Chapter Text
PORTOROSSO, JULY 1968
"BE USEFUL FOR ONCE IN YOUR PATHETIC LIVES...", Ercole yelled, it was those words that in hindsight would forever haunt him for a very long time, "Wait, what are you- AHHHHHHH" he yelled as he was thrown into the fountain by his now ex-henchmen after realizing what a scoundrel he was. to top it all off... they dropped his sweater into said fountain, ruining it, "NOOO, PICCOLINO" Ercole yelled, crying that his reputation is now ruined whilst Giulia and the Sea Monsters were celebrating his defeat, Ercole was officially the loser of the town, he said he was gonna break the record this year, he was wrong... dead wrong...
after that, Ercole eventually left the fountain, all wet and saggy, he wondered what his parents were gonna think of this, as he walked all the way home people continued to look away from him, one man however took a step far and yelled "Why not take that sweater, and HANG yourself", this prompted the newfound loser to yell "SHUT UP" before continuing on, eventually Ercole arrived home, it was a fairly nice middle class home, complete with a swimming pool and steel fences, Ercole nervously opened the door "Ercole... you're home..." said a deep male voice, it was his father, "Oh hi Papa" Ercole replied back, "I heard you didn't win" said the old man with extreme prejudice, causing Ercole to sweat in concern, "No Papa... I didn't, please forgive-" he was interrupted by his angry voice "You shamed me, You said you was gonna break the record this year, and you didn't", "Please... nobody is perfect, everyone fails at ti-" and from what I've heard in the papers, you tried to kill two boys "What? I-I'm sure that wasn't me...", "Not falling for it young man, you have dishonored our fortune, for that I am going to kick you out!..., now pack up".
Ercole begrudgingly went into his room to pack up, taking every small thing that mattered to him, afterwards he would approach the doorstep, before he could leave, he turned to ask "Would you really do this to your own son?", to which the old man yelled "Oh yeah, You never were my son to begin with, you were adopted...", this caused a deep shock to Ercole, "Now get out, now...", Ercole opened and closed the door, eventually he took his nearby Vespa and rode away with his belongings, he wasn't seen again in the town...
TO BE CONTINUED
Next Chapter, Ercole tries to get a job