Hercules' Cousin

In my modern adaptation of the myth of Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra, the cousin serves the same role. Hercules is still placed in the most dangerous position (staring contest with a snake monster) as his young cousin, acting as assistant, waits to strike the animal when it is least expecting from the safety of a seaside cavern. Though instead of cauterizing the bloody severed necks, he shoots it with a tranquilizer gun from the cover of a jungle. But he still does the dirty work.