I know Lilies has gone neglected for FAR too long (meaning I have literally no readers for it left) but here's an update anyway. I've been workin on this damn chapter for like 3 weeks now... I just can't seem to make the transition I need to make. Writer's block at it's finest. Times I could really use a beta reader.

Hercules groaned, his vision blurry, his ears ringing, and a powerful ache in nearly every inch of his body. He looked around, trying to gather his senses. He couldn't remember much beyond arriving at his parent's house to bring them back to the villa. As his vision came into focus the pain became more specific and he realized he was trapped under a large amount of wood. The storm? He wondered to himself, if the wind had caused the roof of the small home to collapse. He shifted, trying to get out from under the heavy wood. He heard it groaning and he quickly stilled himself, worried he would cause further damage. The ringing in his ears was dulling, and he could hear someone calling his name.

"Mom?" He replied, coughing suddenly at all the dust he had inhaled. His mouth felt like he had eaten the contents of a fireplace. He heard her respond, but was struggling to make out her words. "You okay?" he called out, and was able to make out the 'yes' that she called out. "Pop?" he called, trying to look around for a sign of either of his parents.

"Are you alright dear?" He heard his mother call, and he shouted back he was fine. He shifted again, moving slowly to free himself from the fallen wood. He stood, his joints announcing their protest at being used with sharp aches. Hercules felt like he had been through a fight with the Cyclops again. He moved towards where he could hear his mother calling, and found her safe in a small corner of the home left untouched by the collapse.

"Mom, you okay?" he asked, and she nodded. "Where's Pop?" His mother shook her head. He was beginning to worry. He hadn't heard his father, nor seen any sign of him. He shivered, rubbing his arms briskly. "It's freezing," He complained, and saw his mother shivering as well. He needed to get her out of here and to the villa. "Mom, find Pegasus, he'll take you to the villa while I look for Pop," Alcmene looked questioningly to her son, and bit her lip; she was concerned for her husband. She grabbed a blanket from one of the kitchen chairs, wrapped it around herself, and moved carefully to the door; she managed to slip through it without pulling the rest of the house down. Pegasus was trotting anxiously back and forth just outside the home and made a series of excited sounds when the stocky woman appeared.

"Hercules told me to have you take me to the villa, he's looking for Amphitryon," She explained nervously. Pegasus was reluctant to leave Hercules behind, but got down so the woman could climb on his back and made his way back towards the villa. The ride was smoother than the ride to their house had been, much of the storm was ebbing. He arrived at the villa in half the time it had taken to leave it, and chirped in surprised that much of it had collapsed. "Oh no," Alcmene whispered. Her first thought was of her her daughter-in-law. She prayed to the Gods she wasn't in the half of the villa had collapsed. What now? She wondered. Her son's home had collapsed, her home had collapsed. She looked around and saw smoke coming from a partially collapsed stable further into the property. She gestured to Pegasus who made his way chirping sadly at his house, and initially assuming the stable had caught fire but Alcmene wasn't ready to give up hope so quickly. "Megara?" She called,

"Alcmene?" Came a surprised voice from inside. She saw the young woman's face appear in one of the intact windows, and she immediately tried to climb through it only to be pulled back by another pair of hands. That's right, Hercules had his friends staying with him too. Alcmene reminded herself. There was an opening near where the collapsed part of the structure met the intact bits, and an old familiar face appeared, beckoning her over. The woman glanced back at Pegasus sadly, but he nodded at her and took to the sky again to return to her husband and son. Alcmene followed the auburn haired woman to the part of the stable where they had a fire successfully burning beneath a window that was letting out the smoke. Once inside the room she ran up to Megara who had stood to greet her. The pair embraced, Alcmene rubbing her back.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Meg smiled, fighting back tears. "The stable stayed intact even after the second-tremors. We're hoping there won't be more, not sure how much it can take. Alcmene kissed her on her cheek and sat down before the fire, surprised at how warm they had managed to make the stables.

"How did you manage to start a fire?" She asked, and Meg looked over to Icarus,

"Our foolish hero here ran up to the villa to get some flint," She smirked at him. He could have easily died, but braved the collapsed building anyway." He was granted a small mercy in that the flint was easier to find than he expected. It had taken some time to get the fire high enough to provide significant warmth, but once they had it going managing it was easier. There was enough broken wood from the collapsed section of the stable that they could keep the fire going until Hercules returned and they could plan their next move. "Where's Amphitryon?" Meg asked,

"Hercules is still looking for him... he sent me here while he searches. Our house collapsed in the earthquake," Meg covered her mouth, suppressing a gasp.

"I'm so sorry. But he couldn't be in better hands," Meg tried to be reassuring, but felt anxious herself. She reached out and grasped the woman's hand, getting a sad smile in return. Alcmene was greatly relieved to find Megara had gotten away from the villa unharmed, but with that relief the wave of concern for her husband washed over her.

The fire was beginning to dim before Hercules returned, the group using more caution with which pieces of wood they grabbed to prevent any further collapse. The smoke was carefully curling out the window and gaps in the thatched roof, but the walls and ceiling were black with soot, a fine gray dust settling over the gathered.

Hercules flew back to the villa, and gasped when he saw the wreckage. He began to chant statements of disbelief, and prayed his wife and friends escaped. He debated whether to braving the villa, or search for where his companions would take shelter. He settled on searching for them on the grounds, he couldn't bear the thought of finding them buried under stone. It didn't take much searching to see the smoke coming from Pegasus's stable. Pegasus began to nod enthusiastically and flew over.

Pegasus's chirping and whinnying announced the return of their hero. Alcmene, sick with worry, climbed out the window to greet her son and husband, praying to the gods Amphitryon was unharmed. She ran through the dark towards the sound and saw Hercules, alone, dismounting.

"Amphitryon?" She asked, her voice shaking, and it was then she was able to see how swollen her son's face was, how dark the circles around his eyes.

"Mom... I found him. He's alive," He added the last part quickly, "but unconscious. Lot of the house fell on him. I brought him to Hippocrates. By some lucky chance his hospital was mostly unharmed," He failed to mention how overcrowded it was with the injured, and that his father was lying on a pile of straw and linen in the hallway waiting for the overburdened doctor. He trusted Hippocrates to take good care of his father, regardless of how busy the place was.

"Take me to him!" His mother insisted, "He can't be alone! Please son, take me to him!" Hercules frowned at her, seeing the tears running down her ruddy cheeks. Pegasus was lying in the snow, utterly exhausted. The thought of making the poor beast fly yet again into the city seemed outrageous. But how could he tell his mother no? He knew that if it was him trying to get Meg he wouldn't let anything stop him.

"Pegasus needs some rest, I promise... I'll take you soon but he can't fly anymore until we give him a break," Hercules tried,

"Please son..." It was breaking his heart to hear his mother begin to sob, begging him to brave the dying storm once more to bring her to his father.

"It's not up to me, I don't think Pegasus can handle much more. He's flown all across the city in the storm," He reached out for his mother as she covered her face and wept. He rubbed her back, finding the tears coming to him as well. The situation was beginning to overwhelm him. His home was destroyed, his father in unknown condition, his mother weeping. Having to leave his wife who needed him more than ever, his friends struggling to do his duty of protecting her while huddling in a stable. What is happening? He wondered to himself. He would have to see his father about all of it once Pegasus was rested enough.

Hercules watched his mother walk up to Pegasus, who was lying in the snow, and began to rub his nose as she talked to him. The winged horse stood, and once she was on his back took to the air once more. He frowned as he watched his mother fly off, feeling like he should be with his parents right now. The voices from the stable drew him from his thoughts and he made his way over to the window Megara was leaning out of.

"Herc," She called as she rolled a hand off her shoulder, Cassandra trying to beckon her away from the cold, "Stop it. I'm not that fragile," She snapped, and turned back to her husband who kissed her quickly when he reached the window. With her help he managed to clamber through the window into the surprisingly warm stable without causing further damage. Once inside Megara embraced him quickly, "Your father?" she asked, pulling back from her embrace,

"I don't know," He explained about finding his father and bringing him to Hippocrates who was too busy tending to the dozens of injured to give an assessment on Amphitryon's prognosis. The group sat around their small fire, "Wow. You guys are certainly resourceful," He was impressed that they not only escaped the villa but made their way to the stable and started a fire without burning the whole thing down.

"Amara?" Cassandra asked, when the young girl failed to follow Hercules into the stable, but the hero merely shook his head.
"Was she-"

"Her house was mostly washed away by the violent waves caused by the storm. I'm sure she got away and took up shelter somewhere. We'll run into her eventually," Hercules offered but the cynical psychic did not share his optimism. Deciding to drop the subject lest she let her fears consume her, Cassandra idly warmed her hands over the fire. The group began to exchange their stories of what happened after Hercules had left, and began to speculate as to what was causing this freak series of events.

"Do you think it could be Hades?" Hercules asked, looking at Meg. It always made her uncomfortable when he used her as his Hades encyclopedia, but shook her head.

"This is a little too... grand."

"Releasing the Titans wasn't grand?" Hercules asked, watching Cassandra push Icarus away who had tried to pretend to be tired so he could lean against her shoulder.

"No I mean the giant storm, the earthquake... He's more... sneaky. He released the Titans but he spent decades amassing an army in secret and making sure no one knew what he was up to. And what's the end game here?" She asked. "Also when did Hades learn to control the weather and cause earthquakes?" She added. "Those are the kinds of things the Titans did," She added, "But you certainly took care of them,"

"I think I need to talk to my father," Hercules sighed, "Assuming the temple survived the storm and earthquake, but I don't think my father would let his temple fall apart like that. And it'll be a safter place to hide than Pegasus's stable," He continued.

"Half of Thebes may be taking shelter there, how can you have a private conversation? I think most of Greece would panic if that statue came to life," Meg criticized.

"I'll figure it out. Besides, like I said, safer shelter. If I can't talk to my father there I'll figure it out later but we can at least get some rest somewhere we know is safe," Meg lifted a brow while the other two agreed to the trip. "Okay, it's settled."

I am not pleased with this chapter. At all. But I've spent so long on it I don't think I'll ever be.