Megara had expected to have more time before Hercules tracked her down. She thought curling up at the back of the cave she'd located in exile would buy her some time, but Hecate wouldn't play a game she hadn't rigged in her favor.
It wasn't too long before she heard male voices through a self-imposed sleep. She dreamed herself home, waking late in the morning to the sound of Hercules and some friends chit-chatting over breakfast. She could choose to go downstairs and join in or remain luxuriating in the warm darkness.
Bright! Too bright!
"Hello?"
Megara opened her eyes.
Hercules was there! But… he was there to kill her, wasn't he?
She'd fallen asleep to suppress the twin pressures of hunger and fear, but now she didn't think there was any amount of sleep that could heal what she was going through.
Medusa had told her of heroes who tried to sneak up on her while she was sleeping, but this was such a reversal that Megara never prepared for it. Then again, he'd called to her, and thus his advantage had evaporated.
How was he the best monster hunter alive when he had such poor tactics?
She still had the puppet of Hercules clutched against her chest as she slept, and now that she was faced with the real thing, she stowed it behind a stalagmite. He might think she was a monster who'd eaten his wife, and that would get him slashing faster.
It was all so confusing and wrong that Megara responded with a long, plaintive groan.
She couldn't speak. Maybe if she got used to the new shape of her mouth…
Hercules drew his sword.
No… this couldn't be over so fast… Hecate planned to give Hercules to Omphale. He wasn't hers to give. Megara hadn't even been with him for a whole year!
Hecate would enjoy this. She'd gloat over Megara's headless body when she came to visit her in Tartarus, probably holding Hercules's daughter, who she'd also transformed into a monster.
She slid further against the wall, hopeless and yet trying to resist.
"What's the trick here?" Hercules asked. "Hecate's been bombarding me with trick after trick, and I'm sure something's up this time, too. What are you, some other distraction? I just want to find my wife and go home."
She wished she could explain. She wished he would hold her and they could cry over this mess together. Instead, all she could do was howl in her misery.
His sword didn't fall.
"Ugh… I hate that she does this to people," Hercules said. "I know most monsters can talk, but there's no pressure. We can figure this out. I promise I won't make any sudden moves." He set his sword on the cave floor.
So he wasn't going to kill her?
Even being in his presence was a comfort. She crawled toward him from the shadows and basked in the golden light that emanated from him. Mere hours ago, she'd been wrapped in that light and let it warm her to the bone.
She kept her head down so he wouldn't think she was there to attack. She could feel his hesitation, his exhaustion, and his sorrow.
"She turns people into creatures, doesn't she?" he asked. Was he about to understand? "I bet you wish you could go home, too, don't you?"
He didn't get it.
Maybe he didn't want to see it. She dropped to one side, gazed up at him, and sighed out one long, exhausted puff.
She'd been through so much in the last– had it been days yet? Here was the man who wanted nothing more than to save her and bring her home to the fulfillment of all her desires, but he viewed her as nothing more than an enemy he showed kindness to.
"Well, I found you. I've got to get back to my brothers, all right?" His brothers? Wait, he was leaving? Hercules was leaving her– "You don't… eat people, do you?"
What a ridiculous question.
"I'll call your boss; maybe you'll get a break."
No! Megara found a surge of power to get herself to her feet, and she covered his mouth. Hecate would only make things worse. She'd torment them both, and then…
"Hey!" Hercules shoved her away. "I've got someone to save, and that means calling off this stupid hunt. Hecate told me you were after Megarion, but obviously, you're just after a long nap."
She couldn't help but groan again. Why couldn't he draw the most obvious conclusion? She darted to the mouth of the cave and twitched a tail she hadn't even noticed before.
"Don't challenge me to a fight because I'll win. But I'd rather not hurt you or anyone else. I thought I'd like to, but… I was just tired and cranky. Now I'm tired and… more tired."
Megara paced, blocking the entrance, trying to think of how she'd get him to understand. It was difficult enough moving, but communicating with Hercules when both of them were exhausted was taking every shred of her sanity.
"I can't believe she'd create you like that," Hercules said, taking a step closer. "Maybe I could talk to someone and get you fixed up. Two matching legs would sound nice, right?"
She grumbled at him wordlessly. She wanted to tell him how getting her fixed up was exactly the point of this whole exercise, but she knew there was no undoing a spell done by Hecate. All she could do was stare at him and hope he understood.
He stepped closer and leaned down, watching her curiously. Something was starting to form behind his eyes. He might guess if only–
Two monkeylike creatures that looked as if they'd emerged from the pits of Tartarus emerged and raced up the mountain toward her.
They'd rip her apart before she had a chance to connect with Hercules again! She might be tired, but a surge of adrenaline shot her up the mountaintop.
"Hey, wait!" Hercules called after her, but then he found himself in combat with the monkeys.
Megara watched from above as the monkeys fought Hercules and Dionysus. But then she saw two familiar faces: Pain and Panic.
In a blink, they'd joined together and formed into the shape of Megarion. Megara didn't have time to figure out what they were planning before they launched themselves at Hercules and latched onto him from behind.
"Off!" Hercules roared and launched the imps in the shape of Megarion off the mountainside.
Megara had never expected to see her brother falling off a mountain, but this was clearly not him. So where was he?
Hercules flew after the illusory Megarion, but Megara crept along the mountaintop while Dionysus distracted the blue monkeys.
Megarion was at the foot of the mountain, facing Hecate as her next victim.
This was done. Megara would not put up with it for another minute. She raced down the mountain, claws out.
Megarion looked up just in time to see Megara dive for Hecate. Her claws connected and she dropped the goddess to the ground.
"Meg?" her brother asked.
Why did her brother get it but her husband didn't? It was all so frustrating!
"Bad kitty!" Hecate scolded and threw her off. "It's time we three had a chat."
The rain, the wilderness, and Hercules were gone.