Chapter Text
Nico was having a very bad day.
All of his days since the death of his mother had been pretty bad, to be fair, and it wasn’t like he’d not been through worse. But as if his solo trip to Tartarus, his time as a bottled demigod, and his depressing encounter with Cupid wasn’t enough, he was now leading a group of demigods to the House of Hades.
A group of demigods that he barely trusted, at that.
As soon as this was done, he was leaving the Camps to their own devices.
But for now, they’d choked down some barley crackers that tasted like cardboard, and now they had to drink poison.
Nico was fairly certain that this was outside his job scope, but it wasn’t like being a demigod came with a nice, neat set of duties like regular jobs did. So when he reached the entrance to the Nectomanteoin, he took a sip, then passed the chalice of poison to Jason pointedly.
He might have been terrorised all the way through the country that he’d spent his pre-Lotus life in for those crackers, but at least it meant that the comically green poison wouldn’t kill them instantaneously.
"You asked me about trust and taking a risk? Well, here you go.” Nico knew that though he wasn’t really glaring at Jason, the darkness would warp his heavy look into one, to Jason’s eyes. He made no effort to lighten his disposition. “How much do you trust me?”
Jason drank it immediately.
It didn’t wholly mollify Nico’s dour mood, but it did settle at least one of the niggling doubts in his heads. There were at least five different ones, but he appreciated the small show of faith. It wasn't like he got much of it. Even if this one was hard to truly appreciate, knowing that they needed to drink from the chalice to reach the Doors of Death.
Frank was the last person to drink from the chalice. After that, drained of its contents, the chalice evaporated into dark smoke that curled towards the ceiling, towards the metres and metres of rock that separated them from the surface.
A bell rang out, and a gleam of bright light flashed through the poorly lit underground tunnel.
They all jumped.
Symbolic; it must have meant that it was safe to cross the threshold of the Necromanteion, and descend further into the House of Hades.
But Frank had gone as white as a sheet, and when Nico turned to Hazel to take the lead – given her speciality in the Underground and Hecate’s endorsement of her capabilities – she looked like she wanted to sink into the floor.
Behind her, a figure loomed – one that certainly hadn’t been there moments prior.
Nico had thought that the pervasive sense of rot, of desiccation and decay, had been from the House itself. As soon as he laid eyes on the god behind Hazel, he knew he’d severely misjudged the situation.
Cloaked in cloth as black as night and gleaming gold, though his characteristic reaper’s scythe was absent, a sword with a metal that Nico couldn’t identify hung at his hips. It didn’t appear to be stygian iron, as most of the Underworld’s weapons were, these days, but Nico didn’t doubt that it wasn’t deadly.
Anything could be deadly in Death Incarnate’s hands.
“He’s behind me, isn’t he?” Hazel asked Frank, miserably.
Leo looked like he wanted to snort, but refrained given the situation. He had that much sense.
Frank nodded, falling to one knee. The others followed suit, until only Hazel and Nico were left standing.
Hazel turned around, facing the god who’d appeared just as they’d reached their final destination of this particular leg of their quest – just as they’d been about to descend further to rescue Percy, to rescue Annabeth.
“Lord Thanatos.” She intoned.
Thanatos stared impassively back. He was like a living statue. Unlike some of the other gods, Thanatos could never be mistaken for a mortal. He was beautiful, that much was undeniable, but he also looked like all the colour had been leeched from his body millennia ago. The only splashes of colour were his eyes, gleaming like golden ichor, flashing brightly as he considered the extremely mortal demigods before him.
Part of Nico wanted to scream.
It wasn’t fair. They’d come so close, and now Death had come for them? Had the barley cakes not worked? He’d been turned into a plant over them, for his father’s sake!
He should have knelt. But Nico was tired, and his self-preservation instincts were at an all-time low.
It was a good thing that Thanatos didn’t move towards them. Instead, he only assessed Hazel, before he moved his gaze over to Nico. Freezing in place as Thanatos looked him over, Nico caught Hazel looking up at the god quizzically, and saw Frank doing the same.
“My lord,” she asked, after she and Frank exchanged a loaded glance, “may I ask what you’re doing here?”
Thanatos’ eyes flicked back over to her, and Nico tried to not be too relieved. He’d been hoping to delay the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of meeting Death in person as long as possible, and this change of plans wasn’t exactly his idea of a good time.
“Hazel Levesque,” Thanatos said, formally, “Pardon the interruption. Zagreus said I could find you here.”
He’d heard some of the anecdotes about the quest to rescue Thanatos: About their half-brother Zagreus, and the interference that Zagreus had been all too happy to run in the name of rescuing his lover. Nico knew that Hazel had prayed to their godly half-brother when Annabeth and Percy had fallen into Tartarus.
For some reason, Nico just hadn’t expected anything to come of it.
“Oh, do rise.” As if only just noticing the other demigods’ presences, Thanatos waved a hand over once, and then proceeded to continue ignoring them in favour of talking to Hazel. “It is my understanding that you are the one who informed him of the two living mortals wandering around Tartarus.”
Nico’s breath caught in his throat
Shaking his head, Thanatos sighed. “I have not yet been called to attend to the son of Poseidon or the daughter of Athena. Zagreus is intent on keeping it that way. He has requested that I…” and here Thanatos paused, his expression changing for the first time. He looked slightly pained. “...lend you my aid in closing my Doors.”
That didn't totally answer Hazel’s original question, but Nico was beginning to understand a little better.
“What does that entail?” Frank asked, rather than ‘why didn’t you show up before’, which was what Nico would have asked if given the opportunity.
Though Nico wanted to know how Thanatos intended to help, too. ‘Taking care’ of Death’s Doors could mean anything from helping them to defeat Gaea’s minions guarding the doors, to making sure that the undead in their group returned posthaste. The Doors of Death being in the enemy’s hands clearly hadn’t bothered Thanatos enough prior to… whatever this was.
It was typical of gods – always late to the party.
And though Thanatos’ presence might well aid them, his eyes didn't leave the god, watching for his actions to turn hostile, for him to reach towards Hazel with the cool, cruel touch of death.
Cupid had said that Death could be kinder than Love. While Nico could believe that, kinder didn't always mean kind. When it was a claim made by a god, it usually didn’t.
But Thanatos’ expression was stony once more. “When my Doors were captured by the Earth Mother’s forces, they were shielded from my sight. I was only able to find you, Hazel Levesque, and even now my Doors are far fainter to my senses than they should be.”
Nico really, really didn’t like that.
Neither did Hazel, because she took a half-step back.
“...I thought I didn’t have a warrant out on me.” She said in a terribly small voice.
Thanatos frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
In unison, Frank and Nico moved closer to Hazel, weapons finding their places in their hands, but Thanatos paid them no heed. He didn’t even move to look at them, floating in place with all the serenity of a boulder.
“You misunderstand.” Now he looked pained again. “You have Zagreus’ chthonic companion with you.”
The colour returned to Hazel all at once, almost too much for her complexion to handle, because she pinked with embarrassment. Her hand went – from where it had been hovering over her sword – to one of her jacket pockets.
Nico had seen what she kept in that jacket pocket only once before. She had been telling him about their half-brother, who had accompanied her, Frank and Percy on their very first quest. From within that jacket pocket, she had withdrawn a tiny, plush Cerberus.
The thing had been small, and if not for their heritage, the faint miasma of death coming from it would have been easily missed. But as it was, the vestiges of a chthonic god’s touch coming from what looked like a marketable plushie of their father’s guard dog had been bizarre. So bizarre that Nico had asked to take it into his hands, and had turned it over in his hands only to find nothing more than what it had first seemed.
It hadn’t looked like much. But the way Hazel had explained it, it had sounded like it was more than just a divine collectable. How had she put it?
“I thought that was a direct line to Zagreus.” Hazel said to Thanatos, though her tone was beginning to take on a different quality to it. Less fearful, and more… knowing.
Oh, gods.
Suddenly, Nico didn’t want to know.
Thanatos didn’t want to take Hazel back to Asphodel or worse. That was all he needed.
Thanatos pretended like he hadn’t heard Hazel. “I was able to find you.” He said shortly. “And I am familiar with your father’s House. Perhaps I am not needed in that regard – I sense the Witch of the Crossroads has given you her blessing – but I shall monitor your progress until you reach my Doors.”
Then, he abruptly disappeared.
Like an abrupt powerpoint transition, between one moment and the next, Thanatos vanished.
The heaviness in the air didn’t change – though the other demigods visibly relaxed.
Nico exchanged a look with Hazel; they both sensed that Thanatos’ presence hadn’t faded. As the god had promised, he still watched. Death remained close by, a prospect that Nico was distinctly uncomfortable with.
But it wasn’t like he could do anything about it.
Frank’s voice curled. “Wow.”
Hazel wasn’t able to suppress a brief snort of laughter, despite the knowledge that Thanatos still accompanied them. “Wow, is right. Zagreus… He heard me.”
Her eyes danced with flickers of amusement. A faint smile had crept onto her face, and her hand had dipped into the pocket that held Zagreus’ gift to her.
Around them, a medley of confusion and wariness painted the others’ faces in various hues.
“Wait, wait, what do you mean?” Leo interjected. “I thought that was Thanatos?”
“He’s still here.” Nico warned them, curtly, before anyone made any careless remarks.
Only the two who had previously encountered Thanatos, Hazel and Frank, remained at ease. Jason’s shoulders rose, and Piper’s eyes sharpened. Leo’s gaze darted from dark corner to dark corner, as if Thanatos would reveal himself if he just happened upon the right spot.
“It was,” Hazel answered him, regardless, “I told you guys about Nico and I’s half-brother, didn’t I? The godly one.”
Piper was the one who replied first. “I do. The Greek god of rebirth and blood, right?”
Hazel nodded. “He gave me something that he called a chthonic companion at the end of our quest to free Thanatos. It allowed me to reach him directly, through prayer, and let him find my location more precisely.”
“So why…?” Jason’s brows furrowed, clearly thinking the same thing as Leo.
“Thanatos and our brother have a bond.” Hazel said. “I just hadn’t realised that it extended to the chthonic companions as well.”
A bond seemed to be understating the whole thing, but Nico wasn’t going to dwell on that. From what he’d inferred, Zagreus had the freedom of a god in his choice of partners, and he’d chosen Death Incarnate himself. A bond that went beyond death, according to Hazel.
Nico couldn’t truly say that he didn’t understand, either. Not when he looked upon Thanatos himself.
But the gods’ business was the gods’. They didn’t have the same constraints as mortals, nor the same sensibilities. Sometimes, that was for the worse. But in this sense, Nico just found himself feeling more hollow, the more that he thought about it.
“Either way,” Nico spoke up, not wanting to think about the matter any further, “with any luck, Death’s presence won’t affect the barley’s antidotal properties. Assuming the poison doesn’t kill us, we should be able to find our way through the Necromanteion’s first level.”
“Just the first level?” Piper asked.
Doing his best to ignore the pervasive presence of Death Incarnate right behind them, Nico turned to Hazel and gestured at the stairs. “After you, sister.”
Hazel had lead them through the constantly splitting tunnels with shocking ease.
Leo had been acting as an intermittent glorified flashlight, and though he felt a little useless, it was hard to feel any other emotion other than constant apprehension as they descended further and further into the underground, Thanatos at their backs.
He couldn’t feel Thanatos’ presence – nobody but Hazel and Nico could – but Nico’s hushed warning weighed on all of their minds as they followed Hazel down a route that only she could follow.
If Leo had had the option of choosing which god to help them reach the Doors of Death, he wouldn’t have chosen the eponymous god of Death. Maybe the goddess of strange winding paths, or the goddess of luck. But Death was who they’d been saddled with, so he tried to ignore the prickling feeling of being watched that he knew was mostly in his head.
Thanatos hadn’t seemed that interested in him – he’d seemed, for the most part, to have eyes only for Hazel.
For good reasons, by the sounds of it. Probably.
She was under Zagreus’s protection.
Leo tried to remember what he knew about Zagreus as they continued their steady descent into the House of Hades.
A half-brother of Hazel; on the Greek side. Like Nico, only decidedly more immortal.
When Hazel, Frank and Percy talked about him, they tended to use a shortened version of the name, a monosyllabic Zag that could easily be confused for the modern Zach. He’d been their final questing member on Percy’s initiation quest into Camp Jupiter, a bit like Leo and Piper had been Jason’s quest accompaniments on his initiation quest to Camp Half-Blood.
By the sounds of it, Zag had only kept up the facade of being mortal until they’d reached Alaska, and then all bets had been off. He’d helped Hazel and Frank to defeat the giant created to destroy Hades, then hopped over to Camp Jupiter to help Percy to defeat the giant created to destroy Poseidon – all in the same day – before abruptly dipping.
Oh, and he was in a relationship with Death Incarnate.
Percy had been the one to mention that part off-handedly, as if it was the least significant part about their whole venture. He’d said it with such a casually irritated tone, too.
As an archway of human skulls came into view, the violet light of Diocletian’s sceptre made the hollow eye sockets blink with faux-life. Leo found himself wondering if Zag held enough sway to stop Thanatos from claiming all six of them.
He could only hope.
“This is the entrance to the second level.” Hazel said aloud, running her fingers over the skulls. Maybe the shape of human skulls were only carved into the archway; surely she wouldn’t be doing so if they were real? “I’d better take a look.”
Then again, who knew. Hazel had been through so much that Leo would only be somewhat surprised if she wasn’t fazed by coming face-to-face with such gruesomely manipulated human remains. He'd learned to not underestimate her.
“No traps on the doorway, but… something is strange here. My underground sense is – is frizzy, like someone is working against me, hiding what’s ahead of us.”
Leo didn’t like that. ‘Someone’ implied that it was the lady from his dreams, who’d tried to kill him through space and waking states when he was meant to be snug in his bed on the Argo II. Now, they were in her territory – and she was aware of it, too.
Could Thanatos do anything about that?
“The sorceress that Hecate warned you about?’ Jason asked. “The one Leo saw in his dream? What was her name?”
Hazel chewed on her lip. “It would be safer not to say her name, but stay alert. One thing I’m sure of: From this point on, the dead are stronger than the living.”
She cast a glance over their shoulder, as did most of the rest of their party. Nobody saw anything, but Nico’s grimace told them all that they needed to know. Thanatos still lurked.
He’d never taken Death to be such a deadbeat, especially with the work ethic that his role must require. How many people died a day? The world had something like, what, 7 billion people? There must be at least a death every five minutes – how could he spare the time to follow 7 individual demigods through the House of Hades?
For that matter, how did his role even work? He was Death Incarnate, and while he was chained, people only mostly stopped dying. If all deaths had stopped, period, the mortals would have noticed, right? It couldn't be that everyone’s deaths depended on Thanatos running around the mortal world.
So how long could Thanatos follow them around like dead weight before the world ran into problems with the equilibrium of life and death?
And… that was the ADHD getting away from him.
Leo noticed that he was habitually tapping out his mother’s morse, entirely inappropriate and wholly embarrassing for this occasion. He stopped quickly, hoping that nobody had noticed, as Hazel ducked under the skull-carved entrance and forged ahead.
The tunnels rumbled and shook as he found himself another way to keep his hands busy; summoning a ball of fire to chase away some of the living shadows around them. He’d be the first to admit that he’d been a little lost in his own head since Ogygia, turning over ways of meshing his original plans with finding a way back to Calypso, but he hadn’t been the only one seeing mirages in the dark.
“The Doors of Death just opened again,” Nico said.
“It’s happening like every fifteen minutes,” Piper noted.
“Every twelve,” Nico corrected, looking over his shoulder again.
Leo could see his mouth part with intention, but even the son of Hades didn’t dare to say anything aloud. Though Thanatos claimed that he would just monitor their progress until they reached his Doors, would he step in if something impeded their progress?
Would he do more than just watch, as so many of the gods tended to limit themselves to?
The fire in his hands flared brighter for a moment.
For all of his pondering, Leo had settled on the same thing that most demigods learned early on. The gods claimed they cared, but you could never wholly rely on one for aid, no matter the truth of those feelings. Either way, the universe would keep turning, churning on the way it was intended.
And something told him that even if Death himself was on their side, if the six of them wanted to reach Percy and Annabeth – if they wanted to reach the Doors of Death – they would have to reach it largely under their own power.
—
In the end, Hazel was the first person to invoke Thanatos’ name.
A chasm had separated him, Frank, and Hazel from the others – and then a rockfall and tunnel collapse had separated Frank from the two of them.
Hazel had lost it.
She’d sobbed and screamed and lowered herself to the ground to feel for the earth around them, but couldn’t actually do anything about the debris that cut the two of them off from the rest of the party. From between gulps of air, Leo heard her choked weeping that the ground was too precarious for her to move.
The Doors of Death’s heavy clanking shook the very foundations of the entire complex. The underground was unstable enough that further demigod interference might send the whole place crashing down on all of their heads. Then Thanatos would have no choice but to take them all, rather than to help them close his Doors.
“Lord Thanatos!” She shouted, still tearful, “lend them your aid! Please, help them!”
Leo started towards her, jerked out of his stupor as she invoked the name of Death Incarnate. This couldn’t be a good idea, surely– but Leo had reacted too slowly.
Thanatos materialised before her, just as unmoved as the stone rockfall that cut them off from their friends.
He raised one perfectly platinum eyebrow, and Leo found himself infuriated and afraid in equal measure. Thanatos glanced over him, briefly, and Leo didn’t like that look at all – that look of chilling certainty – before Thanatos refocused on Hazel’s tear-stained face.
“Indeed, the Earth Mother’s forces are making trouble for your other friends.” Thanatos said, head cocked ever so slightly. “Though I doubt it will be a large enough matter to require my attention.”
“I don’t c–” Hazel cut herself off, retaining sense enough to not incriminate herself too badly in front of a god. “Even so – please, my lord. Frank– He–”
Her voice was raw from both emotion and her ragged, futile shouts through the collapsed tunnel.
Leo needed to say something. He needed to support Hazel’s bid – but though he stepped forward, close enough that he could defend her if need be, not that she would need his help – Leo just couldn’t bring himself to utter a word. Thanatos’ sidelong glance had frozen his tongue in place, his body alight with something other than flame.
Gazing down at Hazel for a moment longer, Thanatos’ consideration appeared to last aeons.
He probably wouldn’t kill her, right? Her brother had given her a memento, a keepsake of his favour. This was his, what, husband?
Leo was still a little fuzzy on the details. He probably should have been paying more attention when Hazel, Frank and Percy had mentioned Zagreus, but there’d always been something going on that had diverted his eyes and ears. The monster of the hour; their next coming stop; the Argo II maintenance; his secret projects aboard the ship.
They’d all seemed more pertinent than a god who was bound to the Underworld.
He was regretting that inattention now.
Finally, Thanatos spoke. His voice was like icicles on a cold winter evening, scarily sharp and just as piercing. “You request that I lend my aid to the son of Mars, rather than accompany you to my Doors?”
Hazel’s fingers trembled, but she just pressed her hands further into the earth that she was unable to shift. Clenching her jaw, she jutted it forward. “Yes.”
“You are aware,” the god said quietly, “that these are unequivocally mortal affairs that you ask me to interfere in?”
Leo saw Hazel’s left hand reach up to touch the outside of her jacket; the pocket that she’d drawn that red plush toy out of earlier. Her hand only brushed it, but Thanatos’ gleaming eyes caught the movement before her hand returned to the immovable ground.
“I’m aware, Lord Thanatos.” She whispered.
Thanatos gazed down at her for one more long, dangerously silent moment.
Then, finally, he pursed his lips.
“This one is off the record, Hazel Levesque.” Thanatos uttered.
A plume of smoke erupted before him. Rather than simply blinking away like he had before, a brilliant light shone from Thanatos’ form. Leo went to squeeze his eyes tight in alarm, but rather than a build-up to an incandescent finale, a sound like metal-striking-metal sounded.
As it faded, he made out an imprint of the Thanatos’ wings hanging in the air – a glowing sigil signifying Death’s departure.
Huh.
He and Hazel exchanged a look.
“I can’t believe you got away with that.” Leo said, a little breathless with wonder.
Hazel looked back at him, a deer in headlights, tear tracks still fresh on her face. He couldn’t hear the gears in her head turning, but he could see them in her distant gaze, her mind a million miles away. Or perhaps just some short distance away – through the impassable collapsed tunnel.
If he strained his ears, he might be able to make out the echoes of distant shrieks and cries, but he didn’t have Hazel’s affinity with the underground. Nor her affinity with death.
When she did respond, a beat too late, she shook her head as if shaking herself loose from a séance. “I… neither can I.” Raising a hand to her eyes, she wiped at her wet cheeks, which only streaked them with dirt – it was caked over her hands and under her fingernails. “I’m sorry.”
Leo stared at her. “For what?”
“For… everything. For getting in Thanatos’ face. If it had backfired, we might both be dead.”
Leo didn’t think that was likely. If anything, they’d probably just be in the presence of an angry god of death, which… Yeah, they might have been better off dead. But Thanatos had capitulated. Rather quickly, at that.
Maybe Hazel’s goodwill with Zagreus was just that good.
“And for thinking you were Sammy. For leading you on.” Hazel barrelled onwards, apologies pouring from her lips like fresh fruit from a cornucopia. “I mean, I didn’t mean to, but if I did–”
Holding up a hand, Leo stopped her before she could spiral any further. Maybe he’d struggled with his place in the group, and maybe he still did – no thanks to Nemesis’ warning – but as their quest progressed, his plans had begun to take form. His old motto came in useful; keep moving. Don’t get bogged down. It was far easier to keep moving when he knew the shape of where he was going.
It looked a little like an phantom island in the middle of the sea.
“Hey, machines are designed to work.” He told her, a smile on his face that he knew people usually called imp-like.
He wondered what it looked like now, as he used one of his six different trains of thought to condense one of his favorite analogies into something that Hazel could digest.
Hazel stopped short, absolutely baffled. “Uh, what?”
“I figure the universe is basically like a machine.” Leo filled her in. “I don't know who made it, if it was the fates or the gods or capital-G God or whatever. But it chugs along the way it's supposed to most of the time. Sure, little pieces break and stuff goes haywire once in a while, but mostly... things happen for a reason.”
Thanatos was here for a reason.
He’d told them his face-value reason, but it wasn’t the only thing guiding his actions. The chthonic gods were just as much a part of the universe as the ones aboveground – and by the looks of it, mirrored intentions that he’d seen time and time again just as well.
Maybe Hazel’s goodwill with Zagreus was just that good.
Or maybe, Leo pondered, Thanatos had a soft spot for Hades kids in love.
He didn’t know if it was true. But it was a nice thought.
“You’re a philosopher.” Hazel gaped.
“Nah.” Leo replied, honestly. “I’m just a mechanic.”