Heracles sat behind Roger as Pegasus flew over the clouds. Roger couldn't see the front because the beast women's back blocked his view. At least they could see without him, and their body warmth kept him cozy from the cold wind.

"This is amazing!" Heracles cheered. "I can't believe I'm flying!"

Katina growled. "When will he ever shut up?"

"Not for long! I can see the mountain!" Labda announced.

Over the sea of clouds, a white mountain peak rose, shining in the sunlight. Its beauty took Roger’s breath away. "Are you sure that is Mount Olympus?"

"It is the only tallest mountain in Greece," said Cilla.

Roger was glad they were almost there, but he wished they could explore ancient Greece more. He wanted to meet the people, see the creatures, and witness places before they turned to ruin. Maybe visiting the gods will be more exciting.

The mountain grew bigger as Pegasus flew closer toward it. Before he reached the mountain, the horse suddenly screamed.

"What’s wrong?" Labda exclaimed.

The horse flapped his wings, wobbling side to side. Heracles glanced back and spotted a thick black thorn in the horse's rear.

"There is something on Pegasus!" He pulled the thorn out and glanced at it. Something green dripped from the thorn's tip. "It looks like a living spike. Something shot Pegasus!"

The horse's eyes closed and allowed his body to fall. The wind picked up as the group fell through the clouds. They were barely close to Mount Olympus.

"We're going to crash!" Cilla cried, holding onto Pegasus's neck.

Roger held on while Heracles wrapped his big arms around Roger’s waist. The strong man squeezed Roger, nearly pushing Roger’s breath out. If they don't crash soon, Roger’s eyeballs might pop out.

Below the clouds, they reached a lake near a forest. Pegasus's body dived into the water with a big splash.

In the dark water, Heracles grabbed Roger and swam up toward the surface. Both of them caught their breath after they emerged.

Katina, Labda, and Cilla splashed into view while Pegasus emerged next to them, panicking. Together, they paddled to the shore and coughed on the dirt. Pegasus shook the water off his wings and laid down, moaning.

The women approached the horse and checked his wound.

"Poor horsy," said Cilla, rubbing Pegasus's mane.

"Who or what could have shot him?" Heracles asked.

If they didn't lose the thorn, Roger could study it. He had a friend who worked in the forensic lab at the station. He taught Roger how to examine some complex clues in case Roger didn't have time to visit the lab. Heracles said it was a living spike that pierced Pegasus's rear end.

A dark wooden splitter? High in the sky, nothing from a tree could reach them like a bullet. It didn't make any sense.

Something roared from the sky, and then a large shadow approached the group over the lake. It was a green woman riding on what appeared to be a winged lion with a scorpion tail.

"Medusa!" Cilla shouted.

"Who?" Heracles asked.

Roger sprinted toward the hero and covered his eyes. "Don't look at her! She will turn you into stone!"

Medusa laughed while her creature hovered over the water, flapping his wings. "I am sssurprissse you have found the hero before me. Now my time hasss been sssaved!"

Cilla snarled with her eyes closed. "What do you want with Heracles?"

Medusa pointed her scepter at the hero. "I want hisss head ssso I can give it to Gaea."

"You're helping Gaea?" Roger asked.

"Not yet, but if I sssuceed, ssshe will help me defeat Athena and Poseidon. My vengeance will then be completed!"

"But you will risk changing the future!" Labda shouted.

"Nonsssenssse! Gaea will protect my existence. All goddesses have the power to protect anyone they wisssh."

"Not true, but what makes you believe she will help you without betraying you? She despises all life on Earth, including monsters like you."

Medusa hissed as her snakes rattled on her head. "Ssshe may hate all life, but ssshe dessspisssed the godsss more. Without Heraclesss, nobody can ssstop her army."

"Not if we kick your scaly ass first!" Katina shouted.

Medusa laughed. "But can you fight my Windra with your eyesss closssed?"

"Wait! You named that Manticore, Windra?" Cilla asked.

"Yes."

Katina and Cilla burst into laughter. They pointed their fingers up at the winged lion.

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"Windra? That name sounds dumb!" Cilla giggled. "So basic for a flying creature!"

Katina slapped her thigh while laughing. "Because he flies in the wind, right? Maybe you should call him, Windy. Hahahahaha!"

Medusa snarled. Her veins bulged across her green skin. "Your mockery will end oncesss I turn you all into ssstone!"

"Roger! Get Heracles to the mountain!" Labda ordered. "We'll handle her!"

"But I can fight!" Heracles exclaimed.

Roger grabbed Heracles’s hand and pulled him while running. "Trust us, you can't fight Medusa without looking at her! She will turn you to stone."

He heard the Manticore roar behind, entering combat against the Cerberus women. But he kept his eye forward to the forest, knowing the women can handle themselves. Heracles's life was more important for the sake of the world.

*****

In the forest, dense fog rose around the trees, spreading a wet alpine aroma in the cold air. It reminded Roger of the creepy woods in the Underworld, where undead zombies attacked him. He couldn't see the direction to Mount Olympus, but he has to keep running with Heracles. He hoped the women were okay, fighting Medusa and her new pet monster.

"This is insane!" Heracles stopped and yanked his hand from Roger’s grip. "I never run from a monster! Who is she?"

Roger sighed and faced the hero. "You never heard of Medusa?"

Heracles crossed his arms. "I fought many monsters throughout my lifetime. Never had I encountered a she-snake before."

Roger felt like explaining to the hero will waste his time. The Cerberus was counting on him. "Listen, you only need to know she will turn you into stone when you look at her face."

"So how do I kill her?"

Roger rubbed his helmet. "Errrrrrr, remove her head I guess."

Heracles chuckled. "Of course. Nothing can live without their head."

"Just please listen to me!" Roger pointed the bident past Heracles. "Cilla, Katina, and Labda are fighting her so I can bring you to Mount Olympus. If you die, the Giants will win and doom us all. Understand?"

Heracles grimaced. "My father told me to never run from a fight. But completing a task is more important than fighting an unworthy obstacle, I will understand that."

Roger smiled within his helmet. Heracles may talk like a typical high school jock, but he wasn’t an idiot. He might be even braver than Roger. "Then come on, before she-"

A yellow energy blast flew past Roger’s shoulder. It struck Heracles, coloring his entire body into a dark grey stone color.

Roger’s eyes widened as his mouth dropped. "No….."

Something swiped him off his feet and his face hit the ground. Medusa’s bare feet strolled past him, approaching the Heracles statue.

"Foolisssh man." She glanced at the hero's frozen face and stroked his chin. "Why didn't you run further? You were almossst ahead of me."

Roger growled as he rose to his feet. "What did you do to Cilla, Katina, and Labda!?"

Medusa glared at him with a grin. "Oh, they are ssstill brawling with my pet. But that wasssn't me on Windra." She held up her scepter. "I planned an illusssion on Windra in cassse you bunch ssseparated. Didn't he make a good dissstraction?"

Roger closed his eyes, but his rage boiled through his veins. "You bitch! Don't you understand what you did?"

Medusa laughed. "I don't care, ass long ass the godsss will sssuffer for ruining my life."

She swung her scepter into the statue, shattering him into pieces. Only Heracles's head fell to the ground without breaking.

Medusa picked up his head and smiled at his face. "Now the godsss will fall, and I will be laughing at their defeat."

Roger couldn't believe it. They were so close to Mount Olympus, and somehow Medusa got the drop on them before they noticed her. This wasn't supposed to happen in the Gigantomachy myth. Heracles defeated the Giants, not Medusa murdering him before the great battle. Already she doomed the timeline, for the sake of her vendetta against the gods.

While clenching his teeth, Roger glanced at Medusa’s legs, only to target her without staring at her face. He tossed the bident, hoping he will get a good strike.

But Medusa dropped her scepter and caught the bident. She spread her grin across her face. "You are pathetic."

She threw the bident back toward him. The spear landed below his feet and exploded.

The shockwave roared from the ground, pushing him off his feet. He flew backward while screaming, then his head hit something hard, blacking him out.

*****

Labda's back slammed against the tree after the Manticore tossed her. The lion landed in front of her and roared.

"Damn, she's fast on that thing," Katina growled.

Medusa laughed until her body suddenly faded away.

Labda widened her eyes. "Huh?"

The Manticore's skin turned to black stone with purple cracks across his form. Even his eyes glowed purple.

Labda rose to her feet, glaring at the creature. "Unbelievable. She turned that thing into her minion!"

Cilla’s eyes glanced around. "But where is Medusa? She disappeared!"

Labda narrowed her eyes at the monster. "I suspect that was an illusion she left on the Manticore. This is a distraction!"

"Roger! We have to find him and Heracles before-"

The Manticore swung his scorpion, but Labda caught it, pushing it back. "This monster won't let us leave! We have to finish him first, quickly!"

Katina smirked. "I never run from a fight."

"Not in the same body," Cilla corrected.

When Labda charged, the Manticore raised his tail and sprayed black spines toward her. The spines struck her legs, knocking her to the ground.

The muscles in her legs burned. Each time she moved, only pain arched throughout her body. Like acid was burning inside her flesh.

"We can't move!" Labda cried. "The spines paralyzed us!"

The Manticore grunted in satisfaction and marched toward his prey.

Cilla’s muzzle trembled. "I think we're going to be his lunch!"

"This is bullshit!" Katina pushed the women’s body up, but their legs remained frozen. Although venom couldn't kill them, it could still stun their body.

The Manticore charged while gray clouds grew high above him. A lightning bolt flashed down, striking the monster. He exploded into chunks of flying rocks and purple dust.

Katina widened her eyes. "What the hell?"

Another lightning bolt flashed in front of the women, where a tall muscled man in white robes appeared before their eyes. He was eight-foot tall with a white beard and hair tied in dreadlocks behind his chiseled head. His yellow eyes glowed, just like two sparking lightning bolts.

He glared down at the beast women. "Where is my son!"

Labda cleared her throat. "Zeus?"

This was the first time she ever met him in person. Hades never allowed the Cerberus women to leave the gate in the Underworld. No other God has ever stepped foot through the gate except their master.

Zeus looked like an old man without wrinkles or spots on his face. His light skin glimmered perfectly as if he bathed in milk. Every muscle in his arms, legs, and chest bulged in a v-shaped form. No wonder all the women he slept with couldn't resist his manly handsome appearance. For a six thousand-year-old god, even Labda blushed at his unaged body.

The mighty god crossed his arms. "You don't recognize me? My statutes are everywhere!”

Cilla giggled. "Hades never lets us go out much."

"Indeed. Where is my son?"

Labda has a bad feeling that Zeus might get some bad news after they find Roger in the forest.