getthehellouttahell

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"Well, let's see. In the name of Hades, I accept this message!"
. . .
"Ugh, no, that was too formal."
. . .
"This is Zagreus, Prince of the Underworld. Sorry you missed me.
If I return to this hell hole, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can."

{ Calls ◊ Texts ◊ Logs }

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[Darkness once more. Enveloping him within the heat of the Styx’s blood. Ironically, for all his prowess and battles with every attempted escape from his Father’s wretched realm, the plunge back into the river’s crimson embrace was the only brief respite where there was simply… nothing. No pain. No doubts. No pride. No questions. No attitude. No mockery. No noise. No struggles. No suffering. For those few moments—he never knew if it was for seconds or minutes—everything ceased. One final thought drifting in his mind. Darkness guide you, my child. Darkness and blood. Nyx…

Blood boils and a moment later, the young prince bursts from surface of the Styx’s pool, rising in the same sloggy manner as he has so many times before. He feels the river’s sticky hold drooling off his body, like a film oozing from his skin and clothes, leaving him once more whole and complete. Amazing how much easier it is to breathe without a massive battle axe embedded within his sternum. Zagreus stalks forward, wading up the steps of the pool. He’s done this so many times, he’s completely ceased to bother shaking the river’s clinging fluids off himself. It drains nicely enough.

And hell if it gets all over the floors of his father’s House. Perhaps he should’ve thought of that before he decided to include a pool connecting to Styx to his own home. Foresight or morbid curiosity. Who knew? It’s not like he’s ever sat down to have a casual chat with the god who spawned him. At least not a chat to any informative degree that doesn’t end in mockery or bitter dismissal. It’s always been that way. He’s forgotten by now if his father even remembers his own child’s name. So often grumbling that ”boy” at him. Is he really so despised? Hmph, he knows the answer to that question. If it weren’t for the others in the House, Zagreus might have forgotten his own name by now too. Honestly, sometimes—more than sometimes—he wonders why his father had him at all.]

Damn that bull-headed monster. [That’s enough dwelling on that. Grousing at the temperamental brute behind the desk won’t get him further. He has to return, recuperate, prepare, and go again. Thankfully, Hypnos and Achilles were in a conversation together. Though he would’ve liked to speak with his mentor, Zagreus is in little mood to answer Hypnos’ incessant prodding for Asterius’ autograph without a short “No” and moving on. He shouldn’t be short with the God of Sleep. It’s not his fault, and he’ll forever be indebted to the soporific god for enabling all this to happen.

Zagreus sidles to the side of the room to give Cerberus some much-wanted (or a third-wanted) attention, petting the massive red hound’s snout and moving towards his neck while he listens to the conversation behind him. Nyx and Hades are fighting again, in their cold, stoic manner where one indirectly insults the other with threats and has the checks and balances returned. Nyx and Father are at it once more. Did his own mother clash with his Father like that? Another question stockpiled for the future. Megara isn’t in the lounge… and Dusa is her normal self, attempting to cheer him up in her flustered, supportive way before absconding to the rafters once more. Thanatos… well, he’s always a toss of the coin for presence, isn’t he?

With no one left, he turns for his room, the strange and ironic pang twisting in his chest. Despite the sheer number of people and shades filling the grand House around him, how is it that he can feel this alone? A silent curse to his father for the lack of doors to his own bedroom (of course Father gets to keep his chambers under lock, door, and key) as he passes through the violet glow into the solitude of his own chambers. He’d love to have the ability to slam his doors in their faces for once. Probably why Father had them taken off, Or to keep a better eye on me… or simply annoy me. A welcome sight, the mess and clutter. His own little place where he feels like he has an ounce of control and moment’s peace amid the discord of his family life and his unstoppable attempts at “rampaging” through Tartarus. He can keep his room as messy or decorated as he likes! The stone tiles and lush rug beneath the prince’s bare flame-licked feet are a welcome familiarity as he takes a few moments to simply stand in his abode.]

Back to it. [The empty greeting only reinvigorates his desires to leave and Zagreus approaches the wall-consuming Mirror in his chambers. The eternal gift from Nyx, his once-mother. The glass amid the golden frame and darkness-jeweled encrustments as always reflects the sparkling of starlight deep within its midnight depths. Powerful and mysterious, but at the moment, as void as Chaos’ realm itself.] For just once, you could work as a proper mirror. Then I at least might have someone to talk to.

[Being glib at the artifact won’t assist much, but it’s a small vent. He’s silently reminded of a conversation he once had. Whether within a dream, unconsciousness, dying moments, or what, he doesn’t know. But he was there. His own self. Real enough to speak to. The memory of that moment has never left him and it brings a small smile to his face regardless. Zagreus had given him a lot in that brief time. Support, encouragement, humor, embarrassment, entertainment, curiosity, a rush of levity he’d not felt in a long time. More than once he’d thought of him, of whether his own self could somehow be real. But alas, such thoughts were for moments like these. Enough to rouse him once more.] You haven’t given up, have you, Zag. You’re still there, going forward with all you’ve got. And if you can do it… then so can I. Go for it, mate. You can do this.

[Reaffirming himself. Zagreus reaches out and presses his hand to the surface of the Mirror of Darkness. For all he knew, the artifact contained the void of Chaos himself within the night-filled glass. But whatever it was inside, it had never failed to help him. Time to reflect again. And make another break for his freedom.]

[ this was just one of those hellish days (or nights) when everything goes wrong. wake up, wash his face, check and ready himself in the mirror, run out to tartarus, get slaughtered handily by meg. revive and run through the gauntlet again, scrape through the fight with tisiphone by the skin of his teeth, make it to asphodel and accidentally fall into magma and burn before he could clamber back onto shore. now that was embarrassing. why couldn't he have been born truly fireproof rather than resistant? after clawing his way back to asphodel and bumping into thanatos, who was truly on top of his scythe game, he'd struggled so badly he couldn't even win the centaur's heart, which he really needed because practically the very minute he'd stepped into the hydra's lair it'd burst out of the lava and nearly snapped him in half--

he was having an especially godawful time in hell today. when didn't he? but today was particularly ruthless. he almost isn't even looking forward to elysium. knowing his luck, he might just be speared a dozen times by theseus before he gets back on the ball enough to defeat him, and then he'd have to contend with the satyrs and then his father...

'you seem to be in a particularly sour mood, son of hades,' chaos' voice echoes in his head. he'd popped into the paradox space on his n-th run before heading into asphodel proper. something about talking with chaos is always equal parts comforting--he never has to put up any pretense with the primordial god--and unnerving of course, because he's certain he can't put anything over chaos if he tried.

'what's troubling you? speak.'

what is troubling him? he runs a hand through his hair with an exhaled sigh. ] Trust me, you don't even want to hear about my day. Though it's kind of you to ask. [ their conversations are a little rare when chaos prefers him to be quiet, so he treasures this when he can.

'oh?'

the expectant and patient pause, he thinks, is almost a boon in itself when he rarely has a chance to actually speak his thoughts to someone who was genuinely offering to listen. life in hell is busy that way, funnily enough. sure he can trade quips with meg, talk embarrassing deaths with hypnos, snatch the rare conversations he can with thanatos before he has to disappear to pick up souls, but... well, it's always 'what's zagreus doing' and 'where's zagreus off to now' and never quite 'how's zagreus doing'-- ]

I'm not gonna talk your ears off about how awful my day was just now. But hey, I appreciate the thought, I really do. [ and then a huffed breath in exasperation, a sudden flash of just wanting to vent, even if it's not about hie frustrations in specific. ] You know, sometimes I wish... sometimes I wish there's someone who actually understands how hard it is sometimes. Someone who understands how tiring it is to be killed over and over, trying and failing over and over, how exhausting it gets...

Maybe Sisyphus might get it? The whole trying and failing constantly part, anyway. Maybe Orpheus understands how awful it is trying to escape this place. Even Meg would understand how frustrating it is to die over and over again. [ a rather dark laugh, but--no, he doesn't blame her for doing her job. ] But man, I guess the only one who really has to go through the hell that I do is me.

[ it's an almost lonely thought. one that prompts back a memory of some paradox conversation he had cycles and cycles ago; since then he'd certainly gone pantsless sometimes, flashed thumbs up at the mirror and even give himself little motivational psych-ups. what can he say, he kind of talks to himself a lot. and on retrospect, he wonders if this is even more of a sign of loneliness than it might appear--

'it might be,' chaos says with something almost like amusement in their voice. 'but i believe i understand you, son of hades. you want someone to empathize you, in perhaps the most literal sense. i can help.' ]

What, really?

[ 'certainly. there's little beyond my power. think of it as a free boon, and that is a rare gift.' it's an offer that must have prompted incredulity on his face instantly, because there is a wry, inscrutable kind of smile from that alabaster face-- 'if it's that unbelievable, perhaps i'll require a small favor of you someday. if you feel like accepting that offer, search the mirror of night the next time you return to your room, and enter through. i assure you that it'll be an interesting experience.'

an interesting experience?? that can mean any number of things, pleasant or painful or a multitude of anything in between or out. but it's enough to occupy his thoughts as he exits the void, returns to the searing heat of asphodel, rallies himself to tackle hell anew and--

the barge of death that attempt was brutal to a sadistic extent. on one hand, the humiliation of dying before he could reach the hydra is a special kind of embarrassment. on the other hand, he thinks as he drags himself out the river of blood, through the great hall, towards his room... he might have an opportunity to try that mysterious boon chaos had offered. what could it possibly be, anyway? that ancient deity was so often cryptic. but even then, he thinks, they were correct in their assumption of his problem: maybe he just wanted someone to understand him and his frustrations and endeavors, if that was even possible.

there are practically an infinite number of souls, undead and ex-mortal occupying the depths of hell. there are a legion of gods and god-adjacent powers governing the underworld, each with their own jobs, keeping the chthonic machine ticking like a great clock counting down the ticks of lives that trickle down. so many souls and lives and snuffed out lives. but as much as he appreciates his allies and friends and even occasionally his enemies even as they stick a blade in him or otherwise slaughter him, he occasionally feels pretty alone, maybe subconsciously just wanting someone by his side.

the surface of the mirror, showing simply himself, blurs into ink-dark void reminiscent of chaos' gates. he doesn't quite do a graceful dive inside like he does through the portal, he reaches out more cautiously to tap the warping surface and the pull of it draws him abruptly through, the familiarity of falling through space like he does before landing in chaos' realm.

only instead of falling onto the cracked marble, he lands much less gracefully and nearly faceplants right onto... the floor of his own room, right in front of the mirror. ] What the-- [ for a split second he wonders if that ancient deity might be playing some strange trick on him and if nothing had actually happened at all, before he notices a very familiar pair of glowing feet in front of him and he follows the line of leg up to see... ]

Oh.

Hello there, you. [ greeting himself casually, as if he hadn't just tumbled headfirst out the mirror straight at his doppelganger's feet. he offers a lopsided smile. also, let's hope this new zagreus isn't pantsless or this might be even more compromising than it already is. ]

[Be it a trick of his imagination or some inherent mysticism of the artifact before him, Zagreus finds himself feeling as if he’s no longer looking into a mirror, but rather through a window. Hand touching the surface, the cool of the “glass” beneath his fingertips, and yet drifting through an endless sea of emptiness in the small chamber he calls his room. “Small” in his instance being a rather luxurious space—if still messy. But even this size feels of nothing as the young prince gazes into the eternal thrall of black and violets, speckled through with the glitter of countless diamond lights. Enough to make him feel smaller than he does so many other times. It’s no wonder the mirror shows him naught but this space within instead of his reflection. Had his reflection existed, he probably would be lost inside the realm behind the mirror. A fate Zagreus wishes on no one, much less his own reflection.

Lonesome as he is, what other sorts of burdens would he dare load upon the “him” within the mirror? It’s somber enough he sometimes feels apologetic towards the face looking back at him from wherever he finds it. The bloody surface of the Styx, the glass gems in the hall, even in the shiny surface of Cerberus’ green eyes. He alone sees everything Zagreus himself struggles with. He’s heard the abusive tirades thrown at him by his own dismissive father, the shades discussing the failures of their young prince in doubtful tones as to his effectiveness, the mistakes made each time he attempts to escape that send him pitching to his bloody death one after another, the comforting but unpromising comforts his mentor gives him in regards to those nagging questions about his own “domain” and identity within this world. Shameful as it may be, he’d be lying if he said he’s never once looked at his own reflection and asked of him if he’d rather have been born someone else.

And yet, here he stands, drawing comfort from the very same “him” who remains invisible within the night. Unable to forget those echoing words issued from the lips white as ash and firm as marble around him. While he would be hard-pressed to ever admit that Chaos was a deity who gives him… comfort in the sense, there’s something about them that manages to worm its way under his skin and free him from that which he’s yet to identify. There are no airs he needs put on in front of the source of everything, no lips need be withheld from someone so removed from the tangled web he comes from, though he’s not foolish enough to treat the primordial with anything but respect and a healthy dose of curiosity. Look inside yourself; there is strength within you, Son of Hades, which can be found nowhere else within the realm of existence. Those words remain with him in the haunting echo of their voice, mingling with the faint memory of that dreamscape unknown moment when conversation with his own flesh and blood—literally—had empowered him to move forward.

No. There’s no time to be standing here feeling sorry for himself or wondering what his own reflection thinks of the “him” within the opposite side of the mirror. Every death he dies, every failure he falls to, they cannot stop him. They will not. If there’s strength inside himself where no one else by his own resides, then he’ll rely on that to get through. Whether alone or with every Olympian god at his side, the only course is to move forward. To reach the end of this infernal Underworld, grasp the gates in his own two hands, and fling them wide open. You will not keep me here. No matter how hard it is. He may be his father’s failure, but he will not be the source of his own.]

Let’s go—

[As a stone thrown into the water makes ripples, so the mirror in front of him bubbles in radiating circles. There’s no time to think, no time to react beyond a step backwards. A shadow, a shape, a figure? Whatever it is, comes through the mirror with all the ease Zagreus himself vanishes into Chaos’ realm. Feels like the hinges of his mouth fail because he finds himself with his jaw hanging half open beneath a pair of staring, mismatched eyes. Why not? Someone just fell out of his mirror. The shock wears off quick enough, and his gaze picks out colors one after another. From the familiar cluster of mess black spikes to the burning wreath of glowing laurel leaves to the black and red chiton fastened with an unmistakable three-skulled pauldron. No way… This is a trick, right?

Until that upward motion of his head reveals the same pair of eyes looking up at him. No trick. Zagreus finds himself gazing into the same black/red white/green that he’s seen so many times before. Flashed into being in two spans of a heartbeat. Just in time for his brain to manage to climb back into his head as his ears take in that casual greeting as if this were nothing out of the ordinary. Why should it be? At the very least, his counterpart is spared any indecencies as Zagreus has luckily not gone through his latest run devoid of those crimson leggings.]

Heh. [Surprise melts into a casual smile and the prince reaches down to offer his hand to himself, bracing one burning foot behind him and bending a knee to help the inevitable rise.] Hello, me. Not quite as graceful as we normally land, but ten points for effort.

[If this is a dream… he’s going to enjoy it for as long as possible.]

Edited 2020-11-12 23:01 (UTC)

The Underworld was a cold place, quite like the Duat and yet different in a way. Their difference in their chill seemed to be from the atmosphere. The Underworld had a lot of screaming, the Duat had monsters guarding the gates to the Hall of Ma’at that tested their strength. The Duat was quite, dark and stalked by Apophis. Apophis was nothing like the Underworld guard, Cerberus was the cutest thing Anubis had ever seen. Apophis was the thing of nightmares, quite literally almost being a demon of chaos.

Anubis hated being in the Duat, mainly because Set was typically down there and Osiris thought he was never doing enough. The more he could avoid his mother too the better, and she liked to hang around the Hall of Ma’at. They still had an ongoing bet among the God and Goddesses who his father was too, and that was just awkward to listen to every time they saw him.

Although, the longer he sat here, he’s not sure being in the Underworld was any better. He was trying to get to talk to Hades, he hadn’t thought it would be that difficult, but someone had told him he was quite busy at the moment. Anubis was busy too, believe it or not, he didn’t have time to just sit around here waiting for Hades to decide he was worth speaking to. Not that he was going to cause a scene and demand the man to speak to him, but it was the principle of it all.

Maybe he should have swallowed his discomfort and gone to see Osiris, it might have gone quicker, he didn’t even get to see Cerberus when visiting today. He really just wanted to pet the Hellhound.

Breathing out a sigh he threw himself backwards and sprawled across the ground, staring up at the ceiling. He had to admit that the architect around here wasn’t that bad, though it could use less skulls. The Duat had a lot of gold and hieroglyphics and apart from the embalming room there weren't any human body parts hanging around. At least visibly anyway.

There was a sound off to the side and Anubis rolled his head in the direction of it, searching around for where it was coming from. Feet passed by, far too close to his head and Anubis sat up. Red, a lot of red, and a very leafy like headwear. Now, he’d never met Hades' son, but considering how often he attempted to run away from home he was quite certain of what he looked like.

He didn’t technically need Hades if he had the next closest thing to his blood. Would this start a war? Probably not. It wasn’t kidnapping if he got him to come along with him. Right? Right.

Climbing to his feet Anubis took off after the other. A quick few steps and he stood behind the man, catching the back end of his red chiton. Anubis wasn’t good with people. He could handle the dead, they were predictable and he interacted with them for short times. But living people? It made him uncomfortable, he tended to freeze up and fail at words.

Swallowing he looked to the others face, finding them about the same exact height. The difference was that they definitely were more built than Anubis.

He needed to find his words, Greek words. “Hello, I’m Anubis. You’re Hades son, right? Could I have a moment of your time?”

Back again. The bloody waters of the River Styx barely had time to drool off his body as Zagreus stalked out of the pool before the young prince was heading off through the House of Hades once more. Quiet this time around, since his father was probably off dealing with some of the damages Zagreus' latest escape attempt had caused. Good, gave the godling some time to lick his wounds and gear up for the next run. What's that thing Achilles said? 'Hit them hardest at their weakest?'

Well enough. He'd keep pounding against all the walls and chains of this bloody place until finally it broke before him and let him go. Not even his father could keep him here forever.

That's an interesting looking shade...

Zagreus' head twisted on his shoulders as he passed the sprawled out person, but apart from a brief, curt, but somewhat intrigued "Hello," he didn't stop. Hey, who's he to tell them to get off the floor? It's probably comfortable down there. Not that he had the time, patience, or tolerance for sleep right now.

Must be a special summon from Hades. Like Orpheus or Achilles. Oh well. He'd find a place to station in the House if that's what he's here for. Zagreus breezed past Nyx with a polite greeting and made into the purple-drenched halls leading to his bedroom. A few twists and winds to get there, but ev--

"Whoa!"

For a second, he thought his chiton snagged on something. But when he turned to pull it free... "Oh. Hello again." That same shade. The crimson fabric fell back comfortable at his side when released and the prince cocked his head to the side. "Never seen you before." He could tell him the place for talking to his father is back the way they came, but...

That swallow and look had him hold onto it for a minute.

"Anubis?" Strange name. He'd heard stranger though. "I am." Did this guy know him or something? Apparently. Zagreus glanced around and then lifted his shoulders. "I think you're having it right now. Can I help you?"

Anubis tucked his hands behind his back, gripping one of the golden bands around his left wrist with his right. He twisted it around, used it to keep himself distracted from the sinking pit in his stomach. Where was Thoth when he needed him? In the library, of course, probably already knowing and laughing at Anubis’s discomfort. The God of Knowledge had very little pity for his situation, though he was at least far too kind to tell him to ‘grow up’. Anubis was nearly as old as the universe itself and he still preferred dead bodies to living people.

What he’d give to go back to the embalming table right now.

“You can.” He confirmed, briefly glancing back in the direction he’d come from. “Your father is too busy to see me, at least that’s what everyone keeps telling me.” Which is incredibly rude if someone asked him. From one God to another you didn’t dismiss the arrival of a fellow pantheon. Even Osiris made time for someone like Zeus if they came knocking on his door.

Oh well, he couldn’t force someone to see him. He’d just have to find another way around whatever it was he needed to do. Returning his gaze to the other he inclined his head. “I need your body and blood.” Stated, like that, though as direct and truthful as it was he quickly realized was not the best way to word his situation. His lips thinned together, rethought what he needed and tried again.

Mummies couldn’t talk back. “Sorry, that didn’t come out right. I—how to explain this.” His hand squeezed the bracelet tighter and he let out a sigh. “Ammut, a chimera from the Hall of Ma’at, fell into the River of Fire and dropped into the mortal world. She got lost and I tracked her to Greece.”

Ammut was his partner in the Weighing of the Heart, when a soul failed to pass the trials their heart was consumed by her and unable to reincarnate. Without her the Hall of Ma’at couldn’t operate as it usually did. Hence, why Anubis was here trying to get assistance rather than doing his job, or rather one of his jobs.

He forced himself to let go of his bracelet to motion toward the other's body. “We’re not allowed into your temples without permission, and since it’s a temple dedicated to Hades I needed his permission—or the next closest thing. Rules and regulations are how we keep from stepping on each other and upsetting the balance.” Should Hades ever need something in Egypt, he’d have to consult Osiris.

Diplomacy.

Anubis hated it.

He takes a breath, steadies himself and looks to the others eyes. Somehow he got the feeling they didn’t actually recognize him, which was just as well. People tended to flinch away from those that could kill them with a single touch. He didn’t need the man trembling before him or throwing on flashy titles. Anubis just needed his body and his blood to get Ammut back.

“I understand if you don’t wish to help, but Ammut is very important to me. She’s never left the Duat before and she can’t actually leave the temple without assistance, she doesn’t have any abilities apart from being a devourer of souls.” She could end someone’s reincarnation cycle, but that was it. She was only a chimera, part lion and part alligator. He averted his gaze and thinned his lips. “I promise to bring you back here.”

Zagreus let his hands rest by his side in a casual stance, mismatched eyes remaining on the stranger in front of him. "That's a relief," he offered, a small jest in his voice. His father's so quick to write him off as useless, it was always a stroke to his ego when someone else said he could help. (Bit of a "up yours, father" internal chime.)

"Ah. Well, yes, Father is rather busy right now. Cleaning up one of my messes." He didn't sound at all ashamed of admitting that. "Probably won't be back for a while, considering the state I left the temple in. Guess this is my reward for that." Helping out an unknown shade since Hades couldn't. Hm... fancy that. The Underworld having problems back up because their headstrong prince wasn't getting his way. Perhaps someone should learn something. And no, not Zagreus.

"Excuse me?" Okay, that had not been anywhere on his mind as a list of possible answers. The prince's expression was a twist of incredulous insult and some piqued curiosity. "Are you sure you know who you're talking to?" He didn't normally toss his weight (status) around like that, but this was a bit rude if you asked his opinion. Unless this was an assassination attempt, which... honestly... would be an interesting change of pace.

"No. It didn't." Zagreus rested his hands on his hips instead and shifted his weight, a small gout of flame spitting up from the floor when he moved one glowing foot to brace himself better behind him. And then came the explanation. And what an explanation it was. Zagreus' slightly insulted face went from that to eyebrow-arched surprise and then some amused interest.

"Well, you're right that you definitely could've put that in much different words than your first stab. But, lucky for you, I'm already on my way out of the Underworld, so I think I could help try to find your missing companion. Never was one for rules and regulations either." As delicate as certain balances were, Zagreus'd already proven time and time again he didn't care about any of that. Bad case of tunnel vision and thickheadedness.

No, he didn't recognize this shade... er, god, actually. But Zagreus certainly wasn't afraid of him in the slightest. He'd already faced far worse things and considering his brother was Thanatos, God of Death, he'd already been around death quite a lot. Not to mention he'd been killed... lots of times already.

"So what's the plan? We just get to the temple and then I go in and escort your fine chimera out? Or is this more an I'm the key to open the door and let you gallivant into my Father's temple?" Of course, this all hinged on them being able to make it out of the Underworld itself. And that's four biomes to go through.

"You're the key." He clarifies, tugging on the bracelets on his wrist. "Your blood, anyway. See, it should break the seal on the temple that keeps others out, which while allowing me in will also let Ammut out." Although all he needed was to get inside, once he was there he could send her back to the Duat with a portal.

It didn't sound that difficult and logically it shouldn't be. All Anubis needed was to get the man there and back, all without Hades realizing Anubis stole his kid. Technically it wasn't kidnapping since he agreed to go, but he doubted Hades would simply let this slide with a wave of his hand. There was a reason the rumors kept saying his son was "trying" to break out. He didn't know Hades reasons for keeping him in the Underworld but he assumed there was one. Even if it was derived from Persephone and whatever fears he had surrounding that.

Humans died and they moved on, as the God of the Underworld he should have realized it. Anubis did, there was a reason he didn't talk with living people. More than just their fears of him. The life of a mortal was short and trying to keep it longer by trapping them somewhere—it only becomes a cage to them. Eventually even his son would break that cage, with or without Anubis' help.

"I assume we won't be taking the easy way out of here?" Which was typically a portal. Anubis could get in and out of both the Duat and the Underworld by those means. It was barely even a second thought for him, just popping around where he wanted to be. Whatever kept them in this place was no doubt going to keep Anubis from using magic on him. Chains, invisible or not, were still chains.

The only other way out through the Underworld that he knew about was the door to it. Which, if they were on the last layer, was all the way at the top. Anubis sighed at that revelation and turned his gaze to the other with a more renewed understanding. So, that explained the mess that Hades was currently cleaning up. Osiris would be angry too if Anubis was constantly killing his monsters. He didn't think he'd be fighting his way out of hell today but for Ammut, he'd do it.

"Hades should have answered his door." Anubis summoned his Crook, the long stick like object that curved at the end being as tall as him. "Can you tell me your name? I'm afraid the rest of us just know you as Hades' Son, he's not very inclined to give us any information about you." There was actually a debate on if he was real or not.

"First time I'll be a key instead of a battering ram," Zagreus chuckles. "If you just need my blood, there's gallons of it all over the Underworld. But I'm guessing that's not quite going to help you." He even gestures around them, like he can indicate the entire realm, even though he's simply making hand motions at the walls.

Still, a thought occurs to him. While he's not really concerned with throwing the Underworld into chaos by trying to break out of it---and technically that chaos is all his father's fault for not simply letting him walk out of this place instead of throwing everything he could to keep his son in---he's not been to the surface enough to know the ramifications of messing things up there...

"You said breaking the seal. I'm not sure where you're from, but here seals are meant to keep people out. Or keep people in." Zagreus' eyes narrow and he focuses them on to man in front of him. "So if you need me to let you into my father's temple, how is it your friend got stuck in there already?" He folds his arms over his stomach and leans against the wall beside him, one flaming foot propped up on the surface. "She couldn't have gotten in without my father. Or me."

Zagreus could be pretty stupid sometimes and he's not denying that. But there are instances when he's sharp enough to question if someone's trying to use him for something nefarious.

And yes, the portal thing wasn't going to happen, since otherwise, Thanatos could have easily teleported Zagreus out of the Underworld long ago. There's a reason he, as well as Nyx and the other gods, do not do so.

He watches the other man bring into being a staff of sorts, a hooked end similar to a glaive, but without the blade. It's pretty clear to him that the other god is planning on fighting his way out of the Underworld as well. Strange... considering he could teleport himself out and just wait for Zagreus to slog his way through the denizens of hell. It's that very notion that brings some respect and interest to the scrutinizing gaze.

"Zagreus. Prince of the Underworld."

And to spite his father a bit more by getting his name out there into the world.

“I think you have the wrong image of what Ammut is.” Anubis frowned and then using his staff attempted to describe it here. “See, Ammut is an animal. About knee height and five feet long? She has the mouth of a crocodile, the front half of a lion and then the back of a hippopotamus. She’s very cute.”

Ammut was a bit strange to most people, they weren’t sure what to think of her, but Anubis saw her as a puppy. “As I said Ammut isn’t a Goddess, she’s more or less just an animal.” An animal with a unique ability, but an animal. “Seals don’t keep squirrels out, do they? Or the morals that wander in. It’s just to keep other Gods out from interfering with their place of worship.” Which, Ammut didn’t fall under the category of. The only threat she served was to other people’s hearts.

Zagreus, it was quite an interesting name. He definitely thought he was going to have a hard time pronouncing it with his accent. He’d try that later when it didn’t look like he was going to humiliate himself for butchering it. They had a long enough amount of time together and he could figure out how to say it before doing that.

“As I said I’m Anubis, I’ll help you get out of here in exchange for you helping me to rescue Ammut. Hopefully the Mortals don’t discover her before we get there.” The Temple seemed mostly abandoned, like the Pyramids of Egypt no one went wandering around in them. He hoped that was going to work for his favor, or at the very least if someone did go in there Ammut would hide.

“Is there anything I need to know? Have you actually managed to get close enough in leaving?” He’d like to have a general idea of what he was going to find in the other layers of the Underworld. This was the furthest he had gone and even then it was such a short amount of time. Hades wasn’t someone he held prolonged conversations with, he reminded him far too much of Osiris.

"I was waiting for that..." Zagreus' voice dropped to something sarcastic, but he wasn't lying. Anubis had an interesting way of breaching topics and introducing things, so he was probably going to be having some clarifications popping up every now and then. "Okay... I think I saw a lion on a plate somewhere... but I have no idea what those other two are." This guy has never been to the surface world. The only knowledge he had of the animals and creatures up there are what came to him from stories told to him by his family members or the occasional piece of artwork that made its way down into Hades on vases or jewelry.

"Can't say that sounds like something I'd call cute, but you do you, mate." At least the temple thing was cleared up. Anubis wasn't wrong about those seals probably not keeping out animals. Again, Zagreus had heard of his father's temples and both their uses and protections, but he'd never been up there to see one, much less visit one close enough to walk into it. "What's a squirrel?" Ah yes, another attempt to relate to someone who... can't relate.

"Anubis." He tried the name out on his tongue again. Their accents didn't match each other's at all, so his pronunciation was just as weird as the other god's. "I'll try to help you if I can, mate. That's all I can promise from here." He didn't know what would happen once he got to the surface. Thanatos said it was blinding and freezing. He wouldn't be much use to Anubis if he couldn't see or move.

"I've never been out of the Gates of Hades yet, but I've come close to killing my father. Particularly last time." Zagreus pushed off the wall and let his arms drop to his side. "There are four biomes down here. Tartarus, Asphodel, Elysium, and the Temple of Styx. We'll have to get through all four to reach the gates out of here." The young prince headed off towards his room, expecting Anubis to follow. "You should know, if I get killed out there, I'll start over again from here."

Zagreus turned to look at Anubis as he walked backwards. "So if you can portal or teleport or something, you're better off just going and waiting for me. I mean, of course I'd appreciate the help and company, but that'd be risking yourself a lot for me. Can't ask you to do that." Plus Hades would be furious if he discovered another god was helping his son escape.

(And one from another pantheon; that's just asking for a cross-pantheon war, you know...)

"Hades tried to physically stop you from leaving?" Anubis leaned against his Crook, frowning at the other. That was the first time he heard of that, first time he heard of Hades trying to stop anyone from leaving the Underworld by his own skill. He wondered why it mattered so much that Zagreus didn't leave the Underworld. Anubis left the Duat all the time, ran tasks on the mortal world, returned home and did his job there too. He didn't find the mortal realm that interesting and he definitely didn't consider it dangerous enough to tell other young gods or demigods (whatever he was) to stay away from it.

"I wonder why he's so bound and determined to keep you here. Granted you won't blend in very well among the humans but that can always be fixed with the right glamour. Even if you can't cast it yourself others can for you. I could do it for example. It's not the most fascinating place, humans die easily and most the time they seem unhappy but that's not a reason to trap you down here too. Besides, doesn't it keep you from Mount Olympus?" He frowned and glanced to the ground. "I'd avoid that place more than the mortal realm."

Following after the other into his bedroom Anubis glanced briefly to the mirror before filtering around. He touched the books, the chest of clothing, and peeked over at his bed. It wasn't that messy, Anubis' own bedroom was in a much more chaotic state. In his defense though he was barely in his room long enough to so much as sleep let alone clean it.

"So you die and start over. But you cause just enough carnage in between to drive your father insane. Osiris would be proud." He turned back around and looked at Zagreus. "And to explain to someone who doesn't realize Gods outside the Greeks exist, Osiris is essentially a different version of Hades for a different afterlife. He's also my father." Just don't ask Osiris directly if he is, the God will deny it until both their deaths.

"I can help you, I can do it without being caught. You just might be on your own at certain intervals if someone who might recognize me shows up. You've failed how many times?" Anubis shook his head and looked away. He couldn't risk sitting around up there and not having the other show because he can't get out. It would make more sense to just wait here until he could get Hades to agree to help him. If Zagreus hadn't gotten out so far, what were the chances he'd manage now? If Anubis didn't get caught, he'd be fine.

"He always does," Zagreus replied, the flippant sarcasm tinged in annoyed bitterness. "You'd think he'd have more important things to do than stop me from going out a door, but apparently I'm important enough the dead can wait. Must have short lines or something." Yeah right. He knew well enough his excursions created huge problems for his father's systematic arrangement of the Underworld order, but to hell if he cared. It didn't stop him from powering forward even still. Once more. Do it again. Over and over until he finally got out. After all, chaos or not, what everyone here in the Underworld had was time. And plenty of it. The "why" in all this? Well... that's something Zagreus was trying to find out too.

"It has something to do with my mother. Why she left. Beyond that, I'm going to find out." Zagreus stopped in his bedroom, a messy and cluttered area that looked both rather rich and basically like a teenager's room. Piles of items he didn't use, a clear floor because he shoved everything to the sides, a desk, a bed, a massive mirror of darkness and amethyst-like stones that dominated one wall. The place was little more than a stopway point for him now. A momentary respite to reflect and recharge before heading back out into the Underworld. "I'm not worried about what mortals think of me. They might not even be able to see me for all I know."

Zagreus shrugged at the question. "I've never been to Mount Olympus so I can't really judge it for myself. Depends on who you ask, I guess." A lot of the Chthonic gods had little kind or interested to say about the Olympic gods and vice versa, but Zagreus wasn't sure if it was ignorance or bad blood that prompted those opinions.

"That sounds about right," the young prince chuckled, running his hand through his hair. "Well, at least someone would be proud of my accomplishments. Asides from Achilles." Even though his mentor always praised him with caution. He rested his hands on his hips as he faced Anubis, arching a brow when he explained Osiris. "So Osiris is God of the Dead in your group. Huh... and he lets you go as you please. I might be a little jealous." Mostly in jest, but some truth to that.

As for the offer of help juxtaposed with his failures, Zagreus went from interested to miffed. Great. Show off his errors. Well, no sense in denying his improvements that came with his losses. He headed to a gray stone basic beside his bed and looked into the blue waters within. "27 times. But I've got a good feeling about this one." Especially if Anubis was going to help him. "I'm fine on my own, so whatever assistance you can give me will be great."

"Not—quite." Anubis replied, hesitating over his choice of words. "Our Underworld works differently. People don't just pass through like here, we have a systems that judges if they're worthy of reincarnation. The underworld for us is called the Duat, and the system is called the Weighing of Hearts." Those that were not worthy of reincarnation were consumed by Ammut, which was what currently made functionings of the Duat pause. With half the system missing they couldn't hold the Weighing of Heart. Not that Anubis cared that much about it, he was more worried for Ammut. He didn't want his friend being found by the mortals and who knows what done to her.

Anubis turned to face the Prince and motioned toward himself. "I am the God of Death for my pantheon. Osiris is the Lord of the Duat and Judge of the Dead. My mother is the Goddess of Mourning."

He had a lot more titles than that but that was the one most people cared about. It was truly all that he cared about to tell others. After all, most people didn’t want to talk about the process of Mummification even if it was one of Anubis’ favorite things to explain. That was probably weird to other people, he could understand that. According to Thoth most people would rather discuss the weather or their favorite food, not the consistency of a brain when it’s yanked out through someone’s nose.

He shifts awkwardly, uncomfortably, and tugs on his bracelets again. “I—one of my abilities is called the ‘Army of Anubis’? It—it allows me to summon the dead, skeleton soldiers and mummies that can fight for me. In the Underworld such a thing is rather common, not the mummies obviously but skeleton soldiers are. It won’t be weird if they fight, Hades would be none the wiser.”

Averting his gaze from the other he pressed his lips together tightly and consider his words closely. “Healing is not one of my specialties, I’m the God of the Dead after all. But I once revived Osiris and—“ he bit the inside of his cheek and spoke the next words quickly, “recreated him a penis after my mother ripped it off.” That was a thing, it was in the legends, etched onto walls in hieroglyphics, he wished he could remove those memories. “But I can try to heal you at least once while you fight your way through. It might give you the edge you need.”

Zagreus pulled one arm across his chest and tugged at his shoulder, stretching the muscle a few times before repeating it with the other one. Limbering up for the next run while he listened to Anubis talk. "So... people leave your underworld?" That's what he got out of the whole reincarnation bit. The idea of the shades down here getting to go back up to the surface and live another life was pretty strange. How did "new" people get created then if everyone was just getting recycled? It was confusing to him and he didn't really try to focus on it much more than that. Dropping his arms, Zagreus headed for the large mirror on the other side of the room.

He found himself gazing into th depths, but had to look over his shoulder to see Anubis again, since the mirror didn't do much in the way of reflecting. Well, physical reflection. Wasn't that kind of mirror. "I see. Sounds like you've got quite the family tree." He'd never heard of a Goddess of Mourning in either the Underworld or the Olympians, but then again, he didn't know a vast majority of his extended family, so who was to say she wasn't out there somewhere? As Anubis trailed off to his own thoughts, Zagreus returned his focus on the Mirror of Night. With the Darkness he collected in that last run, there should be something in here he could bolster for the next one.

It took a while, but finally he broke from the trance, a soft purple pulse radiating off his body, and then it was done. Stepping away, Zagreus headed to his desk for a quick check in, listening to Anubis explain again. "Are you sure you can summon your dead into ours? You said the Duat and the Underworld aren't the same." Which was a little strange to get his head around, but it made some sense. Even if it meant there was some larger clashing between different pantheons all carving out pieces of life, mortals, and death. If Anubis was trying to assist him without getting noticed, Zagreus wasn't sure ripping open small inter-afterlife portals was a good way of doing that. "Unless you want to try and control some of shades down here. There's plenty of monsters and wretches getting in my way." Zagreus appreciated the offer to help, but he was getting the idea Anubis hadn't really understood how things worked in Hades before jumping in.

Not that he was one to talk about running headlong into something without taking the time to understand it. That was common for him.

The next bit got a blink and Zagreus' expression went from surprised to mildly disgusted to kind of amused. "I... well... okay. That's pretty specific." He rubbed the back of his head, chuckling a little awkwardly. "I don't think you'll have to recreate mine or anything. Can't say it's ever been ripped off though..." He didn't want to put that to the test either. Still, the offer of healing got a grin and Zagreus nodded in agreement. "Hey, I can revive myself three times out there before falling. If you want to make it four, that's one of the best things you could do!"

“Of course, it’s not positional. I can summon the dead in the mortal word too. Though I suppose I could try to manipulate the dead of your world. That could be interesting, shouldn’t be difficult either. The dead respond to us regardless of their pantheon. There are after all of course those that don’t believe in any religion, and just like everyone else they must go somewhere after death.” Manipulating them too would make it even harder for Osiris to tell if he was involved. The magic used to do that was far less than cross summoning warriors from the Duat.

At the same time it would keep him out of the line of fire too. Turning the monsters on each other would open up room for Zagreus to fight the other ones, making the fight upward easier. It was a fairly good plan, he just wondered how many times they were going to lose before they finally managed to win. He wasn’t naive, it wasn’t going to be as easy as they thought. Even with his help fighting through the Underworld wasn’t even something Anubis would do. There was a reason people didn’t get out of here, after all. If it wasn’t because of Cerberus it was because of Hades himself. He wasn’t one to be taken lightly.

Anubis didn’t doubt Zagreus or his own abilities, he just understood the lengths that Hades goes to protect the Underworld, they do the same for the Duat. He was intimately familiar with how these things went.

“I do appreciate you being willing to help me save Ammut.” Standing up straighter he tucked his hand behind his back, holding the crook in both of them. “If there is anything else that I can do for you I will try my best. Though the limit of what I’ll be able to do will depend on how easy it would be for Hades to detect me. I’m sure he already knows I’m here, as long as his—workers informed him that I was here.” He glanced briefly to the side, where the door to the God’s office was.

He would be informing Zeus of the man's reluctance to help me. It doesn’t reflect well on the Underworld or the Greek Gods in general to ignore the dire need of the Egyptian’s. The Duat doesn’t run without Ammut, which affects the balance of the world overall. No one wants that, especially the Fates. He returns his gaze to the Prince and inclines his head. “Are you curious about anything? I can try to answer some of your questions, it might be better to know what you’ll be waking into up there.” It would also give him a way to talk to the other without feeling uncomfortable.

"Oh! That's rather helpful then. Don't suppose that's entirely smiled upon, but I'm not turning it down. This place could use some shake up." Even beyond what he's putting all the Underworld through. Why not summon the dead as well? The keyword here was 'try' but he had a feeling Anubis wouldn't be too hardpressed to make it happen. While he wasn't completely sure those words were true, the between pantheon dead manipulation, it wasn't like he had any arguments against it. (He'd have to ask Thanatos. Maybe they'd run into him out there?)

Redirecting the shades and monsters to fight each other would definitely be a really big help on his way out! The less attention on him, the easier to sneak attack or simply slip by and avoid battle if at all possible. Besides, in this place where fighting and violence among the more unruly of the denizens, was it really such a stir to see a bunch of them attack each other? Well, maybe, considering most of them went after him but whatever. It was a better plan regardless.

As for how many times it would take them... Zagreus had no way of knowing, but he didn't care. As many times as it takes. That was his answer to that question. No matter what or who stood in his way, he was getting out of this place and finding his mother. And apparently a strange Egyptian chimera friend as well, so there's that.

"You're helping me escape; it's the least I can do," Zagreus offered. "There's someone I have to find up there as well." He didn't even know where to start looking for his mother, but would it really hurt to start at one of Hades' temples? One place was as good as another as long as he started somewhere and didn't get overwhelmed with the scope of his search. "If Father already knows you're here, then I don't think you'll be hiding much from him. He's usually watching me during my escapes anyways. If you can go invisible, you might want to." How else did the god know when Zagreus was breaking into his treasure chests and where to sic an extra set of difficult monsters on him?

The young god merely shrugged at the notion of "reflecting well" when it came to his family. "I don't think that matters much. I never even knew your pantheon existed until now." Who knew how many others were aware. "Besides, my father's never been one to help outside the Underworld. He refuses to even talk to my Uncle, so why would he care to help you?" Zagreus was aware of balances, but nothing detailed about it except for certain people wanting to keep "balance" going. Wasn't his problem right now. As for questions...

"Depends on what you can tell me about the world up there. I've never been."

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Zagreus and Zagreus ~ Me and Myself ~ (for deathdefiance)

crawls out the river of death........

a towel and helping hand for thee~

Anubis | Egyptian God of the Dead

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