16

MEG furiously blinked back the tears that stung and swam in her eyes as she saw nothing but red. She lay there on the ground, aware that Medusa and Phil were trying to peer into her eyes, speaking to her, trying to convince her that everything would be alright, that she would be fine, but she knew she wasn't. Her wound pulsated and throbbed, she was sure it was only a matter of time before her thread of life was cut, and she was whisked away to the Underworld as a permanent addition to Hades' River Styx, she was sure of it, yes, she was sure.

Tears spilled down her cheeks and suddenly, her leg and chest hurt more than she could comprehend. She had a horrifying moment of realization as she felt the warmth slowly seep from her body as everything went cold that this was it. Her brain began to turn foggy and her lungs continued to burn. She was sure her time was upon her, her thread of life was about to be cut. She had failed, but at least Hercules was alive. She'd saved him.

Meg only wished she knew what would happen to Wonder Boy, to Medusa and Adonis, and hells, even Hercules' Nanny Goat, Phil. Would they be alright? She wished she could have done more.

She swore though her master was not here, she could hear Hades' voice, speaking to her.

You're mine now, Meg. You're mine now, she heard his voice whisper into her ear, and for a moment, Meg thought she saw him, mistaking the god for Wonder Boy.

Though it could not be Hercules come back already, as Wonder Boy did not have pale blue skin or the beard like Hades did, but damned, the resemblance between the uncle and nephew was uncanny. The two could have been twins, almost. The air around her was gray and quiet. Thebes stood still and she could no longer feel the ground shake so she figured Hercules must have been able to lure the Titans away. Meg forced her eyelids open and wondered at the silence that fell over the land. There was no movement, no screams from the Thebans, nothing.

Did…Did Hercules win? Meg thought, not knowing.

She did not know what happened to the demigod she now knew herself to be recklessly and hopelessly in love with, or what had happened to the city of Thebes as a whole if the Titans had crushed them all into oblivion. But…but…

Meg turned slowly and found Medusa and Phil looking up at her, and poor Adonis' head was turned in her direction, just to the left. Her eyes grew wide and clear, and she strangely enough felt at peace as she watched the sunrise, no longer troubled. The pain in her chest and her leg no longer lingered. The gods were good to her after all.

She took a deep breath as she heard the startled exclamations of voices, Phil and Medusa's, though the ringing in her ears was too loud and drowned out their voices. She blinked owlishly as a silhouette of a woman's figure appeared in her line of sight, and for one mad instant, Meg was sure she was hallucinating.

Then, she blinked again, and she found Hades' wife Persephone peering into her pupils, her pale pink face twisted and contorted with grief, slick tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked at the damage her husband caused.

She struggled to sit up and did not protest as she felt a pair of rough and calloused hands helping her to sit up and realized it was Phil.

"Great night…for…the end of the world, Persephone," Meg gasped, though her voice was faint and barely audible as she turned her head to the side and spit out a sliver of blood.

Persephone flinched. "You're not…" The goddess could not even finish her sentence. "Megara, you're not supposed to be moving…"

But Meg merely coughed and shook her head, Phil's grip around her middle tightening.

"No. I…just need a minute," she hissed. "If I'm to die, I want to see the sun. I want to die in the light," Meg moaned in pain. Phil looked as though he wanted to say something to that, anything, but Hercules' Nanny Goat didn't.

Perhaps he, like Medusa and Adonis, was stripped of words, in shock.

Persephone knelt into a crouch, so she was at eye level with Meg as Phil continued to hold her. She looked almost objectively relieved, and Meg could not tell if it was because the goddess was relieved she was alive or if it was because there was still a chance to talk her husband down from his madness.

"You are foolish, Meg, for a mortal," she muttered softly. "You should not have sacrificed yourself so hastily…" Her voice trailed off as her sky-blue eyes lingered on the gaping crater in Meg's chest and then flicked back to her eyes.

"But I did," Meg croaked weakly. She turned and let out a small faint sigh as Phil relinquished control of Meg and gave her to Adonis. Trembling, Adonis lifted Meg into his arms and Meg's head rested in the crook of the man's elbow and stayed there. "Adonis, I wish…you could see it, the sunrise, it's...beautiful," Meg murmured, feeling guilty for wishing that it was Wonder Boy in Adonis' place but she couldn't help herself. "Medusa, can you see it? The—the sun is coming up," she said.

"It is, Meg," Medusa whispered in a cracking voice. The young Gorgon sounded like she was on verge of tears. "Hercules is going to win, Meg, and you're going to be just fine. He's going to become the hero I know he can be, the songs will say so, and the singers will sing of you, how you won his heart, Meg, and gave him happiness."

Meg's lips which were slowly losing their color turned upwards in a faint smile as she shifted her attention toward Phil.

"Take care of…Wonder Boy, Phil, please," she begged. "He'll need you..."

"Uh-uh, kid, you'll be there too, Red," Phill told Meg fiercely, shaking his head as if the Satyr thought he could make it so as he looked towards Hades' wife for the goddess' help, but her expression remained stone. "You'll look after him yourself, and…I'm sorry if I misjudged you, but damn you, Red, why?"

Meg's face twisted and contorted in pain as she let out a noise that was not a laugh, but something close to a choked sob.

"Like I…told Wonder Boy, people always do…crazy things when…they're in love, Phil, and…I know…I couldn't let...Hades...ruin...Hercules, Phil," Meg's body shuddered with a racking sigh as she settled into Adonis's arms.

The sky above their head turned a brilliant myriad of hues of pink and red. Phil and Medusa and Adonis collectively gathered around Meg's side, neither one of them daring to breathe, barely holding on, as Adonis held tightly to Meg.

Meg watched, starry-eyed as the brilliantly colored sky seemed to reflect in her lavender irises, which brimmed with tears. For a moment, Meg even smiled, as she could not explain it, but she knew that Wonder Boy was going to stop Hades. Then, she let out a tired sigh, turned her face to the left, and buried it in Adonis's shoulder, and quietly, she died. Phil's eyes filled with tears, knowing the kid would be heartbroken to learn she was gone. After a moment, Phil tore his gaze away from Meg in the Prince's arms and looked towards the goddess Persephone.

The kid Herc was so taken with and possibly even in love with was already dead, she had gone far too pale and her lips were tinged slightly blue, and yet, there was a chance Meg's soul could still be returned if they acted fast.

"C-can you…" Medusa openly sobbed and looked towards Persephone with pleading yellow eyes of her own. "S-save…her?" The young Gorgon asked.

Persephone felt her stomach churn at the Gorgon's broken request. She could not make that call, only Hades could, and first, the god had to be stopped.

"I cannot, but my husband could. Hades needs to be stopped. If I can only convince the others to let him go, I'm sure I could persuade him to give Meg back," Persephone muttered, the beginnings of a fierce determination flitting across her face. She looked towards Phil. "You are my husband's nephew's trainer, are you not? Something tells me I will need you by my side. You might be one of the only few who will keep Hercules calm when he learns the truth." She rose to her full height and held out her hand expectantly for the Satyr to take it. "Will you come with me?"

Phil turned questioning eyes toward Adonis and then flicked his saddened eyes to Megara's corpse.

"You both will look after her?" he asked, already sure he knew the answer but wanted to be sure.

Medusa nodded. "With our lives," she promised passionately.

"Persephone," Phil mumbled, Hades' wife's name sounding funny coming from him. "Take me to Herc. We gotta stop the Champ before he does somethin' he'll regret. If saving Hades is the only way to get that broad back, then, of course, I'll come," he muttered as Phil stumbled forward and took the goddess's pale pink hand in his, her hand warm.

She nodded in understanding.

"Be silent then and do as I tell you when we arrive at Olympus," Persephone told Phil sternly, suddenly very serious.

Phil nodded but said nothing and closed his eyes as the Satyr allowed Persephone to whisk him away via means of her magic to Mount Olympus, as she spirited him away from the earth and towards the home of the gods.

HERCULES could not shake away the sudden icy feeling of cold that pricked at his heartstrings and he felt his eyes well with tears as his mind was stuck on one thing and one thing only: Meg.

Somehow, from somewhere deep within himself that he was desperately trying to ignore, he sensed something was gravely wrong with the woman he loved. His mind raced as he struggled to understand what could be causing this gut feeling that something was wrong. He could not even focus on the fact that here on Mount Olympus, he felt…lightweight, and airy.

He thought it a miracle that he was even still alive, that he had managed to corner Hades after defeating the Titans single-handedly and sending them back to the depths of Tartarus where the foul creatures belonged.

Or that Father was dangerously close to executing his own brother, having a strong hand wound around the god's throat and a lightning bolt aimed squarely at his heart as he ranted and raved at what Hades had done.

The worst part was now. Hercules knew that something had happened to Meg since he had left, that he was not by her side while she was wounded and in pain, but he could not leave until he was sure the threat to Meg's life (and all of Greece for that matter) was dealt a fitting punishment.

He blinked and forced his attention back to the present matter at hand, wracking his mind as it raced to determine what was wrong, though before Zeus could drive the thunderbolt in hand through Hades' heart, the angry cut of a voice, one he did not recognize, cut through the air.

"ZEUS! ENOUGH!"

Hercules flinched and immediately turned his head in the direction of the voice and was astonished to see a beautiful goddess, pregnant by the looks of her, striding forward calmly with the speed that could summon a storm and fiery in her sky-blue eyes, though that was not what caught at him. What caught his attention was Phil scurrying towards his side. Hercules immediately felt dread worm its way into the pit of his stomach and felt the blood leave his face.

"Phil? Where's Meg, I told you to stay with her, h-has something…" He paused, certain something was wrong. "Happened?" he stammered, fumbling over his words as he looked at Phil, not aware he was pale as a ghost.

"I...I'm sorry, kid. Your girl, Meg, she...she didn't make it."

Phil nodded, and Hercules' heart was in his throat. He staggered forward towards his uncle and father, who were now surrounded by the other gods, blinded by this new emotion that hit him squarely in the chest.

It was a terrible seizing that seized his heart so that the feeble quivering muscle in his chest pounded painfully. As he marched forward, his feet no longer taking direction from his own mind, he felt the horrible sprouting of sadness, devastation, and uncontrollable rage toward Hades.

He knew then that his own uncle had killed the woman he loved. It was the rage he clung to now, and he suddenly wished for Father to end Hades' life, wanting to watch as the light left his eyes.

He was not a violent man, by any means, but with Hades, he wanted it like he needed air. He felt his muscles twitch and he yearned for Father to end his uncle's life. But then he turned his gaze towards the young goddess quickly striding towards Zeus and practically throwing herself prostrate at his father's feet.

It was the woman's sky-blue eyes he was drawn to.

They were so sad, she looked so scared, and Hades himself was looking as though he had seen a ghost like he could not believe it as the woman came to bend the knee in front of Zeus and be beside him. He wanted Hades to die and yet, he sensed the goddess who came to kneel in front of Zeus was the wife he'd spoken of, that Zeus had...killed?

Hercules furrowed his brow in confusion, not understanding. He parted his lips to speak, though he fell silent at hearing the goddess' plea. The pink-skinned goddess sounded on the verge of hyperventilation and close to tears.

Persephone worriedly turned his gaze towards Hades, whose lips were agape as if devoid of words, though she could see a muscle underneath his closely cropped beard twitching, as though he were wracking his brain for something to say. She dropped her hands to the clouds beneath them.

She understood why Zeus had forced Hades to kneel in front of him and the other gods of Olympus, what the God of Thunder had planned for her husband. But she would beg him to show mercy, for the sake of their child. She had to.

"Please, Zeus," she begged tearfully. "I beg of you. I...I will do anything, I swear. Let him live. Let him live and see our child born. Let us return to the Underworld," she begged, her chest beginning to heave with sobs as she begged.

"Father, please, don't do this, there has to be another way to resolve this!" Hercules shouted in shock as he swore he heard Zeus let out a deep growl from deep within his broad and muscular chest. "Surely you wouldn't!" he trailed off as he stared at Father's blank and menacing blue eyes whose only emotion left in them was rage.

He was now certain indeed that his father would indeed slaughter Hades without so much as a second thought to his conscience, or giving any thought to how it would upheaval the goddess Persephone's life. Hercules felt his heart break to hear the woman's plea, wondering what Meg would want if she were here. Surely, there was a better way…

Without thinking, Hercules bounded forward and planted himself squarely in between Father and Hades and Persephone, as Meg had done to protect him and sacrifice herself, he would do the same for his uncle, though in his heart, he was furious with Hades for what the god had taken from him, he knew that Meg would want it this way.

"STOP!" he shouted, and the hoarseness of his voice and the rumble in his voice were enough to give his father pause. The anger in Zeus's blue eyes that were so like his seemed to dissipate, though the edges of the God of Thunder's lips pinched and turned down in a frown. "Father, no matter what he's done, this is not the right way!"

"Do you hear yourself, Hercules?" The edges of Zeus's thick white beard twitched as he straightened his posture, towering over his son in anger. "Your uncle deserves to be executed for his crimes of unleashing the Ti—

"I know, Father, but…let them both go, Uncle is going to become a father soon." Hercules could feel his teeth beginning to chatter as his body was itching and teeming with anticipation as a strange tingling sensation began to snake its way throughout his entire body. He wanted nothing more than to return to Earth with Meg, but he suspected that his uncle, as Lord of the Underworld, was the only one who had any say over the dead.

If he saved Hades' life here today, then his uncle would have to give Meg back. He turned towards the other gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus who were gathered around to watch the spectacle.

If they were at all surprised by Zeus's own son stepping in to defend Hades, they did not let their faces show it.

Hercules defiantly lifted his chin and jutted it out, almost glowering at the All-Father.

"Send them back to the Underworld, Father. Do not do this. Please," he begged, his voice cracking and breaking as he made his case. "If you kill him now, then you're proving yourself to the mortals back on Earth right, how foolish they are to ever think kindly of you and any other god or goddess here who would enjoy seeing Hades killed!" Hercules passionately proclaimed, turning towards his uncle and Hades' wife Persephone in a quest to defend them.

Zeus, once he had managed to recover, shook his head and turned rueful blue eyes towards his brother, wrath burning in them.

"I suppose, son, that you are right. This does not concern me," the All-Father growled, resenting every word that passed his lips, and yet Zeus felt as though he had no choice at all. "I am the one that he almost killed tonight. That he did kill," he added as an afterthought. "My boy, it was that mortal woman who you seem to be quite taken with who was put in grave danger by your uncle's actions," he stated plainly, his expression devoid of emotion. "You will decide their fates, son," Zeus proclaimed in a loud voice that rumbled like thunder through the rest of Olympus. The others who had congregated around them to watch began to titter amongst themselves. Hercules felt his breathing quicken as he awkwardly shifted his weight from one foot to another and shot a worried look toward Phil for help.

But the confused look and shrug of his mentor's shoulders told the demigod he would get no help here.

Hercules cast his gaze toward Persephone and Hades, suddenly pitying them both. He took a step forward and stretched out a hand to both his uncle and his bride. The couple exchanged looks with one another though after a moment's hesitation, they accepted the offer of his hand and allowed Zeus's son to help them upright to their feet. Persephone stood with shaking legs and eyed the other goddesses around her wearily, clutching at the small swell of her belly to guard the precious life within, as though she feared Hercules might attempt to cut the babe from her.

"Bring Meg back to life, lift Medusa's curse, and right the wrongs of the destruction the Titans have caused to Thebes and the surrounding areas, help rebuild the cities back on Earth, and I consider this debt fulfilled and your pardon to be true. Return to the Underworld, and you may live your lives in peace, Uncle," Hercules proclaimed as he ticked off his conditions on his fingers, much to the astonishment of the crowd that had gathered around them.

Behind him, he heard a god, Hermes, he thought the winged messenger was, whisper to Phil.

"That's it?" the blue god whispered to the Satyr, confused.

He, alongside the others, could not understand why Hercules was being so lenient with the pair, particularly his uncle.

"He's the only one that can bring his girl back, you fool, not even his pretty little pupped wife next to him has the authority to make that call, buddy," Phil snorted and stomped a hoof in agitation, rolling his eyes to the sky at Hermes' apparent thick-headedness and simplicity. "Ain't nothin' happens in the realm of the Underworld without Hades' express say-so," he grunted, keeping his arms folded across his chest as he waited for Hades' response.

The others and Hercules fell silent as they turned their gazes towards Hades and Persephone, who were lost in one another's gazes and did not seem to feel the burn of Olympus' gods and goddesses at the backs of their heads, as they had eyes for only each other.

Hercules almost wanted to look away, for they did not embrace like couples down on Earth did, yet the shock reveling in Hades' yellow eyes was almost too much to bear as the god lifted a hand to stroke Persephone's cheek and tuck a curl back behind her ear before lowering his hand and letting it rest against the swell of her stomach.

After what seemed an interminable wait, Hades spoke, though never once did he part eyes from his beloved wife, as he moved to take her hands in his, his eyes desperately searching his wife's gaze.

"And what of you, nephew?" he called, his voice hoarse and trembling slightly, as though he could still not believe his wife was returned to him and in front of him. "What will you do?" he questioned.

Hercules nodded in understanding, not needing his uncle to elaborate on his words. He knew that Hades was referring to his quest to become a god, but…strangely enough, none of that mattered to him anymore. Not when his whole world lay motionless somewhere on Earth. Not when her soul was trapped in his uncle's own Underworld.

Hercules exhaled a shaky breath and took a step towards his father, feeling the tingling warmth spiral through him when he looked down, his body was glowing, a faint golden glow that warmed him several times over.

He stared, dumbfounded, but then with one look towards Phil, who was getting teary-eyed, he thought he understood. By saving his uncle, despite what he had done, he had, in a sense, become a hero, he had become a god to be praised.

Hercules lifted his eyes to his father, his decision made up, his mind made and there was no changing it. He sighed and came to a halt in front of his father and mother, who was looking at him expectantly and waiting for his remark on what his answer was.

"Mother, Father, I…" He hesitated, searching for the right words. "I've wanted this my whole life, b-but…a life here, even an immortal one, without Meg, would be…empty. I'm going back home, to Earth where I belong, to be with her." He spoke with a finality in his voice and just a twinge of steel. He drew in a breath and held it, waiting.

Hera and Zeus stepped forward and without words, embraced Hercules tightly in a hug that nearly cracked two of his ribs. Only when the hug ended and they pulled apart did Zeus speak, though this time, in a much softer and subdued tone than before.

"We understand, son. Your mother and I could not be prouder of you, Hercules. You set out what you've always wanted to do, even if it was not in the way that any one of us could have ever expected. Go then, to her. Time on earth is so fleeting as it is. Best not to waste a single moment." Here, his piece said, he turned towards his brother, who shot Zeus a withering look but snapped his fingers and motioned towards Pegasus with a curt jerk of his head.

"Go, nephew, I think you'll find your lady has need of you, Hercules," Hades grunted, sounding thoroughly less than pleased, but Hercules knew that, in time, once his son or daughter was born, the god would come to thank him.

Hercules did not need to be told twice. He bounded forward on his heels and scooped up Phil in his arms, bringing his fingers to his mouth and whistling for Pegasus.

The fiercely loyal steed was by his side and urging them onto his back within seconds. Hercules did not even hear the cheers of the gods of Mount Olympus as Pegasus took once more to the skies, only this time, headed for Earth.

He found himself praying to Father and the others that his uncle had kept his word and returned Meg's soul to her.

As far as he was concerned, he could not get back to Meg's side fast enough.