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Chapter Text

Traitor. Selfish.

The words entered his mind unbidden, tormenting his guilty conscience. Thanatos wondered why the simple act of trying to bring Persephone down a few notches affected him so much. He had good reasons for doing so, he thought. She had no sooner arrived in the Underworld before Hades was treating her like she was someone special.

Spoiled brat, she probably expects to have everything given to her. Not that she’s ever had to work for anything in her life.

But still the simple act of breaking into her room to steal her diary left him feeling as if it was he who should be the one under scrutiny for his actions. Truth be told Thanatos didn’t have any particular reason to hate Persephone the way he did, other than she was the daughter of one of the Six Traitors. He had never cared for the gossip and intrigue of Olympian society, much preferring the quiet of the night that his mother brought. With a heavy sigh the pale grey god walked into Tower 1.

If I’m lucky, she’ll just kill me outright. If I’m not, well then by Zeus I’ll wish she had.

Slowly, as one on their way to the gallows, he walked deeper into the nucleus of UnderCorp. All too soon he arrived at the elevator that would take him to his doom. Silently he prayed that it would be full, if only to prolong his immortal life just a few minutes more.

His prayers, it seemed, were not answered. The doors of the elevator slid open noiselessly, revealing no occupant other than the attendant.

Well, here goes nothing.

As the doors closed the attendant looked to him for his intended destination.

“The 99th floor, please.” He asked uncharacteristically politely. Without a sound the attendant pressed the button and the elevator began its ascent to the uppermost level of Tower 1. Thanatos thought it may well be his last.

When he arrived, the 99th floor was eerily quiet. Minthe wasn’t at her desk outside of Hades’ office, which made sense given that she had been fired for what she had done to him. It seemed a replacement still hadn’t been found.

Guess the old man isn’t worried about it with that pink bitch gone.

He smirked to himself at the thought of the diminutive goddess having the king of the Underworld so wrapped around her finger that he wouldn’t even bother trying to get a new receptionist. His smirk quickly vanished when he saw the one being he wished he didn’t need to see.

“Thanatos.” She said simply, though the dark undertone didn’t go unnoticed by him.

“Hecate.” He stated simply, though it didn’t ease the feeling that she was staring straight into his soul.

“It would seem that we have something to discuss.” Her mouth morphed into a cheshire cat-esque grin. 

Thanatos gulped audibly, the sound easily traveling the fifteen or so feet that separated the deities. This only served to tighten the already devious air given off by Hecate. He was not going to enjoy this talk.

There is no way she could know what we did already. There were no witnesses. Who am I kidding this freaky bitch knows everything. And for some reason that scares me more than Hades’ wrath if he ever finds out.

“Come. Sit.” Mechanically Thanatos did as he was told, even though every nerve in his body was screaming for him to run. Automatically he began his excuses as to why his numbers were always so low.

“Look, before you start ragging me about my soul collections…”

“Thanatos.” Hecate said, stopping him mid ‘have pity on me, I’m overworked’ rant. “We both know that we aren’t here to talk about your abysmal numbers. No, we are here to talk about something with much, much greater consequences. We’re here to talk about what YOU JUST DID TO PERSEPHONE!”

In his chair in Hecate’s office Thanatos cowered down in fear.

“Now, you are going to tell me everything, and I mean everything, about why you felt the need to try and destroy everything Persephone has worked for and accomplished in her time here at UnderCorp.

Feeling about as big as an ant the god of Death began his tale.

Chapter Text

Hecate sat in silence as Thanatos spun his tale, her feline features unmoving.

“… And I thought it would be a good idea to bring her down a notch, seeing how she’s never had to really work for anything in her entire life.” Once Thanatos had finished telling his story Hecate was silent for a moment before speaking. The god of Death sat still, though his every nerve was trembling with anxiety.

“Thanatos?” Hecate said, breaking the all too still quiet.

“Yes?” He replied unable to keep the tremors out of his voice.

“Do you realize how stupidly self centered that was? Did it never occur to you that Persephone is one of the hardest working people here at UnderCorp? Did you not notice how much effort she has put in in order to be where she is at?” Hecate narrowed her sight over steeple fingers at the currently cowering god before her. “No why would you have noticed any of that, you were too busy moping around. Whining about every little thing that, due to your godhead, is your responsibility.” She finished, glaring at the grey god in silence, waiting for his response.

Several long moments passed before Thanatos finally found his voice in the pit of his stomach. Frantically his mind raced through every reconstructed excuse in his extensive repertoire. A single glance at Hecates piercing yellow eyes put an immediate end to that.

“I-I-I just want some respect for what I do. I thought maybe if I could prove Miss Perfect wasn’t so perfect then I could maybe earn a little.” He explained pathetically. Hecate was unimpressed.

“So, let me get this straight, you thought that by sending a daughter of one of the Six Traitors to a trial by Zeus, would get you a little respect? Did I understand you correctly?” Thanatos could only manage a shaky nod. “Do you want to know how you could actually get a little respect without making yourself look like an absolute self-centered prick?” Hecate didn’t wait for an answer before continuing in an increasing volume. “DO YOUR FUCKING JOB WITHOUT BITCHING ABOUT EVERY LITTLE THING! AND WHILE YOU’RE AT IT YOU CAN START BY HELPING FIX THIS FUCKING MESS YOU’VE CREATED!!” Thanatos was, once again, struck dumb. Hecate rarely ever yelled, let alone swore. Usually she was the image of self control and restraint. 

Uh-oh. Now we’ve made her mad.

When Hecate had mentioned trial by Zeus, images of Prometheus flashed across his mind. Chained to a mountain with an eagle pecking out his liver every single day, only for it to regrow every single night, on and on for all eternity. His only crime? Giving the gift of fire to the mortals.

He made have held a grudge against Persephone, but the pink goddess had never done anything to him to justify Zeus’ extreme punishments. Horror flashed through him with a cold sweat chasing its heels.

What have I done? At this point I don’t think there’s much I can do. Zeus already knows, Minthe is dead set on destroying Persephone just so she can get back with Hades, and Thetis, well I actually don’t know what Thetis wants out of all this.

Thanatos was snapped out of his frantic mental state by a hand contacting his cheek. The world slowly came into focus as sound once again reached his ears.

“Thanatos… Thanatos! Underworld to Thanatos.” He heard Hecate saying, the words gradually becoming clearer.

“Sorry Hecate, I guess I kinda zoned out for a second there.” A thought crossed his mind, it was a long shot but it was the only shot he had at the moment that wouldn’t send him straight to the depths of Tartarus. “Is there anything I can do to help fix this?” He asked.

Hecate stared at him like he had just transformed into the Hydra. And for once, the goddess of Witchcraft was struck silent. 

Chapter Text

Hecate stood staring into the abyss with an empty expression for a moment before her senses returned to her. It took another minute or two for her thoughts to return to some semblance of normality and actually process what Thanatos had just said. He wanted to help right the wrong he had done. But where to start? The information was already in Zeus’ hands so there was no keeping it from him at this point.

Damn, the simplest path always ends in a brick wall. But how can he help now? We still need to find Persephone, but we’ve nearly turned the Underworld inside out by now, so there isn’t much for him to do on that front. Besides, Hades probably won’t trust him right off the bat. So that’s out of the question, unless…

“Thanatos, do you still talk to your father?”

Now it was Thanatos’ turn to be struck dumb. He and Erebus hadn’t talked in at least three centuries. Where was Hecate going with this?

“I haven’t spoke with Da in a couple hundred years, why?”

“Because he just might be able to help us find Persephone before Zeus does. He did help create this realm after all. So it stands to reason he should know it better than any of us.”

“I mean I can try, but the last time I talked to him, it didn’t end so well.” Thanatos gaze fell to the floor in shame. He hadn’t meant for the conversation to end that way but he had been fed up with Erebus’s insistent needling about him still being single after so many millennia.

“Well maybe it’s time for you to start pulling your head out of your ass and consider others point of view.” Hecate stated very matter of factly. He knew she was right, he was just having trouble accepting it at the moment. Old habits die hard after all.

“I’ll try but I’m not gonna make any promises.” He said after a sigh.

“Good. Now go, I have other business to attend to.”

Thanatos turned and walked out of Hecates’ office, feeling a little lighter after talking, and also dreading getting in contact with his father. With a final sigh, he entered the elevator and headed towards his office.

***

After Thanatos left, Hecate made herself a cup of coffee before pulling out her phone and punching in Hades’ number. He answered on the first ring.

“Hecate, any news about Persephone yet?” He asked the compounded worry and utter lack of sleep evident in his voice.

“Not yet old friend, but I do have something that may be of interest to you.”

“Oh? And what would that be? If it’s yet another applicant for a receptionist then I don’t care.”

“I think I’ll tell you over lunch. You are eating lunch today right?” She asked, the genuine concern for one of her oldest friends showing through.

“The thought hadn’t crossed my mind yet.”

“When was the last time you ate something that wasn’t coffee Hades? Yesterday? The day before? Don’t you dare tell me it was this morning, because I happen to know you don’t eat breakfast and you were passed out in your office when I got here this morning.” Hecate scolded him gently. Persephone’s disappearance worried her just as much as it did Hades, but She wouldn’t be of any use if she did’t at least try to take care of herself.

“Truthfully? The evening before Kore disappeared.”

“And how long ago was that?” She knew the answer of course, but she needed to hear Hades admit it.

“Four days.” Hades said with a heavy sigh, the sorrow leaking through the speakers of Hecates’ phone.

“Well, that settles it then, we are going to get lunch, and no, there is nothing you can do to stop it. I’ll see you in twenty.”

“Fine, but I at least get to pick this time, we are not getting curry after what happened last time.”

“Fine by me.” And with that Hecate slumped into her chair absently rubbing her temple. Once Hades found out what Thanatos had done he was going to explode, and she was going to have to be the one to talk some sense into him when he did. Lunch was going to be such a joy, not.

Chapter Text

Once Thanatos arrived at his office he began his usual routine of checking his email and then gathering the scrolls of the shades he had to collect and bring to the Underworld. There wasn’t anything worth noting in his inbox, so he turned to the ever-growing pile of scrolls accumulating at the corner of his desk. He grabbed a handful and checked the location on them before transferring to the furthest ones first.

It didn’t take him very long to find all of the shades and bring them to Acherôn. The rest of his day continued much the same, grab a handful of scrolls, collect the shades. Rinse and repeat. By the end of the day Thanatos had managed to put a sizable dent in the pile. After he had brought the last group of shades in for the day, he made his way out of Tower 1. 

Instead of heading towards the train station as he usually did after work, he started walking towards Tower 4. 

Tartarus. Of all the places Ma and Da could have chosen to call home, it just had to be Tartarus.

Generally entering Tower 4 required either special permission granted by Hades or to be escorted by the king himself. Thanatos, Hypnos, and the Fates had the exception as Nyx and Erebus both dwelt in Tartarus. Hades had decided centuries ago to give them unrestricted access in and out of Tower 4 so they could visit their parents whenever they wished. It was less paperwork to deal with.

Shortly after he had entered Tartarus proper, Thanatos felt his fathers all-encompassing presence at the same time his mother’s voice entered his mind.

(N) Than? OH GOODY! MY BABY BOY IS HERE!!

Thanatos flinched involuntarily at Nyx’s shout inside his head. After taking a second to compose himself Than answered.

Ma, you do know you don’t need to shout when we talk this way right? And, is Da around? I have to talk to him about something. And apologize, for how our last meeting ended.

(N) You know very well I can’t help it. Visit more. How long has it been since your last visit? A century? Two?

Three and some change…

(N) My point exactly. As for your father, I’m sure he’ll manifest for this. He misses you something awful.

Thanatos finally entered the section of Tartarus that his parents called home. Almost immediately all five of his mothers eyes turned their focus on him. At the same time Nyx gave an indescribable squeal of excitement.

“THAN!! HOW IS MY BABY BOY? ARE YOU EATING ENOUGH? HOW IS HADES? AND WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE ME A GRANDCHILD?!” Nyx’s voice boomed in the cavern that she shared with Erebus, who at the moment hadn’t yet appeared.

“Ma! I’m fine, Hades is fine, yes I’m eating, and when are you and Da going to stop pestering me about grandkids?”

“Oh, probably never.” Nyx admitted. “You mentioned you wanted to see your father, well he’s here but not here. We were a bit preoccupied when you showed up.”

He shook his head to rid the unbidden image of his mother and father having sex with Erebus in a non-corporeal form. He and his siblings had walked in on that particular occurrence far too many times. He still had nightmares about it.

“Ma, too much information. Do you think you can get him to manifest for a bit? There’s something I really need to talk to him about.”

“I guess. Shadow mine! Our son wants to see you.” Once Nyx had finished talking, Thanatos felt the swirling mists and dense shadow begin to coalesce. Slowly the nebulous mass of darkness condensed into his father. For the most part Erebus was as black as a starless night, the only exception being his eyes which were a vivid cobalt. After Erebus had fully appeared he spoke.

“Thanatos! My boy, how is everything? And where are our grandkids?”

Thanatos groaned internally. Without fail his parents asked if he had had any children. He was tired of the question.

“I’m fine Da, and there are no grandchildren. There’s something I need help on Da, and you’re the only one I can think of that can help.”

“What? Ya need help finding a mate? I guess I could help with that.”

“Wait, what!? No Da, I need help finding someone who went missing a few days ago. Someone important to Hades.”

“Oh. I see. Ya sure ya don’t want help finding a mate?”

“I’m positive Da.” Erebus shrugged and dropped the topic for the time being.

“So who ya trying to find?”

“Persephone.”

Chapter Text

“Persa-who?” Erebus asked confused.

“Persephone. You know small, pink, curvy, goddess of Spring.” Thanatos replied, baffled that his father didn’t know who he was talking about.

“Ya mean the one who grew a tree here?”

“Yes! That’s her.” 

“Oh, follow the roots. They’ll lead ya right to her. Or the petals, they’d work too.”

“Follow the roots? Of the tree?” Thanatos asked confused.

Is she in the tree? This doesn’t make any sense.

“Yep. The roots’ll take ya to her. Or they should anyway. Haven’t ya seen the tree? Been growing like crazy the last couple days.”

“O-kay, thanks Da. I hate to run off so soon but I think Hecate will want to hear this.”

“Come back soon my boy, we don’t see ya often enough. Get’s kinda lonely here with just yer ma and I. More time for sex though, so I guess it works out okay.”

“Da. Too much information.” With that Thanatos turned and began making his way out of the cavern that was his parents home. He hadn’t even made it to the door before he heard Nyx start giggling.

If I weren’t immortal, I’d have died of embarrassment aeons ago.

The walk from Tower 4 back to his apartment was, for the most part, uneventful. At least, until he ran into Minthe.

“Thanatos! What the fuck is going on?” She spat out. 

“Minthe, what in Tartarus are you talking about?”

“THE FUCKING FLOWER PETALS EVERYWHERE! DON’T TELL ME THAT THAT PINK BITCH IS STILL HERE!”

Oh joy, a pissed off, very petty, Minthe. Just when I thought I was going to have a good day. Go figure.

Thanatos simply shrugged, not wanting to give away that he’d just told Hecate everything this morning.

“Dunno, last I heard they were still looking for her. What do you care anyway? She’ll get what’s coming to her when Zeus gets a hold of her.”

“I CARE BECAUSE THAT FUCKING PINK BITCH IS STILL IN MY WAY OF GETTING BACK WITH HADES!!!” Minthe continued, uncaring that she was screaming at the top of her lungs.

“You do know if weren’t such a bitch about everything that wouldn’t be a problem right?” Thanatos offered, not really caring if it set her off even more. Minthe continued on with her rant but he wasn’t really listening. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and sent a quick text to Hecate.

Da says to follow the roots. 

Whatever that means, 

he didn’t really elaborate.

-Thanatos

It didn’t take long for him to get a reply, chuckling at what he’d saved her as in his contacts.

Well, it’s a starting point.

-Freaky Bitch.

I should probably change that at some point. She probably already knows, but it wouldn’t hurt anything.

It took a minute before Thanatos realized Minthe had stopped talking. Looking up from his phone he saw what had rendered the usually loquacious nymph silent.

Every piece of glass in a three block radius had been completely shattered.

Well shit, Hades knows. Looks like my day just got that much worse. Wonderful.

“The fuck happened here?” Minthe asked no one in particular.

“Well, if I were a betting god, I’d bet that grandpa winter caught wind of something he didn’t particularly care to hear.”

“Like what?” She asked eying him suspiciously.

“Dunno, your guess is as good as mine.”

Chapter Text

Hecate knocked on the door to Hades’ office exactly at noon. It only took a second for the rather distraught king to open the door. It was clear to Hecate that he hadn’t slept well, if at all. Between the bags under his crimson eyes and his thoroughly messed hair, the usually meticulously groomed god looked as if he had been drug through Tartarus.

“So, where’re we going for lunch? Since curry is out of the question, sushi maybe?” Hecate asked, gracefully avoiding any comment on his appearance. Hades thought for a long moment before speaking.

“Sounds good to me, there’s a new place a few blocks from here I’ve been meaning to try.”

“Excellent. Shall we get going?”

“Absolutely, you’ve piqued my curiosity about what you have to tell me. Besides, I’m starving.” The pair left Tower 1 without any further conversation. Though she was calm on the exterior, Hecate was at war with herselves over how to break the news to Hades in a way that wouldn’t bring the entire realm crashing down.

He wouldn’t take this news very well in his best state, I can only imagine how he’ll take now. Gaia save us if I can’t reign him in.

The duo arrived at the little restaurant and took a seat. Hades at least had the grace to wait until they had ordered before breaking the silence.

“So, what did you want to tell me?”

Hecate was silent for a moment before she spoke. “Well, I’m not sure how to tell you this, but I learned who tipped Zeus off about Kore.”

At the mere mention of that incident, Hades’ skin darkened noticeably as he struggled to restrain his primal form. 

“Who?” He grunted, feeling the rage building inside of him.

“I will tell you, but, I need you to swear not to hurt one of them.”

When Hecate mentioned that there were multiple people involved Hades’ mind short circuited.

Not hurt one of them. How many people are involved in this? 

His racing mind settled on one answer as the glasses and windows around him began to crack.

Minthe.

Through gritted teeth he managed to force out an agreement.

“By the Styx I swear I won’t hurt whoever you don’t want me to. Now who was it, and who am I not hurting?”

Hecate nodded assent, even in a blackout rage Hades wouldn’t dare break a Stygian oath. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

“The one you aren’t hurting is Thanatos. The ones involved, as far as I’ve learned, were Minthe, Thetis, and Thanatos.”

Every piece of glass surrounding them exploded. The shift in Hades’ form happened in an instant. His skin turned midnight black filled with countless stars and constellations.  His hair was whipped about by an ice-cold gale that manifested out of nowhere.  It was a long second before Hades spoke again, his voice booming like thunder and seemingly coming from all round Hecate. Deep within her being the generally imperturbable goddess shuddered.

“WHY SHOULD I SPARE ANY OF THEM?! I SHALL HONOR MY OATH, THOUGH I DO NOT LIKE IT. THE OTHERS, HOWEVER, SHALL KNOW MY WRATH!”

“As they should my king, but please calm yourself before you destroy your realm.” 

Though she couldn’t see it, Hecate heard and felt the destruction radiating outwards, slowly moving through the city. It took several long breaths and much placating, but eventually Hades managed to reign in his rage, storing it away for the fools who had dared invoke it.

“I’m okay, Hecate, I’m okay. Now why in Tartarus am I not hurting Thanatos for what basically amounts to crimes against the Underworld?” He asked as he returned to his usual form, glancing around at the terrified denizens of his kingdom.

“Because, you swore a Stygian oath, and he is the one who told me everything this morning. I know you don’t care for him Hades, but he does try when his ass is on the line.”

Just then her phone chimed. Glancing at the screen she saw that Thanatos had just sent her a message.

Da says to follow the roots. 

Whatever that means, 

he didn’t really elaborate.

-Lazybones

“And he may have just figured out where we can find Kore.” She said as she tapped out a reply.

Well, it’s a starting point.

-Hecate

At the mention of where they could possibly find Kore, Hades entire demeanor changed rapidly. His rage of a moment ago forgotten for the moment. Tantalizing glimmers of hope replaced it.

“Really. Where?”

“Follow the roots.”

Confusion clouded Hades face as he tried to decipher what Hecate had just said.

Follow the roots? What in Tartarus is she talking about?

Then it hit him like a run away freight train.

TARTARUS! THE TREE! Follow the roots of the tree!

Without a word, Hades turned and began running, a slightly concerned Hecate following close behind. It didn’t take long for the two gods to notice that the tree roots were growing along the back roads of the city leading off into a sparsely populated section of town.

Chapter Text

True to the tip given by Thanatos, Hades and Hecate did indeed find Persephone at the end of the roots, in a junkyard. What they didn’t expect though, was the near catatonic state that she was in. Pulling Persephone from the car and vines surrounding her, Hades was shocked to find she was cold as ice. Speaking near incessantly in hopes of some reaction, the group transferred to Hades’ home. Hecate took the initiative to warm the pool so they could try and warm Persephone. It took far longer than the pair would have liked, but eventually she stirred.

After Hecate ensured that Persephone was okay, she bid Hades good night. Once she had left, Hades let out a heavy sigh, thanking the powers that be that Kore was okay. Now his only option was to wait. As he waited his mind drifted to how he was going to deal with Thanatos and Minthe.

Thanatos has never given me much reason to like him, but at the same time he’s never given me much reason to not like him. Him turning Persephone in is a pretty big step in the not liking him direction, but, it would seem he had a change of heart. Besides, I swore a Stygian oath, I can’t harm him for this if I wanted to. At the same time he did help us find Kore, so I have to thank him for that. Fuck, really he helped us keep her out of Zeus’ hands, so I guess that’s two marks positive to one mark negative. Majority rules. I think I’ll have a talk with him come Monday, see what he has to say for himself. Now Minthe on the other hand…

Lost deep within his mental debate, Hades didn’t hear Persephone walking up behind him. Needless to say he jumped when she spoke, voice heavy with exhaustion.

“Hades?”

“Gaia! Sweetness, are you trying to give me a heart attack?” He joked before his attempt at humor turned to genuine concern for her wellbeing. “How’re you feeling?”

“Tired, nervous, anxious, and a whole host of other things I can’t quite put into words, but mostly tired.” She said with a yawn.

Damn she’s adorable. Stop staring you pervert!

“Well you should get some rest, sadly we have a lot to talk about Little Goddess.”

Persephone nodded after trying, and failing, to stifle yet another yawn. Wordlessly Hades walked her to the guest room. With a gentle smile he bid her good night before retiring to his room. 

The next few days passed in a whirlwind as Hades got Persephone’s version of the story. Her version fit much better with her overall demeanor, now he just had to convince Zeus to get over himself and accept it. But that would have to wait.

Early on Monday morning, Hades called Thanatos to his office. Thanatos, once again, made his way to the 99th floor like a man walking to the gallows. Mere seconds felt like an eternity to the pale god as he watched the floor numbers increase. Once they reached 99, his legs suddenly felt as if they were made of lead. Each step was slow, unsteady, and fell with a heavy thud. Pausing at Hades’ door, he took a deep breath, unsure of what fate awaited him. Steeling his nerves, the god of Death knocked once.

Almost immediately he heard Hades call out.

“Come in.”

Trembling and sweating profusely Thanatos entered Hades’ office. Hades gestured vaguely towards the chair opposite his desk. Wringing his hands in a millennia-old nervous habit, Thanatos sat down and awaited his doom. 

“You know why you’re here Thanatos. Before I make any judgement though, I need to hear your side of it, your reasons. But most of all, I just want to know: why?” Hades’ voice was calm and even, showing little emotion. It was one of the things that made him such a great judge. It also made it practically impossible to tell how close he was to exploding.

“In hindsight, both my reasons and the why were rather selfish and more than a little idiotic. I had this notion that, somehow it would get me just a bit of respect. Most of the time, I don’t feel like my efforts are appreciated, so I let myself get talked into this whole fiasco. Afterwards though, it just kept gnawing at me. It just didn’t sit well for some reason, like I had just betrayed everything I stand for, for some cheap trick. I won’t claim to know Minthe’s whole side of things, but I think she saw it as a way to remove Persephone from the equation and keep you in her claws. So that’s the gist of the why, in the first place, I was being a self-centered moron. As for the second, something was pushing me to fix the error I had done.”

Once Thanatos had finished speaking, Hades was silent for several moments. The silence hung heavy on Thanatos, whose self-loathing side took the opportunity to fill his mind with images of the absolute worst possible outcomes. It took him a second to realize Hades had finally broken the unnerving quiet.

“If another such situation occurred, would you do it again?”

“Huh?”

“Would you do it again? Betray someone in for selfish reasons? Or would you choose to do the right thing?”

“In all honesty, you and Hecate terrify me. Enough so that, simply in terms of self-preservation, I’d be inclined to do what was right. And, I’m trying to turn a new leaf over, so to speak, trying to better myself.” Thanatos answered, hoping beyond hope that his answer would satisfy Hades.

“I won’t lie, and say I’m not upset with you Thanatos, because I am. However, should you continue to improve yourself, both morally and in terms of workplace performance, I see no reason to banish you to the pits of Tartarus.” Thanatos let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Meanwhile Hades continued with one further statement. “Just don’t let it happen again.”

“Can do boss. Is there anything else you need from me?”

“Just one thing for the time being, bring Minthe in. It’s time I had a chat with her.”