Hercules watched Megara with her brothers for some time in awe. He'd know his wife in many guises now, but there was something new in the way she looked up to her older brothers. She was back to a time in her life when she'd had them to look up to and rely on for support.
He wished they'd been around all along. Things would have been different. He could imagine himself rescuing Megara from Nessus, taking her home to the palace, and formally requesting her hand. Creon might still have been a withered bag of spite, but at least his sons might have been decent about the whole thing.
Then again, that was assuming her brothers would have approved of Theron long enough for Meg to get into that situation with Hades… The chain of events shifting around made his head hurt. He would have to be content with his own reality. It wasn't as if he could comprehend any other one.
"Megarion was just married!" Megara exclaimed with a gasp, evidently having just remembered that fact.
"Is that so? Is he happy with the match?" Menoikeus asked.
"He's quite fond of his wife. She's Cassandra, an old friend of Herc's. She can see visions of the future."
"An oracle queen of Thebes? She must be the most miserable woman alive, always foreseeing the misfortune of our people," Haemon said.
"Hercules broke our curse," Megara said so proudly that it made Hercules's heart swell with pride. "We're a free people now. We don't have to live in fear of the curse anymore."
"Cass used to be a pretty gloomy person when I first met her," Hercules added. "She changed when she met Megarion."
"Megarion made someone… less miserable?" Menoikeus asked, bewildered.
"So did I. It's the curse of the Meg twins," Megara said with a dramatic sigh. Both of us are destined to be miserable until we find the one person in the cosmos who is capable of undoing our pain."
Hercules rubbed her back. His mind wandered from the concept of pain to the next knot in Megara's destiny. The Fates might twist her in either direction, and he needed to know which way it went. He'd chase her psyche to the Underworld to retrieve her. He'd do it as many times as he had to until she became immortal. She could become the goddess of coming back from the dead! Maybe she only needed to do it often enough before it was irrefutable in the eye of every cosmic judge.
How would the Fates unravel that next knot? Would they weave her into the rest of the pattern in the Tapestry, or would they cut her from it?
"I'm still amazed you weathered the storm of the invasion, and now you're thriving," Haemon said. "I thought it would be the end of our entire line, and instead, you've had a child with a god!"
"Believe it! She's proof enough." She curled a wispy ginger curl around her finger.
"I only meant… you've been through a calamity so great I thought our family would be wiped out. But you've reversed the fortunes of our entire city, and now a member of our line is a demigoddess. You've risen above an apocalypse that sent Meno and I to Hades."
"You think that was bad? It was only a dress rehearsal for the real apocalypse. Hades tried to conquer Olympus and usurp Zeus's throne. But the greatest hero in all of history was there to stomp him back into his hole. We thought we'd never see him again, but at least his incompetence brought you here."
Hercules nudged her. "You left out how you helped."
"Eh. I was as much of a problem as an asset."
"That's not true! It's because of you I knew Hades's plans ahead of time. And you also endured torture and risked worse by coming to see me. You were my motivation the entire time."
"That's so sweet!" Haemon exclaimed. "I should've stuck around… I couldn't see beyond my own loss… I thought Antigone and I would be together in death, but I lost all my senses while I was down there. At least I didn't feel the agony anymore."
"As for me, it is good to know my death resulted in a second chance for you," Menoikeus said with a solemn smile. "I wish I had been here, as well, but we were all subject to the whims of Ares."
"Ares is always tough to deal with," Hercules said. "I've always had trouble with him, but he owes me now. He's not as willing to tangle with me."
"Or me," Dionysus said, sloshing some wine in his cup. "I always confuse the old bastard. He never knows which way to point his sword when I'm through with him. Now my favorite brother and I run this town, so instead of doom and gloom, we're the city of wine and Herculade!"
"A beverage for every occasion." Megara's laugh had lost its bitter edge now. It warmed his heart listening to it.
"Something is still bothering me, though," Menoikeus said. "While we were still down there, Hades insisted that you belonged in the Underworld with us, so giving us back our conscious minds was a way of convincing you that your place was in his court."
"He's always dangling people's loved ones as bait," Hercules snarled, wrapping his arms more firmly around Megara and Harmonia. "He says he's changed, but this is the same old tactic from him."
"It's because he doesn't care about anyone. He doesn't know how it feels," Megara said.
"Even if he did, he'd probably just make it an excuse to enjoy hurting people more," Hercules mused. "If he could comprehend the pain someone was enduring, he'd even think of ways to make it worse."
"But what did he mean when he said you belonged there?" asked Haemon. "Ares was always the particular enemy of our family, not him."
"It's personal," Megara admitted. "I once had... an arrangement with Hades."
"Which I bailed her out of," Hercules said with a stern sort of pride. "Hades has no further claim on her."'
"Be that as it may, Hades is relentless, and now he wants vengeance. Maybe he's changed now, but I don't believe he's let go of his vindictive streak."
"What kind of arrangement could you have with the Lord of the Dead?" Menoikeus asked. "I know you liked to hang out in the cemetery, but-"
"Was it our fault?" Haemon's face was flushed with shame. "Because we're gone? Did you contact Hades on our account?"
"That wasn't it... Or at least, it wasn't just you. Everyone was dying around me, and I couldn't let the last person I cared about leave me, too... I thought Megarion had died in the battle, or I might've made this deal for him, but... It was someone else."
"And where is this person now?" Haemon asked.
"Gone," Hercules said. "That rotten coward used her and then fled."
"I thought he loved me at the time. And if someone could love me, then maybe he was the only person who ever would."
Hercules kissed the top of her head. "It was how I found you. As tragic as that was, I'm grateful I could be part of setting things right."
Harmonia cooed softly as if she were hoping nobody had forgotten her.
"You've both helped me," Megara said as Harmonia snuggled closer.
"But if your contract with Hades was dissolved, what makes him think he has any right to claim you now?" Menoikeus asked.
"Did he consider the manner in which the contract broke illegitimate?"
"There was the small matter of my temporary death," Megara said as nonchalantly as anyone could.
Her brothers apparently struggled to process what she'd said.
"Temporary?" Haemon attempted with a crackle in his voice.
"I couldn't let her stay like that," Hercules's voice was firm with assurance of having done the right thing. "Hades doesn't like it, but I paid the price to bring Meg back to life, and it earned me my godhood. Now, neither of us belongs to him, and he's sour about it."
"I see..." Menoikeus still seemed confused, but not as much as before. "I extend my deepest gratitude. In light of our current situation, I'm in no position to question what you say. It merely strikes me as a marvel that our family has obtained positive attention from the gods. Our generation has truly witnessed strange wonders and reversals of fortune."
"How did you die?" asked Haemon.
"That's hardly appropriate to ask," Menoikeus admonished him.
"No, it's fine. There was an accident, and I got in the way."
"She's being too modest. She saved my life."
Megara's eyes flitted sharply up at him.
"What?" Hercules shook his head, but that didn't clear the mist of unshed tears behind his lashes. "You almost died for me with Moni, too. That's twice I was responsible for death or near-death experiences, and downplaying it doesn't make anything better. And now that you're pregnant again..." He felt some of the color drain from his face.
"I made my choices each time. Beating yourself up won't change that."
"Back up," Haemon said. "She saved your life?"
"Back up a little less," Menoikeus said, "You're already expecting another child?"
"Yes to both, and for the same reason. I can't resist a hero in distress," Megara said, brushing a hand along Hercules's arm. "We look out for one another, and part of that is always caring for one another's needs."
"Remarkable." Menoikeus released a sigh of contentment. "All is right in the world. I'm glad I can be part of it." His gaze transferred to Harmonia. "And I'm proud to see our legacy live on through such a promising young lady."
"Will you stay for the rest of the celebration?" Haemon asked. "I heard something about it going for days."
Hercules assessed his girls quickly before he came up with an answer. "Meg and Moni need some time to sleep, but as long as they have no problem coming back, we will. After this, I'm sure we could find plenty of ways to celebrate as long as the whole family can get together."
"Harmonia will be a whole year old soon!" Megara exclaimed. "We can have a massive party for her!"
"Did you just say the words massive party with a smile?" Haemon gasped.
"I must have!" Megara snuggled Harmonia. "With all of you here, it's not so bad. It's been the best year of my life, and I can't wait for all of you to be part of the next one."