Of the Danger at Our Doorstep

"The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot for ever fence it out."

- J.R.R. Tolkien

Hades was basically rubbing his hands together in eagerness as he watched the sea of the undead Trojans pouring towards the entrance of the Underworld.

Badda-bing, badda-boom; finally something useful because of his dead-end job of ruling the Dead.

'Thanks, big bro', Hades sneered in his mind as his mind wandered momentarily towards his annoyingly arrogant and oblivious elder brother.

But he snapped out of it, bringing his focus to the present moment. He had a job to do. Bringing down his brother along with his annoying offspring would be a big bonus though.

"This time's it, I feel it in my gut, boys," Hades told his minions, feeling his confidence raising by each passing soldier.

"You sure it isn't just indigestion from last night's dinner? You know, the pita filled with inchworms? When it comes to me, that stuff doesn't go down without a fight," Pain suggested innocently.

Panic beside him was fighting to cover his yawn, he found staying awake during those very early morning hours a struggle. Pain quickly nudged his companion with an elbow, foreseeing that their boss would not be understanding at the moment when it came to their lack of sleep.

"As interesting as I found your bowl movements, this isn't about the last night's dinner, boys! This is my big chance of finally beating Wonderbrat and his friend AND my vexing elder brother. I know it and you better start counting on it too!" Hades snapped back, once again irritated.

Pain and Panic replied nothing, finding silence to be their virtue at the moment. They quickly exchanged quick glances at each other, neither of them feeling as certain as their employer.

"I just wonder where Cybele is… Well, never mind. I can do this without her as well. Never liked that broad too much anyways. It's finally showtime, boys. You might wanna find front-seats," Hades grinned inauspiciously, his smile not reaching his eyes.

Early that same day, Hercules was summoned to the royal palace.

Specifically Hercules, which Meg found particularly suspicious as her father still had hard time accepting her relationship with the hero.

With no hesitation, Meg insisted coming along and after a quick exchange, Cassandra and Icarus decided to come along as well.

All of them remained silent during the short journey to the palace, the uneasy feeling of finally facing what they had anticipated with fear for days hanging over their heads.

When arriving to the palace they found the anxious king waiting at the throne-room, nervously pacing through the room.

"Oh, you're finally here. Good," king Creon breathed out as a greeting when he finally saw Hercules passing through the doors.

Meg felt a twinge of worry as she studied her father: it seemed as if he had aged years since she had last saw him only a few days ago. Judging by the new wrinkles and the grayness of his face, the stressful situation had taken its toll on the king.

"We came here as soon as we could. What is the situation, Your Highness?" Hercules motioned towards his friends before he inquired for more information.

"My men have been keeping closer attention to the outskirts of the city. This morning, my scout reported witnessing some… Unusual activity at the lowlands quite close to the city gates. It must have been quite horrific sight to witness. Poor boy, he was nearly out of his wits because of that experience," the king continued, wearily sitting down to his throne.

"Unusual, in what way exactly…?" Cassandra furrowed her brow, pondering if the words meant what she thought they would mean.

"From his description, I would say that the army you have been talking about is finally coming," the king confirmed their worst fears. Momentarily, a stunned silence filled the room.

"That's… Not good, is it?" Icarus made sure, eyeing his friends. Cassandra only rolled her eyes as an answer, but Hercules was gracious enough to answer his old friend.

"No, it's not. Well, at least we don't have to wait anymore," he sighed. Meg eyed him, feeling her own worry increasing by each passing moment.

"So, what do we do next?" Meg asked, hoping that her father's troops had at least some sort of a plan.

"What can we do? We must try our best to defend the city," her father replied, looking wearier beyond his years.

"That is our only option, at the moment," Hercules slowly agreed.

"I expect you are a man of your word, aren't you?" Creon challenged Hercules and Meg felt the irritation raising its ugly head for her fiancée.

"Of course, Your Highness," Hercules replied stiffly, his jaw tense.

"So you will take your position along with my generals, leading my soldiers to the battle?" The king proposed, sitting back in his seat.

Meg felt her heart sinking and she reacted before she could even think through her actions.

"No! Father, you can't be serious!" She protested, moving towards him. The king merely sighed, rubbing his obviously aching temples.

"Meg, honey. I promised your father that I would help in any possible manner. I intend to keep that promise," Hercules interfered gently yet firmly.

Meg wanted to disagree, but she could see the determination in his eyes: if she was stubborn, so was him. There would be no changing his mind. She let out frustrated sigh, shaking her head in dismay and irritation.

"I don't like this. I really don't," she finally admitted.

"I don't think any of us really like this situation, my child. But you have said so yourself before, we must do whatever we can," Creon quietly reminded his daughter, who had to involuntarily agree with his reasoning.

"Speaking of that, is there anything we can do?" Cassandra offered, hoping to find any chance to help.

"We can help out with the citizens staying inside the city walls. You know, elderly, women, children and those unfit to fight?" Meg proposed, looking at her father for a confirmation.

Her father slowly nodded, agreeing with her idea.

"And if the situation comes to it, you can help them to escape from the city through the tunnels and catacombs? Meaning we… Lose the city, but I do hope we won't come to that. You know the way, don't you, Megara?" Her father made sure.

Meg slowly nodded, remembering the dank and dreary tunnels connected to her family crypt from her childhood.

Momentarily she recalled getting lost in the darkness when she was only a small child before her brother Haemon had come tor her aid. She remembered the darkness, her desperate panic, the claustrophobic dampness suffocating her as she pleaded for help... Then she remember her brother's warm hand in her smaller one, guiding her back towards the daylight. A twinge of pain of losing a loved one came along those memories, but she decided to let the memory pass, brushing it aside.

Yes, the tunnels were the only solution to escape unnoticed from a conquered city, if the situation really demanded so. Meg, like her father, truly hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"Good. It is settled then. May the Gods protect us all," the king muttered and they all knew the meeting had come to its end.

The silent party of four friends exited the room, already fearing for their parting.

"I guess I'll need to find the soldiers and see what they have planned for defending the city," Hercules hesitantly admitted.

"The three of us will help with the citizens. Stay safe out there," Cassandra quietly replied, looking grim.

"Yes, stay safe, buddy!" Icarus wailed, hugging his friend.

"You too, buddy," Hercules agreed, patting his back.

"I'll see you later, okay hon?" Hercules turned his attention to his beloved, who wordlessly threw her delicate arms around him. For moment, Meg stayed silent, trying to choke back her tears.

"Well, you better, Wonderboy. Don't do anything stupid and stupid means something even more reckless than your usual stunts," Meg quipped back as she pulled away, still trying her best to keep her emotions in check.

"Gotcha. See you later," He smiled gently at her, taking a final look back at his friends before turning his back to them and making his way through the trailing palace corridors.

"He'll be okay, I'm sure. He has more luck than grace or brain," Cassandra pointed out, trying to comfort Meg in her own manner.

"Don't worry, sister. Sassy Cassie is right, Herc can always pull through this stunts, he'll be right as rain!" Icarus agreed, wrapping a tight arm around Meg's shoulders.

"Thanks, guys. I really hope you're right," Meg offered a weary smile at them before sighing.

"I guess we should get going as well then," she pointed out.

They had a lot to do. Hercules had his own battle to fight, but Meg had to concentrate on what she could do at the moment. Helping her people was one of those things.

Along with staying alive.

-A/N: Whew, there it is, the newest chapter! A small miracle happened and my muse payed me a short visit, yay! So I decided it was time to update! The next few chapters will be about the battle (nothing too graphic, I'll promise!), so I'm rather nervous as writing action scenes IS NOT my forte. Well, I'll be doing my best, I promise!

Thank you for your lovely reviews, they keep me going! Here's the reviewer shout-out:

- Disneylove12: Thank you so much, I'm glad to hear that! So as a natural pessimist and my husband being an optimist I have experience of that kind of conversations...

- Nutmeg: That's actually a brilliant idea, thank you for pointing it out! I will definitely consider it!

- Sakura: Thank you for your support, the new chapter is now up!