Hecate paced between the Theban twins, wringing her hands. "The nerve of that hero! What shall I do?"

"That sounds like a you problem," Megara said. "I'm in a cage."

"I might be able to help," Megarion said. While Megara and Hecate had been distracted, Megarion had shifted the shape of his tunic so it only covered one shoulder. He sat with legs crossed, leaning back in his chair with one arm draped over the back of it.

Was he…?

"You think you can help me get my witches out of the line of fire?" Hecate hovered closer to the prince. "That sex-crazed maniac is about to kill my two most powerful allies!"

"He wouldn't be so sex crazed if you let me take the edge off for him," Megara remarked. "But hey, you clearly have all the answers here."

"I'm the one he thinks he killed," Megarion said. "Let me do the talking. Send me topside, and I'll tell him how this whole thing is over because I'm dead, and Meg's… well, look at the damn thing," he wrinkled his nose in his sister's direction. "Who's fighting for that?"

Megara shrugged her fuzzy shoulders. "Beats me. I didn't understand it the first time."

"All coherent points, but why the change of heart?" Hecate asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm the last son of the House of Cadmus. Generation after generation, our misery has been a joke. And now, it's between my rebellious boy-crazy sister and me. So if one of us is getting out of this, I want it to be me."

"Fair, that's what I'd choose too," Megara said and yawned. Whatever game Megarion was playing, she didn't mind tossing the ball around with him.

"My father could never get her under control, but I can succeed where he failed. Grant me this chance to advocate for you and control Meg. I'll make her bend to your will, and I'll get revenge for the years she ran away and fooled us into thinking she was dead. It's because of her I bore the brunt of my father's wrath. I'm going to pay her back until she begs to take orders from you instead." Megarion shaped his smile into a classic Theban sneer.

Megara snarled in her cage. "How could you even suggest such a thing? You know I had to get out of there, and you would've left me to that fate if you could!" She got up, and despite how much effort it took, she reached through the cage bars and clawed in Megarion's direction. "I can't be tamed! Not by you or anyone!"

Hecate glanced between the siblings. She would require more convincing.

Seemingly unbothered, Megarion walked up to Megara's cage. "You're finally going to have to sit with the consequences of your foolhardiness, Megara. You thought you could deny fate, and then what? You wound up the slave of Hades and never did a single favor for our family? We could've had Menoikeus or Haemon back to make up for the fact they died instead of you!"

Megara roared her most fearsome roar and strained to reach her brother.

Megarion smiled, out of range, while Megara did the most possible to reach him. Hopefully, his act would move on soon. She was going to lose all the vigor in her limbs. "Your out-of-control mongrel thought he was killing me, and he could do it again. He needs to be under someone's thumb, and it suits me to see both of you humbled."

Hecate hovered smugly behind Megarion. "I didn't know you were capable of such malice! I should've approached you instead of your father."

"My… father…" Megarion kept a stone face, but Megara knew the only way he managed it was the long pause between words.

"Yes, he wanted me to teach you a lesson about going behind his back. He seemed to think you had allied with Megara and Hercules and were beyond his reach."

"Let's get one thing clear between us: I'm with whoever can get me what I want," Megarion said. "This little slut married a god who can't even properly take advantage of the fact he's a deity. And then she has the lack of foresight to get herself stuck in this form? I could've told her she was being stupid, but she never listens."

"I'm intractable," Megara said as if she were introducing herself.

"Exactly, she's intractable. That's what our father always called her!"

"Our family likes big words," Megara added.

"Yes, I have noticed you've always been verbose…" Hecate chewed her lip. "Megarion, darling… I don't usually do this, but you've been such a delight this evening… Tell you what? I'll let you play a role when I go topside to answer the call of my witches. You know how to play a role, don't you?"

"What is being a prince but playing a role every day?" Megarion bowed as if for the stage.

"You'll need to prove to everyone that Hercules killed you," Hecate instructed, massaging Megarion's shoulders.

Megara groaned and pretended it was from the betrayal rather than disgust.

"Then, I'll have you summon Meg here," Hecate said and manifested a puppet of Megara to match the one of Hercules. "We'll complain that Hercules failed to kill this savage monster, and then he'll be forced to kill it as penance. Don't you think that sounds fun?"

Megarion gave Megara a hard stare, willing her to understand he could handle this.

Megara mustered the last bit of control she had left in her weary bones to lash out at Megarion again. "Don't you dare agree to this!" she snarled. "We've been together since birth! You cannot end my life by such deception!"

Megarion never let up his stare. "I'm sick of sharing, Meg." He dangled the puppet. "When the time comes, you'll play your role, and for once, I won't hear you complain."

"Brilliant…" Hecate turned Megarion's chin toward her, and they shared a kiss.

It was so revolting that Megara closed her eyes. When she opened them, they'd vanished, and she was still in a cage.