A few weeks earlier. . .

Benjamin waved goodbye at the bus carrying his dear friend's daughter as it went off to its faraway destination: Olympian High. When the vehicle was gone into the horizon, he turned away and walked off towards his car for him to go home too.

As he strolled along the sidewalk, he had many thoughts jumbled in his head, distracting him from his surroundings, but the thing that concerned him the most was Amelia and the path ahead of her. He always knew that she was special, not because of the powers she inherited, but because of the way she acted and reacted to the world around her.

For instance, like one time at the museum, when he disclosed to Amelia how he met Dmitri and Gabriela, his closest friends, she said that she didn't mind him being private about his parents' life. Then, just earlier today at the hospital, when he tried telling her about her necklace, she got upset and didn't want to listen to him because he hesitated at the last second.

She got her complex attitude from both of her parents. Just like the two sides of a coin: very different from each other but both equal in importance.

"When you think about it," he began mumbling, "it was my fault that she acted like that in the first place."

Ben continued walking, glancing here and there at his surroundings. Even though he didn't look like it, he was always been cautious and weary ever since Amelia transferred schools. Just the day after he got back home from Olympian High, he started to see mysterious people snooping around his house.

At first, he thought that he was just being paranoid, but when he saw those people more often in the neighborhood, he suspected that they were trying to find a way to break into the house and steal something. He thought of what would be valuable enough to be stolen from the house, but there wasn't a single thing that came up in his mind.

Except for Amelia's necklace.

He wasn't sure how valuable the talisman hanging around Amelia's neck was since his late friend didn't have the time to tell him, but he knew it was priceless.

Ben tried informing the authorities and reporting about the suspicious people he saw, but his alleged 'sightings' were only ignored, telling him that he was just getting old, which got him even more worked up.

Amelia often called him 'old man' as a way to tease him because he acted too wise for his age, but he never thought that other people saw him as old.

I'm not even that old! I just act old, right?

Going back to the subject at hand, the strangers he saw just kept looking around the house, which was odd. They were doing their 'inspections' for more than a month, but they didn't make any move at the house. What's even stranger is that those people Ben kept seeing around were normal people.

They were normal-looking people, and some of them were his neighbors.

He didn't know why he got suspicious about them, but whenever they got close or came up to him to make small talk, he had this feeling deep inside him, telling him that there was more than what his so-called neighbors seem to be.

Shaking off the uncomfortable memory, he quickened his pace as he saw his car in the distance.

Finally. I could use some time to think about all this.

He finally got to his car. He was about to take his car's keys from his pockets when suddenly, large, beefy arms covered his mouth and grasped at him, almost like hugging him, but in a dangerous way.

Surprised and frightened, he struggled at his captor's hold, kicking and elbowing him to get free. The man held him quite tightly, and Ben wasn't as fit and athletic as he used to be in his youth, so his efforts were in vain.

Maybe Amelia's right about me being old.

Ben felt a sharp, metallic object pressed near his neck. He froze as he sensed the cold object, which Ben guessed was a knife, that touched his nape. His muscles tightened and his eyes bulged out in shock.

"Stop resisting or you'll never see your girl again," the man threatened, his voice gruff.

Ben inhaled sharply at the threat. Reluctantly, he moved his head upward a little bit, signing that he'll oblige.

"Good move," the man drawled. "Now, I think that you fancy a nap, don't you, old man?"

Before Ben had a moment to ponder upon his statement, he felt his holder take something from his pocket and put it over Ben's face, covering his mouth and nose.

At the moment he took a whiff on the foreign object near his face, he slowly felt dizzy and tired. His tensed body relaxed, almost feeling numb. After what seemed like a long time, his eyes drooped close and he fell into a deep, deep sleep.

Benjamin jolted awake from his dreamless slumber. Feeling groggy, he slowly looked up to see where he was, but he wasn't able to see much because of the dim light and his blurry vision.

Where in the world am I?

As he blinked his eyes, he searched his mind for the last thing that happened. His eyes widened as he finally remembered.

The man in the parking lot. . . He knocked me out!

With that thought, he quickly tried to stand up but he felt his arms and legs shackled in a chair with what felt like metal chains. He struggled at his restraints.

"Don't even try to unchain yourself," a female voice said. "I can assure you, you won't be able to escape this time."

Benjamin whipped his head at the voice, squinting his eyes to see clearly. From a distance, he saw a faint silhouette of a person standing near a locked door. The man stepped into the light of the flickering bulb, revealing the face of the last person he ever thought he would see.

"Y-you. . . You're al-"

"-live? I sure am." The woman chuckled. "And I have been quite busy. You were a hard man to find, Benjamin Miller. Hiding in plain sight for so long. . . Believe me when I tell you I'm very impressed. Bravo."

He put a hard expression on his face as the woman began clapping slowly in mockery.

"What do you want from me, Cybele?" He gritted his teeth.

The woman cackled. "You know what I want. Where is she?"

Benjamin averted his gaze. "I don't know who you're talking about."

The lady, Cybele's hand shot to Benjamin's lower face and held it up so he could see her gleaming cold eyes.

"Where is Hera?" she spat with venom. "Where is Cronus's offspring?"

He shook his head. "I won't tell you anything."

Cybele hit Benjamin in the cheek, his head turning ninety degrees. Benjamin winced, his face throbbing in pain.

"Where is Hera?" she repeated.

"I won't tell you anything," he also repeated.

The deranged woman screamed in utter frustration, the terrible sound bouncing through the walls of the confined room. Benjamin only stared at her in silence.

She mustn't know about Amelia, whatever it costs me. If she does, all those years of running and hiding will go down the drain. Dmitri's last wish won't be fulfilled.

Cybele took a deep breath and clenched her fists.

"So you won't spill anything, I see." She pursed her lips. "Since I'm in a good mood today, I'm going to give you one more chance. Where is Hera?"

The chained man remained silent.

"You know, I was going to let you once you told me where the girl is," she said. "I didn't have the intention to hurt you. I just want Hera so I could nurture her, something Cronus could never do."

"If you only let him live!" Benjamin retorted. "You think I'll fall for your lies? Don't even try to lie about what you would do to Dmitri's daughter."

"I'm telling the truth!" The lady pouted. "Regardless of what you think of me, I love taking care of children. I would never lay a bad finger on any innocent girl or boy, unlike my husband who liked taking them in quite literally."

He scoffed. "I don't believe a word you say."

"Fine then. I suppose two can play that game." She grinned. "I never wanted to resort to this method, but I've been patiently waiting for 18 years and your mere stubbornness won't stop me from getting what I want."

The door suddenly burst open and a bulky man entered the room.

"I believe you've already met Osric here." Cybele swept her hand to the man walking towards them.

Benjamin felt his stomach roil as soon as he saw a gun in the man's hand.

His chin trembled. "S-so you're going to kill me just like that?"

"What? Of course not!" Cybele laughed. "That would be insane! No, Benjamin darling, that's a stun gun. It won't kill you-well, not yet anyway-but it'll make you wish you'd die sooner."

Osric set off the gun and a blue, buzzing spark came to life. He slowly reached the gun out near Benjamin, who tried inching away.

Cybele clasped her hands behind her back. "Well, it's been a nice chat, but I'm afraid I'll have to leave you two to have a moment alone. Don't worry, I'll come by later to check on you. If you're still alive by then."

As the woman turned to the door humming a tune, screams of agony sounded behind her.