MEDUSA and Adonis knelt silently on the ground, each one of them holding one of Meg's hands in a tight vice grip as though they thought each one of them possessed the strength to will life back into Meg's breast that way.
Medusa flat out refused to give up hope, even though all seemed blind and desperate, no offense to the literal blind man across from her. Medusa sat silently stroking Meg's bruised hand with her scaly thumb.
There was something she had wanted to say to the mortal woman and she was not sure if it was a good time to say it, and now, she was not sure that she would ever get to.
"Meg?" she whispered, hoping that somehow, even among the numerous souls in Hades' River Styx, Meg heard her.
Medusa hesitated for a moment, unsure exactly what to say, and cringed as she watched out of the corner of her lowered gaze as Adonis lifted his gaze and looked in her general direction, listening to the sound of her voice.
"I just…want you to know if you can hear me somehow, that….I was—am—proud to call you my friend. Maybe even…my only friend," she whispered, shamefaced.
Medusa sighed and reluctantly withdrew her hand, though just before she could lift her gaze to Adonis, she felt a shooting pain jolt through her midsection, her third or fourth in the last few minutes. With a sigh of impatience, she rose to her feet and made to walk away, thinking that perhaps if she got moving, her cramps would subside.
She began to pace a restless line back and forth, trying to ignore how clammy her cheeks were becoming, and her skin and insides had begun to tingle and burn. She was sure that Meg's Prince Adonis could hear it.
True to her suspicions, the man spoke as he slowly turned her head in his direction as his ears picked up on the sound of her aggravated and restless pacing.
"What's wrong?" he asked, a twinge of concern in his voice that surprised her. No one had ever inquired about her health before, but then, this was the first conversation with a human she had had before other than Meg. She was grateful Adonis could not see, she did not want to frighten the man away with her green reptilian, unsightly visage.
It took her a moment to reply as she clutched at the trunk of a nearby tree to steady herself, a wave of dizziness overcoming her. She wanted to contain her honesty, to lie and tell the Prince that nothing was wrong, but something about that felt wrong, even to him, and despite her best efforts to keep the truth from the man who once held Meg's heart, she couldn't and heard herself answering the man truthfully.
"I...I thought it was just a stomachache," Medusa managed to answer through gritted teeth. "But now..."
Just then, the worst pain she had ever felt shot through her abdomen, causing Medusa to double over and cry out in pain.
"Ouch!" she groaned and sank to the ground on her knees. She was barely aware of Adonis rushing to her side and trying to put a comforting hand around her shoulder to help her to her feet and speaking to her in a worried tone.
"Medusa?! Medusa!" she heard him yelling, but her stomach heaved a pressure that she had never felt before, she just wanted it to stop. For a moment, the terrified young Gorgon thought she was about to be sick.
But Medusa couldn't pay attention to a thing the Prince was telling her, for she was far too focused on the strange tendrils of a soft golden light that were beginning to seep from every pore and orifice of her reptilian body.
She lifted a shaking hand to her eye level to study it better, awed and in shock, tears coming to her eyes, as she realized she was turning back into a human.
Someone, hopefully, Hercules, had convinced Athena or another god to lift her wretched curse.
"I…I don't…I never…I...I'm human again," she stammered, her eyes going wide as she lifted her shaking slender fingers to her hair and felt the silky tresses of human hair instead of live snakes. Tears sprang to her eyes and she whirled around at the sound of Pegasus whinnying in frustration, which meant Hercules had returned from Olympus.
Medusa nearly screamed with delight as she covered her mouth with her hands in disbelief to see Hercules walking towards them, though the demigod's expression was as grim as a gravestone as the man clearly had one thing on his mind and one thing only, Meg. But she could not contain her gratefulness as she threw herself at the man's feet and looked up into Hercules' strong chiseled face, her lower lip starting to tremble and tears slipping from her eyes.
"Thank you, Hercules, thank you, thank you," Medusa wept. "You—you've given me my life back, I don't know how I can thank you," she sighed, turning her tear-filled eyes towards Phil, who had gone bug-eyed to see the attractive young brunette in front of him, though the Satyr quickly shook his head to himself and recovered, speaking on Hercules' behalf as the demigod made a beeline towards Meg.
"It's Hades you should thank, kid, when you get the opportunity. He's the one that undid Athena's curse."
Hercules nodded, a muscle in his jaw twitching though his expression softened as he forced himself to tear his gaze away from Meg's lifeless body nearby and look at the now young human woman in front of him instead of a threatening Gorgon. He chuckled, reddening, as the Prince walked forward to help Medusa to her feet.
"I-it was the least I could do, Medusa. After all that you've done for us, you saved Meg's life. My uncle owed you," he pointed out, and then knelt into a crouch by Meg's lifeless body and took the young woman into his arms. He looked pleadingly towards Adonis, seeming to hold no ill will in his heart or jealousy that Adonis had been the one to be by her side and not him when Meg had died. "Is she…?" he asked, his voice trailing off as Adonis shook his head no.
"N-nothing yet, but we should give you this time. It should be your face she sees when she…when she wakes," Adonis stammered, turning towards the sound of Medusa's sniffles that were starting to taper off as the now-human woman regained control of her emotions.
He was lost and utterly confused but perhaps something good had come out of it.
Without thinking, he reached for Medusa's hand and began to lead her away, sensing Hercules needed a moment alone with Megara. He was surprised at how warm her hand was and hoped that, while the two were having a moment while Meg hopefully woke, that she would tell him the truth about what she was. He'd known she was not quite normal the first moment Medusa had offered him her arm when he'd stumbled across her in the forest, but he had the good sense to keep his suspicions to himself, as she had not proved herself to be a threat.
Phil must have sensed the same thing for the Satyr snorted and began to lead Pegasus towards a nearby field, muttering something under his breath, but Hercules could not manage to pretend to care.
Hercules held Meg gingerly in his arms, his heart pounding loudly in his chest as he prayed to Father and Mother above that Hades had kept his word. His arms tightened around Meg's limp form and he braced himself.
Though she was cold and lifeless, her body felt so good against his and Hercules felt a certain relief at being reunited once more, he was on edge. Meg had not yet woken up and there was no telling how long it would take Hades to return her soul to her body. Every single nerve in his body was on high alert, and every cracking twig or birdsong had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up on end. Hercules stared at Meg's lifeless form, her lips tinged slightly blue and her face far too pale, and thought of all the things he wished he had told her, how he was growing to love her, visions of a life that he hoped to share with Meg if she would have him. He took her hand, now free of Hades' bangles that had identified her as a slave, and held her knuckles to his lips. Unable to be strong any longer, he stroked back wisps of her dark bangs away from her forehead and bent his face to hers, sobbing her name.
"Meg," Hercules moaned, squeezing his eyes shut as his tears continued to fall, despite his best efforts not to let them. His breathing quickened and his chest was tight and hurt, but he had to say it. "Don't go," he begged her. "Do not go far from me," he pleaded in a whisper. "Meg, I'm here now," he whispered, choking back his tears. "I'm right here where I'm sitting and I'm not anywhere else. I don't want to be. I'm not leaving you alone again. Hades...you're free. He won't...he won't be bothering either one of us ever again, Meg." His trembling fingers reached out to stroke her face, but the act only deepened his anguish when Meg's eyes still did not flutter open.
Hercules felt himself shudder with angst as he kept his eyes closed and buried in her shoulder as he held her.
He tried to picture Meg restored to full health, the essence of her very soul returned to her body. He could see her fierce, tall, and strong, the picture-perfect image of courage and bravery.
She would have made an exceptional goddess, Hercules thought, and he could swear he sensed her loving arms around him, feeling her slender fingers in his wavy ginger hair gently.
Hercules froze when he felt the sensation again, lost in the darkness of the dreams of the life he hoped to have with her. Hercules shivered as he felt the caress of her fingers moving gently through his hair.
He caught his breath, praying to All-Father that he was not imagining this. He drew in a sharp breath and held it as he raised his head and pulled back slightly, and Meg's hand, now warm, rested on Hercules' cheek.
Elated, he caught her fingers and held them to his lips in a kiss as his tear-filled blue eyes bored into hers. Uncle had kept his word, after all. Meg's soul had been returned to her. Color had returned to her complexion and her lavender eyes were open, and she was watching him with all the tenderness and love that he could have hoped for.
The edges of Meg's mouth turned up in the sweetest white smile Hercules had ever seen, causing his heart to leap into his throat with relief and joy. He pulled Meg closer and kissed her softly.
His fingers trembled as he was almost terrified to touch her as his hands shifted nervously to her waist and gripped onto fistfuls of her ruined dress for support.
"You're alive, Meg, I…" he whispered, overcome with happiness. "I came back for you," he smiled, feeling his lips trembling and fresh tears streaming down his cheeks.
"What…happened?" Meg's voice was hoarse and barely audible. Her throat was so dry and scratchy that it was a chore for the woman just to force out the words.
Hercules hesitated. He did not want to lie to her, but he was also anxious to keep any fear and uncertainty from her mind if she did not remember.
"You were injured, Meg, by...Hades," he told her as calmly as he could manage. "I thought that I lost you, but…you're going to be alright now, I promise," he told her, trying to convince even himself as his tears continued to fall.
Hercules gingerly gathered Meg in his arms and kissed the woman he now knew himself to be desperately and hopelessly in love with, to which Meg was more than eager to return his kiss.
As she kissed him and felt it all the way through her entire body, her heart soared with relief as she remembered that it had been she and not Hercules that had been hurt by Hades.
She was not sure she could have survived watching Wonder Boy suffer to that abominable level.
When they were forced to pull apart for air, they did not go far, their breaths mingling together and the tips of their noses touching.
"The gods of Olympus have answered my prayers, Meg. I'm staying here on Earth with you. I was able to convince Father to spare Hades' life in exchange for lifting Medusa's curse. She's not a Gorgon anymore, she's a human. And Hades is to help rebuild Thebes after what his Titans did to the city," he told her, chuckling a little at her stunned expression, but she slowly nodded as she took in all the information, hardly daring to believe it all.
Hercules smiled at Meg, certain that he was the luckiest man alive.
As Hercules clung tight to Meg, fearful of letting go out of a growing fear that he would never have her again, he could feel her shivering in his arms, her chest rising and falling forcefully, as though something was hurting her.
Pulling back from her, he studied her face worriedly. The gaping hole in her chest and leg had been closed up and had vanished, likely thanks to his uncle's magic as if Meg had never been wounded. The only indication that she had been hurt at all was her dress, now ruined and stained crimson in various places with the blood from her wounds. She was crying.
"What's wrong?" Hercules demanded, his tone sounding harsher than he would have liked, but he was worried for Meg as he brought his shaky fingers to her face and stroked her cheek, desperately trying to ease whatever was bothering the girl he loved.
Meg had a blush rise to her face out of embarrassment and quickly looked down at her lap and shook her head, as though trying to force an unpleasant image from her mind's eye.
She breathed out deeply and took a moment to regain control over her emotions.
"I'm glad that Hades stabbed me and not you, Hercules," she explained, watching as the blood drained from the demigod's face as he studied her worried and merely pulled her closer. Hercules was unable to speak, stripped of his words, just grateful that Hades had kept his word and had returned Meg's soul to her as per their agreement. She nervously brought her eyes to his, tears trailing down her cheeks. "All I could think of was how much I deserved it for tricking you." She clutched his hands. "I just realized how close I came to losing you." She stared deeper into his eyes and shook his head as Hercules vehemently shook his head, desperately trying to send Meg's words away.
He was astounded by her. She had died for him, and yet it was his safety and well-being that was putting this unwarranted fear into her heart. Hercules tiredly closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers.
"I promise, Meg. You will never lose me," he told her as their lips met again.
As she kissed him a second time, Meg realized that Wonder Boy's words to her now were a vow.
A promise, one that she prayed to Zeus he kept, of hope and a new life for herself, and of good things to come.