I Didn't Tell You Everything - Raven_Pearls (2024)

Chapter 1: The Living Death Sentence

Chapter Text

The Living Death Sentence

Five hundred years.

It had once been a thousand.

The newest figure swirled through Megara’s mind every time she went to sleep. It whispered through her dreams until the howling shades of the Underworld shocked her awake. She’d be a slave to Hades longer than her ancestors had ruled over Thebes. Her stomach recoiled at the thought, but it was her own fault. At the time, she’d thought what she gave up wasn’t much, but now her tiny living quarters had space enough for a thin bed, which was really a box she’d put a cushion over. A far cry from the palace at Thebes, but no more unpleasant. Both were full of ghosts.

The longer she inhabited the Underworld, the more its gloom permeated her psyche. She was as much a part of it as any of the other twisted denizens conscious enough to recognize their fate. She knew to sing for Cerberus and laugh at all Charon’s anecdotes. Thanatos had taught her his favorite Egyptian board games, and Pain and Panic knew better than to mess with her. Hekate stole her away for the occasional lunch appointment, and even though she knew it was an attempt to sabotage her boss, Megara was glad to pretend for a while that she had a friend. The illusion never lasted long, but it was a welcome relief from the reality of her death sentence.

“I’ll get you a nice spot in Asphodel, dear!” the goddess would cackle whenever Megara expressed her foreboding. It was better than every time Hades promised her a doom with a view.

It was hardest to venture out of the Underworld and face the sunlight once again. In her angstiest teen years, she’d lived for the moonlight and shunned the sunlight because she thought it made her edgy. Now she scuttled into the shadows because she was embarrassed any time an Olympian might catch sight of her.

It was after a long afternoon of Hades-dodging that Megara closed her eyes and leaned her cheek against the cold, jagged stone wall of her “apartment.”

Hades had laughed the first time he showed her the recess carved into stone that had just enough space to lie down in and store a few personal items. He’d claimed he was giving her an excellent deal, because all it cost was her soul. Ever since, he’d taken any opportunity to remind her that she’d been born in a palace surrounded by wine-purple marble.

Groans of despair and terror warbled through the fields. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The shades were supposed to be mindless and wandering, but they should be too numb for these displays of emotion.

Whoever spread that story either had a sick sense of humor or outdated information. She’d been there since the end of Junior Year, and somehow managed to graduate in spite of her “work-study program.” Nobody knew she was a pawn of Hades, but she may as well be dead to anyone she’d ever known. It was better that way. The ones left behind could grieve if they still cared, but by now most would have forgotten her. She was the only one on the top of a heap. No Theban could spare the thoughts for just one girl.

Two years on and she’d made her own way as the only living human in the Underworld. She may even have been proud of herself if it wasn’t so sickening. She’d almost soothed herself to sleep with these reassurances when a whoosh of hot air accompanied by the scent of brimstone hit Megara square in the face. She sat up, alarmed, all hints of sleep falling from her eyes.

“Hey, what’s the buzz?” Hades grinned down at her. He filled up the entire excuse for an apartment he’d given her. While he was always smug, he seemed particularly smug with the knowledge that she couldn’t evade him any longer.

Megara kept her mouth shut and shrugged off the question.

Hades went on without waiting for her to participate in the conversation. "Let’s hope you’re not busy– oh wait! You never are ‘cause I’m the only social life you’ve got!" Hades reached down with a hand that became a smoke tendril. He lifted her off her bed by her chin so that she hovered midair, at eye level with him. “I’ve got a new strategy arrangement and you’re the leading lady! Aren’t you excited for this once-in-an-afterlife opportunity?” His eyes had become full, bulging yellow circles. He could snap her neck, but he was having too much fun.

“I’m quaking.” She couldn’t blink. It wasn’t often that Meg was capable of setting aside some time for herself, but when she got it, she couldn’t even do anything with it. Someone who wanted her neck snapped might have mentioned that.

“That’s good!” Hades swung Megara out of the apartment in his smoke tendril, so that it was the only thing holding her up over the wandering spirits of Asphodel. “Because my team has to be the best and brightest! Part of that is showing up for work!”

“My sundial has this funny habit of not working underground.”

“Oh! Well, in that case, why don’t I assign one of my imps to always keep you on task? Would you prefer Pain or Panic?”

Don’t show your fear, she reminded herself as she hovered over the jagged stalactites below her. There was no telling whether Hades would drop her or if he was just manipulating her with one of the only fears he was aware of. She smiled at him. “Don’t you need those little pustules to entertain yourself? I’d hate to deprive you.”

“They’re errand boys. You’re what I need if I want any real work done. And I do. We’ve got one year before the planets align, and for you to be so unreachable… It’s almost like you’ve forgotten what team you’re on. Afraid to get your hands dirty, princess?”

“Not at all. If I were, I’d never have broken into so many mausoleums for you. Do you have any idea how many snakes and spiders there were in there?”

A hideous smirk stretched Hades’s mouth. “Keep some of that spunk for when I’ve enslaved the gods,” Hades set Megara down on the floor of her quarters, gazing across Asphodel toward the skull he kept his office in. “I’ll need you to watch them to make sure there’s no post-uprising uprising.”

“Chaos would be bad for business.” Megara pulled out a comb and started work on her massive ponytail.

“No, no, the right kind of chaos is better than the ridiculous operation my dear old brother is running off Olympus! A little prank here and there makes it all a bit more fun! Nobody has even noticed how I cursed Dionysus to become this pathetic pink caricature of himself about a century ago!”

“I wonder how Ariadne feels about that.”

“Any day now, she’ll take me up on my offer to become my divine consort. I’ve got nothing but time to wait her out, and when I’m king, all the goddesses will be fighting over me.”

The thought of Athena, Artemis, and Hestia joining in on this fantasy of his was almost funny.

“If I didn’t know better I’d say you poisoned Dionysus so you could get to his wife.”

“That was only half of the idea. He was such a stuck-up pretty boy. Theban royalty, you know?”

“Unbearable.”

“Now the real sticking point was how he was born mortal after one of Zeus’s wilder nights, and still became a god! Can you believe the audacity?”

“That must be frustrating,” Megara remarked, focusing in on a tangle near the end of a curl.

“And then– then! —He makes a mortal girl his divine consort and they get to be happy and immortal together forever!”

“What a shame.”

“But it’ll never happen again because the Fates and I got together and lobbied the gods so nobody can become immortal just because someone wants them to! Dionysus robbed me of a whole line’s worth of dead people!”

“The audacity.”

“Exactly! But now he’s learned to stay out of my way. Thebes will never give me that big a headache again. Without a patron deity, I’m in charge by default.”

“I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

Thebes had been cursed since its founding. The fact Hades liked it that way was no surprise, but she had to wonder what her life would have been like if her siblings hadn’t died before she met– well. No need to think about that.

“I do. It would’ve been theater and wine and a bunch of lazy intellectuals running things and arguing with each other,” Hades said with a shudder. “But at least I got you out of that particular asset pool.”

Megara flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. “Seems like your investment paid off. So what is it you want me to talk to this time? A five-headed peaco*ck? A giant poison-spitting rabbit?”

“Centaur. He’s a river guardian, and commands all the nymphs in his vicinity.”

Megara shuddered to think how a centaur might control a nymph, but kept her features smooth. “And he’s supposed to help you, how? Harassing Aphrodite?”

“Let me worry about that.”

With a sigh, Megara got to her feet and dusted herself off. “Well, if you think it’s best, O Oneness. One question, though: if this centaur decides to do the completely predictable centaur thing and carry me off to do whatever he’s been doing with those nymphs, what’s the backup strategy?”

“Come on, Meg! I thought you said you were a big tough girl, right? What’s got you so scared?”

Nothing she wanted to describe to him.

“There are a few structural issues with the plan, is all I’m saying. I’m not built for what a centaur would want to do with me. I’d be down here a bit earlier than planned and my shade would be frozen in an embarrassing position forever.”

“Oh, please. I can’t keep my star player off the field for something as trivial as that!”

“Don’t you have anything else I can bother? Maybe I’ll get eaten instead of railed into oblivion.”

“What? You’re not telling me you’re afraid of a little action? How long has it been for you?”

“Long enough to let me know I can live without it.”

“In this business, you’ve gotta know when to do what it takes to succeed, my little flower.” Hades bared his teeth in a smile. “If you can’t handle it, there’s always somewhere else we could make use of you.”

“How useful can I be, exactly, if I get my insides pulled out or I get pregnant with a centaur baby? Are you gonna be paying for my maternity leave?”

“Yeesh, don’t say things like that. Fine, I’ll cut you a deal. I’ll be in the forest waiting for you to earn a two-year discount on your freedom, and if there’s anything that egregious going on, I’ll show up to collect you. But you’ve got to seal the agreement or you’re on your own.”

Exactly as much help as she’d suspected. “Fine, but at least give me your list of candidates so I can strategize. Maybe there’s someone’s name I can drop so this guy sees me as a potential business partner instead of a warm body.”

Hades snapped his fingers and a scroll appeared. “You’ll be meeting all these star candidates, anyway. They’re about as fed up every time Titan Smitin’ Day rolls around as I am.”

Megara scanned the scroll. “You’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel, aren’t you? I bet the Olympians will shake in fear when they hear you’ve got a sphinx and an overgrown sea bass. Were you expecting them to have a riddle contest underwater to decide who rules Olympus?”

The flames on Hades’s head flared red with warning. “Watch yourself sweet cheeks. The Sphinx might just recognize you as related to the guy who slew his cousin.”

“At least we know I can outsmart him, eh? Or was he meant for Athena?”

“Let me worry about that. The sea monsters are Pain and Panic’s assignment. You’ll notice I marked your assignments for you.”

The letter Mu was indeed written beside a few notably male names. “After this, I’m swearing off manhandling. It’s the most disgusting part of the job and it’s just plain degrading.”

“More degrading than slavery?”

“It just makes the whole thing even less bearable. If all you wanted was a girl to seduce monsters, you’d need enough of us to incubate your next generation of monsters and still be useful.”

“Again with the visuals!”

“How do you think I feel? And where would losing me leave you? Either doing your own dirty work or relying on Pain and Panic. Good luck with that, by the way.”

“Fine! You have a deal. River Guardian first, then we cut back on the monster dates. Are you happy?”

“I’m never happy, but I’ll take this consolation prize. Now will you please get out of my face? Apparently, I’ve gotta get dolled up for a dream date.”

“See that you do,” Hades gave her a once over then disappeared without further comment.

Chapter 2: The Wonder Boy

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They had named her cousin for this river. That fact tumbled like a stone through Megara’s mind until it crystallized into a warning. The Ismenus River had flowed past generations of her family, and some had considered it sacred to the dynasty. She had to wonder if that was why Hades had foisted this assignment on her. She leaned against a tree, trying to appear focused. Thoughts of Ismene and how she’d never see her again couldn’t stave off Hades forever.

“...So get out there, schmooze the river guardian onto my uprising squad, and you’ll come back here in one piece.” Hades set a centaur-shaped token on his chessboard. “Deal?”

Huh. Ignoring most of what he said really made Hades more tolerable. “That sounds like most of the plan, but I think you’re forgetting the part where you jump in to close the deal before I wind up on the wrong end of the stables?”

“You’re my closer, so get out there and close. If and when I join in depends entirely on your performance. Pain and Panic have tried to crack this nut a few times. I can’t afford to show until everyone else has failed.”

There were so many things she could say if she wanted her chance at freedom to shrink. Instead, she said, “Fine, so it’s up to me to get back here unharmed, even though it sounded like you’d step in. If you’re not going to help, then I deserve double the years off my sentence you originally promised.”

“You’re not in a place to haggle here.” Hades gestured through the trees. “Bring me two centaurs, and then we’ll talk about doubling your reward. You haven’t brought me any, so your point is moot.”

“I do better work than the brain trust, you know that.”

“So this should be no problem for you, right?”

Megara set her jaw. “Just remember what I said. Centaurs and women mix, but not well.”

Hades laughed. “Not my problem, babe. Get out there and try not to embarrass me too much.”

There was no fighting it. Megara trudged through the trees with her fists at her sides and her mind heavy with resentment. She followed the sound of a waterfall and paused on the shoreline. No sign of a centaur yet… she’d have to call him to her.

“Nessus, Guardian of the River Ismenus, I summon you before me in the name of Hades, Lord of the Underworld.”

At first, nothing happened.

Then, a towering shadow appeared in the waterfall. She was fairly certain the waterfall backed up against a sheer stone ledge, but the massive, bulky figure strode out of the water. Nessus was past his prime, judging by his stringy, greasy black hair and complete lack of anything atop his blue-skinned head. That didn’t stop him from rippling with bulging muscles. Even his protruding brow and chin seemed to have some kind of exercise routine.

A scent wafted off him as soon as he was free of the water. Rotten meat, horse manure… and something else so putrid that years of living in the Underworld still hadn’t given her long enough to discover it. He looked her over once and revealed teeth that reminded her more of Hades than any horse she’d ever seen.

“You aren’t Pain and Panic in a dress, are you?” A valid question, and possibly just the angle she needed.

“Doesn’t matter who I am, it matters who I speak for. Hades wants you to join his team for a big event he’s got planned for the summer. You wouldn’t want to miss out. It’s once in a millennium.”

The centaur stalked closer while Megara focused as much as she could on his hideous face to distract from the imposing… everything else. She’d dealt with enough centaurs since high school to know two things: they weren’t too bright and they were always horny.

“So start talking, minion. This isn’t the first time Hades has looked me up. Are you here to sweeten the deal?”

“Yes, actually.” Megara took a deep breath and stood as tall as she could, arms folded. “Hades would like to offer you a chance to fight the Olympians. He believes it will be the most fun you’ll ever have and–”

“I’ll stop you right there.” Nessus leaned closer to her. “I know fun. Hades sent you to me, that’s all that matters.”

“We can conduct negotiations another time if you want time to consider your options. You can ask Hades for just about anything and he’ll have a solution.” Megara took a step back, and that’s when she saw it. She’d known it would be there, and she wished she hadn’t seen it, but now she knew exactly what was in store for her.

“I already know what I want.” One massive blue hand snatched at Megara, but she was faster.

She bolted out of the way and put her hands up. “I’m here as an ambassador. What can Hades do for you to ensure your loyalty?”

“Forget Hades,” Nessus went for another swipe, but this time Megara raced into the trees.

The centaur was right about one thing: it was time to forget Hades. Self-preservation was all that mattered now. Her sandals flopped against her heels as she ran. It was her hair that undid her. She should’ve braided it, or even chopped it off! Pride won out over practicality in that instance. Just like a Theban. Nessus yanked Megara back out of the treeline by her ponytail.

This was it. Her neck would snap with this one searing white flash of pain and then she’d be in the Underworld before she had to endure any further outrages.

No such luck.

Still alive, Megara screamed as the hand around her hair hauled her back to the water, where Nessus dumped her. Her brief, shameful lapse of decorum was not the end of the horrors. Megara ran through the water, which clung to her dress as if the water itself wanted to undress her for its master.

One wrong step sent her foot sinking into the muck. She dropped to one knee while the creature effortlessly sloshed closer. From this angle, it was all too easy to see the fate he planned to subject her to. She’d never forget the monstrosity, or the calculations of how far he could shove it through her before her organs ruptured for a slow, agonizing death.

She yanked her foot free only for the beast’s hand to wrap all the way around her waist and hoist her into the air. If Hades had any plans to pull her out of this scenario, this would be the time. No? Then she’d have to do it herself.

With a cry of disgust, Megara fought to push herself free, but to no avail. She pouted and snarled with all her royal outrage at the beast.. “I swear, Nessus, put me down or I’ll–” she launched a kick toward his chin, but her toes glanced harmlessly against his beard.

“I like ‘em fiery!” the creature exclaimed, leaning so close they nearly touched.

It was all she could do to cover her cleavage while he pressed his hideous, malodorous face closer into her personal space. He could swallow her whole. Why couldn’t he flirt with something his own size?

He pulled back far enough to kiss her, but Megara was not about to put up with that. Her palace-soft arms went swinging, with no particular target in mind but all the determination in the world not to submit. The sole victory she won was annoying the centaur, who still pulled her close again.

By the time she braced herself against the too-large mouth, he was leering at her as he spat heavy treble notes of laughter into her face, along with his stench. Nothing she’d done had made any difference. She was still a vulnerable woman alone in the woods, the sort of thing stories had warned her about ever since her childhood. There was only one way these stories ended.

Nessus brought her closer, unafraid of the consequences.

“You have no idea what you’re—!” Megara shouted desperately, but that couldn’t stop the hideous malformed face from filling up her view.

He brought her in for a kiss, but Megara was ready for that, too. She braced herself against the centaur’s lips and tried not to breathe in too much of his stench.

Enter stage left.

“Halt!”

Megara and Nessus both turned to look at the speaker, who’d appeared out of nowhere. An irrationally guilty part of Megara’s mind made her wonder if an Olympian who’d heard what Hades was up to had caught her in the act.

He didn’t look quite divine, but there was no question there was something different about him. She’d seen her share of muscle-bound bronze pretty boys, but they were show ponies. Whoever-he-was stood at the center of the lake with a wide stance and arms angled out from his sides to show off his biceps. Did he think he was about to do something? Though less than half the size of Nessus, he showed no sign of fear. Who did he think he was to get involved?

It didn’t matter. With Nessus distracted, Megara redoubled her efforts to wrench herself free.

Over her shoulder, Nessus faced off against the boy. He was not part of the plan. What would Hades say about this? She hadn’t thought to negotiate what would happen if they got caught.

The false bravado in this boy’s voice irritated Megara the longer it went on, but when he finally addressed her with it, she snapped. “I’ll have to ask you to release that young…”

“Keep moving, Junior!”

“...Lady…” Today wasn’t going how he’d planned, either. He looked away to reassure himself he knew what procedure to walk through. Definitely unprepared for the real world, then. He wouldn’t last a day in Thebes. “But…” This was his true voice. Inside this admittedly impressive bronzed body was an insecure boy who did not know what he was doing. Typical. Why else would he be here? “Aren’t you… a damsel in distress?” he asked, trying his best to gesture politely at Nessus.

On the off chance he survived past today, he’d need to learn a few things. “I’m a damsel,” she acknowledged, still busy trying to force herself free, “I’m in distress…” She could salvage this, but only if Gingerlocks decided to get lost. “I can handle this. Have a nice day!” she added with the most pleasant smile available to her.

“Uh…” his eyes were wide with innocence. Or at least, he wanted her to think he was innocent. Though, judging by the way he cleared his throat to get back into character, he hadn’t exactly graduated from the Dionysian Academy for the Arts. He was halfway into his authoritative guise, trying to take control of the situation, when Nessus landed a sucker punch that sent him flying to the far end of the lake.

If he was smart, like a million other naïve, egotistical boys who’d fled Thebes at the first opportunity, this bronzed interloper would leave.

Nessus wasn’t about to give him the chance. He stalked the boy as he fumbled in the lake for his sword. It was all Megara could do to struggle while his attention was elsewhere. If she couldn’t get rid of this guy, the least he could do was provide a distraction. The centaur’s instinct was right. Far from retreating, the boy was searching the lake for his sword. It seemed there was someone out in the trees giving him instructions. Great. A trainee. Wonderful.

The hapless would-be hero pulled a fish out of the water.

Why was the show pony still there?

A second later, Nessus punched the wannabe across the lake, head-first into a stone, and Megara saw it crack down the middle.

Well, that was that.

Nessus turned his full attention back on Megara. This time, she grabbed him by the beard; her vengeance for him nearly ripping her hair out. The fact he’d killed the Wonder Boy meant there was no negotiating with him. She just had to get out of there and–

Something slammed into Nessus, plunging Megara into the lake. Megara sat up, gagging on horsey water and blinded by her hair in her eyes. What could have hit the centaur that hard?

“Oh, gee, Miss. I’m sorry.” She could barely hear him through the insulation of her hair. But there he was, the still-not-dead wonder boy hovering near her and refusing to leave. While she still could not move, the boy scooped Megara out of the water. She blindly curled her arm around his neck, and had she been more in touch with her faculties, she may have enjoyed it. The stranger set her down on the shoreline. “That was dumb.”

At least he could admit it. Megara parted her hair as if it were curtains to aim a cutting, “Yeah,” directly into his face. If he wanted to play hero, he better get good at it soon. Nessus was charging again.

“Excuse me!” He was trying to seem smooth, but it was too late for that. He ran off, meeting the charging centaur mid-stride. He might not be smooth, but he could put on a show.

Megara watched with budding respect as the boy absolutely obliterated the centaur. Monsters had always seemed so invincible. He might be a little too polite, even awkward, but there was no debate on whether he could fight.

As she wrung out her hair, Megara noticed a squat, gruff satyr cheering for what must be his trainee. “Is Wonder Boy here for real?” she asked.

“What are ya talking about? Of course, he’s real!” the satyr replied. “And by the way sweet cheeks…” Megara had been on the cusp of a good mood. It was ruined the moment the lecherous, hairy nymph-chaser climbed into her lap. “I’m real too.”

Now this was what she’d expected. In disgust, Megara shoved the satyr off her lap and returned to drying and rearranging her hair. Hades had only obliged her to speak with one hideous monstrosity for the day.

Chapter 3: Interlude with a Petting Zoo

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Chapter 3: Interlude with a Petting Zoo
Turns out, without the presence of the vile guardian to ruin the atmosphere, the river was beautiful. Hopefully, whoever took over, it was someone sensible who allowed the average person to appreciate the natural beauty around them. In the meantime, there would be no River Guardian on Team Hades, after all. Megara would just have to explain to the boss that if he wanted to recruit the beast, he’d have to fish him out of the Styx first. It might have added to the effect if she let herself look disheveled when she pleaded her case, but her pride would not allow it. As far as any other workable angle, she’d think on her feet.
Wonder Boy strode victoriously out of the water to reconvene with his mentor. He was about to become a problem, now that his rival was out of the way. He was still a man, even if he was an awkward one. He’d proven his strength and skill. She couldn’t underestimate his potential.
Their eyes met across the riverbank, and she watched every shred of competence drained out of the would-be hero’s body. Under some hypnotic sway, he approached her with his hands behind his back, shy as a schoolboy. Either he had the perfect veneer, or he suffered a severe intelligence deficiency.
“Are you… all right, Miss… uh…”
“Megara.” She stood up fast enough to smack him across the face with her hair. While he was stunned, Megara wrung out her sandal. “My friends call me Meg. At least they would if I had any friends.” She flicked her mostly dried sandal at him.
He gruned as if she’d punched him, and held her sandal with the delicacy with which someone may handle a butterfly. Good. So much for his potential. He’d be eating from the palm of her hand until she made her escape. Now all she needed was a name to shift blame onto when she got back to Hades.
“So. Did they give you a name along with all those rippling pectorals?”
Ideally, he’d be spilling all kinds of information right now, but it appeared he’d forgotten his own name. This was definitely a more amusing turn of events than she’d been expecting. Why not have some fun with it?
“Are you always this articulate?” Megara took her sandal back from him, which startled the brain back into his head.
“Hercules!” He cleared his throat. “My name is Hercules.”
She tested the name aloud, walking away from him and emphasizing each sway of her hips. Couldn’t let him drop out of her control. “I think I prefer Wonder Boy.”
As Megara was busy tying her sandal back on, Hercules’s flying horse dropped out of the air. He covered his master’s face with one wing, seeming to think that would counteract Megara’s charm offensive. Many wiser souls had failed before.
“So!” Hercules parted the feathers blocking his gaze and nudged the wing away. She was in charge again. Let him look at her, but she had no need to look at him when he was already under her spell. “H-how’d you get mixed up with the, uh…”
Time to lay on the excuses.
“Pinhead with hooves? Well, ya know how men are,” she said in her most lackadaisical voice to disguise her venom. “They think ‘no’ means ‘yes’ and ‘get lost’ means,” here, she leaned in so close she made him lean back, “take me, I’m yours!”
Ordinarily, this was the part where a man would protest that he was different, and either attempt to woo her or call her out on her game.
Hercules just stared at her. How was she supposed to get a read on a guy who wouldn’t even blink? He only looked away to share a glance with his horse. Well, at least she had a name. It was time to get out of there while she still had the chance.
Well, not before getting one more shot in.
“Don’t worry, Shorty here can explain it to ya later.” She walked away from the delicious snarl of the satyr over her shoulder. “Well, thanks for everything, Herc,” she turned once more toward him, “it’s been a real slice.”
With that, she turned from him, expecting to never see him again.
“Wait!”
Megara whipped back around so quickly she wasn’t confident she’d hidden her spite.
“Can we give you a ride?” He gestured to his winged horse.
No sell.
The horse agreed. He blustered a snort into Hercules’s hair and flew into the trees overhead. If Megara could have translated the horse’s response, it would probably have involved several curses thrown her way, judging by the rage on his face. An excellent excuse. She didn’t even have to concoct it herself.
“I don’t think your pinto likes me very much.”
“Pegasus? Oh, no, don’t be silly! He’d be more than happy to–” An apple from above cut him off as it bounced off his head.
As much as she’d have worried about the animosity if she thought she’d ever tangle with this trio again, Megara was grateful she wouldn’t be flying that day. “I’ll be all right,” she assured Hercules with a light, playful punch aimed at his chin. “I’m a big, tough girl. I tie my own sandals and everything.”
She strode away from him only stopping when she could slip behind a tree and wait for him to leave. All told, the day could have been worse. She might be hemorrhaging her life-blood into the river or gagging on something foul. Sure, Hercules had been a mild inconvenience, but there were ways of making this work for her.
Hades would have his due, there was no way around it. Now that she was alone, she’d have to face the music. He’d be waiting for her somewhere in the shadows. He had a habit of getting bored while she was on an assignment and appearing whenever he felt like it. She’d just have to– a twig snapped, making her gasp.
Most girls, Meg suspected, would be happy to see a bunny and chipmunk grinning up at her and unafraid of approaching her. However, it was exactly the innocent act that made her recognize them on sight. It meant that not only were they Hades’s imps, but Hades was right around the corner.
“A bunny, a chipmunk… I’m disappointed,” she said. “I thought I smelled a rat…” And that’s when she smelled the smoke.
“Meg…” the artificially sweet voice of Hades told her he was about to play nice. No need to acknowledge the facade.
“Speak of the devil…”
The smoke formed a hardened tendril under her chin, which Hades used to turn her face in his direction. “Meg, my little bird, my little flower, my little nut, Meg.” Hades lifted Megara into the air.
All Megara would register on her face as she floated toward her boss was generalized disgust. He would twist her fear into a weapon.
“What exactly happened here?” Hades manifested a mobile version of his chessboard with a figurine representing Nessus on it.
Megara took the opportunity to waft away his smoke hand, but he was already too engrossed in his petty political game to care.
“You were supposed to get the river guardian on my team for the uprising, and now I’m kind of… river guardian-less.” He was still playing with her.
“I gave it my best shot, but he made me an offer I had to refuse.” Megara flicked the Nessus piece off the board.
“Great, so instead of subtracting two years from your sentence? Hey, I’m gonna add two on. Give that your best shot!”
He was unbelievable! “Look, it wasn’t my fault! It was this Wonder Boy Hercules!” What was the point in arguing, anyway? He’d already heaped another two years back onto her sentence. Five hundred and two. What would she have to do just to bring it back down? She’d spent so long whittling it down–
“What was that name, again?” Hades was right over her shoulder. At least the attention was off her!
“Hercules,” she restated and ignored the hideous growl of rage behind her. “He came on with this innocent farm boy routine, but I can see through that in a Peloponnesian minute!” She snapped her fingers, feeling her confidence rally.
Hades had taught her well, after all. His input multiplied her natural intuition, and he’d take pride in that. Soon, they’d be on good terms again, and maybe she could bargain her way to a lower sentence as long as he…
Behind her, Pain and Panic had undergone a massive attack of the usual. Apparently, Hades had expected Pain and Panic to finish Hercules off at some point, but after seeing his handiwork, Megara had no faith that either of them could pull it off.
“He spent his entire high school years facing off against my monsters, and you told me Echidna ate him after graduation! What was that about the delay of him getting to the Underworld because he was preserved in her stomach?”
None of this concerned Megara. She leaned against a tree to contemplate her next move. It had to be something impressive, but minimal effort. She’d have to preserve her energy if she ever wanted to–
Fireball! Dead ahead! Megara bent double, and the fire hit the tree behind her. That smoking stump could've been her face.
Hades hadn’t even noticed she was in the line of fire and still didn’t care. Whatever she planned to do, she’d have to pull it off quickly.
“Fine, fine, fine. If I know my nephew, he’s too stupid to stay out of anyone else’s business.” Another smoky tendril reached out to grip Megara and drag her back toward Hades. “All we need is a bleeding heart and something that makes him feel like a hero.”
Somehow, he’d survived high school despite Hades’s attempts on his life and still didn’t have the confidence to speak to a woman. “I have to ask: how are you going to take him out when nothing’s worked before? What haven’t you tried?”
“We’ve thrown all kinds of monsters at him,” Panic said.
“We’ve been all kinds of monsters, and thrown ourselves at him!” Pain emphasized.
“Chump stuff,” Hades huffed, and summoned his chess table from his office in the Underworld. “Meg, where was he going?”
So now she was useful? Megara stepped up to the map to make herself look like a part of the team. “He was definitely on his way to Thebes. His little satyr friend was quite insistent that they go there immediately. Since they’re flying there, I expect they’ll be there before nightfall.”
“Great, so it’s in the neighborhood. He won’t be surprised to see you again.”
“Wait, what? Why would he see me?”
“You already know him and haven’t actively tried to murder him in the past. Anyway, what’s available in the general Thebes area?”
Pain and Panic leaped onto the table to stand over the map of Boeotia, tap dancing around the region while they pointed out landmarks. “We’ve got the Cadmean Hydra,” Panic said, pointing out the valley between Thebes and Thespiae. “It’s bigger than the one in Lernea, but without the acid spit.”
Hades shot Megara a smirk that the imps ignored. “You’ll be fine with that, won’t you, Meg?” He asked, mouth hanging open so he could bare his jagged teeth.
“Why should it bother me?” Megara tossed her hair. “Rumor has it some of my ancestors sprouted from the teeth that got knocked out of that nasty thing’s face during combat. It’ll be a family reunion.”
The cursed thing was so powerful that it had taken many founding settlers of Thebes before their time. It fell to her ancestor Cadmus to trap the thing in a cave, but its last remaining head was immortal. Nobody went into that cursed valley anymore, but the remains of a city carved into the walls overlooking the Hydra’s lair remained as a testament to their sacrifice.
Pain and Panic finally noticed their boss wasn’t paying attention to them.
“Nutmeg is right,” Hades said. “The royal line of Thebes had to make up its ranks somehow after the last time the Hydra had anything to eat… Which was something around a century ago, if I recall correctly. One demigod won’t be enough to sate her hunger. Business will boom tonight!” he rubbed his flaming hands together.
Megara’s heart twisted. She couldn’t be part of this! All commentary on her father and cousins aside, this was not only her ancestors’ legacy, but the lives of thousands in Thebes! They thought they’d had it bad with the fires and the floods?
How long before an immortal monster had eradicated the whole population?
“Cadmus contained the Hydra, but Jerkules is stupid enough to multiply her to full glory! No matter what, Hercules is mortal. He can’t keep fighting forever, and he’d never think to switch tactics mid-battle without another hero there to tell him what to do. I’ll have a chat with his daddy so he won’t be as involved. He’ll want his boy to get all that kleos for himself.”
“Is it the absolute best option?” Megara asked. “Sure, it sounds great, but is it foolproof?”
“Trust me, if Hercules is the fool? It’s foolproof.” Hades’ eyes flickered. “What? Are you scared?”
“No, I… just figured your lesser minions wouldn’t ask, so I did. This guy’s obviously been a pain in the neck for a few years, and if he catches wind, you’re behind this scam, you don’t want blowback from Olympus.”
Hades massaged his chin in thought. “It’s a good instinct, but I’m right this time.” Malaka. “Now, on to your stage directions.” He swept his hand over the chessboard to zoom in on Thebes and the gorge outside it. “Nutmeg, you’ll run through the city calling desperately for help.”
Undignified. Ridiculous. Humiliating.
“What do we do?” Pain asked.
“You’ll be our children in distress. I hear tell that Hercules has a soft spot for children. Can’t let Meggie be the damsel twice in one day. Even Hercules isn’t stupid enough that he wouldn’t wonder why she got herself in two compromising positions that close together. He’ll turn her into his personal crusade and she’ll never get back to work.”
Megara shook her head. “Don’t you think it’d be just as suspicious if I’m announcing a catastrophe? He’s going to think I’m involved somehow.”
“Normally, I’d agree with you, but we’re not dealing with Theseus here. Hercules is a son of Zeus, remember?”
“Oh, right.” Megara frowned. The kid really didn’t have the best odds. “So you think he’ll believe anything I say?”
“Trust me. A face like yours? Curves that Aphrodite would consider a masterpiece? He’s probably not even listening when you talk.”
Megara shuddered inwardly, but wouldn’t let it show. He knew how she hated his offhand commentary, but letting him see her reaction would only encourage him. “If you’re sure about the Hydra plan, what’s our schedule? Can we put this together before someone in Thebes snaps him up and gives him something else to do? My father is efficient enough that he might recognize Wonder Boy’s potential right away.”
“He’s your father. You figure out how to play him.”
The thought curdled in her stomach. It was no better to face her father than the Hydra. “I thought I made it clear I wanted no one figuring out I’m still alive.” She folded her arms. “I can’t use my status and connections without coming back out of hiding. You promised–”
Hades gripped Megara’s jaw so quickly she didn’t see it coming. With just a flex of his smoke, he could snap her bones. “Slaves are obedient, princess. So, when I tell you I want you to run into town and put on a show for me, what do you say?”
Hades didn’t deserve an answer.
The lamplight gleam of his too-round eyes commingled with his twisted smile spoke volumes. He wanted to see her squirm, maybe even cry. Instead, Megara kept her features blank.
The only emotion she highlighted when his eyes flickered with renewed determination to break her was disgust. She forced herself to focus on how hideous he was, and the smell. Hercules was a kid right out of high school, and apparently Hades had tortured the boy the whole time. Even if there was a secret hyper-macho jerk side to Hercules, this was beyond overkill.
Crunch.
Megara’s mouth fell open as hairline fractures opened in her jawbone. Some iron will from deep down in her soul stopped a scream, but her pain made the imp who embodied it snicker.
Satisfied, Hades released her. “Fortunately, I need your mouth functional. For now.” The smoke holding her up vanished, sending her with a heavy thud to the stone.
A tremor of pain went up through her spine to match the ache in her jaw.
“Clean yourself up. Your command performance is about to begin.” Before he vanished, Hades healed her bones. A small mercy, one he was unlikely to repeat if she pushed him any further.
“Malaka,” Megara whispered to herself.

Chapter 4: The Unwelcome Homecoming

Chapter Text

Five Hundred and Two years.

It all came into focus once more as she stood looking at the memorials to those lost in the cave Hades would watch the proceedings from. “See, you’ve gotta be seen leaving the gorge so people will testify they saw you.”

Megara blurred his words out as she focused on the memorial carvings of her brother Haemon and her cousin Antigone. They would have told her never to sell her soul in the first place, but they hadn’t been there when she panicked. She’d lost them, and what remained had not been enough to sustain her. Back when she thought she couldn’t bear to lose the one person left to her… she ought to have been grateful for the chance at freedom. Why hadn’t she taken it? With nobody left to care for, who could weigh her down? How had she been such an idiot? Now she had another five hundred and two years of servitude stretched out before her, and for what?

There had to be some way to make Hercules leave her alone with Nessus, right? How was she supposed to endure another five hundred years doing whatever Hades wanted? Would it have been so bad if Nessus wanted… Yes, actually. It would have been the worst thing. She could whittle down past those two years again, she’d done it before. This was annoying, it was even infuriating, and it made her want to scream into a dark corner.

But there was no time for that.

Pain and Panic were transforming into multiple iterations of innocent children, looking for Hades’ approval. But they’d settled on the perfect appearances, and now those wide lamplight eyes had targeted Megara again.

“You could always visit them,” Hades remarked.

Megara shuddered at the thought. “They don’t remember me. Remember you dunked them into the Lethe because they wouldn’t stop schmoozing?”

“Oh, yeah. Gross. Shades are already annoying, but those two? Yeesh! We’re all better off, though, don’t you think? You got in a big fight with them that last day, didn’t you?”

Why couldn’t someone dunk Megara into the Lethe? There was nothing she wanted to remember, and she could imagine being happier if she could only invent a history for herself to replace the one she’d been saddled with.

“Let’s focus on the mission.”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Hades rubbed his hands together, but the malicious lamplight gleam never left his eyes. He knew the daggers he was twisting in her heart, and he enjoyed knowing that he’d reopened old wounds.

Her pain had briefly distracted from her guilt, but realizing it was a tactic to keep her in line only hammered that into a stronger impression on her mind. As much as she wanted to assert how fake Hercules’s innocent farm boy act was, she had to admit that if it wasn’t an act, this ruse was an elaborate form of murder.

And she was the murder weapon.

“He’s starting his hero career, so he’s going to want attention,” Hades was saying while she half-listened. “You’ll need to search the whole Agora. The more noise you make, the more likely it is he’ll come find you. That’s why he found you in the first place, right?”

Megara wished she hadn’t told him Hercules’s name and she could get back to taking pot shots at him from across the strategy table. This was making her ill.

“About that.” Megara put her hand up for the god’s atteniton. “The thing that went wrong this time was the centaur was too much of a man. Nessus stopped listening to me before Hercules ever turned up. After I do this for you, we need to talk terms. The horny monsters won’t even hear your pitch from me, so I’m swearing off man handling from now on. Hercules will be the last one.”

Hades made several unpleasant faces, but he folded his hands. “I accept your terms. Female monsters and ones with incompatible organs. You’ve got a deal.”

Some of the disquiet in Megara’s heart receded, but there remained the fact that to win her terms, she had to lead an impetuous young idiot to his doom.

She had the entire walk to the Harmonian Agora to think about it. Her sandals were not enough to shield her feet from the ache as she wandered through the gates of Thebes, gray and miserable like the color of her psyche. When her ancestors built those walls, had they been shiny and bright like the innocence of Hercules’s smile?

Megara kicked a loose stone in the road. Pathetic thoughts like that belonged in the past, before she understood the true horrors of the cosmos. She dragged her feet on the way back into the city, head down and fists clenched. Too soon, the Theban shadows embraced their princess.

As usual, the citizens eyed one another with suspicion comingled with disdain. It was easy to slip unnoticed through the streets, as nobody cared who she was provided she stayed out of the way. There was little difference between a Theban road and the River Styx. Both were full of lifeless souls, all aimlessly following the current.

Swallowed in the hustle of the damned, Megara wondered how long it would take her to find the son of Zeus. He was uncommonly tall, but unless he was flying his stallion across the cityscape, he could still vanish into the many city centers. They could wander the same city for weeks without ever crossing paths.

Not that Hades was likely to call it square if she couldn’t find his nephew for him. There had to be so many ways to excuse a failure, but as long as Hades wasn’t getting his own hands dirty, he could dump all the blame on a minion.

Megara leaned against a column to get her bearings, watching a busy intersection. If it were up to her, she’d wait this whole thing out, and wait for time to run out. It would be just too bad if for some reason they were never able to find Hercules and release the Hydra. The one downside to that scenario was an early trip to Tartarus with her name on it. If she, as Hades’s scapegoat, outlived her usefulness, there was no doubt how he’d remedy the situation.

Someone bumped into Megara so hard she stumbled down the steps toward the road. Brooding might be a Theban pastime, but politeness wasn’t anywhere near as common. She stabilized herself on the pedestal for an old statue of Dionsyus. It was old enough that it hadn’t been swapped out for the god’s new persona. He still wore a leopard skin, and smirked out into the street with a cupful of wine in one hand and a comedic theater mask in the other.

“You didn’t plan for me to use your gifts for this, did you?” she asked her city’s patron. “All I do is act, now. There’s no time to play myself, anymore. You wanted it to be an escape from daily life, not daily life, itself.”

No answer. Not that she’d expected one. The only god who had any time for her was the one who’d chipped her jaw that morning. She had to keep moving unless she wanted him to give him another excuse.

The most intuitive thing she could think to do was keep to the porticos of temples and look down at the streets. It couldn’t be that difficult to catch sight of someone so distinctive, as long as there wasn’t a crowd in the way. There was no telling how long it would take to sweep the whole metropolis, but eventually, if he was in the city, he’d make enough noise to leave a trace.

As she crept along the outskirts of the agora, she noticed a few doomsayers, telling everyone what they already knew. Then there were the foreigners who’d come to the big city only to realize that they never should’ve passed the gates. Many of the temporary structures were burnt, or in the process of being rebuilt. Another disaster. Typical.

She was distracted from brooding over the many tragedies of her people by the sound of a commotion and a familiar voice.

“Wait!” he was calling, desperate for approval. He seemed like such a child, it was difficult to imagine him any older than fifteen. Except for when she looked at that body… Well, if he wanted to put on a show, it was time for the curtain to rise.

Megara threw herself into the crowd, calling for help.

All proper Thebans, hardened by years of hardship, gave her no more than a glance. She could tell the fresh ones by their stunned expressions as they turned their whole bodies to look in her direction. Still, none of them were dumb enough to get involved. In the guise of a concerned citizen– the only concerned citizen– she drew more attention than a muscle-bound ginger with a flying horse.

True to type, Hercules wandered out of the shadows, eyes riveted to her.

“Hercules, thank goodness!” she cried, hurling herself across the square and drawing all the attention her frenzy generated to him. Feigning that she was out of breath, she collapsed against his chest.

“What’s wrong?” his hands hovered near her, but she pulled back before he could do more than that.

“Two little boys! They were playing in the gorge! There was this rockslide, a terrible rockslide!” Pause for effect. “They’re trapped!”

Everyone in the square drifted toward the pair of them. Numb they may be, but fiends for drama they certainly were.

“Kids? Trapped?” Hercules spun about to celebrate with his pet satyr. “Phil, this is great!” he exclaimed.

Megara folded her arms, raising her defiant chin at the supposed hero. “You’re really choked up about this, aren’t ya?” Not that she was any better, using his stupidity against him like this, but he held himself to actual standards!

“Come on!” The clout chasing glory hog seized her by the arm and lifted her onto the flying horse’s back.

“Wait” This wasn’t part of the plan! She was meant to be off the hook by now! “You don’t under–” She was on the back of his horse! She was on the back of his flying horse! “I have a terrible–” Pegasus reared back, forcing her to cling to Hercules and catch her breath. “Tterrible fear of heights!” She screamed to no avail. The streets of Thebes shrank below them, with its towering agora temples and massive byways.

Megara’s head spun, to say nothing of her stomach.

They were airborne. All she could do was cling to Hercules, the sole anchor point to reality, for better or for worse. His horse corkscrewed through the air, but somehow he remained a fixed point no matter how he flew.

Pegasus was doing this on purpose. It was some form of punishment for some unspoken offense.

“I think I saw the gorge on the way in!” Hercules said. “We’ll be there soon!”

Megara pressed her face into his back to restrain her nausea. At least if she couldn’t see everything, maybe she’d forget how high up they were, or the loops and rolls Pegasus was forcing her through.

Just when she thought she’d faint, they touched down on terra firma.

Hercules hopped off Pegasus, leaving Megara without her anchor. He was examining the gorge for signs of the children, but he heard her groaning. “Are you all right?”

No, but she had her pride.

“I’ll be fine, just get me down before I ruin the upholstery.”

How in Hades would she get down?

Pegasus answered her question with a sharp bucking motion that sent her into Hercules’s arms.

“I’m sorry for him,” Hercules said, gazing down at her with his lashes hanging low over his eyes. Did they have to sparkle like a pair of sapphires in the sun? That wasn’t fair. “He’s used to flying with my friends and I, and we’ve gotten used to his playfulness.”

“Your demon horse tried to kill me. Put me down.”

“He’s not…” Hercules winced. “I’m so used to it I didn’t even notice…” Gingerly, he put her down. “I’m sorry, Meg. I didn’t mean to let him…” He smoothed her hair, trying to make up for the mess she must be by now.

Megara jerked back from him, and covered her hair with both arms crossed over her head. “Just–”

Two voices called from the gorge below.

“You’ll be safe here,” Hercules promised her.

Yeah right. “Thanks.”

Hercules brightened. Of course, he’d been in Thebes long enough that he’d probably been through the worst rudeness of his life. “I’ll see you again soon,” he promised, then slid down the stone slopes toward his doom.

Pegasus huffed at Megara to get out of his space, and she was all too happy to. There was no way she’d stick around here if she could help it. She didn’t want to see the horse or his master face what was coming to them, but as she climbed higher into the mountains, toward the mausoleum of her ancestors, she knew there was no escape from what was to come.

Chapter 5: Halftime

Chapter Text

Megara paced the shadowed ledge she’d picked out a fair distance from Hades. He could yank her leash whenever he wanted, but as long as he remained fixated on his nephew’s impending doom, she had some sense of freedom.

This might be, on balance, the worst thing she’d ever done in her life. There was a list by now, one she dared not contemplate, but she’d never knowingly lured a man to his own gruesome murder before. If not for the fact it served him, Hades would have every right to damn her into Tartarus for this. Maybe he still would. That would track with his sense of humor.

Even worse was the crowd gathering along the carved steps into the gorge. All manner of citizens had heard there would be a feat of heroism and left the gray misery of their lives to witness it. How many of them would escape a rampage by the Cadmean Hydra?

That was only if Hercules succeeded in lifting the rock, and the Hydra had survived all these years. Maybe she’d died in there.

Megara clasped her hands, watching Hercules struggle.

He had to fail. It was the only way. The boulder was massive and had contained a monster for generations. Nobody mortal could be that strong. It would be all right.

From her vantage point, Megara could see every second Hercules struggled, and wagered against his success with every tremble. Even still, by the will of the gods, Hercules lifted the boulder over his head.

She’d known him for a competent warrior, but this was another matter, entirely. There he stood under the weight of a massive boulder, and though he shook with its weight, he did not let it fall. If not for what came next, she’d have been applauding the moment.

Pain and Panic raced up the stairs toward Hades’s hiding place, but Megara had no time for them or the big boss.

She only turned to acknowledge how Hades praised her performance. “What a dish. What a doll.” If he’d known the impact of his words, he might have taken extra time to mock her for being so noble when it didn’t matter. She’d already sealed his death sentence with her personal signet ring.

“Get outta there, ya big lug, while you still can,” she whispered.

Hercules was lingering in the open, too near the opening he’d created by throwing the boulder from its resting place. She couldn’t hear what he said from there, but his body language made it clear he was proud of himself. He’d even won himself a tepid applause for the unwitting instigation of his own doom. He hadn’t even noticed how she’d abandoned him.

The hissing started first.

Then it was the eyes.

Hercules backed away, stupefied by the magnitude of the Hydra. How ironic, Megara thought when it stepped out of the shadows, that the Draconic beast’s monstrous scales were the same purple favored by the Theban dynasty. The Hydra’s head sat atop a towering serpentine neck, with spines along its back.

She tasted the air of freedom for the first time since Cadmus had carved his name into the annals of history. She must still harbor animosity toward heroes, for she recognized Hercules as her prey immediately.

He may have trained for years, but it had not been long enough to steel his resolve in the face of this monster. He fared no better than he had in his first brush with Nessus. Though he first lost, then valiantly swung his sword, he soon rallied enough to throw a jagged boulder at the Hydra’s face. Despite this, the creature laughed at the hero, who then found the Hydra’s tongue wrapped about his ankle. The beast threw her head back, and the screaming young man fell between her jaws with all his potential.

Megara clutched at her own throat, disgust intermingling with regret. Only with the hero’s scream silenced forever did she recognize how she had prayed for his victory.

Hercules was too strong to be crushed by the Hydra’s esophagus. He would endure into her stomach, where he would either suffocate or be slowly dissolved in her stomach acids.

Now everyone standing on the ledge would fall prey to the Hydra and join him in his final moments… or even hours…

Rainfall heralded the sorrow of Zeus. His face appeared in the clouds, his sadness converting to rage.

Hades leaned back on his throne, which had been placed there at the mausoleum to honor him, but seemed in need of toppling. “Looks like your boy couldn’t cut it,” he said.

Zeus’s rage only compounded, but neither the Olympian king nor his brother were ready for the Hydra’s attack to come up short. She never devoured a single onlooker.

A bulge appeared midway down her neck, drawing every eye in equal confusion.

Megara leaned closer, heedless of the height she stood at over the valley. Her heart had only moments to realize Hercules was alive before in one clean sweep he sliced through the Hydra’s throat and stood victorious on the stump. The hideous thing slammed to the valley floor below, and he stumbled free, covered in a slushy green liquid.

He seemed no worse for wear, aside from a few rips in his cape and the way he stumbled about. From the looks of it, he’d been at a particularly raucous bacchanal, but he’d walk it off.

This miraculous feat earned a more positive response than before. It was amazing to see Thebans pleased with something. They’d probably spent their whole lives nonplussed from the cradle.

“Relax, it’s only halftime!” Hades assured his hyperventilating minions.

Hercules stumbled through the Hydra’s green blood, too dazed to function. Behind him, the corpse of the Hydra stirred. Hercules and the satyr turned in time to watch the headless beast stand, and then a mucous membrane formed over the stump.

Three fresh heads burst free where there had been one.

It had been miracle enough that Hercules had survived once, but how could he pull through a second, even grander miracle?

Zeus glared down at Hades only briefly, too preoccupied with his son to care what his brother was up to. Hera appeared beside him in the clouds, clinging to her husband’s arm. Impotent thunder rolled over the battlefield while the panicked heir of Olympus swung his sword madly from his flying mount.

It seemed with each passing second there were three more heads emerging from a severed stump until Hercules and Pegasus stared, helpless, down at the tangle of Hydra heads. They must number in the hundreds! Untold multitudes would fall prey to her endless appetite. The fate that her ancestor had fought so hard to postpone would befall Thebes at Megara’s own hands.

From her perch near the edge of the cliff, Megara clasped those hands together to stop the shaking.

Hercules flew through a mass of heads, screaming and throwing wild strikes as he confronted, then dodged untold horrors.

Above him, his divine parents huddled together to watch their son pinned to the canyon wall in one massive talon. The most powerful beings in the cosmos were helpless, bound by their own laws of not intervening to tip the scales against the hands of Fate. In earlier centuries, they may have reached down to pluck Hercules out of the valley, but for the same reason they’d left him to be raised by mortals, he fought alone. They were so focused on his impending fate that Hades didn’t bother to disguise his glee.

“My favorite part of the game…” Hades sneered down at his nephew. His flames were molten orange with anticipation. “Sudden death.”

The Hydra reared its many heads back, prepared to rip Hercules apart. His death would have been an agonizing one before, but now? At least it would be over sooner. The heads all charged forward at once, just as Hercules slammed both fists into the cliffside behind him.

A fracture in the rock face splintered the valley wall until it rained down upon monster and man with a hail of boulders. The Hydra pulled up short, but she could not dodge her fate. Both were lost under the rockslide.

This time, for sure, Hercules had been sent to the Elysian Fields. His uncle had no access to hassle him there, but he could not oppose Hades in his uprising. At least now, he could rest.

Zeus and Hera wept together in the clouds, sending rain down to express their sorrow over the scene. They turned away, unable to fathom the scene before them.

Hades lit what he called a cigar, while Megara was simply glad she was too far away to smell it. For the time, he was satisfied even if he hadn’t gotten his rampage through Thebes to lap up souls. After years of trying to get the better of Hercules, he’d finally cracked the kid’s defenses. He was still celebrating when the Hydra’s claw stirred.

Every eye turned to watch for whether the monster would re-emerge. It seemed no mortal breathed until the claw broke apart to reveal the triumphant hero.

He resembled a toddler’s doll after getting chewed on by the family dog. Hercules stumbled free of his enemy’s grasp, just as surprised to be alive as anyone was to see him. His divine family parted the clouds so the sun could shine just for him.

It was an uncommon experience for Thebans to have cause to celebrate. Many were too young to remember the days of the hero king, Oedipus, but most could remember his end. How many of them had ever had cause to cheer in their entire lives?

Megara was no different. Her hands moved on their own to applaud, though she forced herself to remain as inconspicuous as possible. “Well, whaddya know?” she murmured to herself. This could be the dawn of something different for Thebes. She wasn’t fool enough to hope, but she took some secret delight in knowing there was someone in this cosmos who stood a chance of taking down the nigh-unstoppable force of Hades and the Titans.

He was more than a poser, after all. In his golden halo of light, hoisted on the shoulders of her people, even Megara’s cold, walled-off heart had to admit she admired his bronzed perfection. In years past, she might even have allowed herself to contemplate how she’d never seen a handsomer man in her life.

But today was not years ago.

Today, she turned to check on her master. This wasn’t over.

Chapter 6: Dead Drop

Chapter Text

Pomegranates were in season, at last. How long had it been since Megara had so much time to wander through an honest-to-Zeus marketplace? With Hades occupied on Olympus “explaining” that he’d noticed Hercules doing some hero business and wanted to “support” his nephew, he wasn’t available to breathe down Megara’s neck.

She was weighing a handful of grapes and checking for any that were bruised or withered when the conversation between vendors caught her ears.

“Did you see that Hydra? It’s the same one Cadmus faced!”

“Hercules is the new Cadmus! If we still had a princess, he could renew the dynasty!”

Funny. At least none of them recognized her.

“I saw him before the battle! The first time he announced himself as our hero!”

“I hear King Creon is having a mansion built for him in the Amphitheatre District and is planning a parade in his honor!”

Good for him, Megara thought to herself, even as she shuddered at her father’s name. She kept her head down, making her way from booth to booth with enough fruit to get her through the next few days. She’d have to get some souvlaki soon, but it would have to be last since she’d want to eat it immediately.

The shadow of a broad wingspan made jumpy Thebans gasp. Megara herself ducked behind an awning, but someone’s shout of, “It’s Hercules!” drew everyone back out. Except for Megara. She was in no mood to confront the hero now. Better that they never speak again.

She crept along the line of shops, clutching her basket to her chest and trying not to look suspicious.

The sound of hooves touching down on the stone streets told Megara which direction to wander off in. The crowd followed their hero, but she wanted none of it. She finally had a day off, and she would not waste it on Hades business.

“Meg!”

She dropped her basket.

Without turning around, she dropped to her knees, scooped her fallen treasures back into the basket, and took off against the flow of traffic.

“Hey, wait!”

If she’d thought she could pass anonymously through her father’s city, that hope was dashed. Hercules flew over the crowd to reach her. The flapping of Pegasus’s wings tousled her hair, but there was no ignoring Hercules.

“Oh, hi, Wonder Boy…” Megara glanced in all directions for an escape route. Finding none, she forced a smile. “Don’t you have hero business right about now?”

“Yeah, but… I haven’t seen you since the Hydra thing. I’m glad to see you’re okay!”

“No thanks to the hay muncher.” Megara sidestepped out of Pegasus’s immediate striking range. “But now you’ve seen me, so you can get on with your life. I hear they’re building you a mansion.”

Hercules landed Pegasus in front of her. “He’s going to apologize for that. Aren’t you?”

Pegasus turned his face away and snorted.

“It’s fine. There’s no reason for us to–”

“Who is she?” a high-pitched feminine voice demanded to know.

“She’s talking to Hercules!” another one shrieked.

“Malaka. Here we go.” Megara took off down a side street.

“Wait!” Hercules called, but she wouldn’t.

Several young women were hot on her heels, shouting demands to know who she was and whether she was Hercules’s girlfriend.

Not a peaceful day could go by, could it? Why hadn’t she put on a himation or changed her dress? He couldn’t have spotted her in a crowd if she at least attempted to change her look!

She’d never run so much in her life since she got kicked off the cheer squad. She was not built for this!

Hercules touched down on Pegasus at the end of the alley, a hand extended. “Let me get you out of here!” he called.

It was between a mob and the most awkward conversation of the year. At least if Hades figured out she’d talked to his nemesis, she could try to pass it off as opposition research.

“Fine!” She took Hercules’s hand and squeezed her eyes shut.

“We’re not going that high again,” Hercules promised. This time, rather than set her on the horse behind him, he put her in front of him and framed her in his arms. “Let’s get you out of here!”

Megara crunched herself as small as possible around her basket of fruit.

“It’s going to be ok,” Hercules assured her over the shouts from below. “Nobody’s going to go after you while you’re with me. I’m sorry for calling you out like that, but I was so glad to see you and…”

“You’re not the best at containing yourself, are you?”

“No,” he tried to laugh it off, but his awkwardness was overpowering. “Did you… ah… stick around to see… the fight?”

“It was a lot. I thought you’d die at least twice. Do you think we could land somewhere?”

“As soon as I can find a place they won’t swarm… sorry, you were getting lunch, huh?”

“It’s fine. Just get me down. I can’t open my eyes or I’ll lose my mind. I am barely holding it together right now.”

“Sorry…” Hercules put a steadying arm across her shoulders. “I’ll find a quiet spot, I promise. Maybe I’ll take you home?”

Megara scoffed at that ludicrous notion. “No thanks. There’s a cemetery near the western edge of the city, can you put me there? Most people will stay away. I’ll be fine there.”

“Are you sure? At a graveyard? Isn’t that a little gloomy?”

“Listen, I don’t know what kind of circles you ran in, Mr. Sunshine, but graveyards aren’t that bad. Theban art students used to meet there every week just to get away from all the people.”

“Oh, really? Well, okay then.” Hercules banked Pegasus, presumably to the west.

Megara whimpered into her hand, shuddering at the idea of falling off Pegasus.

“Here.” Hercules gathered her against his chest. With his solid arm around her, she no longer feared falling off the horse, but she found herself in danger of falling in a whole other way. “I knew a girl in high school who liked a bunch of gloomy stuff. I guess it’s not so out of the ordinary. I tried to fit into that scene with her, but I really… really didn’t.”

“I’m shocked.”

They landed, but Hercules kept her close. He slid his arm under her knees, so when he dismounted from Pegasus, he was still holding her. “Again, I’m sorry.” He settled Megara on the ground, and helped smooth her hair. “I promise the next time I see you, it’ll be less awkward.”

“What do you mean, next time?” Megara glanced around for the first time. The cemetery had expanded since the last time she and her friends met up to complain about their lives.

“Well, I…” Hercules clasped his hands together. “I thought maybe we might be…”

“I’m glad you survived the Hydra attack. And because I never thanked you for what happened with the centaur, thanks for erasing that appointment from my calendar. You really aren’t just some poser show pony. You deserve all the support you’re getting. Congratulations.”

“But…?” Had his eyes always been so blue? He looked like he was about to cry.

“Listen, you have so many options right now. I’m sure the friends are flooding in.”

“I wouldn’t call them friends… They almost hurt someone I care about because they don’t care what I think.”

Megara arched a brow at that concept. “You don’t even know me. You’ve just seen me a few times.” She took a few steps back from him and set her grocery basket on a family memorial slab. “I wish you well, though, I really do.”

Hercules took a step toward her. “But you know… we met before all this. I feel like maybe…” He hung his head and let out a deep sigh. “Never mind… it’s not the first time I’ve read more into a relationship than there was… I’m so sorry I ruined your day…”

No matter how hard she worked at it, she wasn’t heartless enough to watch him suffer like this. “Wonder Boy, you know I’m a Theban, right? A crusty, nasty, feral Theban. That’s what we are. You’re better than all of us. The fact you’re here to help us is bizarre to me, but we’re not complaining. Any Theban will tell you the same. We’re grateful enough that you’ll have yourself a girlfriend in no time.”

Hercules’s head snapped back up. “You’re none of those things. I’m sorry you see yourself that way, but you’re wrong. The way you were so brave when you were in danger, but you were so worried you wouldn’t find help for those kids? That’s pretty heroic as far as I’m concerned.”

Megara couldn’t help laughing.

“It’s the truth!”

But it wasn’t. She couldn’t tell him, but she could only wish to be that girl. “Trust me, there’s more to me than all that.”

“And I’d like to know more.” He stood close enough to touch, but maintained a respectfully self-contained posture. “If you let me.”

It would really cut into her whole freedom bid, but maybe there was some kind of angle she could work here. Yes, he was her master’s nemesis, but he bore no ill will toward her personally. She needed a plan for when she was free, after all, didn’t she?

“All right. Here’s how this works: my first condition is that I don’t want to tangle with your fans. They outnumber me a thousand to one and they don’t like me.”

“Done. Keep you away from crowds. I think they make you nervous, right?”

“That’s beside the point. I’m just trying to avoid a hate mob.”

“But you prefer quiet, empty spaces, so I’ll keep an eye out for places like that we can go. That’s what you like about the graveyard, isn’t it?” Hercules gestured at their surroundings.

“Dead people don’t chase people down alleys.”

Not topside, anyway.

Hercules laughed awkwardly while Pegasus paced around, nudging him insistently with his nose. “Hang on, buddy, take a lap.”

Pegasus snorted, trotting in place.

“I mean it, don’t be rude.”

Finally, Pegasus gave up and abandoned his friend in the graveyard with the poisonous she-viper.

“That’s another thing: I don’t want to fly again unless it’s an absolute emergency. And where’s that pug-nosed little nymph chaser?”

Hercules bit his lip. “I uh… kind of escaped? He wanted me in the stadium all day, running laps and stuff and…” he shook his head. “The same thing over and over is just…”

“I get it. He hates me, so we should not let him catch on that we’re talking.”

“He doesn’t hate you, he’s just… I dunno with him. But I promise I won’t let him mess with you.”

“Best practice is to keep my distance. If you insist on seeing me, the goat man will make your life a living Tartarus. Agreed?”

“I’ll talk to him. I should be allowed to see whoever I want. He doesn’t control everything I do.”

“That’s good for you. Now, I’ve told you my conditions. What do you want from me?”

“What do I…” Hercules gulped and looked away. “We’re friends, right?” He lowered his head, looking away as if her answer might sting.

“For now. Yeah.” He was about to ask her if they could start dating. She couldn’t tell him that was against her rules without hurting him, could she? Where was the winning scenario here?

“For now.” The tension relaxed out of his shoulders as he repeated her words. “There’s one thing. So, I had friends in high school but we went different ways and I miss them. Right now you’re my one friend until I can find some time to meet up with them. Do you think… if we can’t spend so much time together… we could write letters?”

If she let Pain or Panic find even one of those letters, they’d rat her out for fraternization in a Peloponnesian minute. “People would intercept those,” she answered as honestly as possible.

“So… I could deliver letters as close to your house as possible or…” he spread his arms to gesture at the graveyard around them. “Maybe leave them somewhere most people won’t go?”

He made a valid point.

“Sure. That would work. We use nicknames, we get a specific jar, disguise it as a funerary urn, and leave messages there. How’s that sound?”

“Great!” He lit up even the gloomiest corner of the graveyard. She was so stunned by this that she had no time to react when he threw his arms around her and lifted her off the ground.

Megara squawked, her arms pinned helplessly to her sides.

Hercules rested his chin on her shoulder for just a moment and sighed as he set her down. “Thank you. I needed someone I could talk to. Phil won’t hear it and Pegasus can’t talk back and I… so much is different now, but I haven’t caught up with it all yet.”

“Plus there was that whole fight to the death last week…”

“Yeah!” He winced. “That was… I still can’t sleep right. Don’t tell anyone, but I keep seeing all those heads… and sometimes when I’m sleeping, I throw off my blankets because I feel too constricted, and it reminds me of…”

Megara set her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. That’s the sort of thing you don’t get over in a day. But in my experience, once you process it, you can start to replace that memory with something else. The way your life is going, I’m sure you’ll have something much better to dream about soon.”

He seemed surprised, but judging by his blush and the way he set his hand over hers, she’d said the right thing. “I hope so,” he whispered. “I’m glad I found you today. And I’m glad you found me before. Someone had to kill that Hydra, and it was the thing I needed to prove I could do this. I think the Fates wove us together. You’ve been there since the day I left Phil’s island. I think that means you’re supposed to be part of my new life. I want you to be part of it.”

She’d very nearly ended his new life. Megara looked away to shield her guilty eyes. “You don’t need me for that.”

“Maybe I don’t, but if I want you I have to at least ask, right?”

Good thing she wasn’t looking his way or he would see her uncontrolled response. He probably didn’t know how what he said would sound to her. He was far more innocent than she was. “You do have to ask. But I’m grateful that you did.”

“I remembered what you said. Most guys don’t bother listening to you. I want to be different. I’ve noticed something else, too.” Here it was. Somehow he’d caught on. “You’re so… cold. And you’re always alone, even if you’re in danger. I’ve gotta know, because I keep thinking about it. I have to know if you’re living somewhere safe… if you’ve got a family looking out for you.”

“I’m from Thebes. We had a plague a few years ago. And then a war. And a flood, and a fire. Yes, I’m alone, but I’ve survived so far.”

“I’m so glad…” he stepped closer to her, a hand extended in what appeared to be a gesture of tenderness. Did he want another hug?

Anxious, Megara took a quick step back and instead squeezed his hand. “I’ll be alright. I’ve got a friend in a high place, right?”

“Yeah…” Hercules tilted his head. “You know Meg, even when you smile you seem so sad… I hate knowing something hurts you and I can’t do anything about it…” the look of determination in his eyes told her he wanted to, but was waiting for her to give him a sign.

“There are some things you can’t get over. That’s not your fault. It’s just that there’s been too many scars and…” she shrugged. “I can’t be happy, but I can pretend.”

“That seems so unfair…” he furrowed his brow. “Is that why you don’t like it when I…” he looked down at his arms, too embarrassed to talk about it.

“Nobody has hugged me in…” she frowned. How long had it actually been? Years… some years, definitely. “A while.” Nobody really bothered to touch her, either, unless it was Hades with his spidery fingers or his potential minions with virtually everything else.

“Oh…” somehow he looked even sadder. “That’s so…” he put a hand over his heart. “You don’t deserve to be that lonely and neglected.”

“It’s more that I lost everyone I cared about. It’s been awhile now. It can’t be helped.”

“I care about you.” He spoke the words boldly, but there was a vulnerable tinge to his eyes. He wanted her to care about him, but was too nervous to ask. “You don’t have to be alone, anymore.” And neither did he. She was the one person he thought he could relate to, at least for now. Poor guy. Hopefully he found someone better soon.

In the meantime, she stepped closer. “All right, ya big lug, you don’t have to look at me like that. It’s fine. Do you need a hug?”

“Yes!” He moved so quickly she flinched, which brought him up short.

“It’s not you. I have defensive instincts.”

“That’s… that’s good but also… sad.”

“Let me.” She approached with measured steps and carefully wrapped her arms around him. “Not so bad.”

“Not bad at all…” he sighed, but that was before he heard the flapping of wings overhead.

“Time’s up for both of us. I’ll find us a jar, you focus on doing whatever it is that heroes do.”

“Apparently it’s a lot! But no matter how busy I get, I want you to know I’m your hero first, ok? Whatever you need, I want to be the one who helps you. Write to me soon.” He took her hand and gave it a light squeeze. “I’ll miss you.”

Pegasus drew nearer with a familiar, raspy-voiced satyr on his back shouting, “I see you, you shady time wastin’ gutter trash!”

The gentle sweetness on Hercules’s face evaporated in an instant. He stood perfectly still, eyes focused on a fixed point in the distance. From what she’d seen while he fought Nessus, this was his war face. He turned toward Pegasus as he landed with the satyr on his back. “Phil! You’re going to have to take that back.”

Red in the face, Phil was in no mood to notice his pupil’s level of doneness with his attitude. “Fifty laps, I said! Then I turn around and here you are canoodling with the living embodiment of distraction!”

“Maybe he needs a distraction sometimes,” Megara countered. “You’re going to run him ragged!”

“And besides, I dragged her out here, so it’s my fault.” Hercules squared his shoulders and stood between Megara and the satyr. “She’s not wasting my time. You are.”

“Excuse me?”

“You haven’t apologized yet, and I won’t leave this spot until you do.”

“I got nothin’ to say to that broad.”

“You had something to say earlier.”

“I’m out.” Megara turned away, grabbing her basket and trudging deeper into the graveyard. “I’m not here to cause trouble, I literally only came into town for groceries.”

“You don’t need to make trouble when you are the trouble, sister!”

Megara stopped in her tracks. It was true beyond the satyr’s comprehension, but since he didn’t know that, she needed to set him straight. She pivoted to glare across the gloom at him. “Sooner or later you’re going to have to deal with the fact that Hercules is an adult who can make his own decisions. You don’t get to control him every second of every day, and trying will be your downfall. If I’m trouble for you just because he’s more interested in talking to me than letting you work him to the bone, that’s a you problem, but it isn’t my fault. There will be other distractions, and it’s between the two of you how you deal with it. But you will have to deal with it. Goodbye.”

“Wait!” Hercules jogged after her. “Do you live outside of the city? Will you be safe on your own?”

Megara was grateful for the wild sweep of curls that formed a curtain for her eyes. “I’ll be fine. I’ve been doing this for years. He’s not going to apologize to me, but you should go with him. He’ll just follow me and I’m so done.”

Hercules lightly squeezed her arms. “I’ll talk to you soon. Don’t worry about him, let me. He doesn’t even know you.”

Neither did Hercules.

As she stormed between the mausoleums, Megara refused to look back. She couldn’t restrain her tears forever, and she could not afford to let either of them see.

Chapter 7: Alibi in Ashes

Chapter Text

"And you said your yiayia's name was what?"

Megara's head snapped back into the game. The coast was clear so far, but she'd had so much free time that Pain and Panic would be on her trail soon. "Klea," she repeated with the sweetest music she could force into her impatient voice. "The sweetest grandmother a girl could ask for. This vase has to be perfect for her. She loved horses."

Her grandmother had been Queen Hippodamia of Thebes, originally from Corinth. The most she'd ever invested in her children and grandchildren was selecting their nursery attendants. Megara had always learned that part of the reason had to do with an ancestor of hers who thought her children were better than Apollo and Artemis. The lesson subsequent generations learned was never to be too fond of one's children, or the gods would assassinate them. Suffice it to say, her grandmother had avoided a similar legacy.

"This is usually the sort of thing a head of household would handle," the potter said, painting the name slowly on the amphora. "Shouldn't you be at home preparing her for cremation? Are they about to force you to lug this thing all the way home?"

One of the first lessons anyone taught her at the Dionysian Academy had been how to feed the truth into your performance. The Delta Alpha Alpha had never steered her wrong yet, but she'd have to fake it this time.

"Not that it's any of your business," Megara snapped, "but everyone at home's too inconsolable. You would be, too, if you knew her. But they'll feel better when they see I've brought back the best funerary urn I could find."

The last time she'd gone hunting for just the right amphora, a centaur had made off with it. Despite her plans to go after it, she'd never tracked it down. This time, she was more or less certain Hercules wasn't a double-crossing scumbag.

"Seems like a lot of responsibility for a young lady."

"You know what? That's just because of how responsible I am. Lots of girls are married by my age, and nobody tells them how big of a responsibility that is. Is that urn about ready yet?" She cast another glance toward the window. No suspicious wildlife or oddly proportioned men with wild stares were glaring at her through it. She had some time, after all.

"And how'd you say you were paying for this?"

"Good Theban silver." Thank Zeus that people left coins at gravesites, or she'd never get anywhere. She set three coins down before the man.

He tested the silver coins between his fingers. "All right, little lady. I'll let you take this urn for three silver drachmae, but it's just 'cause you're so pretty."

Megara smiled her fakest smile and set both hands on the urn before he could change his mind. This vase had the right proportions to fit a scroll and close its lid. Someone had gotten the industrious idea to cover the vase with a woodland scene featuring a repeated pattern of flying horses over a forest. She could hope that Hercules would get the message. If he didn't, she'd get the urn for cheap.

"Do you have to hurry back to your family so soon?" the shopkeeper asked. He placed his hands over Megara's. "If you stay with me awhile, I might lower my price to two silver drachmae… You'll be in mourning for a while now that your grandmother is dead, but–"

Megara yanked herself and the amphora free of the man's hands. "I'm already in mourning. You probably should be, too. I think your self-respect just died." She stormed out of the shop without looking back, her face burning at the outrage.

This was the real reason families who cared about their daughters didn't send them out to run errands. She held the urn close to her chest, wishing she had a himation to disappear into.

She stopped between the shop and the graveyard to grab a gyro, which she ate while walking with the urn under her arm. The longer she went without any sign from the Underworld, the more she pushed her luck. She could eat in broad daylight near ordinary people. Nobody came to collect her, maybe because Hades didn't want witnesses when he chewed her out for being out too long or because he was still in that meeting with Zeus.

Pain and Panic would be amusing themselves, as well. They wouldn't find her unless Hades specifically told them to.

She crept back into the graveyard, past a collection of pale high schoolers dressed all in black.

"This is our spot, lady!" One of the girls shouted.

"Trust me; I'm not here to stop you from contemplating the cosmic joke of a city-state we were born into. I used to be one of you. Just a couple years ago, my spot was that bit of collapsed pillar."

She had to find a spot where Pegasus could land, somewhere easy for Hercules to spot. There were several memorials with overhanging roofs that she would typically shield something under, but she passed them up for greater visibility. At last, she nestled the amphora on its back beside a struggling rose bush. He may not recognize the design right away, but he would see that it was the only jar not standing up.

Why was she putting so much effort into this? Because she'd promised him? What kind of standard was that? She'd promised lots of things. But not to lonely, handsome young men with ridiculous muscles and gorgeous sapphire eyes.

"Malaka." She muttered to herself.

She was better than this.

A blast of smoke from behind her made Megara go cross-eyed with panic. She'd been expecting to play off the questions of Pain and Panic, not the boss himself!

The art students stopped what they were doing to yell, "Hades!" in surprise.

"Who'd you think would turn up when you played in a graveyard?" Hades asked them, momentarily leaving Megara to choke on his smoke. He shifted all his attention toward the students, asking, "How many of you would be interested in a work-study program?"

She had to think. He'd turn back to her any second. The students weren't giving him any material. He advised them to scram with a flare-up that covered him from his head to his arms. Once they were alone, he addressed his minion. "Gotta say, didn't expect you to wind up here, Meg. You're always complaining about the ol' aesthetic downstairs."

"I used to come here in high school. My idea was to keep notes on the people who visit the dead here and see if anyone is desperate to talk to you. Then maybe any years they agree to could be deleted from my life sentence?"

Hades raised his brow and gestured at the art students. "You think I could get as much mileage out of any of those freaks?"

"I thought you appreciated creativity and an ability to think on one's feet. Besides, getting here from the Underworld is easier than many other places. I could've done the observations."

Hades massaged his chin. "Fine. You're out for more of the day, but you'd better deliver."

"I will, especially if I can get someone to sign on to part of my sentence." What was she saying? This was starting to sound like…

"It's vicious, but it might work. I'm proud of you. You're a clever little misanthrope. But don't mess with these losers. You'll need some real high rollers."

"Don't tell Pain and Panic about this; they'll try to take over some of my ideas, but we both know they won't be capable of pulling it off."

"They wouldn't know what to do with any notes you wrote unless you plan on dumbing them down. I wouldn't worry about it. But you're right about one thing: if they catch on about your little private enterprise, the jealousy will get in the way. As long as you prove you know what you're doing, I'll keep them from ruining it. But if you can't bring anyone in, it shouldn't be a problem if they try."

She was doing this. She must be the scum of the earth, but she knew better than anyone that only the truly desperate would agree to this. They probably wouldn't even have a life, and they could help Meg get out. None of their sentences would be as long as hers.

"In the meantime, I've got a new, mandatory assignment for you. You should like this. It doesn't even involve any men. You've heard of Medusa, haven't you? She's a former employee of mine. I'd like you to go sell her on renewing her contract."

"You mean there are people who eventually get out of deals with you?"

"The stated goals of the deal were fulfilled; she just decided to walk away instead of asking me to maintain my generous transformation spell. I'm sure she'll tell ya how much she regrets how that played out, and she'll beg you to bring her back on."

"What happens if I'm petrified?"

"I'll see you fly into the Underworld and fix it. A slave like you is only born once a generation."

"Thanks," Megara said with a broad, toothy smile. "You really know how to flatter a girl."

"Y'know, if you had a better attitude, I might promote you instead of cutting you loose when your sentence is over. Think of it: I'd get you a swankier apartment, grant you some powers, and you could keep up all the good work you do."

"That's a tempting offer, but there's one thing holding me back. I can't stand you. Get me to this stupid island."

Chapter 8: Three for One Deal

Chapter Text

Megara hadn’t enjoyed a trip to the beach in years. If not for the petrified corpses littering the shoreline, she might have lounged among the smooth pebbles and admired the Aegean. But this was a business trip, with no time for pleasure. Her “sunglasses,” as Hades called them, weren’t to protect her from the sun. They were more like gorgon glasses.
Due to Hades’s insistence on consistent branding, looking through them turned everything blue as the sea. Could have been worse. Hades might have found it funny to send her into the gorgon’s den with nothing to keep her alive. She’d just have to hope that Medusa didn’t overpower the enchanted lenses.
How best to signal herself as friendly?
“Kalimera!” she called. “I am Megara of Thebes, here on behalf of Hades, Lord of the Underworld! Can you spare a minute to discuss a business proposition?”
No answer.
If Medusa represented two years closer to her freedom, Medusa was going to hear from her.
“No soliciting!” shouted a voice from one of the cliffside caves.
“Tresspassers will be stoned!”
Megara put her hands up. “I’m only here because the Lord of the Underworld has big plans, and he wants to offer you opportunities to participate in his new regime! Will you at least year me out?” She hadn’t anticipated more than one gorgon. Sooner or later, Hercules would have to face them, even if they didn’t join Hades. Personally recruiting them wasn’t a morally outstanding thing to do, but maybe it wasn’t the worst thing, either. Still, she had to wonder how he’d handle multiple gorgons… She’d think of that later.
One snake-crowned head, then another emerged from the caves. They were much larger than Hades had given her any indication they would be. Why did they have to be giants? How was she supposed to sound good while screaming up at them?
“Wait! Girls, let me handle the saleswoman!” A human-sized gorgon rushed out of a cave at ground level, waving her hands. “Hi! I’m Medusa! So glad to see a new face around here! Euryale, Stheno! I mean it. Let me do the talking!”
The gigantic gorgons retreated into their hissing shadows.
Medusa drew close enough then for Megara to notice she wore a set of eyeglasses similar to her own. These were pink and heart-shaped, like the leftovers of an Aphrodesia dance party. “Wow, you really are from Team Hades, huh? Looks like Hades decided to take a note out of Aphrodite’s playbook. Glad he sent you out here prepared. How are things down there in the Chthonic League?”
“No different than the last time you checked in. Asphodel isn’t much of a fast-paced work environment. Everyone there already knows there’s no upward mobility.”
She’d hung out with Hades too long.
Medusa chuckled. “Same old jokes, too, huh?”
“Hardly get any new material down there, to be honest. Only one guy’s talking, and he never stops.”
“I know that’s true.” Medusa tapped one heart-shaped lens. “Good thing I had a backup deity with an escape route, or we’d both be down there in those board meetings. Is he still making everyone stare at his chessboard?”
“Only multiple times a day. You get used to counting the squares. Anyway, the boss tells me you used to work with him. Any interest in doing some light freelance work?”
“Depends on what he wants, but it’s probably nothing good. I’ve been keeping things peaceful on the island since I moved in, even if sometimes it annoys my sisters. I get the feeling if Hades got his hooks back into me, I’d start doing the opposite.” For a monster, Medusa didn’t seem to have all that much fighting spirit to her. It didn’t bode well for the deal.
“A distinct possibility, but Hades is willing to offer you a more permanent transformation status and a rewards program.”
“I guess he’s still moving forward with his whole, ‘take over the world’ bit?” Her green scaly fingers wiggled air quotes as she spoke. Her snakes wriggled with disapproval.
Megara rolled her eyes. “Does he ever stop? Anyway, I was just glad to get a break from male monsters for a while. They’re worse than human men, if you can believe it.”
“Not all humans I’ve met are all that bad, but I think I know what you mean.” Medusa gestured into the cave. If there was a trick on its way, at least Megara could comfort herself with the knowledge that it would be over quickly.
Once Megara’s eyes adjusted to the shadows, she recognized all the hallmarks of an average household. There was a dining couch with a low table, and a bed tucked behind a screen to shield from the sun. There was a hearth with a small series of votive statues to Hestia and Demeter, but primarily featuring Aphrodite.
“Probably didn’t know ‘em long enough to learn the truth about them before they got petrified,” Megara remarked, sinking onto the couch that surprised her with how normal it seemed.
“There was one time…” Medusa brought her a plate of smoked fish and some water. “I only let Hades get the better of me because I wanted to talk to a boy. There was a sort of predictable set of misunderstandings on both sides, but he’s a good guy. What about you, though? What’d he offer you?” Medusa tilted her head, making her snakes bob around her. “You don’t look like you’d have a problem getting dates with humans.”
“I’ve sort of had the opposite problem, actually. But this isn’t about me. Would you be interested in renewing your contract? For a limited time, Hades is willing to offer you and your sisters dominion over the seas, as long as you are loyal to him.”
“We’re not interested,” Medusa began to say, but another voice from outside the cave interrupted her.
“Speak for yourself!” The voice was feminine, but complete with a feral growl.
Megara jumped, only to recognize that the voice was coming from the same hole that vented the hearth fire.
“Send the mortal upstairs so we can talk!” another female voice added. “Hades has never made us an offer this good before!”
Medusa chewed her lip with fanged teeth, but a moment later, she gestured Megara into the cave. “I hope Hades won’t abandon you here if things go south.”
“Trust me, I wish he would.”
“I’m not done talking to her. Stop eavesdropping!” Medusa called. She clasped her hands on her lap. “So, Megara… I’ve gotta say, I’m not really game for overthrowing Aphrodite. I owe her a lot.”
Megara glanced around the cave. “I can see that.”
“It’s not about the outsides, it’s the insides I’m talking about,” Medusa set a hand on Megara’s shoulder. “I did go out with that guy, but I wasn’t ready for a relationship. I needed Aphrodite to teach me about the other kinds of love first, starting with friendship. Now I’m learning about the love of family. My sisters and I don’t always get along, but we love each other. We’re all we have in the world, after all. We’re the only people who can look each other in the eyes.”
“That’s gotta be great for you,” Megara responded in a monotone. “So this guy. No interest in seeing him again?”
“Kinda don’t think he’d be all that happy to see me if I was helping upend the cosmos, y’know what I mean? Heroes aren’t really into chaos.”
The blood running through Megara’s arms froze over. Her fingers went numb, so she set down the food and water her hostess had offered her before she could drop them. “He was a hero?”
“I’m sure he still is. I always sensed a powerful destiny around him. Hades almost got him killed, but I tricked him into bringing my friend back to life. He’s not the type to get knocked out of the game.”
“Must’ve been some guy.” A notably absent one.
“He was…” Medusa gazed into the shadows of her cave, a hand pressed over her heart.
“More than a friend?” Megara guessed.
“Almost. But it would’ve been too dangerous for us to stay that close. It was sweet, though. He’s the kindest, most empathetic guy I ever met! Not… that I’ve met too many. But he was definitely heroic, even if he hadn’t completed his training, yet.”
Megara had a sick suspicion that she knew exactly who fit the profile, but why should she assume that every guy who got brought up in a conversation was Hercules? She wasn’t obsessed with him. “A fully trained hero would be formidable, no? For someone like you, it should be important to look out for when they’re searching for ways to prove themselves. Have you seen the heroes they’re putting out these days? Like burnished bronze sunbeams full of unbridled power. We should all be worried.” Ok. Maybe she was a little fixated on one in particular.
Medusa giggled. “Sounds positively scintillating… Sure you’re not crushing on one, yourself?”
“Definitely not. I’m over love. Never did anything but turn people into raving lunatics. I learned that lesson once. I’m not fool enough to repeat the experience.”
“I’m sorry.” Medusa placed a cold hand over Megara’s. “That’s no way to go through life. I know I was so desperate for someone to love me I almost killed the one person I cared about the most, but that feeling also taught me how to put others before myself. I could’ve taken the transformation back into a human for myself, but I gave it to him. I’ve never regretted it, even though I have to stay isolated out here. I know Hercules will do great things, and I’m glad he’s alive.”
Megara’s heart stopped, but Medusa kept going.
“He was just the sweetest boy I ever met! It was nice while it lasted, but the best thing I took from that experience was learning a new perspective on life. Now I try to see the world Aphrodite’s way. There’s a possibility for all kinds of friendships no matter where you look! And maybe someday, I’ll find a guy I can fall in love with who won’t be in danger around me. It would only take one accident, y’know?”
Still reeling, Megara forced herself to smile. “Uh-huh… Would you believe he’s why Hades sent me here?”
Medusa bared her teeth, and her forked tongue flicked out. “What? Hades wants me to fight Hercules? Hasn’t he figured out yet where my loyalties lie?”
“You don’t have to accept.” Megara hopped to her feet. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not invested in this war effort, but I had a contractual obligation to have this chat with you. Otherwise, Hades was going to… well, I know for sure he’d add more years onto my sentence, but I don’t know what else he would do. I’m sorry to inconvenience you. If I see Hercules, I’ll put in a good word for you.”
“You will?” Medusa followed Megara to her feet.
“You both seem like good people. Maybe the timing was wrong last time, but who knows? Other people seem to believe in love, and Aphrodite seems to like you. Maybe if you’re into that kind of thing, you can reconnect over a fake fight. Could get… interesting.”
“Maybe…” Medusa followed Megara out of her cave. “But Meg–”
“Megara.”
“Right. How’d you meet him?”
“On the job. You know how it is. Hades sends you out to do a few errands, and heroes can’t help tripping over you.”
Medusa giggled. “Yeah… Sounds familiar! So… Hercules is finally launching his career. Is he still handsome?”
“I wouldn’t know about that.” Megara fussed with her hair, fighting off imagined frizz. She couldn’t wait to get out of there, even if it meant having to explain the circ*mstances to Hades.
A hand on her shoulder made Megara twitch. “What’s Hades gonna do to you when he hears I said no?”
“Don’t worry about that, I can handle it.”
“What if I said yes?”
Megara resisted the urge to look over her shoulder just in case Medusa’s glasses had slipped. “You really don’t have to do that. I’d never want to see one of my exes again, I doubt you’re in a hurry.”
“With him, it’s different… Tell Hades to let me know where to find Hercules, or even… tell him to send you to wait for him to show up. You seem like you could use a friend.”
Megara’s whole body went tense. “Hercules knows me. If he sees me too many times, he’ll get suspicious.”
“Are you sure?” Medusa laughed softly, audibly lost in a memory. “I think Hercules is a lot of things, but he’s not necessarily observant. He’d probably just be happy to see you.”
“Tell me this, then.” Megara whipped around, face burning. “If he’s so great, why aren’t you still dating?”
“I already told you. We weren’t–”
“He abandoned you, didn’t he? He comes off as this innocent, sweet guy, but there has to be a catch. Who is he really? What’s he hiding?"
“He’s not hiding anything. I doubt he could hide anything if he tried. I was beyond lonely when we met, to the point that I couldn’t function around people. He’s got so much training to do, or at least he did, plus he had school, and we couldn’t go anywhere together. But for just a few weeks, we were the best friends in the world. Then I had a few too many close calls with the glasses and decided we could never relax long-term. Even with all the near-misses, I’d never take it back. Hades likes to take the things that hurt us and turn them into our whole world.”
“He makes good points.”
“Yeah, about a lot of people. Just… the next time you see Hercules, give him a chance. Trust me, there’s more to him than Hades would like you to know about.”
By now, she knew it was true. Megara tightened her smile into a hard line. “We’ll be in touch.”
“Tell Hades we’re in!” One of the massive gorgons shouted down from her cave. “Now get out!”

Chapter 9: Dear Meg

Chapter Text

Meg had promised to exchange letters with him. It was the best thing to happen to him since he graduated, and he finally didn’t have to worry about what cheap shot Adonis would take at his ego. And yet, now that he’d spent his day doing whatever Phil wanted, he could no longer summon the words.

His head was so full of “stand there, flex here, remember to smile at everyone no matter how creepy they’re getting” that he struggled to quiet his mind and imagine speaking to Megara. He couldn’t remember if he’d ever written a love letter, but this couldn’t even be that. There was something sensitive in Meg’s demeanor whenever he got too close or hinted at his feelings. He wasn’t about to let go of this hope that they’d one day become something more, but he had to stay within the lines or risk losing her.

Hercules might as well have marched straight into Mr. Parentheses’s office and demanded to retake every final exam simultaneously. It had been Hercules himself who’d been the one to suggest writing letters. This was all his own fault.

Now Meg expected a letter from him, and he didn’t know what to say. Hadn’t he been the one to tell her how badly he needed someone to talk to? Why should this be so complicated?

He closed his eyes. Nothing was scarier than a blank page. Actually, that wasn’t true, but this was the scariest thing he was willing to think about when he was alone.

How to begin? There was always a typical ‘Dear Meg,’ but it seemed too casual. Meg was special. He had to get this right.

Something hid behind her sass and good humor. That was part of what made him yearn to dig beneath the surface. She was beautiful and brave, but something kept troubling her behind her eyes, even when she smiled.

How could he get through those walls? He wished he could ask Phil, but he was the first person he’d have to keep these letters a secret from. He pictured Meg in his mind’s eye. He couldn’t have done a better job building his dream girl if he tried– and he had.

She could never know about that.

Start over.

Not too casual, not too formal. He thought back on his past girlfriends. Every single one of them added together had nothing on Meg. He couldn’t speak to them until his crush was over. He’d also never had to write them letters.

He’d pick a greeting later. He wrote “Meg” at the top of the page for now.

Now, a new question arose: what would he tell her first? There was so much he could say, and he wanted her to know everything. So she’d know him as a whole person?

Should he start at the beginning? She knew who her parents were by now. She knew who his parents were by now, didn’t she? If she didn’t, Phil probably told every reporter at the Greekly World News who didn’t know about his antics in high school. No, it had to be something nobody else knew.

I left Phil’s island that day because I knew I’d learned everything I could in my training sessions. There was this burning urge to get out there and help someone. That feeling brought me to you. I’m so grateful to the Fates that I found you when I did.

Sometimes I remember how that centaur tried to hurt you, and I worry. I know you’re tough and amazing and clever, but I can’t think of you in trouble and breathe at the same time. I wish I knew where you lived so I could check on you instead of randomly meeting up with you in the street. Your house would be the first place I checked in an emergency. There’s nobody I know in Thebes more important than you. My parents live in Arcadia—the mortal ones. I grew up on a farm because someone kidnapped me as a baby. I love my Ma and Pop, but I knew I didn’t belong in Arcadia, even if I lived with them.

That’s why they told me I was adopted and sent me to visit Zeus so he could explain why I was so different.

That’s how I know who I really am, but until I become a true hero, I’m stuck in between. One day, I want to live somewhere everything feels right. I’m sick of being an outcast. All I want is a family who loves me and doesn’t see me as a dangerous freak. My step-parents did their best, but no matter what, we didn’t fit into each other’s lives. Destiny forced me out.

Hercules sat back, amazed by how much he’d been willing to tell her without reservations. Had he better redact some of this from the final draft? He read it over again and decided no. He wanted– needed– her to know. Everyone else could be a stranger, but not her. She had to see into his heart.

He had a second heart, and it only beat for her. She’d have to see that one, too.

Ever since I saw you, I’ve thought of your face each time I wondered about my future. You’re like a dream, but you’re real. I’ve never seen anyone so brave with no powers. I feel outclassed next to you.

The times I’ve held you, I wished I wasn’t so self-conscious. I would have tried to be romantic about it. I’ve never had much luck in that department, but maybe it’s because Fate saved me for the right girl. I’ll understand if you don’t want to be with me the way I want you, but I have to be honest with my feelings toward you. I’ll never forgive myself for not telling you the truth if I lost my chance to be with you.

The door behind him creaked open.

Hercules crouched over his letter. The ink wasn’t even dry yet! He couldn’t roll it up!

“Kid, you’ve gotta wake up early tomorrow. I don’t know why you’re still up. You know how you get when there’s a deadline.”

Hercules retrieved a rolled-up Prometheus Academy flier he had next to his desk and placed it over his letter. With any luck, it wouldn’t bleed through, and he could shield his words. “Yeah, Phil, but I’m not exactly thrilled about where we’re going.”

“You don’t want ’em to see how you beefed up over the summer? I know I would!”

Hercules pouted. “Like that’ll matter when people remember what I was like.”

Meg could never know.

“Trust me: once you’re back in Athens, all those girls who turned you down will be fighting for you to pick one of them. You’ll get to pick whoever you want! Maybe more than one!”

“I’m not that kind of guy. Besides, I think I’m already in love.”

“You what? Not with that—”

“You’d better just not say what you’re thinking for once.” Hercules raised himself to his full height, incidentally shielding his writing desk with his broad body. “I’m going to bed. You can think whatever you want, but I’m going to do whatever I want. Got it?” He rolled up both papers, forgetting the flier, and stuffed them into a bag. Hopefully, Meg had set up their hiding place already. He really needed her to know what was on his mind before he totally embarrassed himself again.

“Sorry you don’t wanna hear it from me, Kid, but that dame is trouble. You don’t know girls like I do.”

“Maybe that’s because instead of chasing girls down so I can have my way with them, I fall in love with one at a time and hope she’s the last one, and we’ll be together forever. I bet you know a lot more kinds of women because you don’t care who they are. You only care what they look like. We’re not the same.”

Meg’s words were in his head about how men didn’t seem to understand no. Phil would chase a meadow full of nymphs, even if every single one was screaming and running.

Phil’s pudgy arms bowed out at his sides. “I’m a satyr; that’s what we do.”

“How’s it working so far? Because here you are criticizing the girl I love, and I haven’t heard a thing from Syrinx in a while. Are you just ok with that?”

Phil reared back. “What do you think? Yeah, it’s too bad, but there are bigger things to worry about. She’s a nymph. She’ll be around for a while. There’s time for us to get back together. We’ve got decades.”

Hercules shook his head and waved a dismissive hand toward the door. “All the years you’ve trained me, and you never figured out my heart doesn’t work like that. I’d be sick every second if someone I loved wasn’t around, even if it was something neither of us could do anything about. Do you love Syrinx? Because I thought you did.”

“Sure, I love her. But that doesn’t stop me from loving all kinds of girls. She’d understand.”

With a sigh, Hercules reached over Phil’s head to hold his door open. He hated arguing. Life was supposed to be simple. Friends and mentors were supposed to get along. He was not in the mood to deal with this. “We’re not getting anywhere with this. It’s exhausting. Thanks for helping me get to sleep.”

Phil looked like he was about to say something, but Hercules nudged him out of the room.

He slammed himself into bed, staring at the roof of the inn. He would dream of her that night. His heart fluttered with anticipation, almost enough to make him forget what was waiting for him on the other side of sleep.

Chapter 10: Journey to the Center of Denial

Chapter Text

Four hundred and ninety-eight years...

Megara pressed her face into the obsidian wall of her living space. Was it worth unleashing two massive gorgons on the world just to claw her way toward freedom?

A groaning shade flew straight into Megara’s sorry excuse for an apartment and got caught in the corner.

“You can’t go through there,” Megara told the ghost, forcing a sardonic smile. One day she’d be one of these mindless creatures. She couldn’t get too annoyed with her. “Look, the fields continue that way.” She got to her feet and grabbed the ghost’s dress to tug her toward the exit.

The shade resisted, floating toward Megara’s rat hole apartment once again. Her arms were outstretched, her mouth hanging open in despair.

“There’s nothing in there,” Megara assured her. “Get out.”

In a flash of choking smoke, Hades appeared behind her. “Gah!” he roared in frustration. “Can you believe Zeus made me sit around praising Hercules’s career? That little sun spot just– what are you doing? Are you listening to me?”

“My apartment is full of unexpected guests today,” Megara said, attempting to hurl the ghost out into the fields.

Hades snapped his fingers, and the woman shrieked, clutching her head. The ghost corkscrewed through the air, still screaming, until she was so far away Megara couldn’t hear her anymore. “If you’re a good little minion, someday I’ll teach you that one!”

“I’ll pass. I understand you’re the king of the dead, but could you at least try to be gentle with your subjects?”

“She won’t remember that,” Hades shrugged. “Why do you care so much?”

Megara mirrored his shrug. “Some of us don’t like screaming.” And “some of us” were destined to die, meaning it was impossible to stop imagining herself incorporeal.

“You’re in the wrong place to complain about that. Now! How’d your talk with Medusa go?”

“She’s a tentative yes. Her sisters Stheno and Euryale are eager to help you. I was thinking that rises to the level of tripling my reward. That’s three monsters for the price of one, have you ever beaten that?”

“I once had an allegiance to the mother of all monsters, the mighty Echidna, and she had an army of her children… But that was a while ago, and they couldn’t even wreck the Olympics.”

Megara raised a brow at him. “I think we both know that doesn’t bode well, but the point is I got you three Gorgons. I believe you promised me two years off my sentence, and I raise you that I deserve six.”

“Hey, I get it, you’re an enterprising young lady. But you don’t make the rules.”

“No, you do, and so far, you’ve set a rate of two years per monster. Well? I got you three monsters, and that’s three times the going bounty. I’d like to call in my chips.”

Hades stared at her, motionless for a long moment. “Fine.” He snapped his fingers, summoning a hovering year counter reading 498. The 8 started to cycle toward seven, but stopped.

Stay calm, Megara coached herself. He wants to see you upset.

“You know, I’m wondering if you should get three times the original rate, or an add-on of two fifty percent bonuses.”

Don’t scream. You can’t claw his eyes out, anyway.

Megara shrugged. “It’s up to you, of course. You do make the rules, after all. But I have to wonder what my buy-in is if the payout is so low.”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, it’s only that I did stellar work for you, probably the best you ever had, and talked around someone who started out as a no-sell. Frankly, considering she already put up with your attitude once, it’s a miracle she’s willing to put up with you a second time.”

“Get to some kind of point with this before I singe you.”

“I’m just saying! What’s my incentive to overachieve if you never over-reward me? I knew you were a swindler, but geez, you could at least be honest with me.”

“How dare you?” Hades raised his hand for a swipe across her face, but he stopped at the sight of something in the distance. “You’re going topside before my stupid nephew gets here.”

Megara’s mind whirred. Nephew? Was Hercules about to visit the Underworld?

She was on the surface, standing in the graveyard before she had any chance to contemplate the question. Dizzy from being so unceremoniously transported, she leaned against the nearest mausoleum.

Why would Hercules be in the Underworld?

She shook herself. It couldn’t be him. He’d never have a reason to go down there. And she had to stop thinking about him in her off time. He was a mark. There was no point dwelling on him when… Her eyes caught the amphora she’d left in the graveyard.

Someone had moved it.

She could’ve slapped herself for how quickly she reached for the vase. The lid came off, and there it was: two rolled-up papyri. It seemed ridiculous that she ought to be so stunned by the thought of Hercules following through with sending her a letter when he’d been the one to beg for the relationship. No, not a relationship. It was a… a correspondence.

So why should she hesitate to read it? This was no big deal! Nothing to be afraid of. With a firm yank, Megara pulled the paper free.

A flier fell out, advertising an appearance by alumnus Hercules at the Prometheus Academy in Athens. According to a notice in a set of parentheses near the bottom of the flier, it might help the school recover from some recent, and somewhat understandable destruction. She turned over the papyrus, discovering a few ink blots from where it had been wrapped around the letter while it was still wet.

Thankfully, none of it was so smudged she couldn’t read what Hercules had written. At the top of the page, all he’d written was “Meg.” Simple, but it made her hold her breath. It gave her no inkling of what to expect. She ducked around the side of the mausoleum, clutching the letter close. It was still daylight, so there were plenty of recently-interred to visit, but so far, she had no witnesses.

Anyone who caught her reading a letter from Hercules would have all kinds of questions, and when the letter had her actual name at the top, she couldn’t pretend she’d found it. She’d better read this and then either hide or destroy it.

She’d mentioned using nicknames, but she should’ve specified a fake nickname for Hercules to use for her. He’d probably thought she meant to keep it casual. Brilliant.

Oh, well. They were in it together now.

She’d intended to give the letter a quick scan so she could pick out a few things to reply to in her own letter, but his words were too compelling to skim. He wasn’t the most elegant writer, but his artless sincerity had a certain appeal she wasn’t yet accustomed to.

He’d told her too much. Someone with genuine malice would’ve taken this opening to rip out his heart and feed it back to him.

Megara glanced around cautiously once more. Nobody was around, yet, there was still time to tear up the letter and pretend she’d never seen it. But then, there was still time to commit it to memory, just so she could reply. After a confession like this, she’d have to be a craven of the highest order to offer nothing in return. Even the smallest token would be better than showing no evidence that she’d actually taken the time to honor his words.

It had been some time since she was the subject of a boyish crush, but she could wait it out. He’d be harmless she could keep him at arm’s length until he found a better match. Heck, why not Medusa? They’d gotten along fine before, and crazier things had happened than a monster turning human, right?

Her eyes flickered back to the safe haven of the Prometheus Academy flier. Had he left that in as some kind of invitation? She couldn’t go anywhere without Hades’s say-so, but in this case, Hades was already planning an ambush on Hercules with a triple gorgon team. A team she’d assembled personally for her own selfish goals. An ambush that she would attend by invitation of the intended victim. Something about that sounded extra wrong. How to decline without hurting the poor guy?

He saw her as a girl she could only hope to be. Perhaps in another lifetime, she could have gone to this thing, showed him off, and told everyone how proud she was that he’d asked her to be there with him. She didn’t live that life.

Megara stuffed the flier back into the vase. She owed it to Hercules to read his letter, maybe even reply, but she couldn’t force Fate. Those ladies would jinx her beyond recognition for trying.

Fine. She’d put up some emotional boundaries. Now it was time to give the letter a second read-through and try to find some way to answer him without humiliating him or worse. He spoke of a feeling that drove him toward her just in time to help her. That couldn’t be more than a coincidence, not when everything since they met was an outrageous series of coincidences.

He’d started reading into his future with her, imagining the life he’d live with this woman he imagined her to be. She ought to have known that he wouldn’t give up on romancing her. Since they first met, Hercules had fawned over her. His love confession stared at her in the gloom with the brilliance of his smile. She couldn’t keep her eyes on it for long. They stung. She covered her face, trying to refocus. Her hands caught her tears, making them impossible to deny.

They could never be together. Not with Hades pitting them against each other and Megara’s own hangups. So why did the inevitable truth bother her so much?

She couldn’t have written a better tragedy, and she’d lived through half a dozen. The protagonists always thought they knew the true meaning behind a prophecy and that they could outsmart Fate. In this case, Hercules found it impossible to recognize the bait that led him into every trap Hades devised for him as the greatest danger in his life. If he could just ignore her, or listen to his nanny goat’s advice…

Megara shook herself. She was being ridiculous. Wiping her eyes, she chided herself for not adapting better to her circ*mstances. She’d seen this play before, as it cycled through every generation of her people. This was Thebes. Whenever this thing reached a climax, someone would wind up dead.

Thebes was running out of royals to die dramatic deaths. The tug of war between Hades and Hercules had just the one Theban in the ring. Even though neither of them knew of her ties to the other, never in the history of Thebes had a royal tangled with the gods and came out alive. Not Semele, not Pentheus, not even Cadmus. Laius and Oedipus had damned three generations between them and Oedipus himself had never had an active hand in the damnation.

Now it fell to Megara to be the bad luck charm. She wasn’t particularly innocent, and in life Oedipus had been called a hero. How much worse would the fallout be from her own implosion?

Her head swam with premonitions worthy of Teiresias, only for the thought of him to summon forth his pitying words. He’d spoken to her when she was a mere girl of twelve, incapable of comprehending the hideous mass of horrors she’d been born into. She’d stood petitioning the gods with her sisters and cousins, not even prepared to receive an oracle, but the man had turned his blind eyes toward the girls. He’d warned them that the Fates had destined some of their number to die for love.

Megara had at times believed she was exempt from that fate, it was meant for the others who dropped around her, but someone must be free of the prophecy. And yet, here she was, in a sort of living death that Hades would never release her from.

A telltale waft of smoke hit her in the face.

She shouldn’t have even allowed herself to think of him!

With seconds to spare, she sat on the letter.

“Gah! I hate it when Hermes shows up unannounced!” Hades screamed as if they weren’t under the eye of Apollo. He appeared to have a selective awareness of whether his nephews were a threat.

At least it hadn’t been Hercules wandering into the Underworld unannounced with no apparent purpose. She could’ve gotten caught down there.

“Isn’t that your jar of secrets? Gimme something interesting to read!” Hades extended a tendril of smoke to lift the jar off the grass, while Megara prayed to any god but him that he wouldn’t ask her to stand. It was already a stroke of fortune that she hadn’t put the letter back in there, hopefully her luck would last.

When only the flier fluttered out for Hades to catch, he frowned. “I thought you were my mistress of whispers. What’s this?”

“Haven’t had time to search the city, spent too much time hiring three gorgons to serve you. Besides, the last time I was in town, nobody had anything useful to talk about. Everyone’s obsessed with Herc–”

“Don’t say it!”

“Fine, I won’t say it. But I’ve heard more bicep comments in one week than my entire life.”

Vicious yellow flickered through the blue of Hades’s flames. “I can’t wait to deep-six this guy. I thought he was annoying as a skinny little twerp, but this?”

“Scared he’s in better shape than you? I bet you could put in a little more effort if you didn’t spend so much time getting other people to do all the heavy lifting for you.”

Why did she always set herself up like this?

The golden malice in Hades’s eyes fixated on her, his irises shrinking. “I’d be careful saying things like that to someone who remembers how many years in debt you are.”

Megara’s chest seized with dread. Still, she shrugged off his warning. “I remember, too, and I also remember that you’re ripping me off. Aren’t you supposed to be a grand arbiter of justice? Well, you run things on a whim and you have zero authority to hold me accountable.”

“Never question my authority! I will decide the value of your work, and whether you deserve to be rewarded for it!”

“Fair is fair! You can call me whatever you want or do whatever you want to me, but I deserve your respect, even if you won’t give it to me. I’m the best assistant you have, and maybe if you were half the boss I deserve, my productivity would be through the roof. You don’t want to give me my six years? I don’t give you side projects.”

Orange flickered around the edges of Hades’s flames, but he kept his cool. “I’d be careful with that… You tell me everyone’s obsessed with Jerkules. What are they saying?”

“I heard he was in the square and drew a crowd just by flexing. He made a thousand drachmae an hour just showing off.”

“And let me guess: you went to check him out?”

“Who, me? I only found out what was going on because the road was so clogged I couldn’t get by. That’s when they told me what everyone was looking at. That man can flex everything, it’s crazy.”

“I wonder if I haven’t been clear with you what my plans are for my nephew.” Hades drew nearer. “If he’s not dead before I attack Olympus, I will fail. I’ve got mere months before the planets align! And you think it’s funny to talk about his muscles?”

Megara stood as tall as she could, hands in fists at her sides. “What do you think I’m supposed to do to him, exactly? Do you expect me to walk up to him and start heckling? If you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly built to square up to someone like that. He’d probably just laugh at me.” And then ask her out. “If I can’t do anything, I don’t see any harm in laughing at the ridiculous situation we’re in.”

The fact she was right wouldn’t save her from Hades’s wrath. “Since it looks like all you’re doing out here is wasting time, I’m revoking your topside privileges!”

Chains of smoke seized Megara around the ankles and wrists. “I haven’t had enough time to be useful!” she shouted back. “It’s been a slow week because nobody has time for anything but their Wonder Boy! Let them get sick of him or something!” The chains forced her to her knees.

“No excuses! Unless I release you from the Underworld, personally, you are under strict– what is that?”

Megara’s head whipped around. The flier for Prometheus Academy hung halfway out of the vase. “I did find something this week,” she said, praying that Hades wouldn’t move her from her spot and uncover the letter. The chains held her in place while Hades passed.

He stopped to pluck the flier free of the vase. “Wonder Breath is headlining an event at his old stomping grounds?”

“Fundraising.”

“So he’ll be in Athens with lots of his obnoxious fans… Probably still flexing.”

“It does seem to be his main talent.” That and Hydra slaying.

“There’s still a way to salvage this.”

Megara closed her eyes, forcing herself to stay calm. The chains dug into her arms, and the ones around her ankles threatened to drag her into the grave dirt.

“You’ll go to this reunion, and you’ll provide reconnaissance for ny new trio of gorgons!”

“You’re sure they won’t see better than me? We’re talking giants with magical eyes.”

“Did I ask you to get into a staring contest? Find them Hercules, and help make their job easier. Then maybe I’ll consider your idea of tripling your years off your sentence.”

Megara hated that his words made her hope. He was toying with her, just as he always did. “You only asked me to recruit them, this is different. It’s another task, and I posit that you should double my rate if there’s any success.” She’d leaped into haggling so fast it hit her too late that Hercules would have to die for her to earn her reward. Still, she was so far from freedom, she had to reach for anything.

“You have some real delusions about the dynamics of our relationship, huh?” Hades snarled. “Do what I say, and don’t tell me how to reward you. If you can understand instructions as simple as that, there may be hope for you, yet!” Hades coiled fresh chains around her body and tightened them until they hurt. Then he grabbed her by the ponytail and forced her to look up at him. “Don’t try to take advantage of my mercy. You should know by now I don’t have any.”

“I’m under no illusions,” she spat at him. “Amuse yourself. Get it out of your system. I’ll wait.”

Hades’s face twisted. “You take all the fun out of it with that attitude of yours.”

“I’ve heard tell it’s my best feature.”

Hades gave her a good shake, and turned away. “You’ll do exactly what I tell you. I don’t want to see you freestyling and playing hooky just because you think you can get away with it.”

Defiance lit Megara up from the inside. “You can say whatever you want. You can do whatever you want. I do things my way or not at all. That’s why I’m the only effective member of your team. What exactly would you do without me, o oneness? You might as well admit that you’re too lazy to even attempt half of the things you send me out to do. If you had any self-respect, you’d try to pull off a scheme with me instead of leaving me to my own devices. If you think Pain and Panic don’t goof off half the time, you should probably check where they’re shopping when you send them off to do something.”

“Don’t deflect!” Hades screamed, flaring up with fire all the way down his arms. “You are such a petulant, defiant little princess! Have you forgotten that you traded in your crown years ago? You don’t get to play royalty, anymore! I’m your king!”

“Kings are overrated. Try again. Maybe then you’ll impress me.”

The chains pressed Megara closer to the ground, doubling her over and tightening until she thought her bones might snap. Rage boiled through her blood. She’d let him do worse just to prove she wasn’t afraid. She’d berate him until he felt a fraction of the disgrace he’d reduced her to.

“You little–” Hades cut himself off, too infuriated to speak. He ignited the chains around Megara, burning the shapes of each link into her skin.

There was only so long she could hold out.

Megara screamed.

With a sardonic chuckle, Hades loosened the chains, though the heat took longer to recede. “Finally. What took ya so long? Geez, someone might think you enjoy torture.”

Her head was swimming, and the tears rushing from her eyes did nothing to relieve her. “Theoi. I hate you.”

“Feeling’s mutual, babe. I’ll see ya in Athens.”

Megara rolled onto her side when he was gone.

The edges of Hercules’s letter were singed, but at least Hades hadn’t read it.

While the blisters slowly disappeared from her skin, Megara smoothed out the letter and shoved it back into the vase. There was a lot she could say, but if she ever got a chance to write to Hercules, she definitely wouldn’t tell him everything.

Chapter 11: Hercules and the Fundraiser

Chapter Text

"Wow… really thought they'd bounce back a bit more by now…" Hercules grimaced down at the half-reconstructed rubble that had once been his high school as Pegasus soared in a sweeping arc around it. "It's nice to see they got a new statue of Prometheus now that he's free."

"Would've been nice to give you some credit for that, but it's not bad," Phil remarked. "But it's a good thing the statue didn't look like that when you went here. You definitely would've burned the place down."

Hercules tried to laugh, but he knew Phil was right. "Let's just get in, and get out with some of my dignity. I'm surprised they haven't billed me for the repairs sooner."

"They knew you were broke, but trust me: I've heard all kinds of noise over the summer. I figured the stress would be bad for your biceps."

"Yeah, that does seem to be what most people care about these days." Hercules didn't like giving in to his bitter side, but he couldn't always help it.

"Relax. I couldn't let you stress yourself out when you had training to complete. You wanna go to Olympus, don't ya?"

"Mhmm…" Hercules guided Pegasus to land next to the tall, beak-nosed principal, Mr. Parentheses, who was flanked by a group of students all holding welcome signs. He recognized a few as underclassmen, but a new crop of first-year students crowded the courtyard. Thank the gods, there was a chance he'd get to speak with someone who didn't know him as a screwup.

"This is the most popular you've ever been at this school," Phil observed.

"No kidding. Now I just have to make sure I don't blow it." He would've liked to see Icarus, Cassandra, or both if he was greedy. But it was probably better for them to be out living their lives. He hopped off Pegasus, resigned to his fate, and forced his wince to look like a smile.

Mr. Parentheses stepped forward. "Welcome, Hercules, Spawn of Zeus! Gather around, students! Welcome our esteemed alumnus!"

Hercules scanned the group for anyone he recognized, waving awkwardly. Why was this so much easier in Thebes? "Hey… uh… glad to see the place looking so… nice."

"Yes, well, I'd wager you were, considering your role in inspiring the renovations. But we're grateful to have you back, provided you don't do any further damage."

Hercules hung his head and hunched his shoulders. He wished he could go back to sleep. Dreaming of Megara never made him feel like such a liability.

"Ah! And here's the pile of rubble formerly known as our auditorium, where you'll regale our sponsors with tales of your Hydra-slaying prowess!"

"Can't wait," Hercules muttered. He didn't need Cassandra's help to let him know he'd be saying that word all day. "I'm much less clumsy now, so I promise not to make a mess again."

"That remains to be seen."

Hercules sighed deeply as he followed the principal toward the cafeterium. He felt like he was walking toward detention. It hadn't been too long since he was a lanky, geeky loser. None of the muscle he'd packed on made him feel any less of a misfit, and maybe it never would.

In a hunt for anything that could help wipe away the humiliation, Hercules wondered how Meg would respond to his letter. She wouldn't fawn over him the way Galatea had, but maybe she'd be willing to give him some hope the next time they saw each other. He wasn't sure how often he could take the hit from her calling him her friend.

"Our fried food menu has taken the campus by storm! You're welcome to partake in some before your speech, Mighty Hercules!"

Hercules hoped his smile didn't look queasy. "Oh, uh… thanks." The nickname coming out of his former principal gave him an out-of-body feeling. Standing in a familiar place after so much had changed, he found it difficult to reconcile whether he'd ever left or if the madness at Thebes had been some surreal dream. No, he hadn't imagined Meg. She was real. The rest of it must be, too.

Something metal pelted him from above, hitting him square on the head.

"Oh, dear! It looks like my cup has fallen out of my hand!" There was no mistaking the voice of Adonis, but Hercules was reluctant to turn his head to look his way.

He stared down at the metal cup, where it had rolled to a stop at his feet. Dregs of wine clung to his hair and dripped down his face. If he threw the cup back at Adonis, it would more than leave a mark. He'd kill him in one shot. He didn't come here to kill his old bully, but would it be so bad?

"Adonis, has your tenure at summer school taught you nothing?" Mr. Parentheses squawked up at the mezzanine where Adonis had always sat.

"Summer's over," Hercules noted in tight, controlled syllables. "Why is he still here?"

"Well! After the unfortunate destruction of the majority of our campus, the King of Thrace demanded that we send his son home until the renovations were complete! So now, he's begun summer school in a slightly off-schedule schedule, which shall be completed, hopefully, at the end of autumn!"

"So… he's not going anywhere."

"Don't worry about him, Kid. He's old news, and you're every headline." Phil hopped onto the cafeteria counter. "I think before the party, I'd like to sample the whole menu."

"Phil…" Hercules muttered a warning. "You've gotta leave enough for everyone else."

"Oh, Jerkules! Bring me back a refill, will you?"

"I'm out of here!" Hercules had officially failed at looking like Adonis didn't get under his skin, but he was grown up enough to break away from the situation before it escalated.

It didn't matter where he went. He couldn't even hear Adonis over the thundering in his ears. He slammed the door and heard a disturbing crunching noise that he didn't stop to investigate as he stormed off. He ducked through the next door he saw, and found himself blinded by a ray of light.

"Careful! That door was meant to be locked for— Gadzooks! You have certainly changed, Hercules! Mag-nificently!"

Hercules didn't need his eyes to realize he'd wandered right back into shop class. He put a hand over his face. "Uh… th-thanks, Mr. Daedalus! Can you maybe turn the lights off?"

Something that sounded like glass slid out of a slot, and the light eased off Hercules's face.

He cautiously uncovered his face to reveal a massive crystal on a wheeled cart, surrounded by multiple disks of colored glass.

"I should've known if anyone would wander in here, it would be you. You've stumbled upon my newest idea to contain the Minotaur!"

"You don't think at this point the labyrinth is too inhumane?" Hercules asked. "I mean, I've fought the guy a few times, but he has feelings, too. He's even claustrophobic."

"As long as the gods have sentenced him to the labyrinth, that's where he will stay," Daedalus said. "I'm sure you, with your in-credible strength, will understand that such forces require containment and control!"

Hercules attempted to shrink his posture down until he didn't look so massive. "I guess. So what's up with Icarus these days?"

"He's living in the mountains near Delphi, using the altitude to test the tensile strength of his new wing models!"

Hercules cringed. "I really hope he knows what he's doing… Wait. You said Delphi. Isn't that where Cassandra…?"

"Don't think about it too hard. Anyway, I'm not worried. The boy has an excellent intellect, and the sort of determination you only get from having a best friend who frequently encouraged him."

"Oh, that's… so great." Maybe not for Cassandra. "Well, I hope once I've really established my career I can reach out to him and he'll come see me. It's weird being out there with no friends aside from Phil and Pegasus. I was just getting used to having friends, and then we all split up."

"Friendships like that are meant to be rekindled." Daedalus put a hand on Hercules's shoulder and led him toward the door. "And as for you, young hero, funds are meant to be raised! Now! Get out there and remind everyone that greatness begins at Prometheus Academy!"

Phil and Pegasus were waiting for him outside the workshop. "There you are! Let's get you to the auditorium! You got a big audience waitin' for you!"

"Ok, ok," Hercules climbed onto Pegasus. "Let's get through today, then maybe we can go back to Thebes early. I'm already sick of being here."

Besides, there might be a letter waiting for him.

It was a short flight to the auditorium, and he could've walked, but Adonis had yet to discover the power of flight for himself. As long as he was in the sky, Hercules knew he could cool down and maintain at least some of his sanity.

They touched down backstage of the auditorium, just in time to see Adonis carried by on his palanquin by four of his servants. Hercules shot him his best Hydra-slayer snarl and stomped behind the scenes.

To his surprise, he recognized every member of a small cluster of dignitaries. There stood Pericles, flanked by City-State Trooper Chipacles, Theseus, and–

"Galatea?" he asked, staggering where he stood.

"Oh, hello, Hercules! Good to see you again!" Undeterred by the awkwardness of the situation, Galatea broke away from the group. She hadn't changed much since the day Aphrodite gave her free will, but Hercules had studiously avoided her since then. She was almost a stranger, so why did she approach him so comfortably? "I told Theseus it would be great to come out and support you, so now we've brought half the dignitaries in Attica to your fundraiser! Congratulations on your popularity spike, it's been great to hear good news about you for a change!"

"Uh… thank you. You said you… told Theseus?"

Theseus walked up to join Hercules and Galatea, sliding an arm about her waist. "It's wonderful to see you again, Hercules. Galatea always speaks highly of you. We met a few months ago, and were surprised we both knew you. I love a girl with a bold personality."

"Ah… yep. Yeah, me… me, too." Hercules's face was burning, but as long as Icarus and Cassandra weren't there to rat him out for his selfish teenage corner cutting, he might get out of this situation with some dignity.

"It was curious that Galatea made it through life without any family to speak of. It must have something to do with her fresh perspectives and upbeat attitude. As Prince of Attica, it's been just those perspectives that make her a wonderful addition at court."

Something flashed through Galatea's eyes, either amusem*nt or the urge to call him out. He wished he was better at reading into expressions, it might give him a chance to save himself from looking so inept.

"Mr. Pericles will speak first," City-State Trooper Chipacles informed Hercules. "Then Theseus, and finally you. Don't screw it up."

"I'll try," Hercules promised. Why did he feel like a criminal every time the trooper talked to him? He hung his head and folded his hands behind his back.

"I'm sure you'll do wonderfully," Theseus said. "You've always had interesting perspectives. I can't wait to hear your speech." He offered Galatea his arm, and they both walked toward the stage after Pericles.

How was Hercules going to follow up two speeches from guys who talked for a living when he'd spent all his speech writing time on his letter to Meg?

He was going to bomb.

Pericles gave a short, folksy speech and references the relationship between Prince Theseus who's taken over running the majority of Attica and Athens which he protects as a democracy.

Hercules rested his head against the wall, hoping eventually it'd stop spinning. Somehow, he had to make something up, get through it without stammering, and also not hurl something at Adonis for booing him.

Theseus went onstage to thank the local Athenian and Attican aristocrats for coming to the school to celebrate an alumnus and reinvigorate the school.

He had nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"Hey… I'm glad I found you before it was too late."

Hercules jumped at the soft voice. He'd been so focused on the speech he hadn't written that a hooded figure had crept up on him.

"Remember me?" Medusa pulled her hood back from her face, showing off her heart-shaped glasses and the twist of snakes that all bobbed around her face.

"Me-Medusa! How'd you — where've you been?"

"On an island, with a couple of my sisters. We're all in town to see you, but… My sisters don't like you and… it kinda looks like Athens needs a hero."

Chapter 12: Gorgonite

Chapter Text

The last time she’d been to Athens, it’d led to the worst blind date of her lifetime. Megara wished Hades could just leave Hercules alone and pick up some kind of hobby. Maybe pottery, since he could fire the clay himself. If Hades wanted to complain to her about his plan not working out, he probably should’ve arranged for her transportation.

It was much easier to drag her feet with such a tall pile of excuses. How unfortunate that the roads to Athens were packed with spice merchants, and that she had to walk so much of the way. It was a dreadful inconvenience when she ran into a bohemian pack of outcasts drinking pomegranate wine in a roadside cafe. By then, her feet hurt, and Megara had no problem contributing tales of living in Thebes to the conversation. Even among a pack of anemic-looking artistic types dressed all in black, Thebes outclassed their ennui.

One woman there, by the name of Electra, heard that Megara was on her way to Prometheus Academy, and it raised her hackles. “Why would you ever want to visit such an oppressive, creativity bankrupt institution?”

Megara raised her brow. She’d never heard it described that way, but she wouldn’t expect a free-thinking polis like Athens to support a school like that for its prominent youth. “They’re putting on a fundraiser with this new hero. Ever heard of Hercules?”

The mention of her acquaintance had the girl up in arms. A series of furies manifested out of nowhere while she ranted about how Hercules was a tool of oppression and a poser. Well, at least she was hearing one account of Wonder Boy that did something other than gush his praises, but she couldn’t reconcile it with who he was. She’d have to throw out all that garbage data to make her final assessment.

Luckily for Megara, and perhaps not for Hercules, she hitched a ride on a chariot speeding away from Electra’s furies, and soon she’d arrived in Athens.

By the time she found the auditorium, she was sure Hercules was halfway done with his speech, inspiring everyone in the city with his infectious charisma. Athens might not be as hero-starved as Thebes, but she had no doubts they’d be happy to hang on to everything he said.

Instead, she saw Prince Theseus, a not altogether repellant former suitor for her cousin Ismene, standing on stage. There was a woman next to him who could’ve doubled for Ismene onstage. He must have a type. The two of them were the ones stirring up the crowd’s fervor. So where was the man of the hour?

As if summoned by her curiosity, Hercules burst onstage, looking like the audience members were one big mess of Hydra. “There’s–” he started in a high-pitched, breathy cry, but cleared his throat, and put on his “hero” voice. “Remain calm, citizens! There are gorgons wandering the streets of Athens! I’m going to need you to close your eyes as soon as you hear them hissing, and leave the gorgon slaying to the professionals!”

Oh dear. Poor Hades. It seemed Medusa had gotten to Hercules in time to warn him. How dreadfully unfortunate.

Well, her job here was done. Might as well turn right back around and head back to Thebes and wait for the next scheme to fall apart.

“Wait!”

Uh oh.

Pegasus whinnied a sort of war cry, and Hercules was airborne.

Megara ducked under an awning, then crouched against the wall, away from any windows. She was not here on a social call. She’d done her bit, and now…

“Meg?” Hercules called from above.

Megara scrunched down further, even though there was no way he could’ve seen her.

“He really broke the lock! Get on with you now, miscreant! Students only!” The speaker was a balding, middle-aged man with what Megara could charitably refer to as a creatively shaped head. He stood atop a platform where he’d assembled a series of crystals and lenses in a bizarre contraption.

“You’d better hide, too! There are Gorgons on the loose, and Hercules is about to fight them!”

“Ahh, I've missed the occasional bout of heroics! He's such a good lad! Don’t worry, my friend, he will vanquish the monsters in record time!”

“Is there a record?” Megara shook her head. “Never mind. You know him?”

“I was his shop class teacher and the father of his best friend! He’s a good lad, but sometimes he doesn’t want to expand his horizons. Prefers to focus only on what he’s already good at!”

Understandable.

“So we, what? Wait in here for a few hours and hope the Gorgons don’t find us?”

“I have no intention of standing by! The boy will need help! You should come along!”

“Oh, no. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Someone has to help me steer! We can practice on the Gorgons, but this is a monster-busting machine! Come along! Witness genius!”

This had not been part of the plan. Neither was riding on the contraption as it powered through the streets toward the sounds of conflict. Multiple times on the journey toward the sound of Hercules facing off against the monsters, Megara imagined herself leaping off the cart and leaving this fight to the people who weren’t responsible for recruiting the monsters and then taking credit for it.

Yet, the time never presented itself. She careened toward her certain doom, navigating but unable to pause.

Hercules had cornered the Gorgons at the juncture of two alleyways, both of which he’d blocked off with what looked like rubble. He had one by the neck, even though she was twice his size. The other was trying to intervene, but Pegasus was busy distracting her by drumming on the heads of her snake hair.

“Stheno, Euryale, we don’t have to be savages like this!” Medusa was frantically waving her hands about. “Please stop this!”

She definitely wouldn’t be winning Employee of the Month.

“If I have to kill them, I will!” Hercules growled. He lifted the gorgon he’d subdued already and slammed her into the other one.

“I understand, but please give them a chance,” Medusa begged.

Hercules aimed his reflective shield so he wouldn’t have to look directly into the eyes of the gorgons, and that was when he saw Megara riding in with his shop teacher. The dolt dropped his shield. “Meg? There you are! Oh, hi, Daedalus!”

“Get yer shield!” the raspy voice of Phil demanded from the shadows.

“Hercules, shield your eyes!” Daedalus shoved Megara off his invention cart, and with a swipe of flint, he lit a fire under his crystals. The light refracted through the ridges of the crystal and back at itself from the lenses while Megara backed away into the shadows.

A beam of light from the invention stung the Gorgons directly in their faces, while Daedalus laughed maniacally.

Hercules ducked and rolled toward them, reaching his feet so he could rush up to Megara. “I didn’t expect you to be here!”

“Didn’t you invite me?” Megara shielded her eyes, afraid to use Hades’s glasses.

“No, I didn’t, but… I’m glad to see you?”

“Hero! Time for hero-ing!” Daedalus cried.

“Oh, right! ‘Scuse me!” He squeezed Megara’s hand and charged back toward the Gorgons, picking up his shield as he went.

Medusa sidled up to Megara with her hands over her mouth.

The two of them stood in silent solidarity as Hercules vaulted toward the monsters with nothing but the momentum of his own highly-toned body. He slammed into one of them, grappled by her neck, and brought her backward to the ground with him.

The other swiped at them, but Pegasus snapped off one of her snake heads with his teeth, distracting her.

Hercules raised his sword and sliced through the monster’s eyes.

“Stheno!” Medusa screamed next to Megara. She dropped to her knees and wept.

“She’s blind. That doesn’t make her dead,” Megara tried to comfort her, but she was watching the other monster menace Hercules now that he was covered in her sister's blood.

The snakes that still had some life in them rallied to form a circle around Hercules. He backed away, making what sounded less like a heroic growl and more like a little boy confronted with a nightmare.

“The Hydra…” Megara whispered to herself. “You’re allowed to slice these heads off!” she called to Hercules.

His grip tightened on his sword, which he slashed through the whole collection of snakes. He seemed to stand taller with them crumpled at his feet.

“You did great!” Megara called across the courtyard.

Hercules turned a brilliant smile in her direction that seemed brighter than Daedalus’s machine to her.

“Stay focused. You got another one on your tail!” Phil called from his hiding place.

Euryale, more enraged than ever, roared down at Hercules.

Something human-sized flew from the shadowed alleyway, not on wings but on a rope. Whoever it was wore dark armor and a helmet with lenses in the eyeholes. He slashed several snakes off Euryale’s head and gripped the stumps to hold him in place so he could slice through her neck from behind. His sword got lodged in her neck, but he definitely had her attention now.

Medusa wailed in sorrow, but the heroes were not slowing down. “I know they’re wicked, and I know they wanted to kill people today, but…”

Megara set a hand on Medusa’s shoulder, fixated on the other two gorgons. She traced their every movement, watched Hercules batter the snakes away, and completely ignored the other fighter.

“The beam doesn’t seem to make a difference anymore!” Daedalus lamented. “They will petrify those boys in seconds!”

“No, they won’t!” Megara ripped her sunglasses off, only to remember she couldn’t throw them across at Hercules. There was something else she could do, though. “Hey, Medusa, can I borrow your glasses?”

“Wh–?” Medusa sniffled. “Oh, I guess…” She covered her eyes and handed the glasses off.

Megara took both sets of glasses and held them over the beam of light projected from Daedalus’s machine. The blue and pink blended into a purple beam. When this hit the gorgons, the change was instantaneous. That same shade of purple spread across their faces, which froze in roars of rage in their last moments. They stood petrified in their final moments of fighting the heroes, but Megara had to admit that the purple was a nice touch.

“Is it over?” asked the surprise bonus warrior while he climbed down Euryale’s back.

“Can’t be too careful.” Hercules gave each gorgon a firm, shattering punch that crumbled them into piles of iridescent rubble. “Sorry, Medusa.”

Megara handed Medusa her glasses back. “I’m sorry, too…” Not that she could admit her role in recruiting the gorgons. She kept her head down. She was in no place to beg for Medusa’s silence.

“I can’t believe they’re gone…” Medusa threw her arms around Megara and buried her face in her shoulder.

Megara stood perfectly still, uncertain how to handle this outpouring of emotion, not to mention the way Medusa’s hair curled around her neck. If she moved, would they bite?

Over Medusa’s shoulder, Megara watched Hercules bound toward her. He skidded to a halt, close enough for Megara to watch the war between his joy that he’d defeated the monsters and sorrow that the monsters were his friend’s sisters. “I’m sorry, Medusa… It… It had to be done, though.”

“I know…” Medusa looked up, adjusting her glasses. “But that doesn’t make it any easier to…”

“Look at it this way: you’re free. You’ve got a whole island to yourself, and you can do whatever you want with it. Not to mention, think of all the people they won’t intentionally petrify anymore.”

“Yeah… yeah, I know that’s what’s supposed to be important right now. But… if they’d had more of a chance, maybe they could’ve…”

“They weren’t like you,” Megara pointed out. “Your sisters, they may have been, but they were never there for you. They never would’ve been. Now you’re free to fill your life with people who deserve to be in it.”

Hercules stepped closer. “She’s right… you should listen to Meg; she’s so smart.”

The other warrior joined them. “I hear Theseus is throwing a party tonight at his palace. There’s still time to salvage your fundraising efforts.”

“Well…” Hercules’s eyes darted toward the other warrior, and he let out a quiet laugh. “I knew Theseus in high school, but I was never cool enough to go to any of his parties. I’d be real happy to get out of giving a speech.”

Phil flew down on Pegasus. “Too bad about the school fundraiser, though.”

“Actually, it doesn’t have to be.” Megara gestured toward the fallen Gorgons. “How valuable do you figure that stuff’s bound to be? Can you say commemorative jewelry? We could call it Gorgonite.”

“We…” Medusa started, but she couldn’t go on. She pressed a hand to her forehead and leaned heavily against Megara. “Yeah… I guess we can…”

“Herc, get her to the party.” Megara nudged the final gorgon toward the hero, still stained with her sisters’s blood. “I’ve got something I need to check on. But I hope the two of you have a great time.”

Hercules almost went cross-eyed looking at her. “I couldn’t… I mean, I’d like to see you there…”

“You will,” she promised, though she couldn’t be sure if she’d still be alive by the time it started. If anything, she needed to tie up loose ends. Medusa deserved her second shot, after all. If her second shot meant getting her very own lovesick puppy to guard her from Hades, so be it.

“We’ll have to get some help collecting these stones,” said the masked warrior.

“Which is definitely not my department.” Megara backed away slowly. “So nice to see everyone. I’ll find you at the palace.”

“Don’t trouble yourself!” Phil called after her. “Nobody’s forcing you to show up!”

“Phil…” Hercules warned, but Megara was already around the corner.

She hadn’t gotten two blocks down the road when Hades appeared.

“So! Where’s my life-sized statue of Hercules?”

“Probably getting carved at some marketplace in Thebes,” Megara shrugged. “Plus, he’s back on home turf, so he’s surrounded by friends. Turns out, Daedalus had some wacky invention that saved Wonder Boy at the last minute. Now they’re selling gorgon chunks to pay for the renovations at the school.”

Hades roared in frustration, his orange flames illuminating the streets. “You can’t be serious! Again?”

“Look, I’m just as surprised as you are. I had no idea that contraption would do anything. But now Herc’s invited to a party, so there’ll be witnesses if you try to pull any more nonsense.”

Hades’s eyes flickered. “How do you know about this party?”

“I was watching it all go down. He’s going to celebrate his victory there. Too bad for you, I guess. Zeus will probably tune in to watch his son celebrate another hard-fought victory.”

“No, no, tonight will be different,” Hades snarled. “In the past, I’d have one idea at a time, and he’d recover. Not this time!”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re about to see an encore performance. Just sit tight and be ready for the next step of the process!”

“Wait, you’re leaving me here?” She’d almost prefer the Underworld to a party.

“Bingo! You’re a smart girl. I’m sure you’ll think of something.” He leaned closer. “We’re not playing for years here. You’d better not give me any reasons to think you’re not a team player, Meg. There are always free spaces in Tartarus.”

“I’ll remember that.” Megara kept her chin up, and her eyes narrowed until Hades vanished.

Whatever he had planned next, it couldn’t be any worse than a party with royalty.

Chapter 13: Aphrodite's Daughters

Chapter Text

There were ways to avoid parties. Megara had spent years building her list. At least today, she could pretend she’d gotten lost, or whatever she’d run off to do prevented her from attending. She could claim all sorts of things, but it wasn’t likely Hercules would let the subject drop. She’d need a solid alibi, not the sort of thing he could poke holes in just by being a nice person.

For now, the most important thing was to get dinner and find a place to sleep where nobody would molest her in her sleep.

“In the shadowed alleys of Athens, the Grim Avenger pauses. He sees his friend’s girlfriend, the one he’s been sent to ensure is okay, and it appears she is. But the Grim Avenger was never told to approach her. If he gets too close, he might spook her.”

Megara slowly turned toward the low, monotone voice. “You cannot be serious.”

The warrior who’d appeared out of nowhere in his dark armor stood with his back pressed against a wall flanking the alley. His mouth was visible in a tight line.

“Are you… narrating?” Megara asked.

The Grim Avenger, as he called himself, covered his mouth. “I seem to do that more often than I thought.”

“Everyone’s got their weird thing.” Megara rolled her eyes. “Wait. Did you call me Hercules’s girlfriend?”

“I uh… yes. Was I mistaken?”

“Did he call me that?”

“I insinuated. It didn’t take much to surmise that you two have a romantic bond. Hercules is the most readable person I ever met.”

“Ain’t that the truth?” Megara shook her head. “Listen, we’re friends, but he’s infatuated with me. I’m waiting for it to wear off.”

“So, is it not mutual?”

“I’m out of the 'people' business. I don’t want to hurt him, though, so don’t say anything to him.”

“You could perhaps supplement his understanding, provided you joined us at Theseus’s party tonight. It’s a palace, too, so if you needed somewhere to stay the night, I know Prince Theseus would be happy to offer the space for as long as you needed it.”

How long had it been since she slept in a real bed?

“Well… It would be rude to reject your hospitality, Prince Theseus. You can lead the way.”

Theseus gasped, scandalized by her blatantly stating his identity. He pressed a hand over his chest and made several inelegant gasping sounds.

“You’re dark, not subtle. You and Herc make a good team. Sunlight and shadow. He shines so brightly he casts long shadows for you to hide in.”

Theseus managed a smile through his shock. “How poetic. You speak with the wisdom of an artist.”

“Thanks. Lately, I’ve been in a full-time acting gig. Hard to break character.”

“I’d love to host a command performance from such a stunning heroine. You’ve done Athens a great service with your quick thinking tonight. You belong with the rest of us at the party.”

“I’m not a heroine.” Megara folded her arms against the chill rattling her bones. “Yes, I had a couple of good ideas tonight, but that isn’t the same thing.”

“You have admirable instincts. Perhaps if you were allowed to cultivate them, we might yet award you a title that surprised you. I think you’d make a good match for my friend. If I can help it, I’d like to see the two of you together.”

If only.

No, that would be a terrible idea. She wished she could slap herself. There was no telling when Theseus would notice her conflicting reactions or recognize her from when he courted her cousin. She had to keep it cool. “Right, well. I’ll attend your party, but I’ll make no promises about Wonder–I mean, Hercules.”

Theseus smiled at the half of her endearment he’d heard and gestured her further down the road. “Is it Meg?”

“Megara.”

“Life is full of mysteries. I hope you allow yourself to see which ones you still haven’t found the answers to.”

They didn’t talk much the rest of the way to the palace, aside from Megara’s complaints about her feet from walking most of the day. She’d taken a trip most people made in multiple days since the early morning, and now the sunlight was fading. That bed was sounding great right about now, as long as she’d be in it alone.

A large, impressive chariot waited for them near the outskirts of town. Theseus insisted Megara go ahead so he could change out of his armor. She decided she didn’t want to know details, so she didn’t ask him to elaborate on how it was still a disguise if he had to carry it under his arm in public.

The woman who Megara had thought looked like Ismene waited near the chariot, waving. “Have you seen a man out there? Handsome? Grim? Avenge-y?”

“He’s on his way,” Megara assured her. “I’m guessing you two are an item?”

“Princess Galatea,” the girl announced with a sigh. “Or I will be soon. But who are you?”

“Megara. I’m a friend of Hercules. I thought I’d come out to support his fundraiser, but it seems like the fundraiser is moving to another venue.”

“Friend of Hercules?” Galatea inclined her head, assessing Megara. “I think I’m in a pretty good position to guess there’s more to it than that.”

“He’ll get over it,” Megara climbed into the chariot next to her and fixed her eyes in the distance. There was probably a chance this was an ex of his, or she’d politely rejected him at some point. Either way, Megara probably didn’t want details.

“He’ll respect your feelings if you don’t feel that way about him,” Galatea told her, unprompted. So she had rejected him.

“I’m trying to respect his feelings without encouraging him right now. If I let him get over me on his own time, it won’t hurt when it’s over.”

“That’s a generous way to look at it. Don’t lead him on, though. He’s a sweet guy. He needs someone who can be sweet back.”

“I’m waiting him out. Everyone eventually gets over me, so he will, too. It’ll happen naturally, there is no need to rush him. He needs to be the one who decides it’s over.”

Theseus reappeared, though Megara hadn’t noticed when he disappeared. He dressed casually for a prince, with a large sack to hide his Grim Avenger getup. “Well, ladies, shall we be off?”

Galatea latched onto his arm and brushed her cheek against his shoulder. “Oh, honey lamb, I’m so pleased to see you again! You missed another visit from the Grim Avenger. I wish we could thank him together for helping fight those nasty Gorgons!”

Theseus struck a pose and started the chariot on the road to the palace. When they reached the palace, there were already a few guests at the party, evidenced by the raucous music playing inside. Cartfuls of Gorgonite were even receiving an inspection by a group of artisans by the door.

“This town moves fast,” Megara whistled.

“That it does, my friend,” Theseus said. “Hercules will be here soon. You should go get ready. It looks like you’ve been on the road all day. You’ll need to be refreshed before you can enjoy the celebration.”

“It’ll take a lot more than that,” she muttered.

“Oh, don’t worry!” Galatea turned from her boyfriend with a renewed interest in her new acquaintance. “It’s time for a makeover! Come on, it’ll be fun!”

“For you!” Megara didn’t bother trying to break free as Galatea rushed her past the guards. It would look too suspicious, and really, it would be good to get the road dust off of her.

Entering the palace struck her with a wave of memories from her childhood. Theseus’s home was a modernized version of the palace she was born in, which had been over a hundred years old before she came along to live in it.

“I’m so glad you made it!”

Megara’s heart tightened in her chest at the sound of Hercules’s voice. She glanced in his direction, to find him landing Pegasus with Medusa and Phil in tow. He jumped off, and then helped Medusa down while his animal companions glared at her, but she chose to ignore them. He was with Medusa. They’d had time to reconnect. She could start to let him go. “Galatea here was about to give me a makeover.”

A look of panic crossed Hercules’s face. “You and Galatea… Well, I… I hope you know you don’t need a makeover…”

“She really does,” Galatea said. “This girl’s been through it today, and she’ll never enjoy this party if she has to be there, covered in dust and sweat. You can join us, too, if you want!”

“Wh–? Me?” Hercules took a step back.

“No, not you, your friend.” Galatea gestured to Medusa. “Girls should always get ready for parties together. It makes the big reveal even better! What do you think? Wanna surprise the boys?”

Medusa ducked her head. “I don’t think there’s anything I can do about how I look…”

“You can do a lot about how you feel, though! Come on!”

Hercules set a hand on Medusa’s shoulder and whispered something to her.

Megara looked away. Nobody needed to know what was going on behind her eyes, especially if she didn’t know what it was. She couldn’t reconcile her physical responses with her reason. How many times did she have to go through this cycle before she learned to shut her heart off completely?

It was a relief to follow Galatea through a guarded corridor toward her private chambers. The more distance between her and Hercules, the better. Of course, her theory that it would be easier to manage her emotions went out the window the moment the door closed behind them.

“So, how did everyone meet Hercules?” Galatea asked. “I’ll let mine be a secret until you tell me yours.”

“He washed up on my island,” Medusa said, giving Megara a look through her glasses that said she was helping her stall for time. “I followed him to his school, and we hung out. Aphrodite helped me out, so I don’t petrify anyone.”

“Hero business,” Megara muttered.

“You can’t leave it at that!” Galatea objected.

“I can if I want to.”

“But it’s time for girl talk! We’re all sharing!”

“You’re not.”

“If I go before you, will you tell?”

“I’ll tell you exactly as much detail as you give me.”

Galatea ushered the other girls into her room. “I’m a homunculus, and Hercules was… present when Aphrodite gave me life. So I’ve always known him, as long as I’ve known anything.”

Megara and Medusa exchanged a look, distracted from the lavish decor of the bedroom by this revelation. “So, would that make the sculptor your father?” Megara asked.

A strange look crossed Galatea’s face. “I’m pretty sure neither of us would ever be comfortable seeing it that way, but in a deeply technical sense, sure.”

“Well, I can’t top that.” Megara relaxed somewhat now that she wasn’t the one with the most scandalous story. “A centaur kidnapped me. I was a damsel, I was in distress, Hercules wouldn’t let me handle it. Now he knows my name.”

“A centaur! What was that like?” Galatea asked.

“Like being assaulted by the wrong end of a barn?”

“And Hercules saved you! How romantic!” Medusa exclaimed.

“It really wasn’t that serious.”

“But maybe it was to him,” Galatea said, to which Medusa nodded. “He’s a romantic to the bone.”

“Which is why I didn’t want him to rescue me. I hate the idea of heroes who feel entitled to girls just because they helped them out of a tight spot.”

“Hercules would never,” Medusa reassured her.

“I know that now, obviously, but he’s so… different. There’s no way I could’ve known he’d be the only exception to the rules. He’s a whole other playbook.”

Her words echoed in her ears, going steadily mad with the realization that she had no walls that would hold against genuine goodness like his. Her defenses were built to outwit opponents. The crust around her heart would repel anyone who came at her with cruel intent. But there was no reason to block herself off from anyone as genuine and kind as Hercules. Where was her excuse?

In her search for anything that would distract her from mounting panic, Megara sent her eyes on a journey around the room. An open balcony gave them an unobstructed view of the beach. The fading fingers of sunset painted the sea with dappled shades of red, gold, and pink. How long had it been since Megara saw the sunset? Or a sunrise, for that matter? There was something so human about the experience that she struggled to reconcile it with the life she was living. Or the half-life. As always, she ignored the distress and played it off. “Who’d you have to kill to get this view?”

“It’s who I kissed, but I can see where the confusion may come from.” Galatea went to her vanity, where she kept a line of perfume bottles. “I’m thinking we each get a signature scent for the night. It’ll help us build a look. What’re you girls looking to do this evening?”

“Disappear,” Megara and Medusa said at the same time.

“That’s just not going to happen, sorry.” Galatea clicked her tongue. “All right, girls, I’m taking over now.”

“You mean you weren’t in charge already?”

Galatea laughed, but did nothing about the smug curve of her smile. “Now, girls, I think both of you would fit into my spare party dresses. We all seem to like purple, so there’s no problem there!” She hooked an arm through Megara and Medusa’s so she could lead them into an adjacent room.

It was completely marble, with places to sit and piles of luxurious-looking linen to wrap oneself in. One corner featured a screened-off zone to stand under a water spout shaped like a cherub’s face. Galatea’s jeweled strigil hung above a line of oil jars, each of which was marked as containing different scents.

“We’ll go one at a time,” Galatea instructed. “Megara, you first.”’

“Why me?”

Galatea made a face. “You’re the dirtiest. But don’t worry. We’ll get you the best scent to match your personality. Maybe something with some bite to it.”

“Whatever you say.” Megara trailed a finger along the oils. She’d given up on the luxury of choice a long time ago. The temptation to indulge was strong, but she wouldn’t let herself seem over-eager. “I’ll do the spiced one.”

“Great! It’s got cinnamon and citrus with a dash of nutmeg! Suits you just fine!” Galatea practically sang in her delight.

Megara’s skin crawled at the mention of nutmeg, but she forced a smile. “Thanks. Very funny.” She took the spiced oils behind the modesty screen and stripped out of her dress. It stuck to her skin from a layer of sweat, and once it was off, she noticed how the different shades of dust could accurately trace her journey from Thebes to Athens. She sighed and settled the dress on the ground at her feet. It could stand to get a little washing, too.

“So tell me, Medusa, what were you and Hercules talking about on the way over? I bet Meg’s wondering, but she won’t ask.”

Megara was grateful for the screen that shielded her sour expression. “I really don’t think that’s any of our business. Medusa just lost her sisters. Let’s focus on that.”

“Actually, I think we should focus on anything but that,” Galatea shot back. “Come on, Medusa, spill! Any drama?”

“He wanted to know how I knew Meg, and why. I kept it vague. You’re welcome, by the way.”

Megara kept silent under the flow of the water. It couldn’t wash away her guilt, but it could do something about the evidence.

“Wait, wait, what were you hiding?”

Megara winced her eyes closed.

“Meg and I met on my island, which I told him. I didn’t tell him she was the reason I knew about his fundraiser. She wanted me to come back here and replace her in his affections.”

“What?” Megara squeaked.

“I don’t wear these glasses because I’m blind, Meg. You’re trying to find any wedge to put between the two of you, even if it means convincing me to date a hero again when it didn’t work the first time, and we’ve both moved on.”

Megara scraped the last bit of oil off her skin and wrapped herself in linen. “Fine. You caught me. It’s your turn.”

“Oh, I’m… not really sure how it works. I kind of swim whenever I wanna be clean.”

“Maybe it works differently with scales?” Megara suggested to Galatea.

“Fine, I’ll just get your dress cleaned while we’re in our party dresses, and you can swim in the sea later.”

“Sounds good.”

Megara sat on one bench, wringing her hair out directly into the nearest drain. She waited for Galatea to start the water again before whispering to Medusa, “Thanks for not ratting me out.”

“It’s because you should tell him about your Hades problem. Hercules doesn’t let his friends down. He could save you.”

“Nobody can save me. If I ever get out of this, it’ll be on my own. But I’m sick of being in debt. I’ll never owe anyone anything again.”

Medusa set a hand on Megara’s shoulder. “Something else Hercules taught me? Love doesn’t keep track of debts. If he does this for you? Don’t call it debt. We’re all lonely people. Maybe you could be a little less lonely together.”

Megara shook herself free. “Cut it out before I gag on your positivity.”

“Did someone say positivity?” Galatea appeared from behind the screen, wrapped in a linen robe. “That’s the perfect high note for picking out dresses! Come on, girls! Let’s raid my closet!”

Megara blinked, and the minutes flashed past. Before she was aware of what happened, she was seated before a mirror, wearing an extravagant red and purple gown while Galatea combed her hair.

“Isn’t it weird how we have the same texture of hair and almost the same exact skin tone?” Galatea asked. “It’s like we’re sisters!”

She’d had sisters once. Halkyone and Pyrrha. She’d never dealt with their loss, just ran away. A sick feeling rolled through her blood, collecting in her throat. Sooner or later, history would repeat. “You wouldn’t want to be my sister.”

“Maybe I would!” Galatea planted her hands on Megara’s shoulders, giving her a stern look in the mirror. “You’ve gotta give people a chance at some point.”

“Most people aren’t worth knowing, but I hope you’re lucky enough you never have to recognize that.”

“Stop saying things like that!” Medusa exclaimed.

“Don’t get your hopes up. Most people are two-faced traitors waiting to take what they can from you and disappear. Just because the two of you are super perky doesn’t mean people won’t hurt you.”

“I know they will, but… Aphrodite would’ve told me if there was nobody worth being friends with. I think the two of you are the best friends she could’ve ever given me.”

“The same Aphrodite who left you without a real solution, so you gave up on the best man alive so you could self-isolate with a pair of ungrateful bitches?”

Megara watched as Galatea and Medusa’s expressions synchronized into a matching pair of smug grins.

“Best man in the world, huh?” Galatea snickered.

“I mean, she could be right.” Medusa indulged in a laugh, too, while Megara covered her face in her hands.

“I just meant… Out of everyone that’s out there…”

“We know what you meant,” Galatea gave her shoulders a squeeze. “You know what? There’s a common denominator to this evening: Aphrodite. She’s almost like my mom,” Galatea mused. “Then Medusa’s gotten a half-solution from her, and you’ve clearly been burned to the point you’re ready to crumble to bits. I think it’s time we beseeched Mom and asked her to help our mutual friend. She’s been through way too much. It’s time for a changeup. You’ll help me talk her through this, right?”

“Sure,” Megara said, her heart quickening at the thought of confronting the only goddess who intimidated her more than Hades.

“You ok? Need a drink first?”

Nothing could possibly prepare her. “Let’s just get it over with.”

Galatea sprayed a cloud of perfume into the center of the room. “Aphrodite! Mom! Could you help us out here?”

A pink light shone down through the ceiling in the spot where Galatea had sprayed the perfume. Disembodied voices started singing as a scallop shell materialized out of nowhere. “Aphrodite, Aphrodite, Aphrodite! The Goddess of Love!”

The shell opened to reveal Aphrodite, who was much taller than Megara had expected. Her glossy golden hair almost brushed the ceiling of Galatea’s room. “Never did I ever think I’d see the three of you together in a room!”

“You know… all of us?” Megara asked.

“I know everyone who’s in love,” Aphrodite replied simply, which only got Galatea and Medusa laughing again.

“That was a long time ago,” Megara snapped, giving each of her new friends a warning look. “Anyway, we beseeched you because Medusa deserves a better deal than she got, and I’d like to renegotiate on her behalf.”

“Wow, bold of you, but ok, let’s hear it. What makes you think Medusa needs to change her species to be worthy of love?”

“That’s not what I said. Nobody’s asking her to change who she is. It’s the curse that’s kept her from making friends. She’s a genuinely likable person, and she deserves to exist around people without putting them in danger. You gave her a bandage, but she’s still bleeding through it. If you’re the physician who’s responsible for her healing process, your job isn’t done yet. She’s learned huge lessons about friendship, and she’s been an absolute martyr the whole time. You know what I think? I think a goddess of love could do way worse than a follower who’ll evangelize to everyone about how to make friendships when it’s difficult. If you don’t give her a makeover to go along with that, fine, but she deserves more than to be hypervigilant all the time about whether her glasses are slipping.”

Aphrodite watched Megara speak with something that was either amusem*nt or admiration. “You’re right. Medusa, you win major bonus points for cracking that shell. Check it out: Meg here has had a heart of stone for the past few years. There’s no reaching her.”

“We’re not talking about me. We are never talking about me.” Megara pushed Medusa forward. “This isn’t about me. It’s time someone here was set free.”

“You, my friend, are something special, and nobody’s going to doubt that anymore.” Aphrodite raised her hands over Medusa’s head. “It’s about time I gave you a makeover, hon. We’ll let your true nature shine through.”

A blinding blend of gold and pink light filled the room. Megara shielded her eyes so she could stare through the haze to watch as Medusa’s green scales flipped to pearlescent white with pink freckles in the shapes of hearts. Her snakes took on alternating pink, white, and red scales, and each of them adapted with several tiny holes over their mouths. They had a decidedly cuter appearance to them and seemed much calmer than before.

When the light cleared, Aphrodite was gone, but a lingering sense stuck in Megara’s mind. Love would lead to her downfall. It wouldn’t be long now.

Chapter 14: Stricken by Doubt

Chapter Text

Nobody in Galatea’s chambers was any more startled than Medusa. There was no Aphrodite left to explain, so Galatea and Megara stared at Medusa openly, neither able to offer any commentary.

Medusa walked past them both to gaze at herself in the mirror. “Wow…” She removed her glasses for the first time since Megara used them against her sisters. “I’m… still me.”

“I think you’re more you than ever,” Galatea said. “Talk about a makeover!”

Megara leaned back against the wall, watching the individual snakes of Medusa’s hair admire their reflection. “That couldn’t have gone any better.”

“Thank you!” For the second time of the day, Medusa hurled herself at Megara and wrapped her in a tight hug. This time, however, a wave of positivity flashed through Megara’s bitterness-encrusted mind.

What was happening? All her thoughts raced to Hercules, and what he was doing, and whether she looked pretty enough to impress him. These were not thoughts that belonged in her head!

“Are you all right, Meg?” Galatea asked.

Medusa pulled back, checking for any damage her curse might have done.

No sooner did Megara check Medusa’s eyes than the wave of romantic feelings returned. “Theoi! Medusa! Look at Galatea right now!”

Confounded, Medusa turned to do as she’d been asked.

Galatea gasped. “Theseus! We’ve been up here for how long, and I’ve barely thought about him!” She snatched up a makeup brush and started furiously brushing powder over her face.

“Well, that’s my hypothesis proven,” Megara shook her head. “You don’t turn people to stone, anymore. You just make them think of whoever they’re in a relationship with. Malaka!”

Medusa and Galatea stopped what they were doing to turn matching smirks on her.

“You thought of Hercules, didn’t you?” Galatea asked.

“She so did.”

“Hey, maybe it’s because of how he feels about me,” Megara suggested, though she was still more self-conscious about her hair, and her eyeshadow could stand to get a touchup. “Or maybe you’re the new goddess of inspiring makeovers.”

“I guess there are worse jobs. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Megara scowled at Medusa in the mirror, but this time Galatea caught it.

“What do you do, Meg?”

“I’m a… negotiator.”

“So, a diplomat?”

“Something like that. But anyway, we’ve got people waiting on us downstairs, and Medusa’s gotta make her debut.”

Galatea stood to her full height and hooked an arm around Megara and Medusa’s necks. “There’s no entrance I’d rather make than with my two new sisters. Let’s blow some minds!”

Despite Galatea’s eagerness, Megara and Medusa both hung back as much as she allowed them. Even Medusa’s hair coiled behind her head in what looked almost like a braided updo just to avoid closer inspection.

Galatea swanned down the stairs, right into Theseus’s arms. “Oh, you’ll never believe it! Our new friend Medusa’s been blessed by Aphrodite! She’s one of a kind now! Please welcome the only Gorgon who won’t turn you to stone, but will remind you of what’s important in life!”

Medusa was so shocked by the sudden attention she fought with Megara to be the one standing behind her.

“Oh, no, you don’t.” Megara grabbed Medusa by the arm and dragged her down the stairs. “Both of us have looked her in the eyes since her transformation and tested Aphrodite’s promise before bringing her down here. She doesn’t petrify anyone, anymore!”

“And since she’s my friend, you’d all better be nice to her!” Galatea added. She took over shepherding Medusa through the partygoers, leaving Megara to fend for herself. She hung back, and waited for the crowd to form around Medusa to fade into the background.

So far, she hadn’t seen Hercules. If she could sneak around the outskirts of this party, she might find an escape route while everyone was fixated on Galatea’s antics and Medusa’s makeover. Sure, he might be disappointed, but he would soon have bigger problems to worry about. There was the issue of Megara getting her regular dress back, but if she was sneaky enough—

“Um…” Hercules cleared his throat, alerting Megara to his presence. Her head whipped around to focus on him, the lingering effects of Medusa’s new power. “Hi. You look great. I mean, you always do, but… nobody else has pointed it out, yet…”

She smiled half-heartedly at him and tried to move past him. “It’s fine. I was going for invisible.”

“In that dress? I mean… I think I get it. I’m not used to attention yet, either. I’ve usually been too embarrassed to let anyone see what a disappointment I am. But you’re different. You’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“Nothing you can see.” Stop. You’ll give away too much. “I’m sorry. You’re supposed to be enjoying this party with your old friends. You’re not obligated to spend any of it with me.”

“Who said anything about obligations?” He frowned at her as if she was a series of complex knots. “I’ve wanted to spend more time with you, and this is my chance. Did you…” color seeped into, then out of his face, “Get my letter?”

Megara checked the area for eavesdroppers. Everyone seemed enthralled by the live music, and even Medusa was loosening up. “Yeah. It was sweet.”

It was more than that. It was a sign that she needed to be more careful for both their sakes.

“Thanks.” Hercules folded his hands, and a second later, he was chewing his lips. “Did you… have time to reply?” His voice choked to almost nothing by the time he’d forced out the last word.

“I couldn’t, but I planned to before coming out here. Now that I’m here, I figured I’d tell you what I was thinking.”

Hercules held his breath, watching her as if she could destroy him in an instant, but he’d let her.

“I would’ve told you how sweet you are, and that I don’t deserve you.”

“What do you mean? You’re so brave, and interesting, and so much smarter than me. Who do you think would deserve me? The way I see it, I don’t even deserve you, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to be with you. I’ve always had to strive to be worthy of anything. Why should this be any different?”

Megara walked backward to put some space between them. “I don’t want to hurt you, and I don’t see this going well. I’d rather you gradually lose interest in me. But I also haven’t figured out how to stay away, even if I should.”

The hurt was already clear in his eyes. She’d done a great job protecting his emotions so far. “So don’t. Stay with me. Instead of worrying about when I’ll lose interest, what if you let me love you, and it… I dunno… stuck? Maybe then you might love me, too.”

He’d said the word out loud now. Perhaps under the influence of Medusa’s power, images rushed through Megara’s mind of what life could be like if hypothetically, she could give up her self-defense mechanisms for Hercules. If Hades wasn’t an issue, what excuse would she have to skulk around like she did? The answer surged through her mind.

Overcome by a full-body cringe, Megara twisted away from him. She couldn’t forget the harsh realities of her life for a bit of fun. This would mean the world to Hercules. It wasn’t just a fantasy to him. She still had enough of a heart not to lead him on.

“I can’t do that. I’m sorry. This has gone on too long, and it’s my fault. I probably should’ve been clearer with you early on so you’d realize…” A wave of dizziness distracted her from what would’ve become a monologue. She pressed a hand to her brow and noticed Medusa aiming a look of concentration at her across the room.

“Is something wrong?” Hercules asked. He gingerly reached for her in case she was about to fall.

“I’ll be fine,” she lied. When she ran, it wasn’t really from Hercules, but from everything. A royal mania the size of a Hydra drove her toward the nearest door, which she slammed behind herself. This wasn’t her palace to slam doors in, but from her limited experience, Galatea would understand.

She’d found herself in a back room reserved for servants. They stared at her with their arms full of food trays.

“Forget I was here,” she instructed. She picked her way past the servers, ignoring the food, and searching for nothing but escape.

There was no way Hercules could navigate this place half as well as she did. She’d find a small, dark corner and sit there until Hades came to get her. She was in too deep. Teiresias had warned her of this. She wouldn’t bring Hercules down with her, and she wouldn’t force herself to imagine the impossible.

That would do. Megara curled up behind a row of tall oil jars, where she could fit herself neatly into the shadowed corner. She’d wrecked her opportunity to dive into the fantasy life Hercules believed in. It was for the best. He’d never have a chance to break her heart, not when she’d gotten there first. She’d already lived her life with a shattered heart. The process of healing it would hurt more than leaving herself as she was. That little bit of mending Hercules had inspired with his kind words was dangerous. She had to remind herself that good things weren’t meant for her if they were meant for anyone.

Hadn’t Teiresias warned her about this? She wasn’t the sort of girl who could afford to be weak like this. She had to repair her walls and put her armor back on. The next time Hercules saw her, she would be pleasant but distant. She would find a way to redirect him.

If she walked back out there, admitted she’d panicked, and apologized, he’d probably forgive her, but the damage was done. She could never maintain the illusion that she was worthy of him, or go back to before she hurt him.

This was over.

That was supposed to be a good thing.

Megara wept into her own wretched shadows, smothering her sobs so that nobody would hear and track her down. She needed to handle this on her own. The tears could flow just so long as she could pretend that she’d never shed them. If there was one thing she did more often than sass off to her boss, it was discreet weeping. There was comfort in knowing that nobody would come to ask any questions. She could push all the emotion out, and when she was a hollow husk, she could pretend she’d never felt any of it.

Gradually, the shaking slowed, and the ache in her heart surrendered to the knowledge she would not try to heal it. There was no point sending out the signal, anymore. It served her right. She’d forgotten the dangers for too long. By the time she left this room, someone would have comforted Hercules. Whoever it was, he might be lucky. It might be a girl who was worthy of him.

Stop that.

She had to get her story straight. Was she afraid to be with him because he would be like him, or because she would die if she loved him too much, or because she had too much baggage and would ruin his life? Which of these was an excuse? The answer must lie somewhere in the middle. Whatever it was, she’d gone past the threshold of whether it mattered.

Hades had another plan for the night. Who knew what it would be?

All of this was her fault. Hades only knew about the fundraiser because of her, and he only knew that he should make a second move in one night because of the report she gave him. Out of the trifecta of reasons to leave Hercules before it was too late, the very fact of her loathsomeness had to be high on the list.

She was so engrossed in clawing at the fabric of her psyche that she didn’t hear the door gently ease open. With her face curled in toward her knees, she missed the light that spread into the room, too.

“I’m sorry if I said something that hurt you.” Hercules’s gentle voice reached her hiding place.

Megara froze. How had he found her?

Something shifted on the other side of the room, and she heard the heavy sound of him sitting. “The servants told me you’re in here. It’s been a while. I’m sorry. Did I put too much pressure on you? I know I can be… a lot. Too much. I’m really bad at holding back, and…” he sighed. “I thought maybe this time I shouldn’t restrain myself. I should give my heart to you, so you’d know how much you mean to me. You are in here, right?”

Should she answer? She felt queasy. Could she answer?

“Meg,” he said, voice heavy with pain. “Can I just ask you… Is there any way I could help you? Please tell me. If there’s anything that hurts you, I want to help. I know I’ve said this before, but maybe you still need to hear it.”

“Can’t you go back to the party and let someone help you feel better?”

He shuffled. “I’ve been out at that party for a little while, trying to relax and wait for you to come back. I even tried to dance, but… I don’t think the muse of the dance is with me tonight. I just kept thinking of you and if you needed me.”

“I’m fine.” Megara was fairly certain she’d never told a more clearly false lie, or less convincingly.

“But if you weren’t, you may do better than hiding in here by yourself. You might tell someone what was really bothering you and let them hear you out. There’s still time to enjoy the party if… if I haven’t ruined it for you.” It was so counter to his personality to do any harm, Megara traced the dip in his voice to his own self-recriminations.

“And you really can't enjoy yourself without me? You’re not going to try it again?”

“It was tough before. But now I know you're here, and it’s because of me. I may never enjoy a party again. I can’t believe I did this to you.”

“You didn’t. I’m here because I couldn’t be who you want me to be, and I’m a lowlife disappointment. I hate that I’m me. It’s always easiest to deal with who I am when I can’t hurt anyone else.”

He shifted once again and moved quietly to sit on the opposite side of the wall of oil jars she’d placed between them. “I’m kind of the opposite. I need to know I’m not alone that someone accepts me. I’m so sorry you see yourself like that. You don’t deserve to.”

“Yes, I do…” Megara buried her face in her arms. He wasn’t leaving. Hades would attack soon. It was all her fault… “You don’t know everything about me, because there are some things I don’t think I can ever tell you.”

“Let’s start with one. Did you ever sink an island? I’ve done that,” he laughed nervously as if it was he who’d revealed a deal breaker.

“Never done that… not yet. You’ve got to know I’m from a cursed bloodline. It’s more than just being from Thebes. Most Thebans are unfortunate, but I shouldn’t exist.”

Hercules shifted one of the massive oil jars away to reveal her in her hiding place. “That’s not true. I’m sorry, I can’t leave you in there thinking that.” Even in the darkness, Megara felt as if he were shining a brilliant light on her. Even though it was so dark, she only saw half his face. He reached past the remaining jars but left his hand open for her to take rather than forcing his touch on her. “Come with me. Let’s go back to the party. You can make up any lie you want about where we’ve been. I’ll back you up. I won’t tell anyone you’re hurting if you don’t want them to know. But I can’t leave you here, not when I know your friends are out there, and you spent all that time getting ready, and you saved my life tonight. Do you know how rare that is?” He chuckled softly. “It’s usually the other way around, you know?”

Her hand was in his before she had a good excuse for why. “What happens when a damsel’s the one to help the hero?”

“I think it’s Hero Rule Number seven hundred and whatever, it says something about how the hero has to do whatever the damsel wants until she loses interest in him.”

“I wouldn’t want you to break the rules.”

“Thanks. I do have a reputation, y’know?” Hercules kept his hold on her hand to guide her back to her feet, then scooped her into his arms. “It was sort of a joke, but at the same time, I really mean it. I’ll do anything for you.”

Megara patted his cheek. “Get me into the light and tell me if my makeup is a mess.”

“You look perfect to me.”

“It’s dark in here, Wonder Boy. You’re sweet, but even I won’t believe that.”

“I’ll just have to prove it to you.” He didn’t put her down on the way back through the kitchens, and Megara was too stunned by this turn of events to even ask.

It didn’t make any sense to her that he wouldn’t lose interest the moment she was out of sight. He was in deep. Either her fortifications had serious structural problems or he’d vaulted over them. She looked up at him, and a remarkable sense of trust flowed into the empty spaces dried up from years of disappointment. It made her lightheaded. Or was that the scent of him? She closed her eyes. The rhythm of his steps, the scent of his skin… He couldn’t have any idea what it was doing to her mental stability. He wouldn’t, because she’d never tell.

Hercules set her down next to a polished bronze shield and stood behind her while she checked the alignment of her eyeshadow. Luckily for her, she hadn’t put any makeup under her eyes, so it was more or less preserved. In the light of perfumed braziers, nobody would notice a small smudge. Except maybe for Hercules, and she had a feeling he wouldn’t care.

“Do you… want to try dancing? I mean, I know you can dance, but do you want to dance with me?”

She was in this deep, and he had yet to toss her to the wolves. “Why not? You won’t step on me, will you?”

“If you’re worried about that, I could just hold you up the whole time… That… might make it hard to dance, but I promise not to drop you!”

“What? A clumsy wannabe like you? Making promises not to drop a lady? I’m surprised you haven’t scared her off already, Jerkules!”

Chapter 15: Labyrinth of Lies

Chapter Text

Standing so close to him, Megara felt the tremor that ran through Hercules. It matched the one rattling her. There was no time to run from the Prince of Thrace, and the way he’d raised his voice meant everyone could hear. If he recognized her, she could be unmasked in front of all Hercules’s friends and allies who rushed to his defense.

Phil was the first to reach the cluster. He pointed a pudgy finger at the prince. “Ain’t you the loser who’s still in summer school after he failed to graduate? I don’t see why any of your insults would make a difference to anyone. You’re just jealous that the rest of the people you tried to lord yourself over for years moved on without you!”

“Wow. He’s not as drunk as I expected,” Megara muttered to Hercules.

“Satyrs have high tolerances. Usually, he just acts drunk, so people excuse him later,” Hercules whispered back.

Galatea rushed to the center of the room with Medusa at her side. “Hey, you only get to spread positivity at my party! You shouldn’t badmouth the guest of honor!”

“Bad form, Adonis.” Where had Theseus even been? Was this part of his whole, ‘mysterious hero of the shadows’ vibe? “Princely behavior dictates that we must have some decorum. Hercules is my guest of honor, and you are the guest I forgot to invite. If you’re not contributing to the fundraiser, I’ll have to ask you to leave. Pick up some homework. I hear you’re failing summer school.”

Adonis gasped dramatically. “You all knew him back at Prometheus Academy, except for this– Megara?” Adonis sat higher on the mobile couch his guards were using to hold him above the crowd. “It is you!”

Hercules gasped in a sharp breath through his nose but remained stiff as a statue. Only Megara, from her vantage point, could know there was a change in him. “How does he know you?” he asked.

Great. Even she hadn’t expected it to fall apart that quickly. “There was a–” Megara began, but Phil shouted over her.

“I told you that dame was trouble!” Phil exclaimed.

“You’re seriously slumming it with a two-bit hero and his pet when you’ve experienced the likes of me? How droll!”

It had been too wild of a day for Megara to show any mercy. Ignoring the presence of Phil, she folded her arms and stood to her full height. “I know you’re not exactly bright enough to comprehend this,” Megara said, mirroring the way Adonis lounged on the couch his guards were carrying by leaning back against Hercules’s chest. “My experience with you taught me never to go on a blind date again. I’ve got better taste than the person who set us up, and I’m not convinced it wasn’t an elaborate prank. The entire time I was with you, I kept wishing I had a jarful of Lethe Water to bleach you out of my brain. It’s too bad I never got my hands on any, but that doesn’t mean I don’t wish I never met you.” Hades would never let her access Lethe water, anyway. He liked her miserable.

Adonis clicked his tongue. “It’s been two years, and you still haven’t forgotten me. It must not have been so bad.”

Megara looped her arm through that of Hercules, who stood still as if carved from marble. “I remember that date, Adonis. As I recall, you spent the whole time talking about yourself and trying to convince me to take off my clothes. Imagine my surprise when I heard you had a steady girlfriend the whole time. It’s class acts like you that could turn a girl off men forever. Fortunately for me, not every man is garbage.”

“Don’t tell me! You and Jerkules? My rejection must have seriously affected you. I was merely exploring my options at the time, and you did not prove yourself a valid alternative to Helen. But you don’t have to be deranged just because you can’t be with me. I’m sure you could do better than–”

“The greatest hero of his generation? I think not. As for you, are you claiming superiority when you’re still here alone? I can’t help but wonder if that’s because you never learned from our time together. I mean, it must have been just as memorable for you, considering you still remember my name. Haven’t you been on dozens of dates since then?”

“I remember all my conquests. That’s how I know who to avoid if she displeases me. But as I recall, you were under my spell. You can deny it now, but I know by the end of the evening, you’ll crawl back to me, and I’ll be taking you home. We both know Jerkules doesn’t know how to treat a woman.”

“And you do? All you ever do is talk about yourself! If you had any sort of skill with women, maybe it would’ve been tolerable to spend a couple of hours out with you. But you ruined a good few months after I endured your presence, and the only way I’m getting through this encounter now is knowing there’s a real man here to help me block you out.” She took Hercules’s limp hand and gave it a squeeze.

Hercules made a questioning noise to her, soft enough that only she would hear. Though he couldn’t muster any words, it was clear that he was curious whether he was the man in question.

“Jerkules? Sure, he’s taller now, but–”

“Get off your stupid couch and square up if you’re going to question someone else’s manhood, you insufferable narcissistic show pony!” Megara’s words stunned everyone for the boldness with which she, presumably a commoner, addressed a prince.

Even Phil seemed to have gained some level of respect for her, or at least fear that she might do the same to him.

Hercules shook himself free of his shock. “I’m out of training now,” he told Adonis. “I’m the hero of Thebes. I’ve slain a Hydra, and now I’ve… helped, kill two gorgons.”

Medusa made a small noise, at which Galatea put a supportive hand on her shoulder to steady her.

“Thebes…” Adonis’s eyes narrowed at Megara. “So that’s why they sent you.”

“Nobody sent me. I go where I want.” That was a bold-faced lie, but Megara might as well have been on fire as she strode toward Adonis. She’d silence him before he could give away her identity. “I came here because I heard that the man who’s single-handedly reversing over a century of misery and curses in my home city was leaving without an advocate to speak on his behalf. I should’ve known Thrace spat you out and isn’t ready to take you back. Who would? You’re here because your daddy wouldn’t pay for your diploma. You’re the biggest disappointment Thrace has ever endured, and that’s impressive, considering it’s such a backwater that there was no local school they could send you to. The most grievous indignity of all is that you’re here at the mercy of Athenians, who don’t even believe in royalty, and you’re still lording your pitiful title over them as if anyone cares. The truth is, it’s the only reason anyone would pretend to like you, instead of tossing you out of the nearest window. Now get out before I remember any of those inane anecdotes you subjected me to and recite them to everyone here!”

A sound very like a death rattle escaped Adonis’s slacked jaw.

Megara looked the nearest one of his carriers in the eye. “You should either dump him or take him out now. Nobody wants him.”

The servants were used to moving in tandem. When one moved without the others, their attempts to correct themselves resulted in them dropping Adonis to the ground at Megara’s feet.

“You useless—!” He started, but his scream cut him off.

Megara pressed her foot firmly down on his fingers. “I’d be careful who you called useless. Consider your options. Who’s going to get you out of here, you pathetic wretch?”

Adonis wrenched himself free and crawled backward from her. “You can’t talk to me like that! You were supposed to be dead! Where did you even come from?”

Megara took a step closer, dangerously close to stamping down on his manhood for daring to hint at her past. “You’re always going to wonder that, aren’t you? Because you’ll be haunted by the fact I know you, and there’s nothing you can do to me. I don’t officially exist. I let people spread rumors of my death so that when I meet my enemies, they never see me coming. If I ever hear of you speaking my name again, I will find you. Remember that. I’m never really gone. Now get out of here, you unsightly pustule.”

With practiced professionalism, Adonis’s servants collected him, threw him back onto the couch, and charged out of Theseus’s palace.

When they were gone, the rest of the party stared at Megara. She knew there would be questions, but she was done. The doors were closed. No answers would follow.

“That was… unexpected,” Theseus was the first to say.

“Huh. Weird,” Medusa mused. “I no longer have the scariest eyes in the room.”

“Guess none of your positive vibes were strong enough for that one,” Galatea said. “But Meg, wow, you destroyed that guy.”

“Do you think someone should go after him?” Theseus asked. “I never liked the guy, but if he dies after being at my party, I might be in trouble.”

“Leave him,” Hercules said. “I think we should all go back to enjoying ourselves now that he’s gone. We’ve still gotta raise more money for the academy, especially because they have to put up with him a while longer.” He didn’t ask before taking Megara’s hand and leading her toward the banquet table. “I can’t believe what you did back there. Do you have some kind of special power I never heard of?”

“I’ve got a silver tongue, but it cuts deep.” Now that the heat of the moment was fading, self-consciousness crept in. “I wasn’t lying, either. One blind date, and I got so frustrated I didn’t know what to do with myself. I seriously contemplated breaking into the underworld to forget him.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. I wouldn’t want you anywhere near Hades.”

Megara bent over the banquet table and scrunched her face as tightly as she could to hold it in, but a few notes of dark laughter still slipped out. He didn’t know, he couldn’t know, but she had no excuse for why she thought it was funny. What would she tell him? She was too light-headed from the sheer ridiculousness of the situation to construct a proper lie in time.

Hercules put a hand on her back. “Are you ok? Are you choking or something?”

She shook her head. “I’m totally fine at the moment. But… it’s a little funny to me that you’re already acting like you’re responsible for whether I wind up on the wrong side of the grass.”

“I’d like to be. Back there with Adonis, you kind of implied we were a couple. Was that just part of the act?”

“I’d like to know the answer to that, too,” Galatea said from behind the two of them, making them jump.

Medusa flanked Megara on the other side. “Yeah, Meg. The two of you were gone for a while…”

“Before either of you start the rumor mill rolling, I haven’t corrupted him, yet,” Megara said. “He’s still perfect and innocent. He came to find me when I got nervous about the party.”

“You’re nervous?” Medusa asked. “Galatea’s been introducing me to every eligible bachelor in Athens!”

“She’s got lots of catching up to do!” Galatea protested. “I mean, really, Meg, you understand, right? Of course you do. The three of us have serious work to do tonight.”

“I thought it was a party.” Hercules had been silent the whole time since the others approached, looking embarrassed, but he spoke up now with a hint of authority in his voice. “She needs to have fun. And food!” He picked up a tray and started piling random bits of fruit, cheese, and meat onto it. “What do you like, Meg? I had some before you came downstairs, but I bet you’re starving.”

“She does need to eat, but a good party is work!” Galatea countered. “And you know better than anyone, I live to party!”

Hercules smiled uncomfortably. He wrapped his free arm around Megara and shielded her from Galatea with the tray of food as if that would get her to hold back a detail he thought she was about to share. “Yeah! Yeah, yes, you um, you do.”

Megara raised a brow. If he was keeping secrets from her, it must be important. “You two were real close, huh?” She picked some cheese off the tray Hercules had prepared for her and ate it while watching the two of them with intense scrutiny.

“It’s not like that!” Hercules poured some wine for himself and Megara and nudged her away from Galatea and her dangerous memories. “We went to one dance.”

“I really burned it down!” Galatea spoke with a joking tone, but Megara couldn’t remember ever hearing that term before. She sensed a hint of sincerity. “But if you two are happy together, we’ll just continue our socialization circuit! Won’t we?”

Medusa made a face at Megara as she allowed Galatea to lead her away with no fuss and a handful of grapes.

Once they were alone, Hercules leaned down to Megara with a blush across his handsome face and whispered, “You could corrupt me a little."

“What?” She must not have heard that correctly. She really had been hungry, though too stressed by the day’s activities to notice. Already, she’d devoured half the meat on her plate. She gulped down her wine, staring at him, and asked. “You want to be corrupted?”

“If you did the corrupting, I wouldn’t mind. You remember I said I would do anything you wanted? Maybe I wouldn’t be ‘perfect’ or ‘innocent’ anymore, but I’d be with you, so I don’t care. As long as… I mean, that wouldn’t put you off?”

“Depends.” She finished off her plate and set it aside. “Would knowing I’m not a virgin put you off?”

A confused series of reactions flickered across Hercules’s face so quickly that Megara couldn’t track them. “I guess I never thought about it? All that matters to me is whether you’re willing to be with me… and if you don’t miss whoever else it was.”

Did she? The topic arose like bile in the back of her throat. “I hope I never see him again. I think he’d prefer it that way, too, because the guilt would make him burst into flames.” Or someone else would help him along. That would be ironic.

“Oh, I’m sorry, but… So that means…?” He took a step closer to her, but remained firmly under control with his hands clasped behind his back and his eyes averted.

Megara poorly suppressed a laugh. “Are you sure you could handle me?”

“No, not at all!” he chuckled unabashedly. His hands came out from behind his back as his whole posture loosened. “But I’m pretty sure you could handle me.I’d like it if you did. You know, if you wanted.”

“If you’re sure, I’ll be gentle.”

With a bashful chuckle, Hercules ducked his head. She watched him intently, from the unruly red-gold curl that drooped over his eye to the blush across his cheekbones. “I’m pretty sure between the two of us, it's me we have to worry about.”

It didn’t seem quite so wrong when he put it like that. For all his lack of experience, she wasn’t more than two years older than him, depending on when his birthday fell. It wasn’t as if she was corrupting the youth. While she didn’t want to change him so much that he lost something essential about himself, it would take more than some light flirting or heavy petting to do that. Maybe something he learned from her would serve him in the future with the next girl. A knot in her stomach arose at that unwelcome thought.

“Are you sure you’re not trying to say what you think I want to hear?”

“What if I mean everything I’m saying, and it’s still everything you want to hear?”

“Then…” he scratched the back of his neck.

“We’ll start small.” Megara walked backward into a curtained-off niche, beckoning him closer with one elegant finger. He followed, stumbling as if intoxicated. Once they were more or less secluded, she leaned against the wall of the niche. “Tell me something you like about me.”

“Oh! Well, there’s your voice, and the way you tease me, and how you’re so brave, and you’re so smart, too!”

“Thank you.” She set a hand on his arm, only to be distracted by the power of his muscles shifting under her fingertips. “None of that is corrupting you so far. Now tell me something you like about my body.”

Hercules gulped, “Ah… thought I shouldn’t…”

“I’m asking. It’s not as if you walked up to me for the first time and said something about me before getting to know me. I need to know what you like so I can reassure myself that I’m still what you want.”

“Your hair!” he hesitated, but with her encouragement, he ran his fingers over her curls. “It’s like silk… but also like the back of the softest kitten… I’d like to see it down… It always has a wonderful smell…”

“That’ll be the lavender, usually, but tonight it’s spiced citrus.” She practically had to drown herself in it if she wanted to escape the foul odors of the Underworld.

“Then there are your eyes… they’re full of mystery and excitement. But also… sadness… I want to understand you and banish the sadness.”

“Your ambitions reach higher than I thought. Don’t worry so much about things that aren’t your problem.”

“If something’s bothering you, it bothers me. I think I’ve proven that tonight, haven’t I?”

It would be too easy to fall into that small, dark place again. She had to externalize her emotions again, keep them away from her core. “So you like my hair. I like yours, too. You have a gorgeous shade of red gold.” She reached into his hair, aided by Hercules leaning down to help her reach.

Seconds later, his lashes hung low over his eyes. He let out a sigh, and his body sagged closer to her. “I didn’t expect to like that so much…”

“You’re used to your body being used as a weapon, yes? Honed and bulked and punished with more and more work. Just because you can take it doesn’t mean you don’t need something different once in a while, does it?”

Hercules let out a low groan that made her shiver, but he covered his mouth. “I’m sorry, that was…”

“Shh… don’t worry about that. I’m the only one who heard you.” While keeping one hand in his hair, she trailed the other lower along the outlines of his face, and down to his chin, which she lightly stroked.

Hercules closed his eyes, leaned into her even more, and wrapped his hands about her waist. “I also like how curvy you are…” he whispered. One of his hands traced her hip, then began to inch lower.

Megara arched her back, moving herself through his fingers before even considering the consequences. “You’re braver than you thought, aren’t you?” she purred. Her nails brushed lines from his jaw down his neck.

Hercules caught a sharp intake of breath, shocked into cupping a handful of her in each hand. Just as quickly as he’d done it, he withdrew and flung himself back against the opposite wall of the niche. “I’m sorry!”

“For what? Following my lead?” They were both breathing hard, but Megara should be above it. It was a bit of fun for now. She’d see to it that she didn’t take either of them too far.

Hercules hid his hands behind his back and hung his head.

“I’m sorry. This is my fault. When you asked to be corrupted, I should’ve known you’d be at your limit even without kissing.”

He lifted his head at the mention of kissing. “We could maybe try that…”

“Let’s give you time to cool down. I think I just about melted your brain a minute ago. You should have time to go back to normal. I won’t tell anyone you squeezed me if you don’t want me to.”

“Thanks… at least for now… especially with Phil around…”

“Understood. You’ll go right back to the sweet, innocent Wonder Boy we all know.”

“Do I stop being Wonder Boy to you if I’m not innocent, anymore?” A light pout appeared that inspired Meg with a desire to kiss him. He could never know he had this power.

“No. That only stops when you betray me.”

“I’ll never betray you. If I fail you, it’ll be an accident, and I’ll fix it as quickly as I can.” He meant it. The poor sap.

“No pressure. We may never see each other again, after all. We never know things like that.” She moved to slide back out of the alcove, but Hercules put up an arm to block her.

“Is there something you need to tell me?” he whispered. “There’s got to be. It’s crushing you. Please, tell me what it is. Why wouldn’t I see you again? What’s going on with you?”

“I can’t tell you. I literally cannot tell you.”

Something flickered across Hercules’s eyes. “Someone’s blackmailing you, and if they catch on that you gave that away, you’ll be in big trouble.”

“Wh–How did you…?”

“You’re mysterious, Meg, but you’re not impossible to understand. I’ve seen the signs before. I know when someone’s hiding something from me because of the hero business. Except you know what else? I’m the one person you should tell because I’m the only person I know of who’ll dedicate every moment to solving your problems. Just lay them on me, I’ll carry them for you.”

“You can’t,” she whispered. “But thanks for offering.” How soon until Hades’s next monster appeared? She’d fooled around long enough. How many people would she doom because their hero was fixated on her?

“Hey.” Hercules caught her by the chin, still blocking the way out of the niche. “Stay with me. Don’t disappear again, Meg. You’ll only hurt both of us. Tell me something: is the person hurting you a human?”

“What would you do if they were?”

She’d seen him angry before, but she’d never seen this flinty darkness that overshadowed the sapphires in his eyes. “It’s pretty easy to hurl a guy off a flying horse.”

“You wouldn’t…”

“Someone who was hurting you? Someone who made you feel like garbage and hide from the world, wishing for your own destruction? I could do worse. But I’m also making lots of money recently. Maybe I can buy you out of whatever contract you’re in.” There was an odd emphasis when he said ‘contract.’ As if he knew exactly what he was asking but wanted her to admit it.

“Nobody has that kind of currency.”

“You paid in somehow. What are you in for?”

“A substitution clause,” she blurted out. “But don’t worry about me. I’m handling it, and you have so much to do.”

“I only care about any of it if I’m with you. No hero business is more important than yours. If you’d just tell me–”

A scream rang out from outside. Despite how high-pitched it was, Megara was certain the screamer was Adonis. The scream was cut short, punctuated by a deep rumble that rocked the palace. More screaming followed as party guests scattered in utter confusion.

“Stay here!” Hercules paused to kiss her forehead, then barreled out of the niche into the banquet hall.

Megara followed him, heedless of his instructions to stay out of the way. In the chaos, she noted the hulking figure of a man-shaped beast with the head of a bull. Where’d Hades find that?

“I’m sick of labyrinths! You’ll never get me back in there!” the creature said. “Where’s Daedalus? I’ll gore him through the skull! Some brain he’ll have then!”

Hercules squared up against the monster while Theseus and Galatea took the point of ushering the guests out of the bull-man’s path.

“You can take this bum! You’ve beaten him twice!” Phil was shouting at Hercules.

“The Minotaur is my nemesis,” Theseus said, “I should help fight him, too!”

“Get your armor, then,” Hercules pulled his sword out of his belt. “But hurry. I don’t know what’ll be left of this guy before you’ve changed.”

Megara evaluated their surroundings. There was no hint of Pain or Panic. Not yet, anyway. There could be no witnesses if she found herself in a position to betray her “master” again.

“Come on, let’s get out of here!” Medusa appeared at her side, tugging on Megara’s arm.

“Where would we even go?” Megara shrugged the Gorgon off her. “Running upstairs won’t do anything. He could knock out a load-bearing wall, and we’d fall. We shouldn’t follow everyone else. That’s a good way to get trampled.”

“Whatever we do, it has to be fast!”

Medusa rushed away, leaving Megara busy evaluating the structure of the banquet hall.

“Every day I’ve been trapped in that labyrinth, I’ve thought of how I’d kill you when I got free,” the Minotaur snarled at Hercules and blew a hot puff of air through his nostrils. He knelt down, aiming his horns at the hero, and readied himself to charge.

Theseus reappeared in his black armor, swinging down from the rafters. “You have two heroes to worry about, fiend! Don’t count me out!”

“Both of you… yes. This is everything I’ve waited for!” The minotaur charged, but Hercules caught him by the horns.

Hercules growled with effort, and slammed the minotaur back into the floor.

“Let’s get him out of here!” Theseus shouted to Hercules.

“I’m not going anywhere!” The Minotaur grabbed one of the columns he narrowly missed when Hercules flipped him onto his back and threw it at the heroes.

Hercules and Theseus ducked, but the massive column hit the ground and rolled directly toward Megara.

“Malaka!” Megara shouted, which brought Hercules’s attention in her direction.

“Meg!” was all he got out before the column landed with a sickening crunch.

It cracked the marble below, and this did not stop it from rolling toward her. It kept rolling toward her like the hand of fate. This could be the moment that wiped her away. She stared at the oncoming masonry, unable to comprehend the concept of escape.

Hercules abandoned the fight with the minotaur and charged across the banquet hall.

The column was faster. There was only one thing Megara could think to do. She rushed back into the niche, only for the column to block it off and crumble some of the arch over its entrance. The curtain rod fell loose, bouncing off Megara’s head while the impact of the column jostled her against the back wall.

Hercules dropped to roll the last bit of the way and lifted the column away from the niche’s entrance. “You were supposed to hide!”

“Lot of good that did me!” Megara shouted back. She turned toward him with a sheet of blood trailing down her face.

Hercules cringed, reaching for her.

“I am sick of you ignoring me!” the Minotaur roared. He charged across the banquet hall.

“You want my attention?” Hercules spun around with the column held over his head. “You got it!” He threw the column back at the Minotaur mid-charge while Theseus flanked the enemy from the side with his sword.

Megara sank to the floor of the niche, growing dizzier by the moment. Her sore head was spinning. Her eyes blurred over. She needed to sleep… She sank onto her side and curled in on herself. Everything would be fine if she just took a moment to sleep…

Chapter 16: Hercules Furens

Chapter Text

All in all, the fundraiser hadn’t gone at all like he expected. Some parts of it weren’t even that bad. Other parts had already made it to his top ten list of things that happened. Now it was all crashing down in a mad rush of chaos.

His ears were ringing so loudly with concern for Meg that he barely heard Phil shouting instructions at him. He was pretty sure she was ok. For now. Why hadn’t she run with everyone else?

There could be half a dozen reasons, mostly stemming from a rebellious streak that he was beginning to recognize that made her do the opposite of anything someone told her to do. Normally, he’d have considered it hot. Right now, it distracted him from trading blows with the Minotaur.

With Theseus in the mix, it was a little easier to find moments for his distracted mind to distance himself from combat and retread the course of events that got Meg hurt. She’d come out of hiding right when the monster appeared, ignored the retreat of the rest of the guests, and stood right in plain view of the Minotaur while he launched a column at her. If not for the fact that Hercules had stopped it before it could hit her, there was no telling what would’ve happened. She’d still gotten rattled in the shelter of their former hiding place, but if only she’d stayed there…

“You won’t have your vengeance. You’re going back where you belong!” Theseus had a knack for keeping cool in situations that fired Hercules up. Then again, his girlfriend had evacuated immediately.

He couldn’t let Meg die. If that meant he had to delay until someone could look at the nasty cut on her head, he’d do it. Any more than that, he wasn’t sure he could pull off.

“We’ve trounced you twice already!” Hercules snarled at the Minotaur, angling himself between the beast and the niche Megara was recovering in. He wouldn’t let the creature advance an inch past him in her direction. “You’ve got plenty of nerve showing up here when you know what’s coming to you!”

“I’ll never go back there!” The Minotaur released a smoldering puff of air from his nostrils. If Hercules wasn’t hallucinating, there was smoke in his breath. “I’ve got a few new upgrades!” The beast’s eyes lit up golden with inner flame.

Not good.

The Minotaur reared his head back, audibly dragging in deep breaths to prepare his attack. He’d soon blast fire through the banquet hall. Except that Hercules wouldn’t let him.

Hercules rushed toward the monster, squatted down, then leaped straight upward with fist bared. He connected with the Minotaur’s jaw, then grabbed him by the leg before he could hit the ceiling. “I’m starting to regret not killing you,” he snarled at the beast.

He’d felt this same rage when the Minotaur’s insistence on toppling every temple in Athens had almost killed Icarus. Now, that same vicoius determination to destroy the enemy before him filled his veins. Icarus had broken a bone, but the way Megara hit her head… he wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“Try to maintain your composure,” Theseus instructed.

“Don’t let him make you do something clumsy! This whole place’ll come down!” Phil added.

“I don’t need anyone to tell me what to do!” Hercules snarled. Every sense honed to a fine point. He knew precisely what he would do to the Minotaur now that he had the experience behind him and the fire in his heart. He stood over the beast as he recovered from the last blow, pulling in short breaths to fuel his next breath attack. “You don’t want to go back to the labyrinth? You’re not going anywhere ever again!”

“Herc!” Both Theseus and Phil cried at once, but he was beyond listening.

The Minotaur puffed himself to full height. He aimed his glare, full of hatred, down at Hercules.

He gave back as good as he got. Hercules may not have fire powers, but he was done being merciful. With sword in hand, he hurled himself at the Minotaur and slashed him across his belly.

The monster’s skin was tough. It resisted the path of Hercules’s blade, but Hercules was tougher. He backed the slash with every ounce of vengeance. For the toppled temples, for Icarus, for his own ego at having to fight the same beast three times, and for Megara.

Fire burst from the monster’s mouth and his belly. It lapped up around Hercules’s sword, toward the hilt, but Hercules remained untroubled. He withdrew his blade and cut again. This time he plunged it up from the navel toward the Minotaur’s heart.

“What’re ya doin’?” Phil was hopping a circle behind him, and Pegasus whinnied from outside, where he’d been throughout the party.

“Make yourself useful and let Pegasus in,” Hercules snarled to his trainer.

“Excuse me?”

“I need his help getting this thing out of here. Let Pegasus in.” He clipped each word short with perfect annunciation, not sparing a second or taking his eyes off his prey.

Theseus leaped onto the Minotaur’s back. He braced himself with one hand around a horn and wrapped a thick cord around the monster’s throat. “That should stop any more fire from getting out!” he explained with a satisfied smirk.

“Thanks for the assist. Throw me the rope.”

Theseus did so just in time for the Minotaur to shake him off. Despite his wounds, the monster was determined to keep fighting Hercules. So it would be to the death.

Fine. Hercules set his jaw and lowered his head. He might not have horns, but he was made of sterner stuff than this creature had accounted for.

He yanked the cord.

The Minotaur’s body slammed down at the exact moment Theseus jabbed his sword through his back. A tremor ran through the floor, shaking loose some rubble from the roof.

“Meg!” Hercules rushed toward her hiding place, but there was no time to reach her before bits of the ceiling were crumbling down on top of it. His heart froze. The blood rushed to his toes. He thought he might collapse on the spot.

“Behind you!”

Hercules didn’t take the time to determine whether the voice belonged to Phil or Theseus. White hot vengeance brought every fiber of his being to attention. In what felt like slow motion, he spun about to meet the Minotaur’s charge with his fist. He cracked the beast’s skull with his knuckles, but that wasn’t enough.

He could leave no doubt that this creature would attack a fourth time. His sword slashed through the torso, but that wouldn’t be enough. Hercules took hold of him by the horns, braced himself on one shoulder, and yanked the head free. It was there, dripping in his hand, the blood streaming from it, when clarity returned to Hercules’s mind.

In one of the polished shields hung along the wall, Hercules saw himself, covered in blood, holding the head of his mangled foe, and wondered if he’d become a monster. He dropped the monster’s head in disgust. “That’s over,” he said with a hollow voice.

Heroes weren’t supposed to be disgusted with themselves, were they?

“Great job, Kid,” Phil said, though he didn’t seem to have much enthusiasm behind the praise.

“That took a lot out of you,” Theseus said. “Let me check on our guests. You take a few minutes to yourself.”

This was no time to think of himself. Hercules turned back to the last place he’d seen Meg. He tore through the rubble covering the entrance to the niche Megara was hiding in. She had to be suffocating in there! He tore through the curtain, which he’d noticed fell close to her, but when he dug deeper, he found nothing but rubble. The only sign she’d ever been there was a blood stain against the back wall and the floor, roughly outlining the point of impact she’d made with the wall and where she’d lain to recover.

There was no way she could’ve gotten up from that and walked away before the rest of the cave-in. But where was she?

“She was probably faking it, Kid.” Phil pulled on his cape. “Used it to make her getaway.”

Not the way she was lying there.

“Just stop…” Hercules snarled. “You might think you’ve figured her out, but you don’t know anything about her. You missed your chance a long time ago.” He got to his feet. She wasn’t there. That must mean she was alive, right? But where had she gone? How had she gotten out of there when she was losing consciousness? He couldn’t remember seeing her pick her way free of there, but the evidence didn’t lie. She wasn’t there. It was as if she’d simply vanished.

His mind was swimming with so many conflicting emotions that he couldn’t even convince himself she was real. But she had been. Other people had interacted with her. She’d spent plenty of time upstairs with Galatea and Medusa. She’d helped take down two Gorgons today. She’d shredded Adonis’s ego to ribbons. Then she’d taken him aside and… No, he couldn’t think about that. He had to go looking for her.

“Good news.” Theseus appeared behind him. “We’ve got plenty of donors now that they’ve seen what we did to our… mutual acquaintance. If you don’t mind, we’ve got a few people to talk to, and then… Ah.”

“No, I couldn’t find her,” Hercules got to his feet. “She’ll turn up when she wants to."

“Are you sure?”

“Every time I meet her, she vanishes and reappears a while later. She’ll find me. I’ll have to apologize for the way our date went. I never got to dance with her.”

Theseus set a hand on his shoulder. “You’re a good friend, Hercules, and I promise you’ll be a better boyfriend when you see her again. If I’m there, I’ll tell her how you fought for her. I understand girls enjoy hearing things like that.”

Hercules tried to laugh. “Thanks. But I wish she’d let me help her now. Where do you think she’d go?”

“My guess? A doctor. We can make a few inquiries in town before you return to Thebes. Maybe I can help her get home.”

“She’s tough. And clever. I think she’ll make it there.” Somehow, he’d have to make himself believe it. If Meg didn’t want to be found, she wouldn’t be.

Chapter 17: Edge of Hubris

Chapter Text

It was more than her head that ached when Megara woke next. Constricting chains and the heat of a flame that was too close oriented her back to reality despite the dreamlike few hours she’d spent away from her master.

“That was some party, huh?”

She couldn’t lift her head, but she tried to wrench her eyes open so she could join Hades in the conversation. He wasn’t the most patient of the gods, to put it mildly. Her attempt to reply came out in a half-coherent mumble.

“Yeah, looks like you had some real fun out there. Wanna tell me what happened when the Minotaur showed up?”

How did he expect her to talk at a time like this? He was the lord of the dead. He should know how close to death she was.

Megara mustered as much control of her body as possible and murmured, “Dropped the roof on me.”

“Correction: almost dropped the roof on you.” The chains around her tightened. “And what about Hercules? Did you know he cut my Minotaur to pieces?”

A series of jagged wheezing noises escaped from the shambles that was Megara’s body. “I didn’t.” Something was caked onto her face. It crackled every time she moved her lips. Blood, perhaps? “Too bad. He was surprised. Everything went according to plan, but he still…” the chains tightened again.

“How do I know you didn’t warn him?”

Megara hissed through her teeth. “Because you didn’t warn me? How was I to warn him of anything if I didn’t know what you were going to do?” If she was a better person, she might have warned him. No, she would have warned him. But she wasn’t a better person. She was too focused on her own self-loathing and an attempt to escape it. Selfish.

“I’ll just have to ask you a few questions. Starting with what are you wearing?”

She fished through the absent depths of her aching mind. “Clothes?”

“That’s not the dress I sent you away in.”

Fleeting images of the pre-party time she spent with Medusa and Galatea returned to her. “Had to blend in. Pushy party host. Was going to change back after the party. Now I’m here.”

“I see. Now I suspect you’ll want to go back for your original dress?”

“Honestly, I don’t care what happens to me or the dress. Why am I restrained when I can’t even move?”

“I think it’s a little convenient that I’m down from three Gorgons to zero the night I turn you loose in Athens. I was just on Olympus hearing all about how Aphrodite was beseeched, and a very clever mortal talked her into transforming Medusa into some kind of love Gorgon. She said it was the best idea she ever heard and was embarrassed she hadn’t been the one to think of it.”

“There’s all sorts of clever people out there. Most of them know better than to talk to you.”

Would that she had been even a little more clever.

Her skin was on fire. Not the hypothetical kind of fire that accompanied general wounds. Actual fire. Megara screamed and twisted in the chains to escape the fire lapping at her body. There was no escape, nothing she could do.

“You wanted six years back for that recruitment drive!” Hades roared in her ears over the sound of her screams. “You’re a double-crossing traitor! How much more have you done?”

Even if she’d known how to reply, she couldn’t have. Her whole body convulsed. If she could fully open her eyes, she might have seen how quickly she was roasting, but all she could think was that she would never have to work for Hades again. Then a second thought invaded the agonized haze of her mind: she’d never get to speak to Hercules again. He’d never know what happened to her.

Maybe it was better that way.

She was on the ground. The fire had stopped.

“You really thought I’d let you go, didn’t you?” Hades’s voice asked from above.

Her mouth was frozen open. How was she still breathing?

Though it should have been a relief, it was with horror that she recognized her body was healing.

“I’m not done with you. You’ve got another five hundred years to serve me.”

Five hundred?

No, that wasn’t right.

Her mind scrambled for the math that she’d been whispering to herself all along. It should be less than that.

“Surprised? I make the rules! I’ll tell you if you’ve earned my mercy or not!”

He’d finally healed her enough that she could make a counterargument. She pushed herself up on her elbows and spat blood onto the stone below her. “You’re the one who told me you don’t have any! Do you think I’m so stupid I’d forget who I’m working with?”

“You’ve been on a bit of a losing streak, eh Meg?” Hades lifted her back to his eye level using the smoke chains wrapped around her body. “Ever since Wonder Boy showed up, neither of us have gotten anything right, have we?”

“So, what? You’re twisting the knife on me because none of the monsters you’ve sent me to recruit have been good enough to beat Wonder Boy? How’s that my fault? You couldn’t kill him as a baby or all through high school. Suddenly, I’m on the team, and your constant failure is a me problem?”

Hades drew up to his full height, eyes glowing with malice. “If I were you, I’d watch my tongue. That sounds like another fifty years. Wanna shoot for a hundred?”

The last shreds of Megara’s sanity came loose as her jaw trembled. Don’t say anything, she told herself, but she’d never been great at taking her own advice. He’d never piled fifty years back on before. She could feel them weigh her down. She’d rather he went back to frying her. “What do you want from me? Once you’ve got the cosmos, you’ll own everyone, right? What does any of this get you?”

“I get to see that smug little face when you learn your place!” he pointed an over-long bony finger at her and laughed. “You can’t run from me. You can’t fight me. So every time you forget that, I’m going to remind you.” He filled his hand with a fireball. “I can take you out and bring you back. Do you need the reminder, or will you show me the respect I deserve as your master?”

Megara eyed the fireball. Not again. Despite her pride, she dropped to her knees and bowed her head. “Whatever you want,” she mumbled.

“Good… So, can you guess what I want?”

“Less and less.”

“I’m putting you back in that palace. You’ll start sowing discord in Athens. And then you’ll make Medusa regret her life change. She’ll resent the gods so much she’ll come back to me.”

She’d done one good thing in her wretched life. Hades wasn’t about to ruin it. “I thought no god could undo what another god has done. Aphrodite is the one who fixed her up with the new look, not you. You can’t take it away.”

“I can make her suffer. I can make them all suffer.”

Megara nodded. “Just being around you is enough. How about you give me a plan I can actually follow? Unless your real plan is to bore me to death.”

Hades snapped his fingers.

Megara felt a change instantly but only recognized it was that he’d changed her back into her usual dress in a blink when he released her from the chains.

“Walk with me, Meg.” One massive, spidery hand clamped around the back of Megara’s neck. Hades pushed her forward, forcing her to walk ahead of him into the shadows.

The usual denizens of the Underworld went about their business. Thanatos flew a new batch of souls to the shores of the Styx, Charon ferried them across, and Hecate lazily trained her flying wolves. Megara marched past them all, knowing full well that nothing good waited for her. Hades was never more dangerous than when he seemed pleasant.

“I think you’ve gotten a bit too comfortable with your cutesy little rebellion act,” he told her conversationally. His hand tightened around the back of her neck, making her stumble. “Oops! Don’t trip!” Hades shook her, making her wish he’d snap her head off and end it.

A yawning portal loomed ahead. It wasn’t Tartarus, but the way the Styx flowed through its opening concerned her. The nearer they got, she discerned the sound of a waterfall. It was deceptive in how slow it was. While most waterfalls rushed and crashed, this one took its time.

Hades brought Megara to a ledge overlooking a whirlpool of Styx water, where countless souls floated in the green haze. He pushed her so close to the edge that her sandals skidded on a jagged rock. The only thing preventing her from falling in was his grip. “Do you see that? For someone so smart, this should be an easy question: where are we?”

Megara stared into the eyes of the drifting souls. All life and hope had drained from them. Young and old, soldiers and civilians. Was that her Aunt Jocasta?

“This is the Vortex of Souls,” she forced through trembling lips.

“And what happens to people who disappoint me?”

Megara watched Aunt Jocasta, a queen in life, now halfway down the vortex in the steady drop. Before she could answer, the Styx roared.

Water streamed heavily into the vortex below, bringing with it new souls to join those below. It filled the chamber until some of the water hit Megara’s toe. She jerked her foot back, but not in time. Where she touched the water, her skin had gone pale. It was more than the biting cold. She felt as if she’d lost something essential.

“Careful,” Hades said, pushing Megara closer to the edge. “Things change around here fast. Mortals need to be cautious.”

Through the haze of the souls, she could see the outline of a massive stone skull. Its eyes and mouth gaped open, seeming to drink the souls down into it. The level of the stygian water lowered before her eyes, dragging them all toward that hideous face.

“That’s a real beauty, isn’t it?” Hades chuckled. “The souls are reset forever down there. In about a hundred years, if I feel like it, those souls can be reborn. Their memories are wiped away, and their personalities evaporate. Everything about them is drained away. Even if they’ve got a big yap on them and never learn their place!” He gave her a rough shake that forced her over the edge.

Megara flung her hands out to her sides to balance, but it was a set of smoke chains that stopped her from falling.

“I don’t have much use for a minion who won’t do what she’s told,” Hades snarled into her ear. “But who knows? One of these days, you might be more useful after a reset! That is if I remember to fish you out from the bottom of that hole. Who even knows how far down it goes?” His grip on her neck relaxed.

Megara flailed, only for the chains to tighten again.

The next time the water rushed past, it flowed over her legs. The current pulled at her with powerful suction. It should have taken her down with it, except that Hades hauled her away and onto her knees.

“How will you thank me?” he asked. Though he kept his tone light, his eyes burned into her with the rage she knew he would have unleashed on Pain and Panic, already.

“For…?” she asked, panting. At any other time, she might have pointed out that he was the one who put her in danger to prove a point, so it wasn’t up to her to thank him.

A tendril of smoke curled around Megara’s throat. It formed into a chain and tightened while the god bent close to her face. “You’re the only person down here intelligent enough to make entertaining conversation. It’d be a pity if you weren’t intelligent enough to understand that my patience is less than infinite. Thank me, or you’ll see what ungrateful brats get in my Underworld.”

“Thank… you…” Megara was shaking now, waiting for the smoke to strangle her. How long after he killed her would he bring her back? Would the year counter go down while she was dead, or would it pause until he felt like letting her try again?

Instead, it loosened.

Hades folded his hands together. “Take all the time you need, but you might want to clean yourself up. You look like you’ve been through hell.”

Chapter 18: Body of Evidence

Chapter Text

Hercules found himself reluctant to leave Athens despite his equal resistance to visiting it in the first place. He helped clean and rebuild Theseus’s palace, then secure the donations they’d collected before the arrival of the Minotaur. He had even stayed to watch as Theseus mounted the head in the same banquet hall he’d tried so hard to destroy. Megara never returned.

Galatea had reassured him multiple times that Megara would come back for her dress, and to return the one she’d borrowed. She continued to reassure him until the neatly folded dress that Galatea had gotten her servants to clean vanished in a puff of smoke. It was replaced not by an equally clean party dress, but one that was charred as if someone tried to burn it.

Galatea, Medusa, and Hercules had stared down at the evidence, but nobody wanted to admit what happened. Theseus had been the one to suggest, “This looks like the work of Hades.”

Medusa chewed her lip.

“You know something, don’t you?” Hercules asked. He rested his hand on the dress. The holes in it ran from its neckline to the hem. Whoever had worn this dress had endured excruciating agony. “Hades has her. Doesn’t he?”

Medusa hung her head. “Listen, I wanted her to be the one who said it. She’s in debt big time. She’s the one who recruited me. She didn’t want to, though. When I was reluctant, she tried to give me a way out. She just had to talk to me. But then I wanted to see you again. And I guess I’m glad I did. My life is completely different now.”

“Hers isn’t.” Hercules lifted handfuls of the dress to his chest so the pitiful thing could droop, still stinking of smoke, limp as a corpse. “I knew something was wrong. I knew there was someone pulling her strings. I just made the mistake of thinking it was a mortal.”

It explained everything. Her misery, the way she hated herself, how every time he saw her, there was a monster not far away. A monster that he himself would then kill. Still, in spite of what he knew was a murderous rage, he remained calm. It must be Medusa. “Nobody tells Phil until I’ve gotten her out of there, OK? He’ll say something unhelpful and be a real jerk about it. Hades took Meg so he could torture somebody that I love. He’s done it before. I’m done leaving her behind when she needs me more than anyone.”

“Aww, you love her?” Galatea leaned her cheek against her folded hands. “I knew you just needed some time alone!”

He had to pause, staring into the eyes of a girl he’d created to be his true love, who was now cooing over the idea that he’d found someone else. He was glad she existed, but he still couldn’t believe it. “I’m glad I figured that out, too, but if Hades has her, there’s no telling what he’ll do next.”

“Herc,” Medusa set a hand on his shoulder for his attention. “Yes, we know she's with Hades, but you don’t know the circ*mstances. You could literally drag her out of the Underworld, but he will snap his fingers and bring her back. I used to work with him, and I know how he works. Anyone who works with him has to sign a contract, and if he’s fulfilled his end of it, they’re beholden to him forever. Wherever her debt comes from, you’ll have to break the contract, or she’ll never be free.”

Hercules closed his eyes. He took several deep breaths, which forced him to breathe in a mingled scent of smoke, burnt flesh, and spices. There were even blood stains he could pick out from the scarlet fabric. How much had she been through before she broke down and hurled herself into the shadows? He’d found her there, punishing herself for things Hades had forced her to do. Then she’d tried to rejoin the party, not for her own benefit but because she could tell he was hurting. He’d tried to get through to her but never considered that she wasn’t ready. Did Hades have any idea what they’d done that night? Was that why he punished her? Had this been his fault?

“Maybe he just pulled her back in because her job was done. We could be misinterpreting the dress," Theseus suggested. "Medusa: you said you know something of his methods? Could he have sent her here as a distraction?"

"She was supposed to show my sisters and me where to corner Hercules," Medusa said. "Neither of us went along with it. And then she got dragged to this party with us. I doubt even she knew what was going on."

“We all kept her pretty distracted,” Galatea agreed.

“It’s true. There’s also the question of why she’d be so savage with Adonis if her goal were to hurt you, Hercules,” Theseus said. “Yes, they had some history, but she was defending you before she said anything about herself. She seems to have defied her master to do so."

"And this was her reward." Hercules stared down at the dress. "What can we do for her?” Hercules asked Medusa.

“We’d have to figure out what she asked Hades to do for her. For me, he let me go as soon as I made a real friend.” Her smile widened with a fondness for him that he physically felt through her new power. He thought he was getting used to it. At least, he was calm in the face of what would normally cause rage or panic. His thoughts were never far from Megara, though.

“Do you think she’d tell you once you revealed you knew about her situation?” Galatea asked.

“Meg’s not exactly the forthcoming type,” Medusa said. “I knew what she was up to the first time we met, and she wouldn’t tell me. But I can tell it hurt, and she’s never gotten over it.”

“I wouldn’t either,” Galatea said, gazing at what had once been her own dress. “How long do you figure she’s been stuck with someone who treats her like that?”

“Too long,” Hercules snarled. “I’m going to put an end to it. This is what heroes do, isn’t it? When have I ever encountered anyone who needed help more than her? She was there the first day I left to become a real hero. She’s always been there. I need to be there for her.”

“What does that look like?” Theseus asked. “Do you wait for her to appear, kill the monster that’ll be there with her, then try to make her discuss her contract?”

“Are we relying on Hercules for guile?” Galatea asked.

Not a single one of his friends could hold back laughter. Once they were all laughing, they only laughed harder.

Hercules dropped Megara’s dress on the table between them. “We’re not here to laugh about how hard it is for me to lie, or why maybe I’m not the best with words. We’re here to find real solutions for someone who’s helped all of us. She’s even saved some of our lives. If I can’t just charge into the Underworld to get her back, then you have to tell me what else I can do, or I’ll fall back on Plan Alpha.”

“I think Hades will try to get her talking to you,” Medusa said. “Listen to the questions she’s asking. Give as good as you get.”

“I’ll make an effort to visit you in Thebes,” Theseus promised. “Perhaps the next time we see her, you won’t be alone in trying to get answers from her. You have friends, Hercules. We won’t let you down.”

Hercules let Theseus’s words fuel him all the way back to Thebes. He stopped off in the graveyard right away. The edges of his letter were singed. There was still no reply. He could be patient, but not if it meant he had to imagine all the reasons Megara couldn’t answer him. He tucked the letter back into the bottom of the jar, hoping that if she came for it, she’d be comforted by his words.

He meant them now more than ever.

The next few weeks in Thebes, monster after monster assaulted him between public engagements. It was almost as if Hades was intent on growing him into a legend faster than Phil could chart the course. There was scarcely a day he had to go find a monster to slay. Each one he slayed added to the glory he built around himself.

The occasional visits from Theseus helped ground him, but there was only so much a friend and fellow hero could add. The gap where Megara should be only seemed more impossibly wide when he got a mansion. It was cold, beautiful, and empty. Tourists passed by his house every day, but he was rarely there.

There were volcanoes to plug, sea serpents to strangle, and harpies to cage. All of Greece had problems, and he attacked them all from their epicenter. Still, he frequently checked the jar Megara had left in the graveyard, hoping to catch her leaving something there.

He kept leaving little notes for her, hoping that if Hades wouldn’t let her write to him, she would at least know he hadn’t forgotten her.

As the months dragged on, he’d begun to despair that he’d never see her again, until he stood bloodied over the fallen carcass of a second Hydra. He’d spent hours in this stinking swamp outside the city of Lerna. When he’d flown over the region, he’d thought how beautiful it was with its sparkling springs, but when reports of a gargantuan swamp serpent led him beyond the outskirts, there was no doubt where it would hide.

By this point of his career, the terror of facing monsters had dampened into annoyance. He still caught the occasional rush when something was vicious enough, or outlandish enough, but the majority of monstrosities were easily defeated. He just wished there weren’t so many of them. Hercules craved those evenings at school when he and his friends had wound down at the Speedy Pita or got hyped up for a concert. His whole life was consumed with pleasing strangers, steadily transforming from man to commodity.

With an audience, he was happy to show off. Their adulation was never enough. Once the echoes faded, he returned to his big, empty house. Phil loved every second of it. He lived for the attention his pupil could bring him. Sometimes, it made Hercules check out of his own body. He went through the motions others expected of him so they’d believe he was perfect.

There was no point disguising the facts: he was on top, but others had risen this high before. One day, the Fates could snip away all these shallow bonds in seconds. He could fall, never to rise again, and his family would not try to reach him a second time. He’d never be good enough. Now, he’d defeated a monster without an audience. Yes, he’d protected the people of Lerna from encountering it, but would it bring him any closer to Olympus?

The acid-spewing Hydra had been two steps more difficult to vanquish than the one outside Thebes. He’d had to jump up on its back so it couldn’t hit him with its acid spew, but thankfully, he’d recognized the species after the first few head slices. It never grew as many heads as its predecessor. He gazed up at the sky, agonized by the questions of when he’d prove himself. Had Zeus even watched this fight? Was he getting as sick of the fighting as his son?

Hercules ignored Phil on the way back out of the swamp. He didn’t even ride Pegasus toward the city. “I’ll just grunge on you, too, buddy,” he sighed to his friend. “You two get back to Lerna and find a place to sleep before we go back to Thebes. I don’t want them to see their hero like this.”

He’d been walking alone for about half an hour when he reached a spring untouched by the fungal stench of the Hydra’s territory. There was a cluster of nymphs playing in the water, and all of them shrieked at the sight of him. They vanished or fled, anything to get away from him.

For the first time since he started his career, Hercules slumped down, alone, and cried. He might as well be the monster. Hadn’t he spent years trying to find peaceful solutions to local monsters? Theoi, he’d even dated one! This wasn’t right. Glory wasn’t about brutal savagery in combat. He was better than this. Unless he didn’t hold himself accountable and do better, then, he really would sink to the lowest level he was capable of.

“Father,” he said into the cool mist of the springs, “when do I get to go home? How much longer does this go on?” he caught sight of his reflection and recoiled. No wonder the nymphs had fled. “How am I supposed to do this job and look good doing it?” He picked the first stone that fit into his fingers and skipped it across the spring. If nothing else, it dissipated the vision of himself.

“I don’t know. You seem to be pulling it off fine to me.”

It was Hercules’s turn to scream. How was it that the Hydra only made him focus harder on the combat, and the sound of the girl he loved rocketed him back toward his awkward adolescence?

“Sorry. I was sure you saw me by now.” Megara knelt beside him. “I didn’t realize I’d have to walk out this far to find you.”

Hercules shied away from her. He wanted to do the opposite, but the amount of monster guts and probably a layer of acid put him off. He wasn’t about to hurt her if he could help it. Not to mention, he must look like a barbarian back from the hunt. “Meg, I… I wasn’t expecting to see you here, either.” He lowered his face toward his knees. “How’d you find me?”

“Everyone was talking about you fighting another Hydra. I happened to know where it lives, so I beat the crowd.”

“Show’s over. Thing’s dead. Where’ve you been?”

A silence lingered between them. She wasn’t about to answer. Why couldn’t she tell him about Hades, yet? He eyed her curiously. There were no burn marks or any other kind of scars to mar her perfect skin. She moved slowly, carefully, as if measuring every motion. Were they being watched?

“You’ve been busy,” she told him softly and dipped a jar the nymphs had abandoned into the water. “I bet you’ve hardly had time to breathe between battles.”

“How’d you escape from the Minotaur?”

The jar slipped from her hands. Her fingers were trembling.

Forgetting the mess, Hercules reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze until he felt her relax. “I’ve been so worried about you.”

She didn’t move. “I knew you’d be all right. You always are. Nobody’s greater than you.”

“That’s not true…” He moved his hand away. She was so pristine, like an idol of Aphrodite.

“Let me help you get cleaned up. When your fans get here, they’ll want to see their shining beacon of divine kleos.”

Hercules shook his head, releasing a deep sigh. “I feel less and less like I’ve earned any glory.”

Megara dipped her jar into the water and brought it back out, full of pure gleaming spring water. Then she dropped cloths in the water and poured some of the nymphs’s bathing oil in along with it. “Forgive me. Did someone change the definition of glory while I wasn’t looking? Didn’t you just single-handedly slay your second Hydra? You’re on a winning streak longer than my hair.”

He watched the light play in her hair. He wished he wasn’t so disgusting right now so he could play with it.

As if she hadn’t noticed, Megara dipped a linen cloth in the water until it was soaked. “Let me handle this for you. You’ve been working too hard.” She walked into the water, up to her hips, and gestured him in. “Come join me.”

“I’ll ruin the spring…” The excuse fell fast, but he was not above biting his lip at the thought of being in the water with her.

“It’s blessed by Poseidon. Last I checked, most of your uncles like you.” She held a hand out to him. “It’s best if you dunk in the water. It’ll help you feel better.”

He wasn’t any good at arguing with her. He eased into the water beside her, trying not to react to how cold it was. “You don’t have to do anything for me.” He should be the one on task, ready for the next fight. He should tell her what he knew about Hades and declare himself her protector no matter who was watching.

“What’s really bothering you? Is it that you think people will see you not looking perfect or that you’re too close to the situation to see how impressive you are?” Her smile was mild. She looked exhausted.

“Little of Column Alpha, a little of Column Beta.”

“I want you to duck down into the water, and when you get back up, leave that thought in the water.”

“Huh?” He still couldn’t believe this was about him. Her problems were so much bigger.

“Can you do that for me?”

He was underwater and back out again in seconds.

The water splashed her, making her sputter and struggle to maintain composure. Something about her in this unguarded moment was so… cute. “Great idea! Now it’s your turn!” he put his hands on her shoulders. “This time, we go down together, and you forget what’s bothering you so we can talk.”

She looked uncertainly up at him from under her hair. “All right.” She braced herself on his arms. “But you’ll have to deal with me when my hair’s a mess.”

“Heh! Deal!” He waited for her to look ready, then pulled her close and ducked under the water with her. For just a second, nobody could watch them, and they were alone in each other’s arms. This was what he’d been missing since the party in Athens. Her. Hades might be using her, but he didn’t care as long as she kept showing up.

Their heads broke the surface at the same time, with Megara’s hair forming a curtain over her eyes. Hercules gently brushed it aside and curled it behind her ear. “I missed you… I was so worried about you, but when we didn’t find your body, I decided to trust you’d come back to me.”

“And then I did.” Megara moved away from him and seated herself on the steps down into the water so she could sit half in and half out of the water. “Let’s get back to you. I wish you could see how you shine.”

“It’s the water.” He ran a hand through his hair, expecting to look awkward, but there was something about the way Megara’s eyes fixed on him as he moved that told him she didn’t see him like that. “But thanks.” Memories of their brief moments together in the shadows of Theseus’s party rushed through his mind. If he got permission, maybe he could learn a little more from her.

“I get the impression I might have corrupted you in some unintended ways. You weren’t supposed to absorb that trait from me. Only one of us gets to hate ourselves at a time.”

“This isn’t your fault. It’s just been so long that I’m fighting and lonely, and…” Theoi, her hair…

Megara paused, arms raised to wring the water from her curls. “Go on. You’re fighting a lot and lonely?”

“But I can’t go home…”

“I hear tell they made you a real pretty home recently. You should invite me over.”

“Please, come home with me every day.” Was that too much? He covered his face.

“I’ll think about it. Come a little closer.”

He hadn’t wrecked everything? Hercules moved closer, still finding it difficult to believe she hadn’t already been repulsed.

“You’re wondering why I didn’t run away when the nymphs did.” She pulled a cloth from the jar and started to brush it along his arms.

He didn’t answer. She knew she was right.

“I know who you really are, and I’m grateful you can pull this side out of you to protect people. But I’m also glad that you’re gentle all the rest of the time.” She moved her cloth along his hand, working between calluses and leather-rough palms to work the blood from the crevices.

“It’s a good thing?” he prompted. He could stand there indefinitely, letting her work his hands clean. The moment she released his first hand, he moved the other for her to start there.

“I’ve seen it a few times. It only appears when you need to protect other people. When Adonis was attacking you, nothing happened. This side of you is the necessary weapon you wield as a hero. I’m proud of you.”

None of the times his father had said this to him could mean half as much as it did coming from her. “You are?”

“I didn’t have anything to do with it. It’s all you. But seeing how you can take down every threat that squares up to you and you can summon the rage you need to take down monsters. Like a lion protecting his family.”

Hercules leaned closer. “You know, I killed a lion with an invulnerable pelt. I wore it so the Hydra’s acid didn’t get to my skin, but now Pegasus had to carry it somewhere else to get it washed.”

“I’m glad you survived. You had to be very clever to get through that, didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah, I guess. But don’t give me too much credit. It wasn’t that brilliant.” He watched as Megara dipped the cloth back into the jar and then trailed it up his arm.

“You never get credit for being clever. But I think that’s because people stop at the things that are easiest to notice and forget about what you’re really like under all that muscle.”

“It’s not pretty, trust me. Lots of blood.”

The two of them laughed, and for a moment, it seemed nothing mattered besides the two of them. It had been so long since the pressure was off his shoulders. He wished he could kiss her, but he still wasn’t sure of himself. Why was she here? How had Hades decided to allow her out of the Underworld? It didn’t seem like there was another monster coming, and she was working overtime to soothe his bruised ego. That didn’t seem like it fit in with anything on his uncle’s agenda.

“You’re getting picked up soon, hm?”

“Probably? I sent Phil and Pegasus off. They know to give me time alone sometimes. This time, I was particularly mopey, so I don’t think they have any interest in hurrying back.” He was running out of ways to dance around the Hades situation. It was going to come tumbling out soon, and he had to pick the perfect words for when it did. “I’ll take you home if you’re ready,” he offered. Maybe she’d tell him something about where Hades was keeping her.

“I can never go home,” she whispered. The flatness of her eyes revealed the truth of her words. “When’s your birthday?”

The sudden shift from the tragedy of her life to some bit of trivia about himself caught Hercules between his emotions and his reason. “I um… it’s Skirophotion thirteenth. When’s yours?”

“Not important.” She rose from the water, giving him the perfect view of how the water made her dress cling to the shape of her legs.

His throat was dry.

“What’s important is I’ll see you on your birthday, and I’ll make an effort to write to you until then. Keep your head up, Wonder Boy.”

It took everything in him not to chase after her, but he let her go. She knew her situation better than he did. But now he knew something, even if she didn’t mean to tell him: His birthday would be important this year.

Chapter 19: All the Right Curves

Chapter Text

Dear Wonder Boy,

I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to write. There are no excuses, so here’s the letter.

You were right about me. We’re not so different. Both of us have tremendous burdens on us to please the gods. The difference is, while you are striving to achieve glory, I’m enslaved to the most evil being in the cosmos. I’m sorry. It’ll never work. I always liked you.

Scrap.

Megara shredded her would-be letter and checked over her shoulder. Could Pain and Panic read?

They could certainly shop.

Start over.

She ought to be more formal. But all the letters he’d sent her in the past few weeks started with her nickname and nothing else. Funny how he’d decided on day one they were friends and never seemed to reconsider. She didn’t deserve him.

Wonder Boy,

Your meteoric rise has been the only joy in my life. I know that you’re unstoppable, even if there are those who doubt you. This world is full of shadows and tragedy. Get away while you can. You shine your light on us shadows, and remind us that we’re not like you. Never be like us.

The higher you rise, the lower I sink.

Don’t look back.

Meg.

She turned the letter over and closed her eyes. It was honest, she’d give herself that. It was also a transparent farewell. Hades would definitely send her after Hercules again. She couldn’t say goodbye yet.

Start over.

Herc:

Been a while. Hope you remember you’re the best thing in the entire cosmos and don’t let anyone lie to you. They’re all jealous. You’re a shining beacon of every virtue. The gods have raised you up above us all to remind us where we fall short. One day, you’ll live amongst the stars, looking down at this place. You’re too good for us.

She stared down at the letter a while before deciding there was no erasing the oddly lovesick tone. It wouldn’t matter after his birthday, but before then it might keep him going. Back to it, then.

Sometimes you may be tempted to reach lower to the wretched lost causes of the world. You may think you can save even us, though we’re chained to our shadows and they will soon consume us. You can do anything, but not that.

This wouldn’t do, either. She had to make it easier for her to show up when required, not put him on high alert.

One more time. If she couldn’t get it right this time, she’d scrap the whole thing and never write to him as she’d promised. She was already erasing her work when the scent of brimstone shot through her sinuses as pungent as fresh-cut onions.

“I thought you said you weren’t doing any side projects,” Hades said.

“Call it a hobby. I’m trying to write some poetry.”

“Poetry?” Hades hacked on the word. “Never took you for a post. That’s too sentimental for you.”

“Some poetry can be vicious. How do you think I keep up with you?”

“You don’t. How does your poetry thing help me take over the world?”

“It doesn’t. But it’s your job to invent the schemes, I just run the errands. If you come up with a good idea, maybe I’ll write a poem for you, too.”

“I just have to find better monsters! There’s nothing wrong with my plans, all my allies are incompetent!”

“Yeah, it’s crazy isn’t it? You just line them up, and Wonder Boy knocks them down. Got anymore friends in low places? Maybe Echidna wants to take a swing at him.”

“He’s beaten her up multiple times,” Hades snarled. “She won’t join up, she’s too demoralized.”

“The mother of all monsters is demoralized but you’re not? Why do you keep throwing all the same monsters at Hercules, anyway? He keeps getting better at fighting, and you’re not seeing it. Wonder Boy won’t fall to a monster he fought when he had less practice? You’re running out of monsters.”

And then what? She had gone over the scenario dozens of times before, but knew better than to say it aloud. Hades might get the Titans out of their hiding place. That was the first step.

But if he had no other army to add onto the effort? The Olympians had already subdued the Titans. They’d only grown in power since the last encounter with them. If Megara were to wager anything, it would be that Hercules would singlehandedly eviscerate every one of Hades’s allies while the other gods drank to his glory.

It wouldn’t be a pretty outcome for her. There’d be no reason to keep her alive when there was no more war effort to recruit for.

“I’ll think of something. And when I do, we’re going topside. We’re watching him again today. I hear he’s going to get his handprints set in the concrete outside the theater today. I’m going to watch and explode crockery. You’ll be there.”

She’d see him again. That day!

“You look excited.” Hades drew out every syllable so she’d register his suspicion.

“To get out of the place literally designed to drain the life out of mortals? Impossible. I could never get enough of this place.”

“That’s good! You know, because poetry is not getting you out of here.” Before Megara could land another verbal blow, Hades disappeared in a choking cloud of smoke that made her gag.

Her eyes watered, her lungs burned, and she was sure it was all on purpose. Malaka, she hated him.

The blank page reappeared when the smoke cleared. It was the only connection to something good in the world. She’d try this one more time.

Wonder Boy,

Every time I see you, I’m reminded there’s some good in the world. It’s a hard reminder. I’ve always thought men were slime, and nobody’s proven me wrong until you. Good people fade away, and suffer the worst of all fates. I’m not a good person, and I thought that might help me to evade the inevitable. Maybe I could be smart enough, or tough enough. I could make it so things wouldn’t bother me, and then nothing could hurt me.

I need you to know I’ve been as honest as possible with you. You confused me in so many ways, but now I think I understand. The gods lost you, but now you’re here as a beacon to remind all us lowlifes what goodness looks like. You’re a star plucked from the heavens and forced to live among us, and you cast long shadows.

Jealousy is your worst enemy. It drives people insane to know how much better you are and how they can’t bring you down. They always push you higher, and one day you’ll leave us all behind.

I hope even if you forget most of your time here in the muddle of eternity, you sometimes think of me. I haven’t given you much of myself. There’s not much left. I’ve survived through many tragedies, but less of me has survived from one to the next. One day soon, there will be nothing left but memories. I hope for you they’re good ones.

Meg

Before she could second-guess herself, she folded the letter up enough times it would fit into the wrappings around her breasts. Hades was many things, but he would never think to strip search her. The first chance she got, she’d break away and visit the cemetery. If these were her last words to Hercules, at least there was some finality to them. He might even understand.

She couldn’t explain about being a Theban princess, or about how that legacy of trauma and sacrifice had engulfed her in its bloody tendrils. There was no escaping Fate. So she might as well laugh in its face as she went down.

It was less than an hour later that Hades set up a post in the ancient Theban mausoleums along the mountainside. He could sneer down at his nephew from this vantage point. Every time someone gave a speech about how great Hercules was, he’d pause to throw a fireball at a vase with Wonder Boy’s face painted on it.

Ah, the impotent rage of those who still thought they could alter Fate. Megara had a lightness about her, now that she’d accepted it was almost over. She almost forgot she was damned. It was all too funny.

If he wasn’t such an embarrassment, Hades might have tried that to Wonder Boy’s face. But he was too great a coward, even though only one of them was immortal. Pathetic. The eventual outcome was inevitable: Hercules would fight. Hades would fail. Megara would die.

“Nice shootin’, Rex,” Megara drawled after Hades left off yet another fireball.

Hades ignored her. His megalomania was so out of control, all he could do was rant about Hercules. It was all stuff he’d said before. Megara tuned him out, until he finally noticed that Pain and Panic had been shopping at the Herc store that week.

Megara thought it was funny until Hades screamed about how he only had twenty four hours to take Hercules down. That thought stuck in her mind until it was washed away by another patented Hades freakout. He set himself on fire and blasted his fire and smoke at his minions with such force that the smoke caused an explosion out the side of the mountain.

She’d picked the right spot, on the opposite corner of a monumental sarcophagus. The worst of the blast missed her. The whole situation was so comical, she couldn’t help but snicker. “Looks like your game’s over,” she teased the god as he cooled his temper. She flicked her ponytail right under his nose as she walked past him on the way to the ledge. “Wonder Boy’s hitting every curve you throw at him.”

It might be nice to get her own glimpse of Hercules, if they weren’t too far. There he was, a bulky outline next to the more distinctive flying horse. He cut an excellent figure, even from a distance. Would she get a chance to see him up close again?

“Oh, yeah…” Hades chuckled.

Normally, Megara would’ve been more bothered by his tone, but she’d begun to focus in on the small details of Hercules. He’d risen from his kneeling position on the concrete, and had started putting on a show of throwing heavy weights around. He seemed to be having fun. Good for him. It was the day before his birthday, after all, wasn’t it? He should get to do whatever he wanted. If only Phil would let him.

“Well, maybe I haven’t been throwing the right…” Hades traced her outlines with his smoke, “curves at him. Meg, my sweet!”

Of all the indignities, why this?

“Don’t even go there,” she flicked a dismissive hand at him and left him at the ledge.

It would be cruel, unfair, and degrading to both of them for Hades to utilize Hercules’s attraction to her against him. Of course, that was why he’d suddenly gotten so attached to the idea.

“See, he’s gotta have a weakness, because everybody has a weakness. I mean, for Pandora, it was the box thing, and for the Trojans, hey, they bet on the wrong horse.”

There was no getting away from the slimeball. She could pout, fold her arms, and walk away all she wanted. She was stuck on this godsforsaken mausoleum cliff with him.

Hades slunk an arm around her shoulders and leaned in close. “We simply need to find out Wonder Boy’s!” How downright ghoulish.

She’d sooner kick a puppy.

Megara broke away. “I’ve done my part, get your little imps to do it!”

“They couldn’t handle him as a baby. I need someone who can… handle him as a man.” The tone made her sick. If Hades even knew what she and Hercules had been up to, it would be worse. For all he knew, Megara had no interest in Wonder Boy, or even considered him “the enemy.” He should continue to believe that.

“Hey, I’ve sworn of manhandling,” she reminded him.

“Well, you know that’s good!” Hades manifested new smoke images, ones she’d seen before. “Because that’s what got you into this jam in the first place, right?” The smoke flew across to her, picturing outlines of herself and him. She’d locked thoughts of him away for so long, the sudden cascade of memories left her in shock. “You sold your soul to me to save your boyfriend’s life.”

She was there, thrown back into a moment Hades had jammed down her throat so many times. Theron held her in his arms, whispering the well-practiced sweet words he’d ripped straight off the stage. Actors. She should have known better than to trust an actor when she became one. How many times had she rehearsed offstage with him, and seen how well he could deliver a line. She’d learned all the same lessons.

“And how does this creep thank you?” Hades asked as a smoke vixen strutted past. “By running off with some babe.”

It was a dramatic retelling, but it got the point across. No matter how deep she buried the memory, Hades could exume it in a heartbeat. It had been the worst miscalculation she’d ever made. Her history as Theban royalty had been insufficient to remind her there was no way this would end well. She ought to have been prepared for this, taken her fun or kept her door closed. And yet, she’d let him destroy her.

The deaths of her mother, brothers, uncle, aunt and cousins hadn’t been enough to reduce her to such a pathetic state. It was Theron, with his pretty words and his honeyed kisses, that wrecked her beyond all recognition. And now Hades wanted her to do exactly the same thing to the only person she knew didn’t deserve it.

“He hurt ya real bad, didn’t he, Meg?”

Megara brushed the smoke outline of herself still weeping so it dissipated. “Look, I’ve learned my lesson, OK?” Her voice wavered. She was losing her composure. Not in front of him.

“Which is exactly why I get a feeling you’re gonna leap at my new offer.” He clasped her shoulders in his spider fingers, and leaned so close his smoke breath puffed against her cheek. “You bring me the key to bringing down Wonder Breath, and I give you the one thing you crave most in the entire cosmos.”

He couldn’t be serious.

Hades dropped a Hercules vase into her hands. It was heavy as her guilt, but she stared down at it, refusing to let it drop from her hands.

Hades lifted a curl from its place hanging over her ear and whispered, “Your freedom.”

Megara dropped the vase in shock.

It’s one last job.

All the things that would stop if she could just get Hercules to admit one little detail about himself stretched out in a long list. Hades would fail anyway. No harm done. She could seduce Hercules, all right, she’d already done so twice. He’d tell her anything she wanted to know. She’d never expected a twist in her story, but she’d embrace it. Teiresias had said nothing about this.

Chapter 20: Curtain Number One

Chapter Text

Megara started Hercules’s birthday off the only way she thought appropriate. A shopping spree. New sheer lavender shawl. New perfume. Enough wine to turn her guilt into a classic Theban mania. After all, Dionysus was her people’s patron god and, technically, her cousin. If anyone could help her act her psyche out, it was him.

Wonder Boy had nice digs. Considering that the Villa was built on the ruins of one her brother Menoikeus built himself, she was interested to see if any signs of him remained. Her elder brother had never suspected their father would become king and had never seen the day. But he’d still been a prince, and he wanted to establish himself aside from the palace on the Acropolis. Had he lived, he’d promised to move his sisters into this house. But it had never been finished. Resources went to the war effort. Menoikeus had sacrificed himself for his nation.

Now Megara stood outside the gates, admiring the grandeur. It rivaled her father’s palace. Menoikeus would be proud, but the old deadbeat was probably squirming at it.

A group of crazed adolescents– really, shouldn’t someone be watching these girls so they didn’t embarrass themselves?– was climbing over Herc’s gate, and she followed. It seemed there was no better way to blend in than to pretend she was one of the groupies.

Something was unsettling about the way they were all wearing matching outfits but in different colors. Each of them had on a two-piece chiton, like a pack of mismatched cheerleaders. Was Hercules into that? She no longer had her uniform, but she hadn’t forgotten all her cheers…

Once inside the mansion proper, the girls crept toward their target with the precision of bees to a very large flower.

Megara took her time, giving the girls the space it took to observe what they did without alerting them to her presence. Menoikeus would have loved these gardens. He enjoyed order and symmetry above all. He wasn’t much of an artist, but his appreciation for the finer things remained intact. She hadn’t been to the Elysian Fields in her whole time since arriving in the Underworld, but she prayed her brothers were there.

The girls threw the doors to Hercules’s mansion open and released a chorus of screams worthy of a murder of harpies. Megara would know. She’d gathered their feathers a few times because Hades insisted they had potion-making properties. The Hercules fan club charged unwelcomed into his mansion, providing the perfect diversion.

She had to give it to these girls: they had the lung capacity to match their audacity. Megara slipped behind the door while their war cry still rang through the air.

From the shadows, she watched as Hercules submitted to the onslaught of a mere handful of teenage girls. They swarmed him while he made minimal gestures toward asking them to stop. He allowed them to climb on him, pull at his armor until they exposed his chest, and then someone finally ripped off his sweatband. She sat atop his shoulders and crowed over her victory while the other girls screamed in maniacal jealousy.

It would blow her cover, but Megara was starting to think she ought to intervene. There was no way Hercules would allow this to happen to anyone else. He had gone limp as the girls stamped on his face, then formed an unholy pyramid over him doing gods-knew-what. From Megara’s angle, they might have intended to undress him completely.

“Happy birthday,” she mumbled to herself.

At the moment, it seemed Phil had the situation under control, but if he failed, Megara would have to create a distraction herself. He may not have understood before, but he would never question her experiences with other men after this. She’d have to spoil him to make up for this violation once she had him to herself.

Phil blew his Pan flute, and it was then Megara noticed Hercules had slipped out from under his bevy of hormone-addled attackers.

He was good, but he needed a spine.

Phil lured all the girls to the veranda, and Hercules was hers.

Megara slowly nudged the door closed with a look of disdain. She settled a spear through the handles to lock it before she strode through the atrium. The red marble and golden deer were a nice touch. Masculine yet still whimsical. It suited him.

He hadn’t gone far, she discovered as she scanned the room. There were his toes sticking out from under a curtain. He tapped his feet in a rhythm, like a nervous child. Poor thing. It was time to play.

“Let’s see,” she said theatrically, grabbing the curtain’s rope and pulling it away from her quarry. “What could be behind curtain number one?”

Hades had given her plenty of tasks in the past, but none of them had been quite so entertaining.

“Meg!” Hercules gasped in a hoarse voice. The poor creature. She was probably the last person he wanted to see him with his armor in disarray and the impression of a kiss on his cheek. He looked like he’d taken up her job for the afternoon. A better person than her wouldn’t have found this so amusing.

“I had to visit my favorite demigod,” she said, smirking up at him, “I didn’t realize there’d be a line.” She tapped her cheek to indicate someone had left a mark on his. “Luckily for me, your billy goat wasn’t around to sweep me out with the rest of the trash.”

A goofy smile had formed halfway on his face, but his expression turned grim. “Don’t say things like that about yourself.”

She could, and she would. Megara flopped down on a couch next to an amusing toy collection. “So, I take it you’re a little less innocent since the last time I saw you. I thought for sure those girls back there were going to uncover something you weren’t ready to show them.”

“It should be pretty simple. If I’m not taking the armor off, it stays on. Right?” He tilted his head toward her.

“You’re probably the only man in Greece who understands. That’s why you’re the best.”

He brightened. “I am?”

“Don’t you know that? There’s songs about it in the streets.”

“I don’t get out much,” he mumbled. “I can’t go anywhere without being mobbed–” he checked the direction of the door and sighed. Thanks for locking it… That happens all the time, but I think Phil likes it, so he won’t keep the door locked.”

“He’s not the one anyone’s here to see.” In a petty move she wasn’t even ashamed of, Megara squeezed a Phil toy until the eyes popped out. “Think your nanny goat would go berserk if we played hooky this afternoon?” she asked.

“Oh, gee… I dunno, Phil’s got the rest of the day pretty much booked?” He was reluctant, but the nervous response was the same as a little boy who wanted to do something he knew would get him in trouble.

It was time to be a terrible influence.

“Ah, Phil, Schmil!” Megara tossed the Phil figurine over her shoulder and stepped up to him. “Don’t you ever want to get out and see the city the way it’s meant to be seen?” she purred.

Hercules’s lashes lowered. He looked tired, but that wasn’t it. “What do you mean?”

“Well, for example…” Contrary to the teenagers’s clumsy pawing, Megara delicately fastened the pins that secured his cape and brushed some footprints off the breastplate. “You’ve got unlimited access to all the city’s finest spots. Rooftop restaurants… theater box seats… and any time you go, you must sit next to a mannerless satyr who treats you like a schoolboy. It’s your birthday, and so far, nobody’s celebrating. I promised I’d come see you today, didn’t I?”

“You did…” His eyes briefly flickered toward the door, but then remained firmly ensconced on her face.

“You know what I think? I think if you’re too tired to fight, things’ll stop going your way.” She rested her hands on his shoulders while smiling her lopsided grin up at him. “Why don’t you play hooky with me, Wonder Boy? Let me make your birthday one to remember.”

His eyes widened, connecting dots.

Good. Give him time.

Megara played with her hair, waiting to hear what he’d say.

“Is that what you want to do?” he asked. There was weight to his voice that caught her off guard. He wasn’t simply lovestruck. Something more lingered in the question. It was clear to her that he was stepping closer because he wanted her to convince him.

Well, she could do that. “I want to be with you,” she whispered and felt him shiver. She trailed her hands up his arms, making him shiver, then sharply gripped the neckline of his breastplate to pull him to her level.

He went, moving like a ragdoll, giving her the same deference as he did the girls who assaulted him. Wide-eyed and blushing, there was no doubt he belonged to her.

“Just follow me out the window, ’round the dumbbells, you lift up the back wall, and we’re gone!”

Hercules smiled. “You make it sound so easy… All right. Lead the way. I’ll do whatever you ask.”

“You keep saying that, but you’ve gotta learn to put your foot down. Like that raging bitch did to your face.”

“Aw, she wasn’t a–”

“She stepped. On your face.”

“That’s a good point. They just get so excited, y’know?”

“There’s excited, and then there’s, ‘if you don’t back off, I throw hands,’ and she was the second one. They all were.”

“They’re just kids. Not much younger than us, but it wouldn’t be fair for me to fight back.”

“Yeah, it’s never really a fair fight when you’re in the mix, is it? Nothing gets by you.” She climbed onto the windowsill and peeked out to check for any signs of Phil. “Come on. Hope you’re fast.”

Hercules seemed to take this as a challenge. He dove toward the window and caught Megara in his arms. “How’s this for fast?” Once on the other side of the window, he clutched her to him and charged toward the back wall.

It was a blessing, Megara considered as his run jostled her, that she was only afraid of heights, not great speed. “Okay… you definitely win…” she leaned against his chest.

“I’ve never lost a race unless it was with Hermes, and I made him work for it.” Hercules puffed himself up with pride, an intriguing thing to witness. “What?” he asked.

“I’m surprised you get bigger.” She patted his shoulder. “Let’s get under that wall.”

He really was innocent, because he didn’t make a single joke playing off her remark. Hercules merely did as he was told and held the wall up for her to climb under. Good thing the foundations were shallow.

“Sweeet freedom!” Megara stretched as Hercules lowered the wall back into place. “All right, buddy, you’re mine now.” She offered him her hand. “Forget the gods, your little cloven-hoofed taskmaster, and everything you think you know. Tonight, it’s just you and me.”

Chapter 21: Backstage Drama

Chapter Text

The shadowed alleyways of Thebes were so familiar to Megara that she had forgotten they could make Hercules uneasy.

“What’s got you so nervous? Afraid the goat man will pop out of a garbage heap?”

“No, not him. But someone. Are you… always back here?” Hercules asked. “You know these places aren’t safe. You should move if your home is in the area.”

“Safety is an illusion. You can guard anyone, and they’ll still die of something. Fate is inevitable.” So was hers. She knew better than to fight for a different outcome, but maybe it was her own misunderstanding that had caused her to believe in this outcome. The gods wouldn’t be wrong, but she could.

Either way, she kept a lighthearted smile on her face. This was her last day beholden to Hades, no matter what else happened. As long as his orders aligned with what she wanted to do anyway, why not enjoy it?

“I’d never be comfortable with someone I loved living somewhere where it was easier to hurt them.”

“Good thing nobody loves me then!” She said it with a laugh until she saw the deeply concerned expression on his face. “Don’t worry about it, Wonder Boy, I’m joking. Come on.” It would be in the little touches. She set her hand on Hercules’s arm and lightly brushed her fingertips along his skin. “I’ve been thinking. Maybe I should be your public relations advisor so Phil can focus on training,” Megara gestured to a goofy-looking billboard with Hercules’s face on it that peeled out above the rooftops framing their alleyway. “He’s got no taste.”

“I’d love it if you worked with me,” Hercules settled an arm around her shoulders, a protective and bracing gesture that made her head spin. His scent and warmth commingled to make her job of seducing him that much easier. “Then maybe if you worked with me, we could find you a spot in the mansion. I could see you every day and make sure nobody hurt you.”

“Ugh, but then you’d have to put up with my attitude every day! I’m great in small doses, but that would drive most people insane.”

“I’ve never been like everyone else. Your little comments make me laugh. The way you see the world is so different and interesting. I’ll never get tired of that. You’d make every day special.”

His words had a strange power to make her heart ache. Even through the pain, she found a smile. “It’s too bad Phil hates me. Otherwise, the only obstacle would be quitting my current profession.”

“What’s that?” He asked a bit too quickly. “I mean, what do you do? I’ve always wondered how you’re able to appear wherever I am. I’m not complaining at all! You can turn any awful day into one I’ll remember forever.”

“Mostly, I avoid my job,” Megara replied with cold laughter. “I’m a bit of a negotiator, sometimes a scribe, and I do odd jobs.”

“Some of that sounds like what I’d picture you doing, but you’re not an errand girl. You should be in a palace somewhere that’s as beautiful as you are, and people should do whatever you want every day. You have the best ideas, anyway.”

Megara disguised her surprise that he’d picked her out as a princess as watching an intersection for insane teenagers. She gestured for him to follow her into adjacent shadows before speaking again. “Nobody’s hiring for queen around here, but thanks for the idea.”

“I’m hiring for anything that’ll get you out of the situation you’re in right now.” He blocked the passage ahead with his bulk and asked in a heart-rending tone, “What will it take, Meg?”

“There’s nothing you could do. My current boss would never let me go.”

“Why not? How did you get in trouble? Please tell me what I can do.” She hadn’t expected him to kneel before her. “I know some things. But I don’t know how I can help. I need to help. It’s what I’m literally built for.”

“You can’t get me out of trouble, Wonder Boy. I am trouble. Don’t be so dramatic about it. Today is a good day, and it’s about you. We can get some food before we catch whatever the theater’s doing. It’s not that big a deal, but I have to take my freedom where I can get it. I’d rather not spend my time with you thinking about what’s waiting for me when it’s over.” Though she’d spoken with the intention of saying whatever it took to get him off the trail, her words rang true.

“What if I could stop what’s waiting for you?”

“You can’t. You have me all to yourself, and we can talk. But you’ll get dirty on the ground like that.”

Reluctantly, Hercules returned to his feet. He placed his arm firmly around her waist and steered her along as if he knew where they were going. “It’s OK if you’re not ready to talk, but I worry about you, you know? Even when you smile, you seem a little sad. It’s not right. You deserve real happiness. If this job you have is making you miserable, let me know so I can help you.”

“There’s nothing you can do, but thanks for the offer.” There were a few things Hades might accept, but there was no way she’d put that thought in Hercules’s head where it didn’t belong.

“I mean it.” He squeezed her hip. “If it helps you actually enjoy life, I want you to have it.”

“Thanks,” she said again through a tight-lipped smile. “But don’t bother. We’re just going to have a fun night, and neither of us have to worry about our jobs, deal?”

He watched her face. It seemed at first that he might argue, but he nodded reluctantly. “Where are we going?”

“My cousin always raved about this place where she said people would just let her eat without drawing tons of attention. I figure if they’re discreet, you could actually have some time to yourself without a mob descending on you.”

“If you’re there, it won’t matter where we go. I’ll follow you anywhere.”

Megara quickly turned away from him so he wouldn’t see the guilt overshadowing her face. “First stop, Niobe’s Grill.” She offered him her hand, which he took so fast it startled her. His hand was so warm, and twice the size of hers. It should have frightened her how he dwarfed her, but despite the fact she was his secret enemy, it did the opposite.

“I think I’ve heard of that place, but I never had anyone to go with, except Phil… And Phil kinda prefers to eat the crockery.”

“I’m sure any of the half-a-dozen bimbos I saw wandering around your place today could’ve gone with you.” She wasn’t looking at him, but his shudder went through their joined hands.

“No thanks. I’m glad I get to be with you.”

She cast a brief glance at him over her shoulder. “You actually mean that, don’t you?”

“Of course, I do.” He squeezed her hand. “You’re a special person, Meg. I’m so lucky you found me today. It’s been… a rough week. I would’ve loved a letter from you, but this is better.”

Her brow twitched. “What was it this week? The chimera out near Mycenae or the boar man of the Cyclades?”

“Aw, neither of those was a big deal. It’s more… personal stuff.”

This was the key to her freedom. Her stomach flipped with guilt, but she repressed any signs that she was going through a personal crisis of her own. Nausea right before dinner would kill the mood. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” She knew he’d keep talking no matter what she said, but she felt better in offering him a way out.

“Maybe not.” He blushed, looking down at their hands and flexing his fingers against her palm. “But I’d like to hear about your problems…”

“When we’ve had a chance to sit down, and we know people aren’t listening in.”

“You don’t have to…” he sighed. “Nobody’s really supposed to know if there’s something bothering me. Phill says–”

“Shh, don’t talk about the goat man. He’ll put me off dinner.” A mostly real smile illuminated her features. “I’m different, right? I don’t care what you’re supposed to do. Just be yourself. This isn’t the right place to chat, but when we’re there, I promise you can say whatever you want. Deal?”

“Deal!” Hercules replied with a bashful chuckle.

She turned her back on him and led him down through the winding back streets of Thebes toward an outcropping that overlooked the bay. “Here we are.” She nudged him with her arm pressed against his. “Now, do you think you can hide long enough for me to tell the host that I’ve got a VIP guest who needs him to be discreet?”

Hercules glanced around, evaluating their surroundings for anything that could conceal him. “Uh… yeah!” he ducked behind a group of storage jars lined up along the restaurant’s walls.

“I’ll be quick,” she promised, quashing her urge to giggle at his ridiculous predicament.

True to her word, it took moments for the restaurant owner to accompany her back out to find Hercules and usher him in through a back door. Multiple times on the way, the man did a double-take to make sure this was the real Hercules, but there was no mistaking him for anyone else. He settled the couple into a booth he assured them a prince and Princess of Thebes used to meet up in, then drew the curtains over the entrance. They had a view of the sun sparkling over the bay, but nobody else in the restaurant had any view of them.

“This is great!” Hercules leaned over the ledge to view the water. “Thanks for bringing me here, Meg!” He sat across the table from her, but his legs were so long there was no avoiding how much space they took up under the table.

“Wait until you’ve tried some of the food. Then, you’ll really have something to thank me for.” Megara opened the menu and searched for the best wine. Normally, she’d want a clear head on the job, but just this once, she’d take the extra gifts of Dionysus to get through it. “Do you like red or white?”

“Uh, either’s fine, except… Phil says it’s bad for me, so I haven’t really…”

“Ever?” Her eyes gleamed. “We’re getting my favorite, then.”

“Oh! Well, okay, yeah! What do you like?”

Megara gave him a smile she knew would do things to him. “I like it red,” she purred and brushed her foot against his.

A vibrant wine stain blush spread across Hercules’s face. “Oh… you uh… you do?”

“I think I’ll have a sweet red tonight. You’ll learn to love it, I’m sure.”

“I trust you.”

Megara felt her smile soften. He had no idea what he was saying.

He cleared his throat and shifted uneasily in place. “You should probably just recommend whatever’s good. Phil makes me eat all kinds of healthy foods… don’t get me wrong, I can literally eat twenty pounds of meat every day, no sweat, but…”

“You don’t ever eat just to enjoy the food. It serves a purpose. But tonight, everything is different. I’m spoiling you rotten. To me, it sounds like you’ve been sorely deprived of the privilege.”

Hercules had no coherent response to that, but he rested his hand on Megara’s. Tears were welling up in his eyes.

Instinct made her fingers twitch toward freedom, but then she saw the hurt in his eyes. She set her free hand on top of his and gave him an apologetic smile. “It’s not your fault. I’m not used to… I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“You didn’t. The people who got to you first hurt me. I mean, because you’re hurt already and… I must’ve surprised you, huh?”

“Yeah, but we’re both fine now, aren’t we?” She brushed a thumb across his knuckle and felt him shiver. It didn’t take much to reach him. Maybe it was because he was already reaching for her.

The first course of their dinner, a lemon and caper soup, arrived. Hercules put polite distance between them, but he still had his eyes fixed on her. Once they were alone again, he spoke up. “Meg, I have a question, and please don’t take it as an insult, but I have to wonder… Have you always been so neglected?”

“Not always!” The defensive statement had left her open, as did her attempt to deflect by attacking the soup.

Something changed in the light that shone from Hercules’s eyes. “You mentioned you don’t have friends, and I promise, you can share mine. I can’t stop thinking about how isolated you are. It’s all right if you don’t want to explain why, it doesn’t have to be like that. Galatea and Medusa think highly of you. They told me to remind you they’re hoping to see you again.”

“That’s nice of them.” She tried to keep her voice light so she wouldn’t trip over the fact she would never see either of them again. Even if she miraculously survived Hades’s night of terror, he wouldn’t let her go. There was no way Medusa would forgive her for her role in the apocalypse, and she’d tell everyone. If Hercules won, Hades would wipe her out, or let her rot somewhere in the Underworld. If Hercules somehow forgave her after all this… then what?

She’d hoped that the soup would occupy Hercules, but he had no trouble swallowing it all in one gulp. Then he was back to investigating her. “If you could do anything you wanted with your life, what would it be?” Hercules beamed at her with adoration as he spoke, leaning in closer. “Go on, I’d like to hear one of your biggest dreams.”

Megara shook her head. “I’m no dreamer. My family learned a long time ago never to dream or hope. We focused on watching our backs, and somehow, most of us still got backstabbed, anyway.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Hercules brushed his fingertips along her cheek, making a blush trail appear in the wake of his touch. “If it’s too sensitive a topic, I’ll understand.”

“The less you know, the better.”

It was now that their second course, honey-glazed shrimp, with garlic cheese and roasted vegetables that garnished olive-stuffed chicken, appeared. Hercules was clearly excited for the food, but he never let it distract from her.

“What did you want when you were younger?” he asked her when the server walked away.

“Theater, actually. It’s sacred to Dionysus, and he used to be our patron god… Before…” she shrugged and sipped at her wine. She couldn’t reveal that she knew what Hades had done without admitting she spoke to him on a regular basis. “He’s different now. Unreliable. We don’t even call him by his proper name, any longer. That initially drew me to the theater, but it turns out I thrived there.”

“Maybe I can talk to someone at the theatre, get you in on one of the plays they’re putting on now. The theater’s really exploded recently.”

“Yeah, I can play a harpy, and whoever’s playing, you can beat me up five times a week.” She huffed at the thought of it but remembered to eat her chicken in small, rather than dramatic bites.

Hercules’s own disgust with the idea put him off his shrimp. “That’s not what I had in mind… We can have a new play. Maybe one about how I saved you from Nessus? I’ll even show up to play myself!”

“Ugh, you want people to know about that?” she shook her head. “Not one of my best moments. I screamed like a little girl.”

“It brought me to you.” He hovered his hand over hers but reconsidered and went back to his meat skewers. “I’m grateful you were loud enough for me to hear from the sky. Sometimes I think of what that centaur wanted to do with you and…” He grimaced. His hand lowered to press against hers.

“Thanks for that,” she shuddered. “Well… no, really. This way, I never had to find out how far he’d go. I never actually thanked you for that day. I was annoyed you’d seen me all vulnerable and thought I’d play it off instead of dwelling on it.”

“No, no! I completely understand!” he scooted around the perimeter of the table to sit closer. “But just so that you know, I don’t look at you any different because you were in trouble. Anyone can be in trouble sometimes. That’s why I’m here. And… I’m here for you.” He held onto her hand and lifted it to his lips for a light brush of a kiss.

A shiver went through her entire body. She closed her eyes as her heart raced within her. In the silence, she heard the telltale flap of massive wings.

“Phil!” Hercules gasped. “He’s out looking for me.”

“Shh…” Megara covered Hercules’s mouth with one hand.

His eyes widened, gazing at her with something she’d have to explore later.

“We’ll creep out that way toward the theater, and we can hide in a private box, OK?”

Hercules nodded, so Megara took her hand away. “Are you done?” Once he got her nod of confirmation, he scooped her into the crook of one arm, which pressed her close against his chest. They paused so he could tell the owner how to get in touch with Phil for payment, then carried Megara out of the restaurant.

She expected him to put her down once they were on the street, but the thought didn't seem to occur to him.

"Dinner was great," he told her quietly. "I want to bring you there every week and try everything on the menu."

In another life, yes. A thousand times.

But Megara was a level-headed woman. She knew better. "Of course."

Hercules set Megara down only so he could arrange for their tickets, which were apparently free to heroes. It was then she had a chance to see what was playing: Oedipus Rex.

It was a good thing Hercules couldn’t watch as her blush withered away to leave a frigid pallor. She wrapped her shawl around her shoulders, but she'd bought it only to look slinky. It did nothing for the chill.

“Oh, I think I read about this guy in the Greekly World News!” Hercules looped his arm through hers and pulled her toward the entrance. He cast a grin over his shoulder at her. “But I’m sure you know way more than I do! You know so much more than me on lots of things.”

“Yeah.” Her voice was choked down into the root of her throat. Let him think that was the reason. “But you need to be educated. You’re our hero, now, so you should know about your predecessor.”

“Sure, if you say so. Let me know if you recognize any of the actors! Maybe we can introduce ourselves after the show, and you can be friends again!”

Megara’s heart twisted at the thought of the one actor she hoped she never saw again. He probably wasn’t in Thebes, anymore, but on the off chance he’d returned… “I’d rather just spend tonight with you. Maybe for a second date?”

Hercules grinned. “Or our third! Come on! Let’s go sit next to each other for a few hours in the dark!” he winked with far more mischief than she’d given him credit for.

Chapter 22: Oedipus Rex

Chapter Text

“They talk to you out front like they see you pretty often,” Megara remarked as Hercules led her along.

“Every time they dedicate a new play in my name, I show up to support it, and everyone usually wants to see me here. But this time…” He closed the door to the box behind her and then drew a curtain over the half of the box facing the audience. “This is just for the two of us.”

Hercules had evidently customized his private theater box to suit his needs. A trio of seats was set up against the edge of the box: one built broad and sturdy like the hero, one built much taller, and one that resembled a nest. Behind all of these was a broad couch ordinarily used for dining.

“That’s for intermission,” Hercules explained when he caught her looking. “I normally get really hungry, but since we just ate… I’ll only be a little hungry.”

They shared a laugh, but Megara was still trying to decide where she would sit. She had to watch the downfall of her family from the perfect vantage point, after all.

“I could move the couch up,” Hercules suggested. “Or…” With the house lights still on, Megara saw his mischief overcome his shyness. “We could share my seat.”

“Are you sure that’s not too much for you?”

“We could just try it for a while, and if it didn’t work…”

“Sit down, and we’ll see how you like it.”

He was quick to take up his position, gazing at her as if unable to believe that this was happening. To be fair, Megara was dumbfounded by this turn of events, herself. It didn’t stop her from knowing precisely what to do.

Megara braced herself on both arms of Hercules’s cushioned seat and eased herself in to sit on his lap. She wiggled, presumably looking for the right posture, and not at all oblivious to the sounds he was making. “This is nice,” she concluded in a low whisper directly into his ear. “I didn’t expect it to be so warm.” She slipped an arm around his neck. “How is it for you?”

“Ah…” the sound came from somewhere deep in Hercules’s throat. His mouth hung open, and his eyes were bulbous.

“Is this the first time a girl sat in your lap?” she asked.

He could only nod.

“Is it too much for you?”

Hercules set a hand across her legs, took a deep breath, and finally said, “Let me get used to you. I don’t want to lose the experience just because I haven’t had any before. But if you don’t like it after a while, we can change.”

“I’m fine,” she whispered as she took his face in her hands. “I’ll make you fine, too.”

Below them, the chorus invoked the muses and spoke mournfully of all the experiences Thebes had suffered since its founding, though there was a verse at the end praising Hercules for reversing centuries of misery.

He squirmed under her and made several embarrassed noises under his breath.

“Shh… someone’s bound to notice you’re here, ya big ox.” Megara set her hand on his knee and whispered, “Take the credit. You earned it.”

“Okay,” he whispered back, and set a hand over hers. “Thanks.”

“As a Theban, we’ve never had it so good. As a date, I’ve never enjoyed my time in the theater so much, either.”

“Me neither…” Hercules leaned his cheek on the crown of her head and heaved a deep sigh. “You always smell so nice…”

The play introduced the curse upon King Laius, and how it had spilled over onto the rest of his family. Someone even spared mention of the sphinx, who appeared in the form of a cloth puppet held up by multiple actors on stilts.

“Oh… I really hate those,” Hercules mumbled. “I got the riddle right last time, but my head would’ve hurt a lot less if I could’ve just rammed him. The riddle itself was bad enough, but he was gonna eat my friends…”

“Next time bring a backup brain who likes to solve riddles.”

Hercules kissed her cheek. “If she’d like to.”

A giggle escaped before she could slap a hand over her mouth to hide it. Megara squashed her emotions into a tiny box and slammed the lid shut. She had to focus. Hercules was being so open with her that there had to be an opportunity to leverage something of what he said… Besides, here she was in his lap, whispering to him and accepting kisses. And giggling! It was too real. Had she not been absorbed in her thoughts, she wouldn’t have been startled by the arrival of an actor portraying Teiresias.

He shambled across the stage in a way that convinced Megara the actor had seen the blind prophet while he was alive. Shivers ran through her blood the same way they had whenever the man visited her family at the palace. She envied the ordinary folk who never had to consult with seers. It did no good knowing what was coming for you when you were powerless to stop it.

“My friend from school always used to talk about him,” Hercules mumbled to her. “She was a seer, too.”

“That must have been a blast,” Megara scoffed.

“Well, she hated it, and her visions were always about disasters, but I think she learned how to master it and didn’t feel so miserable all the time. The last I saw her, she was off to Delphi. Did… you ever meet Teiresias?”

Megara narrowed her eyes. There were five girls standing onstage wearing tragic masks. Out of the five, she knew the leader must be Antigone, but surely there were enough… One of them might be there to represent her… “A few times. He was in Thebes his whole life, and he would wander… blind, y’know? Now, pay attention.”

The actor spoke to Oedipus, in what Megara recalled was a somewhat accurate dialogue. The audience muttered to one another, solemnity blending with dread. There was not a Theban alive who didn’t know what was coming next. Why did this city insist on re-traumatizing itself? Megara had learned to toss all her darkest memories over her shoulder. Why couldn’t everyone else stop rehashing the past?

Megara glared at the stage. Creon stood behind Oedipus, where he could hear everything the seer said to the king. The mask resembled him in some ways. There was the curly beard and the solemn frown. But the eyes weren’t painted in, dark purple as the tannins left at the bottom of a winepress.

It was time to stop. Her father would never see her again, so he’d never again calculate her failures with those dark, searching eyes. Megara didn’t need his help. She already knew she was worthless now that she’d spent years doing Hades’ dirty work. What was she doing now? Hercules was holding the very viper poised to strike, and all she could do was focus on an identity crisis!

The events swam before her eyes as they had when she was a child. She saw in triplicate: first through her own childhood memories, secondly through her own eyes in the present, and third in her imagination as the girl playing her onstage looking out into the audience back at herself. Oedipus once again denounced the holy prophet and sent him away. Again, Teiresias stopped before the girls and spoke directly to them.

“Daughters of Oedipus, Princesses of Thebes…” The actor indicated each member of the chorus of actresses with his staff, naming them off. “Antigone, Ismene, Megara, Halkyone, Pyrrha. I weep for you girls. In your own ways, you will all die for love.”

Hercules jostled Megara in his excitement. “Wow, one of the princesses has the same name as you!”

“Uh-huh…” Megara was grateful for the darkness that shielded her blush. “It’s fashionable to name kids after royalty. Or it was when I was born.” Specifically, she’d been named after her twin brother, but there was no way she’d admit to that.

Who’d dared to report the prophecy to the playwright? Why was she hearing it now, on the eve of Hades’s campaign for the heavens? This wasn’t even a fully accurate recording of the prophecy, but it hit hard. She had to keep her wits about her.

“Do you know what happened to Princess Megara?”

“She died,” Megara snapped with what she hoped was enough finality to change the subject. “It’s been a while. Doesn’t matter how she went, but she’s gone, along with all the others.”

“I see why living in Thebes is so tough,” Hercules sighed, shaking his head. “Theoi. This is a nightmare.”

“It hasn’t even started.”

She could feel his eyes on her in the dark. Not the way his uncle would watch, calculating for her vulnerable spots where he could land a jab, but with compassion. “Is this too much for you?” he whispered, offering a hand. “We can head out, Meg.”

“No, no. You’re Thebes’s hero, now. You’ve gotta understand us as a people. It’ll make you more…” she twirled a hand in the air, “... part of us. Of this place.”

“All right, but tell me if you change your mind.” Hercules rested his chin on her shoulder so their heads could nestle together. He would definitely be sacrificing something if they left.

That made it easier to hide the faces she was making as intermission drew near, but it couldn’t quiet the steady drumbeat of Fate that kept pace with her heart. Soon, history would repeat. The soil of Thebes required a sacrifice. It required her. She’d escaped the last harvest fled from the field. That wouldn’t change anything long-term.

What am I even thinking? Megara winced, her eyes shut.

Focus. If she could get through tonight with some tidbit for Hades, even something inconsequential that wouldn’t hurt Hercules, then maybe… something?

“Do you wanna move to the couch or ditch the show?” Hercules asked.

“Couch! Let’s sit there.” She braced herself on the arm of the chair to slide off him, but he scooped her back into his arms and moved with her to the couch, instead.

“Faster this way,” he explained. It also happened to keep them in contact, but that seemed to go without saying. “They usually come over and ask if I want anything. What would you like?”

“They’re bound to have some pomegranate juice and walnut cakes, right? I think that’s usually what I’d have at the theater when I wasn’t backstage.”

“Definitely,” he promised. “So tell me, how accurate is this play? Right now, it seems kind of far-fetched! This has to be exaggerated, right? With this whole marrying-your-mother thing? It’s terrifying! How did he never figure it out before now?” Hercules asked.

“He thought he was from Corinth, and we’ve got some relatives there. I mean, Thebes and Corinth, you know? Lots of commerce, lots of intermarriage. So if he thought he was a Corinthian, he wouldn’t suspect anything if Jocasta looked like him. On top of all that, we only see what we allow ourselves to see.”

Hercules nodded. He played with the sash about her waist and arranged her skirt neatly so that while she lounged beside him, it covered her whole leg. “I like it when you explain things. Could you tell me something… random? I’ve been wondering if Oedipus might’ve beseeched a god or two to try and get out of this.”

“Who would help him? It’s a lost cause by this point.”

“Maybe Athena would’ve helped him when he first got here. After all, he was clever, and she likes people like that. He could’ve told her what was going on.”

“Fate won’t let mortals fight for something different. We always find ourselves where those three hags want us to go.”

“You don’t think Fate could ever be wrong?”

“You’d have to beat the cobwebs out of them before they made any changes, and I’ll wager they’d make those outcomes even worse to spite you.”

“I’ve tangled with them before, actually…” he chuckled. “All over some Orpheus tickets. I guess you’re right that the Fates are defensive over their domain, but… I still don’t think living your life under a tyrant like that and never trying to escape is worth blaming on the Fates.”

“What tyrant?” Megara asked with an edge she hadn’t intended.

“You know… belief in Fate and how you’re cursed and stuff.” He was hiding something. “I’m just saying, you could be happier if you decided you’d change something about your life instead of accepting that you hate it.”

“That sort of thing isn’t up to me. In my case, there’s nowhere to run. I’ll always be me, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“I wouldn’t say that’s so bad…”

The man running concessions arrived, and Hercules asked him for one of the honey walnut cakes and two orders of pomegranate juice. He settled Megara against the backrest of the couch while they received their intermission snack, and kept an arm around her.

“If there was one thing that you lost and you’d fight to get it back, what would it be?” he asked her.

“My freedom,” she blurted out. “I can’t make any choices. I’m always obeying orders. At least I can choose how, but it’s never enough.”

Was it the wine, his heat, or his scent? She’d never be that forthcoming on purpose…

“Why’d you lose it, though?” he asked.

Megara drank some of her juice. “I was alone, and then not quite alone, and I wanted to keep it that way.”

“Oh…” She knew she hadn’t told him anything with that statement, and his face only confirmed it. “Was there anything you gained from… whatever it is that happened?”

“No. Someone took it.” She rang finality into her words so he’d stop pressing. He was asking a lot more questions than she was tonight. How odd.

“So… whatever you were going to get is…?”

“Gone with the breeze of Boreas. And good riddance, too.”

He seemed even more confused, but now the lights were dimming again.

“Let’s move.” Megara got up first, handing him the rest of the dessert.

“Do you still want to sit… with me?”

“On you. Yes. Sit.” She’d have to take control of this situation before it controlled her.

Hercules didn’t say anything this time, though he kept his arms firmly around her. He was too engrossed in the plot to speak as Queen Jocasta took her own life offstage, and Oedipus walked back onstage with blood streaming down his face. “No…” Hercules whispered into her hair.

Megara nodded, focused on the horrified players onstage. She locked her eyes on the girl assigned her own role. From outside herself, she relived the moment. Until that day, her life had been on the edge, but it had fallen and never stopped falling down a stony slope. She’d eventually reach the bottom, and then she knew she’d shatter.

“We should leave before the rest of the crowds,” Hercules whispered. “Wanna go somewhere and cool down?”

“Sculpture garden.”

“Huh?” He leaned closer to hear, and for a moment, her breath vanished from her lungs.

“There’s a sculpture garden. The best part of the theater district. Follow me.” She leaped out of her seat and dragged him back the way they’d come. I’ll never look back again, she swore to herself. It’s over. Get over it. But she knew as long as she lived, she never would.

“Thanks, Meg. This is the most fun I’ve had in months.”

“I’m glad,” she admitted. It was a genuine sentiment instantly crushed by the moment she remembered why she was there with him.

Hercules leaned closer, but hesitated, watching her mouth. Did he want to…?

She glanced away to hide her guilt, but he stopped her with a gentle brush of his fingertips against her cheek. “I’m not used to things going so well.” While it was a true statement, she shielded herself from having to explain what was really on her mind.

“Neither am I if you’ll believe it. Outside the whole hero gig, ya know? I’ve gotten all the training I could possibly ask for in that, but sometimes… well, all the time… the cosmos has given me the message that I’m socially inept.”

“I don’t believe that. I think people have been unfair to you, but that isn’t your fault.”

Hercules’s mouth fell open, only to quickly shape into a wry smile. “You didn’t know me in my Pro Ac days. But trust me, I’ll never be ready to share those stories. How about we catch this play so I can stop talking before I say anything I can’t take back?”

“Of course.” Megara set a light hand on his arm as they walked, and felt the shiver run through his whole frame. “I’ve got a few skeletons in my closet, too, so it’s no big deal. I’m already restraining some of my commentary to spare you.”

“Spare me less. I want to know everything! Starting with… where’s that garden you mentioned?”

Chapter 23: Final Act

Chapter Text

Megara had yet to get her secrets out of Hercules, and it was entirely her own fault. Her freedom was within reach. All she had to do was stab Hercules in the back. It would be so simple. He’d probably roll over and show her where to stick the knife. But she needed something. Anything that would convince Hades, she tried. Leaving the theater with her hero in tow, she racked her brain.

Once they were on the backstreets between the theater and the sculpture garden did not present many opportunities to hide. Every chance they found, Megara pushed Hercules into the shadows to wait. “Shh,” she whispered to him. “They’ll be listening for us, too.”

“Yeah…” Hercules whispered. He wound his arms around her so he could make them as small as possible together. “This reminds me of the last time we hid together in a small, shadowy place.”

Megara fitted herself into the arch of his torso. “Fond memories?” she cooed softly.

“I’ve dreamed of it a few times…” he admitted. One hand went tracing through her hair.

Another arrow in her quiver. “We still have all night if Phil doesn’t catch us… do you think we should pick somewhere more secluded? Phil could spot us from the sky if we’re out in the open.”

His knees trembled. “They’ll be sweeping the city in a flight pattern to find me,” Hercules whispered back.

“They do this often?”

“No, but it’s how Phil taught me to look for damsels, so I’m pretty sure he only has one set of tactics.”

“Phil’s really got you on a tight leash…” She swallowed her guilt and asked as innocently as possible, “Is he afraid you’ll get into an Achilles situation if he leaves you alone?”

“Nah. He hates it when I slack off. Plus, I got between him and some Amazons, which only bothers him because he never met any.”

Megara snickered. “You can be bad when you want to.”

“Yeah, but it’s only because I know you’ll laugh. One of my friends in high school was an Amazon. I thought she was attractive at first, but she was always so nasty I couldn’t stay interested.”

“Then I’m surprised you haven’t gotten rid of me yet. Everyone tells me what a heinous bitch I am before they cut me off forever.”

“Heinous–!” Hercules grunted in disapproval. He grabbed her hand and marched her down the alley now that Phil had moved on. He spoke again when they saw the signs for the Gardens of Harmonia. Then he pulled her into the starlight and gave her a stern look. “People are wrong. That doesn’t describe you, at all. Sometimes, you’re blunt, but it’s because you’re smarter and funnier than most people. You’re almost always right, but people don’t want to hear what you’re saying. That’s not your fault. There were people in your life before you met me who didn’t deserve you. That’s not your fault. It won’t happen again.”

She wanted to make a snippy comeback about her rate of accuracy, but his voice softened the harshness out of her tongue. “What makes you say almost?”

“The way you talk about yourself is like you have a nemesis I’ve never met before, but she won’t leave you alone. I don’t even think these are your own words, Meg. I think you’re wrong because you’re letting someone else speak for you.” He had a glow about him that she couldn’t justify as anything but the force of his righteous indignation.

“Someone else…” she repeated.

“Yeah. Someone who hates you, and has convinced you that you should hate yourself. That’s who you should curse. Not yourself. You’re doing that person’s work, and what do you get out of it? You don’t even get to enjoy being gorgeous and brilliant like you deserve to.”

Megara felt herself wither under the spotlight of his scrutiny, only to realize that his passion drew from heartache on her behalf. She didn’t deserve it.

Hercules set a hand on the gate into the garden. “I want to know who hurt you so I can make them feel what you’re feeling right now.”

“You’re not nearly cruel or vicious enough.”

“I can be.” Hercules smiled, but there was a hint of the flinty resolve she recalled from some of their previous encounters. “Just because I'm nice around people doesn’t mean I can’t be vicious around monsters. Did you ever hear about what I did to that Minotaur?”

Megara shivered. “This isn’t something you can cut into pieces and mount on a wall, Wonder Boy. Most of the people who did anything to me are already dead.”

“And who’s left?” Hercules gripped the gate with enough force to bend a few bars. He didn’t bother to straighten them, only kept his gaze fixed on her.

The sensation of smoke at the back of her throat prevented her from answering honestly, so she hung her head. “It doesn’t matter.” If he was a normal man, she’d have distracted him and disappeared into the garden, but there was no way around Hercules.

Hercules took a step closer to her. “Is it something to do with why you’re always around monsters?”

“Yes,” she admitted, but she covered her mouth after that. She’d gone an awfully long time without checking for her handlers. A pair of birds, one purplish blue, one pinkish red, flying around and twittering adorably.

Hercules followed the direction of her eyes. “If you wanted to leave, someone would find you.”

The smoke continued to choke her. “All I want is to be free, but I’ll never have the chance.”

“You have the chance right now.” Hercules set a hand on her waist and brought her closer to the gate. “I’m your chance. Take it.”

With Pain and Panic watching, she knew she didn’t have much choice but to act for Hades. If Hercules wanted to be part of this show, she’d have to hope he was good at improvising.

“You really want to be taken?” she purred at him while unlocking the gate in one hand and scratching his jawline with the other. “I know you said you wouldn’t mind some corruption, but this is different… Are you sure you know what you’re asking?”

“Not at all when you say it like that…” Hercules gulped and turned his face away. He was definitely not ready. If she pushed a little more, she’d get him past that response, but it wouldn’t be right of her.

“Then let’s remember what it’s like to have fun.” Megara swung the gate open and stepped into the gardens ahead of him.

Hercules lingered at the gate a moment longer to straighten the bars and lock it behind them, but then he jogged ahead to take the lead down the stairs. “Before we go down there, will you tell me one thing? Are you sure we’ll be alone?”

Not with Pain and Panic flying about.

“Just us and the wildlife. The gardens are sacred to Aphrodite and the Muses. Most people know better than to loiter in here. They’d probably get cursed into something ridiculous.”

“Like a songbird?” Hercules suggested.

He knew. She had no idea how long he’d known, but it was clear by now that he had some of the puzzle pieces put together. She ought to have been horrified that she’d been found out, but all Megara could do was laugh. She leaned against the staircase wall, covered her face, and fell headlong into a fit of hysterics.

Uncertain how to respond, Hercules was soon at her side, trying to laugh along.

“How did you…?” She started, but then she shook her head. “They’ll summon him if I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do…”

“Hades wants something from me, and you’re here to get it from me. What?”

Megara could only wheeze. Tears appeared with seemingly no cause.

Using her new shawl, Hercules wiped her tears away. “He’s watching, right? You can’t tell me.”

“Got a lot of experience with…?” She choked, then coughed. There was a smoky taste at the back of her throat.

“It’s ok. Most of my friends have been part of a Hades scheme at some point. He offered them something, and we figured a way around it. At the end of it, they were free. What is it for you?”

She had to choose the words with the utmost care. “I can never take it back. Someone has it, and it’s far away. All I have left is someone else’s debt.”

“So it’s transferable.” Hercules pulled her along with him, so they both stood. “Let it go.”

“What?”

Hercules beamed. “You can pay someone else’s debt, right? That sounds like a heroic move to me!”

“But you can’t!” She threw herself at him with hands pressed to his chest. “He’d make you tear the cosmos to bits!” She hissed, close enough that only the two of them could hear. “Let’s just try to enjoy tonight, please?”

“Because it’s the last one, right?” Hercules wrapped her in his arms. “You’re expecting Hades to lock you up or worse. He won’t ever get you back.”

“He’s going to show up if his minions tell him we’re talking about him. Or I’ll disappear. At least let’s make it look like we’re doing what he wants.”

“What he wants is…?”

Megara cupped his face in her hands. “The same as what I want right now. That’s never happened before.”

His lashes drooped low as Hercules gazed at her. “So if we…” He held her off the ground so she could reach the same height as him.

The birds twittered around in another loop.

Megara laughed again. She leaned her face against his shoulder and felt him laughing under her.

“Maybe we should wait until we’re sure we’re alone,” Hercules whispered to her. He set her down and broke into a far more characteristic grin. “Wow, today’s been something, Meg! First, that restaurant by the bay…” he threw a casual glance around the garden, then continued, “Then that play? That… that Oedipus thing? Man! I thought I had problems!”

Megara had to laugh along, no matter how uncomfortable his gregarious fakery made her. He was much better at this than she expected.

The birds glared at her.

She made an equally foul expression right back.

“It’s been forever since I had a day off just to be myself. I never would’ve done this without you. Thanks, Meg.” Now, that was heartfelt.

Megara darted her eyes toward the birds, then gave Hercules an uncomfortable smile. He was in on the performance. They just had to hope he could improvise. “Don’t thank me just yet…” she warned him. Here goes nothing. Megara suppressed her response to the revulsion roiling in her stomach. “Oh!” she exclaimed dramatically.

Hercules checked over his shoulder, concern, and confusion on his face, just in time to catch her as she dropped from the stairs above him. “Whoa! Careful!” He checked the stairs behind her for something she might have tripped over.

There were worse things to fall into than a set of powerful arms that held her as if she were both delicate and precious. There was no time to get bogged down. It was show time. “Sorry,” she whispered and lifted the supposedly offending foot off the ground. “Weak ankles.”

“Oh, yeah?” Hercules sounded as if he didn’t quite register what she was saying. It wouldn’t have been the first time. “Well, maybe you should sit down for a while.” He scooped her into his arms before she could say anything, which gave her just enough time to remember how much she liked the way his arms cradled her to him. He set her down on a stone bench and sat beside her. He didn’t even look at her, too busy smiling into the distance.

She had to wonder if he saw the birds, too, but at the moment, all she wanted to do was play dirty. She could still get what Hades wanted even if Hercules knew what she was doing, couldn’t she? Maybe then… Well, it was her only chance, wasn’t it?

“So,” she crooned, “do you have any problems with things like this?” She’d have to shatter her way through that blissful daydream haze in his eyes. Megara raised her leg so her ankle could hover an inch from his nose.

Hercules was unprepared. He stared at her foot as if it was an exotic fish that had just smacked him in the face. Well, if he weren’t getting it yet, she’d help him.

Megara hooked her foot under his chin and tilted it back so he’d turn his face toward her. As a consequence, her skirt rode up her leg, aided by the way her dress wrapped around her body and left a slit up the side. There was plenty for him to see if Hercules would only look. “Weak ankles, I mean.”

All clarity was gone from Hercules’s eyes. He seemed drunk or as if someone had punched him hard enough to rattle his brain. They were no longer operating on the same level.

“Oh! Uh, no, not really…” He strained through the haze in his eyes to piece together what she was after. It would have been obvious if he wasn’t dealing with her intentional escalation of the chemistry between them. With the utmost care, Hercules guided her leg back down, but she wouldn’t be deterred. If Hades was getting reports back from Pain and Panic, something she’d seemingly avoided up until now, it was time to really go for it.

“No… weaknesses… whatsoever?” she cooed at him. She left her shawl behind her and scooted across the bench despite his efforts to retreat. She kept a playful smile on her face. With a teasing flick to his knee, she asked, “No trick knee?”

He jerked his leg just out of reach as if her fingers were knives. There was confusion written all over his face, along with concern. Still, from the uncomfortable yet amused noise he made and the way he kept his legs pressed together, her seduction was working. Maybe he had something to be self-conscious of that he was keeping hidden from her. She’d spent a good few hours sitting in his lap while he cuddled her. He would eventually recover from her flirtation methods. Maybe she’d even teach him how to have a little fun along the way.

“Ruptured disks?” she suggested, pressing her hand against his chest as if she might find one. Quite the opposite. He was the same solid wall of muscle as ever. One strap of her dress slid down her shoulder. It wouldn’t take much for it to leave her exposed to him… Theoi, she didn’t care! Actually, it might be just the thing she would need to console her in the Underworld when her fate consumed her. It was a foolish, horrendous idea, but she couldn’t stop it from flashing through her mind. It must have shown on her face.

Hercules let out a breathy half-chuckle as if she’d told him a joke he didn’t quite understand. It must be working. Soon, he’d… lift her strap back into place? Gulp with discomfort? What was happening? Megara stared down at her dress strap in disbelief. Didn’t he want her? What wasn’t she doing?

“No, I’m-I’m-I’m–” Good, so he was as broken as she was. That might explain it. “I’m fit as a fiddle!” he forced out, then jogged away from the bench they shared to the nearest fountain.

She stared after him, still in shock. Why couldn’t he get with the program? “Wonder Boy, you are perfect,” she scoffed, planting her chin in the palm of her hand. She prayed Hades had lost interest once it looked like his nephew’s clothes might come off. He probably wouldn’t have the same reservations about her own. The “birds” from before were noticeably absent. Maybe neither of them wanted to watch, either.

“Thanks!” Oblivious to her tone, Hercules picked up a stone and skipped it across a fountain, where it hit a statue of Aphrodite. Smooth. Almost as smooth as her failing to seduce a man who was clearly into her. She’d call it even. “Whoops!” Hercules swept the stray curl out of his eyes and winced across the water at the newly armless statue.

Megara couldn’t help laughing into her hand, watching to see if Hercules would laugh along. When instead he attempted to laugh it off She sidled up to him and draped an arm across his shoulder. “It looks better that way,” she said and tilted her head.

He did the same, hands clasped in front of himself as if he were a schoolboy who needed his teacher to reassure him that he wasn’t in trouble.

The balance of the statue had been off. The arms had been the wrong size for the body and had curved at inelegant angles. Without the arms, the statue had an abstract refinement to its shape that Megara had to figure Aphrodite herself would appreciate. “No, it really does,” she assured him with an encouraging smile.

His own smile had a familiar sort of goofy bashfulness that morphed into a mischievous half-smile. Was he mirroring her? Should she worry that he’d developed a talent for matching her energy? It was almost like he knew her.

A brilliant ray of light flashed across the sky.

Megara and Hercules paused everything to stare up at it. There had been shooting stars in the past, but Megara hadn’t been topside long enough to witness one in… she struggled to remember.

“It’s a good sign,” Hercules murmured to her.

“What? The star?”

“Yeah. The night I left my adoptive parents to find my destiny, I saw a shooting star. To me, it symbolizes my journey. I think it means the two of us are gonna make it. You’re part of my journey now. Kinda dorky, huh?”

“No, it’s… just a little… You could have any woman you wanted, more than one, even. I know why I like you, but you already figured out what’s going on with me, so why not pick a girl without all this baggage?”

“Baggage like being caught between cosmic forces?” Hercules made a face. “And what kind of girls do you mean, exactly? Like those girls at the villa? They don’t even know me. A lot of them probably think they do because I waved at them once, or they’ve been to all my store openings, or they got my autograph this one time, and they keep it on them so they can show it to everyone they meet.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. How did he get to be so handsome in the least conscious moments? “Phil promised me this would help me get over all my insecurities, and I’d become more confident, but really? All that’s happened is I’ve turned into a new kind of freak. I’ve followed older heroes' careers. They enjoy all the attention. But this isn’t what being a true hero is all about. My father keeps telling me I’m not there yet, but I have to wonder what could be missing.” Hercules sat heavily on the edge of the fountain, thankfully without cracking it. His thick legs splayed out in helpless shambles, and his hands hung down where they brushed the ground.

Even Megara’s freedom wasn’t reward enough to kick a man when he was down. She stood over him, between his knees. “Do you know what a true hero is yet?”

“No,” he groaned.

“I’m sure you’ll find out soon. If anyone’s ever been a real hero, I’m sure it’s you. I’ve never seen anyone lose their mind over a mortal like this. You’d think every day was Titan Smitin’ Day.”

Hercules laughed breathlessly. “Yeah, but there’s gotta be more to it.” His fingers trailed through his hair, trying to calm himself while unknowingly riling Megara up. “But thanks for talking me through that. Before you showed up, I was having a serious crisis. Phil doesn’t understand why I feel this way, but…” He drew in a breath that seemed to gather his confidence and returned to his feet. “You know, when I was a kid, I would've given anything to be exactly like everybody else.”

“Ugh. You wanted to be petty and dishonest?” Megara shook her head. She had to put some space between them. If they weren’t going to amuse themselves for the rest of her last night on Earth, she had to cool herself down.

“Everybody's not like that,” Hercules protested from where she left him.

Megara gazed into the water of another sculpture-adorned fountain. Nobody would know better than her by now. “Yes, they are…”

“You're not like that.” His reflection joined hers in the water. “Not from what I’ve seen.”

She whirled around on him. “How do you know what I'm like?” she challenged, but the words came out softly, desperate.

Hercules took her hands in his. “Because you’re the girl who’s brave enough to face off against a monster way bigger than you who wants to do whatever nasty stuff he can think of. You’re the girl who was smart enough to hijack a bizarre invention the first time you saw it and pull off an incredible move against two monsters that my best hero friend and I were struggling with. You’re also the girl who gave Medusa a second chance at life, but this time with friends and powers that help her keep them. When I was at my lowest and was starting to think I was nothing but a killing machine, you were there to remind me that I fight to protect, not destroy. You’re so gentle with me, even though you’re brilliant enough to run circles around me. When you tease me, you’re always checking to make sure you haven’t gone too far. You stand up for me, and anyone else, but you never ask for anyone to do the same.”

It was all too much. He tallied up her deeds, but did he know the truth of them? He might, considering he’d pieced together her Hades connection. She pulled back, trying to be polite, though her eyes drifted closed over her guilt.

Hercules let her go. So patient. With all he knew, why hadn’t he called on his father to smite her yet? Why was he singing her praises as if she were the one aiming for Olympus?

Something stung her back, like an overgrown bee.

Shocked, Megara turned to see a small statue of Cupid.

Hercules might have his shooting stars, but Megara knew how to take a hint, herself.

He must not have noticed, because he forged on. “No matter what you say about yourself, Meg... when I'm with you, I don't feel so... alone.”

Years ago, Megara would have gasped, and thrown herself into his arms. She would have believed that she’d finally found her way out of the seven-layered moussaka’s worth of curses heaped on her family and all of Thebes.

Instead, she wanted to tell him he should stop leaving himself so open. It would be impossible to stop by now, worn down as she was by Fate and the inevitable course pulling them along. Still, she had to warn him. “Sometimes it's better to be alone,” she said as she walked right past him to another fountain.

“What do you mean?” That thought had evidently never occurred to him.

Megara slumped in her spot. A tremendous burden of guilt rested over her shoulders. “Nobody can hurt you,” she told him. “If you were alone right now, or with Phil, this wouldn’t be happening.”

“You’re the one who told me my birthday would be significant this year.” Hercules took her hand and sat beside her. “You weren’t supposed to do that, were you?”

“No…” She bit her lip. It hadn’t changed anything. Here she was at the bidding of her master. She hadn’t seen her way through to double-crossing Hades, but she wanted to… if only she knew how.

“What if I told you that I’ve been taking my time with you tonight because there’s only one person here who needs saving?”

Megara looked up at him, incredulous. He didn’t know about the Titans. Hades could appear at any moment, and then…

“I don’t know what he’s told you, but I can see what it’s done to you. I won’t leave you for dead. We’re both going to be okay. You may not have chosen to be here with me, but you are now. I won’t let anything happen to you. Maybe you can’t fight for your freedom, but I can. All I need to know is what Hades promised you so I can get it for you, instead. I’ll do anything for you. I’ll go anywhere and find the thing that was stolen from you.”

“It was never stolen…” Her mouth would not form the words.

“But you don’t have a way to get it back.”

She’d have to kill someone. “It’s irreversible,” she said and pulled her hand free of his. “I’ve always been cursed. The curse reaches back generations. I can’t fight that, and neither can you.”

“Maybe not tonight. Or not all at once. But if I ever find out what it is, nothing will matter as much to me as winning your freedom.”

“He can never know.” Megara checked their surroundings once again for signs of the minions. “Even were you to find this… thing. You couldn’t reverse my contract. You would have to negate your own nature. By then, I’ll be settled into Tartarus, and we will never see one another again.”

“No…” Hercules whispered. He closed his eyes firmly against that thought. “It can’t be like that!” He turned her face toward him so she could see the ferocity in his eyes. “I can’t let you go. I need you! There’s nobody else in my life who can understand me the way you do, and you’re the only one who reaches past all the superficial hero stuff to see me as a person. Even Phil is using me to achieve his own dreams, and sometimes I feel like he cares more about my success if it can benefit him than he does if I’m even happy. You like to talk about Fate, and so do I. It seems clear to me that every sign points me to you.” He pulled her into his arms, one hand cradling the back of her head so it would rest over his heart.

This comic tragedy had her in its grip. She had to fight the urge to sob into his chest and melt into his strength. Her traitorous arms encircled him, and she found that the pain receded. It was as if he had some form of healing power in his embrace.

“I’m not letting you go, Meg. I can’t. I hope you know that no matter what the world has taught you, whatever Hades wants you to believe, I would never, ever hurt you.” He waited for her to rally herself. Solemn and compassionate, it was easy to read every thought in his head.

“And, I don’t wanna hurt you…” Megara ducked her head. There didn’t seem to be a way around hurting him. No matter what she did, it would rip them apart. “So let's do ourselves a favor and…” She looked back up to find that Hercules had drawn even closer. What was he…? “Stop this, um…” He just kept drawing nearer. There was no stopping, not when the magnetism was so powerful. He didn’t need to speak. “Before…” Stay rational. She tilted her head to match how Hercules moved his own. “We…”

His breath was warm against her lips. A fog of pleasure misted over her thoughts. She’d do anything for him.

Chapter 24: Unraveling Fate

Chapter Text

Blinding light.

A blast of air.

“All right, break it up!” Phil screamed at them through a megaphone. “Break it up! Party’s over!”

“Phil…” Hercules growled under his breath. He sat trying to switch gears, but Megara had lost interest in getting bullied by the satyr.

She stepped in front of Hercules and glared into the light. “Calm down, mutton man! It was all my fault!”

Phil jumped closer to her on Pegasus’s nose. “You’re already on my list, sister, so don’t make it worse!” He jumped off Pegasus and stormed toward Hercules.

Meanwhile, Pegasus huffed directly into her face. This brought him close enough for Megara to blow out the candle in his lantern. The horse was stunned by her audacity, but all Megara could think of was how, without that light, she might’ve actually kissed Hercules. The frustration at missing out was equaled only by the irritation at herself for how much she wanted it.

Hercules had made it to his feet now, and he put an arm around Megara. “Phil, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You’ve got to back off.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, you’re letting this harpy distract you from the fact she’s using you! Every time she shows up, there’s a monster around the corner! You’d better get out of here before something shows up!”

“If a monster did show up, it would be my duty as a hero to fight it,” Hercules ground out between his teeth. “And I’d win. You brought me here to the city with the most problems in all of Greece, and you’re shocked that one of its citizens is constantly in danger?”

“I’m really just not allowed to exist, am I? Do you even know what my secret plot might be?” Megara demanded to know. From the angle the goat man was standing, she could easily punt him into a fountain.

“Glad to hear you’re finally catching on!” Phil barked at her. “You need to back off the kid! I don’t know what you’re planning, but whatever it is, you’d better take it somewhere else!”

Hercules reached down and picked Phil off the ground. “You don’t get to talk about her that way, anymore, Phil. I love her.”

Megara took a step back. “You what?”

The two of them stared at one another in a blind panic.

“That’s enough!” Phil squirmed free while Hercules was too distracted to hold onto him. “I’m taking you to the stadium where you’re gonna have the workout of your life!”

“Not tonight. There’s something important I haven’t told you,” Hercules nudged Phil out of the way with his foot and moved to take Megara’s hands. “Meg, sorry I blurted that out, but…”

“No, it’s fine, I was only startled…” She tried to smile, but she was so dizzy she didn’t know how to handle herself. Everything was not fine. What was she supposed to say now? It wouldn’t be as simple as telling him she loved him, too. She couldn’t say those words, not again. At some point in the last few seconds, she had begun to hyperventilate.

Phil refused to stop being obnoxious. “What’s the matter with you? You’ve said you’re in love with all kinds of girls, so you’ll get over this one just like the others!”

“Don’t… say it like that.” Danger honed Hercules’s voice to a fine point.

“I think I know why he hates me so much.” She had to put the spotlight somewhere else. It was the only way she could regain her composure. “Is this because when we met, you came on to me, and I thought it was gross? Are you trying to sabotage Wonder Boy and me because you’re jealous?”

“Is that… you mean while I fought the centaur?” Hercules waited only a second for her confirmation. “Phil! What did you do?”

“Yeah, I put the moves on her, before I realized she was a—“

Hercules reached down and picked his mentor back off the ground. “Phil. Not. Another. Word.” With a hand over Phil’s mouth to enforce his command, he looked at Megara. “What did he do?”

“Climbed into my lap like a creep? Expected me to kiss him and probably some other stuff. I dumped him in the river.”

Hercules’s face was so full of conflicting reactions of rage, disbelief, and disgust that it finally went blank. He dropped the satyr. “I think I get it.”

“Kid…” Phil started.

“Later.” Hercules stepped over him and offered Megara his hand. “I wish you’d told me sooner, but I understand why you wouldn’t. You probably agreed with some of the things he said, didn’t you?”

Megara shrugged. “I honestly didn’t think we’d get more involved than some light flirting. It didn’t matter to me what you thought in the end because you’d eventually lose interest and move on.”

“I meant what I told him.” Hercules brought her hand to his lips. “I love you. That was how I meant to tell you before, but it slipped out at the wrong time. I’m sorry for that.”

Megara nodded. If she weren’t careful, she’d faint.

Hercules wrapped an arm around her to hold her steady. “Do you need a minute?” Pained anxiety was written all over his face.

She hadn’t said it.

She could never say it.

The longer she went without saying it, the more it hurt him.

“Yes… You talk to your friend. See if you can compromise.”

“There’s no compromise if he keeps saying nasty things around you. I’ll keep him away from you while you relax.” His touch lingered as she withdrew. “It’s going to be all right, Meg.” Hercules plucked a flower from a nearby tree and handed it to her. While she was distracted by the gesture, gazing down at the flower, Hercules leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Come back to me when you’re ready.”

Her heart sank only to leap back into place like the setting and rising sun. He was the center of the cosmos. She had to get away from him. “Goodbye,” she whispered.

Then she was off. In the past, these statues had brought her comfort. There was something in the poetry of their frozen windswept passion that helped her remember to stay in the moment. However, there was an important reason she’d avoided this garden in recent years. Many of the statues depicted young lovers embracing. It made her heart wistful for the nights she believed in love. And yet, there was a change in her. It wasn’t the same as before, but an echo of that sensation remained.

In the distance, Hercules and Phil were yelling at each other. She didn’t have that much time before something blew up in her face. That something might just be a boss who’d heart too much.

Megara rested against a small monument to the muses. As long as she stood in the sanctuary of the goddesses, Hades might leave her alone to think. Where better to get her story straight than at a museum to collect thoughts?

It only featured five of them, but between those five, she ought to find something approaching rational thought. Calliope for epic poetry, nobody could ever leave her out, as the entire world was mad for heroes. It seemed she had the worst case of them all. Then there was Melpomene and Thalia, goddesses of Tragedy and Comedy, respectively. Megara had always resonated more with Melpomene. Terpsichore stood for dance, and Clio for History.

She wasn’t sure why those who built the monument hadn’t seen fit to include the other four. Maybe it was for the best the muse of erotic poetry wasn’t around to give her any ideas. She breathed in the scent of the flower Hercules had left her with. It carried with it a sweet, calming aura that reminded her of the man who’d given it to her.

And that was the problem.

If any presence of the goddesses lingered in this garden, she would have to give them an offering to summon it. She dug through the lining of her girdle and found a few obols. With a clink of finality, she surrendered payment she may otherwise have given Charon. Her fingertips lingered on the coins, but there was no rescinding an offering once made. She backed away from the altar and bowed her head.

“Sing to me, o muses, for I am a confused mortal who once lived under the grace of your divine inspiration. I serve another master now, but I remember when things made sense. I need your help.”

Faint music played in the distance, the one sign that she had earned the audience of the muses. None of them moved.

“Let me set the stage. I need a way out of this. I have a hero who loves me, but I belong to his nemesis. I need to get rid of this… love thing. Theoi, I hate saying that word. And I’m done. If you’re crowning winners in the rotten judge of character, I’m waiting on my laurels.” She gestured toward the entrance to the garden, where Hercules and Phil were still arguing. Thankfully, she was too far away, so she couldn’t understand their words anymore.

Here, she could focus.

“I figured out the score a long time ago, you know what I mean? About men. And how they’re slimeballs who want to use everyone around them until they’re ready to toss them out a window.” She started pacing, hands folded behind her back. “But you know what? I’m wondering now what I’m supposed to do about him. How do I break this off? He said he loves me! We can’t… It’s impossible. There has to be a logical solution to all these…” All her wild gestures could only conjure the word, “feelings,” with the utmost distaste.

Silence from the goddesses.

“Right. This might fall out of your domain. Sorry to bother you. You’re all about memories and inspiration. I thought it might be fortunate for me that you’re here, and could advise me. Set me on the right course, won’t you? How do I thread this needle?”

Did they need a second offering? What else did she have?

Slowly, Megara relinquished the flower Hercules had given her. She could all but feel the kiss he’d given her as if it had vanished off her skin. It felt like a betrayal.

But she wasn’t in love with him. That feeling would pass.

Thalia, the muse of Comedy, was not the first person she would’ve beseeched for advice. Yet, she was the first to awaken. “Honey, who do you think you’re kidding? You have been falling in love in our garden this whole time, and you think we didn’t notice?” The fit of laughter which then ensued was the closest thing to what Megara had expected from her.

“I haven’t… that’s not what…”

Terpsichore giggled before she moved out of her statue pose. “Maybe you weren’t all the way in love before you got here, but you’re not any good at hiding your emotions.”

“At least not as much as you wish you could.” Melpomene had a gracious expression when she moved. “I know you best of all, Princess. I’ve never known you to squash your feelings when you wanted something.”

“I don’t want this,” Megara lied. How had she gotten so casual with lying to goddesses?

“No, you need this.” Clio unrolled the scroll of history. “Megara, Princess of Thebes, you have been granted an opportunity to overcome the circ*mstances of your family’s fate. I hereby proclaim that history has reached a crossroads. You may yet prosper by injecting some Olympian into the bloodline.”

Megara gagged. “Don’t… don’t say it like that! Besides, here’s no time for… We only have one night to sort out…”

“It was merely a practical observation. I thought you enjoyed logic!” Clio rolled up her scroll in a huff.

It was at this time that Calliope graced Megara with her presence. “My sisters and I have observed you from afar for too long. It is time that we bestow our wisdom upon you while you are willing to hear it.”

In the distance, Megara saw Pegasus fly away. It was unclear with how quickly the horse flew whether Hercules had gone along. Was she alone with the Muses now? Why would he leave her like that?

The forlorn panic that rose in her heart made her sick. She could do fine without him! Why should she care if he left her?

“He’s the Earth and Heaven to you,” Calliope told her.

“You can try to keep it hidden, but we’ve already seen through you,” Melpomene added.

“You asked for our inspiration,” Terpsichore reminded Megara. “Did you think it was impossible we’d tell you that you love him?”

“We can understand, honey!” Thalia said with a low chuckle. “Hunkules has some fine legs on him! Much better than last year!”

Clio did Megara a favor and bonked Thalia on the head with her scroll. “Apologies for her. But it’s true. Just looking at you, we all know.”

“Heroes inspire us all to greatness,” Calliope stepped off the pedestal to reach for Megara’s hand.

Megara knew better than to refuse the goddess, so she offered her hand. Rather than clasping hands, Calliope pressed the flower back into Megara’s hand.

All the emotions that were tied to it, memories of the night as it flew by, were now flooding Megara’s mind. So much for fighting her feelings.

“We all know the truth, but that doesn’t mean we want to humiliate you. We want to see you embrace your heart again. Be the greatest you can be. The last time you felt wholly yourself was just before you gave yourself away.”

“That was my worst moment,” Megara jerked her hand free. So much for divine etiquette. “You write epic poetry. Do you want his story to end with Melpomene?”

“Actually, we’re all collaborating,” Melpomene said helpfully. “His life began, and soon there was the tragedy of his kidnapping.”

“But it’s always been funny when Hunkules puts his enemies in their places!” Thalia added.

“He will make history,” declared Clio.

“He will be the greatest of heroes,” Calliope said in her most authoritative voice.

“I’m just happy to be here!” Terpsichore announced gleefully.

“So that’s your advice, then? That I just…?”

“Give up,” Calliope confirmed.

“Give in,” Melpomene put her arm around Megara. “You must submit to Fate and the blessing of Aphrodite. This is who you truly are."

“No, this scene will not go on!” Megara backed away from the Muses. “I’m not going to march back over there and tell him…” she gagged on the words. “I’m not saying I’m in love. Do you have any idea how cliche that would be? Damsel in Distress falls for a hunky hero? What then? I throw myself at him and hope he makes everything okay?”

The Muses all looked at one another as if, yes, that was exactly what they thought about her.

“I get it. Every time someone falls in love for the first time, it feels great. People start thinking that’s what the whole thing is like, but I can’t afford to live through the fallout. This can’t be love. I can’t allow it to be!” She’d begun to pace. “I thought you’d be on my side with logic…”

“The logical course toward the best possible outcome includes you admitting you love Hercules,” Calliope told her.

“We’ll record a fantastic song about it,” Calliope promised.

“What? No! No, this is not a musical! This is a group of adults discussing a difficult topic!”

“Why did you summon us if you didn’t want to sing?” Terpsichore asked. “We’d dance with you, too. Then you’d feel better! You need to loosen up!”

Megara covered her ears. “This is not the night for that! I’m losing my mind, and I’ll probably be dead soon! I need solutions! Please… tell me how we all survive this situation.”

“You’re awfully distressed for someone who isn’t in love,” Thalia teased.

“Your pride is getting in the way,” Melpomene told her. “Will you be like your father and cling to your pride while you burn everything down around you?”

“Like my…!” Megara gasped. “No!”

“Remember how you used to beg him to consider the obvious, but he would fight so hard to deny it?” Melpomene asked.

Megara swallowed a lump in her throat. “This is different…”

Different like Hercules.

“Yes, because you can still choose,” Calliope said.

All the Muses gathered around her and set a hand on her shoulders.

“You have our blessing,” Melpomene said.

“You’ve always known what to say,” Terpsichore added.

“You could always make someone laugh,” Thalia said.

“Now it’s time to reshape history,” Clio said.

“You’re part of this story, and we want to see how it ends. But know this: legends never die.” With Calliope’s final words, the goddesses vanished, leaving only their statues.

“I get it. You might have a point,” Megara sighed. “But I’m still not saying it out loud.” Yet she was still clutching the flower. She could say whatever she liked. The truth was clear. It didn’t matter what she did or didn’t admit. No love she’d ever felt for Theron had been this powerful, and she’d given herself up to a living death for him.

How much more would she do for Hercules?

Chapter 25: The Great Debriefing

Chapter Text

Alone in the garden, Megara trudged back to where she’d left Hercules. The night had a sort of music about it, and she blamed the Muses. They were already composing a song based on their interactions. The night’s chill made her wish she could go back for a second chance with the goddesses, but she would be too embarrassed.

There was her pride again. Her father’s tragic flaw, despite his reluctance to take power for himself, was always an unwavering belief that his interpretation of the law was absolute. In some way, Megara had always existed underfoot of the Law, both mortal and immortal. Had she known better, she may have fled all society long ago, but her addiction to things that reminded her of better times and the habits she’d developed as a princess prevented her from severing ties with the city. She was too domesticated to be free, no matter how tough she tried to make herself appear.

Above her, the stars were aligning. Her heart fluttered, not with the apprehension of what was to come, but with the thought of Hercules.

“Malaka,” she growled to herself. The Muses wanted her to stop running from the fact she’d fallen in love, but did that mean she had to be comfortable with it?

The air in the garden, perfumed with its ever-blooming flowers, had always calmed her. The statues gave her reminiscences of what it had been to enjoy the embraces of a man she loved… and yet, those memories had shifted. There was the echo of Hercules’s sigh while stealing a moment with her in a secret alcove while she corrupted him. The two of them creeping through an alleyway. Snuggled close in the theater… Was she sighing?

Unacceptable.

She had to speak with Hades and sort all of this out. There had to be some way to clear her mind and bluff her way out of giving away a tactical advantage.

Somewhere in this hyper-romantic garden setting had to be a place she could reflect without ruminating on all the things she’d do with Hercules given the chance.

She remembered a reflecting pool not far away. That ought to do it. She walked up the steps and eagerly jumped onto the first of the four submerged pedestals lined up from one side to the other. If anything would clear her mind, it would be focusing on not falling into the water and ruining her hair.

The first three gave her no trouble, but her sandal slipped off the fourth. She grabbed for anything that would balance her, and when she found it, it was strangely hand-shaped.

On the opposite shore of the reflecting pool, Megara pulled herself up on the statue’s hand. When she looked up into the welcoming stone eyes of Hercules, she thought she must be losing her mind.

How had the sculptor caught him with such accuracy?

Well, she was successfully distracted now.

Distracted from all thoughts of Hades, or the apocalypse.

“It’s nice to see you again,” she told the statue, and playfully cuddled back against it. Considering it was made of stone, it couldn’t give off the warmth. Being in Hercules’s presence always did. All things considered, though, she’d have to try this the next time she saw him.

What was she thinking?

Not much of anything.

Get a grip! Her mind screamed at her.

There were big questions to answer, and if she couldn’t answer them, Hades would cremate her on the spot.

She hurried away from the statue of Hercules and the thoughts it inspired. There had to be somewhere in this whole garden where she wouldn’t find an excuse to obsess over the man she loved. Or have a crisis because she loved him.

She sat herself on the edge of a fountain and folded her arms to glare into the heavens. It was then she remembered she was holding Hercules’s flower as if it were a talisman against bad luck. He really was the sweetest…

Heat interrupted the cool night air.

No. She wasn’t ready!

“Malaka!” she hopped off the edge of the fountain to watch in horror as Hades melted both halves of a loving couple away from each other, and lounged on their mangled remains.

“So, what’s the buzz, ah, Meg? What is the weak link in Wonder Boy’s chain?”

Megara practically vibrated with outrage at the question. “Get yourself another girl, I’m through!” That might not have been the best phrasing. It wasn’t as if her contract could be dissolved or renegotiated if her master refused. Anger and love were a terrible combination.

Unperturbed, Hades reached into his ear. “Do you mind running that by me again? I think I must have a piece of brimstone wedged in my ear…”

“Then read my lips!” Megara yelled. “Forget it!” She turned away, ready to storm off into the city and find Hercules. If he hadn’t picked up on her hints, this was her last chance to say anything before Hades did whatever he wanted as punishment for her disobedience.

Hades appeared in her path. “Meg, Meg, Meg! My sweet, deluded little minion!” Hades cupped her face until it hurt, then let her go, maintaining a friendly facade while she rolled her eyes. “Aren’t we forgetting one teensy but ever-so-crucial little tiny detail?” he asked in a singsong voice. Bursting into a column of flame, he screamed, “I own you!” A scoreboard appeared beside him. “You work for me!” he roared. “A thousand years, that was the agreement!”

The scoreboard helpfully displayed the number.

“You worked down to five hundred in two years! And then, when you were halfway through, what did you do? You started working against me!”

“Do I start working against you at this point, or does Hercules defeat us both?” Megara countered. “He defeated every monster faster than we could recruit them. You know what? I think the Fates weren’t clear enough with you. You thought you’d fail if Hercules fought you only tonight when you want your little invasion party. Well, he started fighting years ago. He’s fought so many monsters your invasion force no longer has anyone to back up the Titans. You don’t have much of an army, do you? The Fates should’ve told you, but let me: you’re going to fail no matter what, and it’s all because of him.”

“What’s that? It’s the sound of your freedom! Fluttering out the window, forever!” Hades manifested a group of smoke bats that flew into Megara’s face. While she was still coughing and brushing them away, they hit the scoreboard.

The slots on the scoreboard flipped rapidly to show each tab of the counter displayed the infinity symbol.

“There’s no comeback from this, Meg. You don’t get to walk away.”

“I don’t care! I’m not helping you hurt him!”

“I can’t believe you’re getting so worked up about some guy!” Hades scoffed.

Megara lifted her flower from Hercules. “Well, this one is different! He’s honest, and he’s sweet, he would never do anything to hurt me…”

“Oh, please. He’s a guy!”

“And besides, O Oneness… you can’t beat him! He has no weaknesses! He is gonna—” Megara rounded on Hades to gloat on her lover’s behalf. The burgeoning hope in her heart died on the vine at the sight of his smile.

He should not be smiling like that. “I think he does, Meg. I really think he does.” He took the flower between too-long fingers. It fell to ashes before Megara’s eyes. She could only gaze at the place it had been with dread.

Movement in the manicured hedgerows close by caught her eye. Three figures. One equine, one a man, and one too short to be anything but a satyr revealed themselves.

Hades saw none of this.

It was enough to know that they had heard. Hercules would know she had refused to betray him.

Her world went black.

The next thing Megara saw, she was in the Underworld.

Hades stood with Megara’s throat clasped in his hand. Around the table stood Pain and Panic, across from Hecate and her winged wolves.

“Well, Hades? Has your girl done anything useful with her daylong hero date?” Hecate asked.

Hades put on his most sarcastic smile. “More than you have, you knockoff hack.”

“Come now. You should have involved me years ago instead of enlisting the riffraff of Thebes and the children of Echidna. She won’t even talk to you anymore, after the way you’ve decimated her family tree.”

“You’ve gotta think big picture. Small picture? I hate you, you hate me, we’ve got this whole bitter rivalry thing… you might’ve blabbed to get me out of your way…” He hadn’t taken his hand off Megara’s throat, or she may have interjected. “But tonight? Eh, I’m outta options, you’ll have to do.”

“That’s your big picture? So what’s the plan? Your minion doesn’t look particularly celebratory. You’re not relying on me, now, are you? How sad.”

“Well, ya see,” Hades threw Megara onto his chessboard, where she landed with a heavy thump and upset multiple pieces. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner. It doesn’t need to be voluntary. I thought my little flower here was a heartless bitch by now, but failing that, she’s still the perfect bait to get Hercules on the hook!”

Megara sat on her knees, poised to dodge a fireball. “What are you doing?”

“Well, my little Nutmeg, it’s pretty simple: Wonder Brat wants you. I have you. He’ll try to take you from me. Then, I’ll get him to bargain for you. He’ll overestimate your value and ba-boom! No more Wonder Boy problem!”

Don’t show your fear.

Megara tilted her head at him.

“And where do I come in?” Hecate asked.

“You are the only demigoddess who wants me to take over the cosmos so you can have the Underworld. Therefore, when I release the Titans from their prison at sea, you will release every monster imprisoned in Tartarus. Spread them around the Olympian foothills. Overwhelm and distract the gods, so there’s no way they can fight everyone off. Then, when our Olympian counterparts are weakened, you’ll capture them and make them take the places of the monsters. As future Queen of the Underworld, you can do whatever you want with them.”

Panic did an obnoxious little dance. “You’re really scaring Meg, boss! That means it’s a good plan!”

Megara had never better understood why Hades spent so much time torturing his loyal minions. She threw one of the Titan pieces off the board and right at Panic’s nose.

“Meg here has played her role perfectly so far. A damsel in need of a hero is the perfect siren call to a hero! Other than real sirens, that is, but we can’t get them on short notice. He can’t possibly resist!”

He’d have to, or all hell would break loose in the most literal sense.

“I’ll await my signal,” Hecate said. “What happens if the Titans fail again? They’ve been dormant for years, and Zeus beat them in their prime.”

“Zeus isn’t as young as he once was. I’ll get rid of his prophesied baby hero and rule the cosmos unopposed!”

Megara stood atop the chessboard. “You realize even when you’ve taken control, you’ll never stop watching your back, right?”

“Excuse me? You are literally the most valuable piece on my chessboard right now, and you think I’m not gonna play you?”

“Don’t worry, I know you can’t help yourself. But you should consider the fact you’re leaving the Underworld and all the other gods in the possession of a powerful enchantress whose power can control people. Don’t you think that’s a little dangerous for your longevity as king?”

Hades stared across the table at Hecate, then waved his hands. “No, no, no! I know what you’re trying to do! You don’t get to twist this! It’s my show! You’re not allowed to rewrite it at the climax!”

“Why not? That’s what you’ve been doing all along, isn’t it? Because none of your plans have ever worked, and your insane narcissism keeps driving you to repeat the same failures while telling yourself it was never your fault! But you know what, Hades? All of this is your fault because you’re fighting Fate! Do you know what happens to people who do that? I do! Every generation it brings my family a notch lower until finally, we’re so low I’m down here with you! I’m done fighting my Fate. Now I get to watch you suffer!”

Hades wrapped Megara in chains and slammed her against the chessboard. “I think I’ve heard enough, Nutmeg. Thankfully, I don’t need words from you for the rest of the night. Your screams will do just fine.”

Chapter 26: Wanton Backstabbery

Chapter Text

"I'd be impressed if you weren't such a fool." Hecate joined Megara atop Hades's chessboard. "I've never seen such a spirited minion before. Should he succeed tonight, and leave the Underworld to me, I'll personally request you in my retinue."

Great. More servitude.

"Because nothing's more reassuring than teaming up with a known backstabber."

"Touché, but let's not forget who I'm talking to. You'd leap at the chance to bring Hades down."

"That's because I'm a human with a conscience. All you want to do is take his place and be just as ruthless as he is."

"I knew I liked you. But would I really be all that bad?"

"It wasn't that long ago you took over the world, right? What was it you did again? Try to kill every living mortal? Gee, I don't see that going well for me."

"Oh, pish posh, bygones! All of it! No need to fret. He's leaving me unsupervised in the Underworld tonight. You'll see how well I manage the overflow from his apocalypse. After all, he's nothing but a washed-up lunatic with delusions of grandeur. This won't work." She leaned closer to Megara to whisper, "The Olympians have known about this invasion for weeks… and I think I know who warned them."

Megara looked Hecate directly in the eyes. "And who do you think that might be?"

"Someone who's been throwing around wild accusations of wanton backstabbery, and who hates her boss."

"Those are fair estimations, but you can't prove anything. However, I can think of a better use for your time than sitting around doing what he told you to. He's not paying attention to his domain, so why not set a trap for him when he gets back? Why wait for another opportunity? Let him conquer the cosmos for you, and then throw him into a hole deeper than where Zeus left the other Titans. The way I see it, the worst thing about the situation with the Titans has been that it's reversible. You ought to find a way to fundamentally change who he is so he can never become a threat in the future."

"There's only one place in the Underworld to accomplish any such thing. I'd have to throw him down the Vortex so it could reset his psyche. But he already knows what awaits at the bottom, so he'd never go down there."

"You're smart. I'm sure you could think of something. But if you do, your best move is to curry favor with the Olympians because they'll monitor this place after the invasion. You might even get your full goddess status back if you play your cards right." There was no time to push her verbal onslaught any further.

The Underworld disappeared around her only to blast her into the chill night air. She stood in the sandy center of a stadium with only seconds to orient herself.

"Meg!" Hercules called to her.

Hades stood between them. No matter what venom Hades had dripped from his fangs, Megara couldn't allow him to poison Hercules any further.

"Don't listen to–" Megara's mouth was covered over with gaseous chains before she could force out any further protests. The chains dragged her to the sand, slamming her sidelong into the grit that dug into her skin.

Hercules charged toward her, arms outstretched. He knelt over her, but Megara's vision went blank before he reached her. She reappeared between Pain and Panic. Her chains branched out so that each imp could hold her arms stretched to either side.

"Hands off the merchandise," Hades sneered. "We're not done bargaining yet. I need to hear your best offer before I agree to anything."

Megara furrowed her brow. She could tell Hercules to give no ground if she could just break into this conversation. He needed to know she wasn't worth giving away his advantage!

Pain yanked on one chain and Panic on the other. They pulled her arms to either side in a move so jarring that they might have jarred her shoulders out of joint.

"Stop it!" Hercules ordered the imps. Ignoring Hades's instructions, he charged after the trio, sword drawn. "I'm sick of you two!" He slashed at Pain, but the imp dodged. The sword went through the chain, holding Megara's arm instead. It evaporated, and the rest of the chain began unraveling.

Pain and Panic let go so they could dodge the strikes Hercules aimed at them, both with his sword and fists.

Megara clasped his arm. The second her mouth was free, she blurted out, "Don't give him anything!"

Hercules curled her into the crook of his elbow and pulled her to his chest. "I'm freeing you tonight, no matter what."

"You can't—" she began, but then she was gone. She reappeared between irritated imps who yanked on her chains in retaliation. "Malaka!" She huffed, exasperated. Then Hades covered her mouth again.

"Such a foul-mouthed little harpy. Unfortunately for you, we can do whatever we like with her," Hades said, steepling his fingers. "And we have been. Naughty little thing wasn't supposed to fall in love with you."

"Do you…?" Hercules's voice grew soft, leaning hard to one side to avoid Hades.

Megara remained stoically still. Her mouth was covered, anyway. Nobody could fault her either way for what she didn't say.

Hercules cleared his throat and stood back to his full height. "Never mind. Unfortunately for you," Hercules snarled, visibly forcing himself to remain calm, "I'm not letting you dictate the terms. I hereby call upon my divine consultant team."

"Your what?" Hades asked.

Two rose gold pillars of light streaked down from the sky.

Harp music manifested out of nowhere, along with the imposing forms of Hera and Aphrodite.

Hades's jaw dropped, and his lip twitched. "Ladies… what are you doing here?"

"Why Hades, are you surprised that a son would tell his mother when he made plans to propose?"

"Excuse me?" Hades asked.

Megara would've said something similar had her mouth been free. Instead, she could only stare in utter confusion.

"And I knew as soon as he told his little friend– what was it again?" Aphrodite waited for Hercules to respond, but he hung his head and blushed instead. "Well, anyway, I heard my name, and it won an argument. I normally punish blasphemy, but I'll let it slide this time because he's got it bad."

He did? Megara hung her head to avoid eye contact with Hercules. She couldn't handle it.

"Fine, fine! You can be part of the conversation! But Hercules is a big boy now! He's even graduated from that insipid high school! So, if he wants to negotiate for an orphan swindler, you should all know the truth. She uses men, gets their secrets from them, then disappears when they fall in love with her. You should be particularly offended, Aph! I've tried to talk her out of this, but she just won't listen. She doesn't see what's wrong with what she does, because she hates men."

Hera made a dismissive noise. "My son may choose whomever he pleases with whom to amuse himself. I appreciate you looking after his interests, but I will allow him to choose his own companions so long as he's my son. The lad is a good judge of character."

Megara would have disagreed if her mouth were free.

"As for your accusations that were supposed to offend me, I'm the one who knows how she feels," Aphrodite planted her fists on her hips. "So don't even bother trying to lie about something I already know as the embodiment of love. I don't try to tell you who's dead or not!"

"It's just too bad," Hades snarled, "she's enslaved. Can't have a mortal slave courting a god."

"You hadn't mentioned she was enslaved," Hera said with a harder edge. "But that's why I've arrived in my capacity as Goddess of Marriage. One contract fairly arranged can expunge a prior mistake."

Hades sneered at the queen. "Excuse me? Do you wanna look over Meg's contract? Nowhere, even in the fine print, do I refer to marriage as an escape clause. It's legal by the absolute letter of cosmic law. You'll never find a contract less crackable."

"Let's see it, then," Hera said, unimpressed.

Hades snapped his fingers, making the contract appear.

"Mmkay, I'm not really one for legal documents," Aphrodite said as Hera started her readthrough of the contract. "But I know brides-to-be shouldn't be bound and gagged."

"You haven't heard this one yap."

"You mean you don't want her to speak for herself. If you mistreat her, you get nothing," Hercules said, his fists tense and ready to swing.

"I can send her right back to the Underworld, and then you also get nothing."

"I'm not the one on a tight schedule," Hercules clapped back. "I can wait for her. Can you wait until after tonight?"

Hades shot Megara a dark warning glare over his shoulder. "Boys, loosen your grip." He released Megara's mouth, but the smoke burst up her nose and throat.

Before Megara could say anything, she had to hack up the smoke. She dropped to her knees and wheezed.

Hercules dove past Hades to fan air into her face. "I'm so sorry," he whispered and kissed her temple. "I knew he wouldn't be gentle with you, but I hate seeing this."

"Get used to it," Megara croaked. "What's this plot of yours?"

"There's one way to transfer ownership from one cosmic entity to another," Hercules whispered. "The one way Mother and I could think of, anyway… I won't force you to stay with me if you don't want to, but until we've taken care of the Hades problem, we could use this as an excuse to protect you."

"This method is marriage?"

"Well… yeah. Mortals can sell themselves into a kind of marriage, and once you change over to us, we can free you. I think tonight's our only shot at talking him into it, so…"

"I'll admit this is an elaborate scheme, but are you sure it's worth your time? You need to fight Hades, not pay him."

"Do you trust me?"

"I trust you. It's him with the problem."

"Then I'll ask another question. Do you want to marry me?"

"That's your proposal?"

"Best I can do right now. I'll do better once the war is over, I promise. All I need to know is that you want to be with me. I'll save you no matter what, but for my own… I don't know. I need to hear it from you."

Megara gave him a soft smile, then leaned against his shoulder. "I do want to be with you. But I don't believe this will work."

"Then just believe in me."

"Well?" Hades barked at Hera. "Look at those terms and conditions! Perfect and completely legal!"

"I don't get it. What does it say?" Aphrodite wasn't even looking at the contract. She was too focused on Hercule and Megara, where they knelt pressed close together on the sand.

"One thousand years of servitude for the continuation of an imperiled life. All acts carried out by the undersigned on behalf of the above-specified deity are subject to evaluation. Should the undersigned perform adequate service, the undersigned may be granted payment in the form of years removed from the original sum. Should the undersigned prove inadequate, every avenue of punishment remains open to the deity who takes the role of Master."

"I'll pay her debt." Hercules stood firm in a posture, ready to run to Megara. "Name your price, and I'll pay it. But she will go free, and you'll stop hurting her."

Danger flashed through Hades's eyes. "Well, I was thinking, and don't mind me, I just had this wild speculation that you'd like to take a day off from this hero business of yours. Maybe this works even better for both of us. You give up your strength for the next twenty-four hours and enjoy a nice, relaxing honeymoon with your treacherous harridan."

"You want him to give up his strength for a whole day?" Aphrodite asked. "Why not give up your fire for a day, then? What do you plan to do with this day without Hercules to stop you, anyway?"

Hades rounded on both goddesses. "Stay out of this! I'm planning to spare you from the war, anyway. Stop making it easier for him to weasel out of this!"

"I'm not weaseling," Hercules said. "You've got the girl I love in chains. You're going to release her."

"That's what we're here for, dear," Hera replied gently. "As for you, Hades: You're proposing a war with no army."

Hades waved Hera off. "You're missing the point. Tonight's the night–"

"The planets align, yes. The prison where we locked the Titans is revealed. Have you considered what happens if the gods are poised to take the Titans out the moment they're released?"

"You…" Hades vanished, and then Megara did as well.

She'd been so busy watching the gods for what would happen next that Megara forgot she was still in play. When she reappeared, it was to be bound even tighter than before, hovering above the ground and weighed down by something that hung below her feet.

"You told them?" Hades roared. "How did you tell them? I specifically had contingency plans against you telling anyone something that would damage my plans! What did you do?" Hades tightened the chains, but Megara refused to make a sound. "Nothing? He's not smart enough to figure this out on his own! And I know you haven't been talking to the other gods!"

He dropped her.

Though Megara braced herself, she didn't fall as far as expected. Hercules was too quick.

His arms closed around her, and one hand hooked around the chain covering her mouth. Without a word, he snapped the chain apart between his fingers.

"Let's try to be civil." As gentle as Hera's voice remained, her words implied there would be trouble if Hades weren't.

"Don't throw the fate of the world away over me," Megara whispered. "I've already told you there's no way to save me."

Hercules gave her shoulder a firm squeeze. "I'm not throwing anything away. Just hang in there."

"Now that we're focusing on what matters," Hades extended a hand to Hercules. "Buy her off of me with this one simple thing. Your strength. Twenty-four hours. Deal?"

"Hold on." Aphrodite interposed herself between Hercules and his uncle. "Why does it have to be him that gives something up? Why have you specifically targeted him?'

"Because he knows only Hercules can defeat him!" Megara blurted out. She focused her pleading eyes on Hera. "Don't let him do this. Tell him he can't!"

"I’m only here to lend support, not to divert his course," Hera said. “But I have already told him to exercise caution.”

“This is caution?”

"I am pretty sure acts of heroism like this are the only thing making him an undefeatable force," Aphrodite added.

"But not this one! You can't do th–" Hades covered her mouth again before Megara could get her final word out.

Bronze resolve straightened the concern off Hercules's brow, and he glared at Hades. "You have one night to make your move, right? If not, this whole scheme you've set up falls apart for another eighteen years or more? I could just wait you out. But it's me you want, not her. Stop torturing her."

"Right, fine, so let's make this deal. You get the chatty little traitor, which– hey, good luck with that– for the low, low price of your strength for the next twenty-four hours. Honestly, you'll be doing me a favor. I'm pretty sure I'll see her again not too long after this, and I won't blame you for throwing her back where she belongs."

Something about the way he said that made Hercules twitch.

Hera brandished Megara's contract. "You want this to be legal? You'll abide by legal procedure. That means we get something, too."

"Excuse me?"

"You don't have time to argue," Aphrodite added. "We're buying the girl's freedom from you, but it's still customary for someone who's selling a girl into marriage to provide something for her upkeep."

Hades rolled his eyes. "And what do you want, exactly?"

"You have meddled for too long in the affairs of the living, which is strictly not your department. This will be the last time," Hera said firmly.

Hades raised a brow. "And I'm making this promise to the current queen of the Heavens on behalf of a mortal who will probably die from her stupidity within a year?"

Something unreadable crossed Hera's face. "Yes."

"Sure, but here's my counter-offer."

Slowly at first, but then all at once, the chains wrapped around Megara's body seared white hot into her skin. She was used to this. She could wait it out. Her pained cries would only push Hercules into rash actions to make it stop. They couldn't escape. She'd wait until she lost the ability to feel her flesh fizzle before she panicked. Her resistance only signaled Hades to escalate. The chains dug into her skin and twisted, finally eliciting a series of gasping groans from her that erupted into unstoppable screams.

"Stop it!" Hercules shouted.

"How about this?" Hades's flames went orange with irritation, then unchained Megara's screams. "I don't torture her within an inch of her life and leave her to recover slowly or not at all! You get a less-than-crispy girlfriend!"

Aphrodite and Hera were yelling, but she couldn't understand their words.

Was there a way to push Hades further still so she would die and negate all contracts with Hercules? Her near-death mania drowned out all other thoughts. To spite him, she threw in as many curse words as she could still remember while the fire raged. As loud as her cries got, she still heard Hercules agree to Hades's terms.

"Smart move!" Hades snickered over the irony of his own words.

Megara whimpered to herself through her tears, hoping nobody else could hear as she vented her pain. It was all so wrong. She wasn't meant to be so helpless… With eyes firmly shut, she tried to imagine the grotesque creature she may have become. It was impossible to take proper stock as Hades began restoring her.

Hercules cast her one heartrending look, then steeled himself as he saw her heal. Reassured that she would recover, he offered Hades his hand.

"And we're there! Bam!" Hades gloated.

A burst of blue light exploded between them. As the strength left Hercules's body, Hades leered down at him while intentionally tightening his grip on his nephew's hand so it would hurt as much as possible.

Hercules groaned in pain, his free hand clasped about the wrist of the hand still interlocked with that of Hades. He dropped to his knees as if the weight of his own body was too much for him to bear. At first, Megara had thought the red cast of his skin was a trick of the light. Then she saw that the red light glowed from within Hercules. It burst from under his skin and dissipated into the air while Hades released Hercules to fall backward onto the sand. It formed a brief cloud of gold around the demigod as if the last of his godly essence was gone.

Megara's eyes widened in impotent horror. All she could do was absorb the sight of the only good man in her life suffering and wish it was her instead. He should be untouchable, pristine in all things. She was used to the pain. She could handle it.

Hera wept openly for her son and threw herself at him. Megara wished it could be her holding him, but she could only stare in horror. At least he had someone there for him. The chains weren't going anywhere.

Hades made a cruel face, but he couldn't do anything without actively attacking Hera. Without the freed Titans, he was without sufficient clout to make a move that bold. "Feeling queasy? It's only natural," Hades gloated. "Here's this one more thing to choke on. I'm sure you'll love knowing I manufactured your relationship with your fiancee! She only met you because she was on the job, and I've put her in your way every time I wanted to lure you into danger. She wouldn't have cared if you died. She's a selfish little brat who only ever wanted her own freedom. She hates men. She probably hates you, too. But she still got you to do this for her, and now look at you. Pathetic."

Hercules did not register the slightest bit of pain at these taunts. "Let her go. You said you would."

"You must worry about yourself, dear," Hera reminded him.

Hercules set his jaw. "She's still in chains. That's not the deal.

Hades snapped his fingers. The chains unwound from Megara, and she gasped with the ability to breathe freely.

With Hera's help, Hercules had gotten to her feet while Megara recovered. "I know she never had a choice in seeing me, but you weren't watching the little ways I fell in love with her. You could never appreciate her, so I'm glad to get you away from her. Thank you for my wife. If it weren't for you, I never would've met her. I'd still be on Olympus, lonely and confused. Now, I know exactly what my purpose has always been. I'll give you a head start. Get out of my sight."

Hades's lip twitched. "You don't get to make threats when–!"

Withering looks from Hera and Aphrodite shut him up.

"Won't change a thing. Look out for my friends. You'll be hearing from them soon!"

Chapter 27: Stay of Execution

Chapter Text

“That was not the plan.” Phil emerged from his hiding place, which had been gods-knew-where along with Pegasus.

“You’re telling me this was planned?” Megara asked, looking from one to the other of those left with her in the stadium.

“It was a success.” Hercules took her hand. “Whatever you choose to do after tonight is up to you.”

“Well, obviously, the circ*mstances aren’t ideal,” Aphrodite said. “But normally, you’d have a day or two to consummate it, and then it’d be official. At least we know Meg isn’t a slave, anymore. Woulda shot higher, but y’know, lovers don’t think clearly when they see one another in danger.”

“I know,” Megara and Hercules said a once, for the first time equally distressed.

Memories of the night Hades first extracted a signature from her filtered through Megara’s mind. It was impossible to imagine her former lover’s face when Hercules stood before her. All there was now was him. “That’s how I agreed to get involved in this Underworld mess to begin with. I’m so sorry you had to see that.”

“Are you kidding?” Hercules set both hands on her shoulders, which steadied him as much as focused her thoughts. “You had to experience it! That’s much worse!”

Megara forced a smile to try and brush away his concern. “It was embarrassing more than anything. He does that occasionally, so I’m used to it.”

“You shouldn’t be. Nobody should be.” Hercules stumbled closer to her. “Now that you’re free, nobody will ever hurt you again.”

“Don’t worry so much. I can already tell you I like how freedom looks on me. Protection is a nice bonus, but I’ll take never having to go back ‘downstairs’ until I die and be happy with it. Thank you for doing so much more for me than I could ever do for myself.”

Hercules’s eyes watered. “You’re welcome… and hey, it’s just a day. I’ll be myself again soon. If I could right now, I’d… well, never mind.” Blushing, he glanced between Phil and Hera, but Aphrodite gave him away by giggling.

“I’ll help you enjoy yourselves if you’re ready tomorrow,” she promised.

“I hate to be the one who reminds you of it, Kid, but Hades is launching his master plan in the twenty-four hours you’re down for the count. That ain’t good news! What’re we gonna do?”

“I’m not down. I’m normal…” Hercules laughed with a dark irony worthy of Megara. She was a terrible influence. “I just… need a rest. Then I’ll go help.”

“I’m not much of a warrior, but I’ve got a whole squad of cherubs to command,” Aphrodite said. Flowers swirled about the goddess, forming the chicest armor Megara had ever seen. In better moods, she’d have joked that she’d like a set made in purple.

Now, she stroked Hercules’s hair. “Let’s get you somewhere you can relax.”

“I’ll leave the two of you for now.” Hera rested a hand on each of their shoulders. “Know that after the battle, we will lavish praises on both of you. You have helped right countless wrongs tonight.”

“Like the kidnapping of your son,” Megara said. Nothing could stop her, anymore.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Because it was obviously Hades. Didn’t you investigate? Eighteen years, and the lot of you just accepted that your son had to earn his way home when it wasn’t his fault he got kidnapped as an infant? Didn’t you have a shortlist of suspects even capable of pulling something like that? And shouldn’t it have begun and ended with the guy who relentlessly hounded Hercules his entire life?”

“Zeus and I never wished to assume the worst.”

“You could’ve observed the worst. Everything has led up to today. I guess his mask is off now. If you defeat him, show no mercy. He will only return to try again if you give him the chance.”

“In light of your… blunt revelations… I shall leave the two of you alone for the moment. I must confer with Zeus. We have to reorient our battle plans.” She kissed Hercules on the forehead, then rose back into the air on her stream of rosy light.

“You’re always mouthing off to authority,” Hercules observed. “Aren’t you worried what will happen to you?”

“Up until now, I had nothing to lose. The helplessness of my situation drove me out of my mind. That’s not just with Hades. It’s been my whole life. I’ve never backed down, even when I probably should because I’d rather suffer than let something stupid pass me by.”

“I like it when you speak your mind. Your words are as powerful as my strength ever was.”

“And will be again,” Phil was quick to interject. “C’mon, we’ve gotta get you ready for the next phase of this fight.”

“What are you talking about? He’s down for now. Leave him alone!” Megara stepped between Hercules and Phil. “We’re not doing that. He stays here until he feels better.”

“That’s so sweet of you, but I’ve got to fight.” Hercules wrapped his arms around Megara’s waist from behind and kissed her earlobe.

Megara squeaked, shocked by the heat that rolled down to her toes and back again. Had he missed her cheek? Why was she so ticklish?

“You make so many adorable noises…” Hercules rested his chin on her shoulder. “I’m glad you chose to stay with me for now…”

Phil took several steps backward. “Uh… you two are…”

“Engaged,” Hercules sighed in delirious bliss. “Unless she wants to break it off now that she’s free.”

“No, I plan to stick around. I like that you don’t try to shut me up, and I count seven goddesses who’ve blessed us being together in one night. That’s gotta be some kind of record. I’m not one to spit in the face of good fortune; I’ve never seen it before, and I kinda like it.”

“I love the sound of your voice,” Hercules gushed. “And you’re always saying something interesting, so I pay attention!”

“Does that mean you’re ready to hear me tell you that you’re in no state to fight anything, and you’ll be killed if you try?”

“No, but I like that you said it. This isn’t even the first time I lost my strength.” Hercules fixed his eyes on the sky. “I relied on my cunning then, but… that time, there were a bunch of other heroes around, and it was just Hecate. She gave up pretty quickly, and there wasn’t an apocalypse on…"

“Listen to me, Hercules. I didn’t want you to do this for me, but you have. Now Hades isn’t looking. The obvious solution is to hurt me so you can get your strength back.”

Revulsion registered on Hercules’s face. Though his hands were sluggish, he wrapped them about her waist with steadying authority. “I won’t hurt you. You’ve been hurt enough. I won’t watch you suffer after what just happened. All along, it’s been you who carried this burden. Alone, and in secret. Now, it’s all out in the open. I would’ve given up worse to protect you. Hades lowballed me.”

Megara tried to laugh through her horror, and Hercules did the same. They were both so tired. “How do we get through this, then?” she asked. “That’s twenty-four hours where you won’t take your strength back. This is the moment you’ll need it most.”

“There are worse things.” Hercules couldn’t muster the strength to hold her, but he leaned himself against her. “Can we just sit for a minute? I’m not really in the mood to strategize…”

“I’ll patrol with Pegasus,” Phil offered. “We’ll see if there’s anything on the horizon and… give you two some time.”

“Thank you.” Hercules might have drifted off to sleep while Phil and Pegasus flew off for all Megara knew. He shook himself and took deep breaths. “I never noticed how energetic I was before. It’s like my body is working so hard to hold itself upright that I’m putting myself to sleep.”

“Sounds like you need some quick energy. Maybe some electrolytes? You’ve gotta have some of that sports drink you’ve been hawking for the last few months lying around, right?”

“Uh… Yeah! Yep, it should be around here somewhere…”

Megara looped his arm over her shoulder and supported him with an arm about his middle. “Come on, I’ll get you the best seat in the house.” She carefully guided him past the scorch marks on the sand, hoping he wouldn’t notice how the marks corresponded to the contours of her body. “Theoi, you’re heavy,” she huffed.

“Sorry… I’m trying.”

“Any chance you could fall and squash me? Then you could go back to normal.”

“Please don’t talk like that, Meg. It’s not a joke.”

“I’m not joking.” Megara settled him on the seat reserved for the highest-paying guests. “How’re you feeling?” she checked his forehead as if he had a fever. “I’m already going to look for something to drink. Can I get you anything else?"

“If you’ve got a spare ego lying around, I’d like one of those, too.” He smiled queasily up at her, and the two of them laughed.

Megara kissed the top of his head. “I’ve got enough of that for both of us. Give me a second.” She ran into a back room of the stadium, and found exactly what she needed: every flavor of Herculade. She gathered an armful and rushed back out onto the field.

Hercules was staring up at the sky, watching as the planets aligned and a light shone down the line toward the Earth. He didn’t respond at first when she reached him, but she knew he’d seen her when he said, “I’m supposed to be there to help save the world.” The implication hung in the air, though he would never have admitted it, that he’d given up his ability to participate in the battle to protect Megara. Any fallout he didn’t stop would be her fault.

“There’s still time.” Megara set her collection of sports drinks on the sand by his feet. “Which one’s your favorite? There’s white or red grape flavors, lemon, fig…”

“Pick one, it’ll be fine…” he smiled at her. “You should have one, too. You’re getting all fussy and flustered…”

“Sorry.” There would never be enough apologies to cover for this. She picked a random cup and offered it to him, then remembered his situation and opened it for him, too.

“Fussy is cute on you,” Hercules whispered as he watched her. “I don’t think anyone’s gotten fussy over me since I was a little kid.”

“Get used to it.” She blustered at him as she handed him his cup.

Hercules waited for her to pick one for herself, then clinked their cups together. “To the end of the world,” he muttered.

“To the beginning of your legend,” Megara corrected him. She put an arm around him as they both drank, and he leaned on her shoulder. On any other night, she’d have cried for joy at the perfection of sitting with the man she loved to stare up at the stars. Now, she wept for the fact she’d been responsible for his current diminished state.

“You’re free, Meg,” he whispered close to her ear. “I know it took longer than you wanted, but I don’t regret freeing you. You deserve to make your own choices. Even if that means…” He drew in a pained breath.

“No.” Megara set her empty cup down and looped her arm around his neck. She pressed her forehead to his, and then she spoke. “Wonder Boy, I’ll never leave you. Now that the choice is mine, I choose you because I…” She was so close to saying those words.

It was clear from how his eyes widened, and his mouth hung slightly open that Hercules was waiting to hear them.

“Here.” She hadn’t thought through her impulses, but she didn’t back down. Megara guided Hercules to lie across the VIP seats and rest his head in her lap. “See? You’ll be comfortable for a little while.”

“Can I stay here forever?” Hercules slowly reached back and slid his hand over the curve of her knee.

“Sure thing.” She combed her fingers through his hair and scratched gentle circles into his scalp.

“I can tell you something important,” she said as if that had been her plan all along. One thing Hades told me was the prophecy that got all this started. He said it was foretold if you should fight, he will fail.”

“But I’m not fighting… If the prophecy says I have to fight, then…” Hercules lifted himself on his elbows. “I’ll come back to you, but the world needs me. I can’t relax.”

Megara chewed her lip. “The world will need you after today, too. We can’t lose you.” The way she clung to his armor made her feel pathetic. She’d seen paintings and sculptures of women clinging to soldiers so they wouldn’t go off to war. How had she become such a cliche? She already knew not to show this much weakness.

“You won’t lose me,” he whispered, covering her hand with his. “All I need to do is fight, right? That will halt the whole operation.”

Phil swooped down on Pegasus into the arena. “Kid! There’s a rampaging cyclops on the edge of town, and he’s coming this way!”

Hercules jolted all the way to his feet. “I’ve gotta…” He drew his sword, stumbled, and dropped it.

“Careful.” Megara knelt beside him to pick the sword off the sand. She dusted it off with her sash, took his hand, and settled the sword into it.

“Thank you,” Hercules’s face was luminous with his smile.

In the distance, a roaring voice screamed his name. “Come out! Face me!”

Hercules groaned. “Already…?”

“You already told the gods about the invasion.” Megara stepped in front of him, hands pressed to his chest as if that could hold him back. Even in his diminished state, he was an abnormally strong man, if lethargic. “Let the Olympians take care of this. You’re not in any condition to fight Hades and the Titans, so rest now. Someone will show up to take this guy down.”

Hercules shook his head. “I’ve been called out into the ring. I promised Thebes I wouldn’t let the city down. Now is my chance to prove it. The city is waiting for me. I need to show myself. Think of all the people he’ll hurt if he doesn’t find me in time. He could work his way through half the city before he gets here, and then what? I have to go.”

“We can go out there together, and if I get hurt, then you can finish the fight at full power!”

If she could lift one of those weights somehow, she would let it fall on herself. Damn, that would hurt, but it might be enough! Except she knew there was no way she could move it. Next idea. She could climb onto one of those vaulting things and then let herself fall!

“Phil, I’m gonna need you to stay with her and make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.” Hercules squeezed Megara’s hand, kissed her forehead, then strode to Pegasus. “I’ll keep the big guy busy until we figure something out to stop his rampage. See you when this all blows over!”

The words froze on Megara’s lips before she could form any argument for him to stay. She watched him fly away and did nothing to stop the tears that fell. If she never saw him again, what was the point of her freedom?

Chapter 28: Self Fulfilling Prophecy

Chapter Text

“I’m just saying neither of us knows if any of the gods will show up to help him,” Megara reiterated to Phil, who paced the sands ahead of her to make sure he blocked all exits. “Wouldn’t you rather know how the fight’s going? Why wait all the way back here out of the loop?”

“I get what you’re sayin’, but I’m on thin ice with the kid as it is, so I’m gonna do what he tells me.”

“I’ll never be safe. No one will. Not without him. We can’t bide our time here when he needs us!”

Phil’s eyes widened. “You love him. You probably love him more than anyone else ever has… except maybe his parents.”

“What matters is we help him. We can sort out my emotions another time! We can’t sit here pretending nothing’s wrong while he’s out there facing a Titan without his strength!”

“You may be right, but can we reach him in time?”

“Of course, I’m right! If there’s any doubt, we have to start now!” Megara didn’t wait for him to change his mind. She outpaced him, anyway.

“Wait!” he called, but she wouldn’t.

Once outside the stadium, there was no missing the cyclops in the distance. He was kicking Hercules about on each knee like a child’s toy. Pegasus flew about, trying to reach his friend, and dodging swipes from the Cyclops at every turn.

Megara chewed her lip. What could she do about any of that? She wasn’t about to reason the brute out of his game. She’d be eradicated in a flick of a finger. Even if that were her fate, she couldn’t let him face it alone. Despite no sense of what she’d do, she had to be near him.

Phil huffed and wheezed, trying to keep up with her. “Could ya at least slow down a bit?”

“Look out there and tell me there’s time to slow down!”

The deeper they got into the city, the more Megara heard the laments of her people. The end had already come for so many, as they predicted. Thebans breathed in tragedy with their first breaths. In the brief respite of Hercules’s rise to fame, some had forgotten that there was no promise they'd enjoy the same luck forever. The total desolation of the city before she forced Megara to grapple with the fact Hercules had paid this price for her freedom. This would always have been the fallout of her fight to free herself, though. Had she not succumbed to small-minded selfishness, would there have been an alternative outcome?

No time to dwell on that. She had to keep moving.

She took every shortcut through the city, brushing past the fleeing citizens who clogged the alleyways. Many called out to her, reminding her she was going the wrong way. There were all strata of society huddled into these shadowed entrails of the city, united in their heritage and their fear.

“I need to help Hercules,” got her through multiple alleys. People backed away from her. Both were shocked that someone would help their legendary hero and reluctant to endanger him in any way. One person shouted after her that she was delusional, but she didn’t even turn to acknowledge him.

A woman caught her arm. “Hercules isn’t himself tonight. Do you know why?”

Megara dodged eye contact with the stranger and shook herself free. There was no way to admit to her role in all this and still reach Hercules that night. “Haven’t a clue! But I can’t abandon him now.” She hurried along until she broke out into the square.

One of the many statues in honor of Hercules lay in rubble on the ground, and the hero himself was not much better off. He sat catching his breath in the bend of a column that had been split in half by the rampage. His arms were propped on either end of the column, covered in bruises just like his face. The armor was hanging off him, and blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth.

“Wonder Boy!” Megara’s feet ached, but she pushed herself that final distance to his side.

At first, he smiled, gazing adoringly up at her, but then horror struck him, and he shook his head. “I told you to stay where it’s safe… He’ll kill you.”

“I don’t care about that.” Megara ripped part of the awning of a store whose entrance had caved in and wiped the blood off his chin. “You shouldn’t have come out here, either. So we’re even.”

Phil joined them. “She… made me!” he gasped.

“Glad to see you both…” Hercules mumbled, and a shudder ran through him.

Megara had never seen him in so much pain. She knelt beside him, afraid to touch him wrong and do more damage. “Pegasus is winning you precious seconds. You’ve got to breathe.”

Phil hopped onto the column behind Hercules. “You can take this bum! This guy’s only got the brawn, not the brains, and you’ve got both!”

Hercules made a bitter face that made Megara wish that she could take back everything she ever did to influence his personality. “I don’t think I’ve got much of either left.”

“He doesn’t have your heart, either,” Megara interjected. “He’s mindlessly cruel. You’re only here because you’re too compassionate to look after yourself.”

“Neither of us are quittin’ on ya.” Phil shot Megara a grateful look. “We’ll go the distance with you.”

Hercules perked up. Those words seemed to resonate with him.

Pegasus whinnied a warning seconds before a hand overshadowed the trio. It reached between Phil and Megara to pluck Hercules from his resting place.

Hercules strained for his freedom, but Megara knew exactly what it felt like to be in his position.

“Me bite off head!” the Cyclops boasted, lifting Hercules toward his mouth to fulfill the threat.

Seconds slowed down as Megara realized that she was about to watch the monster mutilate her beloved before her own eyes. She could do nothing but stare, sharing those last moments Hercules was alive.

As he passed the roof of a burning building, Hercules flailed one arm out to grab a brand from the fire. He swung with a ferocious slam directly into the Cyclops’s eye.

In a blink, Megara realized he wasn’t dead. His head and shoulders were still attached. This was really happening.

He fell into a wheelbarrow full of coiled ropes.

Megara wasn’t sure where to look, at him or at the monster who might rally at any moment.

Hercules took the large coil of rope from the wheelbarrow and stumbled between the stunned Cyclops’s legs, creating a tangle that the blinded creature was unprepared for.

The titanic creature roared in confusion and stumbled from the momentum of his own power. He toppled headlong into the dried-up riverbed below.

Hercules crawled to the edge to peer over it, making dreadful wheezing noises as his whole body seemed to have been battered a few too many times. He gasped in pain as he stared down toward his fallen enemy. When the tremor hit from the impact of the cyclops meeting his fate, Hercules recoiled, but he looked again. It seemed the titan would not rally, but there was time for the hero.

The rest of the gods might pull off their second round with the Titans, and if they didn’t, they’d have failed where a powerless demigod hero succeeded. Wouldn’t that be one for the Muses to sing about?

One of the nearby columns that had been left miraculously untoppled during the assault made a troubling grinding noise. The interlocking drums of marble that were designed to stand together forever had come loose.

It took only a moment to recognize where it would fall.

Any normal day would have seen Hercules shrug off an impact like that with a laugh, but this was not that day. The man crouched, shuddering on the edge of the ravine, on his last legs, at his limit.

“Hercules, look out!” Megara screamed, but she wouldn’t leave it up to him.

He barely registered that she’d said his name.

He remained in place while she ran toward him.

The shadow of the column crossed his back. It would crush him, from his torso to his skull, and that would end everything in one breath.

Megara took a running dive and shoved Hercules out of the falling shadow. In the end, Teiresias had been proven correct: Love had been her undoing.

Chapter 29: On Swift Wings

Chapter Text

Megara’s awareness of the outside world slowly formed around the sound of Hercules screaming her name. It was a distant sound, but his desperation stirred the last fluttering of her mind. She couldn’t go yet. She had to say goodbye.

There was no way she could know how long it was that she heard him groaning with the strain of some task. Her fleeting consciousness was reluctant to linger in her body, where it might have to take stock of her injuries. Still, when she heard a roar of effort from Hercules, trying to save her, she had to smile.

The pressure gradually lifted off her body as Hercules began to glow. It was as if the sun had risen. How fortunate for her she could see this moment before the end.

Darkness clouded her vision.

Something rushed up her throat, hot and warm. It tasted of iron.

She couldn’t feel her legs. She wished she couldn’t feel anything else. Not the way her shuddering lungs struggled to expand against the shattered ribs. She had to sleep…

“What’s happening?” Hercules’s voice was the only thing that could draw her back from eternal sleep.

“H-Hades’ deal is broken,” Megara stammered through chattering teeth, just in time for the pain to stab through her core. She could’ve been a little faster, couldn’t she? “He promised I wouldn’t get hurt,” she whispered, her voice tapering off.

Now she was more than hurt. She was finished. Part of her wished it was already over, so the pain would go with it. That voice quieted when Hercules knelt over her and took her into his arms.“Meg!” he gasped out, lifting her face closer to his with a gentle hand behind her neck. “Why did you– you didn’t have to–” he couldn’t summon the words. Who could? He brought a cloth to her mouth, which was when she realized she had bled, just like him. How curious to see such a reversal within so few minutes.

Yet, all was right in the balance of the cosmos. Megara was getting what she deserved, and she’d preserved Hercules for the fight ahead. Relief flooded the empty spaces left by shattered bones and numb extremities. She’d finally done something right.

Megara gave him what smile she could muster to mask the growing rattle of death shaking her bones. It wouldn’t be long now. “People always do crazy things, when they’re in love,” she remarked, punctuated with a shudder.

How wonderful that she could watch him stumble over half-formed words one more time. If she could remember anything in the Underworld, she hoped it was his befuddled features while he struggled through his words.

“Are you… always this articulate?” she asked, hoping to distract him. She wanted to laugh, but the burn in her lungs prevented it.

Hercules tried too, but he could do little more than her. She could see it: he knew she wasn’t long for this world. But he had to believe otherwise. He couldn’t stay here worrying and watching when the cosmos needed him. Let him believe for a little longer that she’d rally her shattered body and everything would be fine when he got back. It was simpler that way.

“You haven’t got much time,” she reminded him. “You can still stop Hades.”

That look in his eyes told her everything. Battling Hades was the last thing on his mind. He’d let the world burn for her, even after what they’d been through that night. Why did he have to be the most wonderful creature in the cosmos? Why did she have to leave him?

“I’ll watch over her, Kid,” Phil promised, having found a wedge of stone that could support her.

Hercules propped Megara on the stone and leaned over her, close enough that he could kiss her if he was so inclined. “You’re gonna be all right,” he told her in the firmest voice she’d ever heard him muster. He was wrong, but the ferocity in his eyes and the deep thrum of his voice made her heart flutter a little less pitifully. “I promise,” he added. She almost believed him.

He left without a kiss.

As Megara lay there, able only to watch him leap onto Pegasus and fly away, she wished they’d said a proper goodbye. It might be easier that way, for both of them. But the cold was creeping in.

Acute jabs of pain needled as her body gave way to the steady onslaught of death.

Hades would send someone for her. There might be a delay since he was off seizing the cosmos, but there was no doubt in her mind that he’d spare a moment to make her suffer. Especially when he realized what she’d done.

“He’s wrong, ain’t he?” Phil whispered.

Megara’s mind had been miles away, dreaming of which pit of Tartarus Pain and Panic would toss her into. Without a coin, she might even get to remain on this side of the Styx, waiting for the chance to wander into the mortal realm and catch one more glimpse of Hercules…

“I’m going to die. When he gets back… tell him… it’s all right if he’s not responsible for cremating me or… any of that jazz. He shouldn’t have to be involved. I’m sure they’ll have some communal grave for the casualties in Thebes… it’s better that way.”

“Herc’s not the type.” Phil checked her wrist. “He’ll put you up somewhere nice. A mausoleum with a statue… a few rose bushes…”

Megara chuckled to herself. “Wonder Boy sure knows how to spoil a girl… Listen, when he finds a real wife, try to help him forget me. I know what it’s like to feel like the second choice when you love someone. I never want to be the reason someone else goes through that.”

Phil squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry. I should’ve given you a chance… we’ve tangled with Hades plenty of times, we could’ve…” he sighed. “Shoulda’s won't fix this…” Brushing away tears, Philoctetes set her hand down and wandered a few yards off.

“What are you looking for?” Megara asked the goat man as he rummaged through the nearby rubble.

He gave her a grim smile but kept shuffling through the rubble. A small pouch of coins, abandoned by someone Megara hoped had gotten away, spilled free into Phil’s hands. He bowed his head over them and whispered a prayer she couldn’t hear.

Then his small hooves tapped their way back in her direction, holding the bag of coins out before him like an offering. “I know we’ve never gotten along, but what you’ve done today… it proved something to me. And I can’t forget it. Neither will the kid.”

The realization that Hercules would go on without her coincided with a shudder from deep in her broken body. A chill that would never release her overshadowed her body. She deserved this.

Phil returned to her side and knelt beside her with as much dignity as his squat, hairy body allowed. He took her hand. “Could ya tell me something?”

Megara turned her grimace in his direction. Whether or not she wanted to answer him, the determining factors were currently out of her control.

“Was it an act the whole time? I know you care about him, now, but… I had this sense about you, and I’m never wrong…”

“I was only acting when Hades told me to lure him somewhere… I ah… throw a lot of myself into my roles. Maybe…” Her bones rattled with a shiver that reminded her she’d never truly be free of Hades. “You felt the curse. Thebes… you know? And… we made a bad impression…” she put on her sternest expression. “Don’t ever flirt with me again,” she said with a light wheeze of laughter.

“Nah, you’re not my type. It’s a real turn-off when the kid’s in love with someone.”

Megara tried to smile, but it was a lost cause.

“I’ll tell him you were thinking of him,” Phil said, and set the pouch of coins down next to her. “Hopefully when you cross the Styx, you’ll get across with no problems, and…”

They both knew Hades would not be merciful. Whatever Meg actually deserved, it was unlikely she’d get it. Still… “I’ll be alright,” she lied, and didn’t expect him to believe her.

She was ready then, to let go. When the end came, she was ready. She’d already given up so much. She knew that no matter what happened to her, she could rest in the knowledge that Hercules would live. He could save the world, and she’d found redemption.

The pain was just a transition. She’d been through worse. Her soul had already experienced these shivers as her body shook itself to the core.

Would she see him one more time?

Hercules was on his return journey from Olympus. The world was safe. Her love would live. Her last job was complete.

When the end came, she was ready. She’d given up so much already. She was ready to let go. No matter what happened to her, she could rest on the knowledge that Hercules would live. Now he had the chance to take his rightful place among the gods with nothing standing in his way.

The pain had solidified from rattling shudders to one continuous stream that flowed through her mind. It consumed her every sense. She might have considered herself delusional when a winged figure hovered over her, but she recognized Thanatos.

“Come with me, old friend,” the god of death whispered to her.

Her hand fell limp, and in Thanatos’s grip, her spectral hand rose from it. In the end, she was free.

Chapter 30: Titanomachy

Chapter Text

For longer than he could remember, Hercules couldn’t walk two steps without tripping over a Hades scheme. Somehow, he’d pulled through it all. It must either be Fate, or he was built for this moment. Except he had never counted on someone else joining in this hellstream with him and getting swept away while he stayed right where he was.

He’d trained for years, not knowing it was all leading up to this moment. He and Pegasus flew toward their destiny, away from the girl he loved and the torture she was still enduring. For him.

“Malaka,” he growled to himself.

He’d never cursed in his entire life, but he’d heard her screaming it way too many times in one night. The word was engraved on the inside of his skull.

That and the sound of the crunch when the column fell on her. The blood at the corner of her mouth. Her every shudder and the sounds that she bravely restrained to spare him. He would never forget these things. The scars of this night would stay with him as surely as any moment she’d let him hold her, or purred into his ear. She’d brought him to life in a new way, and now she was losing hers.

As he charged higher into the sky, Hercules replayed a lesson he’d once dismissed. Levers and fulcrums. The column had been the lever. Megara was the fulcrum. He could lie to himself and pretend that everything would be fine when he returned to her. There could have been enough rubble to protect her by letting the column fall on stone instead of bone, but he knew in his psyche that hadn’t been the case.

No. He wouldn’t allow himself to dwell on that.

His stomach felt like shattered pottery.

Was that how she felt?

The temptation arose to turn back, cling to her, and beg forgiveness for not rolling out of the column’s way without her help. If he’d been less stupid, he might have listened to her in the first place and stayed back instead of throwing himself into a fight he wasn’t prepared to face without backup.

He couldn’t rewrite the night.

If he could, he’d go back to the garden, and summon all the gods he knew to bear witness that this was the girl he’d die for. They had to know her name and pay honor to her for what she’d done for him. None of them could understand. Which of them had to prove themselves, or had lived without ever being truly understood for so long? Who had gazed into a void that was meant to bestow fulfillment while getting clapped on the back for his great reward? They could never understand what she’d given him.

He’d been truly mortal for a short hour or so, and then all the godly power streamed back into his blood and sinew. The feeling had startled him, mostly because the only thing on his mind was the need to pull the pillar off of Megara, as fast as possible. He’d never been so finely attuned to his power than after losing it. When he found Hades, he’d personally introduce him to the sensations of loss and powerlessness.

He followed the lightning flashes in the distance toward a point far out to sea. He’d flown over the Aegean many times, but couldn’t remember ever seeing the island he came upon as the nexus of the conflict. Among the more familiar gods and goddesses stood four massive giants, roughly the size of the Cyclops he’d slain. One of fire, one of ice, one of stone, and one of wind. They must be the reason a new island had formed out of nothing.

A cloud of warriors in the skies, while some were routed to the island. There were generations of gods turned against one another. It all felt so arbitrary. So this was destiny: a mass of meaningless, unnecessary confusion. Great.

It was impossible for him to guess who everyone was, but he had years of experience with his family. He recognized Triton in Poseidon’s retinue, helping guide hippocampi and ichthyocentaurs as the equine sea beasts rose up from the sea. They leaped up from the waters to charge at the Titans with nets and tridents.

Fear and Terror accompanied their father, along with a gleeful and utterly horrifying Nemesis.

While he could pick out individuals from the cloud of immortality, Hercules worried he wouldn’t recognize an enemy if they seemed too much like a cousin he hadn’t met before. From a distance, they all looked roughly the same to him.

Why must mortals fall under the weight of a family feud that they could do nothing to escape? None of his friends could join this fight with him. He was the tagalong kid late to the family reunion, and still mortal. There was no way he was ready for this. He was not quite a mortal, but not quite a god. Where did he fit in either direction?

A fireball cast winged warriors in relief.

Hades. He was dodging thunderbolts higher and higher into the sky. That bat-winged thing he’d never seen was putting in the work, but Pegasus could do better.

With heels dug into Pegasus’s flank and vengeance roaring in his heart, Hercules charged into the fray. It was time to end this divine feud. Never again would Hercules put up with his uncle’s antics. If it took casting him out of the skies, so be it.

Anything that would end this conflict so he could return to Meg.

Hercules had not yet reached his father when he watched the ice giant belch a stream of icicles into the air. It froze the cloud Zeus perched on. The cloud froze under Zeus and came careening out of the sky. Midway to the sea, the stone giant intercepted Zeus with a punch that sent him into the waiting belch of the lava giant’s magma.

Pegasus huffed with the same frustration Hercules felt.

“I know, buddy, but we’ll get there.”

Between lava and ice, Zeus disappeared into a freshly made mountain that stuck out on the new island.

That was fine. At least Zeus was immortal. Things could fall on him, and he’d shake it off later.

Some people were not so lucky.

Hades perched atop the mountain, and blasted fireballs in all directions, heedless of where his allies were. “The king has fallen! I hereby claim my place as–”

Good. He’d finally been noticed. Hercules drew his sword. “Bit early to call it a victory, Hades!”

His uncle turned bright red, along with his fire. “You! But you’re supposed to be…” A cruel smile replaced the horror on Hades’s face. “Got your strength back, already?”

Hercules dove toward Hades. When Pegasus had helped him build enough momentum, he jumped off sword-first.

As expected, Hades avoided the confrontation entirely by vanishing off the spot. The impact Hercules made when he landed on the magma shell containing his father was enough to break it open.

Zeus burst free, confused.

“Let’s get this over with, Father,” Hercules said. “We need to rally everyone and push the Titans back.”

“That’s not so easy.” Zeus gestured in the air. “Look at them! There are so many! And they’re flying all over the place now that they’re free! It’s like Pandora’s box again!”

“Are all of these Titans evil?”

“Well… no, but… the others agreed to…”

A spark of impatience shot through Hercules. This battle was keeping him from Meg. What would she do if she were here? “So here’s how we focus on the real problem.” He hopped back onto Pegasus. “We should pardon any Titan who helps us in this fight. They’ll help us then, and we can all go back to our lives.”

“That’s… actually a pretty good idea… it worked with Prometheus… But what’s bothering you, son? It’s not just this fight.”

“This is the fight of all fights, and all mortals are going to suffer if we can’t resolve this. It’s up to you to give the order, Father. You’ll have my sword to enforce your laws, but I need you to grant your pardon.” With that, he dove with Pegasus toward the captives lined up on the island.

Behind him, he heard Zeus rumble into the sky: “The era of imprisonment is at an end! Those of you who stand with Olympus against Hades the Usurper will receive a full pardon and join us in ruling the Cosmos! All others will face our mighty wrath!”

Hercules nodded to himself. The call was made. Some would answer. Below him, the Olympian hostages sat in chains identical to the ones that had contorted torturously around Megara. He knew what to do with them.

With hard-taught precision, Hercules broke through the links of the chains between Aphrodite and Hestia. Those chains snapped instantly under his sword. All across the line, the chains evaporated in flashes of fiery light.

Hercules landed beside the freed captives. “I trust your judgment on who we can safely eliminate from this war. If you take them somewhere safe… could you try to repair some of the damage done to the city of Thebes? There are people there suffering right now because of this.”

Hestia was the first to nod. “I will find the best of them and bring them to our fold,” she promised. “I just need it to be safe enough for me to get through without being captured again.”

“I’ve got you,” Hercules scanned the island for his enemies. Wherever he was, Hades would concentrate his wrath. There had to be a place where he could launch the most effective defense possible.

He’d have to take out the giants first. They took up too much space on the battlefield. He could shatter the ice giant most easily, and from there, he’d figure out the rest.

A small collection of gods formed around the new mountain atop the island from whence Zeus was firing off thunderbolts. Many of them seemed weary and bedraggled. How many centuries had they spent hidden away beneath the sea with their wicked counterparts? Hercules really needed to address his father’s indiscriminate judgments at some point. Maybe he’d bring Meg. She was pretty good at pointing out when someone did the wrong thing.

He wished she could be there with him.

No, wait, that would be bad. He just wanted to take her home where everything would be okay.

The hosts of deities split between those who flocked toward one another, clinging for comfort, and those who were still in the fight. He couldn’t wait to tell Meg that he’d come up with this plan by thinking of her.

Focus.

Hercules charged past the peaceful Titans, seeking the singular object of his wrath. Hades couldn’t hide for long as the ever-burning wretch did all he could to direct other gods against Hercules. Let them come. He’d tear them all to pieces.

A god whose over-long bluish-green hair trailed behind him like a peaco*ck’s tail caught Hercules’s eye. He charged toward Hercules with a roar, practically asking to be defeated. Hercules could help with that.

“You’re Jerkules, the mortal pretender to godhood? I would’ve thought you were too embarrassed to show up where your betters are settling their old scores!” He sneered, tossing his hair as if Hercules were meant to be impressed. Why did he have to be so similar to Adonis?

Ah, but what if that weren’t a problem?

Hercules clashed swords with the unknown Titan, filtering all the frustration he ever felt from not being able to wipe the floor with Adonis’s face into the fight. “Everyone thinks they’re real clever for calling me that, but if you’re all saying it, are you really that smart?” He pivoted Pegasus to leverage a kick at the Titan’s chest.

The Titan reeled back.

When Hercules tried to pursue, a stream of icicles jutted up through the air from the maw of the ice giant. He bashed them out of his way, maintaining focus through the reflective shards he shattered with his sword. The torrent continued. Fine.

Hercules pulled Pegasus up short, out of the trail of ice that was meant to anticipate his movements. Then he dipped sharply toward the giant. He jammed his sword through the giant’s eye and used the forward momentum of their continued dive to rip the top half of the giant’s head off. He threw it directly into the lava giant’s flow.

The ice giant fell backward, but Hercules didn’t have time to celebrate his victory.

A battle cry of, “Hail to me, for I am the mighty Hybristes!” was the first introduction he had to the blue Titan.

Hybristes as in hubris? This would be easy.

No, wait. He shouldn’t think things like that. He refused to fail against the personification of hubris for being more hubristic than he was. There was no room for false confidence. He allowed the years he’d spent honing his body into a weapon to be his guide and the font of his confidence. With the appropriate measure of self-assuredness, he clashed with the Titan.

True to the nature of the Titan’s domain, he wasn’t as tough as he liked to think he was.

“Little rusty, huh?” Hercules snarled. “You’re in my way, so you have two options. Either yield or let me show you what real power looks like.”

The blue-green of the god’s aura deepened. “The insolence!” he exclaimed. He swept his sword at Hercules’s neck.

“So you’ve made your choice.” Hercules caught the Titan by the arm and hurled him into the body of the magma giant. This particular enemy was turning out to be incredibly useful.

Now, there was nobody between him and Hades, but the coward was fleeing.

Nothing could keep Hercules from his pursuit, except for the gargantuan stone fist heading his way.

Two thunderbolts hit the two-headed rock giant, just in time for Hercules to stop the swing of its punch.

Behind him, a forceful wind tunnel dragged him backward.

Pegasus made a low, frustrated series of snorts.

“You’re right. We’ve gotta take these guys out before we can get anything else done. Backward loop!”

None of the giants predicted this movement. Hercules flew over the wind giant’s head, then dropped down onto the island below. With his legs planted on the ground, he found the stability to grasp the tail of the wind giant.

He’d been right to suspect the others would swarm him. Well, let them. Hybristes was fighting his way out of the lava flow from the lava giant, but his efforts would prove fruitless.

Hercules had by now put up with more than enough.

In a series of overhead sweeps, he dragged the other giants into the body of the wind giant. Before that night, he might have doubted his ability to pull this off, but now his instincts had taken over. He had to wince his eyes shut against the wind, but it didn’t matter. Every fiber of his body was attuned to the moment.

He held so much power and dread between his hands, the doom of millions. There was nowhere he could put this down. He just kept swinging it in overhead circles, feeling them all mix and tumble together. There was only one place to destroy it all.

Hercules hurled his divine burden into the skies. It flew so far away into the ether that when it exploded, no debris could fall to earth.

There was calm on the battlefield.

Then, cheers rose up from friends and strangers.

All Hercules could do was search the skies. There. The coward was retreating once again.

Hercules whistled for Pegasus, who hurried to his side to lift him into the skies. There was no time to crown himself in laurels. Hades was still out there. He would not rest until the cycle was ended. Phil had always taught him that heroes didn’t chase down a vanquished enemy. There was no honor in disregarding surrender.

This was different. It didn’t matter in the slightest what heroes did under ordinary circ*mstances. How many times in high school had he let a monster go, only to face it again later? Hades had been behind most of those schemes without facing Justice. He’d been a kid then, he hadn’t thought he knew better than his father. It was his father’s inaction that got them here.

“Thanks a ton, Wonder Boy!” Hades snarled over his shoulder.

Disregarding all other deities of whatever description they may be, Hercules pursued Hades toward whatever entrance to the Underworld was nearest. He was ready to make him pay for every time he’d heard Meg scream, for the way he’d dangled her out on a hook for him, and who knew how many others? The way he’d made her hate herself, and rip herself apart when he wasn’t around to do it for her.

“At least I’ve got one swell consolation prize!” Hades added.

He didn’t care what his uncle said, anymore. He was done with games, with taunting and tricks. He was good at one thing, and if Hades thought he could talk his way out of learning his lesson, he’d be shocked by the results.

“A friend of yours! Who’s dying to see me!”

What did that mean?

Hercules felt the answer as a punch in his gut before he comprehended it. He pulled Pegasus to a sharp halt in midair. His blood was cold, losing the heat of passionate fury in an instant.

“Meg!”

Of course, Hades would know if Megara were dying. Hercules had forced himself to believe she’d miraculously escape Fate, but now the haze of battle had left his mind. He saw it so clearly now. He’d left her with the promise she’d be all right, but there was no way to guarantee something like that and then leave! What was he thinking?

Hercules redirected Pegasus toward Thebes, letting his uncle disappear into a cave outside the city.

He’d remember where it was.

A battle for another day.

Chapter 31: Prothesis

Chapter Text

It was not in Hercules’s nature to despair. He’d spent so many years telling himself that everything would turn out fine in the end that he couldn’t comprehend what happened when utter devastation befell him. Most of his problems could be resolved in a weekend, tied up with a humorous moment where everyone acknowledged their faults and foibles and then laughed it off.

This would be the day he learned.

Denial propelled Hercules and Pegasus back toward the ledge where he’d left Megara. All he could do was beg the Fates not to take her from him. He needed more time to find a solution. They could fix this. Someone would present a solution if only he could reach her.

Pegasus picked up on his desperation. His oldest companion charged through the sky, hooves and wings scooping the air behind them.

The ridge came into focus, along with a flock of people dressed in black kneeling over Megara. No! They couldn’t touch her!

Hercules jumped off of Pegasus when it would have made more sense to wait. He tumbled when he hit the ground. He came up just short of the small cluster of people. “Get away!” he shouted.

“Kid, they’re here to help.” Phil rested a hand on Hercules’s leg. He winced as he spoke, but Phil had never been good at sugarcoating anything. He gave up trying. “She’s… gone. They've been cleaning and… preparing the dead for burial.”

“You can’t!” Hercules swept his arms in the air as if brushing away smoke until the people dispersed. They could be in league with Hades! He couldn’t take her away again! “She’s not…” He was finally close enough that denial didn’t work, anymore.

Megara’s skin had gone so pale he’d seen marble with more color. Her lips were twisted together as if still restraining a cry of pain, and her arms were draped over her body. Someone had veiled her in white drapings that only made her seem paler. A crown of flowers in her hair made her look almost like a bride.

He broke down beside her, his hands reaching for her but afraid to disturb her. The irrational corners of his mind warned him not to wake her suddenly.

A sickly sweet smell clung to the air about her, which must be death itself mingled with whatever these nobodies were doing to her before he arrived. He noticed it, especially when he gathered her to his shoulder and felt the chill of her skin.

He paused, one hand resting against her throat in some desperate hope that there was a faint pulse hiding from everyone but him. His cheek rested against hers. Nothing.

The others were right. He was too late to say goodbye. Too late to do anything for her. Though he held her in his arms, he’d failed her.

“This is Thebes. For us, this is a relatively tame tragedy. She’s one of ours. You need not concern yourself any longer with this. It’s Theban business. It is best if you let her go now, and rest to replenish your strength.”

“Don’t… mention my strength. Don’t talk to me at all. Leave her with me!” Hercules scooped Megara into his arms. Her bones shifted disconcertingly under his hands, but he never let that rattle him. He held her tightly. He couldn’t do this with an audience. They couldn’t see their hero cry.

Without thinking of the destination he’d take her to, Hercules pulled Megara onto Pegasus’s back.

“Kid? What’re ya doin’?” Phil asked.

Hercules didn’t know, so he couldn’t answer. He shook his head. All he knew was he wouldn’t let anyone take her away from him. Not again. She rested along his lap with her head in the crook of his neck where it met his shoulder. Had she been alive, he would have had no greater care or reverence for her.

“It’s dangerous to bring the dead into your house!” Someone called.

“She could haunt you forever!”

“Good!” Hercules shouted down to the ground, his jealous arms clutching Megara to his chest. He climbed back into the air with Phil perched behind him and flew home without paying much attention to anything but the slack body of his love in his arms. She was weightless to him but weighed heavily each time he felt her bones shift or her head lolled on his shoulder.

Hercules noted the foam around Pegasus’s mouth when his friend looked back with concern. It had been a long day. “When we get home, you get some water and oats,” he promised. His voice sounded as dull as the waxy pallor of Megara’s face.

The promise of oats seemed enough of a signal for Pegasus to fly home. It wasn’t far from there. Hercules hardly noticed the flight. All that mattered was the way Megara slumped against him, and how her hair tickled his chin. He should’ve taken her away so much sooner. He’d thought he had an edge on Hades, so it would all be fine. Instead of waiting for her to be comfortable confiding in him, he should’ve said what he knew and insisted that she fall under the protection of the Olympians. Someone more competent than him may have done something then.

“Get some rest, buddy,” Hercules said absently. “You did good work today.” Not him. The averted apocalypse meant nothing to him. It may never matter to him that the world hadn’t ended, or that he’d helped. It all seemed such a faraway bit of trivia that he’d somehow minimized fallout that could have wiped out all of humanity.

He had walked her to the bed without thinking and tucked her in as if she were sleeping.

“What am I doing?” he asked aloud.

Putting her to bed didn’t mean she’d wake up.

Letting her sleep wouldn’t make her feel better.

She wasn’t even in the room with him.

He got up from the bedside and paced. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Every other time, someone had shown him how to make everything right again.

The tears ran hot down his face.

If he’d thought it through, maybe he could have made a better bargain. Why didn’t he have Meg’s gift for strategy? If he had Cassandra with him, she would have seen this whole thing before it blew up, and he could have found some way to free Meg before it got this far. Her powers must have improved since graduation. Maybe she could effectively control them.

But it was too late to do anything differently. Even reweaving the Tapestry of Fate could have a million unforeseen consequences, and he may not get Meg back at the end of it. No matter what he did, Hades would strike, and he’d hurt Meg. He was relentless, and nobody had ever properly dealt with him in all the time he’d been aware of the god’s treachery.

Rarely had he ever wept this hard. He dropped to kneel at the bedside, face hidden in the blankets. How could he have done this? He should’ve seen that column as it fell and moved faster. Anything. But he’d failed her, and she’d given everything for him.

He stole one more look at her face, at the pain etched on every angle. He should’ve been the one to…

What was that?

Hercules noticed a bit of charred paper peeking out of her… ah… well, it shouldn’t be in her dress, should it? Why would she have paper in her clothes?

She’d never sent him a letter. Maybe this was her trying to keep up her end of the correspondence? Hades may never have given her a chance to hand this off to him. But how could he reach it?

Frantically searching his bedside table, Hercules hunted for anything that could help him reach the paper without violating the sanctity of Megara’s… well, anything.

His stomach turned over with the warring need to read anything she wanted him to know but also not accidentally violate her body.

A golden laurel wreath hanging on the wall caught his attention. With all the delicacy his frantic mind could muster, he eased the letter free of its hiding place.

As he read over her letter, his heart twisted. She addressed him with the nickname that he’d always worn with greater pride than any victor’s wreath. To her, he was the only proof there were good men in the world.

For someone who had so much faith in him, he’d let her down. His eyes trailed down to the bottom of the letter, resting there on the last lines: One day soon, there will be nothing left but memories. I hope for you they’re good ones.

He stood at the bedside and took her cold hand in his. He did have fond memories of her. If only he could live in those memories with her… But he knew the world still needed him. It would need him forever, and it was his destiny to help. Apparently, it seemed his destiny was to strive forever, alone and wanted only for that which he could do for strangers.

Alone in this empty house, where everyone relied on him, and he could rely on no one.

The door creaked.

Phil stood there, concern in every line of his face. “Kid… They’re right about not keeping the dead in your house… You need to remember the rituals are for her, too. You have to let her go.”

Did he? He’d spent so little time with her.

“Losing someone is always hard. I went through it with heroes who never made the cut. There’s a reason we don’t talk about ‘em.”

“This is different! I was meant to protect her. I’m a hero. I need to be there for the people who matter to me.”

“You were. You did your best. You did way more than most people would’ve. She was a lost cause the day you met her.”

She would’ve said the same thing.

“Get. Out.”

Phil put his hands up. “I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, it’s not your fault.”

“I’m sorry, Kid.” Even Phil was crying now. Everyone seemed to have accepted Meg was gone, and if he weren’t careful, he would, too. “There are some things you just can’t change.”

Couldn’t he?

His tears froze.

This was Hades’ fault. He used Meg against him, threatened her, and put her in harm’s way. And now the lord of the dead was claiming her soul. There was no mistaking the evidence of how miserable she was. She could never hide it, even when she smiled. It was wrong. Unjust. He couldn’t let her story end like this. It wasn't the end. She’d have a second chance. No matter what.

Hercules raised his head, glaring out the window. Hades was still out there. He probably thought the gods would let bygones lie, but Hercules was not a god. Where his father had so long failed to mete out Justice, Hercules would not.

“Yes, I can.”

Chapter 32: Into Shadows

Chapter Text

He’d promised Pegasus a rest, and Hercules kept his promises. This was his pilgrimage. Multiple times during his training, he’d ventured into the Underworld after one or another of his quests. He’d gone on foot then, and he could do it again.

If he never came back, so be it. He needed to be where she was.

He was vaguely aware that he might be going overboard. But how many heroes were rescued by their damsels? Megara had been loyal to him, had endured how many countless horrors for him, and he would not forsake her.

Wandering through the grieving city, his heart was weighed down by the pain around and within him. Phil had often reminded him he couldn’t save everyone and shouldn’t let that destroy his optimism. Maybe that was true.

Hercules stood in the graveyard over the jar Megara had left for the letters they were supposed to swap. She’d only ever gotten one to him, but he knew she’d read them because even when he stuffed them into the jar, she’d carefully unfold them and then wrap them into a neat bundle.

“She was my friend, too.”

The voice drew the merest response from Hercules. He tilted his head toward it but didn’t turn.

“Thebes seems to be the one polis that doesn’t hate when I arrive,” the voice continued. “Megara was one of the ones who appreciated how swift I could be. She saw me from an early age, always taking away someone close. But she’d thank me because their suffering would end. She was different, though. She’d leave gifts. Living things, like flowers or a kitten. She wanted me to experience something other than death. I never forgot.”

Hercules turned then.

The figure behind him was tall and pale, dressed all in black to match his dark hair, which was crowned in poppies. His black wings were tucked politely behind him. “It must be alarming for one who has evaded me for so long to make my acquaintance, but I come as a friend, Hercules. I am called Thanatos. I wish no harm to anyone. It was I who escorted Megara to the Underworld, and for that, I apologize, though it was my duty. I thought it no better should she be left to wander. A friendly face at the end of it all can sometimes offer comfort.”

“Did she…” Hercules drew in shuddering breaths. He had to word this perfectly. “When she was gone, did the pain stop? Does she… is she fine now?”

“I would not be one to say. She had an obol, and thus, I paid Charon for her crossing. But she never woke. Her eyes are forever closed. Perhaps there is some peace in that.”

The faint hope in Hercules’s chest burst. “That’s not how it’s meant to be.”

“A century of sleep and then rebirth suits the peaceful psyche more than longing for that which is lost. Mighty hero, I beseech you to return to the living, honor the dead, and see your fortunes abound before we meet again.”

“Impossible. But thank you. I can’t let her go. Everyone else has abandoned her before me. I will never abandon her.”

Thanatos paused for a lingering moment and fluttered his wings in thought. “Then I shall aid you.” He unfurled one wing toward the mountains outside the city. “On behalf of our mutual favor for this mortal girl, I shall bring you through the entrance Hades will consider least likely for you to breach. Have you an obol for the passage?”

“Charon knows me. If he doesn’t want to help me across, I’ll get across in spite of him. The choice is his.”

Thanatos inclined his head. “Let us move swiftly, then.” He offered his hands. “I’ll carry you up there. When we reach the entrance, I shall open the portal. You are a fan of Orpheus. You know the song.”

“Never look back,” Hercules replied with a brief smile. Simpler times, less dire errands to the Underworld.

“I’ve seen you many times in the realms below. Had I not thought it would get her in trouble, I would have told Megara of your escapades.”

“We’re getting her out of trouble for good now,” Hercules promised.

The flight over the gorge brought with it the scent of the long-rotting Hydra. Thanatos deposited him on a ledge crowded with tombs and sarcophagi. “The Royal burial ground of Thebes. Should you fail, this would be the most appropriate resting place for Megara’s bones.”

Tension gripped Hercules by the shoulders. “I won’t fail!” He turned from Thanatos and was stricken by the sight of a statue that could easily have been commissioned to represent Megara herself. She wore a brilliant necklace of intertwined gem-studded snakes. “Why would you say we would put Megara here?”

“Did she never tell you she was the daughter of King Creon?”

A princess.

This whole time, she’d been a princess and dodged any references to her past. She’d sat there in his lap denying that someone represented her onstage in the story of her family. She’d known Adonis, and he hadn’t flinched or complained over a blind date with a commoner. If he’d been looking at anything but her eyes or her hair or her curves, he may have noticed the signs. Princesses always had a way about them.

“Why wouldn’t she tell me?”

“Runaways seldom do.” Thanatos led the way past a pair of portraits depicting Prince Haemon and Princess Antigone. The inscription below the portraits described them as lovers who had died together rather than allow Fate to part them. Each of them had a sort of catlike slant to their eyes, their hair was thick and curly, and their noses each had a refined slope.

“Rebels are often remembered fondest after their time,” Thanatos remarked when he saw where Hercules was looking. “Megara begged them not to go, but… they summoned me.”

“They left her.”

“One day, she may have forgiven them, had she gotten the chance. Much may have been different had she maintained their guidance. Are you ready to continue?”

Hercules nodded. He would get Megara all the second chances she needed to forgive her brother. He had done what he was about to do.

They moved through shadows that yawned wider as they progressed into the cave. A chill familiar from his many excursions enveloped them and, with it, the smell. No wonder Megara was always covering herself in some pleasant scent or another.

“I’ll take you by her place if you want to get some of her possessions,” Thanatos offered.

The thought rankled him like a stone in his sandal. “Her place?” He repeated.

“Hades carved out a piece of Asphodel for her to sleep. She has some odds and ends there. I think that’s where she keeps her extra clothes.”

“You don’t mean she… lived there, do you?”

Thanatos looked away. “She never told you much of anything, did she?”

“It seems not.”

“Her pride is one thing she never gave up when she dodged her crown. Megara will never ask for help. She would never tell anyone how she suffered. She would not ask you to save her.”

Hercules ground his teeth together. “I always respected her secrets. In some ways, I still do. But I know so little about her, and yet… It was enough for me. Now that we’re separated, I’ll take any scrap you can give me. What was she like the first time you saw her?”

“Small. Frightened. Hiding from the world. That’s why she was the only one who saw what happened.”

Hercules was about to ask further questions, but Thanatos swept a hand through the shadows and answered a few for him. An image of a small, frightened princess with wild, curly hair crouched among stalagmites. The god had captured in heartrending detail the way her tiny face contorted with fearful grief. He had never seen so much expression on her face. She hid it all.

“That’s her?” Hercules crouched near the figure. “Meg?”

“She is only a memory.” Thanatos brushed it away. “If you ever tell her I showed you this, she will make life a living hell for me.” He chuckled and shook his head. “But this is where I leave you. Please don’t do anything stupid.” In a flutter of obsidian wings, the god had vanished.

Hercules cast another look in the direction of the spot where Thanatos had conjured an image of a tiny, helpless Megara. He wouldn’t let her down.

The river beckoned to him, its grayish-blue light the only hint of something beyond the void. He saw Charon escorting a long line of the dead onto his ferry and approached without fear.

“You again?” The god croaked. “How many times do I have to tell you I don’t take live ones?”

“Once you stop taking my coins, I might listen.” Hercules pulled an obol from the pouch sewn into his belt. “Take me to Meg.”

Charon made a crackling noise. “Let her aboard hours ago. You won’t find her in that mess.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion. Bring me across the river.”

“Talk to them. They’ll have to let you take one of their spots.”

Hercules turned to the shades crowding the shore and raised both his arms to flex. “I can carry as many of you as are willing to hold onto a demigod. Who wants to cross right now?”

At the other end of the ferry ride, dozens of shades flew away into oblivion, leaving Hercules standing with Charon.

“Don’t come back.” Charon swung irritably at Hercules with his oar. “I’m sick of you heroes thinking you can go wherever you want and do whatever you want.”

Hercules climbed off the ferry without regard for any of Charon’s impotent smacking. “I will do what I will, and you’ll do what you must.”

The opposite shore held its own obstacles.

The last time he’d bothered to tangle with Cerberus, he’d been a puppy. Now, he’d grown dozens of sizes larger and twice as vicious. He snapped at Hercules with all three heads at once, growling like any good guard dog should.

“I’m getting in there. It’ll either be past you or through you.” Hercules rested a hand on the hilt of his sword. “What’ll it be?”

Cerberus lunged, but he wasn’t quick enough. Nothing was, anymore.

The vicious guardian of the Underworld aimed low, but Hercules leaped high. He came down with the full might of the world’s strongest demigod, cratering the dog’s middle head into the stone below.

Both side heads snapped for him, but Hercules perched on the middle one and slammed each of them in the nose. They all lay flat, and Hercules took the conquered hound by the ears. “You’re taking me to your master. Get up.”

Cerberus only whimpered.

Closing his eyes, Hercules remembered to be patient. “I know you’ve got a job to do. But now you’re going to do a job for me. Remember me?” He summoned everything of the boy he once was, full of hope. He sang the song born of his wanderings toward the temple of Zeus. He’d sung it to keep himself going through rain and solitude.

No matter what, he would go the distance, and he would reach Megara. There was no adulation any hero could ask for more to be craved than the light in the eyes of the hopeless or the embrace of the forlorn. He would find her, and she would know that, finally, she could rest in his love.

Cerberus rose to his feet, shaking his head as if to clear them.

Hercules remained in his perch by the force of his grip on the hound’s ears. “Ready to go?”

Evidently, he had won over his audience.

From atop the hellhound’s head, Hercules heard the ranting of none other than his least favorite relative. “…so close we tripped at the finish line! All because our little Nutmeg had to go and be all noble!” Hades had no way to comprehend how right he was.

Hercules forced Cerberus to blast his way through the stone wall that separated him from Hades. “Where’s Meg?”

The tantrum Hades has been throwing came to an abrupt end. “Well! Look who’s here! Wonder Boy! You are too much!” Using Meg’s nickname for him hit a sore spot and twisted. “You know, maybe I should build you a little doggie door for when you crawl down here to bother me.” Hades didn’t seem to recognize the gravity of the situation.

Hercules would make him understand.

He made Cerberus lower him to the same level as Hades and stalked closer. “Let.” He stepped on the throne’s dais. “Her.” He gripped Hades by the robes and forced him to look him in the eye with no escape. “Go.”

The creep was still smiling.

He could rip this guy’s face off if he didn’t need him to point out where he’d put Meg.

“Get a grip!” Hades seemed even more amused now. He eased Hercules’s hands off his chiton. He patted his nephew on the shoulder as if this were in any way a normal family interaction. “C’mere! Let me show you around.”

“This had better not be a distraction. I’ve seen enough of the Underworld already. You need to show me where Meg is, or I’ll start wrecking stuff.”

“Touchy! It’s almost as if you haven’t already destroyed everything for me! That would be petty vandalism, and I know that’s not in the hero rules.”

“I’m done caring about rules.”

“And all it took was one squishy damsel to make you turn your back on all those years of training? Well, well, your daddy won’t be happy to hear all that education was wasted on you.”

“I think I’m out of the running for the family disappointment.”

“Ye gods, if it’s not one of you, it’s the other. Can’t a god catch a break?”

“We’ve given you too many breaks, collectively. After the stunt you pulled, I’m shocked I’m the only one down here to remind you how big a scumbag you are.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” came Hades’s glib response.

“Where it better get me is wherever you put Meg.”

“Well, I know who she willed her attitude to, but your comebacks could use some work. We used to have so much fun together before she got her mouth clapped shut forever.”

Hercules backhanded Hades across the mouth without a second thought.

Hades reeled back, more from shock than the pain, but Hercules only spared him a glare from the corner of his eye to notice. He flared up with red fire, but quickly diffused his own rage. “You’re right. I mean, you did almost marry her. But like with so many failed relationships, another man got between you.”

Hercules rounded on Hades, fists bared. “If what you want is the beatdown of the millennium, just ask.”

Rather than the fear he wanted to see, all Hades gave him was another gleeful smirk. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this. I almost like it.”

“Stop wasting my time and bring me to Meg. She hasn’t been here that long. You must know where she is.”

“Now, boys,” a lightly scolding voice said from above. Do you really think this is any way for family to behave?” Hecate descended from the stalactites, flanked by her winged wolves and a cavalcade of ghosts.

“Butt out, Witch! This is Olympian business!”

“So where are the Olympians?” Hecate asked, then proceeded to laugh at her own joke. She landed before Hercules and Hades. “All I see is a washed-up exile and a mortal playing hero.”

“I don’t have time for this,” Hercules growled. “You can say whatever you want either to or about me. I’m here for Megara. If the two of you want to trade jabs at each other’s egos, have at it. I’ll tear this whole place apart to find her.”

“As delightful as that sounds,” Hecate floated over to wrap an arm across Hercules’s shoulders, “wouldn’t you like to hear my counteroffer?”

Chapter 33: Twicefold Vengeance

Chapter Text

“See, Megara and I had a lovely chat before her untimely death this evening,” Hecate said in her most honey-dripping voice.

As irritated as Hercules was by her continuing to speak to him, let alone touch him, he found himself compelled to hear her out. Still, he wouldn’t dignify her with an answer.

“You see, she noticed that Hades would be occupied for the evening, and he left me in charge. Unfortunately, he still decides the fates of souls, but that could change in a flash. If you convince the Olympians to reinstate me to full goddess status, I could become eligible for his job, and then I’d be free to set your girl up with a work release program. Of course, the Underworld can never fully give up what rightfully belongs here, but if you made me queen, I’d even release her with special witchy powers! Wouldn’t that be nice? You’re a hero, after all. You know how dangerous the world is, and by now, she does, too. You could be together much longer if she became my protege. I’d even help protect her from Hades if he became a problem in the future.”

Hercules’s pulse raced in his ears. He wasn’t smart enough for this. They had to find Meg and get her to explain why the thought put his stomach in knots, but he still didn’t know how to refuse.

“You’re forgetting one major step here,” Hades snarled. “Wonder Brat can’t make you queen if I never let him leave!”

“You couldn’t stop me from getting in. That ferry has left the dock,” Hercules shot back.

“I’m not letting go of the one thing I have, even if I never wanted it!” Hades declared. “Now, get out of the way! This spoiled sun spot wants to see his pathetic ex-girlfriend, and I can’t wait to show him where she is!”

“There are no guarantees you’ll have a way to save her,” Hecate warned Hercules. “You ought to remember that. I’m the only one who can give you what you want.”

“I’ll find my own way.”

“Good, good! Hades tried to sound friendly, but his mask had long since slipped off. “Now, how much do you know about the River Styx?”

Hecate floated along after them. “I’m sure he passed Alpha Level Underworld Studies at some point in his training, no?”

“Not much to know. Mortals are taught that the majority of us will wander mindlessly down here unless we’re given blood to drink, but it’s supposed to be a peaceful existence. All I’ve ever seen down here is misery.”

“The dead are dull. Boring. Pointless. They crowd up the place and offer nothing for all my hospitality. But eh, what’re ya gonna do?”

“I have some thoughts,” Hecate floated ahead. “Under my reign, the shades would be released upon the earth to haunt the places they once loved in life, and I will grant them powers to seek justice against their erstwhile enemies! Murderers avenged from the grave! Scores settled between generations! Witnesses to long-obscured crimes to speak for themselves! Think of the possibilities, son of Zeus!”

“You’re just trying to mess with me. I’m not in the mood.”

“It’s pointless to bargain with him anyway. He’s got no power here. Now get out of our hair before I remind you who does!”

Unbothered, Hecate floated away. “When this one screws you over, remember you have options!”

Hades sent a fireball after her, but she vanished before it could reach her.

While he was occupied, Hercules strode off through the fields of Asphodel. If the gods were going to waste his time, he would find his own way. Hades probably didn’t want him to know where Meg was, so he’d pretend to be helpful until he couldn’t put it off any longer.

He thought he could see a large scoop out of the side of the wall, with stairs leading up to it. No handrails. Meg hated heights. Hades must have designed it specifically to torment her every single day and while she slept.

A way existed to turn a god mortal, or else he wouldn’t be in this situation. If he could find it and force it on Hades…

“Hey! You can’t just wander around unsupervised!” Hades appeared in front of him. “Your dad is king topside, but down here, I’m in charge!”

“You’re not in control of me, so you can say whatever you want, but it won’t matter. I’ve beaten you countless times before, so I’m not sure why you think today would be any different. Save yourself the trouble and bring Meg to me so we can leave.”

“Not so fast!” Hades snapped his fingers.

The rock wall behind them slowly separated in half, pulling apart to reveal a chamber that glowed pale, sickly green. “It’s a small Underworld, after all, where all your dreams can come true.”

Hercules held his uncle’s too-gleeful state with one that portended misfortune should he be crossed once more. He followed the river toward the chamber, where it flowed as a waterfall into a whirlpool below.

Though ordinarily, the whirlpool moved slowly, he watched as a skull at the bottom sucked deeply and drew the souls who spun in its grasp lower. Another wave arrived from the waterfall, and while the skull released its pull, the chamber filled up to the ledge with sickly water again. There was something different about this water compared to the Styx proper. It must be something to do with the skull at the bottom.

If Hades had brought him here to find Meg, there was no telling how far she’d gotten by now with the inconsistent flow of the whirlpool.

He knelt by the water, casting a suspicious glare over his shoulder for Hades. This would be an excellent time to push him in.

Hades was merely waiting, poised with a wicked grin, for Hercules to see what he wanted him to see.

Megara floated past him, eyes closed as if asleep, the same as he’d last seen her on his bed, and her mouth contorted in the same grimace of restrained agony.

“Meg!” He reached in to catch her by the hand and draw her out, but something stopped him.

The water froze and then leached the life out of his hand, making it feel as if he’d aged several decades at once. He pulled his hand out of the water in shock, only for the ripples he’d caused to push Megara further down the swirl of the whirlpool.

“Oh, yeah, maybe I could’ve warned you about that. Too bad I didn’t feel like it. Now that you’ve seen her, you know there’s no way you’ll ever get her out of there. Hope you had a fun field trip, kiddo, but it’s time to get out of here and wait until it’s your turn to join the dead instead of barging down here whenever the mood hits you.”

“I’m not leaving without her.”

“Well, I’m not babysitting you. I’m terrible with kids. So I really must insist you leave or… ya ever hear about what happened with sweet little Nutmeg’s cousin? She wanted to marry her brother, and they got married in a tomb. Hanging and falling on your sword. A match made in the Underworld.”

That sounded like giving up. It wouldn’t get Meg her second chance at life.

“I have a better idea. Let me go in after her. If I can get her out of here and bring her out of the Underworld, I’ll surrender to you. But I have to be able to free her. This only works if she’s allowed to have her life back.”

“You know you’d never get out of there in the first place, right? Even if I let you try, you’ll be trapped forever in a river of death.

His terms were acceptable, but Hercules only let that show on his stony face. “Well? You like making deals.” He spat the word out. “What could work better for you?” He’d seen enough of Hades over the years to know how to work this. “Going once!” Hercules shouted, holding up a finger.

Megara was drifting deeper in the water. He lost an advantage on his pursuit with every second he allowed to pass.

The skull below dragged the souls deeper. Hercules refused to watch Meg drop lower in the chamber. He would only give Hades evidence that it wasn’t him who had pressure to lock down this deal. Hades could wait. He could watch Meg descend until she was lost forever and laugh at Hercules through the whole thing. He would still be there at the end of it.

Hades scratched his chin, half turning away. “Is there a downside to this?” He murmured to himself.

“Going twice…” Hercules was getting so irritated he might drag Hades down with him and end the whole thing.

“Ok! Ok, ok, ok! She goes. You stay.” It didn’t matter how sick the smile Hades wore could be. Hercules had his promise that he could get Meg out of there.

With practiced efficiency, Hercules dove into the water. He’d braced himself for the hideous chill of the water, but it took fixing his eyes on Megara, dropping further and further away to steady his nerves. He couldn’t afford to recoil. She still needed him.

Though unsettled by the way his hands and arms shrank before his very eyes, Hercules rallied his withering muscles to pull himself deeper after her. It was almost as if she were running from him, though he knew she lacked the awareness to. She was lighter than air and barely hung together as herself. As with all the other souls in the whirlpool, he could see outlines of her shift outside the shape of her body until she floated in the triplicate along with the current.

All he had to do was catch her and bring her to the surface. Hades would have to release her then… and if she was free… Thanatos might be able to take her from there… He was losing track of the details. All he knew was he would expire before he ever reached the surface. All he had to do was reach her. She couldn’t be alone anymore, caught in that moment of agony and loneliness when she had given everything for him. If he couldn’t take her back to the surface with him, he would consign himself to her fate.

In all his striving throughout his life, he had believed himself destined to eternal life on Olympus, or at the very least, a place in the Elysian Fields among other heroes. He’d never imagined himself damned to oblivion along with countless other nameless souls, even in his nightmares. Megara didn’t deserve to be here, either. She’d rescued him, given Medusa a second chance at life, and suffered through so much without ever becoming evil herself. They may not deserve this fate, but if they must suffer it, she would not face it alone. She had to know somehow that he was with her.

His hand trembled, reaching for her spectral fingers. He would reach her one more time, give her the last of him. She wouldn’t be alone anymore. He’d stay with her here, and cling to her hand. She would know he loved her even if they couldn’t escape.

That cold feeling leeched deeper into his bones, reaching for his heart. But he hadn’t reached Megara yet. He couldn’t die until she was safe.

A shudder wrenched through his trembling, spent body. Not yet.

He reached toward her in one desperate final moment. Fingers worn to the bone closed around hers. He’d done it. He closed his eyes.

The jolt hit that was meant to part his psyche from his body, but the death he’d accepted never came.

Something was different.

Where the world had been green and frozen, he no longer felt its chill. Golden light coming from… somewhere… overtook the gloom. He gathered Megara to his chest, secure in the crook of his arm, with her head resting on his shoulder.

He didn’t stop to wonder what was happening to him: the point remained that he could now bring Megara back to the surface. The nearer they drew to the surface, the clearer it became that the light was emanating from his own withered arms. That was mildly interesting, but he only really cared that he would haul Megara out of this nasty place, and she’d be free.

The vortex filled with a new flow of souls and stygian water, but Hercules pushed through its downward momentum against the current. Rather than allow the flow to push him down, he pushed through to the cliff’s edge.

His hand gripped the solid stone, and he dug his toes into the rough, jagged cliff face for leverage. With Megara securely draped over his shoulder, he lifted himself onto the shore.

“This is impossible!” Hades gasped. “You can’t be alive. You’d have to be a…”

“A god?” Pain and Panic helpfully supplied.

His new aura burned off all dregs of the Styx from them both, leaving him feeling more vital than ever. If he were a god now, nothing would stand in his way. He would bring Megara back to life, and tell her everything. How proud he was of her for surviving so much, but how it wasn’t all up to her anymore. How she helped him navigate the apocalypse when he wouldn’t have known how to face it without her. How she was free now, and he would never let anyone hurt her again.

He fixed his eyes straight ahead. He’d return to deal with Hades once Meg was safe again. Now that he was immortal, there was nothing Hades could do to him, but until she was reunited with her body, he held dominion over Meg. He had to get her away from him.

As if he knew how much it would annoy him, Hades jumped into Hercules’s path, waving his panic-fueled hands. “Hercules! Stop! You can’t do this to me! You can’t!”

Hercules hit him with a backhanded punch and kept walking. Finally, he had the means to shut that guy up.

Once again, he locked his eyes straight ahead. On the way out of the Underworld, he draped Megara across his arms in a bridal carry. It was how Phil had taught him to carry an unconscious damsel, giving him the logic it would give her the most dignity, and if she could feel anything, she might be comfortable that way.

Through the tight focus Hercules imposed on himself, he heard Hades talking but filtered out the words. He couldn’t afford to let Hades annoy or distract him. Megara took priority. The longer they stayed in the Underworld, the more chances Hades had to steal victory.

As determined as he was to keep his cool, Hades kept talking.

Hercules put his head down, imagining just charging his way out of the Underworld.

Hades clamped his bony fingers around Hercules’s shoulder and pivoted him around.

Forced to look him in the face, Hercules had to work even harder to suppress his urge to punch. He couldn’t let go of Meg. It would be too easy for her to get snatched away when she had no awareness or autonomy to fight for herself.

Who did Hades think he was kidding, dancing around with his overly friendly expressions and simpering voice? It wasn’t as if Hercules had just met him. This was the guy who’d tried to kill him since before he could walk. He’d tried to take everything from him over and over again.

“Maybe he’ll blow this whole thing off?” Hades asked. “Meg! Meg, talk to him!” He lifted Megara’s spectral head off where it rested against Hercules’s arm and pressed his cheek against hers.

Shocked disgust hit Hercules in the gut. How did Hades have this level of audacity? Didn’t he have any idea what Hercules could do to him now that he’d reached apotheosis?

“You’ve always been a smooth talker, Meg. Wake up! Tell him what you’ll do for him if he lets me off the hook!” He lifted Megara’s face toward Hercules’s, literally puppeteering her to try and make her kiss him. Ever since they met, Hades had been using Meg as a puppet, and now? The abuse had never been so blatant.

“That’s enough!” Hercules pivoted to yank Megara free of Hades’s grasp and conserved his momentum to slam his fist into Hades’s face.

The loathsome slimeball collapsed to the stone below, splayed out on the ground and dazed.

“You’re done messing with Meg. I’m taking her now, and once she’s conscious again, she’s free. I’ll protect her from everything, not just you. But I’ll start here.” He held Megara secure against his shoulder, leaving his right arm free.

He snapped a stalagmite off the wall and brought it down on Hades so hard it shattered. Before Hades could rally, Hercules bent down and yanked him upright, only to grab him by the throat. “This is for everyone you’ve hurt because of me.” He held Hades’s face under the water as a fresh flow of souls rushed into the vortex.

His conscience kicked back in, reminding him that heroes weren’t meant to be vicious. He resumed his exit strategy from the Underworld, wishing he could do that trick where gods could appear and disappear. Who was supposed to teach him these things?

“You can’t leave!” Hades snarled, all pretense of pleasantry gone. “You promised you’d stay! So let go of the girl and let her figure out how to get home on her own because you’re a hero, and you promised you’d stay down here!”

Hercules shrugged. “As an immortal? What do you expect me to do, spend eternity beating your worthless carcass into a pulp? I might even take you up on that if I didn’t think I’d eventually get bored.”

Hades erupted with crackling yellow flames. “You’re just like your father! You think you can do whatever you want, but you can’t! And you’re not getting away with this!”

“Watch me.” Hercules crossed the distance between himself and his uncle in a panther-like leap. This time, his punch carried the momentum to send Hades flying into the vortex below. It was just in time for the skull to slurp the water further down.

He didn’t stick around to see how deep Hades fell. His uncle’s voice echoed as he went down, and Hercules decided that was no longer the sound of a him problem.

Chapter 34: Echoes

Chapter Text

Death was familiar.

In fact, Megara had been on a first name basis with him since childhood. Thanatos got a bad rap. Watch enough deaths, you could see his gentle, compassionate eyes while he led away those who were suffering. Megara thought he hadn’t seen her at first, but he knew her by name. She supposed he knew anyone he passed by often enough, but hadn’t thought it best to touch on that subject across the span of their friendship.

No other mortal had spent so much of their life among the dead and in the Underworld. Thanatos was a busy god, always winging off to aid those who could not be saved in life, but could be granted peace in death.

For Megara, there was no peace. Her entire existence was distant, fleeting, based on half-formed impressions. That final agony remained the one thing that never dimmed. It stuck to her, and twisted her spectral body. She was locked into that moment of expecting freedom and finding only this interminable misery.

This was her punishment: Until she reached that skull at the bottom of the vortex which reset every soul, she would exist as a mere echo of every pain.

How many times had she pitied the shades in their half-life state dulled of all emotions? She’d feared the thought of this place too much to contemplate her place in it.

There was no escape, no dream or activity that could distract from every moment that sapped all sanity from what remained of her.

In her sleep that she could not wake from, Megara remembered.

Hercules’s voice mingled with that of so many others. His eyes burned with the hatred of her father, of her cousins, of Hades. She could never focus on any one person, but the guilt of everything she’d ever done rested heavy on her heart. It wasn’t even beating anymore. She’d left it far away, but it echoed.

Trapped in a cycle of her worst moments melding together to crush her, Megara longed for it all to end. The few bright spots were distorted, drowned in the frigid olivine glare of so many who’d found her out or thought they had. The one remaining mercy was her eventual oblivion.

There was no way to know how near the end was, or how long she’d been there. Even her sense of immense cold couldn’t give her any hint, nor could she open her spectral eyes to check.

She twisted in the sinking whirlpool. Closer and closer to becoming nothing, Megara felt the current quicken. Yes. End it.

There was no point holding onto the memories of Hercules. She’d never see him again. All hope was lost.

Something changed in the pulse of the current.

It had been steady, uninterrupted for millenia. Yet this felt much like something had been dropped in. A column?

Megara winced harder, reliving the impact without the moment of unconsciousness that followed.

Warmth seeped into the water. Life. Alien to this place, but unmistakeable. Even in her own living days, Megara had never experienced so much life.

It surged deeper into the water, though it shouldn’t be there.

Powerful counter-current sweeps disturbed the flow, drawing nearer. The river sapped its power as it did everything else. The warmth and life evaporated into the current, a sick joke, a memory of what everyone suffering its torments had lost.

What was Hades trying to accomplish? Was he tormenting everyone in the river just to get his final laugh at Megara’s expense?

Megara forced herself deeper into oblivion. Anything to get away from him. If the destruction of her essence was the only way to find peace, so be it.

Something closed around her hand. Unmistakably human. A hand. Impossible. None of the other souls could have done such a thing.

The sun rose in the Underworld.

For a moment, it interrupted Megara’s agony while the light, warmth and life flooded the darkness. It wrapped around her, intense and brilliant behind eyes she could not open.

The current was meaningless.

Its cold held no potency.

Then it was gone.

Megara lay limp, and though the pain remained her constant companion, the memories were gone. There was only the pain and this all-encompassing warmth. It seeped through her whole spectral form, just as the water had, leaving an impression of tranquil determination. There was passion, even anger, in the light, but above all, they were getting out of there.

They? Who? Surely not her.

Before the shreds of her humanity could piece together this puzzle, familiar spidery hands clamped around her face like a prison. No. She wasn’t getting out of there. She was dead. She didn’t belong in the sunlight. This was a mistake. She’d been dead for a long time.

The hands were gone.

There was nothing but her and the light.

It made no sense. It would never make sense to her.

But then she sank into her bones. She drew breath. Her heart was beating. The pain was gone. Her eyes flew open to explain it, and there she found him.

She had to laugh.

Of course, Hercules was the light. He always had been.

Chapter 35: Curtain Call

Chapter Text

A crackling sound filled Megara’s ears, much like a hearth fire. Her middle was full of a series of tingling sensations, and her heart raced as if making up for lost time.

Hercules stood over her, chewing his lip and checking her forehead as if she had a fever and he was waiting for her to recover.

Was she in a bed? Whose bed? How had she gotten there? Why was she alive? She made small noises in her throat rather than speech when she attempted to ask. That felt like flesh. She was parched.

How could this be? The Underworld didn’t pack shades into fresh bodies and ship them into bizarre alternate versions of their lives!

“You’re thirsty?” He reached into a shelf beside them and pulled out a jar. “I’ve got wine if you’d like some. It’s spiced and watered down. Helps me sleep sometimes.”

Megara forced herself to sit up, amazed by the ease with which she moved when her spine had been crushed not long ago. She held out a hand, the same one that had accepted that of Thanatos.

“I’ll handle it for you,” Hercules assured. He put a hand behind her neck and helped her drink, never tipping too much into her mouth at once. It was as if she were an ailing patient in an Asclepieion.

He glowed.

With the wine still in her mouth, Megara stared at him in awe of the majesty and grace this new form granted him. He’d always had an imposing frame, but there was a fresh ease and assurance about him that made her embarrassed of her own disoriented presence of mind. She must look a mess.

“There, you’ve got some color in your cheeks back.” Hercules gave her a light peck on her cheekbone, making her giggle.

Something else she couldn’t control around him, in addition to her voice.

Hercules knelt before her, one hand splayed on her back to support her, and the other took her hand. “I’m so glad you’re back, Meg. I thought I’d lost you.”

Megara opened her mouth, and something that was almost speech made its way out. She frowned, confounded until she remembered. Mortals who returned from the Underworld, whenever this was allowed, usually couldn’t speak again for three days after the resurrection.

She blinked a few times, uncertain how to communicate this. He must be waiting for her to say something, but how could she?

“Is something wrong?” Hercules furrowed his brow and gave her hand a squeeze. “You can tell me anything.”

No, she couldn’t. Megara shook her head, and tears fell from her eyes. This was some kind of divine comedy. Yes, she could come back to life, but she’d be a lunatic invalid for the first few days.

Hercules rested his forehead against hers. “You remember what happened before… we got separated?” he tilted his head forward and lightly kissed away her tears. “I’m going to take care of you now. So if you need anything, I want you to tell me what it is. It hurts me to see you suffering.”

She didn’t deserve him.

Megara wrapped her arms around his neck. Maybe she didn’t deserve him, but she’d take him, anyway. She pressed her cheek to his and soaked in his aura as if she were basking in the sun on the most luxurious beach in all of Greece.

“I read your letter,” Hercules whispered. “And I talked to Thanatos. I know a lot more than you originally told me, and I don’t mind that you hid it. I just had to know more about you because I missed you so much. Do you forgive me?”

She laughed at the question and scratched at the back of his neck. Whatever quip she may have had for him didn’t even form in her mind. All she wanted was to hold him forever.

“I’ll take that as a yes?” Hercules gave her a gentle squeeze. “Let me get Phil in here. Maybe he can explain what’s going on with your voice. Everything is supposed to be healed. That was my will for you.”

She tilted her head in confusion, at first, but then she remembered the crucial fact he was a god. He could do those things now. But how was she here? Where was she?

When he moved away, Megara caught his hand and whined at him. Pathetic. But there she was, on her feet, clinging to his hand. It was disgusting, how she couldn’t let him leave her alone, but without her voice and disoriented beyond comprehension, she couldn’t restrain herself from that display of distress.

“I wanted you to stay in bed to get some rest, but you can come with me.” Hercules offered his arms. “You can still rest if you come with me.”

Did he mean to carry her?

She blinked a few times, trying to decide if she had the humility to allow that. It was her need to be close to him that won out in the end. She stepped closer and surrendered to the warmth of him as he held her close.

Hercules kissed her forehead. “I know it means a lot for you to let me see you needing me,” he whispered. “I won’t tell. If anyone asks, I was the one who insisted.” He carried her out of the room, into a familiar courtyard.

Phil and Pegasus stood there, with heads bowed. At the sight of them emerging from the bedroom, both perked up with excitement.

“She’s back,” Hercules announced, and his voice cracked on the words. “But something’s wrong. She can’t talk. Everything should be healed, so what’s the matter?”

Phil smacked his forehead. “I shoulda thought to warn ya, Kid. The few times the dead came back, they couldn’t talk for three days. We’ve had some exceptions in the past, but that was mostly ‘cause Hades actively released them, or the death was reversed as if it never happened. But hey, at least it’s only a few days!”

Megara nodded and patted Hercules’s shoulder with what she hoped would be a reassuring smile.

“We can write to each other,” Hercules said hopefully. “You don’t have to push yourself. I think I can understand you fine. I’ll still get you anything you need, and you can take all the time you want to rest. That’s my room in there. You can take over until we figure something out.”

Megara shook her head. How could she tell him she was afraid to sleep alone?

“I insist, I don’t need a big fancy bed, but you’ve been through so much. I want you to have the best.”

He wasn’t getting the point. Megara curled up in his arms and wrapped both arms around his neck. She hid her face in the crook of his neck and shivered.

“Oh, you… want to stay with me?” he sounded so shy, she almost missed the note of pleasure in the undertone of his voice. It echoed now and reverberated through her. “I’d… I’d like that. I kinda think I should have asked if you’d keep me company because I’m a little scared to be alone. Too many nightmares.”

Was he being sincere or offering her plausible deniability for why she couldn’t stay away from him? If it were on him, she wouldn’t have to be embarrassed. Theoi, but she loved him. She wished she could say it, but she’d have to hold it in for now.

“I think this calls for a celebration,” Phil said. “With you two both alive and Hades defeated, even the gods should be partying on Olympus!”

Hercules nodded and set Megara down. “But Meg doesn’t like parties, and she can’t even talk right now. So it’s probably for the best we celebrate privately before we invite anyone else to join in. Thebes has lost a lot of people I didn’t drag back from the Underworld. I can’t see putting them through a celebration while they’re in mourning.”

“You can distract people from their grief,” Phil countered.

Megara was still stuck on something. She pressed a hand to Hercules’s chest for his attention and gave Hercules a look of confusion when she had it.

“He’s not coming back, Meg. You’re finally free. And free forever, I mean, not just for now. He’s at the bottom of that vortex he tried to lose you in. If he somehow got out of that, he’d never be the same.”

She raised a brow at him and shook her head.

“You’re trying to tell me I’m crazy, right?” Hercules chuckled. He grinned at her and winked. “Well, I learned from the best. People do crazy things when they're in love. Don’t you think?”

She gasped.

For a celestial being such as him, after attaining the telos of his lifelong quest, here he was concerned with a petty mortal. She held his gaze, her lashes lowering with an intoxicating need to kiss him.

He seemed to feel it, too. He held her hand against his chest and pulled her closer to him.

Her hands rested on his arms and moved forward, ready to surrender.

A thunderclap from above alarmed them both.

They braced themselves against one another in alarm as the bolt of thunder Zeus threw down to them hit much too close for comfort.

“Join the celebration!” Zeus called from the clouds.

Megara glanced at Hercules for direction, but he was just as confused as he was. The one thing he seemed sure of was how he gathered her close to him. A cloud formed under their feet, and lifted them off the ground.

“Are you ok?” Hercules whispered.

Since she couldn’t properly answer, she pressed a cheek to his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He rubbed her back softly to reassure her as they flew into the sky toward Olympus. The glow of the gates was golden, like the light that shone from within him. If not for the fact she was accustomed to his glow, she might have gone blind.

A multitude of gods had lined up on either side of the stairs to cheer Hercules on. They passed wine about, or was it ambrosia? Either way, they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Hercules stepped down from the cloud and then extended a hand to help her down.

If she could have, she’d have told him how gallant he was.

“I’ll go on ahead, all right?” His fingers lingered on hers, and even as he stepped away, he kept his smile turned her way. Only once he dropped her hand did he turn toward the other gods, and let them embrace him into their fold.

He didn’t say goodbye, and she couldn’t. For now, he might believe he was coming back to her. But once he was where he belonged, he’d never return.

Bereft of the glow of his golden aura wrapped around her or the brilliance of his smile to warm her from within, Megara hugged her arms against the cold. This was a grand moment. Hercules would become a god that would be celebrated throughout Greece and beyond. The cosmos deserved him forever. She’d had him for a night, at most, and she’d scarcely deserved it.

She followed at a distance while the gods embraced her beloved. She’d remain in sight of him as long as she could before the gates closed forever between them.

Hera and Zeus were the last to greet their son. Megara had never considered how much he took after his mother, but then again, she’d never thought of Hera much once the idea of marriage slipped out of her mind. With Hades, it had always been about Zeus and all the things wrong with him, and a million snide comments she let roll off her back to focus on her freedom.

But they were people, and they loved him. They’d been robbed of eighteen years to hold their son, and now they’d have an eternity.

Megara stood at the foot of the stairs, hands folded politely as she took in the final moments of seeing Hercules in person. She’d never have enough of him, but that was all right. The world could have him now, and she would have to be content. At least she had been part of his story.

“You were willing to give your life to rescue this young woman,” Hera said. They’d been watching? How humiliating.

Megara was so flattered to be mentioned by the queen of the gods she didn’t mind that nobody knew her name. In time, maybe Hercules would forget her name, and she would be the memory of how he became a god. Eternity was a long time.

Zeus was speaking, but Megara couldn’t hear his words over the rushing of her ears. This was the end. Hercules had brought her back to life, but now she wasn’t sure what to do with it.

She’d never love again, and she had no family. Maybe she could trust a friend someday, but… This wasn’t about her. Now that she had served her purpose, she knew how to walk gracefully off the stage like a true Theban. She’d be a footnote, someday, but at least her name would be next to his.

The gates of Olympus opened to admit him, emitting a light so brilliant that Megara had to shield her eyes. This was it. The other Olympians flooded around Hercules to congratulate him once more and draw him into the eternal light. It would shine all the brighter now that he was part of it.

These were good things. He was finally somewhere that deserved him. And yet.

She lacked the voice to tell him, but it was said that the gods could hear mortals invoke them, even in their minds. Closing her eyes, she sent him all the congratulations she could muster. It was her farewell, but she wouldn’t say it. You’ll make one heck of a god, she gushed to him, and then turned away, forever. She meant it, but now it was over. She hung her head as she finally had to contemplate the journey down the mountain.

Her feet were heavy with each step she took away from him. She didn’t want to leave, but only gods could live on Mount Olympus. She’d been an idiot ever to think there was more to their future than goodbye.

The Fates had an odd sense of humor. She’d been left once by an ingrate, who probably never should’ve impressed her in any way. But then that had brought her to Hercules in a way neither of them would have planned. Now she was left by someone she didn’t deserve because something much better awaited him.

She folded her hands behind her back, not looking up as she approached the edge of the mountain. It wouldn’t be any better to look down, but at least there was a well-trod pilgrimage road up to the gates. If she was lucky, there would be a halfway station that wasn’t completely demolished by the Titan invasion, and they’d take her in for the night. After everything, she was just so exhausted. Once she was out of his glow forever, there was no telling when the tears would stop falling. She’d need somewhere to hide until she learned how to be alive again.

“Father, this is the moment I've always dreamed of,” Hercules said. His voice echoed to her, and she tried not to let those words crush her heart.

She walked a little faster to get away from the words, confirmation that she no longer mattered.

A hand closed around her wrist, stopping her midstep.

She checked over her shoulder in alarm, only to find that Hercules was the one solemnly standing behind her. What was he doing? He should be through the gates by now, embracing his destiny! Without a voice, all she could do was stare.

There was pain in his eyes, but she didn’t think it was for himself. He must have heard her, after all. He searched her eyes, though for what she could not guess. Despite her confusion, Hercules apparently found what he was looking for. “A life without Meg, even an immortal life, would be empty.” Hercules raised both her hands in his, brushing his thumbs over her knuckles. “I…” he drew a breath to reassure himself he knew his answer and lifted her hands to his lips.

This couldn’t be happening, could it? She smiled at him through the tears streaming down her face. If it were happening, she wouldn’t stop him.

He released one of her hands to cradle her to him, and said, “I wish to stay on Earth with her.”

Megara sank into his embrace, gratitude overflowing from her heart along with all the love she had for him.

“I finally know where I belong.” Hercules laughed softly with his declaration as if he were just as surprised by it as anyone else. He rested his cheek atop her head, but then he gasped.

Megara was alarmed as well, but Hercules stroked her back to calm her.

“One more thing. She came back from the dead today, and she can’t speak. I want to hear her voice again, Father. If you could grant that to her. Hades isn’t around, anymore.”

“Of course.” It was Hera who spoke.

“Thank you, Mother.” Hercules then turned back to Megara to watch her curiously. “What do you think, Meg? Do you think you can put up with me if I stay?”

“Yes!” Megara hopped high enough to wrap her arms about his neck and clung to him. She blotted her tears in the cape that hung about his shoulders and forgot altogether to care about whether the gods found her display undignified.

Hercules swung her in a circle as they clung to one another, but when he set her down, he leaned his head lower, his lips forming a silent invitation to a kiss.

Every other time they’d attempted it, something had intervened to interrupt them. A sense of urgency spurred them both, though it did not impair the sincerity in the shared gaze they held as they drew nearer. His lips brushed softly against hers as if still asking permission.

Megara was not so gentle. She stroked a line up his arm, then about his neck. He didn’t notice until she pulled him closer. Never had she ever experienced such unbridled joy. He belonged to her and had given up everything to be with her.

Nobody had ever loved her with the intensity she loved them. For once, she wouldn’t hide behind sarcastic witticisms or regal dignity. All she had was his unreservedly. If the Tapestry of Fate were theirs to reweave, she’d make sure their threads were intertwined, forever.