand it to Herc, he can be a little oblivious from time to time, but he knows how to make amends when he clearly hurt someone's feelings. He's a good friend, really, and I guess this little lesson in sensitivity and acceptance really taught him a lot. Good for him, y'know? And good for Medusa, too. She's finally getting the proper date she deserves with the guy she likes.
"Medusa, I, uh… I know I've been kinda, like, a jerk," Hercules said as he held up the bouquet. "But I was wondering if you'd like to, um… go out with me tonight?"
"Yeah." Medusa nodded confidently. "Y'know, I think my calendar's clean."
Hercules grinned. "Well then, let's go!"
"Uh, hold on." Medusa stopped him before turning to Aphrodite -when did she show up? "Um, I was just wondering if…"
"Oh, yeah, of course! Hey, you go, girl!" Aphrodite smiled as she summoned forth a pair of pink heart-shaped sunglasses.
Medusa put the sunglasses on before turning back towards Hercules and tossed away his shield. "I don't think we'll be needing this."
"Make good choices." I told them.
My friends nodded at me before walking away. Arms hooked together and Medusa's snakes braiding themselves to make their mistress more presentable as she and Hercules strolled towards their very soon-to-be date. I admit, I may not be one for chasing after romance, but I am a sucker for a resolved couple outing that ended positively sort of trope. You don't get much of those nowadays. Especially since people like writing about couples that are more toxic than raw malachite in water.
Speaking of toxic romance…
"Aw, that's so nice. That's nice, huh? Kids got together, and y'know…" Hades then started to make a move onto Aphrodite. "We're here. So, whaddya think? Shall we make it a double date, huh?"
"Oy…" I facepalmed.
As if he had been watching this whole time, Hephaestus emerged from the bushes. Glaring daggers at Hades for being so close to his fiancé, which reminded me a lot about something similar that happened during the Pyanepsion incident last year. But, I could tell that Hades wasn't really looking forward to Hephaestus going after him for flirting with Aphrodite again. Pity. I was really hoping the god of the forge would beat the snot out of Hades like he did during the Pyanepsion incident. It was pretty funny.
"Hephaestus!" Hades began stuttering nervously as he tried making it look like he had no idea who Aphrodite was. "I-I'm sorry, ma'am. What was your name again? I was just chatting with the nice lady."
Hephaestus growled at that shoddy excuse.
Hades chuckled nervously. "I gotta go. C'mon, Aria, we'd better blaze."
Aphrodite gave me a confused look. "You work for Hades?"
I nodded. "Long story"
"Aria!" Hades yelled at me.
"Right, sorry!" I said right as Hades teleported us back to the Underworld.
Well, I now have three Olympians knowing that I work for Hades. Hopefully, neither Aphrodite nor Hephaestus would sell me out to Zeus, although considering the ladder of the two did vote for Hades as ruler of Olympus during the whole sun disappearing thing a year ago, maybe they would keep my secret just that. They seem reasonable enough. I hope.