A pink mist surrounded Hercules, which was just as thick as the hurt and confusion that had hit him when Megara suggested leaving him. Had he already failed her somehow? Of course, he hadn't seen that thing with the monster on the horizon… did she worry he'd go on a murder spree against every other man who spoke to her? That wasn't it! Both men had been threatening her, and one was about to kill her! She had to know that, didn't she?

"Meg?" He called, reaching straight ahead with both hands.

As a god, he should be able to teleport to her location, but they were both under Aphrodite's power. No god could undo the work of another, and for some reason, Aphrodite's work had been this. Where was he? Was Megara even in the same chamber anymore? Had Aphrodite sent her to another one of her sanctuaries to keep her away from him?

Hercules kept walking forward until his outstretched hands met with the cool surface of a marble wall. "You're not my girlfriend," he grumbled. "Aphrodite! Meg? Where'd you go?" The mist smelled of flowers. The aroma was so strong he thought he might choke on it if he were mortal. Was Meg choking on it right now while he stumbled around like a useless oaf? He couldn't afford to be useless. He had to be her hero.

His hands wandered helplessly through the mist, seeming just as lost as his mind.

Earlier that day, it had seemed inevitable that he'd marry Meg, and soon. They'd made their crazy plans, and he'd been ready to throw himself headlong into them.

Why would she imply to Aphrodite that she might walk away?

What would he do without her?

Didn't she want him anymore?

Wasn't he good enough?

He wasn't making any progress through the mist. He sat with a heavy thud, and his feet splayed out ahead of him like a doll dropped by a child. His long ginger hair drooped over his eyes and across his shoulders.

Did he even matter if Meg rejected him?

None of his relatives would notice if he became less active. They hadn't given him anything to do in the first place. He'd slide back into the background, never to be seen again. Meg was the only person who seemed to care about him and wanted to spend time with him. How could that change so quickly?

What had he done?

Or had her love for him been so shallow-rooted that it fell victim to the first opposition?

What was it that made their relationship too complicated to pursue? He'd always been so decisive and never had a problem declaring what he wanted. He didn't want much, anyway, and his father was the omniscient king of the cosmos. Nothing was ever far from his hand.

Now, though… Megara was at risk, and he didn't have permission from his father for the one thing that mattered most. He'd fight to the ends of the cosmos for her, and nothing would frighten him. But for that to work, she had to love him back. She had to want him back, or all that effort would be pointless.

He'd changed since meeting her. There was a softer, gentler angle to his personality now, and he wanted to explore it. Megara was the only person who could bring out that side of him. Who else wanted to see the God of Heroism be such a softie?

"I'm so lost…" he admitted into the mist. "Meg…" his voice cracked. "Don't you want me anymore?"

He was sabotaging himself with self-doubt. The tears that burned at the corners of his eyes were nobody's fault but his own. Meg hadn't even said any of the things he'd convinced himself she must think or feel. He had to find her so he could ask her all the questions that weighed on his heart.

If he thought positively, he'd know that Megara might be considering the consequences of being with him so she could better plan for every outcome. Or maybe she didn't want him or Aphrodite to think she was taking advantage of a lovesick god to reap rewards from him. She might still love him in either of these scenarios and wasn't flippantly cutting him off with no warning.

There was another possibility. What if Megara had been bluffing to get Aphrodite's attention?

He sat up straighter.

Aphrodite had been wavering before Megara suggested that their relationship might fall apart. This was Aphrodite testing them, but Megara had pushed for it. This was all going according to plan!

Hercules jumped to his feet. "Meg?" he called into the mist. "I'm going to come find you! I'm not giving up on you!"

Even if she might have given up on him… he couldn't leave it open-ended like this!

"Herc!" she called back., but her voice was faint.

He had to get to her. With all his concentration, he still couldn't will himself to her side. Aphrodite's power separated them, and he could not undo it. What would happen if he didn't find her in time?

"Meg! I hear you, but I can't find you! Where are you?"

"I think… island?" She'd said more in the middle, but Hercules couldn't hear it.

What did she mean by saying she was on an island? Weren't they both in Aphrodite's sanctuary?

Why had he brought her here? He should've taken her directly to his own temple, where nobody could steal her away and leave her in precarious places.

This was the true danger of dating a mortal. She had no powers and was much too vulnerable for his liking.

He cleared his mind of all misery and honed in on what Megara had told him. She thought she might be on an island. Either there was a pool with an island in the middle of it, or it looked like an island because it was high up out of the mist.

Zigzagging throughout the room, he finally hit upon something promising. It felt like a wall with handholds, but that was probably not what it was. He grabbed onto the handholds, anyway, and hauled himself up. Eventually, he had to break through the mist and see her… or at least get the layout of the chamber.

He pulled himself further and further until his head hit something like a ceiling. Was it the ceiling? He put his hand up and didn't feel marble but a strange, squishy substance that moved when he pushed on it but wouldn't let him pass.

Something landed on that substance. Though he couldn't see through it, he thought whatever it was might be someone's feet. He pushed up on one and heard a loud squeak, then another thud a short distance away.

"Sorry!" he called through the barrier.

At least he knew where she was now.

"I've got… cut…" He was sure she'd said more, but again, he couldn't hear it all.

"You're hurt?" he asked.

"No! Hold still!"

That sounded like she was right above him. No wonder he could hear everything she said.

He didn't move, waiting for what she'd do next.

Something appeared about a foot away from where he perched, glittering through the mist. It slid through the mist, and it started hissing through the hole. That glittery blade kept sliding in a circle, wide enough that it couldn't accidentally swipe at Hercules.

She was so smart.

The barrier that had prevented him from escaping the misty room slapped down on his head with a squishing noise, but he easily shook it off. It slid back down from whence he'd come, and he was able to look through that hole to see Megara wielding a spear with a pink sparkly blade shaped like a heart.

"I know, it looks goofy, but it gets the job done," she said and tossed the spear aside, then knelt by the opening. She now wore a glittery pinkish-purple gown that matched the spear, and her hair was in a more elaborate style than before.

"What happened to you?" Hercules asked, hauling himself out of the hole to sit on the edge of it.

"Aphrodite thought…" she waved her hand. "Okay, I admit I don't know what she was thinking, but she told me that I was in need of a makeover, and I had to choose what I wanted from a rack of… stuff, I guess. The spear was there, and she told me it would help me cut you out of there if I wanted to be with you again. I could've picked a scroll or a crown, and I think those were different paths. There was more stuff, but I couldn't leave you like that."

"Thanks." Hercules knew he was blushing, but he tried to hide it by distracting her with questions. "That stuff you said to Aphrodite, did you mean it? Not about the spear, I mean, before."

"Oh, you're worried because it sounded like I was giving up?" she rolled her eyes. "Don't you know me better than that, yet?"

Hercules bowed his head sheepishly. "I mean, I hope I do, but I know how much trouble I've caused you, and I don't want to be that to you if… if you're done and want a normal life…"

"Ugh, you say that like I want you to be just like everyone else." Megara had moved around the opening she carved into the mist and sat beside him. She nudged him with her shoulder. "C'mon, Herc. I just needed Aphrodite on our side. She was wavering, so I had to make her pick. Did she want us together or not?" She kissed his blushing cheek. "And she does. Almost losing her new favorite relationship made her remember that. We're going to be fine with her help."

Hercules wrapped an arm around her. "You should still go pick up the crown or the scroll if you want them. You're so brilliant; you should be able to study whatever you like, and you deserve a crown since you're a princess…" He stroked the curls that slanted to one side across her face. A crown should fit there nicely.

"I don't want either of those things if I'd have to trade you in to have them." She covered his hand with hers and brushed her cheek against his palm, then kissed it. "See? We're a team. Maybe I scare you a little bit sometimes, but I don't mean to. You've got to trust me that I mean what I say, and I'm sticking by you."

Joy filled all the gaps in his heart left by his fear that she'd leave him. Hercules gathered her into his arms and kissed her fully. It was the only way he knew how to express his feelings, and he hoped his aura would speak for him so she'd understand the rest.

A vigorous applause distracted him from the kiss. He pulled back, leaving a hand on each of Megara's shoulders in case Aphrodite tried to separate them again.

"Great, you two! I'm convinced! You'll go to great lengths to be together. That means we'll get far even if Meg has to die for love!"

"Hold on!" Hercules jumped to his feet with Megara in his arms. He fixed Aphrodite with a steely glare. "That is beyond unnecessary! I'm immortal. Why would I risk my mortal girlfriend for myself? That's not how this works. I kill for her. She'll never die for me!"

Aphrodite's smile widened.

"Excellent!"

"No more tests," Hercules growled. "You're my aunt, and I care for you. I probably need your help, but I can't keep getting yanked around. I think we've done plenty to prove ourselves to you, and we need to focus on the future. If you want to give us advice, that's great and welcome, and I'd love to hear it. But please, let's all be honest with each other."

"I agree, my lady," Megara said more meekly. "I am grateful that you're so careful to ensure we're supposed to be together, but I think we proved our point." She kept her smile in her voice, but there was no less conviction in what she said. "What are our next steps?"

"There are options, as always," Aphrodite said. "I have the power to marry you two right now, and with that endorsement, there's no undoing it. But maybe you want to wait until there's more of an audience? Or maybe you want to put it off for a year or so before becoming parents."

Megara and Hercules glanced at one another.

"I don't want to put that pressure on you," Hercules said. "I'll do whatever you want, no matter what you decide."

"Could we get married and still put off having children?" Megara asked Aphrodite.

"Not if you consummate it," Aphrodite said.

"And if we… put that off until we were ready?"

"It would be possible, but the marriage will only be half as valid until you do that."

Megara bit her lip. "I don't think I'm old enough yet," she whispered to Hercules.

"Then we won't do that," Hercules assured her, rubbing her back gently with one hand. "I'm not putting you through anything that you're not ready for. That would be burdensome for you and give me only pleasure. That's how we do this now."

"So what's your choice?" Aphrodite asked.

"Let's put this off for a year," Megara said. "And at the end of it, I think I'll be ready for… you know, the rest."

"And I'll spend that whole time finding ways to make you safe," Hercules promised and sealed that promise by kissing her forehead. "I'll make it so you can feel secure carrying our children if that's your wish. I don't want you to feel like you're in danger because of me. Entirely the opposite."

"But before any of that can happen, I want this made permanent." Megara stroked his arm. "So, Aphrodite, it's time we asked you for that favor."

"Okay, so the instructions are really simple because people in love tend to have a difficult time following instructions. When I say 'do you?' that's when you say, 'I do.' Ready?" She waited for a beat while the two nodded and then proved they could follow instructions.

Then, they were married. It had happened. Hercules was the happiest of all the gods in the cosmos.