“You were right Philoctetes,” mumbled Hercules. “I should never have gone for her, for that woman on the island…it was a mistake…a grave mistake.”
“No, it was not,” replied Philoctetes. “I was wrong. Meg is a good girl at heart. She told me that she is sorry for everything. It was Hades who made her do it.”
“He speaks the truth son,” said a deep voice from behind Philoctetes and Pegasus.
Philoctetes and Pegasus both heard the bold voice and moved aside. There Hercules beheld a surprising, but familiar voice—the voice of Zeus. “Father!”
Zeus smiled and stepped away, revealing Hercules’ mother Hera. This was the first time that Hercules had ever seen her. She was wearing a brilliant white dress.
“How are you here?” Hercules was both surprised and overjoyed to see his parents there, in front of him, during this time of terrible war. “You should be on Mount Olympus.”
“This final journey we made by foot. You see, your mother could not stand to see you in such pain. Her love for you is strong.”
Zeus looked into the eyes of Hercules as he hung in chains between the pillars. There Zeus was able to say a few words of comfort and consolation. “Do not let your head droop my dear Hercules!” said Zeus. “For soon you will be able to break through these chains and save the world. Soon all that we have hoped for will come to pass. Know that I am proud of you son and all that you have become! What must now be must be!”
Hera approached Hercules and placed her hands on his face. “He is so strong and handsome! Oh Zeus, our child is magnificent!”
Zeus nodded. “In reality, everything that has happened in the world has occurred because of the constant battle between good and evil,” said Zeus. “And you, my son, are the key to winning that battle. I know you are troubling over one question son. But let me tell you what it means, son, to be a true hero. Being a true hero means that you are willing to sacrifice everything you have, including your own life, so that good can triumph over evil. That is the truest test of a hero.” Zeus let a soft smile roll over his face and then turned around. “A true hero no longer cares about what may befall them, but will give up of themselves so that another may live on!”
Hera smiled and said, “We may pass, but do not let her pass, do not let Meg pass!”
Suddenly Hades noticed Zeus and Hera, the grand beings, lingering there on the hill looking at Hercules. Hades laughed and appeared right there in front of them.
“What have we here?” said Hades craftily. “The two great Gods finally have come from their heavenly mountain prison! Well, you should know it is too late…” Hades pointed down to the carnage of the battlefield that lingered below. “As you can see, without you two the world is under my control…and soon the entire universe will be mine for nobody can stop my power!” Hades smiled as he lifted his staff up in the air.
“You may kill us,” said Zeus. “But that will not change your fate.”
Hades looked infuriated at Zeus. Although Zeus was powerless to stop Hades and subject to death by his hand, Zeus did not look afraid, nor did he look any weaker than he had ever looked before. Instead he simply looked over at Hercules and said, “Good-bye my son.”
Then Hades pointed his staff at Zeus, snarled, and said, “Enough of your ‘wise words’ old man!” Then it happened.
Hades fired a powerful shot of dark magic at Zeus, propelling Zeus back down to the ground, dead. Immediately after Zeus fell to the ground Hera came to comfort him. She knelt onto the ground and looked down into his face. For a moment he looked up into her eyes and then he was gone.
Hercules saw his mother, and her tears were all too real and vivid in his mind. Hera looked over to Hercules and could only mutter a few words in the time she had left. She muttered, “We will see each other again…my dear Hercules…” Then she was gone. One blast of dark magic from Hades’ staff knocked her to the ground, dead, where she fell right next to Zeus.
Words could not express the sadness felt by Hercules in this moment. Tears streamed down his face as he yelled as loud as he could, “No!” He couldn’t believe it could happen. His own heavenly parents, the great Gods, were dead.
Hades laughed and mocked Zeus and Hera as he spit down on the ground next to them. “And so pass the great Zeus and Hera, never to interfere in my plan again!”
Hades shot a dark blast of magic into the air, which caused the entire sky to darken, as the sun was shrouded in darkness.
So far all was working according to Hades’ grand plan. His plan was to place Hercules in a position of great suffering, both physically and emotionally, so that his parents could not resist leaving their heavenly abode on Mount Olympus. Then they he would strike and destroy his old enemies once and for all. However, little to Hades’ knowledge this what Zeus and Hera had planned as well.
Immediately after Zeus and Hera died, Hercules felt different. He suddenly did not feel hopelessly weak. He suddenly did not feel all this pain. He looked down and watched as his skin seemed to magically mend itself. His scars and bruises were being healed before his very eyes. Then he felt a power flow through him unlike any he had ever before felt.
Philoctetes and Pegasus, who both were still emotionally recovering from having to watch Zeus and Hera killed before their eyes, were surprised as they watch Hercules emit a bright light. They watched as Hercules suddenly began one by one, breaking the chains surrounding the pillar. The chains wrapped around the pillar, that before seemed like impenetrable and unbreakable steal, suddenly seemed more like weak threads that he could break in an instant.
Hades began trotting down the mountain victoriously until he suddenly heard a sound that he did not expect. It was a loud cracking sound, like the sound of cracking stone. He turned around and saw Hercules standing upright with his chains all broken and lying on the ground and the pillars around him cracked. “What? How is this possible? No man could break through those chains!”
“But I am no ordinary man!” exclaimed Hercules.
Of course, by now everyone below on the battlefield suddenly stopped fighting and stared upward at this magnificent show of power. “You have no powers!” exclaimed Hades. “This cannot be possible except you be a…” Suddenly Hades realized that somehow Hercules had become a God.
While all Hades could focus on was Hercules, Hercules was thinking about something else entirely. The words of Hera returned to his mind with great power. “We may pass, but do not let her pass, do not let Meg pass!”
He turned to Philoctetes and said boldly, “Where is Meg?”
“We separated,” said Philoctetes. “She said she was going to Hades’ underworld, where she would try to find you and save you.”
“I must go to her!” exclaimed Hercules. “I must protect her from her death!”
“What are you talking about?” asked Philoctetes.
“When I was on the island I saw her drinking from a fountain. When I asked her about it she said that it was her life force, something that kept her alive and well. She cannot go long without it or else I think she will die. I must find her.”
Philoctetes smiled. “Then go…get out of here.”
“You are okay with it?” asked Hercules, surprised.
“Before I suggested that you go cannot love to be a hero. But Megara has shown me something else, that perhaps love is in your destiny—love for both of you. I know you must go, and do not worry Hercules. I will stay here and lead what men will fight against Hades.”
“You will reveal your true self?” asked Hercules.
Philoctetes removed his hood and smiled. “Yes, it is now about time that I do something heroic. No longer will Philoctetes remain in the shadows!”
Philoctetes smiled for a moment as he handed him a familiar object. “Hercules, here is your sword—the hero’s weapon! Do not lose it again!”
Hercules smiled and nodded. Suddenly Hercules flung himself on top of Pegasus and said, “Pegasus! To Hades’ underworld, and with the greatest haste!” Pegasus
cheered and lifted himself up off the ground and flew off to Hades’ underworld.
Meanwhile Hades watched as Hercules flew off on Pegasus south. He seemed terribly upset. He heard a voice from behind him. It was Ares. “Shall we go after him?”
Hades paused. He knew that without Hercules he could easily take over Athens and the cities close by. Then, after that, he would take care of Hercules. “No,” replied Hades. “Bring desolation upon Athens! Then I will deal with Hercules.”
Chapter 18: To Rescue Meg
The rest of the day Hades spent in bringing desolation upon Athens. His warriors were able to defeat the rest of Athen’s warriors and Hades spent the rest of the day placing every Greek he could find in Athen’s prisons and murdering all those who opposed him.
Hercules knew he was sacrificing much in leaving Athens in such a horrible state, but he knew that his parent’s sacrifice was far greater. And their last wish for him was to go to Meg.
Pegasus flew as fast as he could through the skies away from Athens towards Hades’ underworld. He hoped that there he would find Meg alive and be able to save bring her safely back to Greece.
The journey to Hades’ underworld from Athens was about two hundred miles and Pegasus was already tired from his journey to Cythera and back to Athens. But it seemed that at least a small portion of Hercules’ great God power poured into Pegasus, who found a new-found strength. Now Pegasus flew with speed like he had never flown before.
The night had come and gone by the time Hercules and Pegasus arrived at the island of Crete. When they arrived at Crete Hercules leapt up off of Pegasus with his sword drawn. He noticed that the gate to Hades’ underworld was torn completely off of the cave walls. He thought this odd and first checked to make sure that the underworld was safe. After he didn’t see anything he motioned for Pegasus to follow him into the tunnels. “You may come Pegasus. It appears Hades no longer has possession of this world!”
Pegasus did not seem thrilled to enter Hades’ underworld, but he did want to be with Hercules and thus followed him. As Hercules searched the underworld he was surprised to find that he needed no torch-light. His own body, now that he was a complete God, emitted a light so powerful as to light up all the area around him. Hercules spent the next several minutes searching Hades’ throne room, his armory, his tunnels, and his grand arena. There was no sign of Meg or anyone. He figured that everyone went with Hades to war. There was only one place that he hadn’t searched.
He approached the large hole in the ground with caution. From the depths of Tartarus a thick yellowish-green fog fumed up from the crack in the ground. “This is where Meg must be,” said Hercules sadly to Pegasus.
Hercules remembered Hades’ words that Tartarus could kill even a God. Hercules also remembered Tartarus’ one rule: “For every mortal person who enters Tartarus, one person had to remain.” This rule allowed for leeway, however, as it didn’t specify that the person who actually went there needed to stay in its depths. It also did not specify that if a God entered he had to remain.
Hercules looked down into that pit and then back up towards Pegasus. “Pegasus, you must stay here. I do not want to lose you in the darkest abyss of this horrid place!”
Pegasus looked disappointed that he could not come with Hercules, but reluctantly bucked his head in agreement. Then Hercules, with his sword in hand, jumped down into the crack into Tartarus.
What passed in the next few seconds for Hercules seemed like an eternity. Hercules passed through a thick film of what appeared to be toxic gas. The gas was a different kind of gas than any he had ever previously beheld. It was thick and seemed to help slow his long fall. Of course, when he breathed in the gas it hurt his throat and lungs very much. He figured that the gas would kill any mortal thing living, thereby ensuring that no mortal could reach the lowest depths of Tartarus alive.
After what seemed like several minutes of falling Hercules passed the foggy gas and landed down onto the hard ground below. There he had his first view of what Tartarus was like and it was a scary place beyond reason.
The ground was hard and black, but was not rock. Large cracks up to a foot wide ran along the ground. In the distance Hercules could see a dark lake of some kind, with water as black as the land around it, and with small steams that descended away from the lake. When Hercules walked he had to be careful not to step into any of the cracks and fall into, what appeared to be, a poisonous liquid (it was the same color as the gas, but was a liquid).
Hercules looked out over the landscape and didn’t see an end either way to the great prison. He could see many human souls, or what appeared to be human souls. Some seemed to merely be dark shadows that wandered throughout the land. Others seemed to be vile creatures, as they wrestled and roared at each other and fought terribly with each other.
These people no longer looked like people, but evil creatures, creatures molded by evil and darkness. When they saw Hercules they growled and revealed their evil teeth. But Hercules held his sword up and, with the light that emanated from his being, they didn’t dare go near him.
After searching for several minutes he finally saw someone that was different than the rest. This person lay down on the ground next to a large rock. Next to the person was an old wooden shepherd’s staff. Hercules looked down at saw that this was Meg.
She looked completely dead, dark and alone, shriveled up in fetal position against the rock. Meg didn’t look very beautiful, but Hercules did not care. Her eyes were closed, her skin parched, and her hair wrinkly. He looked down at her and then knelt down beside her. He placed his hand against her face and neck, hoping she was still alive.
To his surprise Meg’s eyes fluttered open. She seemed surprised to see Hercules, but was altogether too weak to respond.
Hercules wrapped his arms around her back and lifted her body close to him. “Why have you done this?” asked Hercules. “Why have you come here, to this horrible place, this place underneath all things? Why are you here where happiness cannot be felt? A goddess such as you should be free and abroad, ruling over all.”
Hercules could tell that she tried to smile, but then the smile faded away. “It is amazing how love can take precedence over every other force in the universe,” said Meg. “Every other human passion can be supplanted, burying beneath the earth all selfishness. Indeed, you may say that love can make a person do crazy things…Hercules I am so sorry for what occurred in the past.”
Hercules smiled and looked her in the eye. “Let the past be the past. Never dwell on it again, for I know of your love towards me!”
“Hercules, why have you come? Do you not have a heroic mission to complete?”
“This is my heroic mission,” said Hercules. “While you are lost I cannot save the rest of the world. You have saved me, given me something other than obligation and duty. You have given me love and I will continue to believe in it!”
Suddenly the two kissed there in that dark place, where kisses were the last thing that would be thought of being felt.
Meg was weakening now and Hercules could tell. Her kiss was less intense, less passionate, even though he knew she was giving all she had. Even Hercules, as God, was feeling weaker. He looked down and realized that Tartarus was being to affect him. He felt a great darkness rush through his soul.
“Come let us go!” declared Hercules. “Let us escape this abyss!”
“But there is the rule,” said Meg. “Only one of us may escape!”
“Then that person will be you!” Hercules whistled for Pegasus and Pegasus came soaring down into Tartarus to Hercules and Meg. “Go!” said Hercules as he pointed towards Pegasus. “You must leave, not me!”
Meg cried and said, “I would rather die than not be with you, so I will stay.” Meg suddenly collapsed to the ground. Hercules looked towards Pegasus, who also seemed to be getting wearier.
“Pegasus, leave us both here, for we will not leave each other,” said Hercules. Pegasus shook his head. Of course he would not go eith
er, to be away from the two. “So it appears we are all terribly foolish! None of us will leave!”
Hercules looked into Meg’s eyes, and watched as her mortal body seemed to fade away into the darkness. She looked much paler.
Hercules remembered how Hades said that Tartarus had enough power to kill even a God and he too was preparing for death. Hercules’ own countenance began to diminish in brightness. This caused the insidious creatures in that prison to congregate around them.
But then, something very strange and unusual happened. In the darkness the cave seemed to rumble and quake. At first the floor shook. This frightened all the other creatures around them and they scattered away into the darkness. Then the walls and ceiling began to shake incessantly. This caused pieces of rock, both small and large, to come falling down around them. It was as if Tartarus itself was collapsing.
“Come!” exclaimed Hercules. “We must leave! The cave is crumbling!”
Hercules suddenly grabbed Meg and lifted her up onto Pegasus’ back. He then mounted Pegasus. Immediately after this occurred it took no words for Pegasus to move. He immediately took off up towards the exit.
Pegasus found it difficult to see at all as he flew up through the fog and smoke. He was hit in several places with rocks and dust, but after a few moments he was successfully able to burst up through the opening. But as he did he realized this was not the entirety of their journey. Because Tartarus, the lowest level and foundation itself of Hades’ underworld was collapsing, every part of Hades’ Underworld was collapsing.
Hercules looked ahead at the falling pieces of ceiling and then looked back at Meg, who was barely conscious. “Come Pegasus! Fly towards the exit! We will make it!”
Hercules, Pegasus, and Meg zoomed out of the underworld just in time before the rocky mountain completely collapsed. Hercules, Pegasus, and Meg rested on the ground and took several deep breaths. They then looked back at Hades’ underworld, now just a large pile of builders. “And so passes Hades’ underworld!” exclaimed Hercules. Hercules knew that their escape from Tartarus and the destruction of Hades’ underworld marked the first step in the turning of the tide.
The God of Olympus Page 22
