Of Our Solemn Hour

"In my darkest hours I could not foresee
That the tide could turn so fast to this degree
Can't believe my eyes
How can you be so blind?
Is the heart of stone, no empathy inside?
Time keeps on slipping away and we haven't learned
So in the end now what have we gained?"

- Our Solemn Hour by Within Temptation


"You're late. I worried something might have happened," Cassandra noted as Meg finally arrived back to the crypt they had agreed as their meeting place.

"Oh, something did happen. Or someone. I ran into Barak, he wasn't too happy to see me. Well, he was happy to see me, but I wasn't nearly as pleased," Meg breathed out, still evening out her breathing as she had run the most way.

"Yikes. That does sound like trouble," Cassandra grimaced.

"Oh yeah, I got him acquainted with my pointy friend here," Meg rolled her eyes, patting the dagger strapped to her hips.

"Oh good, you came well-prepared then," Cassandra nodded approvingly.

"Actually, Herc gave it to me, he wanted me to be prepared in case something happened. Well, something like THIS, obviously," Meg shrugged.

"He knows you too well. Herc was one step ahead of us this time," Cassandra smirked as Meg made a face back at her.

"And you're sure Barak didn't follow you here?" Cassandra made sure, eyeing behind Meg.

"Last I saw him, he was down on the ground. So yeah, I'm pretty sure," Meg offered.

"Fair enough," Cassandra grinned back.

"Have you seen Icarus? Or my sisters?" Meg quickly scanned around, not finding the goofball she was looking for.

"I told him to make himself useful this once. So my guess would be that he's helping them out," Cassandra rolled her eyes, crossing her arms at her chest and as if from a cue, Icarus made his appearance.

"Awww, the lovely ladies are worrying about lil' ol' me! I'm one lucky man, aren't I!" he happily announced, trying to embrace the two women, who were able to dodge the bullet.

"Meg might have worried, but I on the other hand was… Hopeful," Cassandra bit back, but Icarus blissfully ignored her comment.

"So how's the situation?" Meg steered the conversation back to more pressing matters.

"The sector Delta is secured. I gathered all the folk I could find down to the tunnel. Last I saw them, they were making their way to the other side as your sisters Pyrrha and Henioche were leading them," he officially reported, raising his hand for a military salute.

"That's good. We'll just have to hope it will be enough," Meg told him, giving him a small smile, even though worry was eating her inside.

"Don't worry, Herc and the troops will do their best," Icarus offered with an earnest smile.

Meg glanced at Cassandra, seeing her own worries and fears mirrored on the seer's face. That was the exact thing they both were afraid of: how much further would this situation continue and at what cost?

For now, Meg could only hope and say her prayers to the Gods she wasn't too keen on relying on. She did believe in her Wonderboy though, but she knew his stubbornness all too well. And that was exactly what she was afraid of.


Hercules had no grasp of how long he had been fighting with Hector.

The sun at least had been pulled by Apollo to a different location nearing the edge of horizon, indicating the approach of sunset. So gathering from that, it had been a while.

It felt like it had been a long while. Or more like forever.

The Theban soldiers around him were moving more slowly than before, the exhaustion and the boiling heat of the sun-heated muddy mess surrounding them, making them weary. Because of his own exhaustion he couldn't make out what they were shouting, he had to focus on what he was doing.

What was he doing again?

Oh yeah. The clashing of metal as his sword met another sword quickly reminded him.

Still fighting Hector.

His moment of absence became almost fatal as Hector finally broke through his shield with a crack, cutting a deep wound to Hercules' arm. Hercules winced in pain and the sudden movement brought him down on his back to the ground.

With a agile dodge, he was able to avoid Hector's next move aimed at him, which most likely would have been deadly.

He had to keep his wits with him. He had to focus.

('Keep your head at the game, kid,' Phil's words were ringing inside his head and he decided to do his best to heed his old mentor's advise.)

But he wasn't the only one feeling the toll of the battle. His comrades were struggling to keep up with their enemy, obviously already running on their last fumes and he could still not think away out of this mess.

If there was any, Hercules wasn't so sure anymore. His usual optimism was now growing thin.

He could only hope.


-A/N: So, this was a really short chapter, but just wanted to give you guys something. Hope you'll like it!

On the other hand, I have a confession to make. So, my husband and I are excepting our first child and the little one is due to arrive in December. So we are very excited, but obviously most likely I will not be able to update quite as frequently. I have so much already written down, so the story will certainly continue, but at more irregular pace. I hope you'll understand.

Have a happy Halloween and to the reviewer shout-outs:

- Sol99: Thank you so much, we'll just have to wait and see what happens next. *wink* And please take care of yourself!

- Sakura: Once again, thank you very much and the next chapter is now obviously up!

- Disneylove12: Well, Meg being badass is pretty much my jam! Thank you so much!