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[getthehellouttahell]

"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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[getthehellouttahell]

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.

[inuthings]

"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.

[getthehellouttahell]

"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.

[inuthings]

“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.

[getthehellouttahell]

"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...)

[inuthings]

"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.

[getthehellouttahell]

"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."

[inuthings]

"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.”

[getthehellouttahell]

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!"

[inuthings]

“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.

[getthehellouttahell]

"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."