Meg skidded to a halt at the first sign of chaos. The entire Theban population were scrambled about in a panic; Farmers frantically scurried to gather their scattered flocks, women hurriedly claimed their howling children. Everyone pushing their way to safety.
While holding her place, Meg was shoved rudely out of the way, from those seeking escape. Finally taking an elderly man aside, she inquired;
"Hold on, dude, what's going on?"
The frantic gentleman slapped her hands away. "'What's going on?!'" He echoed, flabbergasted. "Are you insane, girl?!"
She had to strain to hear him over the shouts and screeches.
"The Harpies have come to feed. Look!" He pointed skyward, toward a jumble of darkened sky. Without a second pause, the old man fled before before Meg could even ask what a Harpy was.
Growing tired of being shoved this way and that, she sought a more exclusive spot. Finding a vacant tree, that wasn't too high, she climbed onto its branches. The rushing of thousands of feet upon the cobblestones causing the trunk to vibrate under her grasp.
From her point of view, though the creatures taunted their prey from the sky, Meg caught small glimpses of these 'Harpies'. They appeared to be birds, with a human-like head. The flock screeched again and dove into the mass, talons out. It almost reminded Meg of those ridiculous crane games back home. Except in this case, the claw easily picked-out its prize.
The unfortunate victim happened to be the old man she had conversed with. The Harpy lifted the man off his feet, high into the air, gripping his shoulders. The man belched a pitiful cry, certain of his demise; the feast for a monster.
Meg felt ill as she watched the creature climb higher with its struggling captive, clutching her stomach. She looked around, helplessly, agitation building. 'Now where is that'
A blurred streak, poised and majestic, hurried toward the deformed bird, like a shot from a cannon. The height made the encounter difficult to make out, but she would recognize that shape anywhere. And the crowd confirmed it;
"Look, its Hercules!!" They erupted in relief.
Hercules laid flat against the wind as Pegasus pick-up speed, his hair and cape waving in the intense strain. When in the line of duty the hero's instincts took over, fresh adrenaline pumping his muscles into action. Experience, and his unforgiving coach, taught him never to face a battle with rage. Anger made it difficult to think clearly, more susceptible to making vital mistakes. It wasn't an easy emotion to force down, but the results made it worth the effort.
With concentrated ease, the hero unsheathed his steel sword and raised the gleaming blade challengingly overhead.
"This is your first warning, beast. Either you surrender that man into my custody, or perish to the flames of the Underworld."
Rule #43: Only use violence as a last resort. Try reasoning with your opponent.
The bird-lady scoffed, batting her dirty, mangled wings to stay aloft. "And let you claim this morsel for yourself? Forget it, boy. Though you look pretty delectable yourself!" She cackled, taking a snap at him with her beak shaped mouth.
Hercules easily dodged the strike. "Last chance", he declared, unfeigned. "You've provisions aplenty withing your confinement. Return to your volcanic island in peace."
The old man, still strung up by the Harpy's razor sharp claws, uttered a quick prayer to the gods for mercy.
"My sisters and I have lived of vermin for far too long", she complained. "Our bellies desire the soft, warm flesh of the humans!" She screeched a deafening caw, signaling her companions to the frenzy.
Wasting no more time, Hercules swung his blade, slicing off a pronged talon from the creature's leg. The Harpy squealed in pain, releasing her grip on her captive, letting him fall.
Quick to react, Pegasus dove after the fast descending man, pressing his wings flat against his body, sliding through the wind.
Situating himself beneath his fall, the hero caught the man in mid-air.
"Oh thank you, young man!"
Herc nodded, matters still dire, as other bird-women responded to the injured sister. "We're not out of the woods yet."
Several monsters came and swarmed about them, snapping and clawing for revenge. Hercules continued swiping with his sword, trying to drive them away so he could get the citizen to safety.
Whenever one got too close to his hind-quarters, the winged horse struck out at them with his powerful hind-legs.
Meg was captivated by the sky-high struggle. Forget Hollywood. This was where the real action was. But there was plenty of action taking place at ground level.
Though a majority of the bunch were dealing with Hercules, there were a few stray intelligent birds abusing the citizens. While witnessing the entire scene upon her hide-away perch, Meg felt like an absolute ninny, and had a driving urge to help. It was a high possibility that she would be caught by the offenders. Still, her conscience wouldn't keep silent.
Just then, a small boy stood alone among-st the chaos, his eyes darting about, looking for a familiar face. Unbeknown-st to the little guy, someone had him in their sights, closing in fast.
'He's scrawny', the predator judged. 'But he'll do, as a bite-sized treat.'
The time to act was now. Precious seconds were wasted while she debated with herself. Meg sprang from her perch, praying she could reach the unsuspecting boy first.
"Watch out!"
He turned, only to see meat-tearing claws coming straight at his face.
Meg dove, grappling the child, and rolled away together to safety. While the Harpy barely had time to register their escape, pulling sharply out of a dive, with nothing to show for her efforts except empty wind.
As soon as she found her feet, Meg tugged the boy away from the open square. When they stopped, he lifted his eyes to Meg in awe. He'd been saved. By a woman, no less. His brown eyes held onto her in wonder and adoration. Perhaps a Goddess from the peak of Olympus itself had been sent down to protect him. Unfortunately, he was sadly mistaken, as Meg opened her mouth, confused and irritated by his gaping mouth.
"What're you looking at?"
Oblivious to her, another dive was being executed, but with a different, much bigger, target in sight. Just above her, the same creature aimed fell swoop toward her. The wonder in the boy's eyes vanished and shrunk in panic and fear. seeing what she could not.
"Do you need an invitation?" Figuring she'd played her part as hero. "Get outta here!"
Without an argument, he scuttled off to find a hiding place.
Meg shook her head, still eying the spot he vacated. 'Kids.......' Then she noticed something peculiar. The shadow at her feet was growing larger and darker, like the spread of an ink stain. Either she was having an unnatural, ill-timed, growth spurt, or some force was quickly closing in on her. Thinking quickly, Meg jumped away just in time to dodge an incoming Harpy, intent on her capture. Unable to pull out of its determined dive, the creature crashed hard onto the cobblestones, causing it serious injury.
Unfortunately, not all of these monsters were so wreck-less. While Meg was reflecting on her close-call, yet another flying fiend was about to take advantage of Meg's vulnerability.
The slight gust of its dirty wings upon her skin caused a breakout of goosebumps, sounding off the alarm buzzers in her head. She did not glance behind to see the cause of her distress, she just took off running. The Harpy smiled a dagger grin, gladly pursuing, finding joy in the hunt, rather than the screaming easy-pickings that littered the land. Meg's legs spun as fast as they were allowed, trying to outdistance her foe. But through all the physical activity, the knot in her skirt loosened and came undone, falling to its full length. In doing so, the fabric tangled in her stride, causing her to trip hard in the streets. She massaged the swelling bruises breaking through. "Shoot! This is why I hate dresses!" She grumbled.
Meg was only given a brief glimpse of her captor before being hauled into the air. She struggled to free herself from the Harpy's wrenching grip, more irritated than afraid, but this only caused the beast's talons to dig painfully into her shoulders.
Now that she was up close and personal with the demon, she was able to discern its features more clearly than before; A majority of its body matched that of a bird, with gnarled, filthy, blackened feathers. Mangy wings protruded from its bony shoulder blades. What little part appeared human, arms and head, were covered in dark, violet, leathery scales. Lastly, its face had the features of an elderly woman.
Feeling bold, Meg shouted; "Let me go you wrinkled old fogie!"
Offended by her meal's insult, the Harpy twisted her head in a bird-like fashion to face her. "Is that any way to speak to your elders, my pretty?"
Meg scowled. She was not a willing hostage. "I'm surprised your hold is so firm. Considering you age, I would have assumed you'd have arthritis crippling your joints."
Pumping her legs forward and back, as one would do on a swing, she worked up enough momentum to strike the demon square in the face with her kick.
Squawking from the blow, she released Meg to the mercy of the skies, her one great fear.
Until now, Meg hadn't given much thought of the great distance of space between herself and the ground far below. But she was greatly aware of it now, her stomach rising into her throat, as gravity forced her down. She released a scream to rock the heavens, one to compete with the shriek of the Harpies.
Hercules had finally driven off a majority of the Bird-women, coming to believe the situation was resolving, until an insistent scream came abound.
By natural hero instinct his head jerked toward the source, and his heart fell, much as the fast plummeting distressed, when their identity became clear.
"Meg......" He whispered in horror.
"What was that, sonny?"
Herc ignored his passenger, reared Pegasus around, and urged him in the right direction. "Heeyaw!"
He could see her now, the weight between life and death was tipping on the scales, as she descended toward the earth like a fallen angel. Even as they raced to meet her before the earth below claimed blood, the wind sweeping the breath from his lungs, he knew that it was unlikely they could reach her in time. His strategic mind was calculating a solution. It may have been fool-hearty, and there was a chance it might not even work, but it was Meg's only chance.
He raised his sword overhead, and flung it with concentrated power. It sung through the air until it hit home within the trunk of a tall tree, the hilt quivering from where it stuck fast.
With no explanation or value for his own mortality, the hero leaped from the safety of his steed's back. Pegasus whinnied in protest, watching in dread as his charge sank beneath the clouds, out of sight.
Hercules carefully aimed his fall, counting on the flexibility and hold of his trusty blade. His feet landed upon the exposed hilt of the sword, the weight of his body bending the metal nearly in half as his knees absorbed the shock. The momentum rocketed him back into the sky, keeping his arms at his side so he could sail without resistance, to the rescue.
The wind whipped and tore through Meg's hair and clothes. She was descending head-first, giving her a front-seat view of the incoming earth. Her arms were spread before her in a feeble attempt to postpone the end. Accepting her inevitable fate, she cinched her eyes shut, a bead of moisture crept past her lids, counting down the last seconds of her life. Meg wanted to shut down, to pass-out, anything to numb the oncoming pain.
She was going to die. In a strange land. During the prime of her life.
It must have come, because a hard substance crashed hard against her body and the wind was expelled from her lungs.
Hercules caught Meg against his shoulder, fireman style, and gripped her tight against himself. Things were going according to plan. Only now, they were both in the same doomed predicament. Still, that didn't mean that he'd jumped into this fool-heartedly. Fortunately, he hadn't forgotten the lessons Phil had drilled into his hero driven mind. There had been too much trial and error on his part when he would try to rush through missions without taking the time to think things through. Although, all strategies have room for flaws, and this was no exception.
Pegasus was straining to reach the descending pair, but it was obvious that the winged beast wouldn't be able to reach them in time. So his part was out.
Meg seemed oblivious to their peril, for she neither moved nor spoke, believing herself already dead.
Hercules had only one solution to save them. He had to slow down their descent, or else, even he, himself, might perish, despite his godly heritage. From the same tree his sword lay in, his fingers grappled for its branches. Several broke under his desperate grasp. Fortunately, it was enough to stall them. But the object that ultimately forestall their drop was his very own sword. Herc breathed a sigh of relief as they hung suspended high in the treetops, while he gripped the weapon's hilt. Then without warning the blade slid loose from the wood, causing the pair to complete the fall to earth. The hero rotated his body in mid-fall, so that he might take the abuse rather than have Meg injured.
As they hit the ground, the jarring sensation shook Meg out of her dazed trance. She pulled back from Hercules' shoulder and gazed at him with blank eyes, seemingly confused as to why he had followed her into Limbo.
She slowly shook her head. "What.......?"
Interpreting her distress, Hercules gripped her shoulders. "Meg, it's alright, you're safe."
But there was no time to be idle, he still had the remaining Harpies to take care of. He carried her to safety, depositing her with a group of citizens that had taken shelter within the shed of the local Blacksmith's trade. Pegasus soon followed, and dropped off his remaining passenger to join the rest in hiding.
Before departing, Hercules stared Meg straight in the eye, praying that their last experience had taught her a lesson. "Wait for me, here." He turned to the others in company, "Keep an eye on her, please."
They all nodded, their distracted mind buzzing with anticipated gossip.
"Just stay put and you'll all be safe." With that, the hero leaped onto his steed and raced to rid the city of the intruding vermin.
The city's people kept their word and watched Meg, with intense curiosity. Especially the younger women. She ignored them all, reflecting on her own problems. She shivered, drawing her knees tightly to her chest, reliving her near scrape with death over and over in her mind.
It threw her back to a memory of her childhood, when she was first given the news of her parent's fatal accident; She'd felt lonely and afraid, much like she feeling now. Normally she would have been outright ashamed of her cowardice behavior, bu the images in her mind were too distracting for her to care whether others saw or not.
"Home......" She whispered to herself. "I want to go home."
Since most of the Harpies had either been scared away or destroyed, the remainder of them were easily dealt with. All the better. Hercules was eager to return to Meg's side. He was worried about the condition she was in when he left.
"Well, it looks like that's all of them, boy."
Pegasus snorted in reply; Good riddance.
Sighing in relief as he watched the creatures retreat toward their dark home, "We'd better get back."
The hero was greeted with rapturous applause as the duo touched-down. It was a successful mission; Not one casualty had reduced the populous. Everyone was safe and intact.
He received their grace with quiet reverence. It was always nice to be thanked an appreciated for his hard work.
When the crowd finally dispersed, only Meg was left, still haunted by the ordeal. Hercules watched the dramatized girl for a moment while he contemplated a way to approach her. It was disheartening to see her in this state. He'd only known her for a short time, but during that period she'd never before shown her vulnerable side. It was a reminder that everybody has their own personal monsters and daemons to face and overcome.
Herc took a deep breath, licked his lips, and went to her. As he knelt before her, Meg didn't even acknowledge his coming, she just remained in her crumpled form.
Though he couldn't be sure of the cause of her distress , he wanted nothing more than to comfort her. He gently placed a hand upon her folded arms. She finally raised her head up in response to his touch. Her vivid eyes were unfocused, like she was somewhere else.
"Meg, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"
She pressed her lips together, as if in full concentration, to be in control of her slipping emotions. "How can you look at me?"
Her whispers barely audible, Herc drew in his distinguishing chin, confused. "I don't understand."
She shook her head. "I can't do it. I'm such a hypocrite. After the pep talk I drilled into you, I can't even conquer my OWN weakness! I.....I thought I was done for."
She was right, she'd come very close to dying. This realization hit Hercules like a ton of brick. (Even though a ton of brick wouldn't hinder him much) His face pinched in seriousness.
"Why didn't you remain at the Stadium?"
Meg didn't respond, feeling quite ashamed.
Herc tried a different tactic; console rather than criticize.
"We are all human, Meg. Besides, I would never let any harm come to you."
Meg looked at his face and saw no sign of deceit. He was totally serious. It must have been his male bravado.
"Why?" What did it matter to him if she came to harm?
"Because......" He responded shyly, nervous about how she would react to what he said. 'Just one step at a time', he goaded himself onward. "Because.....you're my friend......"
She was mildly surprised by this and was preparing to retaliate. But as she repeated the passage over in her mind; 'Friends...' She realized the word caused her no pain. There would be no consequences linked to such affiliations. She then gave her friend a brilliant smile, enough to melt his heart.
"Friends. I think I can live with that."
The hero gulped at her response. She had just accepted his friendship. That was a mighty step forward in the right direction in his book.
He returned her smile, brightly. "Thank you, Meg", he said, bringing her to her feet.
All the same, she released his hand when she stood sturdy with her own strength. No matter, He was determined to think positive. "Do you need me to carry you back to the Villa?" Cause he really wanted to.
Meg studied the over-sized hero, waiting for the punchline. When none was given, she answered; "That won't be necessary, Wonderboy. In spite of this dramatic ordeal, I am still quite capable of transporting myself back to HQ."
Meg walked ahead toward the Villa, making sure she gave him ample time to catch up.
"Meg!" He held out a finger as he matched her stride, intent on asking a question. "A... as friend, could you answer me something?" Her eyes went expectantly to his, showing she was willing to listen. "Please tell me why you just didn't stay put, like I asked?"
She smirked, the corners of her mouth curved into an ill-hearted smile. "Honestly?"
"Well....yeah, of course!"
Meg hesitated briefly, letting the anticipation build to its potential. "You didn't say please......"
Hercules was baffled. Was it true? Had he really abandoned protocol, just to get his point across? He was about to spout a full-fledged apology, until he caught the mischievous glint in her eye.
"OK. Look, I'm sorry. Now all joking aside......." He stared her down, intent on getting a straight answer.
She shook her head, exasperated, tsking with her tongue. "My poor, naive, Wonderboy. Come on. I think you've known me long enough to figure that I'm not the spectator type. Despite the risk, I thrive on the excitement of it all. I don't like getting left behind."
Herc sighed, that much was obvious. "I'll try to remember that. But hypothetically, if I had said 'please', would you have stayed put?"
"Now there's an interesting question", she commented, tapping her index finger rhythmically against her chin.
"So.....you would have remained?"
She appeared deep in thought. "Afraid not."
Herc groaned inwardly, defeated. There was just no swaying this girl. "Do you have a death wish or something?"
"No", she replied, matter-of-factly. "I have an opinion. Of which I'm rightly entitled to.
Herc mumbled, "no doubt about that."
She gave him a sideways glance. Perhaps he did have a backbone after all.