The earth shook under the heavy footfalls of a man as he made his way through the mist, stumbling on occasion from the various stones that littered the ground. After traveling a few more feet, the mist faded and the full moon shone onto the man, giving enough light for him to be seen properly.

The first thing people would undoubtedly notice was his choice of clothing. A lion skin was draped over his enormous form, with the beast's maw serving as a helm of sorts, protecting his head from harm. Besides that, he wore only a simple loincloth and Greek sandals, revealing a build that would put quite a few gods to shame. With a rather large club hanging from a belt at his waist as well as bow and quiver full of arrows slung across his back, the man was clearly a warrior.

But not just any warrior.

No, this was Heracles, the mighty Son of Zeus who everyone (including he himself), claimed as the greatest of heroes known to Greece.

'What a joke.'

Well, most people at least.

Perseus was watching the Son of Zeus approach the entrance to the Garden of the Hesperides from a nearby tree, the shadows hiding him and his scowling face from his quarry's eyes. Clad in a dark garb that allowed him more stealth and mobility than his usual armor allowed, he silently dropped to the ground before continuing to follow Heracles, his footsteps not making a single sound.

For the past three years, Perseus had been tailing the Son of Zeus the world over as he silently ensured that he finished his labors. During that time, he had improved his skills as they traveled through the various countries, picking up new and exotic styles of sword and spear fighting and mastering them with ease. Unfortunately, even with the curse's removal, Perseus' still performed poorly in the field of archery, something that had frustrated him immensely. Eventually writing it off as being a Son of Poseidon, he had since switched to throwing knives, a skill that had proved, to his surprise, shockingly easy for him to master.

The constant travel and battle had also given Perseus' quite a bit of definition to his build, resulting in a physique not enormous like Heracles', but one that was more lithe and agile, allowing for quick and fatal strikes with a blade or spear. His dark, shaggy hair, had grown down to his shoulders, and his eyes had merged both his birth and adopted father's traits over time, resembling a crimson ocean, flowing and crashing, constantly at war against itself.

Perseus hid once again in a nearby tree as Heracles finally reached the garden's gates. He looked the gates over before shrugging and tearing the gates off their hinges before quickly stepping into the garden. The Hound of War merely rolled his eyes at his cousin's rather idiotic approach. During the past three years, he had discovered how stupid the Son of Zeus could really be. From leaving the man-eating Mares of Diomedes with a young boy (whom the horses had proceeded to snack upon), to attempting to force himself onto the Amazon queen Hippolyta when retrieving her girdle, to even taking a nap when he had been sent to steal the Cattle of Geryon, leaving Perseus to save his sorry hide from painful deaths on every occasion.

A yelp of pain jolted the Hound of War from his memories, alerting him to his cousin's discovery of the guardian of the garden. Smiling to himself, he counted down the seconds on his hand.

'Three, two, one…' Perseus had to cover his mouth to keep from roaring with laughter as Heracles was unceremoniously thrown out of the garden by Ladon, whose roar sounded suspiciously like laughter. He watched as Heracles got up and dusted himself off before looking back into the garden, trying to figure out some way to reach the apples. Before either could do anything else however, the sound of light laughter filled the garden, causing both demigods to snap their heads in the direction of the beautiful sound and then drop their jaws.

A girl who appeared to be the same age as Perseus was lying on the ground, rolling as she continued to laugh. Her skin was the color of copper, shining in the light of the moon, and she was dressed in the customary chiton and sandals of a woman. With an upturned nose and a haughty expression once she had finished laughing, and coupled with her obsidian eyes, she resembled a Persian princess, her beauty only matched by her grace.

Two thoughts flashed in Perseus' mind almost immediately: 'She's a Hesperide' and 'Di immortales, is she single?'

Quickly shaking his head so he could focus, he turned and looked to Heracles, who appeared to have had a moment of inspiration. He quickly introduced himself to the girl, who had since stopped laughing and had begun to listen to the Son of Zeus. While he was too far away to be able to hear their conversation, the way a blush splashed upon her face at his words told Perseus all he needed to know.

'He's using her.' Perseus had seen it many times over the years following Heracles. The Son of Zeus would promise love and companionship to women, only to leave them behind like refuse once he had received what he wanted from them. The Hound of War hated it, but there was not a single thing he could do, least he reveal himself and have Zeus blast him for 'interfering'.

Unable to do a single thing, Perseus was forced to watch as the girl removed her hairpin and gave it to him as it shifted into a shimmering bronze blade, barely holding back his bloodlust and rage at Heracles' sly, almost invisible grin at his plan's success. Taking the blade, he neared the tree once more, but this time he made short work of the ferocious dragon. Quickly grabbing as many apples as he could carry, the Son of Zeus began leaving the garden, with the girl following him with a confused look on her face.

"W-wait! Where are you going?" Her voice was quiet and a little frightened, yet it still seemed to fill the entire garden with its beauty and fullness.

"I have but one labor remaining, pretty one. I must get going." Not once did he turn and face her as he continued on his way.

A horror struck look crossed her face, "And what of me?! My family will have no doubt discovered my betrayal by now and will banish me! You cannot just leave me here!"

"That is not my concern. You should not have been so easily used." With his back turned, he didn't see the former Hesperide shaking in rage and despair and remained oblivious to the danger he was in.

She leapt at him, her nails digging into the back of his shoulders as she clung to him. Roaring in pain, Heracles threw her off with a shrug of his shoulders. She landed roughly onto the ground, and before she could move, the Son of Zeus had slapped her and pinned her wrists, a rage filled expression that quickly shifted into something much scarier, to both the girl and Perseus.

"Well, I suppose I could take my time with you. If this is all you wanted, why didn't you say so?" Heracles' eyes were full of lust and dark desire, frightening the girl and causing her to scream in fear as she began crying for help. As he drew a dagger from his belt and slashed the straps on her chiton, a sudden blast of fire sent the Son of Zeus flying off the crying girl before he could get any farther and into a nearby tree, causing it to snap in half and fall onto him, pinning him underneath. The girl snapped her head to the source of the heat and her eyes widened.

Perseus stood stock still, both of his fists coated in scorching, crimson flames that engulfed his entire body before they disappeared, revealing him in his full battle regalia. Drawing his trident, he made his way past the terrified girl and over to Heracles, who had just barely managed to push the huge tree off of him. Rising unsteadily, he turned and was just in time to be caught in the face by the hilt of the Hound of War's trident, breaking his nose in a shower of blood. Stumbling back while clutching his face, he was unable to defend himself as Perseus laid blow after blow onto him, each one more punishing then the last.

Unfortunately, the Son of Zeus was able to recover quickly, and as Perseus closed in once again, he drew his club and brought it down onto the trident, sending the weapon flying out of the Hound of War's hands. While surprised, Perseus quickly drew his sword as he was put onto the defense by Heracles' strikes. After watching his enemy duck, block and weave under every one of his swings, Heracles was filled with a burning rage. With a primal roar, he raised his club and brought it down with both hands full force onto the stygian iron sword, causing the blade to shatter into pieces and the shards to fly into Perseus, the pieces piercing his breastplate and the largest of them into his heart, impaling him all the way through the front and to the back.

Heracles smirked, thinking his opponent dead and gone before he turned back to the Hesperide, relishing the 'gift' he was to receive.

At least, until the laughter began.

Heracles snapped around, only to feel a sharp pain in his side. He looked down to find a jagged shard of stygian iron that had been brutally shoved between the ribs on his left side. Looking up, he grew pale with shock and fear.

There was his still unknown opponent standing, smiling crazily, as if he had lost his mind. But that was not the horrifying part. That would have to be the gaping hole in the place his heart had resided, blood still pouring out of the horrific wound. If it pained him, the warrior did not show it. He merely glanced at it and let out a whistle.

"Wow, now that looks rather painful, doesn't it?"

Heracles did the most reasonable thing he could do after seeing a man get impaled through the heart by his own sword and then get up as if it were nothing: he promptly fell over and fainted.

Perseus sat there for a second as the wound sealed before he laughed. Shaking his head, he reached over to the Son of Zeus's side and yanked out the shard of stygian iron before quickly sealing the gushing wound with a blast of fire. He smirked, knowing the 'hero' would not be going anywhere after what he had just gone through. The sound of weeping drew his attention, and he turned towards the source of the sound.

The girl was curled up against a nearby tree, her knees drawn up to her chest as she cried, just waiting for that horrid man to come onto her. When she felt someone laying a hand on her shoulder, she backed up in fear until a soft, warm feeling entered her body. Relaxing a bit, she looked up and was met with a pair of crimson eyes looking back through the slits of a Spartan helm. After a few seconds of silence, the man began speaking.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" She was surprised by the genuine concern in his voice. Not even her sisters had cared for her that much. The thought of her now 'ex-family' left a bitter feeling in her stomach, but she pushed it aside as responded.

"No, I am fine…now. Who are you? Why are you here? Why did you help me?"

Perseus smiled, "First things first. I believe this belongs to you." He held the sword he had seen her give Heracles and handed it to her. Her eyes widened as she took it, her hands shaking slightly as it turned back into a hairpin.

"T-t-thank you. But why did you do that?" Her tone was shaky, but also somewhat wary and suspicious.

Perseus shrugged, "Because it was the right thing to do. That's it"

The Hesperide looked him up and down before surprising the both of them by tackling him into a hug, tears streaming down her face. She sobbed into his shoulder as he rubbed her back, doing his best to comfort her. After a few minutes, she calmed down and leaned out of his embrace before speaking.

"I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me." She said, blushing slightly.

Perseus rubbed the back of his neck, trying to remove the blush off his own face before he replied, "No no, it's alright. Don't worry about it. Now, why don't we leave before the 'hero' wakes up?"

The girl glanced over to the unconscious Son of Zeus before walking over to him and stomping him right in the valuables, making Perseus wince. He may have hated the man, but a shot to the groin, especially as strong as that, was not something he would wish upon his worst enemy. Shaking the horribly painful thoughts from his mind, he retrieved his trident and slung it across his back before he walked up to the Hesperide, who had been waiting for him. When he returned, they began walking away from the garden, leaving behind the undoubtedly suffering Heracles.

"So," the girl began as they walked, "you never did tell me your name."

"Perseus. And you?"

"Zoe. Zoe Nightshade."