You open your eyes, blinking several times. Looking around, you see you're not in the Island of Woe anymore. You appear to be in the audience seats of coliseum similar to the one back in school.
"Geez louise."
You dart down, peering over the edge. You see Hades lying on a gymnasium high beam smirking at a boy below. He couldn't be more than eighteen though he looks like bodybuilder. He has incredibly strong muscles and curly blonde hair.
Hades flips off the bar and lands perfectly, holding out a hand to the boy. "Name is Hades, Lord of the Dead. Hi. How ya doin'?"
The boy only backs away. "Not now, okay?"
"Hey, hey," Hades rushes over and walks beside the boy. "I only need a few seconds and I'm a fast talker, all right? See, I've got the major deal in the works. A real estate venture, if you will. And Herc, you little devil you, may I call you Herc? You seem to be constantly getting in the way of it."
You remember in the last dream that Hades was angry at this 'wonder boy' messing up his plans. Could this be that boy? And Herc... Where have you heard that name before? Your eyes widen in realization. Wasn't Hercules the name of the baby from earlier? He had to be. He looks exactly like Zeus.
"You've got the wrong guy." He shoves Hades of him
Hades is visibly getting more annoyed. "Hear me out, ya little-" Hades chuckles, placing a hand to his shoulder. "Just hear me out, okay? So I would be eternally grateful if you would just take a day off from this hero business of yours. Geez, I mean, monsters, natural disasters. Phew, you wait a day, okay?"
"You're out of your mind." Hercules begins to walk away when Hades stops him again.
"Not so fast, because, ya see, I do have a little leverage... you might wanna know about."
Hades snaps his fingers and the girl from before appears from thin air.
Hercules' eyes widen. "Meg!"
She rushes towards him. "Don't listen to him-"
Hades snaps his fingers and Meg disappears.
Hercules whirls on Hades. "Let her go!"
Hades smirks. "Here's the trade-off. You give up your strength for about twenty four hours, okay? Say, the next twenty four hours and Meg here is free as a bird and safe from harm." Hades makes Meg appear again but she has coils of smoke wrapped around her. "We dance, we kiss, we schmooze, we carry on, we go home happy. What d'ya say? Come on."
Hercules looks at Meg with fear and worry in his eyes. "People are gonna get hurt, aren't they?"
"Nah! I mean, it's, you know, it's a possibility. It happens 'cause, you know, it's war, but what can I tell ya? Anyway, what do you owe these people, huh?" Hades wraps an arm around Meg, squishing her face. "Isn't Meg, little smoochy face, isn't she more important than they are?"
"Stop it!"
"Isn't she?"
Hercules pauses, looking at Meg as she shakes her head. "You gonna swear she'll be safe from any harm."
Hades lets Meg go and walks over to Hercules. "Fine, okay, I'll give you that one. Meg is safe, otherwise you get your strength right back, yadda-yadda, fine print, boilerplate, baboom. Okay? We're done, what d'ya say we shake on it?"
Hades holds out a hand but the boy stares uncertainly between him and Meg.
"Hey, I really don't have, like, time to bat this around. I'm kind of on a schedule here, I got plans for August. Okay? I need an answer, like, now. Going once, going twice-"
"All right!"
Hercules holds out his hand and Hades grins.
"Yes, we're there!"
Hades grabs Hercules hand. Light shines from their hands. Hercules groans and falls to his knees, all color draining from his face. Hades eventually let's go. The boy tries to stand back up but his legs shake.
"You may feel just a little queasy, it's kinda natural. Maybe you should sit down." Hades lifts a huge dumbbell and throws it at the boy.
Hercules is sent flying back and crashes to the ground. The boy struggles to get the heavy weight off him as Hades loom over him. "Now you know how it feels to be just like everybody else. Isn't it just peachy?"
Hades grins as he walks over to Meg. "Oh! You'll love this. One more thing. Meg, babe. A deal's a deal. You're off the hook."
The smoke falls off her but before she could rush over to the boy, Hades slings an arm around her.
"By the way, Herc. Is she not, like, a fabulous little actress?"
"Stop it." She tries to step out of his grasp.
Hercules manages to get out from under the weight. "What do you mean?"
Hades smirks. "I mean your little chickie-poo here was working for me all the time. Duh."
Hercules takes a step back. "You- you're lying!"
Two kids rush to Hercules side, tugging at his arms.
"Help!"
"Jeepers, mister, you're really strong."
The kids transform into the two demons you saw earlier. They laugh at the boy, kicking him while he's already down.
Hades grins at Meg. "Couldn't have done it without you, sugar, sweetheart, babe."
Meg shakes her head helplessly. "No! It's not like that! I didn't mean to. I-I couldn't- I-I'm so sorry."
"Our hero's a zero! Our hero's a zero!" The demons laugh and pour a drink over Hercules as he walks away.
Hades snaps his fingers and a chariot with black winged horses appears. "Well, gotta blaze. There's a while cosmos up there waiting for me with, hey, my name on it. So much for the preliminaries, and now on to the main event!"
Hades hops onto the chariot and takes off. You feel yourself being pulled away, ripples fill your vision. The last thing you see is Hercules falling to his knees and Meg crying into her hands before everything went dark.
"Y/N... Y/N!"
You feel yourself being shaken. You open your eyes to see Epel above you. He has you lying in his arm as he holds you closely, your head resting against his chest. You slowly sit up and notice Rook kneeling beside you.
Rook smiles when he sees you stir. "Wonderful, you're awake."
You groan, rubbing your head. "What happened?"
Rook just smiles, gesturing with an arm. "Behold."
Looking behind you, you see the Charon soldiers encased in a glass looking coffin. They appear to be sleeping.
Your eyes grow large. "Are the Charons frozen?"
Rook chuckles. "You look shocked, Y/N. This is all Epel's handiwork, you know."
Epel rubs his arm. "I thought we were done for, and I just kind of... flew into action."
You look back at the soldiers in the glass cases. "So does that mean..."
Epel smiles proudly. "That's right! It's my signature spell!"
"Bravo, my dear Pommette!" Rook applauds. "Allow me to offer an embrace of gratitude and approbation!"
Rook wraps Epel in a bear hug, nearly suffocating him.
"Rook! I can't breathe!"
Rook lets him go. "Ah, my apologies. I was so caught up in the moment I forgot my strength."
Epel laughs. "Thank you. I don't have a full grasp of it yet. But from what I can tell, when I encase someone in the force field, it temporarily stops them from doing anything. I don't know if it's because I saw how they attacked Ace and Deuce at Ramshackle or what, butI just had this powerful urge to protect you all."
"It can serve as both a shield for allies and a cage for foes." Rook observes. "I would say the barrier's might is an embodiment of Epel's willpower. It's stronger and more beautiful than any gem. No army could put even the slightest dent in your resolve. Truly, your signature spell is a work of beauty. I'm honored to have witnessed its manifestation firsthand. Oh, how overjoyed Vil will be when he learns of this! I can see it now."
"It's still difficult to gauge the right coordinates for summoning it." Epel sighs. "Capturing all the Charons took a lot of trial and error."
Rook laughs. "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it soon enough. Nobody masters a spell the moment they learn it."
A groan alerts you to the civilian. He slowly sits up, rubbing his head. Rook kneels down beside him. "Ah, you're awake as well, Monsieur. How are you feeling?"
He glanced at the three of you. "I'm guessing you all saved me? I can't thank you enough. Those Charons must have been on autopilot."
"You mean, like, nobody's in them?" Epel asks.
The man nods. "That's right. Normally it'd be unthinkable that they would attack when unmanned. But I suspect something's gone wrong with the Cerberus System. That's what manages the island's security. It could be extremely dangerous inside HQ right now."
Rook's eyes widen. "Gracious..."
"You all should go back the way you came, get to an emergency escape terminal in the outer periphery, and flee the island. I have no idea if the terminals are even running right now. But regardless, it'd definitely be safer on the periphery than here."
Rook bows his head. "Your warning is most appreciated, Monsieur. However, that means it is all the more imperative for us to get inside this building."
The man stands abruptly, shaking his head. "You can't go in there! It's too dangerous!"
Rook stands up as well. "We're well aware. But our dear friends are inside. We couldn't possibly abandon them while we save ourselves. Worry not. Night Raven College has trained us in emergency preparedness."
"Oh, I see... All right then." He digs through his pocket, holding something to Rook. "In that case, you should take this."
"An ID card?" Rook asks as he takes the card.
"That's right. The regular IDs don't have high enough clearance to get into the central block where the control room is. This card can get you in there, though. I'm guessing HQ's in total chaos. I don't know how much use it will be in there, but you all can use magic. It's better for you to take the card."
Better not mention that I can't use magic...
"But don't you need it to escape?" Epel asks.
The man waved a hand. "Oh, I'll be fine. I was born and raised on this island. I'll manage."
Rook smiles, pocketing the card. "Then I thank you for your consideration."
"No, thank YOU. Be careful in there, okay?"
You all nod and the man runs away to safety. Rook looks to you and Epel. "Shall we be off then? Let us fly to our queen's side!"
Inside of Styx headquarters, Vil and the others roam through the halls trying to find a way out.
"All these hallways look identical." Vil sighs. "I can't even tell if we're going towards the control room."
"I've been leaving marks at every turn we've taken." Jamil sighs. "We haven't passed the same place twice, so we SHOULD be making progress... in theory."
Leona growls. "The real problem is there's a ton of doors that require ID cards. If it wasn't for all the stupid anti-magic junk, I'd just turn 'em to sand."
"I had the same idea, but then remembered what Idia mentioned earlier." Riddle adds. "He said all these rooms double as shelters in case of an emergency. So I doubt the doors would break that easily."
Vil sighs. "I could use my signature spell, as I did when I escaped my own room. But it would take time, and I don't have unlimited reserves."
Azul places a hand to his chin. "If only there were some staff around. We could wring their-ah, that is, we could politely ask them to explain the situation and show us where to go."
A crash alerts them to a commotion down the hall.
"Help me!"
"Technomantic beam recharged. Target locked."
Azul smirks. "Well, would you look at that? A staff member is getting attacked by a Charon."
"How convenient." Leona chuckles. "I say we save his butt then make him show us the way as repayment."
Vil shakes his head. "Really, now... That's not a very princely suggestion." Vil smirks. "That said, I'm in agreement. Let's do this!"