Archive of Our Own

“Alright, one more time.”

Landing on the cool tiles of Taturus's chambers, Prince Zagreus steadied himself for another escape attempt.

The green orb lit his hand as he grabbed one of Artemis' boons. She spoke again of getting him out and taking him hunting on the surface. Hunt for what he didn’t know, he only knew of and hunted the shades, bloodless, soulless- Whatever forces his father has down here to get in his way.

They’re all dead already, Zagreus has never killed something alive. Unless the Vermin in the Styx’s sprawling tombs count, but he killed so many of them, they were a pest there. He was doing them a favour really.

However hunting for sport or just “for the hunt” as Artemis puts it, seems different. 

Plunging the blade into the final numbskull the chamber door unlocked and revealed the next prize awaiting him. A couple of obols. Same old.

. . . 

Zagreus probably knew the layout of every chamber in Tartarus despite their ever-changing locations in his attempts. Same dingy green and black walls smelling of sulphur, the spike traps, the random walls, vases of nothing, the occasional well to buy things or purge other boons and the treasure troves.

He wants to- no needs to get out of here. To mother. He’s gotten as far as the Styx and to his Father at the snow-covered mountain tops of the outside. It’s cold out there. Colder than down here, surprisingly. Lady Demeter works no less. But it’s different and that’s something he needs to feel again- the way his lungs burned breathing in the air? He needed that feeling.

Chambers flew by as he hacked his way through. More boons, more upgrades, more things for home, hunting and gathering.

The chamber before Taturus's exit, holds the good of Charon. He hisses at Zagreus in acknowledgement. Zagreus picks up one more Artemis boon and opens the chamber door, under his breath he makes a prediction.

“Let’s say, Meg?”

The final dungeon comes clear; the walls are a brighter green mixed with a pale yellow this time. The walls and pillars loom over the prince, the flames lick the walls and there floating in the centre of the room is the Fury, Tisiphone.

“Oh well.”

She hisses and screams out “ Mmmmuurr arrrgg, murderer!!” Spit flies out of her mouth, black eyes and green pupils, The Fury stares him down. Achilles' codex entry was certainly right. She is terrifying.

“Tisiphone look, I know I haven’t murdered anyone. Can you really not say anything else?”

This prompted the pale green-skinned fury to spin around, and the band of her whip snapped. Landing on the ground she sprung herself onto the prince.

Doding out of the way, Zagreus sent out his casts making direct hits with the fury she shrieked at each contact thanks to the power of Ares. Then he rushed in again to get in hits on Tisiphone with his blade. After taking a couple of hits, a blast sent Zagreus backwards colliding with a pillar; the room goes dark as Tisiphone spins.

His vision becomes clear again and the chamber has gotten smaller. A neat trick Zagreus admits, being a punisher, having the room get smaller for shades makes Tisiphone's job much easier.

“Murr, derr, urrr!!!”

The Furies don’t bleed red like Zagreus does. It's always the same gold ichor that appears for the other chthonic dwellers as well. It is often mixed with the green orbs Tisiphone fires out. She slid to a corner of the chamber firing them in a circular pattern. If Zagreus had Athena's deflect he would send them right back at her, but he didn’t, he dashed where he could, taking in the unavoidable small hits here and there.

Tisiphone spun her whip and cracked it around the chamber.

Now that one hurts.

All three of them own one and each one hurts as much as the other, it’s a sprint to the other side of the chamber. Tisiphone spins once more. The chamber gets even smaller.

“MurdereRRR!!”

Zagreus doesn’t find the fight hard per se, but this time round, Zagreus's mind is focused on other things, the same thing about the idea of hunting. Tisiphone is a punisher, yes, she targets only the shades who have committed, well... Murder. It’s the way this job affects her that chills Zag.

Meg says that she hardly talks to her sisters, the other two being more unstable. Their job is their life, it’s what they do, it’s why they’re not permitted back at the house.

Are there mortals like that on the surface? Who are so devout in killing that's why, when they die, they get sent down here, to be punished? Is that what hunting is like?

With more hits with his blade and his breath heavy, Tisiphone spins one last time, the chamber gets even smaller just the small square in the centre now the rest of it has been blocked off.

One final round of casts is sent out and slashes with Stygius and the Fury is gone.

“Mmmuurrr?!”

She disappears in a flourish of green bats. Zagreus is left catching his breath.

It’s no time to stop though, Titans blood remains in her place, he claims it and leaves the chamber swiftly.

In the next chamber, he can collect himself, heal, look at Charon's well and is gone, no witty remark from his father this time round.

. . . 

Asphodel is very warm. Too warm. The heat from the flooded Phlegethon greets Zagreus as he hops on the small platform to be sent to the next hellish landscape. The skull and bones underneath him stirred no reaction from the prince, he often looked at the magma filling their sockets then washed away.

Though very grim when he remembers that these are the skeletons of those sent here, not great enough to be in Elysium but not bad enough to be in Tartarus. Just average people. Sent here to deal with all the heat? The river floods so often that he’s never even seen it normally. It must be horrible.

Despite his flaming feet he still burns if he doesn't tread lightly, so he often aims to get out of Asphodel as soon as possible. One boon from Hermes helps him along.

The Bone Hydra awaits him at the end chamber. He’d been considering giving it a nickname from how much they see each other. Still, nothing comes to mind so he greets the Hydra.

“Hiss once if I should slaughter you and your many heads!”

The Hydra hisses. Zagreus smirks and plunges in.

If the Hydra was just one head, Zagreus would be done easily, but with the added heads and their many abilities, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with attacks and casts.

And the unavoidable.

With his back turned, a Hydra head launches a flurry of attacks his way, they collide with his body as he feels his health deteriorate. He flings into the air with a death defiance now used and wasted. He sucks in a breath.

“Blast! Don’t you dare!”

He swings his blade down and the head shatters.

With the main head vulnerable Zagreus goes in for the kill, he plunges the sword between its eye sockets, it shrills and shrivels into burnt ashes.

“Till your heads reconstitute Bone Hydra!”

A diamond is the prize for the Hydra, the light from the maga could almost make the diamond a decorative piece. Zagreus carries on, and Elysium's exalted warriors are waiting for him.

. . . 

The cooler air is always a welcome change for Zagreus. An eternal paradise for those who got given a good lot, or did great achievements. Far too boastful and arrogant. They are stuck here to fight each other as it's all they know.

Zagreus looks at the valley with a sigh. He’s not feeling it this time round. Might as well consider it a warm-up, whatever. However many tries it takes to meet his mother. The grand gates open as Zagreus opts for a Pom of power as his reward.


-GA GONG!-


“Than?”

Zagreus knows that sound anywhere, the area lit up with a green hue and floating a few feet from the prince is Thanatos.

“You called?” The grey-haired boy stares down at him, scythe in hand.

"Not necessarily but you know I like running into you.” Zagreus smirked.

“That I do know yes. Hurry up though, let’s get this over with.”

That’s what the boys did, they had little contests, if Zag got more kills Than would give him more health, if Than won, Zag got nothing but some conversation.

Which he isn’t complaining about. He likes talking to Thanatos.

It’s easy to tell where Thanatos attacks, large purple auras and banter like “You.” or “Death is inevitable.” It’s endearing, he’s never asked Than if he says them to mortals on the surface out of Than's possible embarrassment. He should one day, just to tease.

“I’ll send you to the lowest depths.” Another champion disappears in a puff of purple.

Zagreus slices down another. “I shall also do that!” A scoff from Than and Zagreus chuckles.

They’re done soon after, 11-10. Close call on Zag's end but he got the last hit on the remaining soul. It’s fair game, he won.

“Just barely scraped by there, Zagreus. Are you getting slow? That’s not like you.” Floating next to the prince, Thanatos planted his feet on the grass. His greyish-brown skin against the princes in the fauna makes them both stand out.

“Ha! Barely Than! I’m taking this run as a warmup anyway.” Zagreus holds the pomegranate from the chamber reward in his hand tossing it into the air.

Raising his eyebrows, Thanatos procures a centaur heart, which floats between the two boys, Zagreus stabs his sword into the ground and claims the heart his chest lights up for a moment, and he sighs his expression quizzical then downcast.

“Mm, I know these are just centaur hearts but, don’t you feel bad knowing that they've been collected from them, probably after they died? It’s unsettling is it not?” His hand rests on his chest as if trying to feel its pulse.

“Not really no, everything has its purpose Zagreus.”

“I suppose, I don’t know just this time around I've been thinking about things. Guess life has been seeming a little more sacred.”

Thanatos looked at Zagreus with a softer expression, hands folded across himself.

“We’re gods Zag, any one of us can die, be thankful that we can come back. Mortals live their lives knowing that once they die it’s permanent. I guess that’s why they try to fill it with experiences. Ones that get them killed no less, but they’ve only got one chance.”

“And we’ve got all the time in the world.” The prince still looks sombre but he nods his head in agreement.

“That we do.”

Zagreus has no response to this, Thanatos looks at the pomegranate in his hands.

“Zag, take a bite of that, won't you? It’s not like you  to wait so long to indulge yourself in its sweetness.”

That brought Zagrerus back, the red fruit fit perfectly in his hands, Thanatos looked at him with a blank expression. Zagreus questioned this, normally Thanatos would have left, gone to collect more mortals. He stayed, however, maintaining eye contact with him.

“This.. is awkward you know Than.”

“I’m aware.”

“Oh well then uh-” Zagreus didn’t know that one needs to open the pomegranate to eat it properly. It’s like an apple right? You just bite into it, that's how he did it and how he did it in front of golden-eyed Thanatos.

The fruit is sweet and its juice runs down Zagreus's face, he eventually forgets Thanatos is staring at him and devours the pomegranate. Each of its seeds tart in flavour and he feels one of his boons charge up with each seed. Pom of power alright. It’s almost criminal to make fruits like these.

He finishes the pomegranate and tosses the inedible parts to the side. Thanatos is looking at him amused, Zagreus follows his eyes as they scan his mouth and neck.

“You’ve got it all over yourself, Zagreus.” Thanatos takes a step towards him, unfolding his arms.

“And you find it funny?” Zagreus moves a hand to whip away at the leftover juice. Thanatos interjects one of his hands and grabs Zagreus pulling it down and pulling him closer. “Oh.”

“You could say that..” Thanatos paused for a moment before continuing, “May I?” His voice is softer than before Zagreus feels his face heat, words getting stuck in his throat.

Slightly unsure of what Thanatos is planning to do, but still here for whatever it is, he runs his thumb along the back of death's cold hands and nods managing to speak in a low hush, “Well, sure.”

There's no response for Thanatos as the boy leans into Zagreus and kisses him next to his lips, he feels the boy lick up the juice. Zagreus wasn’t expecting this but it isn’t unwelcome, he closes his eyes and lets it happen.

He feels Thanatos shift his hands, one to his exposed shoulder, and the other to the back of his head. Thanatos moves Zagreue's head to the side, pressing kisses and his tongue down. Zagreus shudders at the feeling, he exhales heavily.

Thanatos' hands are cold but with lips feel warm and comforting, Zagreus stands for a while longer, lapping up death's embrace before pushing him away.

“I think you uh, got it all Thanatos.”

Thanatos nods, he covers his mouth with one hand, face tinged with red, and he steps away from Zagreus.

“I- yes. I do not know what made me do that. Apologies Zagreus.”

“No need for that. It.. was nice. I mean- blast.” Zagreus chuckles nervously looking down. “Next time tell me and I’ll return the act. I’ll share one with you back at the house.”

Thanatos pauses.

“Ever forward you are Zag, one of your finer qualities. I’ll have to take you up on that, I think. Take care, Zagreus.”

“You too Than.”

Thanatos shifts away in a flash of light leaving Zagreus to process whatever the hell that interaction was.

Pomegranates. They symbolise both life and death, much like he and Thanatos. But they also symbolise passion. That made itself clear just now.

“Gods Than, what am I even doing with you.”