Of Late Returns and Returned Calls

"I knew you were gonna come to me
And here you are
But you better choose carefully
'Cause I, I'm capable of anything and everything."

- "Dark Horse (Acoustic)" by Katy Perry

It was late at night when Hercules headed back to his villa with Icarus and Cassandra. Meg had stayed behind at the palace, still worried for her father's recovery.

Creon had practically begged his daughter to stay the night at the palace: at first, Meg hadn't been too keen with the idea and had seemed hesitant, but her obvious worry for her father's well-being had conquered any of the obvious unpleasant memories she associated with the place that had once been her home. He had also pointed out that she would be needed early on in the morning as his substitute ruler. At last she had decided to do her father's bidding, but had sternly pointed out that would be just for that one night only.

She had embraced Hercules fondly before parting, lingering at his arms. Icarus and Cassandra had lingered at the background, trying to give the two of them some privacy.

"You sure you'll be okay?" Hercules had made sure, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"I think I can manage by myself for one night. You know the drill: big, tough girl, who can tie her own sandals?" Meg flashed him a tired smile.

"Okay, I'll take your word for it. But if anything happens, anything at all, just send me the word and I'll be right here, okay? Heck, you may even summon Hermes to pass the word for me?" Hercules emphasized the last part to her.

"You sure that the messenger of the Gods is happy to run my errands?" Meg arched a questioning eyebrow at him.

"The Gods have asked my favors for multiple times, I think we can manage with this tiny favor from Hermes, if it comes to it," Hercules assured her.

That shook Icarus out of his thoughts.

"Speaking of Gods and favors, Athena came down to see you couple of nights ago, Herc! Seemed like important business," Icarus pointed out happily.

"And this just passed your mind? Just now?" Cassandra scoffed at him.

"Yup! It did!" He replied happily, nodding his head.

Hercules fought the urge to groan. Great. Just great. Athena was the one Goddess who would most likely not happen to just forgive such transgression easily. Just when he had thought that this night could not get any tougher.

"Seems like you have your own problems to solve as well," Meg winced.

"Don't worry about me, I'll handle it. And we'll see each other first thing tomorrow morning. I'll be back here, just try to catch some sleep," Hercules told her, pulling her body to him one last time before heading back to his villa with his friends.

When they reached their destination and his home, he decided to contact Athena, even though it was already late: he figured it wouldn't really matter as much to her as she was a deity after all. If it really was as important as Icarus had pointed out, it was better to get it over with as soon as possible.

As soon as he spoke her name, Athena appeared before in all her glory, in her shining armor and helmet on her head with Ibid perched on her shoulder.

"Well, look who decided to return my call," Athena replied tersely.

"Yeah, I'm… Sorry about that. A lot has been on my plate lately and my friend forgot to pass the word…" Hercules rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Yes, I did figure out he wasn't the best choice. Well, he was the only choice at the time being. Well, it matters not, we got things sorted out at mount Olympus on our own actually," Athena replied nonchalantly.

"You… You did?" Hercules made sure, not believing his ears. He had gotten so used to being pulled to these divine matters to solve them out, but this had never occurred before.

"Yes. Persephone, daughter of Demeter, was appointed as Hades' guardian. So Hades is on a curfew for the time being," Athena explained, seeming terribly pleased with the outcome.

"Persephone? Are… Are you sure she can manage?" Hercules was uneasy to say the least with the thought of leaving Persephone alone to deal with Hades. He was Hades, after all. Anything could happen.

"Hercules, remember that Persephone is a Goddess, after all," Athena replied sharpy and then continued much more calmly.

"We must give her a chance. There might be more to her than meets the eye," Athena elaborated in a manner which might have sounded smug, had she been any other person.

"And my father? He's okay with all this?" Hercules made sure, still feeling unsure.

"Your father gave his blessing. And for the time being, the Gods seem pleased with his resolve, so there isn't any more talk of rebellion either," Athena ran her finger gently down to Ibid's back, caressing the small bird.

"So, everything is under control for now. Goodnight Hercules, enjoy your sleep," Athena bid him before disappearing in a flash of blue.

Hercules sighed, feeling defeated. With all these new twists, sleep was the last thing on his mind.

-A/N: Hey, I'm back! Took a small holiday in Iceland (really needed a break), but here's a tiny chapter for you guys. At first I thought I wouldn't be able to post at all this month, but I managed to get this together. It's kind of a filler, but I hope you're enjoying it nevertheless. I'll be updating 'Desolation' probably later on in October, because I need to work on the next chapter. Sorry!

Thank you for reading as always and special thanks to my reviewers! Take care!