Chapter Text
Locating his mother turned out to be more of an issue than previously thought.
He had no idea if it had anything to do with the current situation, but she wasn’t in any of the halls, and Thanatos already knew that there was slim chance for her to be in the lounge. Hades, as well, he wasn’t anywhere to be found.
He would be more willing to wait for them to return if Hypnos wasn’t currently looking as if he was about to lose his mind from stress. Megaera as well, she was far less blatant than Hypnos was, but Thanatos could still tell that she was more concerned than she let on. It was difficult to keep a level head, and Thanatos found himself struggling as well.
It wasn’t everyday that Zagreus was actually afflicted by something. He bounced back every time something happened to him, this was just, well, unusual.
Something about the way Zagreus’s face fell slack, how he was entirely unresponsive, was uncomfortable. Thanatos wasn’t a fan.
“Do you think Achilles might know how to fix it?” Hypnos asked, still worrying the quill between his fingers, small blotches of ink beginning to stain the pads of his fingers. Thanatos paused, mulling it over in his head for a brief moment as Megaera spoke, crossing her arms over her chest in a near-defensive way.
“It can’t do any harm to ask him if he’s familiar with this.” The rasp of her voice was comforting, at least. Dry and familiar enough that it managed to soothe the worst of their unruffled feathers.
Thanatos sighed, letting out a breath that did nothing to ease his worries. “Perhaps it’s an overworld affliction. I wouldn’t put it past Zagreus to have gotten himself in some sort of mess with the denizens of Elysium. They may have done something to him that we’re unfamiliar with.”
Megaera made a noise deep in the back of her throat, neither an approval nor a denial, just to acknowledge his words. It was Hypnos that spoke, his fidgeting growing more idle as he calmed down. “It must be something new, then, if this hasn’t been an issue before.” There wasn’t much they could say to that, and with Megaera’s frustrated grimace, it was clear that she was annoyed by it.
“Well, it’s best we go find him, then.” He said, turning to give Zagreus another look, some part of him disliking the idea of leaving him again, even if only to find Achilles. An idle thought crossed his mind before they started out again, and he spoke once more, having to hide the grimace that threatened to come out. “Let’s attempt to avoid Cerberus, the poor dog can’t handle any more stress in regards to the prince.”
He knew Megaera quite liked the lounge, it would be a shame if the grieving beast tore it up in his sorrow.
She let out a low grumble and Thanatos could understand.
The walk to Achilles’s alcove didn’t take too long, and the shade gave them a pleasant, if guarded, smile when they caught his eye. Thanatos could imagine that it would be a bit intimidating to see the three of them walk up, and he had to give him credit where it was due.
“Achilles,” he began with a short nod, the shade giving him another smile, this one a bit more genuine than the last.
“Hello, lad, is there something the matter? It isn’t everyday that you three wish to speak with me, let alone at the same time.” Right to the point, Thanatos could respect that.
“It involves Zagreus.” He said, Achilles’s eyes widening just a bit, an air of concern to him now as he gripped his lance a bit tighter in his hands.
Hypnos made a small sound behind him, and Thanatos resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This was serious, he couldn’t let his brother’s antics distract him. Achilles spoke, this time lower, more serious, quiet enough that Cerberus was unable to hear. “Is there something the matter with the prince? The lad hasn’t been around for the past few days, but I had assumed-“ Achilles trailed off, finishing his sentence with a slight hand gesture, and Thanatos sighed again, feeling the effects of his age all at once.
He could tell already that talking about this would not become easier with time.
“It seems as if he’s become afflicted with something. We were curious as to whether or not you would be able to tell what the issue is.”
Achilles gave him a grave look, face serious as he answered. “Lead the way, then, lad. Let’s take a look. Hopefully it isn’t anything too concerning.” Well, Thanatos didn’t have much hope left at this point, it seemed as if this issue was only going to spiral further. He nodded, though, polite, shifting and gesturing for Hypnos and Megaera to lead the way back to Zagreus’s chambers.
One of Cerberus’s heads made a small noise as they passed, a gentle snort that was muffled partially by the new pillow Zagreus had recently purchased for him, and Thanatos’s chest felt tight, for a moment.
He exhaled, the lump in his throat refusing to go down, and felt little relief when they made it back to Zagreus’s room, the reminder of why they were all concerned was still laying in his bed, unmoving.
He would never grow more used to that, it just wasn’t normal.
Achilles made a soft noise, of wonder more than anything, and Thanatos watched closely as the shade walked up to Zagreus, movements gentle, as if worried that he may startle the sleeping prince. “He’s asleep?” Achilles asked, voice hushed, and Thanatos resisted the urge to roll his eyes. They’d been over this before.
“It’s an unnatural sleep,” he said, at the same time Hypnos spoke, sounding the smallest bit hysterical.
“He’s not waking up, I can’t wake him up.”
He supposed that it would be upsetting to Hypnos, more so than normal. Thanatos didn’t want to imagine how it must feel for Zagreus to be afflicted by something of his element and him being unable to do anything.
At least, when he died, there were no issues, and Thanatos was able to take care of it easily enough. If Zagreus stayed permanently dead- he didn’t even want to consider that.
“How interesting,” Achilles breathed, sidling up to the side of Zagreus’s bed, looking closer at the prince’s face, as if investigating him. An exhale left Zagreus, louder this time, and Thanatos felt Megaera stiffen from where she was standing next to him. The moment passed, though, Zagreus remaining asleep as Achilles began speaking again.
“Where did you all find him? Surely the lad hasn’t been in his quarters this entire time.”
Thanatos spoke, trying to wrack his mind for any sort of important detail that may allow Achilles to come up with a new solution. “Elysium. He was found in Elysium. It was as if he’d just collapsed where he stood, his sword was lying on the ground next to him.” That earned him another sound, the shade looking thoughtful as he shifted the grip on his lance.
Zagreus was as silent as ever, the awkward pause in between them all seeming all the more apparent as he wasn’t there to fill the silence with some inane comment.
Hypnos babbled after a moment of it, apparently feeling the same awkwardness that Thanatos did. “He’s not dreaming, I mean, who doesn’t dream during a natural-seeming sleep? I’ve tried everything to wake him up, but nothing works! Thanatos even tried offing him to see if that worked, and it did nothing!”
He didn’t ignore the way Megaera stiffened at that, and he knew she would be having words with him later. She had an entire thing about Zagreus only being a good victim because of how dogged he was in his attempts to try again.
It felt like cheating to do anything when he was entirely unable of responding beyond breathing.
Achilles made a noise, thoughtful, bringing his free hand up to his chin as he peered down at Zagreus’s form. The crackling of his laurels was the only sound between them all for a moment, before Achilles began again. “You say not even two Gods are able to bring him back to awareness?” It wasn’t any sort of jab against them, but that didn’t stop it from feeling as if it was.
“No,” Thanatos said, having to try to keep the bite from his voice.
Achilles, was uncaring, allowing him his moment of anger. “Perhaps, then, would it be possible that this is due to the interference of another God?” His voice was gentle, a soft prompt in the correct direction, and Thanatos felt as if he’d been slapped across the face. The mood in the room shifted at that, turning dark. He stared down at Zagreus, at how he seemed entirely peaceful, but lost from them at the same time. Another God having done this- “I’m only suggesting because it seems a bit odd that two Gods and a fury are unable to rouse the prince by themselves. It’s, well, unusual, I suppose. Especially you, Thanatos, you’re especially thorough. I don’t believe I can remember a time when you were out-tricked by someone that wasn’t of Godly origin.”
He could. Sisyphus’s trickery still stung, despite being a long age ago.
But that wasn’t the issue here, Achilles did have a point.
“Chthonic or Olympian?” Megaera asked, after a moment, her voice seeming almost, uneasy?
Achilles sighed and shifted away from the prince’s bedside, allowing Hypnos the space to flutter over there and anxiously hover. “I have no theories as to who it may be.” His voice was low and comforting, despite being entirely devastating. “He was found in Elysium, so there’s a chance it may be Chthonic. However, the lad has been getting aid from the Olympians. It’s not impossible that perhaps they may have had a hand in this all.”
Thanatos loathed the sound of that. The Olympians were notoriously difficult. He almost hoped for the betrayal of it being a Chthonic deity, at least then they would all be able to get a hand on them and wring a cure from them.
“Do you have any idea where lady Nyx is?” Megaera asked, furthering Achilles along, allowing them scarce time to absorb the new information.
Achilles hummed, the sound of it comforting despite everything occurring right now. “Not right now, no. Her and the lord seem to be out right now. They’ve left Cerberus here, from what you could see, so I presume that they will be back shortly.” Hypnos leaned down to adjust the folds of Zagreus’s duvet, and Achilles carried on. “There’s a chance they may already know what has occurred, and be attempting to fix it. It would be beneficial to check in with them once they return.”
The wording of that was extremely careful, and Thanatos couldn’t help but have respect for it. Of course Achilles wouldn’t want any sort of direct involvement to be traced to him. Shades could very much be banished, thrown to Tartarus if they angered Hades enough. It was far harder to do that to them. Hades would, at the very least, expect pushback from that.
“Let’s wait, then.” Thanatos said, ignoring the steadily increasing guilt of having abandoned his post for this long.
He could already hear the souls wailing above but, well, they were going to have to wait for a few moments.
The son of Hades apparently having been afflicted by some sort of God-based illness was an issue that demanded the utmost attention, and Thanatos would give it that. Not to mention, well, it was his friend there, unresponsive on his bed. He would allow himself this moment of selfishness.