Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dear Lily-Bell,

Work in recruiting for the Student of Baldesion goes rather slower than I would like, but under the circumstances, tis not hard to understand why others would find unease in joining the order. We no longer have an island dedicated to all our knowledge or discoveries, with its compounds and libraries, and while the Annex is a delightful place, it is not built for the same numbers Val once held. Nor does it have even a quarter of our old records and files...

I had half-thought that being known as saviors of the world might lead to a wave of new recruits, but I find the truth to be somewhat disheartening. Still, if give me time to sort through a multitude of files and boxes, organizing for any that might walk through those doors.

Raha is kept busy doing the same, though I insist he take time to go out into the world. I think he’s still waiting for your invitation to visit Ishgard as a friend. 

And how are you doing, for that matter? Your last letter was filled with talk of your new home; are you properly settled at last? How is Stardust, how are Hades and Hythlodaeus? Have you been enjoying the quiet time? Are you recovered enough for visitors? What happened with that argument between you and Artoirel and Emmanellain?

If you have the time to spare, and are feeling up for it, I received a request from one of the researchers in Labyrinthos. She and her associates have a crystal of some sort that they’d like you, or Hades if possible, to take a look at. I said I would pass the message on, but reminded her very sternly that you were officially retired from heroing, so she shouldn’t expect you to drop everything and come running.

I got the most disappointed look for it, and I find myself wondering what it might be, that someone comes seeking you out specifically. The Labyrinthos researchers aren’t exactly the sorts that reach out for aid unless there’s no other option.

If you do come, please bring Stardust, like you said you wished. I think she would provide us a lovely break from all this tedium, and I would love to see your progress for myself.

Until then, dear friend, stay safe.

Yours,

Krile Baldesion, Head of the Students of Baldesion

Sharlayan is chilly when they arrive; snow drifts down from the sky, and Lily-Bell is glad that Hades had insisted on the coat she currently wears. Not that she minds the cold, but ever since Zenos’s attack had taken her arm, she’s been more susceptible to it.

“This is their Akademia?” Hythlodaeus asks, looking about with interest. “I never did get to explore the way I wanted when I first arrived.”

“Sharlayan is not quite the Akademia,” Hades corrects as he steps out of the portal and it snaps shut behind him. “Though we shall be going down to Labyrinthos after, which may remind you of an old place.”

Lily-Bell snorts a little; the biggest difference between Elpis and Labyrinthos is scale, and she's pretty sure the Sharlayan Forum would absolutely try to emulate Elpis if they could.

“Oho~” and Hyth's chortle is warm. “I eagerly await this introduction to even more new places!”

“As does Stardust,” Hades says, nodding a little at the miqo'te kitten in Hyth's hold. 

Lily-Bell looks up at the child who had decided, for whatever reason, to adopt her when they'd met in Tertium during the chaos preceding the Final Days. Gray-green eyes are wide and that little head twists and turns, taking in the sights.

“Didn't you get plenty of chances to explore when I was...?”

She'd been unconscious for a week after Ultima Thule, mostly thanks to Zenos who had nearly killed her. Hades had hovered at her bedside, and Hyth had stayed close, but...

“We mostly relied on your fellows to show us the way to and from,” Hyth replies reaching out and lightly patting her head. “It was a little hard to focus on new sights without your delightful presence, sweeting.”

Lily-Bell glances up at Hades who just huffs, his arm slipping around her shoulders and tugging her into familiar, comforting warmth. She nuzzles and purrs, and curls her fingers in his jacket in response, which does seem to ease a touch of tension from him.

“The Annex is this way. We should stop in and see what else Krile or G'raha might know before we go down to Labyrinthos and meet whoever it was that wanted to see me,” she says.

She doesn't exactly lead the way--Hades is modulating his stride to keep easy pace without making her trot--but that's okay. She's never been very good at being the leader anyways, and it's a relief to not have to do that any longer. And walking slow, pointing things out to Hyth and Stardust that the Scions had told her about the area, is nice.

She's not necessarily comfortable on Sharlayan, but she no longer feels ages-old secrets that loom and press. It’s better , certainly, to no longer struggle under the weight, but it had tainted the island nation for her, and she doesn’t entirely want to be here...

Her Echo had made it a very hard time on the island nation, and she's not sure that feeling is ever going to go away.

Still, it's nice to reach the Baldesion Annex and head in, letting Hades brush the snow off her head much more easily than she can with only the one arm.

She has Cid's new prosthetic, she's just not quite ready to wear it at all times yet. She's barely gotten used to having just the one, being granted a prosthetic that doesn't quite match the weight she carried naturally is... odd . It’s getting there--Cid and Nero squabbling over making the minor adjustments that will make it fit the way it needs to, virtually indistinguishable (in weight at least) from her other arm--but it’s not there yet .

Honestly, she’s pretty sure the only reason Hades had agreed to bring her to Sharlayan after reading Krile’s letter is because he thinks it’s important too, even if he doesn’t want to admit it.

She waves to Ojika and heads into the meeting hall, easily spotting Krile in her bright yellow coat. It helps that he lalafel friend is perched on a ladder, and looks to be reading a book.

“Is it anything interesting?” Lily-Bell asks.

Krile jolts, looking down, and Lily-Bell stifles a giggle at the startled look on Krile’s face.

“Oh! I didn’t even hear the door, I apologize. Welcome, all of you!” Krile closes the book,a clearly embarrassed flush on her face as she hurried gets down from her ladder perch. Which, honestly answered Lily-Bell’s question neatly. “Please do excuse the mess, there’s still so much here to sort and categorize...”

“In truth, it reminds me a bit of my own old office,” Hyth says with his usual easy humor. 

“This is less messy,” is Hades dry opinion.

“Well now I don’t know if I should be worried or relieved,” and Krile’s smile eases some. “I take it you received my letter?”

Lily-Bell nods.

“Honestly, it was good timing,” she admits, even as she hears Hyth putting Stardust down gently. “I was getting... bored.”

Healing is all well and good, and she knows she must, but at the same time, she’s been a hero for so long that not doing anything but rest and recover is driving her just a bit up the wall.

“I have heard from Y’shtola what happens when you get bored,” Krile teases gently.

“I was sixteen , and she was ignoring me,” and Lily-Bell pouts theatrically. “She deserved it.”

Honestly, Y’shtola probably hadn’t, but Lily-Bell hadn’t been the calmest teenager in existence. Or the most mentally sound. So.

Krile laughs softly.

“And it’s a family outing?” she asks, looking at the four of them.

“We did wish to actually see more of the island, Labyrinthos, and show Stardust,” Hades replies. “While young, tis never to early to foster a love of knowledge.”

And before Stardust had adopted them, they had no idea what sort of education she’d gotten. She can write, but Lily-Bell is still mostly convinced that she learned it out of a stubborn will to be understood; without a voice, Stardust relies on a slate and chalk, or paper and charcoal to be ‘heard’ by most people. Not everyone uses military hand signals to talk, and by their nature, those signals are rather limited in conversational applications...

“I was hoping maybe you could show Stardust and Hyth the library while Hades and I go down and see what the researcher wanted?” Lily-Bell asks hopefully. “We’ll do Labyrinthos as a family afterwards.”

She’s not mentioning, or looking for, G’raha. He’s sent her a few letters, friendly, cheerful things that don’t exactly do enough to hide how much he wants to see her, talk to her, likely confess to her. She’s many things, but Lily-Bell is not blind about what he thinks of her. She’s just not able to trust it coming from him, and keeping him at a gentle arms length while she figures out the other new relationships in her life--Hyth is someone she loves, but she had brought him back for Hades , not for herself, and she’s no idea how to be mother to Stardust, not even a little bit--remains the most sensible option.

“I’m quite happy to do that. Goodness knows I need to unbury myself from this work for a bit!” and Krile’s chuckle is rueful. “You should be able to find Nemjiji at Aporia, or barring that, potentially Professor Claudien. And Labyrinthos remains in quite the state, considering how much they’d pulled out to go up to the moon, only to have their problems all solved.”

Lily-Bell flushes a little, and leans against Hades who only hums, and gently gives her a squeeze.

“It’s been a while, so please, allow me to reintroduce myself,” and Krile curtsies to Hyth and Stardust. “I am Krile Baldesion, head of the Students of Baldesion, and former member of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn.”

“Hythlodaeus,” and his easy smile is matched by a polite bow. “Though I know that’s quite a mouthful, and Hyth is more than acceptable. This little one is Stardust. Come, kitling, say hello.”

Stardust overtly pouts about having to let go of Lily-Bell’s hand--the child has been clingy since the near-death experience, not that Lily-Bell blames her--but does and almost timidly offers a hand for Krile to shake. Which she does with solemn aplomb and a warm smile.

“As long as you promise not to climb the bookshelves like a certain troublemaking friend of mine, I’m more than happy to show you to the library.”

Hades looks around Labyrinthos briefly, admiring once again the ingenuity of these sundered beings; unlike Elpis, where everything had been open aired, contained high about their own cities and lands by dint of floating islands, Labyrinthos is an underground research facility, with a glass ‘sky’ enchanted to emulate the rising and falling of the sun.

Tis almost a shame they must go indoors, and he knows Lily-Bell feels the same; while she had been anxiously adrift on Elpis, Labyrinthos had enchanted her, as had the idea of working as a gleaner.

She’s still not quite strong enough, but... but she is getting there. Her restlessness is going to be more than mildly troublesome soon, and he wonders if Cid will be finished with the arm before she gets resentful of being hovered over.

Into the laboratory they go, however, and Hades tucks his emotions behind a smooth mask; while he knows at some point he must allow another trip to the past--if not more than one, he’d never been made privy to many of the details surrounding the troubles of Pandaemonium--he’s not fond of the idea. Not the least because he will not be there for her, and instead, her companions will be Themis, and some researcher from Pandaemonium itself that he knows naught of.

Lily-Bell presses closer to him as the whispering starts, and he uses his patented icy stare to silence them. Fortunately enough, the professor they seek isn’t hard to find.

Claudien is a hyur, brown-skinned with a startling thatch of blond hair that looks like it hasn’t been brushed in days. He lights up the moment he sees Lily-Bell, and rushes over to them. Lily-Bell squeaks, and Hades steps forward with a frown, but Claudien stops a polite distance away, though the delight dims not one whit.

“Mistress Lily-Bell, thank you ever so much for coming,” and his tone is somewhere between awe and excitement. Hades can feel the uncomfortable squirm of his darling wife, her fingers curling in his coat. “I am Claudien, and these are my assistants, Nemjiji and Ruissenaud; did Mistress Baldesion inform you as to the nature of our request?”

“She... said you had a... a strange crystal?” Lily-Bell squeaks out after a moment. “That you wanted either me or Hades to look at?”

“Indeed, that is the long and short of it, but perhaps my request will make more sense if I explain,” and Cludien clears his throat a little. “We are one of the research teams who traverses the aetherial sea via the Atiascope. It was our team that first reached and spoke to Hyaelyn in regards tot he Final Days from the Antitower in Dravania, and soon thereafter all that research was moved to Labyrinthos and the Atiascope. And t’was at that time our discovery was made; as if propelled to the surface of the sea, a crystal came to us! The shape is nothing found in nature, and its aetheric density far outweighs something of its size. Unfortunately,” and he sighs, running a hand through that wild thatch of hair, “that was when we needed to put our full attentions to the exodus, and as such the crystal was tucked away in hopes that we might investigate it more thoroughly later. In truth, with the suddenness of the Final Days, t’was almost forgot about til chance had it fall from a shelf!”

Hades can’t help being a suspicious man. A manufactured crystal, with heavy aetheric density, landing here? No, it’s too convenient.

But perhaps he is jumping the gun and making an assumption he needs not make.

“We had hoped that you might be able to inform us as to its nature, at the very least, given your extensive travels,” Claudien finishes, and proffers the crystal for inspection.

“Oh. That’s.. That looks like..” Lily-Bell takes the crystal, but looks up at Hades.

“It does resemble the crystals we Unsundered made in a bid to remind our former allies of their purpose,” he admits after a moment. “Though tis not one I had a hand in making, of a certainty...”

“You do know what it is! Pray, speak on!”

Hades has kept his and Hyth’s true natures under wraps; people need not know that he was an Ascian, nor that Hyth is what they politely term an Ancient. They have set those aside, for simpler lives, simpler times . Much as he had discarded the title of Emet-Selch when he had cemented his place with Lily-Bell, Hades has no desire to think back to a past that should be left well alone.

As Lily-Bell’s attention returns to the crystal, ears perking forward as if she hears something, Hades explains in admittedly clipped terms what the crystals were, and what this one is.

“I see,” and Claudien looks awed. “It was clear enough that the crystal was special, but this is beyond what I’d expected... Think you it could do as your own did?”

“Unlikely. This one...” he glances at it, “while it hold memories, it was done inexpertly, which will make it difficult to pry them out. Whatever purpose it held, t’was not to restore memories to a sundered self...”

He whips out a notebook and Hades sighs . For creation’s sake, why does he always run into this type? Keah, Venat, even occasionally Mitron or Logriff when he interacted with something in their domain having come to Keah’s aid. Claudien starts peppering him with questions and writing the answers down rapidly, to the clear and overt exasperation of his lalafel assistant. 

“Hades?”

He looks away from the researcher, who seems to have been startled from his questioning by the confusion in Lily-Bell’s voice.

Lily-Bell is looking up at him, not in alarm, but with suspicion.

“What’s Pandaemonium?”

Ah.

Well then...

“So you accepted a request to time travel, despite knowing how if affects you?” Hyth’s expression is somewhere between alarmed and concerned. “Sweeting, I remember quite well what you looked like when we towed you all around Elpis.”

“And I remember both what you looked like then, and how your body rebelled when you returned ,” Hades says, crossing his arms with a small scowl. “You’re only just barely at a healthy weight, and from what little Keah and Themis revealed of Pandaemonium at the time, this will be a difficult trip filled with fighting.”

Lily-Bell fidgets a little; she’s glad they didn’t bring this up while Stardust was awake, but now it feels a little like she’s being interrogated, and she doesn’t enjoy that...

“Don’t you want to know? ” she asks. “Why would someone put what sounds like a warning into a crystal and then loose in into the sea?”

“It may be that it ended up there thanks to the sundering,” Hades says sharply. “And regardless of wishing the knowledge, you are not yet well .”

It’s been his opinion for a while, and for the most part, she hasn’t challenged it. Four moons since facing the Meteia, and she still suffers the aftereffects of being trapped with so much negative dynamis, still has dreams where she wakes with a pounding heart and tear-filled eyes convinced that everything she has is gone . Her shoulder aches with something the chirurgeons call ‘phantom pains’, and some days getting out of bed takes so much effort . 

But she’s bored . The house Hades had built for them is lovely, she does enjoy having the time to not be the big hero , but... but she’s bored . She wants to do something. And no, going into the past again wouldn’t have been her first choice, especially since she’s still not really able to use the prosthetic Cid and Nero had worked on, but she can’t help but be curious .

“You can’t sit on me forever, Hades,” and she tries to be gentle because she knows how much he loves her. How can she not? “Maybe I don’t want to be the Champion of Eorzea any more, but I’m not staying in one spot forever. There’s a whole world to explore, and you promised we would.”

She can see temper in those smoldering yellow eyes, temper held in check because he listens to her, even when he doesn’t want to.

“Do you truly feel up for it?” Hyth asks, carefully breaking the thick silence. “Like you could weather such a trip and return to us?”

“...I don’t want to go ,” she admits. “But isn’t this something that has to happen?”

Hades had alluded a moon or so ago, that she had one more adventure into the past to pave the way for the present she knew. One that involved Elidibus, or as he had once been called, Themis. Who, at the end, she had felt sorry for, even as she had wanted only to have Hades back from where Elidibus had entrapped him...

“...it is,” and Hades looks so sour having admitted to it. “However, the nature of time travel being what it is, you could leave six moons from now and likely turn up exactly when you need to, because of the specificity of its nature, and the crystal now in your possession.”

“Do you have further knowledge?” Hyth asks, leaning forward.

“But little,” and Hades huffs a bit. “Neither Keah nor Themis were inclined to enlighten me as to where he’d gone during that time he was away from his duties and Keah actually helped keep the paperwork to a minimum.”

“...ah, yes, I recall that time,” Hyth says, and Lily-Bell watches his expression shift to something almost... petulant . “They told me naught of it.”

“You were not of the Convocation, and t’was Convocation business,” Hades points out. “Lahabrea was also involved, and went from his half-sundered self back to his full strength because of it.”

“I’m going to have to deal with Lahabrea again?”

Lily-Bell can’t help but whine. Lahabrea had been the worst of the Ascians she’s met; taking over Thancred, using some weird power source in the Ultima weapon, tricking Thordan into turning himself into a Primal.... She wonders if she could have ever truly defeated him. Unlike the other Ascians, he’d been Unsundered. Nabriales, Igeyorhm, even Mitron had all been sundered, all shards of their former selves.

“As a reluctant ally, if that,” Hades says, hand resting gently on her head. “Again, tis not many details I was given. Only that something had happened in Pandaemonium, which is the place where dangerous creatures with potential merit for the balance of the star were taken. Many concepts of volatile natures were granted permission to exist there, for study only, until such time as they could be returned as concepts for a more flourishing world, or until they were to be remanded to a concept crystal only. Like the Lykaones.”

That makes her shudder a little, reaching reflexively for an arm that no longer exists; she remembers being burned by the lykaones’ fire, and Hyth’s well-meant but admittedly heavy-handed healing attempt that had number her arm out entirely for a few minutes.

Hades hand slides down her growing mane of hair until is rests on her shoulder and he tugs her until she leans into the warmth of him.

“Admittedly, I cannot stop you if you are determined,” he says as she curls into him. “But I would like to request you take more than a day to think it over.”

She’s not sure what there is to think about, but she knows the request comes from both his love for her, and his fear of letting her out of his sight. Despite everything, or perhaps because of it, being apart is still... well. Hard is being kind. To say she gets anxious without him is certainly an understatement...

“But if I don’t go at all, then... then Elidibus would never have known me. And... and he wouldn’t have helped us.”

Hades sighs, and Hyth moves from his chair to sit on Hades’ other side, leaning against him.

Lily-Bell is glad that Hyth is here. Not only did Hades deserve to have the chance to explore the relationship that never was, he helps pull Hades back from being so... extreme in his protectiveness.

“If I may interject?” Hyth asks.

“If you must ,” and though he sounds exasperated, Lily-Bell knows it covers more complex emotions.

“Sweeting?”

“Sure.”

Hyth hums a little.

“If Hades is correct, and you will arrive precisely when you need to, I would suggest you start working with Cid’s prosthetic in earnest,” he says. “While lacking an arm has only little affected your abilities as a white mage or machinist, your other skills are more two-handed requirements, and you should at least be familiar with how long you can wear it before any discomfort becomes obvious.”

Hades makes a disgruntled noise, but Lily-Bell nods, seeing the wisdom in that. Right now Cid is still tinkering with the weight, but if she needs a variety of skills to tackle whatever awaits her in Pandaemonium--in Elpis, in the so distant past--then she does need to know. And... and it would be helpful for when the restlessness really does get the best of her and she ends up wanting to see more of the world like Hades had promised.

“Let us put the crystal up for the space of... hmm... a moon and a half?” Hyth continues. “And at the end of that time, you can tell us how confident you are in your abilities.”

Which gives Hades time to get used to the idea and pamper her more. While she no longer needs the chirurgeon he’d insistently hired after their return to Eorzea, she should probably have a check in with one of the ones who work for the Temple Knights.

“I’ll call Cid in the morning,” she says after a moment. “After breakfast. And we’ll... go from there?”

“I protest all of this,” Hades grumbles.

Hyth pats him on the head, and Lily-Bell giggles as her husband glares without heat at his boyfriend.

Chapter Text

Hyth looks about with interest, absently adjusting his hold on the kitten who very clearly wants to get down and go exploring. So this is the Crystarium on the First. It looks like most other central city hubs on the Source, with that same exhausted but hopeful air of having faced something nearly world-ending, and yet coming out on top.

Stardust wriggles in his hold, clearly eager to get down and start exploring. Or perhaps simply eager to go cling to Lily-Bell, who is looking around with the air of someone making sure she's not about to be jumped.

Given how infamous she is, it's probably not unfounded, but he finds it's a little amusing. More amusing is the sharp look he knows Hades must be wearing, for a couple people absolutely do skitter away after taking one look at the white-haired man.

Hades has every right to be disgruntled about this, but Hyth thinks it will be good for all of them. In... different ways. He certainly isn't looking forward to Lily-Bell not being there, but he can admit, if only to himself, that he will welcome some time where it's just himself and Hades. They've avoided talking about far too many things for her sake, even though she seems to have zero problems with his presence in her, their, lives.

“Okay. I can give you the abbreviated tour?” she offers, turning to look up at him. “And I know a small miqo'te--mystel, here--that would probably love to be your zoom-friend, Star.”

Stardust perks, and Hyth lets her down so that the child can scamper to her adoptive mother. Who still often complains that she doesn't know what she's doing when it comes to kitten care, but seems to manage quite nicely. Even if it does rather often fall to Hades to be the stern parent.

“Is this the same kitten who napped on you while I was... indisposed?” Hades asks. There's a playful lilt to his tone. “The one to whom you imparted wisdom in heroing?”

Lily-Bell immediately flusters, hissing a little, which earns her an amused huff from Hades.

Hyth likes these moments, but they also leave him feeling just a little bit sad. Would that he could have remembered before becoming part of Zodiark. Would that he could have been there for her, as Hades was...

“I would certainly not turn down a tour, but did you not want to be off quickly?” Hyth asks, reaching out and gently tugging at the braid Hades had put her hair in. “You’ve eaten nothing since last night to prepare, and I would hate for that to be wasted...” 

She tips her head back to look at him, and there’s a warm light in those pale, mismatched eyes. Not the depth or strength as the light she carries for Hades, but then, Hades had picked her up at her lowest point and helped build her to who she is now. Nothing can come between them after all those fraught adventures, and he is honestly blessed that she wanted his presence at all...

“It’s just around the Crystarium. I’ll let Hades show you the rest of the First,” she promises. “But you should really meet Ryne and Gaia, and Lyna if she’s here, and I do want to introduce Stardust to Riqi at the very least.”

Hyth admittedly wavers without even looking at Hades. While he’d been more amused at Hades’ curiosity and care for the poor dear when he hadn’t quite understood the truth of who and what she is, getting to know her over the past few months has put her squarely in the territory of someone he would love to watch thrive, as he had watched both Hades and Keah. Someone he would love to help thrive, and not just because her presence has had such a profound impact on Hades.

A glance at Hades shows that fond light, and that soft smile on the face that is normally so grumpy. True, ten thousand years of life had been the catalyst for most of the change, but there’s no doubt in Hyth’s mind that it was also meeting Lily-Bell, and hearing the story, hearing the future to come in clipped, carefully chosen words, that had been the starting point.

“Well then, I shall defer to your ideas,” and he smiles easily at her as she perks immediately. “Though please do tell us if you feel too off; given that Hades is no doubt correct and you will arrive precisely when you need to, we can always feed you and try again another day.”

He doesn’t miss the subtle, grateful look Hades flicks his direction.

Lily-Bell just nods, and looks around the plaza for a moment before heading for a set of stairs down.

“Ryne’s been busy trying to figure out how to get the Empty to thrive further ever since we restored elemental balance out there, so she should be down in the Horitorium. And if not, I bet someone there will know where she is!”

Hyth smiles a little, and follows her down the stairs.

Lily-Bell doesn’t mean to end up eating lunch, but after she’d had a dizzy spell after too many stairs while looking for her hume sister, she’d allowed Hades to fuss over her and feed her. Being back on the First, with even fewer responsibilities than on the Source, is almost... freeing in a way.

And of course she’d had to tell Ryne everything . From the last time she’d seen her friend, her sister, all the way to the current moment. Gaia had also been listening in, throwing in a deadpan comment every now and then to break up the anxious concern that Ryne had been displaying, which had made it easier for the story to keep being told.

Ryne had then proceeded to hug her tight enough that Lily-Bell felt her ribs creak, and scold her for reckless actions. Which... fair. But Zenos had absolutely not been her fault.

Honestly, nothing she’d reacted to had been her fault, but she’d taken up the responsibility of getting through it just the same. Just like she was doing again; arguably, Pandaemonium wasn’t her problem. She could leave it, handle it another time, not worry about the headache and confusion that time travel caused her.

But she could wear her prosthetic for several hours now, and while it still wasn’t intuitive use, still took a couple minutes worth of processing before she could get it to move like she wanted, she was better with it than she had been at the start.

And she had learned the hard way that perfection was less necessary than power in some cases, and she absolutely had power to spare.

The sun is setting by the time they are really done with what should have been a short tour, and Lily-Bell contemplates that slowly changing sky, wondering just how much it would be worth it to time travel when she’s starting to get sleepy. For all she knows, she'll show up in the middle of the day, and honestly, she has no idea how she is going to find Pandaemonium. Hades had said it was part of Elpis, but getting permission to enter took time...

“It's getting late,” Hades says quietly, fingers brushing lightly over her ears. “Perhaps adventures are meant for another day, hm?”

“Certainly Stardust seems to agree,” Hyth says with an amused chortle as their tired kitten blinks blearily from his arms. “Run quite ragged, weren't you kitling?”

It gets him a half-hearted hiss, even as the child scrunches herself down with the very clear intention of dozing off.

“I should still have a room at the Pendants,” Lily-Bell says after a moment. “Though I don’t know if the bed is big enough for all of us.”

“A trial easily remedied, if there is need for it,” Hades replies. “Come. A light meal can be made, and sleep can be had. Tomorrow is always another day.”

It is. But she feels a bit guilty just the same. Her follow-through needs to be better, but... she can't help being distracted. By the Crystarium, by the people in it, by Hades himself, and...

She nods and lifts her arm up, purring as Hades scoops her up and tucks her against him. It's still a few seconds of adjustment without both arms, but tucking her forehead against the warm skin of his neck and breathing in aether and winter cold.... She's soothed immediately.

“Such sweet kittens we both have,” Hyth teases gently as Hades heads for the Pendants. “Are we going to have to wake them both for meals before bed?~”

Lily-Bell lifts her head a little, just so she can stick her tongue out at Hyth. She knows he's teasing and she not actually upset; it's not her fault that being held by Hades puts her immediately at ease.

“If you get bit, it's your own fault,” Hades says lazily as Hyth grins at her.

“I am the expert in not getting bitten, thank you. You remember how much of a fiend Hera was.”

It’s nice, she decides, listening to them banter back and forth about who had the more chaotic sibling. Hyth brings out sides to Hades she hadn't known, or felt comfortable asking questions about because the past made him sad , and she hated seeing him upset. But Hyth brings it up naturally, easily, and the memories are... they seem easier on Hades.

She's glad she brought Hyth back. 

Now if she can just figure out how he makes her feel ...

The genial conversation carries them all the way to the Pendants, and fortunately someone--Ryne, probably--had told the suite manager that she was there and would likely be making use of her room, because the coldbox was fully stocked, and there were lots of ingredients on the shelves and in the cupboards for them to very easily make their own feast without having to leave the room.

She leaves the cooking to Hades, putting Stardust to bed--the kitten is quite worn out from running around with Riqi and her friends--then drapes herself over Hyth's shoulder since he had elected to sit on the bench. She feels him startle--even when he’s cooking, she prefers getting her snuggles from Hades--but he neither pulls away, nor attempts to nudge her off.

“Tired, sweeting?” he asks after a moment.

“Mn. Hold still.”

He does, and Lily-Bell tucks her forehead along his neck. It's not quite the same as being cuddled, especially since she's doing it from behind, but... she's testing something. She hears Hades shift, mostly because the sizzling from the pan gets louder, but her loving husband says nothing, even though she can feel the weight of his gaze.

Hyth's pulse jumps, just a little; nervous? Maybe. There's a subtle twist in the sharp-ather scent that makes her think she might be producing the reaction she's seeking...

But it's not something to talk about where kitten ears can overhear. So after a moment she straightens, then drops a kiss on Hyth's cheek instead.

“Kay. Thank you.”

He looks entirely baffled, and... maybe just a little bit flustered. It's strange to think she can makes someone as playfully flirtatious as him be flustered. She's nothing special-

She squawks as something bounces off her forehead, and turns to pout at Hades, who just snorts a little, amusement in glowing amber eyes.

“Dismiss those thoughts, kitten,” he scolds gently. “Come and taste.”

Lily-Bell brightens immediately, and vaults the table to see what he's made.

Hades knows well how she sleeps at this point, contently sprawled over him like the tiniest, most welcome blanket. Her tail is soft against his thigh, and her purrs had petered out into the deep sleep that will ensure she is fully rested come morning. She sleeps so deep, trusting him to ensure that nothing disturbs her...

Hyth's head is warm against his shoulder, one arm draped over the both of them, while Stardust has made herself a ball on the bed he'd produced for her; the kitten tends to prefer sleeping on her own bed rather than trying to share with the three of them. Which is fair; they do rather cram in like jarred fruits, and when not being her own brand of clingy, their kitten is quite independent.

“I feel horribly inadequate when she pulls such little tricks,” Hyth admits quietly. “Not that this one wasn't sweet, but...”

“She would not be that close, this close, if she didn't trust you,” he reminds Hyth patiently. “She may have brought you out of the sea from a misguided idea that I would be eternally bereft without you, but-”

“You would have been,” but there is a playful note in Hyth's voice.

“I would have missed you the same as I have for the past ten thousand years,” Hades huffs a little. “And I was not finished.”

“Ah, pray continue~”

“I will drop you in Longmirror Lake,” Hades says, rolling his eyes in tolerant amusement. “Lily-Bell cared for you in Elpis, Hyth. Yes, I told her that your kindness would be easier to reach than my own, but if she did not care about you, specifically , she would not act as she does. Do try to not make her chase you overmuch, hm?”

“I doubt there will be much chasing involved,” and there is softness in Hyth's voice, his hand moving slow to run over delicate white strands that will be a snarled mess by morning despite the brushing that he'd used to lull her into her doze. “Nor do I intend to run. I did tell her that I would support everything she does-”

“Within reason.”

Hyth's amusement is a warmth breath that leaves goosebumps over Hades’ skin. He thinks he would very much like the opportunity to do much more than this, but that is a branch of trust that is still being created. Oh, Lily-Bell would undoubtedly say yes if he asked , which is why he has not, and will not. As in all things, while he will not discourage her desires, he will also not make her think that such is required. He loves her far too much, and she has been used by far too many people for him to push.

“Would it bother you terribly if I took some time to speak to her in private?” Hyth asks after a moment. “I only wish to... ascertain the strength of such feelings before committing to course.”

Hades squashes his first impulse; he knows full well that he is a possessive man, and that part of him has never truly gone away, despite the centuries he's lived. If he claims something, or someone, it's his ; not only will he obsess over whatever or whoever it is, he will guard that with a fierce will. Hoard it, rather... None but he shall have it, regardless of others’ opinions.

It had taken multiple lifetimes to learn how to quell such emotions, and it's been very difficult in this one. He wanted to claim everything about his miqo'te beloved, and yet...

This is Hythlodaeus. Another person whom he would cling to so tightly as to never let go again. 

“I have no objections to this,” he says finally, pushing that possessiveness down to a level where it can be ignored. He will have to unpack it and confront it directly at some point, but not before them. That is a personal moment, a private thing... “Though I expect there shall be some difficulty if she is not properly entranced after I take my leave.”

Hyth huff gently.

Sadly?

“You set her towards me, and yet always her heart remains in your hand,” Hyth says after a moment. And yes, he is sad. That... wasn't what Hades had intended with his warning. “Would that-”

A small hand comes up, and pats around ungainly, making both of them still. Hyth winces a little as Lily-Bell's hand lands a bit harshly on his cheek, before that small palm covers his mouth. Or at least as much as it can.

“S'eep t'me,” she grouses, only just barely awake. “N't... alkin.”

Hades does his best to stifle his amusement, and a little bit his embarrassment. He hadn't thought they were speaking all that loud, but then, she is rather uniquely attuned to his voice, isn't she?

“Apologize, kitten,” and he presses a kiss to her forehead. “You are right and we shall sleep now.”

Hyth nods a little, and the small hand withdraws. Hesitates, then pats Hyth's cheek a little more gently. Hades can feel the repressed glee from his lavender haired love, and admittedly finds the move both amusing and adorable. Silent apology from she who is only just awake.

She snuggles down a little more, and it's quick, how fast her breath evens out... her palm still on Hyth's cheek.

“...I adore her,” Hyth mumbles into Hades’ shoulder, very clearly struggling against his much more ubiquitous side.

Hades huffs a little, then presses another kiss to her forehead, curling his arm around her just a little more tightly.

“Yes... as do I.”

“I am so sorry,” Lily-Bell says, looking at the handprint on Hyth's pale skin. It made her feel so bad; she vaguely remembered waking up to familiar voices and wanting them to be quiet, because talking after sleep meant trouble , and she didn't want trouble... “I can-”

“It's fine, sweeting,” and Hyth pats her head gently. “It will fade quickly enough on its own.”

“Yes, but-”

But she'd hit him! She didn't want to hurt him!

He seems more amused than upset, though. And quiet willing to wrap her up in a snuggle, despite the fact that she'd been so harsh.

“You didn't do it apurpose, sweet one,” and the low murmur is both soothing and... warming. “And I expect we did disturb your sleep.”

“Doesn't give me the right to hit ,” she mumbles, even as she burrows into the warmth of him. She's been trying to figure out the companion-scent to the sharp aether for weeks now, and every time she thinks she almost has it, it eludes her. “You're special.”

“Am I now?~”

Something about the lilt in his voice feels rather like a trap, and she kind of wishes that Hades hadn't been so quick to scoop up Stardust and take the kitten down to a breakfast Lily-Bell had no intention of eating, because she does need to go...

“...yes?”

It's tentative, uncertain. Hyth is special, but between healing and keeping Hades from smothering her, she hasn't often put much thought into how special. She loves him, she won't pretend that she doesn't, but she's still not quite sure what sort of love it is.

Not that she feels worthy of anyone's love, but she's accepted that she rather doesn't have a choice in how people feel about her. Hades loves her, even if it had taken them moons to reach a point where she could not only know it, but accept it, and finally say it back...

Hyth's fingers trace a gentle line down her face, and she leans in on reflex. Soft touches, kind ones... He's very good at that.

“I know that you brought me back for Hades,” he says quietly. “Did you spare a thought for yourself?”

She blinks up at him, head tipping in confusion.

“What do you mean?” she asks.

“Not a single concern in that sweet head of yours that I might not be as honorable as you thought?”

She blinks at him, then frowns.

“You dropped me on him in the middle of naps,” she points out somewhat accusatorially. “You knew even back then who I wanted most. And you thought it was funny .”

“...well,” and he grins at her. “It rather was.”

“It was mean ,” and she pouts up at him. “But... but you didn't do it maliciously. And you've been kind. You... keep Hades from smothering me. You love him. That's... that's what mattered.”

“Not a wonder if I might love you?”

She shakes her head.

“It wasn't about me. It was about Hades. How much he's suffered. How long he's lived. You...” Lily-Bell is quiet as she considers. “You can relate to him in ways that I can't. Like.. last night. When you were both talking about your siblings. I could never do that.”

And not just because she was the unwanted baby of her family. Former family.

“Are... are you upset about that?” she asks, looking up at him anxiously. “I... if I'd asked Hades, he would've say I shouldn't I know that. But. I couldn't just... I couldn't not try , I-”

A finger gently presses against her lips, and Hyth leans down to press a kiss to her forehead.

“Sweeting, I could never be upset about this. No, tis no longer my world, and all but one friend is gone, but I would not trade this for watching from the sea. You have given me the greatest gift I could be given, a second chance, and I only worry that you feel left behind,” he says gently. 

She blinks at him, once more baffled.

“I'm not left behind. Hades is my husband, and you're Hades’ boyfriend,” and she is confused . “And my friend...”

“Hm. Might we press that boundary a touch? I would like to be more than simply your friend... if you are willing.”

She hadn't imagined that scent then. 

She ponders.

“I... think that's okay,” she says after a long minute. “If... if we go... slow.”

“I've no concerns with that,” and Hyth chuckles a little. “More, I would worry about Hades deciding to toss me in a midden if I made you uncomfortable.”

“Why a midden? He threatens you with lakes!”

“He threatens me with lakes because he knows I can employ my less than perfect magics to breathe underwater,” Hyth snickers a little. “If he thought I could manage flight, he would likely toss me into the sky and insist I save myself.”

She wants to protest, but... well. He is a bit like that. Sometimes. Specifically to Hyth these days, though she has known him to mutter dire threats at someone attempting to disrespect her.

“May I tell you a secret, darling?”

“...okay?”

Hyth's smile is all mischief.

“I quite like the idea of having a husband and a wife.”

Lily-Bell stares at him for a long moment, tail poofed out and ears flat as she tries to control the flustered response.

“...I take it back, not sorry I smacked you.”

Hyth laughs, and when he leans down, she does not protest the tipping of her head for a gentle kiss.

Hades can admit that he likes the Ocular less every time he visits it. Oh, the Crystal Tower is a magnificent piece of work and Allag ingenuity--with rather a lot of Ascian help, which is neither here nor there at the moment--and it is undeniably aesthetically pleasing, but every time he has to interact with the damn place, it's always connected to causing Lily-Bell some format of distress.

Worse, this time he can't even wait for her return. He has Hyth and Stardust to introduce to the rest of the First. He had, after all, promised that he would, and leaving Hythlodaeus to his own devices on a world like this is just asking for trouble.

He can admit, if only to himself, that it's probably better this way; when she had gone to Elpis, he'd stood in one spot for the four days it took her to return to him, ignoring the needs of the mortal body he wore for fear of missing her return. When she had boarded the Ragnarok, leaving him on Sharlayan to wait for her call, he had repeated the exercise, watching the sky where they had vanished until he'd felt a familiar, ancient pull from creation only knows how far across the universe.

Hades turns at the door opens and Lily-Bell steps in; keeping his anxieties contained had only worked because he knew Hyth would never allow harm to come to her, by action or in action. It still makes him feel a bit weak at the knees to see her though. He ‘Bell, his beloved...

Who looks adorably disheveled and little stunned. Hades fights both his desire to possess and his desire to laugh at her confusion; as he’d thought, there was less discussion and more gentle physical action. Nothing that would press too hard against a line that she’d drawn--he’d had several sharp conversations with Hyth about that sort of thing--but definitely kisses that would leave one wondering and yearning.

Hyth is very good at that sort of kiss...

She moves quickly to him and buries her face against his chest, her arm coming up to curl in his shirt. Hades drapes his arms around her and just waits; she’s trying to find the words, he knows. Words which are both her greatest weapon and something she yet struggles with, because she still tends to slip back into the belief that she doesn’t have anything worth saying.

“....Hyth kisses nice,” she finally manages. Hades snorts a little.

“He does,” He agrees easily, leaning down a bit so that he can scoop her up. With her forehead against his neck and her arm flung about his shoulder, he feels her relax. “Did he finally properly kiss you?”

Her response is to squeak and hide her face more against his neck. Gently he rests his chin on her head and nuzzles at one ear.

“I am not upset,” he says patiently. “I rather had hopes in this direction.”

He knows that with her away, he will be inclined to return Stardust home so that he can have some personal time with Hythlodaeus that does not revolve around his wife or their adopted child. Edmont enjoys looking after the little one, and it would only be for a day or so...

“You... did?”

He hums in agreement, running his hand gently along her back. No longer so deathly scrawny, but he wonders if she will ever fill out like she ought...

“You are both dear to me,” he tells her, planting a kiss to white hair. “While I did not know this would happen, t’was a hope. I would be content were you two simply to be good friends, but to be more, to twine as three... I have no objections to this.”

The anxiety melts out of her and she nuzzles against him in clear, overt relief. Once he’d thought to scold her for such open displays--or at least tease her about not hiding well--but now he finds them welcome. To know what she is feeling so intimately means he rarely has to guess as he had with past lovers.

“He did not scare you or push too hard?”

She shakes her head, and leans back so that she can looks him in the face, a move he doesn’t dispute. He’s not going to be looking into those pale, mismatched eyes for a while, and he’s going to savor every moment.

“Just... kisses. And... and a little touching. Very soft and gentle,” she says.

“Good,” and he gives her a small kiss himself, feeling her melt. “You deserve all the softness we can give.”

She flusters and whines a little, as she still so often does when told directly that she deserves better. It’s cute, and easy to hush with another kiss that lingers.

Hades wants to take the time for a lingering farewell... but Hyth must now be occupying their small child, and leaving that pair to themselves for too long is dangerous.

It doesn’t stop him from trailing kisses down the side of her neck, or nudging the collar of her shirt out of the way to press a kiss to tanned skin that lingers. The plaintive noise it gets him only stirs his blood...

He nips gently and she shudders, fingers sliding up his neck to twine into his hair. Hades knows she needs no encouragement to return to him swiftly.... But that doesn’t stop him from placing the lovebite right where he knows she’ll feel it with every movement of her shoulder.

“Mn.... m... more?”

A warmth not the heat of desire flares in him, and he nuzzles at her gently.

“How much more?”

“...all.”

Ah. Well then.

“As my darling kitten desires.”

He frees a hand, and concentrates briefly, then snaps his fingers. If she desires a long farewell, then he will not deny her... and the bed that his magic creates will be more than enough to remind her that though the trips there and back may be awful, there is pleasure, and love, waiting for her return.

Chapter Text

Lily-Bell does not like time travel. It’s worse than teleporting--which she mostly doesn’t do any more because Hades is always willing to portal her wherever she needs to go--and she tries to curl herself into the smallest ball possible as she hurtles through whatever odd tunnel that connects the Crystal Tower on the First to the landing area of Elpis.

It’s freezing , and she wonders that she doesn’t feel ice frosting her over as she tumbles, no longer certain of which way is up, and very grateful that she’d decided to go into this with an empty stomach. As it is, she’s going to be a wreck on the floor until her body stops wanting to rebel, and then...

Is she going to be incorporeal again? What will she do if so? There won’t be any Hades there to help her become-

But no, he’d said that she’d appeared again, Elidibus had told tales of ‘Azem’s familiar’, so... so maybe she’ll be fine? Granted, that does have its own problems; at least with being initially incorporeal, no one had bothered her while she recovered...

Almost she wishes she could have pushed leaving off for another day; some of what Hades had implied is poking at her now, and she tries not to think too hard about how miserable she’s feeling. She specifically wants to know what he’d meant about twining together...

Emotionally? Physically?

Both?

The idea does fluster her a bit, but she can’t pretend it doesn’t also somewhat intrigue her. He’d certainly not tried to dissuade her away from Erenville--though perhaps that is because he thinks Erenville is a better person to befriend than trying to rebuild shattered trust with G’raha--and even helped her with both writing to the viera male, and reading the letters he'd sent in reply.

Tural sounds fascinating. Maybe-

Gravity asserts itself abruptly, and she realizes that she's not on the ground the way she had been in her first trip back to Elpis. She is, however, approaching the ground at an all-too-rapid rate that is going to hurt-

She's not sure if slamming headfirst into someone is better or worse; her head makes solid contact with their jaw, and if their reflexes had been only a little slower, she probably would have tumbled end over end onto solid ground. Instead, arms close about her, even as whoever she'd collided with staggers and falls backwards.

Gravity assertion is not a good thing. Her body is utterly furious about having been sent back through time so roughly, and only the fact that she’d not even had water keeps her from throwing up all over her unlucky landing pad. As it is, staying in a ball and shuddering is honestly her go-to, and not for the first time she questions her choices when it comes to time travel.

Gods but she wants Hades right now...

The arms around her shift slowly, and a hand runs along her hair. Fingers trace over the base of her ears with curiosity and she admittedly makes a bit of a plaintive noise when the curious and kind touch shifts away. It’s not what she'd call grounding , but it's certainly distracting, and she wants distracting.

The hand moves back, rubbing lightly against the base of her ears, and admittedly while the front of her head hurts from that collision, there's nothing like being pet for being soothed.

“This is... certainly not what I’d expected.”

She knows that deep voices. Maybe not well, maybe not intimately , but she knows it. She’d hated it, feared it, and in the end, grieved for the Ancient who had owned it, because he’d had so much less say than anyone else in what happened. And had even, maybe considered liking him for his patience, for the help in reaching for-

Lily-Bell cracked her eyes open, winces, and closes them. Nope. Too much light, too much vertigo still.

“S’rry,” she mumbles. At least she’s starting to feel less sick. “D’n... t’lep’rt... well...”

There’s a soft hum, and softness drapes over her; the vertigo lessens rapidly, though the pain from the head on collision remains. Cautiously she cracks open her eyes again, and the light hurts much less.

Wait, why is there so much light? When she’d come to Elpis the first time she’d been inside, not-

“The next time my friend gives me a prediction, I am going to tell them to be less literal,” that deep, achingly familiar voice says, as he slowly sits up, and she ends up on his lap instead of just a ball against his chest. “Falling star indeed...”

There’s just a hint of petulance that makes her smile, if a little shaky.

She’s never ever telling Hyth or Hades that she collided with Elidibus, but... she can’t pretend it doesn’t neatly sidestep the problem of how to find someone she’s never directly met. And...

How strange.

His arms make her feel safe .

Themis hadn’t known what to think when Keah had told him that he’d meet a falling star that would guide him through Pandaemonium. Their visions tends to be less on the literal side and more on the side of interpretation. But he’d seen her falling, a streak of aether, and how could he not catch her so that she wouldn’t be hurt?

Was it a vision, or had Azem sent him the familiar that Venat had spoken of? But if Azem had meant to send him such a being, why wouldn’t they have simply crafted them up there when they’d decided against investigating together?

Themis can’t pretend he isn’t sad to lose the warmth of her when she slides off his lap, but judging by the flush on her face, she’s embarrassed. Which is quite fair; to be caught and held, then helped to recover from teleportation illness can’t be anything but awkward...

Such a strange little thing. She must be a familiar, mustn’t she? But if not Azem’s, then whose? And why does she look so... battered? Perhaps he can pry the name of her creator out of her and go have a discussion with them about-

“M’s.. sorry... ‘bout that,” and her voice is a touch raspy. “Wasn’... I wasn’t... Expecting to... to show up.. Here,” and she gestures briefly with one hand--her only hand; in truth, who made this small delight? He wants to have severe words with them-- “Thought I’d be...”

She pauses. Looks around.

“Well. Not here, at least.”

A bruise is blossoming on her forehead, and he knows he’ll have a spectacular one on his jaw before much longer. But that seems less important than soothing her concerns.

“Sometimes the aether currents like to drag even the best teleporters off course,” he offers. “A colleague of mine once ended up in the bay, if I recall rightly. They were quite put out about it.”

He hadn't witnessed it, of course; he had far too much to do on a regular basis to spend as much time outside as Azem and Emet-Selch try to encourage. But the gossip had travelled the halls, and Logriff had mocked Mitron about it for weeks .

“My name is Themis,” he continues. “If you couldn't tell by the bare face, I am not one of the Elpic observers.”

Her eyes flick over his face, to his robes, to the mask hanging from the front, and then back up to his face.

“I... might have guessed that, yeah,” she says a touch dryly. “There's only one other person I know who wears white, and if Venat were here, she'd already be picking on me.”

Not an... inaccurate summation of the previous Azem. Venat would be teasing both of them mercilessly if she had witnessed that... perhaps he should omit it from the tale, if it ever comes to light in the future.

Perhaps he should only tell Keah. Un officially...

“I've come here on an assignment, which was... somewhat routine, until this chance meeting. You don't seem to belong here, nor any place other I would know of. What brings you here?”

“Uh...” her eyes flick to the side, and she lifts her hand to roughly scratch behind one ear. “Honestly, about the same as you. I got word that something strange was going on around here... Um... a place called.. P.. Panda...”

“Pandaemonium? How odd that we should both be sent independently to investigate the same thing.”

He can tell she is not being entirely truthful in her attempts at an explanation, but she is also not outright lying . It puts him in mind of how both Hythlodaeus and Emet-Selch will talk around a subject; as much truth as it possible, and omit the rest. He can also tell that she feels bad about it. It's written all over her face.

“I see,” and he nods a little as she looks uncertainly down at her lap. “I shall pry no further, for we all have our secrets to keep, but might I take a look at this crystal of yours?”

She nods, and twists until she can reach into a pocket and produce the crystal in question, which she hands over to him. While crystals and memories are not his skills, he can sense that there is, in fact, something stirring within the aetheric depths.

“Fascinating,” and he hands it back to her, allowing her to tuck it away again. “While I cannot say what it contains, it is clear that there are memories stirring within it. Memories that speak of something gravely amiss in Pandaemonium...”

Where could she have gotten such a thing? Why would it have come to her, and not Lahabrea, whose job it is to oversee Pandaemonium?

Questions for another time.

“What is Pandaemonium?” she asks.

“It is another research facility, tucked away here on Elpis, for creatures that are too dangerous to roam freely, but are still worthy of study and experimentations until we can produce something of worth to the star,” and he smiles a little ruefully, “though I’m afraid that is the extent of my knowledge. Tis more the purview of someone much more experienced than I.”

“But... you’re here?”

Her head tip is so very feline it’s all he can do to keep himself from reaching out to pat those cute fluffy ears. They had been really quite soft...

“I was meant to investigate with a friend of mine, but we agreed that we would likely draw more attention than necessary if we both turned up,” he explains, neatly skipping around Azem’s insistence that they look into the problem. “They get to hold down the fort, so to speak, while I am here to judge if this truly is a problem that needs to be solved by external means, or if it can be left to the ones who would normally manage such a thing.”

If Azem is correct, then he will need her to come with him, to help him with the trouble they already know is brewing. That makes it easy for him to extend his hand as he gets to his feet.

“I would prefer to not do it alone, despite previous agreements. Would you be willing to come with me?”

Plae, mis-matched eyes look up at him for a long moment, and he thinks he sees sorrow in their depths. Then she nods, and her hand slips into his. He helps her to stand, then tips his head curiously as she digs into the bag hanging over her shoulder, until she produces a prosthetic arm. Very well made, though certainly could be improved... perhaps her creator lacked the skills to refashion her whole, and went with this to make up for it?

“Get... in ,” and she hisses at it a little, tail lashing a bit in agitation.

“Do you need help?”

“Cid told me it was supposed to be easier to put on than the last one he made,” she grumbles, pulling it away from the stump of her shoulder. “I bet this is Nero’s fault...”

Themis hums a little, but that hadn’t been a yes, so he keeps his hands to himself, studying both the false arm, and the shoulder apparatus where it’s meant to attach. It looks...

“If I may? It seems there’s rather a lot of frost around the entry,” he says. “I could melt that, if you’d like?”

Emotions flick across her face, and likely more are conveyed in the flicks of her ears and tail, but after a moment she settles on clearly exasperated, even as she angles her shoulder his way.

She’d noticed the chill, but Cid and Nero had both sworn that it wouldn’t freeze up even in the deepest Garlemald cold. And she hadn’t felt like a frozen block of ice on the trip through... though this does make her a little grateful that she’d decided against wearing it. Bad enough to freeze the entry point so thoroughly that she can’t get it in herself, worse if it had been all over frozen and unable to function.

It’s still frustrating though.

Elidibus Themis has a very fine control over aether that is immediately noticeable; he is careful and meticulous as he melts away the ice, and she flinches as feeling returns to the part of her shoulder where the apparatus all comes together. Cid had remarked upon her pain tolerance when he and Nero had been getting it all put together on her and she hadn’t understood at the time; it had hurt, it had ached, but... well. Not enough to complain about.

Not only is her fear-whatever busted, apparently her pain scale is too.

“There,” he says with a small nod. “I cannot say anything about the internal works, but you should be able to fit it together now.”

Tempting to jam the thing in and rush it, but no. She needs it to work the way it’s supposed to, better to take her time, connect all the fiddly little bits...

It’s not like her own arm, where she doesn’t have to think about moving it. She’s not that used to it yet. But as it powers up, as she feeds it aether and establishes that connective flow, she makes sure all the bits work. Just because it had been tucked into her bag didn’t make it immune from that transversal cold...

“May I ask what happened?”

“A temporary ally, mostly enemy, decided he didn’t want to listen to me when I said no about a fight,” she replies, carefully curling metal fingers into a fist and then stretching them back out. “Unfortunately for him, he had his temper tantrum while I was surrounded by allies. I lost my arm, sure, but he didn’t survive their retaliation.”

‘Component atoms’ was what Hades had said, and she still doesn’t have it in her to feel sorry for Zenos. He’d pushed her when she was at her most protected, when she was done with all this heroic chaos that she’d been invested in since she was sixteen.

Elidibus Themis hums a little and doesn’t ask, letting her go through the various exercises Cid and Nero had given her in peace to confirm that everything was connected and working right. 

“How are we going to get into Pandaemonium?” she asks, once she’s certain it’s functioning properly. “We can’t just walk in the front door like here, right?”

He blinks at her, glowing teal eyes reminding her sharply of Venat--are they related?--then smiles. There’s... mischief in the smile, which is so strange. Elidibus had been so serious. So sad . So very very different from the person standing before her.

“I didn’t pick today to arrive by chance,” he says, and he starts walking, motioning for her to follow. “I arranged in advance to meet with one of the Words of Lahabrea for permission. It was meant to be for two, before my friend decided to back out, so there’s a spot for you.”

A coincidence like that makes her uncomfortable, but both Hyth and Hades had said that Keah could see future events, and had loved dropping cryptic hints at their feet.

“...wait, if I hadn’t dropped on you, would you have just gone alone?”

“No, I would have gone in to investigate, as agreed upon. It simply would have been more difficult.”

Are all the ancients that touch her life going to be utterly mad? Hades had obsessed about her after he'd awoken from the Kairos spell, using that as a guide to the future they now share. Hythlodaeus had spent a few weeks in the aetherial sea while they'd found their way to Meteion's nest, and promptly thrown himself out of it when she'd called for help, despite always saying he wasn't good for anything but looking pretty. (He's good for quite a lot, and it annoys her to bits and pieces that he says otherwise) Now Elidibus Themis had planned on doing an investigation into a place that was likely filled with dangerous creatures, alone , if she hadn't landed on him.

Briefly she pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs. Too little too late admittedly, but this she is definitely sharing with Hades and Hyth when she gets home.

“This bothers you?”

“I... yes! Of course it does! You don't just... walk into unknown situations without some kind of backup!” Never mind the fact that she had done that very thing, and often, when she'd first started becoming a hero. Though admittedly, that had all been rather involuntary, and they’d all had to learn not to let her do that... “That’s how you get hurt .”

Ancients don't die of old age, or illness. But there's still accidents, still the unexpected--and dumb--ways to die that can catch even the most experienced off guard. And they need Elidibus. So yes, it actually bothers her a lot!

“You sounds like another friend of mine,” and there's a small, fond smile on Themis's face as they walk between the giant butterflies. “He oft complains about such things as well.”

Hades hadn’t complained at her about it much; after the First, she’d learned her lesson about keeping him close... and it doesn’t help that both of them had needed to be close to keep from breaking into pieces. Only the fact that Elidibus Themis is here is keeping her from anxiety; he’s an unknown, a mystery, and that makes him a good distraction.

“It just means he cares,” she says, fairly sure they’re talking about the same person. Hades has changed a lot in ten thousand years, but his protective streak is malms wide.

“Sometimes, he complains to complain,” and Themis chuckles. “Those who don't know him think him harsh, but he is not nearly so bad as he projects. After all, when our mutual friend calls for aid, he is quick to answer.”

She hums softly in agreement, then falls back just slightly as they approach a masked, robed ancient; she might have to work with Elidibus Themis but she's not a fan of talking to someone who works for, or under, Lahabrea. He may not be the one she knew and fought against, but it's harder to let go of prejudice against him than the person she walks beside.

She is, maybe, holding a grudge on Thancred’s behalf. They weren’t close at that time, no, but they are now , and it was definitely... not a good time in her heroing adventures. At all.

“...what a fascinating aetheric signature,” the man says, peering at her.

Lily-Bell moves just a little more behind Themis, who clears his throat pointedly, making the Word of Lahabrea jolt a little bit.

“Ah.... apologies. In accordance with the Convocation request, the two of you have been granted leave to observe Pandaemonium. I shall register your aetheric signatures, and you will be free to come and go from Pandaemonium as you please.”

It sounds complicated, but all it really involves is writing her name on something that is almost paper, and putting an inky fingerprint next to it. Once Themis follows suit, the not-paper is rolled up, and the man tucks it away.

“While you are permitted to enter Pandaemonium, the specimens inside must be handled with all due care, so you must heed the warders’ instructions at all times,” the other ancient interjects.

Her confusion must show, for the man pauses, and Themis speaks up.

“Those who conduct the work within Pandaemonium are known as warders, with respect to the creatures contained within. For all intents and purposes, the place is considered a dungeon,” he explains.

“The creatures within have been deemed dangerous to the star,” the other ancient continues. “Despite this, certain creatures are worthy of further study, so they are interred within the facility. Those who work within are not merely researchers, the must also ensure that none of their subjects slip the shackles that keep them safely contained.”

“It sounds like quite the frightful place,” Themis remarks.

Honestly, it doesn’t nearly as disconcerting as some of the places she's had to step foot in. Ultima Thule still tops her nightmares, but there’s a few others she’d be happy to forget as well.

“I know not the purpose of this investigation, but should you find aught amiss, please do make a report with haste,” is the warning. “Master Lahabrea shall guide us to the proper procedure from there.”

“So you have detected nothing amiss?” Themis asks, surprise in his tone.

“The warders had reported nothing that might cause alarm,” is the confused reply. “Minor aetheric fluctuations, but if there was cause for concern, Master Lahabrea would have acted already.”

“Would he though?” she can’t help asking. “He’s always seemed more reactive than proactive...”

“You seems to be familiar with Master Lahabrea,” and she looks up. “Do you know him?”

“...we've met,” she says cautiously. “But I wouldn't go nearly so far as to say I know him.”

“You must be quite extraordinary for him to have offered his time. He doesn't usually spend it even with others on the Convocation. Ah, regardless, please do remember that he is of the Convocation, and take care to not hinder his work.”

Honestly, if she could avoid Lahabrea entirely, she'd be perfectly happy with that. While she might entertain ideas about kicking him in the shins, what would be the point? Here and now, he’s done nothing.

The masked ancient nods to both of them and takes his leave, giving her a moment to anxiously rub her shoulder; is she really ready for this?

“Well then, shall we be off?” Themis asks. “We've still some distance to travel if we're to reach the entrance to Pandaemonium.”

Lily-Bell lets out a slow breath, nods, and trails after him, once more taking in the sights of Elpis. She had admittedly been almost too stressed in her first visit to pay it proper attention, all too aware of the ticking clock in the back of her mind that was leading to the literal end of the world. Even knowing that there may be something insidious going on beneath her feet, she still can't help but admire the beauty.

“It is a fascinating place, isn't it?” Themis says as she slows to watch a creature float by. It looks familiar, but she can't think of the name off the top of her head. “Do you not have much like it where you're from?”

“I spent most of my life in a place where green was a rare thing,” she admits. “I... it's a bad habit, but I always tend to get caught up in new surroundings. Sorry, I’ll-”

“There's nothing to apologize for,” and Themis smiles at her surprise. “Few get to visit Elpis, and it is well worth admiring. I was quite caught by the sight myself when I stepped into the daylight.”

She remembers Amaurot, and wonders, not for the first time, how many of those people had traveled outside their grand, impressive city.

“I'm guessing you've never been to Pandaemonium either?”

“I have not. I have gleaned bits and pieces from my organization, but this will be the first journey I make to it. I must ask, you have met Lahabrea face to face?”

Lily-Bell frowns, tail lashing slightly. She'd never met Lahabrea as Hades or Themis had originally known him. The Lahabrea of now was different from who she’d been forced to contend with in her time... but Hades had been both different yet the same, and she’s not holding out too much hope that Lahabrea will be as different as Themis clearly is.

“It's complicated,” she says finally. “It... wasn't a good meeting.”

That only seems to make Themis more curious, but he visibly stops himself. Despite her uncertainty, she smiles a little bit.

“You grow more fascinating by the minute,” and she has to wonder if that's a compliment. “I shan't pry; secrets make the journey more intriguing.”

Lily-Bell brings up a hand to cover her smile; Hades and Hyth had both said she would like Themis, and she finds they’re not wrong. There’s an air of competency around him, a hint of who he really is, but there’s also innocence, and mischief . It makes her think of both Krile and Tataru; clearly ready to act when it’s needed, but just as happy to indulge in a bit of fun along the way.

“They’re all complicated more than interesting,” she says after a moment, reaching up and tugging absently at the braid Hades had put her hair in. “Where are we going?”

“The neus to Pandaemonium is on the highest land, at the far end. Ah. Hm... will you be able to manage the neus between here and there?”

She nods. Odd as it had been, the neus hadn’t felt like the atherytes at home, and it had been as easy as one of Hades’ portals. She considers a moment, looks at Themis, then in the direction of Anagnorisis.

“...Race you~”

It’s interesting that a neus teleport doesn’t bother her as much as the larger aetherytes. Perhaps, he wonders, it has something to do with the concentration of aether?

It’s admittedly almost a little saddening that she doesn’t need to lean on him, for Pandaemonium is quite aptly the dungeon he’d called it, and he cannot help but feel just a bit uneasy in their surroundings. No longer the bright daylight and warmth of Elpis, no. Chains and cages, and an eerie silence are their only greetings.

“....well that's just creepy,” Lily-Bell says, and while her tone is calm, her pose is tense. Ears flick back and forth as she scans their surroundings, and she shuffles just the barest bit more in his direction. “I know you said dungeon, but I didn’t think it was quite this literal...”

Humor to cover whatever else she's feeling... it reminds him of both Azem and Hythlodaeus. Would it be too forward to take her hand and reassure her?

The aether wobbles, and he reaches out without considering; the wards of Pandaemonium are fraying dangerously from the inside out, and if they fall, Elpis will suffer an incursion of creatures they have little ability to manage.

“Admittedly, with the speaker in such high spirits, I'd hoped that truly nothing was amiss,” he says after a moment. “Alas, such was in vain.”

“No offense, but what was your first clue?” and there's such a dry tone that he is immediately put in mind of Emet-Selch at his most concerned-irritated. “The lack of people, or the chill in the air?”

“The wards,” and he gestures a little. “Can you not see them?”

She shakes her head, looking baffled. Right, she’s a familiar, made for combat; such intricacies were unlikely to be part of her concept.

“Considering the description of the place, I was expecting at least a couple people up here to make sure we're not lost, you know? Push us back to Elpis because this is restricted and all that. What's wrong with the wards?”

“Something is trying to tear them apart from the inside. I have bolstered them, but it takes... rather a lot of concentration,” he admits. “If trouble comes to us, I will not be of much use.”

There's an expression on her face he can't quite name; resignation? Frustration? Whatever it is, it's gone quick, replaced by a sort of... weary determination that he has seen on Azem's face before. The look of someone who would like to not fight, but recognizes when such is inevitable.

“Good thing I came prepared.”

“I apologize, it was not-”

“It’s not your fault. I was warned that there would be trouble, so it was my own fault for... for hoping it wouldn’t happen so quickly.”

She's trying to sound amused, but underneath, Themis thinks there is some bitterness there. He feels... guilty. 

“It’s not your fault,” and her voice is gentle. “I let myself get optimistic, that’s all. I’ll be fine, I can handle whatever gets thrown at me. Won’t be the first time something’s tried to overwhelm me.”

“I don't mean to leave you wholly unprotected,” and he pouts at her just a little, playing up his youthful appearance. If nothing else it gets an involuntary, small smile out of her. “I can maintain the wards and also manage to provide you magical support, if not step onto the field myself.”

“Magical support?” Her head tips, ears flicking slightly.

“Using your aether as a base, I can summon illusory allies that will fight at your side. Perhaps... seven? Not necessarily an army, but you seem quite formidable.”

She flushes a little, ears going sideways as she looks away; perhaps the compliment threw her? How strange, someone like her should be well aware of-

“Looks like we're going to test out that spell of yours,” she says, and from somewhere she produces... perhaps the oddest looking weapon he's ever seen. A sword, but... what on Ethyris is attached to it??? “Hope I match up to those expectations.”

He follows her gaze, and jerks a little as the robed man that had been approaching them abruptly shifts form; Lily-Bell braces herself, then lunges forward and in her wake trail seven figures, each distinct in shape and skill. And oh.

Oh she is magnificent .

Chapter Text

Lily-Bell likes stone floors. They are very good for dumping heat when she's been fighting and needs to cool down quick.

“That was amazing! ” Themis says, and she cracks open her eyes to meet enthused crystal blue. “Formidable is not the word for what you have done; I've not seen such skills since my last meeting with A- with my friend! Truly, you are a well-practiced fighter, for my shades to have worked so well.”

His shades... she's not going to pretend she hadn't tripped over her own two feet at the sight of Ardbert on the other side of the poor bastard who had been transformed into... whatever that thing had been. She didn't recognize anyone else, but it made her wonder if those shades were just imprints of the other souls that made up who she was.

Maybe she can ask Hades when she gets home...

“Yay?” she says instead, not entirely sure how to response to the enthusiasm. He is so much more overtly emotional than the Elidibus she had known. “How's the... how's that guy doing?” 

She gestures in the direction of the poor bastard she'd had to fight, letting her arm drop back down with a small wince; stupid Zenos, stupid battle scythe, stupid bloodlust -

Her shoulder aches . She’d tested the prosthetic multiple times against various creatures, but tackling an Ancient had ben something else entirely. 

“He lives, but I think it will be some time before he wakes. Are you... Ah, I was caught up in my awe, are you hurting?”

She sits up with care, and curls a little inward with a grimace. Laying down had hurt less, but not by all that much.

Lily-Bell likes her gunblade, but it also means she takes the brunt of attacks, which has never been her preferred position. Not to mention she’s rather out of practice after her enforced healing period,. Now that she knows Themis’s ‘battle shades’ are a lot like when she summons help from the ethereal sea, she can revert to less target-painting skills. Maybe leading with her white mage staff...

“Yeah. I might have overestimated my abilities after four moons of staying in bed and healing...”

“I see. Is there aught I can do to make the pain less?”

If it were Hyth or Hades, she’d take him up on that in a heartbeat and ask for a shoulder massage. But.

“I’ll be all right. I just need to stretch out the aches, I think.” It hurts, but it’s better than nothing. “Any idea who this is?”

“No,” and Themis shakes his head as he looks over, “but those robes are that of a warder, I expect, and perhaps he will be able to tell us what drove him.”

So long as he doesn't try to pick another fight, Lily-Bell isn't going to protest or complain. She is, however, hauling these bloody robes off because they keep getting in the damn way .

“Wear the robes, he said,” she grumbles as she squirms her way out of them and sighs in relief for the fresher air. “You want to blend in, he said. I'm a ruddy miqo'te, I'm not going to blend in worth a damn, and these things are going to get me mauled. Nearly as bad as those stupid formal dresses, this thing is!”

There's a faintly choked noise from Themis that she's not sure if it's laughter or what, but she ignores him, and gets into her bag for one of her spare outfits, feeling better and more herself as she pulls on a jacket that Hyth had so helpfully dyed blue for her. (She had wanted a darker blue, but... well. She likes this. Hyth made it for her. And it's shiny. )

She tugs everything into place, makes sure the belt is fastened and the sashes tied, then stretches up, trying to avoid her shoulder locking up from the mistreatment she's put it under. What she wouldn’t give for a hot bath, and clever hands to massage the aches away...

Still, at least Hades’ borrowed shirt is undamaged. Still smells comfortingly of him. She misses him and wants to go home already, why did she decide to leave him?

“Is that the fashion where you're from?” Themis asks, curiosity in his tone.

“It might be,” and she shrugs, glancing over at him. “But I'm not really fashion conscious. I just wear it because it's comfortable, and it looks nice. Also, I can move in it.”

Okay, the baffled look on his face is genuinely cute. Kind of like how it is on Hyth's face, actually. She understands the point behind the robes, but honestly, she thinks they lost more than they gained in trying to homogenize themselves.

“...well, I suppose we do grant familiars more individuality,” he murmurs.

Small favors for that, at least. Even on her first trip, the robes that Hyth had made for her had been pulled off the moment she’d spotted Meteion. No one had given her a second glance, despite that.

From behind them comes a faint groan, and she turns to see the warder sitting up slowly, hand to his head with a grimace on his brown face.

Huh. He looks... familiar somehow...

“What... happened?” the warder asks, looking around in bewilderment.

“We were rather hoping you might inform us,” Themis says, helping the redhead to his feet. “You stumbled from Pandaemonium and came straight for the attack, changing shape in the process.”

“I.... my mind was... filled with a storm of desperation. Anger. I...” he shakes his head a little. “Pray accept my apologises, and my thanks. Had you not knocked the sense back into me, I may have fallen upon those less capable of defending themselves.”

Lily-Bell waves a hand; honestly, it's about par for course given her life, and it's not exactly the first time she's had to forcefully return someone to normal.

“I'm Lily-Bell,” she says instead, “and this is E... Themis. Who are you?”

“Erichthonios. A warder of Asphodelos, the highest layer of Pandaemonium; where we stand now, essentially.”

“Can you tell us what happened?”

He does, and Lily-Bell feels foreboding sink into her gut. Something is happening here, something set to wreak havoc on Pandaemonium and Elpis beyond if the saboteur has their way. She looks around with care as Erichthonios and Themis discuss what little they know between them, tuning back in when she hear anxious desperation on Erichtnoios’ tone.

“-do not tell the Convocation,” he says as she turns back to them. “I just need the chance to set things right.”

“Strength of resolve alone cannot win in the face of overwhelming odds,” Themis says gently.

“No, but strength of arms can turn the tide,” and she can’t help but snort in amusement as they startle. “Look, we're here to investigate, and so far all we've seen is this outside area, which is unnerving, and fought one person who was changed against their will by something or another. That's not an investigation, that's a joke. We need more details, and first hand experiences before saying one way or another about anything.”

Themis brings a hand up to hide his mouth, as if thinking, but the crinkles at the corners of his eyes give away the fact that he's smiling. Erichthonios looks hopefully at her.

“So... so you'll help?”

“If there's still people in there that can be saved, I'm certainly going to give it my best shot,” she replies. “And I don't answer to the Convocation.”

“....more and more you make me think of my friend,” Themis murmurs. “And they had such faith in you, therefore, I shall place mine there as well, in the hopes that we reach a satisfactory conclusion.”

Erichthonios sags briefly, relief in every line of his body.

“Thank you,” he says with enough sincerity to make her wince a little. “The other warders already owe you a great debt.”

“You know Pandaemonium, so really, we're lucky too,” Lily-Bell points out. “Going into the creepy dungeon without a map is not my idea of a good time.”

“Let us approach the gates; perhaps some of the other warders may also make their way out and it would be best to not give them the chance to go around,” Themis suggests.

Lily-Bell nods, and despite the fact that both of them have quite the height difference on her, manages to lead the way.

“You mean to save both the warders and the creations?” Themis asks, frowning a little. 

Erichtonios nods, and Lily-Bell, from her position at the top step, gives him a confused look.

“They may be dangerous, but they are valuable research subjects. I would rather not see the labor, the untold hours of research and study, go to waste.”

It put her in mind of Urianger, back when she'd first begun her chaotic adventures. Asking her to fight Ramuh of all beings, for data . She'd thought him mad at the time, but she understands better now. A little bit, at least. You can't hardly put years of your life into something and not become attached to it.

Granted, she'll be prioritizing people over creatures, but still.

“I daresay Lahabrea would smile to hear you say such things,” Themis says after a moment. “Well, if we had cause to report to him, anyways.”

Erichthonios just snorts and looks away.

“Smile? I'm not sure his face is capable of such warmth.”

Lily-Bell stifles a snicker, then half turns as she thinks she hears something, her attention focusing on the halls beyond the entrance. A strange, skittering noise... but it falls back after a bit, even as she rests a hand on her pistol.

This place makes her fur stand on end, honestly. The chill would be comfortable, except it’s making her arm ache, and old injuries too. Just because the physical trauma can be healed doesn’t mean the scars don’t remain, and she’s more than her fair share for someone her age. 

(Hades has suggested they live somewhere warmer than Ishgard, given the way the cold makes her hurt , but she likes Ishgard. She likes being near Edmont and Aymeric, likes being close enough to Haurchfant’s grave to visit him without a portal or teleport. She likes Ishgard itself, and she honestly can’t wait to go home.)

“Unfortunately, I'm lacking in ideas of how to go about this,” and there's a disgruntled tone to Erichthonios’ voice as she turns her attention back to them. “I'm a mere warder, I cannot wield the internment magicks.”

“The what?” she asks, curiosity bringing her down a couple steps to rejoin the ongoing conversation.

“You recall in the fight, how I bound you with aetherial shackles for a moment?” When she nods, so does he. “Internment is a more powerful and refined magick based upon the same principle. Both are used to keep a subject docile, but only the keyward of each tier is permitted to use internment. And admittedly... even were I allowed, I lack the aptitude to use the spell to any notable effect.”

“...sure, if you come at it with an attitude like that, ” and she frowns as both of them look at her in surprise. “What? If anyone is incapable of a spell like that, it's me, not you. And besides, if you talk yourself down enough, it messes with you. Makes that assumption a reality. One that’s really really hard to change.”

She has her own issues with self-worth, and knows all too well the truth of her words. She struggles with such, even with the support of family, friends, and so on. Does Ericthonios have no support system at all?

“She may not be incorrect,” Themis says slowly as Erichthonios just stares. “If I recall right, Lahabrea himself established the foundations of these spells. The chains may bind one in place for a short time, while internment freezes the very space around the target, for as long as the caster wills.”

It's definitely not a magic she can learn, but she can see by the way Erichthonios turns to Elidibus Themis that she might have given them both the germ of an idea. She hides a smile as they circle around a solution; the magick talk goes right over her head, but she still tries to file it away for later. Not only will Hyth or Hades be able to break it down for her, then she can tell Urianger and Y'shtola, both of whom would be utterly fascinated by the information.

“I did see the hippokampos in the waterways as I was attempting to make my way out,” Erichthonios says. “While daunting, it shouldn't prove impossible to defeat with the help of those illusory warriors.”

She would, however, give quite a lot to not have to fight things any more. She might miss the travel part of being an adventurer, but she sure as the hells does not miss all the fighting. Still, if it will help them get their spells in order.

“Sure. Point the way and say go.”

Themis hides his smile at her bedraggled appearance. Barely. Thanks to her skills--and her new weapon, a staff through which she channeled magicks of surprising strength--everything had gone off without a hitch. He can't pretend he hadn't worried there for a bit, but the watery surroundings had barely given her pause, and between the phantom warriors he'd crafted and the spells she'd landed, the hippokampos had been quite thoroughly trounced.

“I suspected she was no mere mercenary, but such skills,” Erichthonios murmurs. “Rare is it to see such a seasoned fighter in these halls, let alone one able to demonstrate such skill.”

“Great, now can one of you dry me off?!” she demands, propping her hands on her hips. “This isn't exactly comfortable .”

Erichthonios jolts a little, then rubs the back of his neck in clear embarrassment. Perhaps he hadn’t expected her to hear him, as far away as he was? 

“Wet,” she grumbles. “The worst state of being without spare clothes.”

“You yet retain your robes,” he suggests, even as he lifts a hand and casts the spell that will remove the water from her outfit.

The glare he gets suggests that she both knows that and is, in no way, going to actually wear them. Honestly, he can't complain; her sense of style is as fascinating as she is.... 

Themis wonders if perhaps Azem hadn't created Lily-Bell, just to be certain that he would have help.

Then again, word of her had first come from Venat. Who had not said who Lily-Bell's creator was. So perhaps Venat...?

“You've got proof of concept now,” she says, breaking into his thoughts. “I beat it, you both sealed it. What's the next step?”

“Ah. An excellent question.” and Themis turns to Erichthonios, who is still looking a little on the awed side. “All is well?”

“...yes. I think for the first time, I felt like a proper magus,” he says after a moment. “It was... odd. But welcome.”

“Truly?” Themis raises an eyebrow in surprise. “When you fought earlier, you seemed more than capable.”

“Shackles are perhaps the one exception, and that only because I've been required to practice the spell since I was a child. Other magicks leave me feeling woefully out of my depth...”

“I know that feeling,” and Lily-Bell's voice is almost too quiet for him to catch the mutter. “ Boy do I know that feeling.”

He glances over her at, but she seems disinclined to provide further context, only adding to her mystery. Instead, she seems to be peering at her false arm, as if checking it over for damage, and ah... if it is, that will be a problem...

“I find myself concerned at the lack of other warders,” Themis says after a moment. “Neither bodies, nor active participants in sealing away other creatures. Where might they be?”

“The keyward of Asphodelos is a cautious man. I would not be surprised if he's gathered those he could and retreated to a place he could make safe.”

“Make safe?” and Themis glances sideways to see that Lily-Bell’s ears have perked with curiosity. Also, where on earth did she get that sandwich? “What do you mean, a room of more wards?”

Erichthonios shakes his head.

“Hesperos, the keyward here... rather, the keywards of each level of Pandaemonium can bend the halls and terrain to their will with creation magicks. It's not a far reach to think he may have gathered other warders and built a room safe for them to wait for rescue.” Erichthonios smiles a little, demeanor softening. “He takes great pains to mentor each warder in his charge. I doubt I could have achieved even this much if not for his stern kindness and support.”

“....I know that feeling,” and Lily-Bell's eyes have also gone soft. “Sometimes stern kindness is better than soft.”

Who, he wonders, is she thinking about? Clearly someone she holds great affection for...

He is not jealous. He barely knows her. He is intrigued . Not jealous.

“That certainly seems like quite the useful ability,” Themis says, absently sending another wave of aether towards the shredding wards. Not on his watch, creation bless it. “In any case, if he is as capable and caring as you say, we would do well to seek him our as soon as we can, especially if he has taken your colleagues to a more secured location. Where might we start, do you think?”

Honestly, while Themis is glad to have people out of the way in case of dangerous fights, he can't help but think that perhaps things might go faster, easier, if there were more warders about to help seal away the troublesome things. There are likely to be a number of problems between them and solving the issues they’ve discovered here, and the more warders they have on their side, the better.

“The safest place would likely be the innermost circle of Asphodelos,” Erichthonious says after a thoughtful moment. “From there, if the need took them, they could flee into Abyssos. And even if they found haven in one of the other circles, on the way to the fourth we may yet find them and be able to let them know the floors above are about as safe as can be made...”

“Or bring them with us in case we need a lot more power than just you and Themis. What?” Lily-Bell blinks at both of them as they look at her. “Stacking the deck in our favor is just the best way to survive. Nobody needs to fight but me, after all.”

Themis shares a look with Erichthonios, and sees his own disturbed emotions on the other man's face. While he approves of her agreeing with his unspoken thought about having more warders, the fact that she would willingly take on such troubles is a bit... distressing. If only he could hand the wards off to someone else, to help her fight more directly...

“We still need a more comprehensive understanding of the situation,” Themis says after a moment. “We may yet need to continue into Abyssos, but...”

“And of course, I cannot do what the keyward does.” There is a subtle, bitter note in Erichthonios's tone. “We shall have to make our way down through the central corridor, which has been barred by the phoinix.”

“I get the feeling that it's not going to be something good,” Lily-Bell says dryly... and she has yet another sandwich. Is she getting them from her bag? Clever. No doubt she does need the meal, considering all the strain they've put her under. “Firebirds are either really good, or really bad.”

“You know what it is?”

“Eh,” and she half-shrugs. “At home we have a thing called phoenix down, which can revive you if you get taken out of a fight, but only the once. And there's other birds with fire-wings that are just the worst .”

When the phoinix concept hasn't even been approved? Themis finds himself more and more intrigued, and a quick glance suggests that he is not alone in this. He knows some about the phoinix from Lahabrea's countless trials and errors, a fiery bird with unprecedented regeneration skills. But mostly there have been failures and losses, rejections from the Bureau of the Architect as the creature is not yet living up to what Lahabrea wants , and the successful failure seems to have been remanded here for study.

“Unfortunately, ours is on the side of the worst,” Erichthonios says after a moment. “It is a creature of fury and wrath, and seeks only to burn the world to ash.”

“Naturally,” and she sighs, seemingly more annoyed than concerned. Themis is not sure he likes that. He would prefer she work with something akin to more caution. “So we have to soak the fireball before we can get farther into Asphodelos?”

“While it is possible that it may have flown off to some other wing, making that assumption would be perilous,” Erichthonios admits. “It seemed almost to be patrolling the main halls, and t’would be more sensible to presume that there it remains, between us and the goal. Tis likely we’ll need to subdue and inter it.”

“And anything else in the way. Assuming we don't see little ash piles.”

The irreverence is a bit irksome, but a glance towards the feline familiar suggests that she is not as flippant about this as she's acting. Bravado to cover her anxiety, perhaps?

“So we should go sooner rather than-”

The terrain around them shifts, and Lily-Bell hisses, dropping into a defensive stance and pushing herself in the direction of the open space. Putting herself between them and potential danger.

Themis doesn't like it. Certainly she is competent, but...

The terrain they now stand in is arid and dry, almost hot, but not properly so. There is nothing and no one immediately present to challenge them, but it's clear from her tense shoulders that this is not a comfort. Nor, he thinks, should it be. Not after Erichthonios had just finished telling them that only the keywards of each level of Pandaemonium can alter the spaces like this.

He shares a look with Erichthonios, then catches Lily-Bell by the shoulder, and teleports her with them to the front entrance once more.

Honestly, fighting the phoinix is not nearly as difficult as some of her other fights have been. She thinks perhaps something has broken in her, that she no longer fears such dangerous things. Once you face and defeat the literal embodiment of the end of the world, something as simple--if ridiculously overpowered--at a flaming bird is really... not that stressful.

Not that she can afford to be complacent--if she gets too hurt, the lectures will last for days, and it won’t just be Hades scolding her--but. Honestly, the worst part about the fight is the heat , and once the creature is down and interred once more, she sheds her jacket, caring more about cooling down than about the amount of scarring she’s just put on display.

“Are you all right?” Themis asks.

“Too hot. Not as bad as Ifrit, but... too bleeding hot. I don't suppose you know an ice spell?”

Ifrit had given her literal heat sickness, and she'd been down for almost two weeks, with Tataru providing the care she'd needed to recover.  She doesn't feel like repeating that, and she almost misses the water from the hippokampus. She shoves the jacket into her bag, then goes digging for one of her bottled waters; she needs to cool down before she gets much dizzier...

“I do, but I would not think such a shock to your system would be wise...” Themis hedges.

“I don't mean encase me in ice,” and she gives him a huffy look. “Just here, on the back of my neck, to help cool down. I grew up surrounded by snow and ice, and I live in that still; heat like this is-”

She cuts herself off; she still feels like they’re being watched , and she doesn’t need to give an enemy a clue to knocking her down.

A hand brushes against her neck, leaving a comforting chill in its wake and she lets out a slow breath, feeling the heat retreating as water gently trickles down her skin. 

“Thanks. Now. Does the creeper watching us want to come say hello, or am I going to have to drag someone out of their bloody shadows so we can get this over with?”

Okay, so maybe she's reaching her limit and wants a nap. Getting startled noises from both Erichthonios and Themis is really kind of a bonus; the third scoff, much more derisive, comes seconds before a man fades into view.

Or. Well, she thinks it's a man. He doesn't look like any ancient she's ever seen before, and the lack of robes is actually kind of startling. Is this what Themis had felt when she'd hauled her own off and refused to put them back on? Like the view of the world got shifted just a little sideways?

His outfit reminds her of some of the costumes worn during the All Saints’ Wake celebrations, actually.

“I would expect no less from such an inferior specimen, but I had thought it might delay you some ,” and he sighs, adjusting thin glasses. Which is another first. With their robes and masks, she honestly forgets that they aren’t all picture perfection. “Either that bird was more of a failure than its creators cared to admit, or you are no ordinary trespassers.”

“Can it be both? I'm pretty sure both is a viable option,” she shoots back.

“Keyward Hesperos, why?” Erichthonios demands. “Why have you brought such chaos to your beloved Pandaemonium?”

“I had hoped my suspicions might be misplaced,” Themis murmurs behind her. “Unfortunate...”

“I mean. It was kind of obvious,” she replies just as quietly as he steps a touch closer to her. Preparing to cast his spell for her again, mayhaps? She's not opposed. Hesperos--or what used to be him--isn't nearly as powerful as the Meteia, but that doesn’t mean she needs to be dumb. “If only keywards can manipulate the area and all that.”

A faint sigh of agreement is his response.

“I don't understand,” Erichthonios says, and he sounds... desperate. Lily-Bell empathizes, but she doesn't dare reach out with sympathy, not until she knows if Hesperos is going to pick a fight or not. “What has possessed you?!”

“Oh Erichthonios, must you pester me with these questions?” Hesperos sighs, and the scorn practically drips from his words. Honestly, it reminds her a little of dealing with Fandaniel--not Hermes, but Amon--and she wonders if maybe she can get her pistol quick enough; one good shot...“Think for yourself. Surely you can manage a theory or two with that dim wit of yours.”

Erichthonios’ flinch makes her mentally upgrade her thoughts; a turret or two to Hesperos's arse might be more amusing.

“Then again, you have never really been one for insight,” the strange ancient continues with a mocking smirk. “Why Master Lahabrea suffers your mediocrity, I'll never understand.”

“That is not the insult you think it is,” Lily-Bell says dryly, deliberately drawing the attention back to herself. “Look, not to praise Lahabrea or anything, the man's an arse, but if he thinks Erichthonios deserves to be here? He probably has better insight about it than you do.”

Erichthonios makes a noise somewhere between startled and amused, she thinks. Or maybe embarrassed? Hesperos, however, turns a glare on her that would have sent her younger self scampering to hide behind someone. Probably Themis, given the disparity in her strength to his, and also knowing that he is, in fact, Elidibus of the Convocation.

But she's not that girl any more. She’s stood up to the embodiment of the end of the world. An ancient, no matter how strong he thinks he is, doesn’t even faze her.

“How dare you insult-”

“Look, not to put too fine a point on it, but I just beat a giant firebird into submission. And the hippokampus before that. And then whatever took hold of Erichthonios before that ,” she crosses her arms. “I have faced things far scarier than you, and I'm not inclined to stand by and let you insult someone who’s doing his best.”

Hesperos looks like he wants to draw the sword at his hip and come at her, but something holds him back.

Now isn’t that interesting?

The problem, of course, is that she’s still too hot. Themis’s ice has melted and trickled down her back, and the heat is creeping back in. She’s tired. Overheated. She wants a break, a bath, a nap, and something to eat. She wants to take off her prosthetic arm because the weight is making her back hurt, and just be done .

“You are a feeble thing, aren’t you?” Hesperos says bitingly. “Did your creator fail so hard at their spell to require the support of machinery instead of recreating a pitiful thing like yourself?”

“What happened to you?” Erichthonios demands, and he sounds... incensed. On her behalf? “You are not the Hesperos I know! You have been warped from the inside out.... where is the compassion you had for all, whether they be clad in robes or shackled in chains? Did you hide contempt for us for all these years?”

She knows the sound of heartbreak. The ragged, pained tones in his voice are bitterly familiar, and she kind of wants to hug him. Not enough to actually follow through--for one thing, he might not want the hug--but enough to wonder about how he might react to it.

“Such wasted potential for the son of Master Lahabrea,” Hesperos sneers. “Had you remained one with the being that took you, you might actually progress to doing more than that of a babe in arms for magicks! While you could not have reached my level, perhaps you could have finally been useful for more than this . I have slipped these surly bonds of mortality, and stand on the edge of godhood . As a hemitheos, I shall ever serve Master Lahabrea, unto the end of days!”

Actually, screw waiting for him to attack. Erichthonios is shaken, and Themis is not able to fight, not with holding the wards. They need an out.

“Themis. Quick question.”

“Yes?”

“You know any spells that'll make you not go blind? Cause you're going to need one.” She opens her hand. “When I make a fist, grab Erichthonios and get the hells out of here.”

“I can’t just-”

“I’m your guiding star or whatever, right? Trust me.”

He makes a face at her that makes her grin briefly before she turns back to Hesperos, and steps forward. One by one she closes her fingers, calling up the power she's mostly avoided using unless she's had no choice. 

“And what would a little scrap of a thing like you care to be doing?” Hesperos demands.

She thrusts her first up, channeling the power into the brightest Holy spell she can. Hesperos swears and falls back, and she thinks she hears Erichthonios doing the same... and then something hooks her, just under her sternum, and the next thing she knows is the three of them are once more dumped at the entrance to Pandaemonium.

Chapter Text

“Are you mad? ” Erichthonios demands as Lily-Bell sways and then sits down hard on the stone. “You just- How could you- Why did you-?!”

The felinoid familiar just looks up at him, and Themis finds that while he does agree with the flustered statements Erichthonios is trying to make, he also must admire her sheer audacity . 

He is also worried. She looks near-ready to pass out. If she uses too much aether, will she disincorporate? The investigation is only just started, losing her now will be detrimental in more ways than one.

“M’not gonna let a bully... be a bully,” she says after a moment, her words slurring a little. Exhaustion, or teleportation side effects? “M’not gonna let someone who's been nice t’me be bullied. Jus cause he thin... thinks he's big n'bad doesn’ mean he's right .”

She puts a hand to her forehead, and then shifts to laying on the stone with a pained noise. Erichthonios stares at her for another long minute before turning and stalking off, shaking with emotion.

Themis looks between them, then kneels down and gently brushes his fingers over her hair.

“M'fine,” she mumbles, eyes closed. “Too much Holy, s'all.”

“I expect the hasty teleport didn't much help.”

“...no....”

She curls a bit into a ball and makes a plaintive noise, and Themis wishes he had something that could make her feel better. Some way of making her more overtly comfortable; the stone cannot be good for her to lay on.

“I... find I must echo Erichthonios's words, if perhaps a bit more calmly,” he says after a moment. Calm only because he had not been the one under verbal onslaught, honestly. “What were you thinking?”

“Tol’ you,” and she frowns in his general direction without opening her eyes. “M'not lettin people whov'e been nothing but nice t'me get bullied.”

He feels like there's more to it than that, but she doesn't seem like she's inclined to elaborate.

“I need a nap,” she mumbles, tucking herself even further into a ball. “N’he needs time t'calm down. Wake me inna bell r'two...”

Themis blinks at her, but clearly he has underestimated how tired she is, for it only takes a few moments before her breathing evens out and she goes limp. Which honestly does nothing to answer any of the further questions piling up in his mind. What makes her so reckless as to throw herself before a foe like Hesperos, so willing to stare the man down and play distraction? 

Is she truly not a familiar crafted to aid him by Azem? They would no doubt give any creation of theirs the sheer audacity, and likely would have found it hilarious to set them on a crash course...

But the stone is not of recent make, and the unknown memories in its depth suggest something more. 

Honestly, he wishes he could get not just Azem, but perhaps Emet-Selch in here as well. Or, even better, Venat . Venat would understand this, and not leave him feeling like he's teetering on the edge of a grand discovery, wouldn't she?

....maybe he needs a nap as well. There's little and less he can do for Erichthonios outside of providing a listening ear, and knowing what he does of Lahabrea, he's fairly sure his son won't be terribly forthcoming while his emotional state is as roiled up as it is.

Should he, perhaps, pry at Lily-Bell just a little? What might she be willing to tell him if he does? Tentatively he runs his fingers over her hair again, earning himself a faintly complaining noise that shifts to a near-inaudible purr as he keeps his touch light, slow, and steady.

“What a mystery you are,” he whispers. “Oh for the chance to learn your secrets...”

“Do you want to talk, or do you want to be distracted?” Lily-Bell asks as she flops down next to Erichthonios at the edge of Pandaemonium. “I'm good with either.”

He looks down at her in surprise.

“You're not... going to press for answers?” he asks.

Lily-Bell shrugs.

“Don't see why I should. Parentage is hardly worth fussing over; it's not like you chose your parents.”

Honestly, if she'd had a choice, she wouldn't have chosen her own, which really just goes to prove that souls between lives are really stupid when they finally go to reincarnate. She rather thinks Hermes would never have reincarnated as Amon if he'd actually been able to choose .

“Did you... mean it. What you said to Hesperos?”

“What, about Lahabrea? Yeah. Man's an arse. I'm honestly in awe of the fact that he found someone who could stand him long enough to have a child.”

So maybe she is hamming it up a little, but getting Erichthonios to snort in amusement, after being so beat down by Hesperos's words, is an achievement.

“I should chide you to speak respectfully,” Themis sighs a little as he joins them. “But I cannot deny that the public face Lahabrea often portrays, of composure in the face of unnerving circumstances, makes him seem quite cold.”

Cold isn't the word she'd use to describe the asshole who'd taken over Thancred, nearly gotten her and a handful of others killed with the Ultima spell, and then tried to kill her when that had failed. Had killed her, but Hydaleyn, Venat, had interfered and revived her.

Absently she rubs the scar on her chest, then shakes her head a little. They clearly know a very different Lahabrea than she does, and that's probably for the best. Or worst, honestly. If this is supposed to be his problem, why isn't he the one solving it?

“Was it the previous chief keyward here, Athena, that was your mother?” Themis asks.

“Well, tis little wonder you're the lead on this investigation,” Erichthonios snorts a little. “Aye, t'was she who brought me here, and furthered my education along with some help from other Words of Lahabrea. My father had little to do with it, or myself.”

“No love lost there,” Lily-Bell hums. “What happened to her? Why is Lahabrea in charge?”

“...I know not, save that she is no longer with us” and Erichthonios looks away. “But he was eager to take over for her, barely giving any time to mourn, so what love do I owe him when he has given none himself?”

“Hey.” she reaches over and lightly bats his robes. “I'm not saying you should. I didn't get along with my own kin, and ended up being adopted by someone else well after my childhood was gone and dust. Blood makes him your parent, but it's affection, loyalty, and trust that make up the family.”

She had learned that the hard and slow way. Sometimes she still can't quite believe everything that's come her way because of one accidental investigation. On sword in a stump had brought her to the attention of the Scions, and from there... well.

Lily-Bell gets to her feet after a moment, not looking at either ancient, and rolls her shoulder absently. Sleeping with the prosthetic on wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t the most comfortable either. Or maybe it was because she’d slept on solid stone instead of in a bed, or wrapped up in the blanket she knows Hades would have put into her bag. 

Either way, she aches, but she doesn't have time for that. Stretches it is, even if it seems weird to them.

“And, not to put too fine a point on it, we don't really need to worry about him if he's not going to stir himself to get involved,” she points out. “I had my nap, I had a snack, I feel like it's time we figure out how to deal with the person who said he'd become a hemi-whatsit.”

“We haven't seen any sign of other warders,” Themis says with a frown. “Presuming he hasn't... removed them in a permanent manner, they must be confined in a way that keeps them out of reach and from escape. And considering he is now aware of our presence, he is likely preparing for the next encounter.”

“Chasing creatures is a waste of effort and energy,” Lily-Bell puts in. “If we take him out first, we can play ‘catch that critter’ to our hearts’ content after.”

Her casual irreverence is not nearly as casual as they might think. While Themis’s magical fighters are good, she would give a lot to have Hades with her. Or Venat. Venat could probably set this whole place to rights without breaking a sweat .

“He said he had become one with the creations. So.... so perhaps he is vulnerable to internment,” Erichthonios suggests.

Lily-Bell blinks; admittedly, she had just been planning on punching Hesperos in the face. She's no pugilist, but she knows how to throw a punch, and she’s just irritated enough that she wouldn’t hesitate.

“After all he's done, you would rather simply confine him?” Themis asks, surprised.

“I need to know why ,” Erichthonios admits lowly. “What made him forsake everything he's worked so hard for... It seems too.... If it's all for Lahabrea,... it doesn't make any sense! This chaos and disarray only hurts the work being done here, and delays it! This nebulous power doesn't advance the research in any way I can see!”

“What's your opinion, Lily-Bell?” Themis asks.

“I've seen eyes like that before,” she says soberly. “Whoever he was before, who he used to be, he's not that person any more. Those eyes are obsessed with a single goal. If you want to inter him and try to get answers, I'm not going to stop you, but if he tries to hurt you, I'm taking him out.”

“I suspect if you had a middle name, it would be daring,” and Themis chuckles softly. “I know not what you have faced, but seeing you so resolute is all the convincing I need. Let us try you plan then, Erichtnoios, and hope for the best.”

Erichthonios lets out a faintly relieved sigh.

“I think I can at least shed some light on the nature of our foe,” he offers. “When he spoke with us, his fangs reminded me of a creature known as the vrykolakas, a beast that feeds off the aether of its prey. It's like that he's merged with that one.”

“Pleasant...”

An aether eater... honestly, she can't recall ever fighting something like that before. Most everything back home deals physical damage with the occasional, very mundane, side effect. But if he has to bite her to get the aether...

Yeah, she can avoid that.

“Keep in mind that he may also change the environment to suit him,” Themis warns. “It will likely not be easy...”

She has to bite her tongue on informing both of them that she defeated the literal embodiment of the end of the world, and just flicks her wrist to cycle her soul stones. She’s going to want to move quick, and hit fast...

It had been Alisaie who’d gotten her interested in being a red mage, and she’s already channeling a lot of her friend as it is; when the familiar armor wraps around her, prosthetic and all, she feels a little more settled.

“All right. Let’s go handle this next problem, and see about getting you some answers.”

Themis wishes he could be surprised that Hesperos chooses death over answering their questions. He wishes also that he could have shielded both Lily-Bell and Erichtnoios from witnessing it, though... though Lily-Bell doesn't seem one bit bothered by what had just taken place, despite her being in range for Hesperos’ blood to splatter across her feet. He thinks she mutters something, but with the way she's not facing him, he has no idea what she may have said.

“How did your ambition lead you so astray?” Erichthonios says mournfully. “You were so much better than that. You shone so much more brightly than anyone else in Pandaemonium; Lahabrea respected you, trusted you... what else did you want?!”

“It seems he became blinded by his own desires, and lost sight of his duty,” and admittedly, Themis cannot help himself, feeling derisive at the thought. How could he do that to the warders and Pandaemonium? “And in the end he lost it all, plans in tatters and life ended. Where lies the dignity in that?”

“We'll never know,” and Lily-Bell faces them both with a shrug, putting the rapier and aetheric crystal away in their holders. “And speculating on it is only going to be frustrating, and possibly hurtful. Yes, he fell here, by his own hand and failed whatever he was trying to do, but before that, he was a good man, and he cared. Remember him that way, and not for whatever twisted him into this lie that he became.”

Themis blinks at her; he became a lie? What a strange turn of phrase for her to use.

“....perhaps you are right,” and Erichthonios sighs a little, rubbing his hands over his face. “We should try and find the other warders so that we can round up the creations and return calm to this level of Pandaemonium, at the very least.”

“I may be able to help with that,” Themis says after another moment of staring at the feline-featured woman. How strange and fascinating and kind she is... “The influence of Hesperos’ magic is fading throughout Asphodelos, which makes this the perfect opportunity to seize control of the facilities and restore them to their proper state.”

“Wh... can you really do that?” Erichthonios asks.

Themis can’t help but give them both his best enigmatic smile; though he is not exactly fond of hiding the truth of who he is from them, he knows ‘Elidibus’ would have a harder time of connecting to them both than he does now. But to take control now that Hesperos no longer holds sway?

He reaches down and grasps for the threads of control of Asphodelos... and finds shadows clinging to every thread. Something just beyond them looms and he thinks.... He thinks it is angry.

“What... presence is this?”

“Themis?”

Concern in Lily-Bell’s voice. Not something he wants to be the cause of.

“Erichthonios, what lies beyond this threshold?” he asks, unable to keep himself from sounding stern.

“That’s the passage to Abyssos,” and Erichthonios sounds confused. “Why?”

“Be on your guard,” Themis warns. “With Asphodelos free of obstructions, I can more clearly sense disturbances in the lower levels. Something stirs down there.”

He wants to reach out as Lily-Bell takes two steps towards that entrance, weapon in her hands, but he finds he needs not; the whisper of threat briefly becomes a shout that shakes the air and ground, and a warding sigil flares to life, blocking the path.

“How?” Erichthonios demands, clearly startled by its appearance.

“Let us return to the gates,” Themis says, eyeing the sigil warily. This power, he should know it... “We can better assess from the safety of distance.”

Lily-Bell will be the first to admit she's not actually paying that much attention to what Erichthonios and Themis are discussing. She's tired, she aches, and Hesperos deciding to commit suicide in front of them is giving her intense , distressing flashbacks to when Zenos had done the same goddamn thing.

Even dead, the bastard still manages to haunt her. Gods, what she wouldn't give to have Hades’ arms to burrow into, or Hyth's. The warmth to chase away the memories, and the nightmares to come...

She wants to go home .

“-Bell? Lily-Bell? Are you all right?”

She jerks and looks up to see both Ancients staring at her with concerned faces, considers her response, then decides to offer honesty.

“No. What Hesperos did... a few years back, someone else did, and it's... If you guys don't need my help any longer, I need to leave. I need to go home .”

Honestly, she feels bad for Hesperos. Whatever had been done to him, it had made a lie of his very being, which had grated against her mind the entire fight. Sometimes, she really hates that her Echo lets her know lies from truth...

“Understandable. The end of a life in such a manner...” Themis shakes his head a little. “Well, the way forward is barred, and I maintain control over Asphodelos, so we should not need your strong arm and casual manner for a bit. I am quite sure that Erichthonios and I can handle things while you regain strength.”

“Agreed,” and Erichthonios nods firmly. “I may not have done much, but I will not waste the time apart; I'll find some manner of making myself of more use by the time you return.”

Lily-Bell blinks at him in surprise.

“If you weren't here, we wouldn't have known how to use any of the magics hanging around,” she points out. “We'd probably still be stuck chasing creatures. Don't sell yourself short just because someone twisted your mentor into a pretzel in his own head. You're pretty awesome.”

The startled look on Erichthonios's face is followed up by him looking away and rubbing the back of his neck, very clearly flustered. Themis half-smiles at her, then nods in clear agreement.

“She's right. Your knowledge and familiarity gave us quite the edge,” he says. Then points at her, making her step back slightly in surprise. “And that's not to discount your own help in getting us this far, Lily-Bell. We all have different skills that we bring to bear upon this investigation, and tis only together that we shall reach the end of this investigation and see Pandaemonium saved.”

She can't quite help the embarrassed scowl, which only seems to amuse him, if the glittering teal eyes are any indication. He is so very different from Elidibus. No wonder Hades had grieved for him.

“Then I’ll see you both later. Be careful, okay?”

“And yourself,” Themis smiles at her, even as Erichthonios nods. “Return to us full rested, and we shall see what needs be done next.”

She waves to both of them--spares a moment to wonder what it might be like to hug Themis on purpose--before turning away and heads to the neus that'll take her back up to Elpis.

The fresh air after so long is a relief, as is the sunlight, and she's not slow about finding a sunny spot in which to just flop down and absorb some of the warmth and ease. She’s no idea how many days, nights, whatever, she’s been down there, but only a few hours of snatched sleep and a couple different meals mean that the rest is welcome.

After a moment she digs out the crystal and holds it up to the light. Who had made it, and why? How had it been set adrift on the aetherial sea, and for how long? None of those questions had been answered, not by her, nor by dealing with the issues in Pandaemonium.

“Some investigation,” she mutters, carefully undoing all the connections between her false arm and the shoulder socket; she does not want to know what it’d be like to teleport with the thing on, no thank you. “More of a mess than an investigation, and I have more questions now than when I first got here!”

How is she supposed to explain any of this to Claudien? Hells, how is she going to explain it to Hyth and Hades? Can she really go back now, or should she just stay, deal with the horrors in her mind on her own, and give them what help she’s capable of until she drops?

Almost she feels a flick against her ears, and a voice that sounds suspiciously like Y’shtola scolding her for pushing herself too hard. They’re none of them here, and yet...

Lily-Bell sniffles a little, then takes a deep breath; arguably she should wait longer, just to make sure her stomach is empty, but she wants comfort. She wants home, safety, love, warmth..

She wants Hades .

Is he still on the First, or should she just try to aim for home? Can she even make that jump without being in the right spot? She’d had to go back to the landing zone for Elpis the first time, but-

She’s not going to know until she tries, and she’s more powerful than she tends to let herself remember.

She shoves the prosthetic arm into her bag, closes her eyes, and reaches. Hades had said he would show Hyth and Stardust all around the First. Knowing him, he probably did that, and has probably sent Stardust home so he can have some personal time with Hythlodaeus... But if she goes home, and then jumps to the First, he’ll be upset .

But if he’s not on the First, what then?

Il Mheg. If Hades is already on the Source, then Il Mheg will be safe; Feo Ul won’t let anything touch her until she’s recovered enough to call for Hades.

She gets to her feet, already whispering the worlds of a spell that has no anchor in this current time, and reaches. Reaches for the familiar, reaches for the sense of childlike wonder and glee that permeates Il Mheg, and pulls .

Chapter Text

Lydha Lran with an early morning fog wafting through the flowers and trees is a picturesque sight that Hythlodaeus rather wishes he had the talent to capture as a painting. Preserving the image in a crystal just doesn’t hold the same level of magic, per se, as a properly done painting would. Wasn’t one of the pixies a painter? Perhaps he could-

“You! Pretty purple one!”

Hyth stops. Blinks as one of the pixies just barely stops short of tackling his face.

“Yes?”

“The hero who returned the night to us is sick!” and the panic is clear. “Come help her!”

Hyth’s heart stops for a brief moment; Lily-Bell? Lily-Bell is sick? Lily-Bell is back?

The pixie speeds off and Hyth hurries after them, to the aetheryte of Lyda Lran where Lily-Bell is curled up in a miserable looking ball near a puddle of vomit. The poor dear looks half-frozen at best, and utterly miserable . (She also looks to be sporting new bruises, and won’t that make Hades go through the roof?)

He conjures a handkerchief, and dips it into the water of the fountain the atheryte crystal hovers over, then places it gently on Lily-Bell’s neck. She whimpers pitifully, and oh, does he curse his own inefficiency at the moment... 

“What is wrong with our precious sapling?!”

Ah, and there is Feo Ul. Perfect.

“Naught that can’t be fixed,” he says soothingly as the fiery pixie darts in like they’re about to pick a fight. “Like as not she just needs a bit more rest to be right as rain.”

He’d never asked how long she’d been in Elpis before he and Hades had arrived on that fateful day, but she’d been up, if... not exactly hale or healthy looking. So surely, this would be the same sort of situation, wouldn’t it?

Lily-Bell makes another plaintive noise, and her arm moves, reaching-

He catches her hand before it can land in the vomit, then carefully eases his other arm under her; he can’t forget how fragile she is, despite her attempts at convincing him otherwise. She’s small and delicate, and he wants to wrap her up in the softest fluff imaginable, to keep her safe, a sentiment he knows Hades shares.

She whines at him, but curls into him as he tucks her close, making sure to keep the damp cloth in place as she shifts around. He bites back a curse as her truncated limb presses against his shirt and biting cold penetrates immediately. How on earth can she stand that???

Instead of asking, Hyth gets to his feet and presses a kiss to her forehead as she tries burrowing into him.

“I’ve got you sweeting,” he murmurs. “Just hold on, we’ll go to Hades, and it’ll be all right.”

It will, won’t it? Hades has much more experience with this, surely it’ll be all right. He’s not quite running , but he can’t pretend he’s walking at as quick a clip as his leg will allow.

“H’th?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“S...wr’ng?”

She must be picking up on his agitation. He wants to tell the usual little white lie--nothing’s wrong, of course it isn’t--but he knows what look that will get him.

“I’m worried about you,” he manages after a moment, carefully altering his stride. Smoother, less anxious bounce. “So we’re going to get you to Hades.”

“Mn... kay...”

Well, at least he hasn’t upset her. He is however going to upset Hades if he doesn’t at least try to calm himself down... but.. But how can he be calm when Lily-Bell looks so worn out?! It was different before he knew her, when she was first the odd little familiar, and then the odd little heroine trying to save them all.

But now she is Lily-Bell , someone he cares for deeply, and he doesn’t know how he can help with this!

“Feo Ul, if you would please let Hades know that Lily-Bell and I will be there soon, so that he has warning, I would be much obliged,” Hyth says, glancing sidelong at the pixie.

They nod and vanish in a puff of glitter, and Lily-Bell makes a faintly plaintive sound.

“M’fine...”

“You very much are not, and... and I don’t know how to help with this,” and Hyth has to work to keep his tone steady; he might be somewhat panicking, but he doesn’t need to scold her about something she had no control over. “So we are going to Hades, who does, and-”

She shifts and bumps her forehead into his chin. It’s not hard--if anything she almost misses due to how he’s cradling her--but it does make him pause.

“S’jus... tel’port sick,” she mumbles. “Normal.”

That doesn’t much make him feel better, though it certainly does explain why Hades insists on making portals from one place to the next instead of utilizing the functional aetheryte network. Granted, this must be on the extreme end of things, but-

“Perhaps to you, but it’s concerning to me.”

Granted, more concerning is the continuingly icy metal pressing against his chest. How is she bearing that?!

Hades is in the doorway by the time they reach the Bookman’s Shelves, and Hyth can’t pretend he isn’t relieved to see him. Lily-Bell has stayed quiet, but she doesn’t seem to be breathing shakily any more, and her fingers have curled loose into his shirt.

“Kitten.”

Her head lifts, and her fingers release Hyth’s shirt as her hand reaches out. Hyth is willing to deposit her into Hades’ arms for multiple reasons, not the least being that Hades has been a fretful, worried mess the whole time she has been away, and watching that stress melt from his love’s shoulders eases his own tension.

It also gives Hyth the chance to examine the metal port where her prosthetic would go, and he finds he doesn’t like what he sees.

“I think you need a warm bath,” Hades says after a moment, and Hyth flicks a glance up to see the concerned look on his face. “Have you any objections to this?”

“Bath...? Mmkay...”

She sounds drowsy, which is... well, it’s better than shaky.

“Might I stay?” Hyth asks, unable to help himself. “I’ve missed you.”

Hades’ expression softens a little bit--they’d both missed her, though it’s certainly no secret who was the worst about it--and Lily-Bell’s head tips a bit in his direction, pale eyes half-open. She looks... if anything, she looks baffled by the request.

Perhaps it’s too soon; they’d only just agreed to trying to be more than friends.

She looks at him for a long minute, then up at Hades and makes a faintly plaintive noise.

“We’ll go back to the Pendants,” he says, shifting her up a bit to snap his fingers and form a portal. “The tub there is more than large enough for all to share.”

Hyth blinks a couple of times, even as he rapidly followed Hades through the portal that deposits them neatly into her room at the Pendants back in the Crystarium. He’s not going to protest, but how on earth-

“You fill the tub,” Hades instructs leading the way into the bathing room. “No scents. Warm water, but not hot. Now where did I leave that waterproof covering...”

Glad of clear instructions, Hyth is willing to leave Hades to taking care of their precious miqo’te, while he tends to the more mundane aspects of preparing a bath for the three of them to share.

Hades cradles her close as they lay on the bed, Lily-Bell freshly bathed and unconscious between them. Sleeping off her return, as she had last time, utterly trusting that she is safe with him there.

She hadn’t said much in the bath, and had only mumbled a complaint when he’d carefully checked her shoulder stump as the warmth had raised blisters where it had connected to her skin. Hyth had been more distressed than she was, and while Hades won’t say it to his face, he can admit to himself that it was a bit entertaining, and also entirely too familiar. How fragile these sundered beings were at times...

But Lily-Bell only looks fragile. She’s survived heartbreak and betrayal enough to fell a lesser person, survived weather that had put Ktisis’ snow fields to shame. Certainly they will be after her to put on a bit more weight until she grows determined to return, but she is not nearly as frail as she appears.

“I don’t like what happened with the prosthetics,” Hyth whispers.

“Nor I,” and Hades frowns down at the blistered skin. No blood, which is good, but... “Some manner of covering will be required , if she must go back again, lest she lose more of herself to frost.”

Hyth reaches over and his fingers smooth thin strands of hair from Lily-Bell’s face, a move that only makes her burrow more into Hade’s shoulder. Alive, if not entirely well... And he has missed her so.

“....Would that you had been the one to-”

“Hush.” The fact that Hyth does, with a startled noise, makes Hades smile dryly. “You did fine. I was wondering when you would realize how much she is not larger than life. This is certainly not the ideal way, but...”

But Hades had looked down at her in that bed after the chirurgeons had finished working on her, healing her injuries, doing what they could for her arm when she had so little for them to work with. How small the savior of the world had seemed. How frail, how fragile . Such a contrast from the stubbornly fierce heroine he’d met on Elpis, or the more anxious, but just as stubborn heroine he’d met on the First.

So small. So determined.

He had come so close to losing her-

Hades closes his eyes, and focuses on her breathing. On the warm breath ghosting softly over his skin, the faint flick of her ears that hints as to their tone getting a little loud. The weight of her stretched across his chest, tail draped over his thigh as she sleeps.

She is here. She’ll tell them everything when she wakes.

And she will wake.

Eventually.

Hyth’s arm drapes over her, over them both, and he tucks his head against Hades’ shoulder.

“How do you stand it?”

Hades is quiet for a long moment, just letting his fingers trail over warm skin. He knows every scar on her body now, and the stories attached to them, and-

“When I cannot be with her, I have faith that she will do everything in her power to return,” he says finally. “I cannot box her up, make her lesser , just because I fear for her. She survived long enough that I finally found her, and I have little doubts that she would have continued to live, even had we never met. I want her to thrive , Hythlodaeus. If that means waiting, and worrying, then I can handle those feelings. So can you.”

Hyth sighs, and a fluttering kiss is pressed to his shoulder. It's not quite agreement, but Hades trusts that Hyth will figure it out. He's an idiot sometimes, but he's not actually stupid.

Lily-Bell mumbles in her sleep, tail flicking abruptly, and Hades turns his attention to her instead, to soothe and comfort her back down into the sleep she needs to recover.

Lily-Bell hadn't planned on bursting into tears when she'd woken up being cuddled by Hades and Hyth, but the warmth and security had been everything she'd been anxiously missing the entire time in Elpis--save those few moments where Themis held her and she felt safe--and given all that had attempted to go after her, compounding in Hesperos’s suicide, it had just sort of... happened .

Hades had only held her tight, not whispering even the slightest complaint, and gods, she loves him so much for it. Hyth had panicked a little bit--he’s still not entirely used to her, but she can tell he’s trying--and Hades had ended up pulling him down over her, practically cocooning her in the warmth of them both. Which had been just the thing to lure her back into sleep when the tears had run their course...

Waking up the second time was much more about scent than because she actually wanted to wake. But... that smelled like food. It sizzled like food...

Slowly she peels her eyes open, reflexively burrowing into Hades’ secure grip as the light makes her head ache. His hand comes up, fingers brushing soft against her temple, and strong fingers gently massage some of the pain away.

“There’s my precious kitten,” he murmurs, shifting to press a kiss to her forehead. “Welcome home.”

She purrs at him briefly, and honestly would be quite happy to stay in his arms forever... 

Except her body is telling her she needs to move fairly quick for the bathroom. Hades only huffs his amusement as she whines a little, then reluctantly pulls away from him to make that quick dash across the room. Hyth’s startled noise from the small kitchen as she scampers past makes her feel a bit guilty--no doubt he’d also like a hug--but she’d rather not embarrass herself.

Fortunately she’s done and washed up before the anxiety attacks her. She needs to see them. Mostly Hades, but having both of them in sight would certainly be better than no one at all.

Hades is up when she gets out, setting the table, and for a moment she just watches him. Hades has some dark circles under his eyes that make her feel guilty. She’d no idea how long she’d been at Pandaemonium, but surely it couldn’t have been so long as to make him look like that, could it? 

Despite that, he moves with his usual grace, setting their normal places--well, normal at their home, here it’s a little more haphazard because the bench she’d once had seems to have been replaced by some spindly looking stools instead--with only the faintest clicks of ceramics. His shirt shifts a little, and she spots the ghost of a bruise and-

“Sweeting, come over and get some breakfast,” Hyth says, interrupting her train of thought. “I bet you’re starving, hm?”

She still hesitates a moment before walking over, and doesn’t go for the food so much as for Hades, slipping herself under his arm so she can plaster herself to his side. She feels the tension slide from him as his arm drapes over her, and she breathes in familiar scents that soothe her all the way down to her toes.

Then Hades nudges her at a stool, and she obediently sits down.

“Food first,” he says firmly. “Then you can tell us what you learned about Pandaemonium.”

Hades seethe quietly, Lily-Bell curled securely in his arms once more; while she hadn’t started crying again, the way she trembles leaves him wishing he could but go back in time himself, and prevent Zenos from ever being born. Perhaps he had been useful at the end, but one moment of use against an entire lifetime of madness...

Hyth’s hand runs lightly down his spine, and Hades does his best to relax; Lily-Bell is distressed enough, and he has more control than this. Very carefully he shunts the ire away, to be confronted at a later date, and just strokes her hair.

“What did you think of Themis?” he asks instead.

He can tell the question startles her, but the shaking does ease.

“Oh, yes, do tell,” and Hyth’s chin hooks over his shoulder. He can tell the other man is grinning. “He was quite the earnest one in every aspect of his life. Including when Keah could talk him into mischief.”

Lily-Bell pulls back enough to look at both of them with confusion-narrowed eyes.

“I.. he was... kind,” she says finally. “He... he reminded me a little of Venat, just not as...” she pauses, clearly searching for the right word.

“Chaotic,” Hades offers dryly, startling a giggle out of her.

“Energetic,” is Hyth’s cheeky contribution.

“Dramatic.”

“No, that’s you,” and Lily-Bell giggles again as Hyth playfully bumps his head against Hades’. “Ever the theatrical one.”

“Both Azem loved to drive me to distraction,” Hades grouses, not meaning a word of it. “Keah was only better at it because we grew up together.”

Hyth’s chuckle is a warm breath against his skin, and Hades very pointedly does not think about what it might be like to share a bed with them both in non-platonic ways. Separately yes. But not together. Not yet.

“But you liked him?” he asks instead.

She nods.

“He... he didn’t make fun of me for being teleport sick, and... and included me right from the start when I told him that I was there to also investigate Pandaemonium.” Her fingers curl loosely in his shirt. “He said that Azem had said he’d be given aid by a falling star...”

Hades is fairly sure there’s something she’s not saying, and he’s willing to bet it has something to do with the bruise on her face... but the lay of her ears and the twitch of her tail, the curl of her body... Whatever she’s not saying is embarrassing. And it’s irrelevant. So long as Themis didn’t harm her, he sees no reason to pry, not when she’s so warm in his arms, on his lap, not when she’s here , and he can hold her securely once more.

“Keah certainly did have a talent for cryptic little prophecies,” Hyth sighs a little. “One time they told me I’d be experiencing a storm of snowy white; that was the day someone decided they were going to move all those documents from the spacious storage to the cramped one, balanced everything poorly, and buried myself and three other assistants in paper.”

Hades snorts a little at the memory. 

“It took us weeks to fix it all,” Hyth shakes his head a little, then reaches around Hades to lightly boop Lily-Bell's nose. “Though I dare say they were spot on in their description of you. A falling star! Simply adorable.”

She makes a face at him, and mock-snaps at Hyth's hand, which he quickly retracts. Hades snorts a little in amusement, and runs his fingers over her hair, soothing her agitation a bit.

“And how well did the prosthetic hold up?” he asks.

“...well enough,” she says after a moment, absently rolling her shoulder. The blisters have faded, but he finds himself worrying about her anyways. “I definitely felt like I was out of practice with my gunblade though... My shoulder was one big ache for a while after I helped Erichtonios. I had to switch to a different weapon to go up against the hippokampus, and the phoinix. And... and it froze up pretty bad on the way through.”

“We'll certainly be adding a secure, warm covering for that,” Hades says with a firm nod. “Though I would rather you not have to go back at all...”

Hyth hums his agreement, and Lily-Bell looks pensive.

“I walked out with more questions than when I went in,” she admits slowly. “And it... it doesn't feel done , but I-” A shudder ripples through her as her voice catches.

Hades snugs her close, and Hyth's arm snakes around to wrap around as well.

“We're glad you're back,” Hyth says before Hades can. “That's the longest Hades has slept sin-”

Hades promptly plants an elbow in Hyth's ribs; the lavender haired man squawks a complaint and dramatically flails as he mock-falls from the stool. Hades only huffs, even as Lily-Bell peers around him to check.

“...how long was I gone?” she asks, as Hyth picks himself up off the floor and dusts himself off, before plunking himself right back on the stool and returning his chin to Hades’ shoulder.

“More than long enough,” Hades says, admittedly a bit evasively. He doesn't want her to feel guilt over the fact that it had been hard to sleep without her. Especially since he'd allowed Stardust to keep the little mammet version with her when he'd taken her to Edmont. “I would rather you not go back for a time...”

Hyth coos, and Hades promptly elbow him again. He loves the man, he really does, but sometimes, he also really wants to throw him in a lake.

“I...” After a moment she sighs and nods, and melts into his arms. “I want to stay like this for a while...”

“There's little and less to do,” Hades murmurs. “Stardust is with your father, and likely being spoiled to within an inch of he life, so I see no reason why we can't go back to bed for a short time and rest further. Does that sound all right?”

“I'd... like that. But, um...” She pulls back a little to lean around him so she can look at Hyth, once more picking himself up off the floor. “...can I have another sticky bun?”

Hyth practically bounces to his feet, and Hades smiles faintly. Hyth quite liked baking, and clearly the request is a welcome one.

“Sweeting you can have as many sticky buns as you'd like,” and Hyth leans down to press a kiss to her forehead, earning a trilling purr. “Just let me know when you've had enough.”

“Do not eat yourself ill,” and Hades huffs a little as his darling pouts up at him. “Though there’s not kittens here to set a good example for, you know you’ll regret eating only sweet.”

She sighs, then snuggles into him.

“Story?”

Hades softens. Leans down and plants a kiss on her forehead.

“Yes, love. I will read you a story.”

Chapter Text

“What a journey,” Claudien murmurs as he takes the cup of tea from Ruissenaud and holds it loosely in his hands. “So there certainly was trouble in Pandaemonium, and you helped out  one of it's warders and a member of the Convocation... but you say that your work feels unfinished?”

Lily-Bell nods, even as Hades shifts in a disgruntled manner. She knows he doesn't want her to go again so soon, but she doesn't want to let it linger. What if Elidibus Themis and Ericthonios get into trouble they can't handle? They'd only made safe Asphodelos, not the deeper level of the research facility, and that ward that had popped up...

“The fact that you've returned to the same time and place you left means that this was supposed to happen, doesn't it?” Nemjiji asks. “Else things might have drastically changed, would they not?”

“The Final Days of so long ago left marks on the ages that followed,” Reissenaud rumbles as he hands Lily-Bell a cup of her own. A dark, earthy blend, with... citrus? She likes it. “If such creatures escaped and wrought havoc on Elpis and the world then, surely we'd know.”

Lily-Bell presses into Hades even as she sips. She doesn't understand time travel, doesn't understand how going back and forth still landed her in the same spot. It's all far, far over her head, and the person she might have once asked about it is long gone.

She misses Venat, even if she only knew her as Venat for a short time. It would be nice to see her again some day...

“I know that you have only just returned, but once you are recovered, would you be willing to travel that distance once more?” Claudien asks. “I feel as though we are on the cusp of understanding what may have propelled such a memory crystal to the surface of the sea.”

“Once I'm recovered,” Lily-Bell agrees after a moment, pressing her head lightly against Hades’ tense arm. “But there's some stuff I should take care of before then, so it's going to be a little bit before I can.”

“Of course, of course!” Claudien's head bobs so rapidly that his glasses nearly go flying, and the tea sloshes about in his cup. “And please do let us know if there's anything we can do to ease the burden! I know you've only been on your feet such a short while after saving the world.”

Five moons now. And she can't pretend that helping Erichthonios and Elidibus Themis with safely interring those creatures hadn't made her feel like she was useful again. While she's not eager to traverse back through time to Elpis again, once more... just to wrap things up. She can do that.

“Oh, though, if you don't mind, would you be willing to return the crystal to our keeping? While none of us can travel to the past with you, we may yet manage to extract more information from the crystal that might guide your next steps.”

“Oh. Yeah, of course.”

She doesn't think she needs it any more, honestly; the portal in the Tower is attuned--though hopefully she won't go tumbling tail over ears again--and it's not whispered a single thing to her, despite being in her care the whole time she'd worked through the levels of Pandaemonium with Erichthonios and Themis. So she digs it out of her pocket again and hands it over to Claudien.

“Ah, it shines just as brilliant as it did when we met,” and he smiles at the crystal, then tucks it into his own pocket. “While I can't promise any meaningful results at a rapid pace, rest assured that we are ready to prod and pry until it gives us something more to work with, and you shall, of a certainty, be the first to know!”

Hades can't say why he feels perturbed at the fact that Lily-Bell handed over the crystal to the ones who'd initially discovered it, but there had been a gleam to Claudien's eyes that he didn't quite like. In an odd way, it almost reminded him of Lahabrea... not the man he’d once been, but the one he’d become. Obsessed with... something that wasn’t just Rejoinings and ‘repairing’ their world.

Still, now that the meeting is done, he feels no guilt in promptly whisking his wife away from Sharlayan, back to their home in Ishgard, where she is immediately punched upon by Stardust, who immediately starts purring up a storm.

“You also received a couple of letters from Erenville while you were away,” he says as Lily-Bell attempts to wrangle the kitten that is determined to climb up her. He’s not helping; it’s cute. “Also the twins.”

“You say twins, but you mean Alphinaud because Alisaie writes postcards, not letters,” she replies, finally managing to get Stardust tucked under one arm like a sack of rice. The kitten flails a bit, but the purring just gets even louder, so Hades is quite sure the flailing is all for show. “It didn’t feel like I was gone that long...”

Last time, it had seemed to match up better; four days, give or take, on either end of time. But this time, it had gone a little off; it’s been almost two weeks since he’d last seen her, and Hades can admit--if only to himself--that he wants to wrap around her just as much as Stardust.

He would be much happier if she’d let him, but he’s not going to push for it. She has many people to share her attention with, after all.

“Ah, you’re back!” and Hyth’s head pops out of the kitchen; flour is smudged along his nose. “How did everything go?”

“Okay, I think. Claudien wanted to pry more into the crystal, and Nemjiji made me go over everything three or four times so she could make sure she’d written everything down right,” Lily-Bell replies, absently adjusting her hold on their purring child. “He said he’d send a message if he found out anything new and interesting, so now it’s just waiting, and resuming life.”

“Which gives time for you to read and answer the letters waiting for you, reach out to Cid about the issues with the arm, and anything else you might need to do before we have to worry about another trip,” Hades says, resting his hand gently on her hair. “I believe Edmont also wanted to see you when you returned, something about a ‘family dinner’ that you said you’d attend?”

He can’t pretend it isn’t amusing to see her making a face; Edmont is a little stuffy and old fashioned at times, and likes it when she wears a dress. Lily-Bell dislikes dresses for plenty of sound, logical reasons, but he knows she’ll wear one because she loves her adopted father.

“At least it’s only a family dinner, not a big formal one,” she huffs, gently setting Stardust down. “Those are more fun, right Star?”

The kitten nods, even as she lifts her arms and does the grabby motion that they all know means she wants to be picked up. Hades obliges; while he knows she wants it to be Lily-Bell, in his opinion, Lily-Bell is in need of more rest, not toting about a child that is getting a little heavier every day. Healthy weight with plenty of energy to burn with other local children, even if Edmont somewhat stuffily disapproves of due to biases that the elder elezen is admittedly attempting to work on.

He may have been fairly egalitarian for a noble, but there’s still rather a long way to go for all of them. The power in Ishgard had only been shifted sideways a bit, and barely a handful of them seemed to realize there was only a little difference between the theocratic dictatorship, and this new attempt at a republic.

But being fair, it’s not had all that long to shake down properly. It’s a wonder the city itself hasn’t torn apart into individual factions...

The huff from the kitten gets amusement from his two loves, and Hades huffs right back, even as he smiles at the child.

“I should probably find Cid first,” Lily-Bell says, looking down at her arm. Covered now, but the blisters had taken a good two days to really go away on their own. “Or Nero, if Cid’s busy. They said it wouldn’t freeze up no matter how cold it got...”

“Being fair, kitten, I doubt that they have any way of measuring how cold that portal through time is,” Hades points out. A timer goes off and Hyth ducks back into the kitchen. “You made it through to Elpis with a hard freeze, but not as hard as it was on the way back which is... not quite measurable phenomena.”

She makes a face, but doesn’t argue.

“I should still let them know that it froze over,” and she sighs a little, rubbing at her shoulder. “I don’t think anything inside is damaged, but...”

But better to be safe, to be certain, than to assume. It makes him feel a bit warm with pride; how she’s changed since they’d met, when she would jump in at the word go instead of taking the time to learn all she could about a situation.

“And you did use the arm in combat, so no doubt they’ll want to check it over and make sure nothing’s been damaged or needs tweaking there,” he agrees.

There’s a disgruntled squawk from Hyth, and then a billow of smoke that is not quite black, but certainly darker than it likely should be.

“...what did you burn now?” Hades asks in resignation as Lily-Bell looks uncertainly towards the kitchen.

“Nothing is on fire!” is the retort. “Everything is under control!”

“Nothing is on fire this time,” and Hades lowers his voice, getting a startled giggle from his wife, and a solemn nod from their daughter. “Perhaps we should help him salvage the kitchen before you go off and do other things, hm?”

Lily-Bell nods without hesitation, her expression somewhere between amused and worried, and heads right into the kitchen.

Hyth is self-aware enough to admit that he’s pouting. He’s been trying to adjust the recipe for several days now, to use the imitation chocolate that’s safe for miqo’te to eat, but no matter what he tries, the dratted things insist on thwarting him.

“It’s fine to have plain ponzecake,” Lily-Bell offers, patting him on the shoulder. “It doesn’t need to have the chocolate in it.”

He sighs, and rests his cheek against her hand.

“Yes, but I wanted to have something unique to celebrate your return to us.”

“Considering the fact that you have very near destroyed the kitchen twice in your attempts, I am considering banning you from experiments,” Hades says dryly as he watches the smoke being wafted up and out of the kitchen at a rapid pace. “ You’re not the one doing all the repairs.”

Hyth winces a little; that’s certainly true enough. He’s no grand spellcaster the way Hades is, though he does excel in other areas. Like being personable.

“Be nice,” and Lily-Bell huffs at Hades gently. “You can hire people instead of using magic.”

“That takes too long.”

Hyth feels her sigh and she leans on him lightly. Which does make him feel a bit better, all things considered. Stardust climbing onto his lap, despite the still-lingering scent of burned sugar--and if he can smell it, no doubt both miqo’te noses can too--does as well.

In a way, it’s rather ironic; he’d never cared to be the best at anything, even during his time acting as support to Hades and Keah. Neither one of them truly needed him for such, but he liked to think that their lives would be lesser without him in them.

And yet he finds himself caught by a web of frustration that he cannot figure out why this recipe keeps going wrong . While cooking is more Hades purview, the baking of treats and breads is something Hyth quite enjoys, and seeing them eating his food with enthusiasm brings him a warmth that only somewhat pales in the memory of much younger days when they’d had no responsibilities to anything but themselves and their freedom.

Lily-Bell’s head gently bumps against his and he blinks a couple of times, then turns to look at her.

“Don’t be sad,” and there’s a sadness in her eyes that immediately makes him feels guilty. “You tried your hardest. You don’t need to beat yourself up over this one thing. I like all your baking.”

Ah.

Hyth kisses her cheek and she squeaks a little in surprise, a flush crossing her face that is just too cute.

“Yes, well, you deserve the best, sweeting.” and he finds his frustration easing as she whines at him, even as Stardust’s shoulders shake with silent giggles. “And I’d like to furnish you with a proper amount of food for however long you’re gone again, so that you can brag about having a partner who cooks the best foods!”

Hades snorts as Lily-Bell promptly hides her face in Hyth’s shoulder. Hyth grins, pleased with himself, and lifts a hand to gently pat her head.

Eventually, he thinks, he’ll have a husband and a wife.And he’s more than willing to wait for her to enjoy the idea herself.

Lily-Bell frowns at the letter, doing her best to get her brain to make proper sense of the words. Sometimes her reading problems aren’t so bad, but there’s a reason she often has Hades helping her. She’d left the other three in the kitchen--Hades ostensibly supervising while he does some magic thing that she doesn’t quite understand--so that she could get started on reading what mail she has.

And there really is quite a bit. Not only does she have things from Erenville and the twins, there’s a letter from G’raha and another from Krile, one from Urianger--that one had been packaged with a little Loporrit mammet, and honestly, she doesn’t need more mammets, but she can’t hardly send it back--and three short notes from Thancred, plus a letter that is meant for Ryne. Which, clearly Thancred expects she’s going back to the First, and she has no idea how he knows this because she hadn’t actually told anyone where she was going...

And that’s not counting things from the other rulers of Eorzea, and some of the people she’d met over the years; letters from Kugane, from Gyr Abania, even one from Fordola of all people!

She sits back in her chair with a sigh, rubbing absently at her forehead.

“Unjumble,” she grumbles, glaring down at the words that are no longer making sense. “Mean....”

Admittedly, it doesn’t help that Erenville’s handwriting is a bit... messy. It makes her wonder if he sits and writes it all out in one go, or if it’s short little spurts of writing whenever he has a moment, or spots something that makes him think of her. With some letters, it really does feel more like the latter...

It make her feel warm that he thinks of her. Granted, she certainly saved the world, but...

The study door opens and she sits up, feeling everything in her relaxing as Hades steps in, shaking his head gently. He comes around to her side of the desk, then leans down and gives her a kiss that is soft and sweet. Lily-Bell is happy to return it, and doesn’t protest when he pushes more into it. She’s missed him.

He does pull back eventually, which has her whining at him a little; kisses are much more enjoyable than trying to untwist words. He hums in gentle amusement, then easily lifts her into his arms so that he can settle both of them onto the chair in a more comfortable manner.

“Dare I ask why there is a mechanical Loporrit sitting at the edge of the desk?” he asks, fingers running gently over her hair.

“It was in the package Urianger sent. Something about it being a gift for me, as thanks for saving the world....” and she leans into his touch, letting her eyes close contently. Surrounded by the warmth and scent of him, safety is a certainty. “I was trying to read Erenville’s letters, and I think he was complaining about another friend of his, but the words have gone all funny again.”

Hades hums a little, and his fingers brush along the base of her ear, easily pulling her thoughts away from any sort of catching up to be done. She melts into him, head on his chest, and has to admit that while she doesn’t mind Hades and Hyth being a package, she is happy to have time with Hades alone.

“...do you want me to help with that?” he asks, and his other hand drifts down, fingers soft along the side of her neck. “Or would you mind terribly if I decided to distract you in other ways?”

She knows it will be a pleasant distraction. Hades is very very good at being a pleasant distraction. But he also doesn’t like to be rushed . And. Well...

“...cookies don’t take that long,” she reminds him, admittedly a little bit tempted anyways. “And you know how Star gets when she’s locked out of a room.”

He huffs a little, arms curling about her more tightly for a moment. While Stardust is independent for a kitten, she also has about the same level of energy as Riqi, and has taken entirely too well to some of the things Thancred had taught her while they were all waiting for Lily-Bell to wake up.

She's going to be a little hellion when she gets bigger, that's for certain.

“Hades?”

“Hm?”

“What’d you talk about with Erenville?”

Hades hum gently.

“I simply let him know that if he wished to pursue something other than friendship, that I would not object. Should you wish the same, at least. I’ve no objections, he seems... sensible. Have you any thoughts on the matter?”

Erenville hadn’t been at her bedside when she’d woken, but he had visited more than a few times. Mostly he’d stayed back and observed, but it had been... oddly comforting to have him there.

“It was.. Nice. To have him there,” she says slowly. “Especially when... when you weren’t.”

Erenville wasn’t as cuddly as Hades was, but he’d told her stories of the places he’d visited, and made them sound amazing. Made her want to visit and explore, and see new things.

“I don’t know if I like him more than that,” she admits. “I don’t know him well enough. But.. I do... miss him.”

She misses him about as much as she misses Thancred, if she’s being honest. Thancred who’d stepped into the role of older brother, who’d taken up supporting her as best he could when Hades had been kept away from her, who’d admitted his faults and apologized for his early treatment of her...

“Shall I read you the letter?”

“Please?”

Hades bends to plant a kiss to the top of her head, then reaches around and picks up the pages.

“ Dear Lily-Bell... ”

“What do you mean it froze over?” Nero sounds utterly insulted by her comment. “It’s not supposed to do that, we tested the components in Garlemald ourselves!”

“Well, it did,” Lily-Bell replies, wishing she wasn’t hooked up to Cid’s diagnostics terminal so she could inch away from the tall Garlean. She’s never been comfortable with Nero, despite his current employment with the Ironworks and the fact that Cid hasn’t fired him yet. “Twice.”

“I’m not seeing any damage to the internals,” Cid murmurs as he scrolls through whatever is on the screen. “Everything is functioning the way it should. Perhaps a covering of some sort, with low-grade fire crystals to protect it should you need to travel through whatever it was that was so cold.”

“Hades said he was going to make me something,” and she nods a little. “Hopefully I don't have to go and come back that many more times...”

Honestly, while she intends to go back in the next few weeks, she absolutely hates the long, freezing portal and coming out as impossibly disoriented as she does at the other end. So she intends to stay as long as possible, until it's all done and over with... even if it means missing Hades horribly, and putting up with old-new trauma.

Stupid Hesperos. Stupid Zenos .

“What about the arm itself, any troubles with that?”

She shakes her head.

“Once the port was thawed, it worked just fine. Still makes my back hurt if I wear it too long, though.”

“Hmmm,” Cid leans back, then moves around his desk to start disconnecting her from all the cables and cords. “Might still be a bit too heavy then. We've got a new alloy we're experimenting with; lighter weight, with the drawbacks of not being able to take as many hits. How often are you pulling out that gunblade of yours?”

“...not very. I used magic more, and I switched hands for the red mage stuff.”

Which had taken a bit to get used to, but sometimes the best way to learn is in the thick of things. At least, that's what Alisaie would insist, she knows.

“I can have one put together in a couple of hours for testing, and we can see about tweaking this one a little more,” Cid says with a nod. “Run a few tests with it, and we'll see what we've got.”

“I still think we could-”

“ No , Nero,” and Lily-Bell can't help but breathe a sigh of relief at Cid's exasperation. She doesn't want the arm Nero would design, honestly... “If you're only going to fuss about pet projects, go see what Jessie has for you to handle instead.”

“Should that be what the head of the company does?” Nero jeers.

Cid rolls his eyes, taking the prosthetic arm from Lily-Bell when she hands it to him.

“I'll run diagnostics on this and see what I can adjust. Check back in a few hours and I should have that test arm ready to try on at the very least,” he says, ignoring the petulant huff from Nero. 

“...I feel like I should be a little concerned that it's only going to take you a few hours instead of a few days,” Lily-Bell eyes him.

Cid's grin is sheepish.

“I may have mocked up a few these past couple weeks,” he admits. “Nothing I wanted to give yet, but now I've got a reason to refine a few of them.”

“You're just as bad as Nero,” she teases, giggling at his offended look. “Just because you don't want to put an energy cannon into my arm doesn't mean you're any more sensible.”

Nero snickers at him, as Cid huffs. And all right, maybe it's a bit mean to make fun of him like that, especially since he could charge whatever gil he wanted for this, and he's yet to even mention a cost. But she's not wrong.

“Off with you,” and he gives her a gentle push. “Before you scary husband decides I'm taking too much of your time.”

She giggles again and slides off the bench, more than happy to leave the Mor Dhona workshop and go find said ‘scary’ husband who is also wrangling his boyfriend and their daughter.

They're both impossible to miss, standing taller than Nero in a crowd of people who generally don't top six fulms unless they’re roeg or a male Au Ra. Stardust is riding on Hyth's shoulders, and for a moment Lily-Bell just watches them. Watches Hyth say something that makes Hades sigh , even as Hyth's head lands on the other man's shoulder. Watches as Stardust's shoulder shake in her silent giggles.

Her watching doesn't last long. Hades--always Hades--turns, and despite the crowd of the market, seems to spot her immediately. He says something to Hyth who twists about, and then beams in her direction, raising a hand, but Hades starts for her, and sweeps her up when he reaches her.

She could feel self-conscious. Left out. But when those arms wrap around her, it all fades. Because Hades has her. So long as Hades has her, there's nothing else that she needs to worry about. He's her safety, her home, and she's going to take care of him, just as much as he takes care of her.

“Please help me dissuade that purple menace from buying even more tools for baking that he doesn't know anything about,” Hades groans.

Lily-Bell grins, and presses her forehead against the side of his neck.

She honestly does love being home.

Chapter Text

Themis doesn't necessarily expect another head on collision with his guiding star, which is, perhaps, his own fault. Granted, this time she'd ended up coming at him from behind, and she's just not good at riding the aether currents, is she? He ends up on his hands and knees in the soft flowers and grass while she tumbles end over end until she’s a dazed heap. 

A bruise on his back is going to be a little more ignorable than one on his jaw, at least. Erichthonios might have been too polite to ask about it, but the other man’s eyes had lingered over it several times in the past few days.

Lily-Bell makes a plaintive sound and Themis moves over to her, then carefully brushes frost off the coat she’s wearing. Where does she come from, to be so cold on her arrival?

More mysteries, more questions, more intrigue...

Themis considers for a moment, then decides to pull her into his arms; it’s not safe to drape someone in warming aether if their own current temperature is too low, and she’d seemed to respond fairly well to being held... and it’s not like he must rush back to Pandaemonium. Erichthonios and his fellow warders of Asphodelos have the upper level mostly well in hand, even as they mourn Hesperos, and continue to inter those experiments that had escaped their confines.

Lily-Bell makes a faintly plaintive noise, and Themis snaps out of his thoughts, looking down as her eyes flutter briefly open before she winces and closes them again.

“Welcome back,” he murmurs, keeping his voice low and even. He cannot be too enthusiastic, lest he overwhelm her. “A hard journey, little star?”

She makes a faint noise that sounds like affirmation and her eyes close again as she curls a little more against him. He smoothes white hair out of her face, and if his thumb traces across those adorable freckles, well, can he really be blamed?

It’s not been all that long. A bare few days, but Themis is used to his office, and the streets of Amaurot more than the cold dungeon of Pandaemonium, or the wide research fields of Elpis. He is used to being busy , and other than continually repairing the wards that continue to fray no matter what bolstering he gives, he’s been largely unneeded by the other warders.

It’s nice to feel needed. Absently he wonders if this isn’t part of what drives Azem to get into as much trouble as they do...

“S.... S...rry...”

“I welcome the break,” he admits. “It’s a lovely day, and I admit, I wasn’t looking forward to returning to Pandaemonium’s depths quite so soon.”

He’s still digesting the information he’d gleaned from the hapless researcher he’d requested aid from in learning about the creations stored in Pandaemonium. And while he is not here in his capacity as Elidibus , all who see the white robes know that he is someone to not stymie. So his meeting with yet another member of the Words of Lahabrea can wait until Lily-Bell is able to stand on her own two feet again and speak coherently.

“S’vrythin.... Kay?”

“It has been quiet these past few days,” he assures her, lightly running a hand along her back. What interesting material this jacket seems to be made of. And the color . “I have been seeking information from the archives on the creatures interred in Pandaemonium, while Erichthonios practices internment and what few fellows of his that we found work to restore order to the rest of the main floor.”

They’d tried to request he allow them access to the lower floor, Abyssos, but Themis thinks that is where the true danger will appear, and has refuted them. Much as he dislikes putting Lily-Bell in harms way, she and her seven magically crafted shades are preferable to those researchers who have only minimal combative abilities.

“Wards?”

“Continuing to fray, but we have reached something of a stalemate; I can keep them from unraveling, though I cannot repair them nearly as fast. But they hold.”

She hums a little, then shifts to hide her face a little more against his chest. Warmth blossoms at this show of trust, and he carefully arranges his limbs for the most secure comfort. His back twinges a little, and no doubt that bruise is going to be something else, but it will fade on its own well enough, and she needn’t feel guilty for that .

Instead, he begins to tell her about all he’s learned of the creatures of Pandaemonium, careful to stay calm and at ease. It surprises him not one bit to look down and realize that she’s fallen asleep.

And well... why not? The day is nice; the sun is warm, the breeze is soft, and the scent of the flowers is a gentle note to the otherwise clear air.

Themis allows himself to lay back, and closes his eyes, slipping gently into a doze.

She can’t pretend that napping directly after arriving hadn’t helped, but that doesn’t make her less embarrassed. Elidibus Themis had been trying to tell her information, and she’d just... dropped off! (Low, deep voice soothing and soft, a cadence much like when Hades reads to her. Slim but strong arms cradling her like she is something precious, slowly warming her and making her feel safe .)

He’d looked peaceful, though, napping like that. It’s not an expression she associates with Elidibus. But then... she’d never seen his face until now. He’d either hidden it behind his mask, or been in someone else’s body. Even when he’d been that grand amalgamation of heroes, she’s fairly certain that hadn’t been his face. (It had reminded her too much of when Vauthry had transformed into a Lightwarden...)

“It’s odd, don’t you think?”

She blinks, pulled out of her embarrassed recriminations, and looks at Themis, whose attention seems to be on the blue sky instead of her.

“What is?”

“The way people seem to feel about Lahabrea. Hesperos and his blind devotion, Erichthonios and his absolute hatred... Two sides of the same coin, but such intense emotions are not the norm.”

She can’t help but snort.

“Maybe it’s not what you’re used to, but people aren’t a grand monolith,” she points out. “Gods only know with Hesperos, but I bet Erichthonios has plenty of solid reasons to dislike Lahabrea.”

She’s suspending her own judgment on the Lahabrea of this time, but the one of her time? She definitely holds a grudge against him.

“That is not the accepted way of things,” he chides gently. “To have such strong emotions for or against a single person...”

No wonder Hermes had felt like he was drowning, if that was the widely accepted attitude... And what would he think of her own devotion to Hades?

“Maybe you don't see it because you're not looking for it,” she says instead, turning her own attention up; clouds are blossoming up there, and she thinks it might rain in the next day or so. “People can inspire a lot of things, Themis. Blind devotion to another, to an idea, or even to a feeling isn't really all that strange.”

Amon, who Hermes had become in the future, suffering his dying empire, had despaired of the people grasping for emotions, while seeking something real. Something enduring.

Like Hades’ devotion to her...

Themis hums, and she gets the feeling he doesn't understand. It reminds her that he's young as far as ancient's go. Young to his station, young to his life. Adult, maybe, but...

It's weird to think of him as naive. And yet-

“I decided that instead of rampant speculations, and worrying myself overmuch about the other aspects of the facility that I would go to the source.”

She stumbles out of surprise and stares at him; the source? Did he mean they were going to meet Lahabrea himself?!

“Ah, Master Themis! I hope I did not keep you waiting overlong.”

That... is definitely not Lahabrea. Another one of the Words, then. (Words. What a strange designation. Hades said it was a title for assistants, because they would carry the word of their decisions and proclamations, and so on, to the rest of the people.)

She listens quietly, letting Themis talk. The lie is blatant , but... But the ancient isn't the one doing the lying. He believes everything he's saying is true. Her echo doesn't even twitch , it's simply her own knowledge of how false that is that makes her frown.

Themis waits for the other man to get out of earshot before he crosses his arms and frowns himself.

“A blatant lie,” and he sounds... frustrated? “Perhaps tis one of the keywards for Abyssos that is in league with this saboteur...”

“Maybe. But what do they gain from it?” she asks, tail swishing back and forth meditatively. “Wouldn't they want Lahabrea there, to see how well they can handle the crisis?”

After a moment he shakes his head.

“I cannot speculate as to the reasons for this false reports now, but it bodes ill for the warders, and especially Erichthonios. Come, we should return quickly to ensure that naught has befallen him.”

Lily-Bell nods, and puts her hand out to the neus.

Themis can admit that he's frustrated with the turn of events; a familiar confronting Erichthonios, only to vanish the moment Lily-Bell thrusts her way into the conversation, hissing rather like a territorial cat. (Knowing how she fights, he refrains from saying aloud how cute it was... He doubts she'd take it as a compliment, not with that frustrated look on her face.)

“I see the logic in your conclusion,” Themis admits after a moment more, as Lily-Bell keeps her eyes on the shadows. Like she's waiting for something to spring out of them at her... “There are few with the wherewithal to to consider experiments on such a scale, let alone create demigods from man and beast, leaving the rest of us none the wiser. Considering the magnitude of his work within the Convocation and the Words, his relatively minor role as chief keyward comes under little scrutiny, despite providing him the authority to wield dangerous magicks. It may well serve as veil and mantle both.”

But... It doesn't feel right. The Lahabrea he knows is devout to his duty, and to the safekeeping of the star. What purpose would creating such things have?

“I admit, however, I find it hard to believe. This misdeeds done here... I cannot see them being done by the Lahabrea I know.”

Lily-Bell's snort is quiet, and Themis catches himself. He'd forgotten; these two know not of his truth, and here he is speaking so carelessly.

“What say you, Lily-Bell?” he asks, trying not to make it sound too hasty. “You have met him before, have you not?”

“I think we don't have any real answers to anything to say one way or the other,” she replies evasively. “This could be as Erichtonios says, but my question is what does he get out of it? Out of hurting people, and trying to destroy this place, and Elpis beyond.”

She doesn't hold him in any great light, it seems, which is not surprising. But she seems to be trying to keep an open mind, which is better than Erichthonios. Themis knows Lahabrea. Knows the man can be stern, and is poor at showing any sort of empathetic emotions, but...

“Let me assure you,” Erichthonios says, “Lahabrea holds nothing so dear as his own ambitions.”

“Perhaps he does not let emotions stand in the path of completing a mission, I cannot accept that he does not have limits that he will not step to,” Themis argues. Then catches himself again; curse it, he is feeling too at ease with these two, and he doesn't want them to know who he is until or unless there is no other choice. “Although we met but briefly-” oh the sharp look that Lily-Bell gives him, the way she draws back, he doesn't like that at all , “-the impression I had was in stark contrast to your evaluation. His methods may be unorthodox, but they seem guided by a firm understanding of what is just.”

“Justice is subjective,” Lily-Bell says quietly. “What is just to one, is unjust to another. People claim they do things in the name of justice and peace, but about half the time they are doing things for their own ambitions, or drive for glory.”

Themis considers her words carefully; they hold the weight of one who has seen all too much, and once more he finds himself wondering at who created her. What has she been through to say such, and be so firm in that?

“Themis, I know you've had reservations to opening the way to Abyssos, but that may be the only way we get answers, instead of being left with naught more than frustrated speculation,” Erichthonios says after a long moment.

“...a wise course,” and Themis nods lightly. “I would not deny a truth seen with my own eyes, no matter how unpalatable.”

He is the Conciliator. He cannot allow himself the luxury of falsehoods, especially where it concerns his fellows on the Convocation. While he had taken time to pen notes to both Azem and Lahabrea, he finds himself wondering what Emet-Selch might think of this.... a pity that pulling members of the Convocation here would only make things more dangerous...

“While we must move forward, we must do so with caution,” Erichtonios says. “Lahabrea, or whomever is behind this, no doubt has spread his contagion to all corners of Pandaemonium, and tis unlikely that the remaining keywards will greet us with open arms.”

“Not unless those open arms contain fire,” Lily-Bell says, dry enough to startle amusement out of both of them. Her ears lift slightly, and Themis finds his heart easing just a little at the sight of her being pleased with herself. “Though if they do, maybe I can roast a few marshmallows on them.”

The tense air eases even more as Erichthonios splutters out a laugh. How clever she is, to ease the mood; too much focus on what has gone wrong will likely lead directly to further foul moods.

“You are willing to take point?” Themis asks.

She pats the rapier on her hip with her prosthetic and nods.

“I’m as prepared as I plausibly can be,” she says with a smile both tired and fierce. Would that he didn't need her to take point at all, but until the wards are stable... “Let's land on this with both feet before it tries to do the same to us.”

“Ah, before we go in,” and Themis puts a hand on her shoulder, making her startle slightly. “You proved yourself a threat last time. It's very like that whoever would bring Pandaemonium to ruin will seek to separate you from us. In case that happens, I need to alter the spell I've placed on you to summon the phantom warriors, so that they come to your aid, despite my lack of presence.”

She blinks at him a couple of times, then nods, trust in pale, mismatched eyes.

He can't say why that makes him feel warm, but he cannot pretend that her trust doesn't make him feel at ease.

And, when they set foot into Abysoss and she vanishes immediately, he's glad of the new spell. For all he needs to do is follow the pull of his own active magic.

Lily-Bell knows what carbuncles are supposed to look like. The monstrosity she had just beaten into the ground with help from Themis's spell bears little to no resemblance to the small creatures she is used to seeing, and yet that is what it reminds her of. Somehow. (She’d never been able to wrap her mind around arcanism. Like words, the magical formulae required had a distressing tendency to turn into gibberish...)

Her anxiety about where the other two are eases when they rush in, when Themis shares aether with Erichthonios, and the unconscious creation is interred once more.

“Lily-Bell!”

She doesn’t expect Themis rushing to her and hugging her, but his relief is all too clear, and... and she really did want a hug. She burrows her face briefly against his shoulder as she hugs back, purring a little bit, and breathes in what makes him unique.

Themis’s scent puts her in mind of the library on Sharlayan; books and papers, ink and a hint of dust, but not more than that. And of course, the scent of aether, but more muted. More like Hades than Hyth...

“I’m all right,” and she gently pats Themis’s back before pulling away. “What about you two, are you okay?”

Erichthonios stares at her for a moment, then huffs a little, shaking his head. She’s pretty sure his reaction is relief...

“We’re unharmed. Fortunately enough whoever decided to separate us didn’t do a very good job,” he says. “Themis and I were dropped only a short distance from here.”

“This area appears to be where creatures imbued with various venoms and poisons are studied,” Themis says. “Which meant that despite the short distance, some care was needed in avoiding troubles of our own.”

Lily-Bell nods her understanding. She’s been poisoned plenty in her adventures, and it’s really rather a good thing that she’d taken to healing magic so well. Even without a soulstone, esuna is a swift reflexive cast away.

“Even alone, you are a force to be reckoned with.”

She jerks, turning sharply as her hand falls to her rapier again; if anything, her blade had taken the most damage, and she’d going to need to get it repaired or replaced before she fights with it again, but-

“Part of me is glad that you survived, that I might study you further.”

It’s been a long time since she’s seen ‘traditional’ Ascian antics. But the portal that blooms in the middle of the room and then fades, revealing and older looking man with an all-too-familiar mask, sets her on edge like she hasn’t been in years .

This is what Lahabrea had looked like?

And yet.

Something is... off . She can’t quite put her finger on it, but something about this man seems... like a lie?

“Were the circumstances different, I might even consider thanking you for keeping my son alive for this long.”

Lily-Bell stays quiet. Something about this isn’t right . The mask and the robes, even the attitude, that’s all Lahabrea, but...

“I presume we need no introductions. Unless I have misread you.”

Her ears go flat, tail flicking in annoyance. Yup, same condescending attitude.

“What do you want, Lahabrea?” She asks shortly. He’s not the one who tried to kill her twice. He’s not .

But he will be.

She can’t trust him.

She has to be careful .

“Hn. Passably perceptive, if disrespectful.”

She bites her tongue; Hades had encouraged her sass, but this is neither time nor place.

“Yes. I am Lahabrea, of the Convocation of Fourteen.”

She feels the twinge. Somehow... both truth and lie? Lie enough that she feels it in the twist that is her Echo, but... but he seems to believe it. How can it be both?

“If you are who you claim to be, then answer this question-”

Lahabrea’s scoff interrupts Themis, and a burst of magic has Lily-Bell jolt away as Themis goes down in a startled heap. She feels.. Something slide over her, but whatever it seeks to grasp, she doesn’t have enough of it.

Aetheric density, maybe? She’s here because of Hades’ donation, but who knows how permanent that is...

“Interesting,” and she pulls her gaze from the trapped Themis--gods, he shouldn’t be trapped, he’s Elidibus , but--to look back at the not!Lahabrea. “The trap woven at your feet reacts to aether, and yet you remain unbound.”

Definitely aetheric density, then.

“I suppose a more direct approach will have to do for you.”

That is a threat, and she responds accordingly, drawing her rapier in preparation for another fight. Something about this Lahabrea... she can probably take him. Not well, not easily, but... he’s just off enough that it might be doable.

Maybe.

“I would advise you to think carefully before committing to your course of action,” Lahabrea warns. “Strike me down here, and Erichthonios will never see his wish fulfilled. Never again shall he see his mother, Athena.”

Erichthonios’s anger is almost a tangible thing, and she spares a moment to wonder if she shouldn’t drop her sword to keep him from doing something reckless. He certainly looks ready to throw a punch, inexpert or not...

“How dare you speak her name? Hiding behind it like a coward!”

She shuffles sideways; she has faith that Themis will break out of this trap, because no one save G’raha could ever do it--and G’raha had needed the power of the Crystal Tower to do it in the first place--but Erichthonios is a lot more vulnerable. Lahabrea is his father, and there’s a lot of pent up rage in her tall friend. Better to not let him do something reckless...

She’s the hero. That’s her job.

“Listen well, Erichtonios; we are of the same mind in regards to your mother,” and oh that screams of a lie and Lily-Bell hisses in reaction to it. “You have your allies for protection, what harm is there in hearing me out?”

“Plenty,” she snaps before Erichthonios can respond. “Because you’re lying .”

Lahabrea looks somewhere between startled and affronted.

“I am of a mind with Lily-Bell,” and there is steel in Themis’s voice. “And I have a question of my own for you.”

“Bitter in defeat, are you?” Lahabrea mocks.

“Tell me, what is my name?” and there is challenge in Themis’s voice. A ringing depth to it that she remembers, and flinches away from. She doesn’t want to fight- “Is that not a simple request?”

Lahabrea looks down his nose, and that, more than anything, reveals the truth. Lahabrea is on the Convocation. Hades had told her that they all knew each other’s faces, that they must know each other’s faces, because they needed to trust one another completely to work on behalf of the star.

“Themis, wasn’t it? A trifling name, just as you are.”

Themis sighs.

“And there is the answer. The Lahabrea I know takes pride in the Convocation, and would never suffer it’s denigration. You sully his station with this farce!”

Aether flares, and the spell around Themis shatters like glass. While his full height isn’t nearly as impressive as Hades or Hyth, the power that ripples off him is comparable to her husband, and Lily-Bell has to stifle her desire to run. She’s faced that power in the past, and nearly died to it-

“Themis, what?” Erichthonios’ confusion grounds her. A little. “Lahabrea and I rarely saw eye to eye, tis true, but I know his voice...”

“Indeed he makes a passing fine imitation in appearance and manner, but the true Lahabrea would never call me by the name of ‘Themis.’”

Lily-Bell has a bare second to react; the still air doesn’t let her scent the newcomer, but the building of aether does. She shoves Erichthonios a step sideways, pushing them both out of the path of a fireball that would have singed her hair if she hadn’t moved. It slams into the imitation, raising a cloud of dark smoke and she turns to glare at the actual Lahabrea, who doesn’t even deign to give her or his son a glance.

“I do not appreciate a note penned in haste to pique my interest, Elidibus,” he says shortly. “Some of us have duties that do not involve gallivanting about.”

The smoke clears, the fireball having impacted little more than a shield, and reveals the false Lahabrea with the aetheric mask over his face.

Honestly, Themis could have said he’d written a message to Lahabrea...

“Remove that mask,” the Lahabrea on their side says lowly. “You have no right to that or the form.”

The other scoffs, but reaches up and crushes the aetheric glyph, revealing a tall man with Ericthonios’s fiery red hair. Erichthonios’s hand, which he’d braced on her shoulder when she’d shoved him, tightens.

“What... who?!”

“It was a mask that sickened me to wear!” and the disconcerting part is that despite the change of form, the voice remains as it was, if... filled with emotion that she associates more with the Lahabrea she’d faced. “The mask of Lahabrea, a man who valued his position above all and murdered his own wife in the name of duty!”

“Yet you would assume my name, and wield powers that are mine by right?” and the cool sharpness of the Lahabrea on their side is disconcerting , to say the least. If not already revealed to be a fake, she’d be more inclined to think the one on their side is... “Any worth you might have hinges on that which you so despise.”

“Such trite provocation,” the red-haired man sneers. Looking between them, Lily-Bell thinks perhaps this might be what Lahabrea looked like when he was younger... “I will not be goaded into finishing this ere my work is done! I am Hephaistos , and it is I that you should be calling Father, Erichthonios.”

She feels him jolt again, and hisses, tail lashing briefly, even as Hephaistos disappears into that familiar portal. Leaving them with their own Lahabrea, and a whole host of new problems.

“What... what in creation is going on?” Erichthonios asks.

“Chaos,” Lily-Bell says immediately, side-eyeing both Lahabrea and Elidibus. “Chaos and nonsense.”

His fingers tighten on her shoulder again, in gratitude, she thinks, before he lets her go.

“We would do well to not stand idle while the enemy is about,” Lahabrea says tersely. “I believe a more thorough explanation is in order, Elidibus. Let us return to safety so that you may provide it.”

“That sounds much more like the Lahabrea I know,” and it’s subtle , but she hears the relief in Themis’s voice.

Lahabrea gives him a narrow stare, then turns and walks away, down the path through poisoned air and plants like he’s walking down the street on a clear day. After a moment, Erichthonios follows, and Lily-Bell finally puts her sword and aetheric crystal away with some relief. Her shoulder is aching again, and she feels all over tension...

“Lily-Bell-”

“I knew,” she says before he can offer her any sort of apology or explanation. “I told you, I met Venat. She explained what it means when robes are white; you’re either retired but not done, or you’re Elidibus. Come on, the air in here is awful, and I need to eat something. It’s really not that difficult to figure out.”

She doesn’t look at him.

She just follows the path out.

Chapter Text

Themis is fairly sure that Lily-Bell is upset with him. And truthfully, who wouldn’t be? Perhaps by omission, but a lie is still a lie, and she seems to be someone who values the truth highly. It hurts to think he may have lost not just her regard but her respect.

He wants to explain, but he’s quite sure if he tries he will fumble it and make himself sound more foolish than he needs to before his colleague, who is regarding Lily-Bell with a keen, if subtly frustrated eye. No doubt bewildered by her aetheric make up, as others had been.

Before he can decide what to say, whether to attempt an apology to her and Erichthonios, Erichthonios breaks the tense silence.

“I had hoped we would never have cause to speak again, Lahabrea,” and there is a terse bitterness in the younger man’s voice. “Clearly that hope was in vain; I can never escape your meddling. Who, or what, was that person, why are they the spitting image of your younger self? Moreover, I find it hard to believe that you only just learned such a being was wreaking havoc in Pandaemonium. Did you think matters would simply sort themselves out?!”

Themis wants to chide him for manners, but... well, he raises some good points. Lahabrea should have known about this, even without his own note of questions. He sees Lily-Bell take Erichthonios’s hand out of the corner of his eye and feels... something twist a bit in his chest.

Jealousy?

Not good.

“I suppose you deserve a cursory explanation,” is Lahabrea’s reluctant response.

Themis listens closely to the explanation, but also keeps watch on the reactions of both Lily-Bell and Erichthonios. Takes note of when her eyes narrow, her ears twitch, and her tail lashes at something Lahabrea says, and files it away to ask about later.

It’s only when Lahabrea talks of destroying Pandaemonium that she seems to lose her temper.

“Coward,” and her tone is sharp. “You’d rather give up on the people trapped inside, the other warders, and all the creations, instead of taking the time to confront and solve the actual problem. In case it’s skipped your attention, that’s how this happened. ”

Her concise words seem to give Erichthonios some heart as well, and Themis can’t pretend that he is torn between the options.

“Not even a moment to spare for another path?!” Erichthonios demands. “No respect for the foes that Lily-Bell has faced in order to help us?!”

“Lliy-Bell, is it?” and Lahabrea stares at her. She stares back, but Themis is acutely aware of the way her tail has gone low and stiff, fluffing out just slightly. “A being of such aether as I have never seen. What are you?”

She doesn’t look like she’s going to answer, and Themis is quite sure they don’t want him pursuing that line of questioning.

“She is the guiding star that shall see us safely through this,” he interjects smoothly. “Thanks to her skills, and her courage, we have subdued many of the creatures here and returned them to their cells. Speaking of...”

He turns to her, and does his best to put aside his own emotions. 

“If this choice were yours, what path would you take?”

The look she gives him suggests she is questioning his intelligence.

“There’s still people in there,” and her words are slow. He tries not to take offense, but- “I’m not stopping until I save them, and I don’t care how many of the Convocation turn up here to tell me I shouldn’t. If I have to walk into Abyssos the rest of the way on my own, will, it won’t be the first time I’ve faced impossible odds, and it probably won’t be the last either.”

It is, he thinks, an answer worthy of Azem. And goodness knows Azem had very often done just what they want, regardless of Convocation orders.

“That is not your decision to make,” Lahabrea says flatly.

Themis isn’t certain from where she gets the ability to draw herself up, but he is immediately put in mind of Emet-Selch as his most irate. She’s the smallest being here, and yet, she suddenly has much more presence.

“I am choosing to risk my life to fix your mistakes. Something you should be doing. And no, destruction isn’t fixing things, not when you’re choosing to sacrifice innocents for the sake of your own pride . You can stand here and argue about it all you want, but I am going back in there, and I will be pulling out anyone who is alive and wishes to stay that way.”

She doesn’t glow, not literally.

But Themis thinks he understands Keah’s prophecy a little more.

Lily-Bell is at the top of the stairs to Abyssos before Erichthonios joins her, still quietly seething. No matter the age, it seems she truly cannot stand Lahabrea.

“Thank you,” Erichthonios says, startling her into looking up at him. “Your determination helps fuel my own, though I admit, I would prefer to have his support going into the deeper levels. I know... very little about Abyssos.”

“I’m used to learning as I go,” and Lily-Bell shrugs lightly. “Are they still arguing about it?”

“I... may have prevailed upon Elidibus to use an official judgement to sway Lahabrea...”

She can’t help but smile, the frustration easing in her. The evasive lie about Athena had rubbed her the wrong way, as had Lahabrea’s refusal to confront the actual problem he’s caused in whatever it is that makes up Hephaistos. Lying about Hephaistos period ; that person is no ‘experiment’ like he’d said. As had Elidibus trying to find the middle ground.

He is Elidibus before he is Themis. She’d almost forgotten that.

“Clever,” and she allows her smile to turn rueful. “I would have just chewed on both of them until they agreed, but the Convocation members are supposed to listen to their Conciliator.”

“...do you think-”

“Ah, you have not entered yet!” and Themis Elidibus has a relieved smile on his face as he joins them. “It has been agreed that if we can inter the keyword Hegemone, Lahabrea will accept that our path has merit and we may continue on with our work.”

Lily-Bell gives him a narrow stare, than turns away and heads down the stairs. It’s petty, perhaps, but she feels the sting from his question. He lacks the context, and she knows this, but that doesn’t make the question hurt less. She could never condemn innocent people to die when there’s still a chance to save them.

She eats and drinks as she walks, for the path is a long one and the silence is tense; Erichthonios, she thinks, doesn’t know what to say. And she’s not going to look back at Elidibus and invite him to speak; she’ll calm down sooner rather than later, forgive the poor question because she knows he hadn’t meant it to sound so judgmental. But to think he could witness her helping, and then ask her what her opinion is, as if she would say she was on the side of destruction...

The door that looms before her opens without a word, air flowing past her that stings with the scent of poison. It reminds her some of Arum Vale, the multiple malboros that had mad that their nest, and the trials of clearing the place out with the help of Ishgardians.

Hegemone isn’t a pack of malboro, but that doesn’t mean she won’t be a problem.

“...be careful,” Erichthonios says.

Lily-Bell draws her rapier.

“If I was careful, I wouldn’t be doing this.”

And before either can respond, she darts into the room to begin the fight.

Themis can’t pretend his heart hadn’t stopped for a moment when her sword had snapped from the corrosive acids Hegemone had employed. Despite Lahabrea’s presence as chief keyword, the primary bolstering of the still-fraying wards still falls to him, leaving him unable to protect her-

And then she dives to the side, and flicks her wrist; her garb changes, he weapon changes, and she fires several shots as his phantom warriors swarm Hegemone. This gives her the chance to hit something on her prosthetic, allowing the smoking metal to drop to the floor.

“Creation be praised,” Erichthonios murmurs. “Would that I could do more than this ...”

Themis only nods, wishing the same. His phantoms provide her with aid, their skills born of her own, but would that he could fight at her side . Perhaps that would convince her as to his own motivations...

He should not have motivations; she is a familiar, someone else’s creation. Even though she was not made by Azem or Venat, she was approved of by them, and for that reason alone he had been more than willing to trust her. To let her be the guiding star for this investigation.

He is not supposed to be thinking about keeping her close. He is Elidibus. He has his duties to the Convocation, to the star. He cannot allow himself to be swayed.

And yet...

“There! She is fallen!”

Themis blinks, then hurries after Erichthonios; Hegemone is on the ground, Lily-Bell is on her feet.

She has triumphed.

As he as known she would.

Lily-Bell hisses a little as Elidibus wraps the light burns on her arm; she’d managed to dodge most of the acid that snake head attached to Hegemone had spat, but not all of it. Her rapier needs replacing, along with her arm--which she had rinsed off and wrapped up in a spare shirt before shoving it into her shoulder bag. Cid would forgive her, but Nero would throw a bloody fit if she left it here--her jacket, and her overshirt.

She mourns the jacket; Hyth had made it for her. Will he be willing to do it again? (Probably. Hyth takes pleasure in indulging her whims, more than Hades even...)

“Is it too tight?”

“No... just stings...”

He’d put on the ointment she had in her bag, but there’s nothing in the jar that dulls pain. It just makes sure nothing bad will get into the wounds. Which also hurts.

He fastens the bandages carefully, and she thinks... his hands are trembling?

“Are you okay?”

“Am I-?” Crystal blue eyes stare at her for a long moment. “I am not the one who just fought a hemitheos to a standstill and took injuries in the process!”

“Yeah, but you’re shaking,” and she lightly taps his hand, making him look down in surprise. “Was it that bad?”

“...it is not... pleasant. To watch you fight,” he says slowly. “I know you are capable, and this fight showed that more than others, but I... am concerned. And relieved that you are not badly hurt.”

The fight had given her an outlet for her frustration, so it’s easy to lean forward and gently bump her forehead to his chin. It’s not like he’ll understand what she means by it, so it’s fine.

“I’ll be fine. Food, rest, and then I can heal myself right up.”

The bandages are a precaution; she doesn’t feel like she has the energy to heal herself after spending about half the battle slinging spells, but she knows Hades will scold her for not letting herself be tended to. And since her prosthetic is out of commission until she goes home again, it falls to others to do the tending.

“Like as not it has gotten late and we can all use some rest,” Elidibus murmurs as he helps her stand. “Perhaps Erichthonios’s ire will be cooled come morning.”

“You’d have better luck drowning Ifrit,” she says dryly. “Let him hold his grudge, Elidibus. It’s not like Lahabrea is doing anything to dispel it.”

He winces a little.

“I suppose I cannot argue that part,” and he sighs a little.

For a bit they walk in silence; other than the small handful of warders from the upper floor--most of which are actually at their work in Asphodelos, keeping the creatures contained while they wait for word as to what shall come next--they haven’t found any other ancients. It makes Lily-Bell worry about what Hephaistos has planned, and who he’ll hurt to get there.

Hephaistos actually puts her in mind of Lahabrea more than Lahabrea does, which is odd. It’s clear that Lahabrea isn’t telling them everything for whatever reason, and it’s going to bite him in the arse. Hopefully it won’t also bite the rest of them...

“Lily-Bell?”

“Hm?”

“....until we truly leave Pandaemonium... would you please continue to think of me as Themis?”

She blinks and looks up at him.

“But that’s not who you are?”

He runs a hand over his hair, ruffling the already messy style further.

“I prefer to have you call me Themis. There is... a distance. When you call me the name of my station. That I do not enjoy.”

He almost seems embarrassed . Or...

“...you're...?”

“Still Emet-Selch, kitten,” says the man with silver hair and familiar yellow eyes. “But like this, you may call me Hades.”

The eyes and the shapes of his face are the same. His voice is the same. But... somehow, like this, he's not nearly as frightening. There’s an air to him that’s... well, she thinks he could end her if he wanted to, but he doesn’t seem to want that.

Does he like her?

She looks away.

“Okay.”

It’s not a lie. She’ll call him Themis. But she can’t let herself get so close that she forgets . Because Themis becomes Elidibus. And she is the reason Elidibus dies.

It had taken little convincing for Erichthonios to save his conversation with Lahabrea for after they’d all had something to eat and gotten some rest. Themis is glad of both; until Lily-Bell had mentioned it, he hadn’t realized how worn he was. The trial of Pandaemonium was that the light never changed, and thus, he had no real idea as to how time was passing. Had is been hours? Had it been days?

Elpis is as far as he dares go until they remove the problem of Hephaistos from Pandaemonium, but it’s still good to get away from the ever-present gloom to rest in one of the guest houses. And if he spends some time watching over Lily-Bell as she sleeps, well...

Themis does manage to get some rest of his own. He must, for he needs to take care of himself to continue his maintenance of the wards, and also to keep his head. As much affection as he holds for Lily-Bell and Erichthonios, his station as Elidibus has been called forth now, and he must keep personal feelings out of his judgments.

Breakfast is a quiet affair; Lily-Bell still looks tired, while Erichthonios needs two cups of strong tea before he seems to regain his energy. It’s impossible to tell with his dark skin, but Themis suspects he either struggled to sleep, or simply didn’t sleep at all, to caught up in the euphoria of being able to prove himself correct to Lahabrea.

Lahabrea himself had remained in Pandaemonium, claiming he would be more than rested and wished to keep his eye on things, so it’s just the three of them making their way across the softness of Elpis in the morning, dew on the grass and clouds high above them.

Erichthonios hurries ahead, longer legs and eagerness propelling him forward, but Lily-Bell lags behind. After a moment, Themis slows his pace to match, and glances at her.

“Are you well?”

“Mm? Yeah. Kicking myself a little; Cid and Nero tried to get me to take a couple extra arms to test out, but I left them at home,” and she sighs a little. “Not that big of a deal, but frustrating. Limits what I can fight with.”

He nods a little; the sword had been easy enough to repair, but with the aetheric crystal, it’s clearly one that needs two hands.

“What can you use with but one hand?”

“My white mage staff should be fine. Or the gun...”

The gun had been very effective in managing Hegemone, and keeping her at a far greater distance.

“Unfortunately, most of my other options need two hands,” and she sighs a little. “I thought about putting it on this morning, but after looking it over, I’m pretty sure it’d break, and I really never would hear the end of it from Nero.”

“One of the creators of your arm?”

“Mmhm. It’s mostly Cid, and he’d be a little upset too, but Nero is dramatic , and will throw ten kinds of fit if I break it more than it already is,” and she rolls her eyes a little. “He’s a good engineer, but I’m amazed Cid hasn’t punched him in the face a few times...”

“Perhaps he has, simply not when you’re around,” Themis suggests.

It makes her snort a little, and gets him half a smile.

“Cid’s too professional. He’ll yell at Nero, but they have history. And a lot of unresolved stuff,” and she looks up at the sky, seeming to be thinking about something briefly before she shakes her head. “Plus, I think Jessie would yell at them both. Cid may own the company, but Jessie actually runs it.”

Perhaps Azem has been to the place she must be from. He’ll have to ask, because her little hints make him madly curious. Perhaps, after this is handled, after he’s relieved Azem of their double-duties, he can steal some time to find her, to visit her at her home...

He pushes those thoughts away as they reach the neus where Erichtonios waits. He will have to catch up on so much, but perhaps...

Lily-Bell stares at the space where Erichthonios had been, then stares at Lahabrea, not sure if she’s furious or unimpressed.

“You had to pick at him, didn’t you?” she asks frostily. “You’re as bad as my own sire; too stubborn by half and refusing to admit you’ve made a mistake until it’s too late and you’ve harmed that which could have helped.”

Lahabrea actually flinches, even as Elidibus puts his hand on her shoulder. She knows it won’t help, pointing out Lahabrea’s fault in all this, but it really is , from the first to the last moment, his fault. In a way, she also sees shades of Fourchenault in him, and she’d never managed to get over her dislike of the twin’s father either.

“...Hephistos is cunning, despite his warped mind. Whatever took hold of Erichthonios made short work of his ability to reason,” Lahabrea says, not looking at her. “A magic woven with such skill that none noticed it until it was too late, with the catalyst being his feelings of hatred and rage for me.”

“That does explain why the other keywords became warped as they were,” Elidibus murmurs. “If that is the skill of Hephaistos, to magnify the emotions of others til there is naught left in the minds but those feelings...”

“Someone else tried to help,” Lily-Bell says after a moment. “But I don’t know who. I just.. I heard someone...”

The hand on her shoulder squeezes gently.

“As did I. Perhaps one of the keywords not yet overcome?” he suggests.

“The warning was too late, as I had provoked him past the point of no return,” and while Lahabrea’s face is set, she does hear the regret beneath the rigidly controlled voice. “You are correct that I bear the burden for this. In my stubbornness, I could but provoke the boy, and Hephaistos undoubtedly knew this. I dread what ordeal now awaits him due to my rashness.”

“I’m going after him,” Lily-Bell says firmly, brushing Elidibus’s hand from her shoulder and heading for the stairs. “I’m not losing another friend to someone else’s mistakes.”

She doesn’t have a plan, not really. But Hephaistos hadn’t been able to catch her the way he’d caught Elidibus. He and Lahabrea might get stymied by the traps and things, but she won’t .

“Lily-Bell, wait!”

“No.”

Elidibus catches her wrist, and she manages another steps, but he is stronger and heavier, pulling her to an unwilling stop. She turns and scowls up at him, ears flat and tail lashing.

“I understand your desire,” he says gently. “I too do not wish to leave Erichthonios in Hephaistos’s hands. But how are we to help if we do not understand why this happened in the first place? There is more going on here than meets the eye, and we need clarification that only Lahabrea can provide.”

“He’s not going to enlighten us, El... Themis,” she argues. “All the problems here are because he’s kept secrets and lied!”

“Yes,” he agrees. “They are. And that is why he must .”

She hisses and pulls at her wrist, but his grip is firm.

“Lily-Bell. For all I hold many parts of Pandaemonium, the wards continue to fray. We require his knowledge to head into the depths, into its farthest reaches. Please.”

She doesn’t want Lahabrea’s help. It’s not the first time she’s walked blind into something and had to learn on the go, it probably won’t be the last.

“All he’s done is make things worse . I doubt he even knows what a straight answer is , let alone will give it to us. You don’t spare pain by keeping secrets! Especially not the ones he’s so bound and determined to hold!”

“...you are correct,” and she jerks a little, finally managing to free her hand as Lahabrea’s voice startles Elidibus as well and his hold falters. “The fault for Erichthonios’ fate lies on my shoulders. If tis truth you require, then I shall, but only after the foe before us has been laid low.”

Lily-Bell blinks, startled from her anger. She hadn’t thought they were speaking all that loud, but...

“The remaining keyword between us and Hephaistos is Agdistis. She has served in Pandaemonium since its inception, and her affinity for magic is peerless, even among her fellow keywords,” and Lahabrea’s eyes are as shuttered as his face, but she thinks... Regret? “Hepahistos must know that losing her would mean the end of his experiments, for he has hidden her in a space unreachable by conventional means. A protection that means little to one of your ilk. With the way your aether is structured, sending you to her will be a trivial task.”

“Then we shall approach as closely as caution will allow,” Elidibus says with a nod. “Aswe know where the battle will commence, it will be little trouble to detect your presence. I shall provide you with the warriors to aid you, and the ground on which to fight, though I know not what we may do for internment...”

“Do not bother with internment.” That is grief. But. Wait. Is he saying- “From here I can sense her essence, but it is barely recognizable. It seems Hephaistos was more ambitious with her than Hegemone. Her transformation is as such that barely a fraction of her self remains.”

She stares at him for a long moment.

“You’re telling me to kill her,” she says finally. 

“The Underworld will hopefully provide her comfort and ease, and I would not make her suffer trying to undo what has been done.”

In a way, she understands. These people are, for lack of a better term, tempered. Tempered like the Garleans of her homeland had been, some beyond saving. And despite his attitude, he does seem to care a little. He’d allowed them to rescue Hegemone...

But maybe...

“Send me, then,” she says after another moment. “Let’s get this over with.”

Chapter Text

Themis’s hand under her elbow as she gasps for breath is welcome, and as much as he’s frustrated her recently, so is the support. Her leg is aching from where she’d not been fast enough to get out of the way, and she can hear his heart beating rapidly.

“Thought... y’couldn’t... get here...?”

“The moment Agdistis was slain, the flow of aether in Pandaemonium focused keenly on this spot, forming a tunnel of sorts through which we conveyed ourselves,” and the concern thrums in his voice as he holds her close with a gentle touch that soothes her. “The ease of it felt more as though we were being firmly pulled, I admit.”

“This space was created with great care,” Lahabrea says, and she considers lifting her head, but Themis is comfortable . “Only a keyward would have been able to detect it, and even then, with great difficulty.”

It’s not her first time seeing spirits of the dead. Agdistis looks a lot prettier no longer fused with a giant tree. But she is so tired that her ability to grasp the conversation falters as her eyes close, becoming only background noise. It’s important, she knows it is, but that had been the hardest fight she’s had in five moons, and she is tired .

Themis shakes her lightly, and she makes a faint noise of complaint.

“I expect you are worn,” he whispers. “But wake, dear star. For we are about to receive an answer to the mystery.”

She grumbles a little, but pulls herself back up to consciousness and watches as Agdistis reveals part of the truth.

She sees... Hades in Lahabrea, if only for a moment. Hades who had taken her from the Scions, who had threatened them because of their treatment of her, but had also been willing to be hated by her if it kept her safe.

Alisaie had been the one to tell her that. The ultimatum that Hades had never shared with her, even as he had worked to keep her alive, to keep her safe. He would rather she hate him but be alive, instead of watching her suffer.

Lahabrea had accepted Erichthonios’s hate to make sure that he didn’t doubt himself. And he hadn’t refuted any of her own anger about the situation, nor her accusations about him being the kind of father that she’d suffered for sixteen years.

It would make her feel guilty, except for the fact that he’d chosen to hide it away instead of being honest and trusting his son to figure himself out. Her circumstances are different, she knows this, but...

“What a difficult truth you’ve born,” Themis says.

Such is Lahabrea’s nature, and there is resigned amusement in Agdistis’s fading voice. Every action, every word a solution to life’s great dilemmas yet none to spare for his own.

Lily-Bell looks over at Lahabrea’s whose stern expression hasn’t flickered once. Maybe learning how to so completely conceal his emotions is something learned by being part of the Convocation? Hades can do that too, but Hyth is much more open...

What I have revealed is but a small portion of the larger picture. I shall leave it to Lahabrea to paint the rest for you... and Erichthonios too, I hope.

“...thank you, Agdistis,” and his voice is so dry that is puts her in mind of Hades at his most irate. Never with her, never turned on her, but-

Agdistis only smiles at him.

I always admired you, you know. What choice had I, when you sacrificed so much to guide our star to the heavens?

She disappears before Lahabrea can come up with anything resembling a retort, and the older ancient sighs heavily before turning to them. He eyes her a moment, then shakes his head slightly.

“Hephaistos will have sensed the loss of his final keyward. Let us remand to the surface before he attempts to strike us here. If we are to face him, we must be at full strength.”

She’s too tired to bristle at the unsubtle dig, only closes her eyes and let’s Themis take them both up.

Themis is surprised that Lahabrea does not move to immediately awaken their sleeping heroine, but perhaps the confrontation with Agdistis, and the laying bare of part of the truth has left him in a more thoughtful mood. For his own part, Themis would rather they both be up under the blue skies of Elpis rather than this dark dungeon, but he is quite willing to hold her until she wakes on her own.

If anything, while he worries about Erichthonios, it also allows him the chance to sit and think about what he’s witnessed as well.

A part of him can’t help but admire Lahabrea. To accept such feelings of animosity in a bid to push Erichthonios to improve and stand on his own must have been exceptionally difficult. He remembers his own parents expressing several times that they wished for his life to be one of ease and comfort, but they had always been proud of his ascension to the seat of Elidibus.

Had Lahabrea taken this pain in hopes that Erichthonios might one day do the same? Not ascend to his seat, perhaps, but to rise beyond that of a simple warder to something more, unfettered by fears of inadequacy?

He knows the tale is not yet complete. What Agdistis showed them was but a moment that gave some answers, but not the entire story. And he wonders too at Lily-Bell’s opinion of it. She is passionate in her emotions, and regards Erichthonios with friendship that seems to be borne of lives lived in parallel. 

He hadn’t missed that she’d nearly called him Elidibus in her frustration. He knows it shouldn’t bother him, but it does. He wishes to be Themis to her. Unfettered by his role as Elidibus.

It’s a thought that leaves him a little shaken. After, he must talk to Azem about this, and perhaps Venat as well if he can find her. Perhaps also Emet-Selch, though he is infamous in his refusal to get involved in personal relations. Surely they will be able to help him understand what makes him wish to set aside his station. Perhaps-

She mumbles and stirs, and he can’t be certain, but had she said ‘Hyth’? Does she know Hythlodaeus? How?

The more he grows to care for her, the more questions he has...

Lily-Bell knows what it’s like to have awful parents, and yet still crave affection from them. For all she’s been adopted into Edmont’s family, for all she is loved by the Scions, but Hade, Hyth, and Stardust, there is still a part of her that wishes they could yet love her too, for what she has done, for who she has become.

She understands Erichthonios, in a way that Lahabrea and Elidibus do not. 

It makes her mad that her prosthetic arm is out of commission. Here she would be willing to throw herself to the fore with her gunblade, but without her other arm to compensate for balance, she must stay back.

She contents herself with throwing blinding holy spells, but always her attention is split between the fight, and her friend in his prison. She’ll not let him be turned into a hemitheos like the others. She will not .

As always happens with fights, time becomes a secondary concern, until suddenly Hephaistos drops, power spent, and transformation dispelled. The phantom warriors dissipate--for the better, she hadn’t liked the feel of Lahabrea’s aether--and Lahabrea appears before her, between herself and Hephaistos.

He wants to destroy his other half. His ‘flawed’ self. But if he does that, who will be the Lahabrea she fought in her past, his future?

Ugh. Time travel makes her head ache. Though that could also be the blow she hadn’t quite been quick enough to dodge...

“The chain of events that lead to this moment began when I confined you here from mercy. Now I break it, to leave no trace of you behind.”

It doesn’t sit right. Hephaistos is the Lahabrea she’d fought. The Lahabrea that had taken Thancred, that had used the Ultima weapon and laughed at the destruction it had wrought. How, if Lahabrea had destroyed him here, had she faced him then?

“This... is not... over! ” 

Hephaistos throws a wall of fire up, and Lily-Bell hisses as she takes a step back; she already smells enough of burnt hair and fur, she doesn’t need to add proper burns to her list of injuries.

“I see that you will not go peacefully.”

That’s a comment worthy of Hades, and Lily-Bell has to look at him to make sure that it’s still Lahabrea.

“Even a cast off will uphold his pride,” Hephaistos snarls as he staggers to his feet. “Though such an impulse must speak to the overwhelming arrogance of my other half.”

As the wall of fire dies, Hephaistos lifts a hand, and Erichtonios’s prison collapses. Not to release him, but to drag her unconscious friend between them and his captor. A shield against further attacks, unless she can work her way around to a clearer shot.

“The name ‘Hephaistos’ shall grow to eclipse yours! None shall remember the name, or the deeds of Lahabrea once I fulfill Athena’s ambitions and bring Erichthonios’s dream to life!”

“That’s arrogant,” Lily-Bell interject. It’s a familiar arrogance. She’s no longer sure which one is real and which is fake... “You act like you know all there is to know about Erichthonios, but all you’ve done is hurt him and lie to him. You’re right on track for one of the worst parents I’ve ever met, and I would know; I have a pair.”

Crimson eyes stare her down, but Lily-Bell refuses to be moved. She faced the Meteia, the end of the world that hasn’t even begun here, and lived. Some oddly split soul-creation isn’t going to intimidate her now.

“I know what it is to have parents who only seek to use you for what you can give,” she continues, lifting her eyes to look up at her bound friend. “And I know what it is to have a parent that cares and can both show and act upon it. Frankly, you’re both awful, and I don’t blame Erichthonios one little bit for feeling so used. Whatever his wish or dream, that’s for him to decide upon, not either of you.”

“...my... wish?”

She only barely catches it thanks to her miqo’te hearing, and she looks up a little more as Lahabrea and Hephaistos continue to bandy words about. Awake enough to hear, but possibly not to comprehend. It puts her in mind of people who’ve taken blows to the head.

She is a white mage, powered by A-Towa-Cant’s soulstone. Her magic confounds the ancients because it rings as barely there to their senses, and yet packs the punch of a pugilist thanks to her adventures and the strength she’s been granted. The strength of a dragon, the strength of the Light she’d taken in on the First, the strength of the prayers of the people of Etheirys. It's easy enough to send that to him, to try and clear the mists of confusion.

“You both talk too much,” she says with sharp, precise annunciation. “Erichthonios! What do you want? Not your mother, not your father. You! ”

Both halves of the same man jerk, and glare at her... but Erichthonios lifts his head.

“...I think... I owe you... and Themis.. An apology.” His hands clench and then he yanks them forward, shattering the spells. “I will have my say!”

He drops, then whips around, putting his back to her and Lahabrea, though he turns his head to offer her a fierce smile. Crimson eyes are clear of any murk, and she smiles back, allowing herself to relax. 

“How?!” Hephaistos demands. “Your mind was mine!”

“Lily-Bell’s voice was louder,” Erichthonios replies simply. “And so was the voice of another; much like yours but honest .”

She hadn’t paid attention to what Lahabrea had been saying, but apparently it had reached Erichthonios, and echoed in him. She can slightly fault his taste, but...

She does understand. If her own parents had given her that scrap of acknowledgment, of affection-

Themis is not available to power the spell of internment, but Erichthonios no longer seems to need that. She doesn’t recognize the sigils that spawn, but Hephaistos’s frustration is loud as he tries, and fails, to escape the bonds before the spell is complete.

“When did you master these bonds?!”

“Oh, we’ve interred much worse,” and Lily-Bell can’t help her proud smile at the confidence in her friend’s voice. 

Hephaistos’s words denigrate into curses, even as the spell flares with power, as Lahabrea lifts his hand and adds to the strength of it with his own chains. The aether flares crimson and white, and then a familiar crystal drops to the stone floor.

As does Erichthonios.

Themis cannot pretend he isn’t relieved to see them all on their feet when he makes it into Tartaros at last. Erichthonios is... not quite steady , but he is standing, leaning somewhat on the support that Lily-Bell is so very clearly attempting to give.

“I no longer sense Hephaistos, and the assault on the wards has ceased at last,” he says, looking to Lahabrea. “Are we rid of him for good and all, then?”

“More or less,” and Lily-Bell’s raspy voice makes him think she needs water, and perhaps another nap. “Erichthonios and Lahabrea interred him.”

Given that Lahabrea had been set to destroy whatever it was that made up Hephaistos, this is admittedly a bit startling.

“You felt sealing him away was the proper course?” he asks.

“Nothing so noble,” and Ericthonios grimaces a little. “I knew only that something need be done, and I acted upon that.”

“Is that how it was done before?” Lily-Bell asks.

“It was,” and Lahabrea nods slightly. “He was naught but parts of memory and soul cut away, a mass of aether without a material vessel. Storing that within a crystal was the most logical option.”

“On that matter,” and Themis pins his fellow Convocation member with a stern stare, crossing his arms. “I believe it is time for you to share the rest of your tale. How Hephaistos came to be, and Athena's end.”

Themis listens closely to the tale, watches the story as it plays out, and finds himself deeply disturbed. 

“Forgive my bluntness, but your actions border on madness,” he says softly, admittedly shaken. “You nearly rewrote your very existence to escape such memories...”

Lahabrea does not look embarrassed or ashamed. But neither does he look at any of them.

“Igeyorhm and Emet-Selch made plain the suspicions they harbored,” he says.

“As well they should! That you escaped with your life is nothing short of a miracle.”

It's tiny, and almost unheard, but... had Lily-Bell scoffed ?

“Why didn't you destroy the crystal then and there?” Erichthonios asks. “Did you think perhaps to one day make use of the knowledge it contained?”

“I will not deny such a thought did not cross my mind, but my main motivation.... was fear,” and it must strike at his pride to admit such to not just his son, but to the familiar that had helped them all. “I had never attempted such a feat before,and the crystal itself my sole recourse should things go awry with the remainder of my soul. Athena must have anticipated that-”

Lily-Bell's snort is audible this time.

“Please listen to yourself,” she says, shaking her head a little. “A feat that no one had managed, and yet you think she anticipated you not only carving out a piece of your soul, but sealing it here? More like the aether all around us worried away at your seal until it shattered and released that imperfect visage enough to let him build his own form. Bodies can be built around scraps of soul, so long as someone else supplies it.”

....how does she know this? She says it so confidently, so certainly . She is a familiar, familiar's don't...

Do they?

A question to pose to Emet-Selch, perhaps. The caretaking of the Underworld is his duty, among other things...

Erichthonios looks down at her contemplatively, then over at Lahabrea.

“I only wish to know one thing. Did you truly think hiding the truth from me was the best thing for me? Even with you knowing how I felt about my mother?”

Lahabrea is quiet, then turns away.

“I have said all that I can say. Now it is for you to choose to believe me or not.”

There is a pained, bitter smile on Erichthonios's face, and Themis has to admit, that it's not entirely undeserved.

“The Lahabrea I know holds duty before all. I would sooner prostrate myself before an erupting volcano than lay my paltry emotions in your path. And while I expect you'll don that mask once more, after we free ourselves from this pit, I... am compelled to say... thank you. Hepaistos.”

Compared to the depths, the gates and open courtyard of Pandaemonium are a welcome sight. Lily-Bell is still not entirely convinced that she is done here, but she has no clue how to get Lahabrea to put himself back together, so that he is the man she fought. 

“Lily-Bell.”

She blinks and looks up.

“Thank you,” and there is an earnest nature to that gratitude that puts her in mind of G'raha. “If you and Themis hadn't chosen to brave the chaos occurring in Pandaemonium, I never would have know Lahabrea's story.”

“Twas certainly a tale I was fascinated to hear,” Themis puts in, smiling faintly. “I very much look forward to speaking with Azem upon my return; I do wonder how much their sight allowed them to see...”

“So long as you retain control of Pandaemonium, leaving is not an option,” Lahabrea puts in gruffly.

Themis chuckles slightly.

“Of course, of course. There are still many warders to free, and work to be done to set this place to rights.”

“The facilities in Tartaros will be necessary for reverting the changes inflicted upon them. I shall remain to oversee the procedures.”

Lily-Bell does not envy either Themis or Erichthonios still further contact with Lahabrea. She is thinking longing thoughts of home, and the sweet bread that Hyth had promised her upon her return.

“I would yet learn why I was the key in Hephaistos's experiment, and how he planned to revive Athena,” Erichthonios puts in.

“No,” and they all stare at her in surprise. Lily-Bell shuffles a little, then looks up into glimmering crimson eyes. Erichthonios looks somewhere between hurt and baffled, and oh she knows. She knows . “Listen. Trying to understand the motives of people that only want to hurt you and use you for their owns ends is just going to cause you more pain. Because what you're looking for isn't what you think. You want... You think you want to understand where they come from,” and she looks down her her hand, curling it in her tattered coat. “You think maybe, maybe if you can see their point of view, you can fix it. You can make them see you . But all you do in the end is find reasons to justify why you weren't good enough as you were. Are.”

She stops. Swallows hard. She wants Hades hands on her shoulders. She wants Hyth's soft fingers brushing against her ears. She wants to cuddle Stardust until the child wriggles with impatience and escapes her grasp.

“Lily-Bell...”

She shakes her head sharply.

“My parents are awful. When I couldn't live up to their expectations, they threw me out for being an embarrassment to their name. And I never understood, still don't understand, why they couldn't love me. But that's not the relationship in my life that I lean on for acceptance and affection,” and she lifts her chin a bit, back to those eyes that hold a familiar ache. “And parents aren't the be all, end all of the world. You can build your own family however you'd like. I... sort of got thrown into mine, and it took us a while to even out, but I have partners, and siblings that accept me as I am. Let the past lie, Erichthonios. Look instead to the future.”

She doesn't know how much time they have before the Final Days. But she doesn't want him to be hurt when he realizes that his mother only saw him as a tool, and the emotional unavailability of Lahabrea completes the break.

“I.... perhaps... you are correct,” and large brown hands briefly cup her face. “Though were I to meet your parents, there would surely be sharp words, for you are amazing.”

“So are you,” and she smiles at him. “I'm glad to call you my friend.”

It settles something in him, she thinks. Isolated by his own will, but isolated just the same, to be called friend is to be given a gift that she can give and happily, even though she will soon leave, and likely not return.

“There is still the matter of your crystal to address,” Themis says, and she feels Erichthonios startle at the contemplative tone. “Truth be told, I had not considered its origins until I saw the one containing Hephaistos's aether. I was struck by how wholly different they were...”

“There is another?”

Lily-Bell bites her tongue on a sharp response.

“I don't have it with me. I left it with the researchers who found it,” she says. “But it whispered of danger in Pandaemonium. A... friend of mine said it contained memories.”

Lahabrea looks, if anything, perturbed.

“A crystal imbued with memories is a simple enough thing to create, but to imbue it with a warning... that would take considerably more effort. It also indicates that someone else besides present company, and Azem, knew of the plot unfolding withing Pandaemonium.”

Lily-Bell isn't sure of that. While it had brought her here of a certainty, there was more urgency to it than she's seen of the disaster that had nearly unfolded.

“Perhaps t'was one of the other warders, prior to their imprisonment. We shall question them once they are freed,” and there is an almost dismissive tone in Lahabrea's voice.

“That is a task that may take some time,” and Erichthonios already looks tired. “You have findings to report, do you not?”

Lily-Bell nods; she can’t pretend that the thought of home, of Hades, Hyth, Stardust, her kitchen, her bed aren’t the most alluring things ever. But-

“Go rest,” Themis urges, though she thinks... she thinks he’s sad . “Returned when you are recovered, and we may yet share our findings.”

“It... It may be a while before we meet again,” she says hesitantly. “I’ve... a long way to go.”

“Hmph. This talk of travel smacks of Azem,” Lahabrea grunts.

“Well, they have pledged to keep moving until the traverse every corner of our star,” and there is fondness ni Themis’s voice. “Come, I’ll see you to the neus, that you may be on your way.”

Lily-Bell looks up at Erichthonios who smiles wryly at her, then does her best to hug him, which startles the tall man quite handily. His return hug is a bit awkward, but it’s more the awkward of someone who’s not been hugged enough and doesn’t know what to do with the affection.

He lets go before she does, but he doesn’t protest when she holds on a little more before letting go.

“I made my family,” she says, looking up at him. “You can make your own too.”

He nods, even as he looks uncertain, then takes a breath and follows Lahabrea back into the dungeons, leaving Lily-Bell with Themis.

“When you come back, you should bring your crystal again,” Themis suggests as he makes no move to lead her towards the neus. Did he just... want a few moments alone? “And fear not, the work here will help stave off the loneliness.”

She flinches, then takes those few steps and burrows herself into his hold. She can feel his breath catch in surprise and it’s so hard to not cry. It’s not fair . She didn’t want to like him this much, to know that he cares about her in return. She didn’t want to know that he forgets her, forgets all of this as ten thousand years as primal’s heart shreds his memory until all that’s left is his duty.

His arms wrap around her slowly, one hand coming up to rest gently on her hair as she clings to him.

Hade Hades-?

No.

No he would never.

...she’s going to have to tell him. Him and Hyth both.

“Are you not looking forward to the aether travel that much?” and there is... fond humor in his voice.

“No,” she grumbles against his robe. “I hate it. I always get sick.”

He hums, and fingers run gently through her ruined mess of hair that she’s going to have to get cut and start all over again with growing thanks to fighting Hephaistos and his fire spells...

“Would that I could add to the matrix that makes you up, to remove that problem,” and he sighs a little, but the reminder makes her flinch. Right. He thinks she’s only a familiar, not- “Perhaps see if your creator wouldn’t be able to craft you a lodestone.”

She blinks, and leans back, confused.

“Why would a magnet help?”

“Think of it as a personal neus. One fixed point, instead of a vast network,” and he smiles at her with undisguised fondness, even as he steps back, and cups his hands together. 

Aether seems to pool between his fingers, then fades into mist, revealing two crystals on leather cords. One is pale green; the same green, she thinks as her right eye. The other is the same teal as Themis’s.

He hands her the teal one and she looks at it, then at him.

“I shall keep this one. Thus, when you next are able to meet with us, bearing your crystal, you should be able to return directly. Hopefully,” and there’s a teasing edge to his smile, “without literally landing on me.”

“....if I could figure out how to do it on purpose, I’d have to now,” she informs him with a small huff, even as she curls her fingers around the gently gleaming crystal. “Just because you said that.”

He laughs softly, briefly tracing his fingers over her cheek. It’s a soft touch, a sweet one, and she wants-

She steps back.

“I’ll... I.... see you, Themis.”

And before he can say anything else, she headbutts his chin gently, then turns and bolts for the neus.

Chapter Text

Hades has no idea how he’s going to explain this to Lily-Bell upon her return. She’d worried about Claudien, had asked him to keep an eye on him, if from a distance, and the bloody fool had somehow managed to up and vanish on him. Even prevailing on Hythlodaeus to look--for he had also gone to see the man, easily charming all in his path--had not turned up any hint of that color of soul.

“You know she’s not going to be angry,” Hyth points out, even as Hades paces fruitlessly in the study. “She hardly expected you to hover over him all hours of the day and night.”

“She still asked that I keep him safe,” Hades snaps back. “Disappearing in Azys Lla, with naught to show but a great hole excised with precision, is certainly not keeping him safe!”

Hyth is used to outbursts like this. Hades has honestly lost track of how often he’d snapped at him in the years before the sundering. The patient look, the gentle smile, make him feel guilty for snapping. They always have, and yet Hyth treats it as the normal occurrence.

Sometimes, despite the ten thousand years, he feels as though he hasn’t changed at all...

“She knows you’re not omniscient, dear Hades,” Hyth says patiently. “And she’ll need time to recover, which may well give us time to locate him. Even if we cannot, I have little doubt that she’ll worry more about the fact that we can’t find him over the fact that we lost him in the first place.”

Hades sighs a little; Hyth does have a point. And Claudien had left before her, while they’d been busy on teh First preparing for her to traverse the portal again.

How long has it been for her, he wonders. He misses her at night, even though he is content to lay with Hythlodaeus and sleep. Content to fill the days with gathering up more books from the libraries of Sharlayan, and teach Stardust proper manners and life skills.

Hopefully the mess with Pandaemonium will be dealt with soon. He wants her at his side to stay once more. Wants the warmth of her breath on his skin, wants to hear the delightful sounds she makes when he brings her pleasure, wants the feel of her weight in his arms...

“She’ll turn up on the First again, won’t she?” Hyth asks.

The abrupt change of subject throws Hades a little, and he frowns at his lover, confused by the question.

“....I know not,” Hades admits. “I had expected her to return to the Oculus of the Crystarium, but she reached for Il Mheg and found it...”

Found it across the span of centuries and shattering worlds. Had gone directly to Il Mheg, instead of the Crystarium, or anywhere else.

Hythlodaeus hums a little.

“And did you tell her you would meet her there again?”

“...I did.”

“Then perhaps you should go check and make sure that she’s not there yet,” and Hyth’s tone is gently amused. “I can only imagine how upset she’ll be if she doesn’t see you right away.”

Hades huffs a little; true, he hasn’t yet checked in today, but-

“You are attempting to distract me from the missing professor,” he accuses mildly.

“I think focusing on the return of Lily-Bell is better than fussing about someone who’s hidden, or been hidden, so well that we can do naught but wait,” Hyth chides. “And if I could step across worlds as you do, I most certainly would.”

Hyth probably could if he really wanted to, but the lackadaisical attitude towards aether manipulation remains. Oh, he’d ended up refining his abilities a little after their trip to Elpis, though he’d never quite been able to explain the motivation to learn a proper healing spell, but for the most part, his refusal to actively manipulate aether remained constant.

“....I shall return shortly,” Hades says after a moment, eyeing his lavender-haired beloved. “Do not let Stardust climb the counters again. It’s unsanitary.”

Hyth just beams and kisses him on the cheek--which means he’s going to completely ignore that instruction, as he so often does--making Hades sigh, even as he steps from the comfort of the study of their home, to the wilds of Il Mheg.

Lily-Bell feels warm hands slip under her; supporting her head, lifting her gently to rest against a familiar chest that she burrows into without opening her eyes. Her ears are still ringing and her head is still spinning, but she would know Hades’ touch anywhere .

Her Hades.

She doesn’t mean to tear up, to cling to him with her good arm as he holds her close, but the guilt is strong . It was one thing to call for Hythlodaeus; that was never about her . That was about giving something back to Hades, who had given her so much, and asked for nothing in return.

But Themis...

There’s a familiar chill, and then Hades settles onto something that sinks gently; their bed? Maybe. She’s a little too busy being disoriented and miserable to try opening her eyes to check.

She can tell he’s speaking from the resonance in his chest, but she can’t make out anything he’s saying. She just presses more against him, wanting his touch to soothe her. She... probably whines, but she can’t even hear herself .

He leans back, bracing against... a wall? Maybe. She’s not willing to open her eyes yet. The hand on her head shifts up, and he starts gently rubbing the base of her ears. His other hand rubs familiar, steady lines up and down her back, and she feels a drifting warmth settle over her; Hades aether still carries a touch of umbral darkness, of chill and the night, but that helps. It steadies her, makes her feel safe again.

She doesn’t feel any less guilty , but she does feel safe.

Hyth is trying not to laugh, he really is. Lily-Bell’s distress is genuine, and her guilt, but... but it’s so cute to hear her say she’s got a crush on Themis! He wants to scoop her up and snuggle her, and would probably do it is she wasn’t curled up on Hades lap and looking so miserable .

Hades lets out a breath, then presses a kiss between those unhappily slanted ears.

“Kitten, I am not surprised,” he says, and Hyth now has to avoid cooing because Hades probably will drop him in a lake. That soft voice hadn’t existed at all in their mutual past... “Nor am I upset, or bothered. Though he forgot, you made enough of an impression that it unconsciously dictated every move he made on the First in regards to you.”

“He adored you,” Hyth puts in, making her look up in anxious surprise. “While I was not privy to the details of the investigation, when we could gather and set aside masks and duty-names, I caught him looking quite often at that little token you’ve mentioned. I believe he always hoped that you might show up once more and use it to return to him.”

Hades nods in agreement.

“Inasmuch as he allowed himself the attachment, he was attached to you,” and Hades’ hand smooths her newly shorn hair--a shame, it was getting quite long, but- “If not for his duties, he may well have tried to seek you the world over.”

That doesn’t seem to help her feel much better, and Hyth’s amusement flickers in his concern for the tears now pooling in her eyes.

“Oh sweeting,” he reaches out and presses a hand to her face. “I imagine he’s watching over you from the sea, memories renewed, and it happy to see you thrive. And did he not help you get back in the first place?”

She sniffles and nods, and he gently runs his thumb over her cheek, wiping away the trickling tears.

“It’s... not... f-fair .”

“No. It never was,” Hades closes his eyes briefly, arms tightening around her. “But the past is cemented, kitten. All you do is all that has been done. Tis only the future we can affect.”

She sniffles, then turns and presses her face against Hades chest. Hyth smiles at her fondly, and runs his hand over her hair instead; such a warm and gentle heart. Perhaps if Hades can get them to that space between...

He flicks a glance at Hades, and gets the tiniest, near-imperceptible nod. They shall have to plan it together... and perhaps make use of the Sharlayan Atiascope, but it might well be doable for them to at least speak to one another...

The tears dry up after a few minutes, into gentle hiccups and sniffles. Hyth hands her a handkerchief so she can dry her eyes and blow her nose, and Hades makes no mention of the wet patch on his shirt. Hyth leans on him fondly, leaning down to press a kiss to Lily-Bell’s forehead as she hiccups a little; he hates seeing her so sad, but there’s naught for it...

“H-hades, I-”

He shushes her gently.

“Tis no crime to care for him. He was dear to us all, and it pained me to see him choose to forget. I am of a mind with Hyth; I would not be surprised to find him watching from the sea, to ensure that you are happy. Would that he could drag himself out to experience this life himself... I am certain he would enjoy it.”

“It’s... okay?”

“Of course it is. I do not begrudge you sharing your heart, kitten. I know that you will return to my side.”

That seems to ease the weight on her a little, and when she turns those mismatched eyes to him, Hyth gives her a fond smile.

“I think it’s quite fun to see how many you might collect,” he teases gently. “Your heart is so generous, sweeting, why would I begrudge you sharing it with those around you? I have a place, and that is enough.”

He has to chuckle as she burst back into tears, and nudges himself under Hade’s arm so that he can hug them both. While he’d never felt anything more than platonic affection for Themis, and respected his role as Elidibus, oh what delightful mischief these two could but cause...

Hadn’t Vrtra made something to walk among the people? Surely between himself and Hades they could-

Ah. 

But only if that is what their old friend desires.

He tables the thought, and focuses instead on cuddling their crying darling. That is a discussion for later. For now, she needs reassurance and love, and they are the ones to give her that.

In retrospect, her fear does seem a little silly; Hades had encouraged her connection to others, even when she would have only remained with him. He had never begrudged her any of her emotions, conflicted or otherwise. It still makes her feel a little guilty, but... but now that guilt is more about Themis himself; even if it had been a thing required, to make him care about her so that he could help her later, it still makes her feel sad.

She wants to see him so she can apologize, but... but the aetherial sea is vast . And how can she prevail upon Hades or Hyth to find him? Surely he must want nothing more than to rest, and to eventually pick a time for his rebirth...

Right?

She pushes those thoughts aside as best she can as she walks into the lab with Hades and Hyth trailing her. Claudien is missing, they had confessed that to her, but with no leads, all she can do is go to Aporia and see if perhaps Nemjiji or Ruisennaud might have an idea.

Nemjiji is not in the lab, but Ruisennaud is, and he looks quite harried.

“Ah, you’ve returned! Apologies if I am not my usual self, in your absences, we’ve had some... difficulties.”

She nods in understanding.

“Hades told me that Claudien’s gone missing,” she says. “I take it this means he’s not suddenly returned...”

“I’m afraid not,” and he sighs a little in disappointment. “Though I admit to some relief at not needing to be the one to inform you of the professor’s disappearance... Still, if that was not bad enough, Nemjiji has been in the Atiascope and sent word that there is a massive abnormality of energy. In all honesty, your timing couldn’t be better; please, would you join me? All three of you?”

Lily-Bell nods immediately. While the ethereal sea is not anywhere near her field of knowledge, if there’s trouble, it’s worth looking into. And it is Hades’ field, for all he’s no longer upon the seat of Emet-Selch.

The relief on the elezen researcher’s face is stark, and he leads the way to the lift that they may go down to the Atiascope.

It’s a little odd to realize that the Ragnarok is back in its dock, but being fair, she doesn’t actually recall their return to Sharlayan. It must have been an adventure getting it back, though...

She snuggles up to Hades as they descend in the lift, tucked securely between him and Hyth; she knows Hades feels bad about losing Claudien, but honestly, she can’t blame him for it. She hadn’t wanted him to hover over the man, just keep an eye on him, and Hades had done his best. He’d even gotten Hyth’s help, so really, he’d done what he could as he could.

As she steps out of the elevator she stops short to stare.

“What... what is that? Ruisennaud breathes. “Is it real ??”

What in the name of the gods is Pandaemonium doing in the aetherial sea?

Lily-Bell moves forward--rushes, really--until she is as close as she can get. She climbs on the railing, and feels Hades anchoring her as she peers at the structure she has become all to familiar with.

“...this is Pandaemonium,” Hyth murmurs as he steps up on her other side. “But how did it get here? Why is it here?”

“Tis too solid to be an aetheric construct,” Hades says. Lily-Bell leans forward a little; is there someone out there? Who would be- “Perhaps this is where that missing bit of Azys Lla vanished off to.”

She blinks and looks down at him.

“You think... whatever took Claudien also took the chunk of Azys Lla and brought it here?”

“Sundered beings cannot use creation magics, but you are very clever with the magics you can use; Azys Lla contains a wealth of aether and technology to make such changed. But why here?”

He looks... angry. And when she glances at Hyth, those glowing eyes are also narrowed, somewhere between thoughtful contemplation and simmering ire.

It makes her glad they’d asked Edmont to watch Stardust this time. Having both Hyth and Hades with her, having their child safe elsewhere, is comforting.

Hyth squawks and leans forward on the rail, thoughtful contemplation losing out to the irritation.

“That creature is eating souls!”

Lily-Bell’s head snaps up as she hears Hades cursing quietly; she can’t see the same as they can, but the white creature is not trying to be subtle; she recognizes the thing it’s holding as part of an internment spell, and streaks of colored light are being pulled into it.

As Hades hand leaves her belt--and she mentally laments the fact that she hadn’t expected combat, so she hadn’t taken the temporary prosthetic Cid had offered when she’d given him hers to repair--she tenses, then leaps from the railing. Beneath her feet ‘stones’ of the sea rise, and while the crossing is not one she’d recommend to anyone else, she makes it with only a little bit of slip, easily compensated for by Hyth who had leaped with her.

No doubt if she’d been less hasty, Hades would have teleported all three of them, as it is, he catches her as she makes that last leap, keeping her from slipping on a platform that feels like ice beneath her feet.

“I dare not use full power here,” he warns her. “I could do grave damage to the souls that flock about us. But I will fight with you.”

“Ash shall I,” Hyth says. “As we once did.”

There’s no Venat here to round them out, but that’s all right; Lily-Bell lifts her hand to her chest, where Azem’s stone lays warm against her skin, and concentrates; they are in the sea, and even if it’s not all her friends and former allies as it has been in the past, she will take help from any who wish to save their fellow spirits.

The summoning spell blossoms around her even as Hades launches a fireball at the strange creature, and the magic gives solidity to those who answer the call.

Lily-Bell does not like Athena. Granted, after that mess of Pandaemonium in the past, after learning that she would have used her own son in her experiments, she’s a bit predisposed to that.

“Give Claudien back!” she demands. “You’ve no right to a body not your own!”

“Ah, the lad who set foot in Azys Lla?” Athena’s smile is soft . “Worry not, for I treat all my tools with care, especially those that shall allow me to see ascension into godhood.”

“People aren’t tools! ”

It’s a wonder Erichthonios had turned out as kind as he had, with the parents that had born him.

“Hmph. You are as stubborn as Lahabrea was,” and Athena’s sigh is full of disappointment. “I speak in earnest, and yet you refuse to hear me.”

“You are a sham,” Hades says coldly. “Release that which is not yours, Athena.”

She ignores Hades, which... is kind of impressive, all things considered. Is it because she doesn’t know who he is? How far apart had the members of the Convocation kept-

“I think you’d be best served by a different teacher,” she announces, clapping her hands together with a bright smile. “And you seem to have just what I need to make that possible!”

Lily-Bell shifts her grip on her pistol with some confusion, then jumps roughly a foot as the crystal Hades had brought back from Azys Lla begins to shine brightly from his pocket. Letting him hold it had seemed the wiser option when he’d offered it to her, but now-

“That crystal teems with memories of two souls you know well,” and Athena sounds pleased with herself. “I shall stitch them so some errant souls for you, and perhaps they shall help you see clearly!”

It’s fast, distressingly so. Before Hades can even move , two tiny balls of light flicker into existence, flare with power, and then-

Her eyes go wide, she can’t help it.

Lahabrea and Erichthonios.

But how? Lahabrea had been wholly absorbed by Thorden’s transformation into a primal, and Erichthonios-

Erichthonios startles, and takes several steps back.

“You- H-how? Where are we?!”

Athena’s smile has a proprietary edge that makes Lily-Bell’s skin crawl; if she’d a hand free, she would have reached out for Hades in a heartbeat. As it is, she shuffles closer to him, and feels the faint, furious trembling from her husband.

“For now, I’m sure these two will have more than enough to tell you of me and my desires. There would be one more but,” she sighs a little. “That soul is being quite troublesome.”

Ice travels down her spine.

“You leave Themis alone!” and she takes aim at Athena. “He’s not yours to hurt!”

“My my, such a reaction,” and she laughs delicately. “Don’t you worry your little head, Lily-Bell~ I’m sure I’ll come up with something-"

Lily-Bell fires, but Athena vanishes, leaving her fearful for the soul of Elidibus, and anxious about the two souls before her.

Hades arm slips around her shoulders and he squeezes gently.

“Lahabrea.”

“....Emet-Selch,” Lahabrea replies with a narrow look. “Why does it surprise me little to see you here with one such as she?”

“Azem’s influence,” Hades replies blandly. “You know how they are.”

The scoff is... oddly comforting.

“Once more I find myself with naught but questions in your presence,” and Lahabrea frowns at her. “I would have this inequality rectified.”

“Perhaps we could do it back on more solid ground,” Hyth suggests. “Farther away from the trouble. It is quite the tale.”

After a moment Lahabrea nods in agreement, and Hades snaps his fingers, crafting a portal back to the more solid researchers area of the Atiascope.

Hades is infuriated, but he allows none of that to show. While he no longer holds the seat of Emet-Selch, the Convocation well and truly disbanded, he still feels a sense of responsibility for the state of the aetherial sea. To have fragments of Lahabrea and Erichthonios here now--Erichthonios, whose soul’s shade is a direct match for the lost Claudien--is an affront to that balance.

That they will disperse in time is a given, but this doesn’t make him feel any less furious. These souls should be allowed the rest they so rightly deserve.

“To think you were from the future,” Erichthonios smiles a little ruefully down at Lily-Bell. “I searched for you after a time, wishing to share what I’d learned, but could find no trace of you. Now I know why...”

“I’m sorry,” and she hangs her head, scuffing the glimmering blue floor gently. “I didn’t like not telling you, but-”

“No, I understand,” and Erichthonios pats her head gently. “It stands on the edge of disbelief now. Back then it would have sounded quite mad.”

Hades can admit to that, at least. It had sounded quite mad when she’d told him, Hyth, and Venat of the world to come. And yet it had come, and he is here to bear witness to it, at her side like she’d hinted.

“That the future exists at all after the Final Days... did we defeat that despair and find a way to live on?”

Lily-Bell is quiet, then glances back at him uncertainly. Hades grimaces a little.

“That is a complicated answer,” he says. “And one not relevant to the trials at hand.”

“Agreed,” and it’s so odd to hear that old brusqueness from Lahabrea. Many long centuries had changed him for the worse... “Regardless of how it came to pass, the future needs be protected from Athena’s machinations, and we would do well to let that conviction be our guide.”

“I fear there is little available to you,” Hyth says after a moment, and Hades glances over at his lover to see him frowning at the pair contemplatively. “You are not truly reborn souls, only memories attached to those who had prepared for their own rebirth.”

“Athena may have meant us only to speak, but we are not slaves to her whims,” and there is derision in Lahabrea’s voice. “We shall find a way to shatter her ambitions and tear ourselves from her grasp.”

“Agreed,” and Erichthonios nods firmly. Then falters, an uncertain look crossing his face. “Yet... how did she know of our history with Lily-Bell?”

“Likely some means of observing events in Pandaemonium, either during, or after they had occurred,” Lahabrea replies a touch dismissively. “We must remedy the shortcoming of knowledge quickly, and I would suspect that such information is close at hand.”

“If we are to handle this swiftly, we must get your arm from Cid,” Hyth says, reaching forward to gently tug at one of Lily-Bell’s ears. “Why don’t you and I go do that, and we’ll let Hades amd Claudien’s research assistants fill in the biggest gaps?”

Lily-Bell looks up at him, and after a moment Hades nods. He loves her, but at the moment he is frustrated by these events. A little space, even from she who is dearest to him, will not go amiss.

Hyth’s smile is worried, even as he drapes his arm around Lily-Bell’s shoulders, tucking her close.

“We’ll be back soon. Stay out of trouble until then, hm?~”

“I am not Keah,” Hades scoffs a little. “I know how to wait for backup.”

Hyth snorts at him, and then they are both gone.

Hades looks at the man who was once one of the last unsundered. Looks to Pandaemonium and finds the bright-distorted spot that is Athena. Then looks to Nemjiji and Ruisennaud.

“Let us begin.”

Chapter Text

“I still cannot believe how badly you broke this one,” Nero huffs, not looking up from his workstation. “It’s going to take days to properly rewire!”

Lily-Bell shuffles, but Hyth’s hand on the back of her neck soothes her anxiety.

“I knew the lighter armoring was going to be less durable, but that is certainly more damage than I was expecting,” Cid admits. “Back to the drawing board certainly. We did fix up your old one while you were away; sleeker and lighter, so perhaps keep it away from corrosive creatures?”

“I... that might be doable?” she offers uncertainly. “At least for the moment.”

She’s pretty sure that whatever Athena has up her sleeve, she needs them in as close to one piece as possible.

“I’d ask what new fight you’ve found, but going by your expression, it’s not one in which we mechanics will be all that useful, is it?” Cid asks with a wry smile.

“Ah, well... Maybe? I mean. Not to fight, no, but... keeping my arm repaired...”

Lily-Bell misses having two good arms. But she’s grateful for both Cid and Nero; without them she’d probably have something so much worse...

“Bah. That’s the trouble with you adventurers,” and Nero shakes a screwdriver in her direction. “No respect for the people that keep you in fighting shape!”

“Just go find the wires, Nero,” Cid interrupts with a resigned roll of his eyes as he hands her the old arm. “Here, let’s test this one out, make sure everything works properly. Are you going immediately to get into another fight?”

She shakes her head as Hyth snorts a little.

“After this, we were going to get something to eat,” he says, “and bring some back for Hades, who must be in a right state after dealing with you know who after so long. Then we can tackle the problems, hm?”

It chafes, a little, to go slow with Pandaemonium down in the Sea. And she can’t help feeling anxious; how can Athena find Themis? Will it be Themis , or will it be whatever memories she can conjure from nothing? Something about the awareness of her, how Athena knows her, is disconcerting. Is wrong . Perhaps...

She only hesitates a little before attaching the arm to her shoulder socket; better to be used to it by the time they go back down to the Atiascope than to need to warm it up and hope that it’ll respond properly when she gets into the next fight.

She blinks as new panels light up in a cool blue, lifting the arm and peering at it as she starts the exercises to make sure everything’s connected and working properly. Cid mutters something under his breath, then sighs.

“Nero, we agreed to not have the translucent panels,” he says in irritation. “This thing could work like a bleeding torch now!”

“It’s multi-functional,” Nero replies blithely, not looking up from the damaged arm. “People will be more wary if they see someone with an aetheric arm, will they not?”

Lily-Bell can recognize the start of a squabble, and she tugs on Hyth as Cid gets up from the bench. Hyth hums a little, then quietly portals them both out of the workshop, back to their Ishgardian home.

Familiar surroundings are soothing, as is sinking into the couch, and Lily-Bell leans against Hyth, half-closing her eyes.

“Hyth?”

“Hm?”

“Lahabrea shared his soul with his wife. But... I don’t... I don’t understand how it works. Or... or what it meant. Does that sort of connection linger after death? Or could she have delayed her reincarnation until now, to avoid Lahabrea as he became?”

Hythlodaeus hums and presses a kiss to the top of her head.

“Soul-sharing wasn’t exactly common for us,” he admits. “Marriage was, but that’s... that’s bonding on a far deeper, more intimate level. As it’s been explained, you know every last bit of the person you shared with, their mind, their thoughts, their heart. For a brief period, one is indistinguishable from the other.”

That’s scary...

But she can’t pretend she wouldn’t say yes in a heartbeat if Hades wanted it. (He’ll never ask and she knows this. Should she?)

“I’ve not heard of such a bond extending beyond death, however. I could believe that she has delayed her own rebirth to watch from the sea, as some souls choose to do. Hydaelyn’s sundering likely made that all very complicated and difficult, however...”

He sighs a little, then runs his fingers gently through her hair, and Lily-Bell leans into the touch with a sigh of her own. The only way to know, at this point, is to go back down to the Atiascope...

“Food first,” and Hythlodaeus gets to his feet, clapping his hands determinedly. “You’ll need to eat a good meal before you get embroiled in things! And we’ll have to bring Hades food as well; you know how he gets when he’s not eaten.”

Lily-Bell nods and accepts Hyth’s help up, trying not to let the lump of discomfort in her gut hinder her appetite. Will she face Elidibus once more? Can she face him? It had taken G’raha and the Tower to defeat him, and she had no tower in the depths of the sea.

...but this time she did have Hades. And she has Hyth too, and whoever else decides to answer the summons of Azem’s stone.

She blinks.

“Hyth?”

“Hm?”

“Do you think I could summon Elidibus? With Azem’s stone?”

Hyth pauses in his making of food, head tipping a little.

“You might just,” he says after a moment. “Knowing our dear friend, he feels monumentally guilty about the harm he’s caused, which is why you’ve not seen him before. But Keah did say they could focus on a person’s soul, and call them forth... Though never an unwilling one.” Hyth chuckles softly. “Much to Hades’ irritation, as he could never refuse his sibling anything, though he could certainly complain about it.”

Considering the testy Hades she’d met in Elpis... she can see that, yes.

“Do you want to summon him?”

“...I’m... I’m not sure.” She looks down at the counter, tracing he fingers against the marble. “I think I do, but also... It’s... It’s not like with you. You wanted to come to Hades, to help. You wanted to support him until he felt his work was done. Elidibus... I don’t know what he wanted at the end, except to rest. To be free and-”

Hyth’s arms wrap around her as she tears up, and she presses her face into the sharp-aether scent of him, snuffling a little.

“Keah’s spell only works on a soul that wishes it,” he reminds her gently. “If Elidibus doesn’t wish to come to your aid, for reasons of guilt or whatever, then he shan’t. But if he wishes to see you but one more time, if only to gain closure...”

Lily-Bell isn’t sure if that’s what she wants. She has the sense that her travels back aren’t done yet either...

“Well. Let the thought sit,” he says, and bends down to kiss the top of her head. “I expect Hades would be happy to see his old friend once more, if only because he wants to gloat just a little.”

That makes her snort a little, then sniffle again. Hades isn’t necessarily the gloating type , preferring to showcase through deeds instead of words, but...

“Now then. Eat up, and we’ll go back to him, hm?”

That’s a plan she can get behind. Of a certainty.

Hades catches Lily-Bell as her knees give way, feeling fury rise in his chest. How dare Athena touch the memories of Elidibus?! While this is not truly his old friend--the color is wrong, thank creation--laying hands on the memories is desecration enough!

“...Emet-Selch?” ‘Themis’ blinks at him in surprise. “How are you here in this so distant future?”

“We lived through it,” he says tersely as his wife trembles. “But breathe, kitten, there is only a semblance of truth here.”

“Ah. As ever, your eyes see the truth of the matter,” and there’s a smile on the creation’s face. “He speaks true, Lily-Bell. I am not the true Themis. I am but memories stitched to the fabrics of a soul washed clean. I am no more real than Erichthonios or Lahabrea.”

If anything, that makes her shaking worse, and Hades wants to lift her up, but he doesn’t dare leave himself vulnerable. That this false Themis is here means trouble.

“You would stop her, would you not?” Themis asks, voice gentle. “Athena?”

“We would,” and thank goodness Hyth is here too. At least one of them is keeping their composure. “As much as it pains me, if that means going through you, we shall be required to do that as well.”

“Very good,” and ‘'Themis’ nods. “I admit, I would be disappointed if you did not. Would that I could aid you, but I am... constrained by the spell woven about me. Worse... we must fight. I am afraid it cannot be avoided.”

Lily-Bell's breath catches, and vulnerability be damned, Hades cannot allow her suffering. He lifts her into his arms and she buries her face against his neck as she quivers.

His sweet, precious miqo'te wife....

Hades rests his chin on her hair, as Themis looks perturbed by the reaction.

“Why do you weep? I am but an illusion..”

“If you knew her at all, you would know why she cannot help but grieve,” Hades snaps. “If you have aught of worth to say, let it be said, for your existence offends my sensibilities.”

Themis's head tips, and if he doubted that this was the true one, it is clear in those eyes; while rare, Elidibus of old had spoken with eyes warmly alight about the familiar who had given him aid, with affection and longing. Hades hadn't understood it at the time, his own memories lost to Kairos, but he had empathized with the feeling; he had felt it often enough for Hythlodaeus. It had bonded him some with their enigmatic young Conciliator.

This creation is an insult to him on every level.

“Very well. Athena has prepared a new vessel to replace Erichthonios in her quest to be a god. By gathering the souls available here, she tempers her essence. Yet the souls are faint, diffuse. She doubts whether or not they will be sufficient for her goals, so her eyes have turned to you, Lily-Bell. Despite your own diffuse aether, you laid Hephaistos low, and Athena would know the secret to your strength. To that end-”

Hades almost doesn't see it in time. This close to the sea, having his sight attuned to souls is asking to be blinded and dazzled by colors. But one of the souls comes streaking across the velvet-black backdrop and slams into the false one with enough force to send him falling back onto Pandaemonium's stones.

“Do not,” and he feels Lily-Bell go still, “ dare . Presume. That I would allow such.”

Hyth whispers a low oath, and Hades can only nod as Lily-Bell lifts her head.

“...Themis?” she breathes.

The soul before them takes shape, and Hades holds his breath as the details come clear; tis the robes he remembers well, ones that Elidibus had worn for so very long. The clawed, glimmering gauntlets, the white robes accented with purple and gold.

He no longer wears his hood, and the silver hair sheds drops of aether. His shoulders are taught with anger, a rare and dangerous emotion in their Conciliator.

“You sully my station and my memories,” Elidibus says with icy dignity. “And you have made her cry . How dare you.”

Hades closes his eyes briefly. Opens them.

“Yes, kitten,” he says quietly as her tail and ears twitch madly with her anxiety. “ Here is the true Themis.”

He sets her down slow,y but she continues to cling to him, and he closes his eyes again to shift back to more ordinary sight. He feels Hyth's hand on his shoulder and lets out a rather shaken breath of his own; he'd not expected to see the true Themis, not unless Lily-Bell called for him.

“....an unexpected development,” and the creation of memories and falsehood gets slowly back to his feet, rubbing his jaw with a wince. “I believe there is wisdom in withdrawing for the moment. My creator will wish to know of this.”

He disappears even as Elidibus lunges forward, one gauntleted hand outstretched only to pass through currents of aether as though they were mists.

Silence reigns, and then Elidibus slowly straightens from his lunge. Slowly turns, and the cold ire has already faded, to be replaced by... shame. He doesn't quite face them. Or look at them. One hand comes up to rub at the back of his neck.

“Let us quit this place,” Hythlodaeus suggests after a moment. “And give all a chance to collect, hm?”

“And lest you think to remain, old friend,” and Hades smiles thinly as Elidibus looks at him with startled eyes, “to ‘keep watch’ or some such other foolish decision, consider that it has been many long moons, and holding a grudge gets tedious .”

The smile is small, and pained, but genuine. Hades lifts his arm from his wife's shoulders, to give her a gentle nudge.

“If he's solid enough to punch a creation, he's solid enough for you to hug,” he informs her when she looks up at him with teary, confused eyes. “Do convince him for us, will you, kitten?”

Understanding creeps into mismatched eyes, even as they fill with more tears. And then he is treated to the delightfully amusing sight of his love throwing herself at Themis--for there is no Convocation, and no need for him to be Elidibus any longer--and nearly knocking him to the ground.

To say he is disoriented is probably an understatement; he’d been content to rest in the sea, to slowly remember and to fade into mist. To remember she who was his guiding star, who had stirred his heart and made him desire a better world for her. For his star deserved a life better than the one she had so clearly born, with her missing limb and her multitude of scars. Her heart broken and reforged, aether so thin, and yet so dangerous.

His star, to one day find, and claim from her maker when his time as Elidibus had run its course.

...but she is not his , is she? She is Emet-Selch’s, Hades ’, precious hero. What right has he to hold her the way he does, to revel in the warmth of her grip, the feel of her form against his own?

And yet... he cannot bring himself to let go. Not while she weeps still into his shoulder. He cannot convince himself that he should let her go.

Hades simply puts a hand on his shoulder and pushes him through a portal, to the solid ground where... but that cannot be? Lahabrea is gone, his death caused by his own hubris, and the power of Nidhogg’s eye. And Erichthonios...

He feels as though he is missing much information; he had known Emet-Selch would remain alive, of course, by why is Hythlodaeus also here? And how had Lily-Bell lost her arm, when had this happened?

“Themis?” Erichthonios whispers. “What... how?”

“If I may?” Hythlodaeus interjects smoothly. “I have a theory.”

Emet-Selch Hades rolls his eyes a little, and makes a shooing motion; confused though he is, he’s quite willing to take the distraction as Hythlodaeus embroils the other two in a discussion about how Athena could have crafted her false recreation, soliciting comments from the other two--a lalafel and an elezen with wide wide eyes--so that he can find the nearest thing to a corner and settle Lily-Bell onto his lap.

Hades, to his surprise, neither follows, nor hovers; instead he seems to be trying to wrangle the discussion, which really is only more proof of how his oldest friend has changed.

Lily-Bell’s tears have dwindled to sniffles, but her grip has not yet eased. Surely she must want nothing to do with him, right? He had been her enemy, had taken her dearest one from her in a selfish bid for-

“M’s’rry,” and she’s sniffling in a way that makes him conjure up a handkerchief for her.

“What have you to be sorry for?” he asks, admittedly bewildered. “T’was I who did you great harm, you owe me naught. Indeed, you freed Zodiark from being used against the people He was meant to protect, and I was able to return to the sea after sending you back to Elpis...”

He has no idea how long he’s drifted in the sea. Months? Years? While he has certainly remembered much of his past, much of his interactions with her, that does not, cannot, absolve him of the harm he caused.

Though he’s fairly sure he can identify the strange emotion he felt now as him being horribly jealous of Emet-Selch, even if he had no reason to be.

Her arms just curl more tightly about his shoulders, and he rests his hand on her head reflexively; he wants to calm her down, to understand what has taken place, caught between his memories as Elidibus, and his life as Themis.

Mostly he just wants her to stop crying. He wishes to fix it, even if the reason for the tears is himself...

“I-I,” she coughs a little, and he winces; she needs water, for the rasp in her throat has grown harsher with her tears. “S’rry. I... I may h-have..”

After a moment she frees one hand to dig into her pocket, and produces the blue crystal he’d made for her in that long ago past.

The personal neus.

He’d never been able to convince himself to get rid of the pale green gem, even after he’d forgotten why it was so important. Something about it had continued to resonate, even as the centuries grew long, and his memories of that peaceful time dim.

“I.. I saw... the fake,” she swallows hard, and looks up with red-rimmed, mismatched eyes. “And... I wanted... I wanted it t-to... I wanted you t-to...”

He smiles, if sadly, at her.

“Would that neus spells worked like Azem’s summoning,” and he looks at his hand for a moment, then dismisses the clawed gauntlets into aetheric mist. Now he feels her warmth properly, and runs his fingers over hair that looks to have been newly shorn. “It did not bring me to you, Lily-Bell. I knew not that you were within the sea until I heard your tears.”

Her grief which had touched him at the last, when she had said goodbye, after bearing witness to the birth of Lahabrea in his truest self. She had known the future then. Known that they would be enemies. And despite it all, she had come to care for him.

Slowly, ready to release her should she not want his touch, he lifts his hand to hold her own; her hand turns near-immediate, fingers wrapping around his palm, crystal wedged between.

“But... they... they connect to... to each other. Don’t they?”

“They do. But tis not a summons. Tis a sending. I...” He clears his throat a little, feeling heat rising in his face. “I had hoped that... once I could set aside the seat. I might find you once more. That there no longer be secrets or lies, nor duties to hold us apart.”

He had suspected after that last visit that she would not use the crystal again. But he had his, and they were supposed to work both ways. Except...

“But that day never came to pass.” Very gently he releases her hand, and finds himself unsurprised that her own grip tightens. “Instead, the Final Days arrived.... Those self-same days are ended now, are they not?”

She nods. Sniffles a little.

“I... there’s... there’s so much t-to say,” and Lily-Bell swallows. “So much to tell you. I.... can you stay a while? Please?”

There is a part of him that wants to refuse. He has lived so long, seen so much. He has been her enemy, has caused her harm. He took the person she loves most and locked him away in a bid to take her life. Surely there must be a gulf between them that cannot be breached.

And yet...

Emet-Selch Hades is here. Hades had lived through those same centuries, seeking her. Hades had orchestrated much of their penultimate disasters for Rejoinings, building the world that would hold this most precious soul.

Who had she originally been? No, that matters little, because tis who she is now that is the highlight.

“You would forgive past transgressions so easily?”

She bumps her forehead into his jaw, fingers still wound tight in his robes and around his hand.

“You were doing the only thing you could, in the only way you could,” and she tucks her head under his chin, which he lowers on reflex to rest on her head. “And you still helped me. You helped me figure out how to make Azem’s spell work, you helped me get back to Elpis for the answers we needed to end the Final Days. You didn’t ask for everything that happened to you, a-and... and even when you were being harsh, you were still kind . You did everything for the love of a people that no longer existed. And... and all right, using Ardbert’s body... I... that still hurts. Still felt uncalled for. But I never really hated you. I just... wanted Hades back.”

He looks up as Hythlodaeus makes some wild gesticulation that earns what look like exasperated sighs from Emet-Selch Hades and Lahabrea, while Erichthonios, and the two he’s yet to meet, look utterly enthralled.

“...I am sorry I took him from you,” he says quietly. “Though I remembered you naught, the sight of he and you together stirred disquieting emotions in me. T’was as much petty jealousy as anything that led to me locking him away in such a manner.”

“I forgive you,” and the immediacy of it makes him startle. “And I know Hades does too. Though....” She pulls back to look up at him. “Though he might want to smack you. At least once.”

Despite the somber situation, he can’t help but smile ruefully.

“Like as not I have more than earned it.” He hesitates. He doesn’t wish to give her false hopes, but... “I would think upon your request for a time. I shall... remain for now, to give aid against Athena and her machinations.”

He’ll need to ask her, later, why she wants him to stay. But for now, they can spare no time for such a prolonged discussion.

“...can I still call you Themis?”

His heart twists in his chest, and he lowers his head slightly to press a kiss to her forehead.

“I would be honored.”

Chapter Text

“So, Athena somehow got her hands on the memory crystal of Elidibus, and used those memories to create her false Themis,” Erichthonios hums a little. “In doing so, manifestly upset Lily-Bell, and the true Themis took umbrage with that and removed himself from the sea to lend aid.”

“T’would appear to be the case,” Hades says, sparing a brief glance over to where Lily-Bell and Themis are; Lily-Bell is getting to her feet, and Themis with her. The way she clings to his hand with her own bodes fairly well, all things considered. “Had she dared lay hands on his true soul, I expect we’d not be dealing with her at the moment.”

Hyth snorts a little.

“The youngest and most powerful member of the Convocation would never allow himself to be used as an instrument of harm, especially against Lily-Bell,” is Hyth’s staunch opinion. “Tis a pity you could not witness it.”

“I expect I would be just as confused by it as the time there were two Lahabrea,” Erichthonios says with a wry shrug. “I am relieved to know that my old friend did not suffer such indignity, however.”

Hades has to agree. That Athena found the memory stone is bad enough; perhaps he shall have to scour the seas and find the remainder, should they still exist, releasing those memories at last. Granted the truest problem will be solved by Athena's defeat...

“All is well?” Erichthonios asks, crimson eyes on Lily-Bell as she rejoins them.

Without letting go of Themis's hand, Lily-Bell ducks under Hades’ arm, and curls the fingers of her prosthetic in his jacket. Hyth doesn't make a noise, but Hades knows he's cooing internally as Hades tucks her close, and trails his fingers over her hair.

“Given the c..circumstances...”

Themis gives him a faintly distressed look, one that had all but vanished in their long centuries together. A look that begged him to fix things, however possible.

“Kitten. Drink some water.”

She looks up at him and blinks a couple of times, and he can see the reluctance in pale, mismatched eyes. She doesn't want to let go of him or Themis. Despite the seriousness of the situation he has to smile; no doubt if she had more arms, she would also be reaching out for Hyth.

“Your throat will not thank you if you speak,” Hades points out gently. “We have much to plan, and your input will be valuable.”

Pink dusts the tanned cheeks, and warmth adds a gleam to her eyes that's not related to tears. Her input is always valuable, but that is still something she's getting used to. Having a say, instead of being told. Lightly he smooths hair back from her face and she slowly releases his jacket to dig into her shoulder bag for a bottle of water.

Themis's relief is stark. As is the shame. Hades simply reaches out and lightly chops him on the head, making his old friend startle a bit.

“Now cease making her cry,” he says sternly.

Hyth's muffled snort is echoed by Erichthonios, and he glares at both of them. Hyth has both hands over his mouth, shoulders trembling as he struggles to not laugh, while Erichthonios has turned away and has a hand up to cover his smile. Only Lahabrea retains the stern visage, as he always had.

Lily-Bell gently bumps her head against his arm, and he rests his hand on her hair gently. No doubt after her tears all she wants to do is rest... Would that he could allow it, but he has little knowledge of Pandaemonium outside of what she's shared, and much mislikes the idea of setting foot on those stones again without some format of a plan.

“Athena's creation said we'd have to fight him,” Hyth says after a moment, as usual putting the cat among the pigeons. “I assume that means there must be some manner of breeching the barrier around that imposing structure then.”

“Like as not,” and Lahabrea nods sharply. “Though it is only a recreation, not the true thing, we would need that barrier dispelled before we can set foot upon it.”

“If we but simply overwhelm it, we risk the destruction of it, without knowing where Claudien lies,” Hades frowns a little. “We may have to resign ourselves to playing Athena's games until we can discern the professor's location.”

“Do you think she recreated the whole of it?” Themis asks after a moment.

“There are no other beings in there but her and the facsimile of yourself,” Hyth says after a moment, squinting over at the building. “I... think?”

Hades blinks, and turns; Hyth's soul sight is unparalleled. That he sounds uncertain is not a comfort.

“What do you mean ‘you think’?” Hades demands.

“There's... something odd that isn't a barrier spell. Tis almost as if the structure itself has been imbued with a soul,” and Hyth looks perturbed. No. Disturbed . “That I can see the other two inside is unquestionable, but it's like looking through a thick fog. Hades?”

Hades closes his eyes a moment to focus, then look back towards Pandaemonium. There, the two lights that are Athena and her creation. But...

He frowns.

“We need to step through the gates to reach Athena,” he says after a long moment, closing his eyes to return his sight to normal once more. “Whatever has been done to the structure to potentially ensoul it cannot be allowed to remain.”

“...if she has ensouled a thing that should never live, her research must be reaching a culmination,” Lahabrea says grimly. “What time we have is fast dwindling.”

“One issue at a time, if you don’t mind,” Lily-Bell says, rubbing her prosthetic hand over her face in a clear sign of weariness. “If there’s something wrong with the structure, then it’ll probably bar the way in. We need to deal with that, then we can worry about Athena and her mockery.”

Hades smiles a little, pride a warm thread in him. True, she still looks up at him like she’s not sure she’s making the correct choice, but she’s speaking up now, which is far better than when she’d stayed silent and let others choose for her.

“Agreed,” he says briskly. “Since you and Erichthonios cannot step onto the grounds, we shall go. If,” and he gives Themis a bland stare, “you are with us.”

Themis still looks so young. And yet somehow, also so very very old. For a long moment, he looks at Pandaemonium, and Hades wonders just what it is he is thinking of.

“...when last I walked those halls, I could do naught but support you with phantoms,” he says finally. “It forced you to the fore, and I was in awe of your skills, so like Azem’s.”

Lily-Bell’s ears perk a little, and Hades half-smiles. True, sometimes Elidibus could take a year to walk a yalm, but that does not mean he wishes to make his old friend be silent.

“But I felt as though I could not do enough to ease your burden. So...” Themis looks down at Lily-Bell. “I would ask that you guide me, instead. What is it you would request of me, my guiding star?”

Her head tips, and then she looks up at Hades. He shrugs genially, and she purses her lips a little, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. Hades trusts her to figure out what Themis is truly asking, and after a moment she looks to him instead.

“Support me,” she says. “Like Hades and Hyth. I don’t... If I need help, I can call for my own. You taught me how,” and she presses the prosthetic hand to her chest where Hades knows the necklace with Keah’s spell embedded in it rests. “But you’re here now. I... Maybe I don’t get how, or why, but you’re here , like they are. That’s... that’s all I want.”

Glimmering teal eyes  look up to him for a long moment, and Hades huffs a little.

“You heard her. Why are you staring at me?”

“....I did...unkind things to you.”

Hades waves his hand dismissively. 

“You will be making up for them. And ten thousand years of being as family is not washed away in one misjudgment. Though, were Keah available, I would be certain to let them know that they have free reign to tease you about this misstep.”

“Hades!” Lily-Bell protests. “Be nice!”

She pouts up at him, and he leans down to press a kiss to her forehead.

“I am,” he says blithely. “I’ve yet to see fit to awaken Keah’s soul in the one who bears it. But I could be tempted, should Themis continue to be nonsensical.”

Hyth’s snort of laughter is clear, and Hades ignores it as Lily-Bell continues to pout at him. But it’s Themis’s low chuckle, rueful and resigned, that mades Hades nod a little.

“Then let us go seek this ensouled monstrosity, lest Athena decide to try and lay claim to more that does not belong to her,” Hades says.

Lily-Bell’s expression firms, and she nods, finally releasing Themis’s hand to twist her bracelet to a different soulstone.

Themis is sorely out of practice with combat, but Lily-Bell’s healing skills are on par with Azem or possibly Venat as she was. Fighting the odd manifestation of a creation that is born of the stones and chains of Pandaemonium itself is not the most pleasant endeavor, but he had not spent ten thousand years being a pacifist .

Despite his best attempts, his desire to shield her from harm, Lily-Bell very often darts from behind him, throwing spells to protect as much as heal or defend. He does his best to not allow harm to befall her, but one cannot remain still in a battle with a great being such as this.

When it crumbles at last, the miasmic air wafts away, and a portal blossoms before them. Themis straightens from his defensive crouch, from the shield he had conjured to take the brunt of the last blow, and cautiously lowers his sword.

From the depths emerges his ‘twin’, and the cold anger fills him again, even as Lily-Bell’s hand rests on his back and her magic wafts over him like a gentle breeze.

“Ah, to see you fight so gracefully yet,” the creation hums. “As ever, I cannot help but be enchanted by your skills.”

Not a lie; Themis had been in awe of her ability to fight, despite the diffuse aether. But the way his copy says it makes his skin crawl.

Emet-Selch Hades and Hythlodaeus step closer, weapons still drawn, but Lily-Bell has put hers up. She remains tense and wary, but not ready to actively fight again. Themis considers, but he feels better with sword and shield in hand, ready to attack or defend at a moment’s notice.

“The door are thrown wide for you, dear star,” and the false creation bows gently. “I shall await you within.”

The copy locks eyes with Themis for a moment, then turns away, leaving him feeling just a touch shaken. While true he had rather wished to test himself against her at the time, that is a goal he has already achieved, and failed at. To pretend he had admired her skills, wished to test himself against them... it had been naught more than an excuse to cover the emotions he truly felt, and could not allow himself to express.

Lily-Bell’s fingers curl into the cloth covering his shoulder, and he startles, half-turning reflexively at her touch. His guiding star looks perturbed, looks sad , but also determined. Tired... but not nearly as tired as when they had fought at the Crystal Tower. Not nearly as fragile a thing as he’d arrogantly, unhappily thought of her. Imperfect, but-

“I think repairing to the others will be a good option,” Hyth says into the silence. “Some of us need feeding and resting, hm, sweeting?”

And like that, the visage of world-weary fighter is gone as she flushes and whines, turning to Hyth with a pout on her face that makes Themis yearn .

“Just because you can continue does not mean you should, kitten,” and there is stern affection in Emet-Selch’s Hades’ voice. “You were worn before we set foot on this place, and I’ll not have you causing yourself harm just to go punch a fakement in the face. As satisfying as it may be.”

Themis snorts a little; he can say he’s forgiven him, but that smacks of his ability to hold a grudge. No doubt Hades will take some pleasure from beating his copy into the ground, since beating the real him to a pulp would only upset their heroine.

She looks to him, and while he too wishes to go charging after, he cannot help but give her a small shrug and a rueful smile.

She sighs, then looks at Hades and silently reaches her arms up. It’s clearly a move that needs no explanations, for Hades is swift to swoop her into his arms, and Themis can see the way tension melts from them both.

And he dares to think he might have space?

It startles him when Hyth’s arm casually drapes about his shoulders, and he’s firmly ushered towards the small portal that will return them all to the ground of the Atiascope... but he finds that the firm direction makes it much easier to follow after.

Hyth sits with Lily-Bell while she eats the food he’d packed while the rest debate the source of Athena herself, and the problems she’d caused. He’s no notion what this ‘heart of Sabik’ is, but with the way Lily-Bell's ears go flat, he’s fairly certain she does.

And so do the researchers, who are very carefully omitting information from Lahabrea. It must all be true, because Lily-Bell doesn’t flinch once, but still.

“Nap,” he suggests gently when she finishes her meal. “At least for a little bit.”

She grumbles a little, and Hyth leans down to press a small kiss to the top of her head.

“It will be there when you wake, sweeting,” he reassures her. “Much as I think Hades and Themis would love to handle it themselves, I don’t see them letting you sleep through it.”

Well, Themis might. There’s no mistaking the look of someone who wishes to spare another a distasteful duty. And no doubt the former Conciliator of the Convocation wishes to make his displeasure at nearly being used very well known. Goodness knows he has the right to.

Hyth glances over at the little knot of people; Hades has his thinking scowl on while Erichthonios and Themis seem to be in deep discussion. Lahabrea--the one he’s least familiar with, though he certainly remembers many many concept crystals stored in the Bureau belong to him at one point--only looks stoic and unmoveable.

“....it’s... it’s okay, isn’t it?” she asks quietly, making him startle a little.

“What is?”

“To... to want... to want him to stay?”

Hyth wraps his arm around her, and gently pulls until she climbs onto his lap and rests her head against his chest. Lightly he runs his fingers through her hair, leaning back against the fenced railing.

“I would say so,” he says after a long moment as she slowly starts to relax against him. “And he would not be here if he didn’t desire it. Though if we wish him to leave this area, we may have to come up with a solution that is not a solid-aether soul.”

“....he feels as solid as you,” she says after a moment, confusion in her tone.

“I expect so. But he expends a great deal of energy in giving you that,” and Hyth gently cups her cheek, brushing his thumb over soft skin. “Here in the depth of the world, there is ambient aether aplenty to sustain him. On the surface, it will not be so easy.”

He doesn’t want to lie to her about this. He’s uncertain if they’ll be able to take Themis any farther than this, however.

“But if I know Hades, and I most certainly know him well,” and he smiles down at the anxious look on her face, “he’ll have an idea or two. He still remains the greatest mage I know... even if he can’t heal worth a damn.”

That gets him a watery giggle, and she rests her head against his chest again, eyes closing as he runs his fingers through her hair.

“Hyth?”

“Mn?”

“....love you.”

Hyth hums softly, then wraps her up a little more snug in his arms.

“I love you as well, sweeting. Now rest. Everything will be easier with some sleep.”

She huffs gently at him, then starts purring softly when he starts rubbing her ears. Slowly, slowly, he feels all the tension ease as she drops off, and just holds her in a comfortable silence as he absorbs her words.

Oh, he had known it for a while. Her love is in every action she makes; the swiftness of her healing spells, the way she chooses to reach, to lean, to seek comfort. Hades will always be first, and well he should be, but to have it be stated...

Now they but need her to tell Themis his feelings aren’t nearly as unrequited as he seems to think they are. That, more than anything else, will keep the former Elidibus with them when this whole trial is ended.

The thought makes him smile; oh, they will have some fun introducing Themis around, won’t they? The Scions especially will be wary... but have they not already witness the turn of one Ascian? 

Of more immediate amusement will be Stardust. Who must be climbing the walls at their long absence... A pity she is so young, but if there is one thing he agrees with it’s that children must have a childhood; she has seen enough danger and death, if Hades and Lily-Bell’s stories are to be believed, and he’ll not bring her down to the Atiascope to see more.

After another long moment, Hyth makes himself as comfortable as he can against the protective barrier of the Atiascope, and allows himself to slip into a doze of his own.

Lily-Bell looks up at the odd portal that is some sort of door, and feels her stomach twist with anxiety. Even knowing that it's not really Themis, that the real Themis, Elidibus, stands at her back ready to fight with her, doesn't make this easy.

It's a little disorienting to think that the auracite had existed all the way back to literal ancient times. Somehow it had survived the sundering intact... had Lahabrea had it on his person the whole time?

There's still questions left unanswered, questions that can only be answered by one more step backwards through time, that she honestly isn't sure she has the wherewithal to manage. She almost wants to ask Themis if she does, just so she can make herself do it, but...

“I am here, little star,” he murmurs as she glances up at him. “Have you questions?”

“...so many,” she admits, shifting uncertainly. “I don't... I...”

The problem with having questions is figuring out how to word them. With Hades and Hyth both standing so near... there's some things she just can't say. And she gets the sense that those two are also holding Themis back from his own expressions...

Lily-Bell doesn't want to hurt anyone here. So after a moment she just bows her head a little and takes a breath. Later. Important questions will be later.

“What... what are we going to do about the copy?” she asks finally. “We'll have to... to go through him to reach Athena, after all.”

“I have no complications with this,” Hades says, his tone dry. “Tis a poor facsimile of our dear friend, and I rather take umbrage with its entire existence.”

“As do I,” and Themis's frown is almost delicate. “Though please do try to avoid taking too much pleasure in beating a version of me to a pulp, hm?”

Hyth snorts and Lily-Bell can't help the giggle that escapes as Hades sighs so dramatically.

“As if you will not be holding his attention and taking some glee in defeating him yourself,” Hades replies with a small smirk that makes her heart jump. She wants- “Of a certainty, this shall be an interesting fight; ten thousand years of experience against a much... younger version of yourself.”

“Younger does not mean inexperienced,” Themis warns. “Though I was not called on nearly as often as you by Azem, I still spent time at their side before and after Pandaemonium.”

“Don't we know it,” Hyth chuckles. “You certainly encouraged many a prank. I think the most memorable one was the feathers-”

“I was picking those out of my hair for months ,” Hades complains.

Lily-Bell looks up as the stern air fades, and Themis's smile shines through softly.

“I came up with that one on my own,” and there's something resembling glee under the even tone. “Azem only helped me refine it. Honestly, it was meant more for Mitron and Logriff, but once they brought up simply getting everyone, including ourselves...”

Hades mutters under his breath, and Lily-Bell can’t help but giggle. He's not wrong; Stardust is going to love Themis. Just as soon as she can figure out how they get him to agree to come back home...

She feels more settled as she turns to the portal; those she loves stand at her back, and even if there's not yet a plan for the future, there is at least a place to begin.

“Ready, kitten?”

Lily-Bell looks up at Hades and nods firmly, rolling her shoulders. She's napped, she's had food, and she's probably about as protected as she's ever been. And if she needs it, she can summon yet more help, from those in the sea who had once lived, and cared.

And she will show Athena what she thinks of her false Themis.

Hades allows the true Themis to strike the decisive blow, knocking the copy to the ground as he shatters the magicks holding him captive to Athena's will. While he has no desire to keep the copy around for terribly long, it no doubt has information they need, information that the true Themis is unlikely to have.

It’s Lily-Bell who stays the true Themis's hand.... mostly by looping both her arms around the one holding the aetheric sword and pulling back. That Themis allows it speaks to how strong his emotions for her are, for he had been merciless in his pursuit of his copy.

Hades releases his own grand transformation, letting the power of that form slide off him like a coat he has outgrown. It had seemed only right to match power for power, and while the physical form was more fragile than he'd anticipated, it had still been... interesting to step into that old skin.

But much like his title-name, it isn't something he truly needs to revisit.

“Mercy at the end?” the copy says quietly. “How kind...”

“Tis not for your sake,” Hades says, loosely folding his arms as he stares the copy down, watching as aether drips from it. “You have information we will need, and do not act as though you do not. Until we have it from you, there shall be no disappearing.”

He snaps his fingers and stabilizes the copy easily enough... then, because he is a petty man, and that feather prank had left him picking feathers out of the most annoying spots for months , puts the copy in a chicken costume.

Lily-Bell hides her face in Themis's arm, but Hades can tell by the twitch of her ears and tail that she is fighting laughter. Themis looks up at the ceiling, and Hyth openly snickers as the copy looks down at itself in resignation.

“I suppose I should be grateful I was not transformed wholly into such a being...” it sighs. “I will share what I know, Athena's hold no longer exists upon me, but here is not the place. I will follow to your safer distance, and there reveal what I can.”

It knows it's only borrowed time, much more than the true Themis. At any moment, Hades can cease feeding it aether, and it will vanish into mist and memories. And once he has the information they need, he will. They do not need two Themis.

It is a quick shift back, at least; a benefit of being so deep into the sea. Erichthonios and Lahabrea are both utterly baffled to see the chicken-suited copy, and to a one they stare at Hades. Hades says nothing, only looking to the copy as Hyth digs into his bag and passes food to Lily-Bell.

“Speak. Tell us all you know of Athena's plan,” he orders.

The copy nods, and takes a breath.

“As you know, Athena possesses a vessel through which she intends to make of herself a god, and tis one you know well,” it says gravely. “By a twist of fate, the man named Claudien is the ideal subject.”

Lily-Bell goes still, and while Hades normally loves watching her mind work, he comes swiftly to the same conclusion, and moves to her side as she shudders. Athena had intended to use Erichthonios, blood of her blood, and will bent to her own. That meant-

“The creation of a person requires body, memory, and soul,” the copy continues. “We,” and he gestures to include Lahabrea and Erichthonios, “are made from the memories of our ancient selves, etched upon souls ready for rebirth and given an infusion of aether to stabilize our forms into ones that can be seen and interact with this world, if only for a short while. Athena, however, is different. She carved her memories into Claudien's soul, and claimed both for herself.”

Hades grimaces a little. That is entirely too kin to how they had been required to take form as Ascians. Not a thing he wishes to consider at the moment, though he feels the faint flinch of Themis next to him. Hyth's hand rests on his back, and he accepts the weight of the lavender-haired man even as Lily-Bell tries to lean back against him and on Themis's shoulder all at once.

Precious, beloved kitten.

“However, after the sundering, bodies and souls became more fragile, and thus she is not able to realize her ambitions on her own.”

“And thus she turns her attention to Lily-Bell,” and Hades glances down to see Themis’s concerned frown. “Who’s power eclipses most others and approaches near to Azem’s.”

The copy nods.

“Athena believes that by discerning the source of Lily-Bell’s strength, she will be able to use that to strengthen her own vessel.”

The collective snort of derision is loud, and loudest from the miqo’te heroine.

“You mean the strength that comes from ‘borrowing’the powers of dragons more than I liked, and nearly dying to the Light? That I never asked for and had thrust upon me because there was no other options other than to accept it?That strength? Or is it the strength born from being kicked out at sixteen and having to figure out life with barely any help until Hades?”

Hades leans down to press a kiss between her ears; she has every right to sound so bitter, but he hates that she does. Even as it protects her, he knows she doesn’t think of the power as a boon. It’s a threat to others, and to the more peaceful life she deserves to have after spending so much of it saving the world over and over and over again.

Erichthonios looks sad. Hades glances down to see that Themis has taken Lily-Bell’s hand again, fingers twined together, and Hyth’s hand rests gently on the back other neck in silent support. He rests his own hand gently on her head and brushes his thumb gently along the base of one ear, and watches as the tension starts to melt. Even Lahabrea seems slightly disturbed...

“....we need to save Claudien,” she says after a long moment, and Hades wishes to bundle her up and take her away from this, to help her sort her emotions and feelings until she is truly settled once more. “We need to figure out a way to get Athena to let him go, without killing him.”

Lahabrea frowns a little, lifting a hand to his chin.

“An arduous task, but not impossible,” he says. “She may be able to inscribe herself upon another’s soul, but she cannot erase the original soul’s will. If we can awaken his spirit to the reality of his imprisonment, he may well be able to wrest himself from her grasp.”

“But why did she choose Claudien?” Erichthonios asks. “What makes him suitable?”

The copy looks at him for a long moment, as if internally debating with itself.

“I did not speak to him,” it says after a long moment. “But I did witness her referring to him by your name.”

Hades grimaces, and feels Lily-Bell flinch. Lahabrea lets out a long, slow breath.

“...so that is the way of things, then.”

“That is the extent of the information I carry,” and the chicken-suited copy looks to Hades. “You may release me. The soul I overshadow should be returned to its rest. And,” it smiles a little. “You have the true one. There is naught that he shall not do for our guiding star.”

Hyth’s amused noise is very very quiet, but Hades hears it anyways, even as she snaps his fingers and the copy dissolves into aether, wafting away into the sea once more. A crystal drops to the ground, and Hyth steps forward to collect it; the memory crystal of Elidibus...

“Cheeky thing,” Themis mutters, and Hades glances over to see red on his cheeks.

“As if we didn’t already know that,” Hades replies, reaching over his darling wife to lightly poke Themis’s temple. “So then. We have the information. Now, we must plan.”

Chapter Text

“Do you think this will work?” Lily-Bell asks, looking up at the three men she loves most as they stand on Pandaemonium’s threshold once more.

“Tis but a place to begin,” Hyth says, reaching over to gently tug a soft white hair. “It troubles me some that Lahabrea will not say what his plan is, however.”

“Like as not it’s to keep it from certain prying ears,” Hades replies. “But I expect I know what he will suggest, and the idea is a sound one.”

Lily-Bell can also guess, but it doesn’t sit well with her. Even knowing that they aren’t the true Erichthonios and Lahabrea, she still dislikes the idea of sacrifice. 

Well, all right, she dislikes the through of sacrificing the memory of Erichthonios to awaken the true soul of her friend, but honestly, there’s not much other choice.

Themis gently squeezes her hand, and she lightly bumps her head against his shoulder in reply; had it disturbed him at all, to watch that copy turn into motes of aether? Even knowing it wasn’t truly him , it still made her anxious to watch the unraveling.

“First, we must weaken Athena,” Hades says briskly. “Like as not she will be kin to some of the greater primals you have faced, kitten.”

“...we beat the end of the world,” she replies after a moment, lifting her chin a bit. “She can’t be any harder than that.”

Hyth’s chortle is followed up by a ruffle of her hair, and the warmth of that touch is bracing. Encouraging.

“While the Convocation no longer stand, I still feel the weight of my duty as Elidibus. This one final time, before I lay that title down for good, I shall stand as the Conciliator, the Emissary, and pass down my judgment,” and Themis’s voice is steady. “She stands ready to disrupt this carefully curated balance for her own selfish means, and it shall not be allowed to stand.”

One final time... And then what? Will he return to the sea, to his well-earned rest, or-

Questions for later. Always for later.

She lets go of his hand, of Hades’ arm, and walks forward to the portal that waits. Pauses a moment to breathe, to resettle her shoulders under her white mage armor, to settle the weight of her staff in both hands; her back hurts, and when this is all over a long bath will only be the start of what she intends to ask for...

Then she steps through, emerging into a room that isn’t quite a room. The floor is solid stone beneath her feet, but there are no walls nor ceiling. Instead, there is naught but what feels like limitless sky. Aether forms in drops of color and in feathers floating through the air.

She moves aside so that the other three can come through, and brings one hand to Azem’s stone around her neck as she looks across that wide space to Athena, floating in midair.

“....Vauthry,” she says, even as she feels Hades warmth at her shoulder. “She reminds me of Vauthry. So certain of her superiority...”

“And you shall lay her low as you did him,” he says, making room for Hyth and Themis. “For I will agree; their arrogance about becoming gods is all too familiar.”

It's sort of funny to think about. For all the Ascians had been set on putting the worlds back together, not one of them had wanted to become a god. Hades had told her, Hyth had told her that Elidibus had offered himself up only because of the role he had played for so long as part of the Convocation. To bring balance, and ensure the continuation of all things.

But none of them had truly wanted to be a god.

“So you have come to the seat of godhood,” Athena proclaims, cold light in her eyes. “You have done well. Now, bare your souls to me!”

Themis lunges ahead, atheric sword and shield ready, and Lily-Bell closes her eyes, and feeds aether into Azem's summoning spell.

“I spent countless years... in that crystal,” Athena hisses as she looks up from her half-collapsed state, bruised and bleeding gently. “And now... when my dream is finally within reach... You stand in my way!”

At some point, protected by other shades of the dead, Erichthonios and Lahabrea had arrived; he isn't sure when, but he's grateful for their presence. Even though they are not his ages-old companion, nor the friend he'd made so long ago, having a semblance of them near is... helpful.

“Your ‘dream’ is naught but selfish ambition,” and there is ice in Hades’ voice. “Tis a dream achieved only by the sacrifice of multitude, and for what purpose?”

Themis knows the question is rhetorical; this is striking painful chords in himself as well. They had summoned Zodiak, a feat that had cost so many live, and for what? The had not truly ended Meteion's threat. They had put a bandage on the problem, but no one had been able to find the true solution... Not until now.

“What did you hope to find, Athena?” Erichthonios echoes. His voice is pained, and Themis recalls that he never truly got closure as to his mother's motivations. “What made you cast us aside?”

A laugh bubbles up as Athena's attention turns to the crafted being.

“How unlike you to be so curious, Erichthonios,” she says. “You were never such before.”

Themis dares not take his eyes off her; she is stalling, but for what purpose? After a moment, Athena staggers to her feet, one arm wrapped around her ribs. Their blows had been, of necessity, pulled; Claudien's body lies beneath her illusory facade.

“Having struck upon a hypothesis, there is but one thing the wise woman desires,” and there is softness in her voice. A coaxing tone that Themis immediately distrusts. “Ireffutable proof. My theory was that any true god would look upon us, see our imperfections, and hammer out our flaws to make something greater . To prove this could not but benefit the star! I would give it to-”

“I take it back,” and Lily-Bell's voice cuts easily over Athena's. “You're worse than Vauthry. You wanted to make yourself a god, and you used everyone around you to get there. Stop pretending you had anything on your mind other than selfish desires.”

Athena stares at her in shock. Themis risks it, and glances sideways to see Hades smirking, even as his eyes reflect centuries of regrets. Hythlodaeus looks oddly proud , and Lily-Bell.... She has drawn herself up in anger, much as she had when confronting Lahabrea so maybe centuries gone.

“You hurt everything you touch, and are either deliberately blind to the fact that all deities end up made in the image of the people, or know and don't care about anything of that sort,” she continues, raspy voice filled with the sort of quiet fury that bodes ill for anyone set against it. “You're as bad as my own dam; everything is about status, every child has their purpose, and when that child no longer suits, they are discarded.”

Themis finds he suddenly wants to meet her parents. For... reasons.

“What right have you to pass judgment?” Athena demands, lurching forward. Themis lifts his sword again, but hesitates; if he kills her, Claudien dies too...

“ I live here .” Lily-Bell snaps back. “I've seen what happens when people like you make ‘gods’. The lands die, and the people on them with it!”

Primals. Draining the lands of aether. Beings becoming tempered, driven only to the fervent worship of their idols.

“You ill deserve to wear the mantle of a god,” Erichthonios says, and Themis risks another glance away to see that his hand has landed on Lily-Bell's shoulder. Gratitude?

“Tch. As stubborn as you are witless.” Athena staggers back, and a spell bursts to life between them. The unexpected concussive force of it knocks Themis off his feet, and he is not alone in that. “If this star will not be mine, then it serves no purpose!”

It doesn't take an aetheric genius to pick apart such an overtly destructive spell, and she has trapped herself within the heart of it. Even he, with all his power, cannot breath through.

Perhaps Emet... perhaps Hades?

Themis picks himself up, and prepares to call his weapons back, only to see Erichthonios throwing himself into the spell, at the person beyond it. He reaches for him on nothing more than reflex, hears Lily-Bell's startled cry... and then Erichthonios vanishes in a burst of aether.

Athena staggers, and her spell loses cohesion.

“No! My power... the vessel!”

More aether flares, and then the body of a young man lies on the ground instead. Lily-Bell doesn't hesitate; she scrambles forward, even as the ground shudders beneath them.

“What is happening?” Themis demands as the edges of the ground begin to crumble away. “Without a body, Athena's magicks should be-

“Athena was the sole force holding this space together,” Lahabrea interrupts. “With her no longer more than fragments herself...”

“Time to go,” Hyth chirps, and Themis looks towards Lily-Bell, but Hades is already there, the unconscious Claudien slung over one shoulder like a rug. “Quickly now, before someone gets testy about it!”

Themis hesitates only a moment more, then followed Hythlodaeus's lead, and teleports back to the solid ground of the Atiascope.

Lily-Bell lifts her hands after a moment, and leans back into the comforting strength of Hades waiting arm.

“He's stable,” she says. “Physically, at least. It seems like the injuries given to Athena didn't reflect back upon him.”

Unfortunately, Claudien is so deeply unconscious, she's pretty sure not even an ice bath would wake him up. Keeping him down here in the sea seems like a poor decision, but if they take him above, there will be questions, ones that she cannot answer without explaining the whole mess, and she's not entirely sure how to do that without it sounding utterly ludicrous.

“Then we but need for him to wake, to know if all shall be well.” Hades sighs a little, then presses a kiss to her temple.

“I shall go and fetch more food,” Hyth says immediately. “And assure our small one that all is well, and we shall hopefully be freed of these duties soon.”

Lily-Bell nods; gods but she is tired ... After five moons of peace, all of this has been more chaos than she'd anticipated. And her heart aches with the loss of Erichthonios once more. Maybe only memories and magic, as the copy of Themis had said, but he was still her friend...

“What... what exactly happened? ” She asks, looking up at Lahabrea. “What did you tell him?”

“Only the truth,” Lahabrea replies, arms folded over his chest. “That his soul was within the one that Athena had thought to claim for herself. He chose on his own to use that knowledge to free Claudien.”

She can’t hear a lie in his words... and she thinks he’s proud . A pity it came so late as to be worthless...

“Since there is little to do but wait, perhaps now you will deign to answer questions?” and the pride is gone, replaced by caution. Hades arm tightens subtly around her shoulders, even as she feels Themis settling at her other side.

“If I feel like it.”

Themis’s snort is so soft that even she almost misses it; in her defense, she’s tired, and so very done with all of this. She want to take off her arm, let Hades massage the pain away, let him and Hyth pamper her however they please, talk to Themis and ask-

“You colleagues let slip the name of an Ascian. Mine.”

Lily-Bell sighs, and looks plaintively up at Hades. WHo also sighs, and gets begrudgingly to his feet, and motions for Lahabrea to follow him. Bereft of the comfort of his arms, she leans the other direction and snuggles into Themis instead, who startles a bit, then cautiously wraps his arm around her waist.

“No concerns?” he asks after a moment.

“...about?”

Themis goes quiet and she shifts to snuggle a little more, letting her eyes close.

“Tell me,” he says finally, quietly, “am I truly forgiven?”

“...Hades says I’m awful at holding grudges,” she says, turning her head a little to try and breathe in his scent. There’s so much aether... “And... And maybe you made trouble, but you still helped me in the end. Doesn’t that balance out?”

“Does it?” he hums a little, sounding uncertain. “I hurt you a great deal, Lily-Bell-”

“But you also helped me too,” she interrupts, looking up at him. “I only managed to use Azem’s spell the first time because of you. And then you helped me figure out how to use it on purpose. And you sent me back to Elpis to get the information I otherwise wouldn’t have so we could face Meteion. A-and maybe you didn’t tell me the truth in Pandaemonium, but I got to see who you were. You you really were, for the first time. And I like that person, Themis. I like you . I... I want you to stay. Please?”

She cannot make him stay. It’s not in her nature to force a thing forward, to push until something gives. She relies on Hades for that, on Hyth. On the people around her. If Themis truly wants to leave, to return to the sea and the rest he’s so utterly earned, then she cannot stop him.

She has no right to stop him.

But she also can’t help but ask .

Because she loves him.

Themis looks at her for a long moment, teal eyes unreadable. She reaches up, but-

Claudien groans.

“Gods bless,” he mutters. “I haven’t ached like this in many a moon... Lily-Bell?”

She moves away from Themis to lean over the prone researcher.

“Well, I pronounce you Not Dead,” and she smiles at him as he snorts, then winces. “No, take it slow. I’m afraid we couldn’t be all that easy on you, I’m sorry...”

Claudien shakes his head with a grimace, and very slowly sits up. ENough so that by the time he’s no longer laying on the ground, Hades and Lahabrea have returned.

“You... defeated Athena,” and Claudien looks relieved. “I only have flashes of memory, but I know that much. And...”

He looks up at Lahabrea for a long, silent moment.

“Erichthonios’s memories are awake in me, though he and I are not the same being,” he says after a long moment. “You placed your son in a crucible through which scars were slow to heal, hoping to forge an equal from him. All you did was in devotion to your duty.”

“Enough,” and to her surprise, Lahabrea looks away. “You are not Erichthonios; in your journey to this age, you have become what you are, and I am that which I am. An enemy deserves no sympathy.”

Claudien huffs a little, and there is amusement in it.

“But like this, you are Lahabrea of the Convocation,” and the professor’s voice is gentle. “You spared no efforts in aiding us against Athena’s machinations, and for this, you deserve praise... and my gratitude.”

Lahabrea surprises her then, looking away. Embarrassed?

No.

Maybe?

“Delude yourself if you must,” he says tersely. “My stance remains unchanged. As for you,” and he turns a familiar scowl in her direction. Strange to no longer feel like she wants to scowl back... “These trials are now behind you, but Pandaemonium’s secrets yet remain, in the one place you have left to travel. The past.”

She sighs and flops herself backwards against a startled Themis, trying not to whine. Can’t she be done with time travel yet?

“You could just tell me,” she complains. “Time travel is hard! ”

That gets her his most unsympathetic look yet, and she wonders if she can just kick him over the railing back into the sea. Probably not, but it’s funny to consider...

“You must see for yourself who liberated Hephaistos from his confinement and set the wheels in motion for this,” he says implacably. “But do not mention Athena’s fate or-”

“Yeah yeah yeah, I know ,” she sighs. “The past has to stay the same to that the future can come to be.”

Honestly, she doesn’t see the harm in it; neither Lahabrea nor Themis had remembered her after ten thousand years. Only Hades. Only Hades had used her to guide himself to the future.

“Hmph. I have said my piece. Let these memories fade, as they were always meant to.”

He disperses rapidly, even as Hythlodaeus returns being a large bag. He stops. Looks around at all of them.

“I seem to have missed something. Why don’t we all eat, and you can fill me in?”

Lily-Bell sighs, but when Themis eases her back upright and hands her a large mug of soup, she doesn’t protest.

Themis leans against the railing, looking out of the expanse of the aetherial sea. Time has little meaning down here, but it feels like he’s been given more than enough, bordering upon too much, to think. Hades had explained Lily-Bell’s aversion to time travel very succinctly before he’d taken her over to the First for her last journey back, leaving him to those thoughts once Claudien’s questions had ended.

Hyth comes up on his left, and he moves over without thinking about it, making room for a man who’d sacrificed himself to create Zodiark... only to then be trapped within for countless ages, never able to see or know further.

“Do you want to stay?” Hyth asks, leaning against him lightly. Like Keah, Hyth had never had much care for people’s personal space. Themis finds it... comforting. “I doubt she’ll ask a third time.”

Themis half-closes his eyes; admittedly, he is torn. He is so very tired... Thousands upon thousands of years trying to build back their world, only to learn that it was never going to happen. Never meant to happen. The people of the Source trapped as only half of who they had once been, to be naught more...

And yet...

Hades had borne all of that as well, and more besides. Not only had he borne it, he had done it with knowledge of what had truly happened. Had kept his silence, watched and waited, always seeking her. And he had not stopped upon finding her, he had aided her, guided her, and raised her up.

He had done none of these things. It makes him wonder-

“If you are worried about Hades, I wouldn’t be,” and Hyth’s amusement is palpable. “Nor myself. She and I are still circling gently, but she brought me back for him, not herself. She wanted to seek you, though. For herself .”

That... warms him. To have left such an impression upon her...

“Would Hades be willing to help?” Themis asks after a long minute. “I cannot... acquire a form as we once did. As Athena did...”

Athena’s method has been as Ascians were. A tainted crystal--the Heart of Sabik--and a malleable soul. It is admittedly disturbing to realize how... simple the methods were, that they could be so easily conceived of. And concealed.

“Hades will do anything for the sake of her smile,” Hyth says, wrapping an arm about his shoulder fondly. “Though expect to hear him grumble about needing to put a new room into the house. He can do it as easy as snapping his fingers, but he will fuss about it first.”

Themis can’t help but chuckle a little, and lean into the welcoming embrace.

If it’s with them. With her.

One more lifetime won’t be so bad...

Lily-Bell understands now, how the Lahabrea she’d fought comes to be. Athena’s desires grow and eclipse his sense... and yet, she can’t pretend that what he’s done wasn't in service to their world.

It doesn’t make her like him though. 

“Will you come visit us again?” Erichthonios asks as they head for the neus, Themis trailing behind--she’d asked for a private word before she left, up on Elpis. She doesn’t know what to say, but she’s glad he’s coming.

“I... don’t know,” she says after a long moment. “Maybe. The travel is... difficult.”

At least this time she hadn’t bowled into Themis, but...

Her fingers curl around the neus crystal. Will they still work in her time?

“I understand. You can leave the works to us then,” and Erichthonios’s confidence makes her smile. “And mayhaps if travel ever becomes easier, you could look in and see that we are well and hale.”

She smiles a little, and hugs him briefly; she’d left her arm at home, so it’s a little bit awkward, but Erichthonios hugs her back, and she closes her eyes, trying to imprint his scent to her memory; this will likely be the last time she sees him...

And then she lets go, and he turns to go back to the other warders about their work. She turns to Themis, who offers her a gentle smile, then holds his hand out to the neus, fading before her sight. She follows suit, then reaches out and takes his hand when Elpis lays before them.

“You seem... despondent,” he says after a long moment. “But you needn’t be so. If ever you need it, we are connected, my guiding star.”

She just hums sadly, and presses her head against his shoulder.

“We’ll meet again. When we do, I know you won’t remember, but if you can.” Her voiced hitches; even knowing he is there now, it still hurts so much.... “If you can, even a little, hold on to your kindness. They’ll need that from you.”

She feels him startle, and pulls her hand from his grasp. Lightly, gently she bumps her forehead against his chin.

And then she turns, and begins to teleport spell as she walks away.

She does not look back.

Hades hums a little as he circles Themis.

“Well. It’s a form,” he says after a moment. “As mortal as the one I now wear.”

Not entirely comforting, given that Themis no longer wishes to live beyond Lily-Bell’s lifespan. They had taken their immortality for granted, of a certainty, but now it’s only Hades who can slip from body to body as effortlessly as donning a robe.

It feels strange to have a tether after so long... But not unwelcome.

“I look like myself?” he asks instead.

“You do,” and Hyth’s smile is reassuring. “Perhaps a little taller, but barely enough to notice.”

He’d been the shortest person on the Convocation due to his youth, and despite the long centuries, had found himself comforted by remaining at that height. Looking up to Hythlodaeus and Hades is familiar and welcome... he is Elidibus no longer, Hades no longer needs be Emet-Selch.

Hades head lifts abruptly, and he vanishes mid-turn, making Hythlodaeus sigh in fond resignation.

“She is back then, and called for him,” and Hyth leans lightly against the edge of the table they had all stood near. “It may be some time yet; she gets more than a little ill, and with how fast she returned, I expect that she didn’t take the time to recover from her passing to Elpis...”

Themis’s eyes narrow in concern.

“She did have difficulties with it,” he murmurs, unease wrapping around him. Perhaps he could have- “I had thought it a deficiency in her matrix, but...”

Hyth shakes his head.

“Hades portals her everywhere,” he says fondly. “I am still learning the lines of the land, but soon I will be able to do the same. No doubt you will also, hm? Tis but little that we can do for her, after all.”

Themis nods immediately, absently adjusting the sleeves of the outfit that Hades had produced for him. It feels strange to not wear robes. But not unwelcome. A new chapter in life, a chance for something more than conformity...

“Have you seen Keah’s soul?” he asks finally.

“I have. Our dear, wayward friend is an old adventurer, one who has lived a long and fulfilling life with a granddaughter that follows in his footsteps,” and Hyth smiles a little. “I am not certain where they are now, but I expect they are having a grand time of things.”

That’s comforting. That even sundered, Azem would still seek adventures, would still wander and learn. He had, for a time, thought Lily-Bell might be that same soul, but... Honestly, he is glad she is not. Keah had ever been family. That which he desires from Lily-Bell... those feelings are not familial.

He startles a bit as a portal blooms, and Hades helps a wan-looking Lily-Bell through it. His expression suggests that he would rather not be doing this, but there’s a stubborn set to her jaw, and Themis is not slow in hurrying forward.

Lily-Bell watches Claudien leave, and she’s hanging onto consciousness by the skin of her teeth. She’s so tired, she wants to curl up on someone and have the nap that will make everything come back into balance once more, but...

She looks up at Hades, who sighs, then at Hyth, who smiles fondly at her. Then she looks at Themis; there is something different about him, something that has been done in the scant hours between her leaving and returning. He seems... more real. More solid .

She steps forward, from Hades warmth--anxiety flares, and she looks back on reflex, but he only smiles at her, and nods--and halts only when her head is tucks against Themis’s shoulder. His arms come up slowly, wrapping around her gently, and she breathes...

His scent is odd. Different . He smells of... ather, but also... ceruleum?

Why does he-?

“You are asleep on your feet, little star,” he murmurs. “I imagine the questions pile up regardless. But tis your rest you should move to. I will be here when you wake... and many days beyond that. To answer all questions you would ask.”

She blinks and looks up at him. Into glowing teal eyes that are so soft.

“....say it plain?”

He chuckles softly, brushing a kiss to her forehead. Aether brushes over her, and she recognizes the soporific effects of a sleep spell.

“I will stay. Now sleep. I shall be here when you wake.”

Chapter Text

Lily-Bell wakes slow, feeling warm and protected. Hades scent fills her nose and she snuggles down into it, relaxing into the warmth of her husband. Arms draped around her tighten, and she hums softly; Hades, Hyth... wait.

Her eyes pop open as the warmth at her back registers. Hyth prefers to sleep next to Hades, on whichever side she doesn’t occupy, so who is laying on her?

She twists, and earns herself sleepy grumbles from Hades as well as the one at her back, a warm breath blown gently across the skin of her neck as the weight shifts a little. Teal eyes, hazy with sleep, blink halfway open and she stares.

It hadn’t been a wistful dream, then?

He’d stayed ?

She feels Hades grip on her slacken, and though there’s bare ilms between them, she more or less catapults herself into the half-awake Themis, bursting into relieved tears.

He’s here. He’d stayed. 

He’s here .

Themis is not prepared for her reaction. Not the tears, not the tackle, not any of it. Not the way she buries her face against his shoulder, the way her arm wraps around him and fingers grip tight his sleeping shirt, nor the legs that go around his waist.

The press of her body against his is not helping him want her less

He holds her close, even as he gives Hades a bewildered, half-panicked look; what on Etheirys is he supposed to do about this?!

Hades just looks amused .

“If you are not here when she wakes, it will be your skin,” Hades said as Themis had hesitated at the edge of the large bed. “Let her be relieved instead of angry, Themis. She’ll get over the tears faster than the hurt.”

It had seemed sound advice the night before, but now he’s honestly questioning whether he hadn’t been just a little bit set up. Having her crying into his shoulder yet again doesn’t make him feel good, at the least, especially because he’s no idea why she is .

Hades’ hand lightly brushes along Lily-Bell’s back, and that ugly jealousy springs forth again. Themis quells it firmly; Hades has every right to touch her, if that is what Lily-Bell desires, and... and it’s plain that his touch is calming her, where his only seems to be making it worse.

Yet... he can't bring himself to let go..

Hyth yawns from the space next to Hades, and sits up, only to slide off the bed and go into the attached bathing room, coming out a few moments later with a glass of water that he hand to Themis. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that he’s supposed to offer it to Lily-Bell, who... does seems to be calming down. A little.

Part of him would like some privacy. The other part is relieved that Hades and Hythlodaeus haven't left him to make this a horribly muddled mess. How is he supposed to talk to her?

“Kitten,” and Hades voice makes her look up, sniffling. “Drink the water, hm?”

It's gentle and firm, and after a bit more sniffling, she does take the glass that Themis belatedly offers her. He hesitates before steadying it cautiously; she's not wearing the prosthetic limb--he still doesn't know how she lost her arm, and now he very much wants to--and the cup is somewhat on the larger side.

“Slow sips,” he murmurs as she nearly chokes. “I am here, starlight. I've nowhere else to be but here.”

Her breathing hitches a bit and he winces; he's trying to calm her down, but...

Hyth settles back on the bed, draping himself over Hades in a manner that suggests he's more asleep than awake, while Hades keeps his attention more on Lily-Bell than Themis. When she has managed the glass, and her breathing is steadier, he nods a little.

“We are not home,” he warns her gently. “It seemed more prudent to let you rest up on the First, where we need not worry about sudden intrusions.”

She nods a little, blinking a bit at their surroundings, and tension eases out of her.

“Are you aware enough to be all right if Hyth and I leave the pair of you to talk?” he asks, voice softening noticeably.

Lily-Bell nods again, though her hand reaches out. Hades catches it, and presses a kiss to the back of it, and a different sort of tension eases out of her.

“Worry naught for us,” and Hades leans forward to gift her a kiss that gets a little purr. “We shall go and entertain Stardust, who is no doubt causing your adoptive father no end to grief.”

“...Edm'nt... l'ves her,” she mumbles.

“That he does. But she loves you. And misses you. So. Delay some, but be aware that the longer it is, the more you shall be climbed and clung to by the child.”

“...qui threat'ning me,” she whines a little. “Hyth, he's bein mean...”

Hyth makes a sleepy noise of amusement, even as he burrows a little more against Hades’ shoulder. After a moment of silence, she turns her pout up to him, and Themis finds he can't help but smile. She looks adorable when she's disgruntled...

Hades just hums, presses a kiss to her forehead, and moves Hyth back a little bit.

“But call if you need, kitten.”

She tenses a little, but nods after a moment, and in the next, Hades has teleported himself and Hyth elsewhere. Back to the Source?

Which leaves Themis in bed with Lily-Bell, and no idea what he should be saying to her.

She shifts to lean back against him, tucking her head under his jaw.

“...don't tell ‘em ‘bout the crashes,” she mumbles. “Never hear th end ‘f it...”

Themis blinks a couple of times as she resettles herself, then carefully wraps his arms around her again.

“Lily-Bell...”

She shakes her head a little.

“Shh. Cozy.”

Despite himself, he finds he must smile; taking comfort in a former enemy, and doing it so unselfconsciously. 

“Lily-Bell,” he says gently. Persistently. “There are things as need to be said, starlight...”

She sighs , then bumps her head into his chin.

“You stayed. S'nough...”

Lightly he runs his fingers along her hair.

“Is it? In your place, I would ask many variations of why...”

She huffs gently, breath warm against his skin.

“You stayed ,” and her tone is insistent. “Before Hades, no one stayed unless they had to. Hyth... Hyth stays for Hades more than for me. You... You could have gone back to sleep. Earned it. Deserved it. But. You stayed . You’re here n'you don't have to be, but you are, and I don't... I don't need to know why . For once it's... it's obvious, even to someone like me. So. Just... Just be. Okay? We... we can figure it out as we go. Hades won't mind. He'd still be here if he did... Hovering. Scowly like.”

Themis chuckles softly; she’s not wrong, after all. If Hades did not think things would go well, if he thought Themis would cause harm to his heart, then he would never have left them alone.

“...may I say my reasons anyways?” he asks after a moment, nuzzling at her gently. “Hades made mention of your Echo, and its trials. I would...” He hesitates a moment, thinking about how to explain. “I would have you hear my truth.”

She’s quiet for a minute, and he allows the quiet to be a comfort. The faint flick of her ears against his skin, the soft shift of her chest as she breathes.

“Okay,” she says after several long moments. “If you want to say them, I’ll listen.”

Themis hums softly, and lets his eyes close. Shifts them both so that he can lean back against the headboard. Her legs unwrap and she sits at a more comfortable angle as he pulls the blankets up a bit, and the feel of her relaxed against him eases the jealous feeling down to a soft whisper. (He’s going to have to learn how to manage that. He is no fool; Hades will ever come first, as he should.)

“After Pandaemonium, there were many duties awaiting me. Keah was bursting with impatience to learn what had happened, but also to get out of Amaurot, to return to their travels and adventures,” he says quietly. “They wished to know everything about you, and promised that should they see you, I will know. I will know where to look and find you. At the time... Perhaps you were back with your creator, in some distant part of the world that answered not to the Convocation. Perhaps your purpose was completed with witnessing Lahabrea’s return to the self that would eventually become his own worst enemy..” He sighs a little. “Even as we prepared to summon Zodiark, I sought you. I could not forget you, or so I thought. And then... I did. I became Other, I became His core, and time passed relentlessly. Other desires became paramount. And I became your enemy.”

She shifts a little, fingers curling in his shirt.

“Pandaemonium is fresher in your mind than in mine, Lily-Bell,” he says softly. “But that which tethers me to you yet remains. Your strength of will, your stubborn drive, your kindness. You defy all predictions, and... and it makes me believe that one more lifetime. This one. Will be one worth living. You are the star that guided me throughout this journey, though I eventually knew you not. And while I cannot but pale in comparison to Hades, I would cleave yet to your side. To-”

Her hand comes up and covers his mouth, making him stop in surprise. She leans back so she can look up at him, and her cheeks are flushed, a somewhat petulant expression on her face.

“Too many words. Simplify.”

He blinks a couple of times and she huffs, even as her hand falls away. How can he simplify this great, complex webwork of emotions and wants that ties him to her?

She makes a faintly exasperated noise, hooks her arm around his neck and pulls him down. The kiss is... well, perhaps he’d had some romantic ideals yet. It’s a little bit impatient. A little bit pushy.

He still knows only so much about her, but as he kisses her back, tipping his head to fit their mouths more properly together, he finds that perhaps she is right.

Perhaps he does talk just a little too much.