The Apprentice of Thanatos

One of the ghosts stepped forward, bigger than all the rest—Danny was pretty sure that he was the leader, if the engraved gold armband and jewel-encrusted belt around his waist were anything to go by; none of the others were dressed quite so fancy. His dark blue cape billowed behind him in the bitterly cold wind as he stared at Danny as if he was no more than a bug. Or worse—their lunch.

Danny opened his mouth, planning to say something that would hopefully come off as enough of a warning to keep them at bay. At least until he and his friends could get the Specter Speeder running again and hightail it out of there. But before he could say anything, the leader… smiled. And Danny realized that he didn’t look angry—he looked overjoyed.

“Greetings, oh Great One! Savior of the Infinite Realms!” The leader’s voice boomed, cutting through the shrieking of the wind like a knife through softened butter. “I am Frostbite, leader of the Far Frozen. And we, your humble servants, are here to offer our aid.”

Wait… what?

As Danny looked at the group of ghosts again, he realized that they weren’t quite as menacing as he had first assumed. They weren’t staring at him with anger or malice; they were staring at him as if he had hung the stars in the night sky. A couple of them were even whispering to one another like gossiping schoolgirls.

“Wait. Wait, wait, wait.” The ecto-energy in Danny’s palms dissipated, and he shook his head in confusion. “Great One? Savior? I—you must be mistaken. My friends and I—we’re lost. Our ride broke down. We just want to get it working again, and then we’ll be on our way, and out of your hair. Okay? I-I don’t want any trouble.”

“Why, of course!” The one called Frostbite replied jovially, and he extended his hands in a welcoming gesture. “We mean you no harm!”

“Wha—no harm?” Danny sputtered incredulously. “Then why did you freeze the Specter Speeder?!”

“To save you from crashing, of course!” Frostbite laughed, as if Danny had asked something funny. A few of his pack joined in. “If you and your friends would like to follow me, I can explain everything in a more comfortable setting. I imagine you all aren’t used to this level of cold.”

Danny wanted to decline the offer, but Frostbite was right. Following his accident, Danny had found that he wasn't really affected by chilly weather anymore. But this was, like, beyond cold, even for him. And if he was freezing, then how were Sam and Tucker handling the sub-zero temperatures? And as much as he hated to admit it, he wouldn’t be able to fix the Specter Speeder on his own. “Fine,” he said at last. “Just don’t do anything funny!”

Frostbite chuckled merrily. “You have my word, Great One.”

The journey to Frostbite’s village was quick, thanks to the help of Frostbite and his yeti friends (that was what they referred to themselves as, and Danny supposed that was what they looked like, considering the fact that he himself had never seen a yeti). It had taken a bit of convincing to get his friends to agree to come along peacefully, which Danny understood. He couldn’t blame them for being wary, given their previous experiences in the Ghost Zone. But with the Specter Speeder out of commission, and the three of them lost in unknown territory, it would be for the best if they went along with the yeti ghosts for the time being.

At least the yeti ghosts seemed friendly enough.

Once the Speeder had been set down in the middle of the cozy little village, Danny and his friends stepped out, bundled up in Fenton Parkas (his parents really had prepared for anything in the Ghost Zone). They were immediately surrounded by a crowd of the yeti ghosts, young and old, big and small, and all beaming as if they were at a celebrity meet-and-greet.

“Great One, please allow us, your humble servants, to welcome you and your friends with the traditional greeting of our people,” Frostbite said. He then pressed his palms together and bowed his head, his people swiftly following his lead. “Namaste.”

Tucker made a sound halfway between a scoff and a chuckle. “What is this, yoga class?”

Shocked murmurs rose from the crowd of yetis, and a few offended glares were shot Tucker’s way. But Frostbite merely raised his hand, and his people quieted down.

“It would be wise of you to refrain from speaking lightly of cultures that you know little about, friend of the Great One.” Frostbite advised coldly, a startling change from his warm, welcoming demeanor. “It may end poorly for you one of these days.”

Tucker gulped nervously and gave a meek nod. Danny didn’t blame him for being spooked; these guys, though seemingly nice, looked like they ate Tuckers for breakfast.

“But seeing as you are a friend of the Great One, I will let it slide,” Frostbite declared, and just like that, his friendly manner returned. “Now come! Let me introduce you to the tribe.”

~~~~

After another round of introductions (one that lasted much longer than the first), Frostbite took Danny, Sam, and Tucker down into a cave while some of his people got to work fixing up the Specter Speeder with welding torches. (Oh, yeah. Frostbite and the yeti ghosts lived in caves. Had Danny mentioned that? He supposed it fit with the whole “frozen wasteland” theme. Unlike the welding torches. But anyway.) The cave (which, strangely, had armed guards posted at its entrance) was well-lit with flickering green torches, but it wasn’t any warmer than it had been out in the snow. On the walls of the cave were pictures, their lines scratched and carved carefully into the stone. And the pictures… well, that was where this whole thing got really weird.

They were all pictures of Danny.

“This here is a shrine! Dedicated to you, oh Great One!” Frostbite explained, a proud smile on his face as he gestured to the murals. “Our people have added to it over the centuries, depicting your journeys and tales in the immortality of stone. It is a tribute and a testament to all your good deeds.” 

“Wait a minute.” Danny’s brain felt like it was short-circuiting, because what Frostbite had just said did not add up. “Centuries?”

Frostbite nodded enthusiastically, not seeming to notice Danny’s bewilderment. “Of course! Time flows strangely in the Infinite Realms. But all of your legends are documented here, both past and future.”

In a state of complete disbelief, Danny held his breath as he spun around, eyeing the pictures on the walls. He recognized some of them now. The portal accident. His many fights with various ghosts (he was pretty sure he could make out Vlad, Skulker, and even the Box Ghost in some of the carvings). One of the bigger, more detailed murals was of the time Danny had defeated the Ghost King, Pariah Dark, and trapped him in the Sarcophagus of Eternal Sleep. There was even a mural of his apprenticeship ceremony in the Underworld, when he had taken on the title of Thanatos’ apprentice. How in the world did Frostbite’s people know about that?

“Oh, and please don't wander too far,” Frostbite warned like he was a tour guide for the world's strangest museum. “We don't want you seeing your future before it happens!”

“Hey, Frostbite? So, uhh… why do you guys have a shrine dedicated to Danny?” Sam asked, clearly perturbed by the strange cave.

“Why, is it not obvious?” Frostbite asked. “The Great One is a very important part of our history! Not just of the Far Frozen, but of the entire Ghost Zone!”

“But how?” Danny asked. “I’ve never even met you guys before now.”

“Yes, that is true,” Frostbite agreed. “But we have known you for much longer.”

“But…” Danny looked at the walls around him once more, before giving a helpless shrug. “But I’m just… Danny. I’m not the Great One you guys keep talking about.”

“Yeah!” Tucker agreed. “This guy’s barely passing ninth grade. Great One? I don’t think so.”

Before Frostbite could reply, another picture caught Danny’s attention. This one… he didn’t recognize. The carving was simple: a group of crudely-formed stick figures, with the one in the middle standing above the rest, wearing a crown.

Danny reached out and touched the mural with his hand. The lines were softer than those of the other murals, worn and faded from the touch of time. It was old; maybe that was why it wasn’t as detailed as the rest. But what did it have to do with Danny? Was he one of the figures in the picture? If so, which one?

“What’s going on here?” Danny asked as his friends came to stand on either side of him.

“Ah… yes. That one.” Frostbite said with far less enthusiasm than Danny had come to expect from him. “When Pariah Dark was defeated, a new king was destined to take his place. But—”

The yeti’s voice seemed to catch in his throat, and when Danny looked back at him he saw that Frostbite looked… angry. But the look faded in an instant, replaced instead by a look of sadness.

“I am sorry,” Frostbite muttered quietly. “I cannot speak of it at this time.”

Why was Frostbite acting so weird all of a sudden? He had been so eager to explain before, but now… it was almost as if the picture of this future Ghost King filled the yeti ghost with regret.

Wait a second. Future Ghost King?

Ghost King?

Why… why did that ring a bell? It was almost as if he had heard it… in a dream or something. A memory, but distant and fuzzy—it gave him a headache just trying to recall it.

“As… I thought you knew.”

“What did you just call me?”

“...?”

“What do you mean I’m…?!”

“When you defeated… you became the new…”

“And what does that mean? Being your apprentice? Will it help me with…?”

Danny gripped his arm, his nails digging into the fabric of his suit. Why couldn’t he remember? It was something important, he knew that much. Something… something Thanatos had told him. Something Thanatos had called him.

But what was it?

“Hey, look at this one!” Tucker called out, derailing Danny’s train of thought. “It looks like some sort of… wedding thingy.”

Confused, Danny turned around and looked at what Tucker was referring to. And then he spluttered rather indignantly. “It was not! It was a super ancient, super serious ceremony that made Thanatos my mentor!”

Tucker gave an awkward chuckle as he stepped away from the carving. “Heh, oops. My bad.”

~~~~

“Hey, Frostbite? Not that we’re not having the time of our lives and all,” Danny said, careful not to meet the tired, annoyed looks of his friends. “But do you know how much longer it’ll be until the Speeder is fixed?”

And honestly, it wasn’t just his friends that were cold, tired, and perhaps a little on edge. Danny knew that he certainly was. They didn’t have time to waste learning about the weird, prophetic carvings of him in this cave when they were supposed to be finding Ellie, before something—or someone—else did.

“I’m sure it will be done soon, Great One,” Frostbite answered (un)helpfully. “If you three would like, we can head back up and check on the progress of the repairs.”

“Yes, please!” was the unanimous vote, and Frostbite took the lead as they began to make their way back to the cave entrance. Danny’s gaze trailed over the pictures as they made their way back, and he honestly wasn’t sure how to feel about the whole “shrine” thing, other than… weird. Honored, maybe. But mostly, it was just weird.

As Danny glanced behind him, he saw something move in the corner of his eye. He swore that he caught a glimpse of white hair, and it was enough to make him freeze.

Ellie?

Neither Frostbite, Sam, nor Tucker noticed as Danny quietly slipped away and made his way back down into the cave to go investigate. Had it been Ellie that he had seen? Or could it have been someone else? Another yeti ghost, maybe? Danny hadn’t seen anyone else while they were down there.

But when Danny made it to the back of the cave, past where he and his friends had explored with Frostbite, he didn’t find anyone. Odd, but… maybe it was just his nerves getting to him. He was used to being on edge—it kind of came with the whole “daily ghost attacks” deal, and he definitely hadn’t been getting enough sleep lately (not that he ever did). Both of those combined could totally explain why he had thought he had seen somebody when there was no one there. Right?

Danny sighed tiredly as he dragged his hand down his face. Once they found Ellie and made sure she was safe, he was going to go home and sleep for the rest of the weekend. With everything that had happened to him in just the past month—his evil not-future self and Vlad and the clones—he definitely needed it.

Eager to get back to their search, Danny started to leave the cave once more, but as he did so one of the carvings caught his eye. There were two figures, standing facing the same way. The one in front looked like Danny, at least when compared to the other cave carvings of him. The other, Danny didn’t recognize. It didn’t look like Tucker or Sam, or any of his family. They seemed to be reaching towards Danny…

Wait.

No, that wasn’t it. They had something in their hand, which was outstretched. A thin triangle, the point of which was aimed right for him.

A sense of unease trickled down Danny’s back like a cold sweat, even though he was pretty sure it was far too cold in this cave for sweat to even form. This picture… something wasn’t right about it. It felt almost like… a warning. The unknown object in the stranger’s hand… 

Was that… a knife?

“Ah! There you are, Great One!” Frostbite said, his booming voice startling Danny out of his thoughts. “Your friends and I were wondering where you’d gone off to.”

Danny winced and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, ashamed that he had been caught. “Yeah, uhh, sorry about that. I…” He knew he should follow Frostbite out of the cave, but his gaze flicked back to the ominous drawing, and his sense of unease returned. “Hey, uhh… do you know what’s going on here?”

“Hmm?” Frostbite came over to where Danny stood and leaned in, peering at the carving. He was standing so close that Danny felt the hairs on Frostbite’s arm stand on end as an unreadable expression flickered across his face for just a split second.

“Oh, that? That’s nothing special!” Frostbite said too quickly and too cheerfully—even for him. “Worry not. It’s… it’s nothing. Really!”

But… if it was nothing, then why was it important enough to end up engraved in this cave?

Frostbite’s large, furry, and clawed hand landed on Danny’s shoulder with almost enough force to make his knees buckle. “Come along now, Great One! We mustn’t keep your friends waiting.”

Danny did as he was told, and followed Frostbite out of the strange cave. But as he did so, he got the feeling that he had stumbled across something that he shouldn’t have.

~~~~

“Thanks again, Frostbite,” Danny said for what must’ve been the dozenth time as Sam and Tucker clambered into the Specter Speeder. “I’m really glad we ran into you.”

“Anytime, Great One,” Frostbite replied with a smile. “Perhaps the next time our paths cross, it will not be in such a dire situation.”

Danny chuckled. “Yeah, I’d like that.” He gave Frostbite a parting wave and turned to leave, but made it only a few steps before a question came to mind. “Hey, Frostbite? Weird question, but have you seen someone who looks like me recently?”

Frostbite’s cheerful smile became puzzled. “I… have seen you.”

“Well, that’s not…” Danny rubbed his neck again, feeling a bit awkward as he clarified: “Have you seen me, but like… a girl?”

Frostbite shook his head. “I have not, Great One. If you would like, I can keep an eye out for any who might match that description.”

Danny smiled. “Yeah. That would be really helpful. Thanks, Frostbite.”

“Of course, Great One. Safe travels.”

Frostbite had been kind enough to point them in the direction of another realm in the Ghost Zone that might be able to help them, and with a final goodbye, the three teens set off to continue their search for Ellie.

“Woah! Those yetis really know their stuff!” Tucker exclaimed as the Specter Speeder glided smoothly towards their destination. “This baby’s running like new!”

“Let’s hope it’ll hold together until we find Ellie,” Danny muttered rather glumly as he settled down in his seat.

“Hey. She’ll be fine,” Sam said reassuringly.

“Yeah!” Tucker chimed in. “If she’s anything like you, then it’s the ghosts who’ll be in trouble. Not her.”

Danny scoffed. “You must not know me very well, Tuck. I’m always in trouble.”

~~~~

While flying through the Ghost Zone, the trio of friends were greeted by a surprising lack of ghosts. Which was strange, considering they were in, y’know, the Ghost Zone. Home of ghosts, spirits, and all manner of spooky things. The fact that there were currently no ghosts in sight was enough to set Danny on edge.

Was something happening in the Ghost Zone? Something big that he wasn’t aware of? He was pretty sure it wasn’t Pariah Dark again—if it were, then there would’ve been a surplus of ghosts in the human world again, staking claim on their new lairs and causing chaos all over Amity Park.

But then what was it? Shouldn’t he have heard something by now if something was wrong? Not every ghost in the Zone hated him. Like… Wulf, for example. Or Princess Dora. They were friendly with him. Heck, wouldn’t Frostbite have told him if something was wrong? He had called Danny the "savior of the realm", or something like that. If that was the case, then wouldn’t he have told Danny if something was going on in the Ghost Zone?

Danny tried to distract himself from the unease bubbling in his gut by looking out the window at the vast green nothingness before them. It wasn’t the most exciting view, but the vibrant green background should make it easy to see if a certain white-ponytailed ghost in a familiar black and white suit were to pass by…

“Wow! The Zone’s really got everything, huh?” Tucker exclaimed, breaking Danny out of his thoughts. “They even have plants! Bet you’re happy to see that, huh, Sam?”

Curious, both Sam and Danny looked where Tucker was pointing, and there were indeed plants. And they even looked somewhat healthy, unlike the plants he usually saw in the Ghost Zone (which were often withered and sad-looking, and only came in a small variety of colors: black, purple, and ectoplasmic green).

No, these plants were thriving, with their leaves spread wide and their flowers in full bloom. They sported the usual greens and purples of the Ghost Zone, but there were also vibrant pinks and blues, along with a haze of yellow spores floating all around them. Just looking at it was enough to make Danny’s nose itch as if he had to sneeze.

“What do you think, Sam? Is it vegan enough for you?” Tucker teased.

But there was no response from her. Not even a well-deserved punch to the arm.

“Sam?” Danny turned to look at the goth girl.

Sam was staring at the island of plants, but something wasn’t right. Her posture was stiff, and her eyes were strangely focused, yet blank. As if she was hyperfocused, yet not there at all. Was she even breathing?

Danny reached out and touched her shoulder, but Sam didn’t react. She didn’t even blink. She was frozen in place like a statue.

Okay, something was definitely wrong.

“Hey, Tuck. I think we should get out of here,” Danny said worriedly.

Tucker nodded. “Way ahead of you, dude.”

The Speeder jolted slightly as Tucker swerved to the side and stepped on the gas, speeding away from the strange, jungle-like island.

“Earth to Sam. Come in, Sam.”

It had taken a while for the island to disappear from the horizon, and Sam had been frozen the entire time, moving only to continue facing the island as they passed by, her eyes unblinking, her intense gaze unwavering.

At the lack of response to his corny space joke, Danny reached out and shook Sam’s shoulder. She hadn’t responded the first few times he had done so, but this time she blinked, much to his relief.

She blinked again, seemingly confused.

“Are you okay?” Danny asked her.

“Huh?” She looked only more confused.

“What happened?” Danny prodded.

Sam frowned. “What are you talking about? Nothing happened.”

Danny glanced over his shoulder to share a concerned look with Tucker. “Uhh… don’t you remember? You saw those weird plants, and then you got all weird.”

“Yeah. Like a zombie or something,” Tucker added.

Sam scowled. “No, I didn’t. We just flew by some ghostly plant island, so what?”

Her scowl only deepened as it became clear that that answer wasn’t enough for either of the boys. “I’m fine,” she all but snarled. “So knock it off.”

Okay, so Sam was definitely not fine. But before Danny could say anything, Tucker sat up in his seat and pointed straight ahead. “Land ho!”

Their attention was drawn to the sight past the windshield, which was a large, floating island. Clustered atop it was a group of buildings in patterns of white and gold, with tall, grecian pillars that looked as if they had long withstood the test of time.

“It looks very… Greek,” Tucker observed as they flew towards the island.

Danny nodded in agreement. “This must be the place Frostbite told us about.”

Sam folded his arms over her chest as she leaned back in her seat. “Well, let’s hope these locals are as friendly as the last ones.”

As it turned out, they didn’t have to worry about whether the locals were friendly or not, because there were no locals. The streets were completely devoid of any semblance of life. (Well, they were usually devoid of life in the Ghost Zone, but like, there were no ghosts to be seen, y’know?) Doors were shut, torches smoldered in their sconces, and curtains fluttered eerily in empty windows. It was like a ghost town—well, okay, all towns in the Ghost Zone were technically ghost towns. But this one?

It was straight up abandoned.

“Where is everybody?” Tucker wondered aloud as he landed the Specter Speeder in what looked like the town square. In front of them was a large, official looking building that looked like something straight out of Ancient Greece.

“No idea,” Danny replied as he stood and opened the hatch.

“Be careful,” Sam warned him. “We don’t need to add ‘rescuing you’ to our checklist today.”

“I’ll be fine,” Danny said with a dismissive wave of his hand. Then he stepped out onto the cobbled street.

Danny only managed to take a couple of steps away from the Speeder before a booming voice shouted at him. “STOP! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Danny jumped like a spooked cat as he turned towards the voice, and he froze when he saw the ghost standing in the doorway of the large building.

The ghost was tall. Like, double Thanatos’ height and then some tall. She was wearing golden plate armor with a matching plumed helmet, and a floor-length yellow and black Grecian-style dress. Her skin was blue, her eyes were red, and her hair was a fiery magenta that flickered dangerously from underneath her helmet. And as if that wasn’t scary enough, she had four arms, one of which was holding a massive spear, which shined with a radiant energy that was just waiting to be unleashed.

All in all? Very intimidating.

Danny quickly threw up his hands in what he meant as a placating gesture; he did not feel like becoming a Danny-kebab today, thank you very much.

The ghost stepped closer. And to his surprise, she froze.

“Lord Ath—uh. You… w-what are you doing here?” The ghost stammered, as if she was the one that was surprised.

Danny slowly and cautiously lowered his hands. “Umm… you must be Pandora, right?” He asked her nervously. “Frostbite said that you could help me? And my friends?”

The ghost blinked as she regained her composure. “Yes. I am Pandora. But no, I cannot help you. Not right now.”

“What? Why not?” Danny asked, confused. Frostbite had said…

“Someone… someone has been taking my people,” Pandora explained slowly. Cautiously, even. As if she was carefully choosing her words. “And if you do not leave now, you will be taken as well.”

Though alarmed by her words, Danny felt frustration begin to bubble deep in his gut. They had come so far to find Pandora, only for her to tell them that she couldn’t help? First the Specter Speeder broke down, stranding them in the Far Frozen for hours, then Sam got possessed by a weird plant island, and now this? Why was everything working against him when he was just trying to find Ellie?!

“Is there anything you can do to help?” Danny asked her, trying his best not to sound like a whiny child.

Pandora thought for a moment before responding carefully. “That depends on what you need help with.”

“I’m looking for someone who looks like me, but female.”

There was a spark of recognition in her eyes. Hope swelled like a balloon in Danny’s chest.

“I see,” Pandora hummed thoughtfully. “Unfortunately, the person you seek does not dwell in this realm. Nor does she visit often.”

Danny visibly deflated. Another dead end.

Well, not exactly. Pandora at least seemed to know who he was talking about.

Before Danny could ask her another question, she continued. “Perhaps you would have better luck finding her if you asked her father.”

Danny bit back a growl. “As if I would ask him for help.” Vlad was the reason why all of this was happening in the first place!

Pandora sighed as she gave Danny a look—one that was very similar to his mom’s whenever she was disappointed in him. “That is unfortunate to hear. I thought he might help you, as you are his kin.”

Wait. What?

Pandora continued once more, before Danny could correct her or ask her what on earth she was talking about. “Regretfully, there is nothing I can do to aid you in your plight. But I hope that you may reconcile with him soon. Your grandfather is so fond of you.”

Uhh… “Who?”

Pandora blinked, as if she was the one that had the right to be confused. “Your mother’s father, of course. Isn’t she the one you are looking for?”

Just then, a howl split through the silence of the abandoned city, followed by others, and a chill filled the air. It sounded like a pack of dogs far off in the distance, but there was something… off-putting about it. Something that Danny couldn’t quite put his finger on, but it sent a huge shiver down his spine and made his knees begin to tremble.

“The Hounds of the Damned!” Pandora gasped fearfully. She turned to look at Danny, her expression panicked. “You have to go! Now!”

Danny didn’t have time to speak or do anything else as Pandora picked him up in just one hand (holy cow, she was big) and pushed him back into the Specter Speeder. Before he could even regain his footing, Pandora picked up the Speeder like it weighed nothing and lifted it up so she could stare at them eye to eye through the windshield.

“Promise me that you will head home right now,” the gigantic ghost urged. “It is not safe for you here.”

“But I can help!” Danny argued. Whatever was howling, it was scaring Pandora. It had to have something to do with her people being taken. And Danny couldn’t just run away and leave her to face it on her own. What kind of ___ would he be?

Danny’s train of thought hit the brakes as he realized that he couldn’t… he couldn’t remember the word, for some reason. But he knew the word. Both Thanatos and Hades had mentioned it before. They had called him the… the ruler of the Ghost Zone. The…

King?

Why did he keep forgetting that?

The howling grew closer, and it made Danny’s hair stand on end. Any previous thoughts he may have been having were pushed from his mind by a strong, almost overwhelming urge to flee.

“Please, Danny! Promise me you will go home now!” Pandora pleaded. “I cannot protect you if she gets a hold of you!”

The mix of hatred and fear that rang in Pandora’s voice with that single word—she—only made Danny more concerned. More insistent on standing his ground. “What? Who?” If something could scare someone like Pandora as badly as this… if someone was out to get him… then that was all the more reason for him to stay and fight. “Who are you—”

“Danny, please. Let’s go,” Sam begged.

Danny turned to look at his friends, ready to argue, but he faltered when he saw them. They were both pale and shaky, as if all the blood had drained from their faces. Tucker was staring straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel with whitened knuckles. Sam’s fingers were digging into her seat as she looked at Danny with a look that he could only describe as petrified.

The howl sounded again, closer than before, and Danny watched helplessly as his friends winced and cowered, as if they were being tormented by some unseen force.

Danny clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. As much as he wanted to stay and help Pandora with this unknown threat, he wasn’t about to put Sam and Tucker in harm’s way.

“Alright,” Danny said bitterly. “We’ll leave. But I’m coming back to help you!”

Pandora smiled, relief washing over her worried expression. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Danny. Now, go!”

Pandora lifted her hand above her head, and (with a little prompting from Danny) Tucker flew the Specter Speeder out of there as quickly as he could, the howls calling after them sounding like those of an enraged beast.

And as they flew away, Danny realized something: he had never told Pandora his name.

That wasn’t too strange though, was it? After all, he was Danny Phantom. He was well-known throughout the Ghost Zone, as both a hero and a menace. Frostbite had known who he was, even though they’d never met. Maybe it was the same with Pandora.

… maybe.

“Are we really going home?” Sam asked as the Speeder’s engines worked to drown out the awful howling. She still looked shaken, but she managed to give Danny a knowing look; she knew that he wasn’t going to give up the search for Ellie that easily.

“Not yet,” Danny admitted as he took his seat. “We still have one more place to visit.”

~~~~

Once the eerie howls had died away, Sam and Tucker collapsed in their seats. They were still pale and shaky, and Danny swore he could see a few dried tears on Tucker’s face. The howls had been unnerving, sure, but they were clearly more affected than Danny had been. As Danny got his friends sitting down in the back with some bottled water and wrapped a Fenton Shock Blanket around their shoulders, he wondered just what that had been. The howling… it wasn’t just noise. There must’ve been some weird energy behind it. Some dark magic, maybe? He really didn’t know much about that stuff just yet, but… maybe he could ask Thanatos about it when he saw him again. The Hounds of the Damned definitely sounded like something that the god would have at least some knowledge about.

Danny took the driver’s seat, but then he hesitated. He knew where he wanted to go next, but… he didn’t know where it was. He had only ever seen it from the inside.

But if anyone could help him find where Ellie had gone… it would be Clockwork.

He just needed to figure out how to find him first.

Tentatively, Danny inched the Specter Speeder forward. These surroundings were kinda familiar, right? Maybe? (Though if he was being honest, all of the Ghost Zone kinda looked the same to him.) It was mostly just green emptiness around them, but there were some chunks of rock floating in the distance ahead. Did that mean there would be more civilization that way? Maybe another island? Or were those just some random rocks?

Just as he was wondering which way he should go, Danny saw something move. He looked at the rocks again, and saw someone peeking out from behind one, smiling. And then she stuck her tongue out at him.

Ellie!

Sam and Tucker made sounds of surprise as Danny abruptly stepped on the gas, sending the Specter Speeder zooming forward without any warning. They reached the floating rocks in less than a minute, but as Danny hit the brakes and quickly looked around, he realized that Ellie was nowhere in sight.

What in the…?

“Danny, what was that?” Sam asked angrily. “Are you trying to give us concussions?”

“I thought I saw…” Danny trailed off as he realized just how crazy he sounded. Oh, I just thought I saw Ellie playing peek-a-boo with me in the middle of freaking nowhere, Ghost Zone, USA. Silly me!

But as Danny began to question his sanity, his gaze wandered out past the windshield, and he saw what looked like a cog. More specifically, one of the cogs he had seen floating outside the window of Clockwork’s Tower.

Danny gripped the steering wheel again. “Buckle up, guys.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Tucker muttered as he sat down in one of the seats and bundled himself up in the blanket. “Though you might wanna work on your lead foot.”

Danny rolled his eyes at the snarky comment, but once his friends were buckled in, he did set off a little more smoothly than before. He steered the Speeder towards the floating clockwork gear, and as they drew near he saw another, and then another. They led him forward like a trail of breadcrumbs, and with each one Danny only grew more sure that they were heading in the right direction.

But only ten minutes into their drive, Tucker began to whine.

“Danny, can you stop? You’ve been driving aimlessly for hours.”

Danny scowled, annoyed at his impatience. “Tucker, it’s only been a few minutes!”

“Nuh-uh!” Tucker leaned forward and held out his PDA for Danny to see. “According to my PDA, you’ve been driving for 3 hours and 16 minutes! I’m bored and hungry! Hangry, even! My stomach can’t take this anymore!”

Danny took the PDA from Tucker as Sam, who looked as if she had just woken up, popped open the overhead compartment and pulled out a bag of Fenton Jerky, which she handed to Tucker.

“Oh!” Tucker took the bag and ripped it open, taking a deep whiff of the dried meat. “Well, I suppose we can go a little longer.”

But Danny wasn’t paying attention to Tucker. Instead, he was staring at the time listed on the PDA: 3:41 PM.

That couldn’t be right…

Danny pulled out his own phone and checked the time. 11:38 AM. And the clock on the Speeder’s dashboard read 12:35. “Sam, can I see your phone for a sec?”

Sam rolled her eyes as she handed over her phone. “Tuck’s right, Danny. We’ve been out here all day. We should head home for now.”

Danny took her phone and checked the display.

5:39 PM.

“Umm, guys? Look at this.” Danny laid out the phones and PDA on the dashboard, and when his friends saw the conundrum Tucker pulled out his own phone, checking its time for good measure.

Tucker frowned. “What in the…?”

“Watch out!” Sam yelled.

Danny looked up through the windshield, and just barely managed to steer the Speeder out of the way of a large, fast-approaching gear. The size of a tractor wheel, it narrowly rolled past them, and Danny realized that they had reached their destination. Floating before them was a dark and gloomy clock tower. One that Danny recognized instantly, even though he had never seen it from the outside.

Clockwork’s Tower.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Woof, had to cut this chapter in half… again. So I guess it's really been cut into thirds. 😅 Up next, Clockwork! Our favorite confusing time ghost man. Does he know where Ellie is? Hmm… I guess we'll have to wait and see. 😉

First: Prologue

Previous: Chapter 36

Sam, Tucker, and Ellie all turned their attention to Danny, their faces twisted with varying degrees of confusion. But Danny had no answer for them—he was just as confused, if not more so. Thanatos wasn’t a man—well, a god of many words, but… that had been a strange reaction, even for him. And the look on his face… If Danny hadn’t known better, he would’ve thought that the god looked… scared.

“Who was that?!” Ellie demanded to know; it was obvious that she was still spooked from the brief encounter. “What’s going on?”

“That… was Thanatos,” Danny said slowly, still a bit stunned from everything that had just gone down. “My mentor. I… don’t know where he went. Uhh…”

Danny shook his head in an attempt to knock the brain fog out of it. The adrenaline still coursing through his veins wasn’t enough to help him piece his thoughts together, to process what had happened to him in the course of just a few… what, hours, maybe? How long had it been? How long had he been trapped here, in Vlad’s freaky mansion in the middle of who knew where?

Ellie crossed her arms with a scowl. “Oh, thanks! That explains just about nothing.”

“I know! I know.” Danny groaned as he dragged his hand down his face. “Look, there’s a lot to explain, and I’d rather not do it here, if that’s alright with you.” He looked disdainfully at the wrecked lab around them. The nasty smelling candles had all gone out at some point during the fight, but their stench still lingered in the air. All the complex, expensive-looking machinery had clearly been damaged beyond repair. And Vlad was still crumpled on the floor, where he had fallen when Ellie had kicked him. His nose was swollen and quickly turning a reddish-purple. “I don’t want to be here when Sleeping Beauty wakes up.”

Ellie’s gaze flicked over to the unconscious halfa, and her frustration was immediately replaced by a look that was halfway between fear and heartbreak. Danny knew that this was all hard for her. Well, “hard for her” was a big understatement. He couldn’t even begin to understand what she was going through—what it was like for her whole world to come crashing down with just a few cruel words. What was it like for her to have to turn on the only father that she had ever known?

Danny didn’t know. But if he was being honest, Vlad deserved much more than a broken nose.

A hand brushed Danny’s arm, and when he turned he saw Sam and Tucker standing next to him, looks of worry evident on their faces. Oh, right. Right. They were here, they… how had they even gotten here? How…?

The creaking of metal settling drew Danny’s attention, and he was reminded of the crashed, slightly wrecked Specter Speeder, sitting in a mountain of rubble. Oh, right. That was how they had gotten there. And Danny knew that his parents never would have let his friends borrow their super expensive, super dangerous hovercraft, which meant that Sam and Tucker had probably stolen it. Which meant that the three of them were in for a world of trouble when they got home.

And yet… they had done it for him. Even with how cruddy of a friend he had been lately, and even though they were most definitely going to get in trouble for skipping school, and for stealing the Specter Speeder, and then taking it on a cross-country joy ride, they had still done it. To save him.

Tucker opened his mouth—likely to make a snarky remark about Danny’s lack of gratitude—but Danny beat him to the punch. He grabbed both of his friends and pulled them into a (thankfully not literally) bone-crushing hug, rudely squishing the air from their lungs in the process.

“Oh, thank you!” Danny gushed. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, you guys!”

“No problem,” Tucker wheezed weakly.

“No, seriously!” Danny continued. “Thank you. If it hadn’t been for you guys, I—have I said thank you yet?”

“Yes.” Sam deadpanned, and with a well-placed elbow to Danny’s ribs, she freed herself from the embrace. “You did. Like, a dozen times already.”

Okay, maybe he had. But honestly, friends like his deserved all the thanks in the world. If it hadn’t been for them… if it hadn’t been for Ellie—

Danny whirled around to thank her as well, but to his surprise she was gone. A quick scan of the room revealed that she was nowhere in sight; she must have left the room while he was chatting with his friends.

His joy quickly overridden by concern, Danny started toward the doorway, but he only made it a few steps before his legs gave out.

“Danny!” Sam rushed over and knelt beside him, Tucker close behind. “What are you—”

“Ellie. She—” Danny pushed himself back to his feet, trying to ignore the way that his head spun like a top. “I need to find her.”

“Dude, you need to sit down,” Tucker told him. “Before you fall down. Again, that is.”

“But—”

“Danny, think about yourself for a moment!” Sam hissed, looking at him like he was crazy (a look that she gave him rather often). “You’ve been running yourself ragged with school, and patrols, and your apprenticeship. And now you’ve been kidnapped, and from the looks of it, tortured!”

Okay, well… he could see why she would think that, with the containment pods and wrist restraints and the frankly evil looking computer panel remnants on the far wall. And honestly, being zapped like a cheap burrito in a microwave while Vlad tried to steal his DNA hadn’t been particularly… enjoyable experience. Heck, he was pretty sure he could smell the singed ends of his own hair.

But that didn’t matter right now. He had been through worse, but Ellie? She was literally destabilizing! Falling apart at the seams! He had seen it with his own eyes. And he couldn’t let her go off on her own in that state. He needed to help her. How, he didn’t know yet, but… she didn’t deserve to die, melting into a pile of lifeless green goop. Maybe… maybe he could find something in his parents lab. Heck, maybe Thanatos knew something, or knew someone that knew something? But… Danny couldn’t let her…

Danny sank to his knees again as black spots danced in his vision. Now that the adrenaline had faded, he did not feel good. Maybe he could try some more of that ambrosia? But Thanatos had warned him not to. And going against a god’s instructions likely wasn’t the best idea.

“Tucker, get the Specter Speeder up and running.” Sam ordered as she hooked her arm under Danny’s shoulders and helped him to his feet. He tried to protest, but she shut him up with just one look. “We’ll find her, okay? But first, we’re taking you home.”

After a moment, Danny gave a weak nod. “Okay.”

------------------------

Danny breathed a heavy sigh as he closed his bedroom door. His ears were still ringing from the scolding he and his friends had just received from not only Danny’s parents, but also their teacher, Mr. Lancer. (Why had he scolded Danny? Danny hadn’t told his friends to skip school, or to call Mr. Lancer “old man.” (Why Tucker had thought that was a good idea, Danny would never know. Though it was true, it had only made their teacher angrier. Much, much angrier.))

He had expected the scolding to go on well into the night, but for some reason… things had gotten a little weird at the end.

“I didn’t know you could overshadow people from a distance, Danny,” Sam commented as she picked up a basketball from the messy bedroom floor. “That’s pretty cool.”

“That’s the thing,” Danny said slowly as he gave his friends an uneasy look. “I can’t.”

The atmosphere grew tense—chilly, even—with that revelation, but Tucker wasn’t one to be so easily deterred. “Maybe you’re just more powerful than you think!” He suggested helpfully.

“Maybe.” Danny muttered. But he didn’t believe it. He knew he hadn’t overshadowed anyone—but at the same time, whoever had overshadowed his mom and Mr. Lancer hadn’t seemed… evil, as crazy as that sounded.

But who…?

A giggle rang through the air, but it didn’t come from any of the room’s occupants. Danny turned around and saw none other than Ellie, floating outside the open bedroom window. She smiled as she gave them a wave. “Consider that a thank you for saving me from Vlad.”

Danny was relieved to see that she was alright, but as he looked closer he noticed that she looked different from when they had last seen her. She seemed happier. And healthier—it almost looked like she was glowing. But the biggest difference was her clothes. She was wearing a black tunic with silvery-white detailing, white boots, and a pocket watch clipped to her belt.

“What? What are you—” Danny began, but she cut him off.

“I can’t stay long,” Ellie told them quickly. “But you will see me again. Promise.”

And with a wink, she turned and flew away into the sunset, leaving Danny with more questions, and no answers.

------------------------

As the school year started to reach its end, there began to be talk of summer plans. For some, summer meant freedom, with cross-country road trips or fun family vacations. For others, it meant summer school. For Danny… well, technically he could say he was going to summer camp. Just not a regular, normal summer camp, where normal kids would go. No, Danny would be going to a camp several states away, where he would learn less than normal things, such as how to fight monsters and how to make your own weaponry.

For Danny, summer meant returning to Camp Half-Blood.

He supposed he was excited to return. Sure, he’d had a bit of a rough start when he first visited, but it had turned out alright by the end. If he thought about it, he was really more nervous than anything else. He would be states away from his home, in unfamiliar territory, with no friends to watch his back. Well, no friends that really knew him, that was. Annabeth was his friend. Sunny and Aura were his friends. But they were all demigods. Sam and Tucker? They were plain old humans. And plain old humans couldn’t go to Camp Half-Blood. Danny was sure of that. After all, he’d asked Thanatos at least a dozen times if they could come “for just a week or two.” And the answer had always been the same: a firm “no.” Apparently having some godly blood in your veins was a requirement for attendance (which made sense, considering the camp’s name), but that didn’t make sense, since Danny didn’t have any godly blood either! But Thanatos had simply said that that was different, and refused to discuss it further.

Well, if Danny was going to go a whole summer without his best friends, then he needed to start making up for it now. Movies, sleepovers, trips to the arcade, and plenty of tasty junk food… there was plenty to do, not including their nightly patrols and unplanned ghost hunts. And… one more thing, that had been on Danny’s mind since they got back from Colorado.

The bell rang just then, signaling the end of another school day, and counting down one day closer to summer break. As the other students hurried out of the classroom, Danny took a moment to stretch and rub the sleepiness from his eyes. He was surprised he had managed to stay awake for the whole period, considering the fact he’d been up all night worrying about, well… Ellie.

“Wow,” Sam remarked dryly as she sat down on the edge of his desk. “You look like death.”

Danny chuckled. “I don’t look like him at all. He’s like, what, six-ten and looks like he belongs on the cover of a fancy menswear magazine?”

Sam wasn’t nearly as amused at Danny’s joke as he was, if the dramatic roll of her eyes was anything to go by. “That’s not what I meant and you know it, Danny.”

“Yeah, but it was funny,” Danny insisted jokingly. “And as Death’s apprentice and all that, I’m practically required to make that joke.”

Sam shook her head with a sigh. “Whatever you say, Ghost Boy.” But then she fixed him with a knowing look, that saw right through his facade. “Now tell me what’s on your mind. Did you even sleep last night?”

Danny sighed as his gaze dropped to his lap. “… I’m worried about Ellie,” he admitted quietly.

“She seemed okay the last time we saw her,” Sam pointed out. “Great, even. You saw how easily she overshadowed Mr. Lancer and your mom on Monday.”

“Yeah, but…” Danny trailed off as he stood and slung his backpack over his shoulder. How could he say it without sounding paranoid? How could he say that something… hadn’t felt right about that interaction. Ellie… how could she have recovered that quickly? In just the few short hours it took them to get home, she had gotten a wardrobe change, stabilized her ghostly DNA, and shaken off the trauma of her whole life being turned upside down?

Danny found that pretty unlikely. He just… he just needed to see her again. He needed to talk to her, and learn what had happened after she disappeared. He just needed to know that she was okay. That she was safe.

“Hey.” Sam placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “If you’re that worried, we can go look for her, alright?”

“Look for who?” Tucker piped up from the doorway; he must’ve come looking for them when they didn’t meet up at one of their lockers.

“Danny’s worried about Ellie,” Sam told him as the three of them made their way out of the classroom.

“Can’t you just ask your mentor about her?” Tucker asked with a little wiggle of his fingers. “He can track ghosts and all that, can’t he?”

“Well, that’s… another thing…” Danny muttered. He hadn’t seen or heard from Thanatos since Monday, in Vlad’s laboratory. Any attempts to contact him through their marks hadn’t gone through.

“Alright, that settles it,” Sam said decisively. “We’re searching for Ellie, and we’re not stopping until we find her.”

“What homework are you trying to put off?” Tucker asked teasingly.

Sam scowled. “Shut it, Tuck.” Then she looked at Danny, and her expression softened. “What do you say?”

After a moment of thought, Danny nodded. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”

------------------------

Okay, so maybe an impromptu after-school ghost hunt for a ghost that they had no idea where to look for hadn’t been their best idea. Especially when they had decided that the first place they would look would be the ominous, otherworldly dimension known as the Ghost Zone. They had planned for their disappearance by telling their parents that they were all sleeping at Sam’s house for the night (since it was unlikely her parents would even check up on them). Tucker had packed snacks. Danny had even drawn out a map of the Ghost Zone and all the locations they knew, so they could mark them off one by one until they found Ellie.

But none of them had thought to make sure that the repairs on the Specter Speeder were finished before heading off.

.

All things considered, they were lucky that the Speeder had gotten as far as it did before things went horribly wrong. They had entered the Ghost Zone with no problems, save for a couple of strange sounds from the engine when Tucker first started the poor machine. And the area just inside the Fenton Portal had been pretty barren when they arrived, with nary a ghost in sight. A welcome change for the ghost-fighting teens.

But then things had gotten quickly out of hand as a strong current of ectoplasm snatched the Speeder in its grasp, pulling them off their planned route.

“Uh, Tuck?” Danny gripped the edges of his seat tightly. “You got it, buddy?”

“Yeah, yeah!” Tucker replied quickly, but the sweat forming on his furrowed brow said otherwise. “Uhh, maybe. The thrusters, they… they’re not working.”

Suddenly, alarms began to blare, alerting them to what they already knew—something was terribly wrong with the Speeder. Danny undid his seatbelt and stood as Tucker fought to regain control of the vehicle, but it wasn’t looking good. The ecto-current was ferocious as it washed over the Speeder, and without the thrusters, there was no way they’d be able to drive it back out. And even if they wanted to just ride it out until the current ebbed to a stop (which they didn’t, thank you very much), Danny wasn’t sure if the Specter Speeder would hold out that long, if the way the walls were rattling was anything to go by. Just how banged up had the Specter Speeder been after crashing into Vlad’s lab? It had gotten them home in one piece, so why was it choosing to give out now?

“Danny!” Sam cried as the Speeder began to roll.

Danny grabbed onto the back of Tucker’s seat, barely managing to keep on his feet. “Tucker!” He shouted over the sound of the Speeder being shaken apart. “We need to get off this ride!”

“Working on it!” Tucker shouted back as he pulled on the steering wheel with all his might.

The Specter Speeder shuddered like it was going to fall apart at any second, as it tried its best to escape the raging ecto-current. Danny and Sam both grabbed onto the steering wheel and together, the three friends managed to turn it to the side, directing the ship out of the current. The wheel bucked and fought against them, but they held fast, and at last the nose of the Speeder broke free of the swirling torrent of ectoplasm.

For a split second, there was relief. And then the moment was filled with screaming as the Speeder slipped from the current and immediately careened out of control. Tucker tried to reign in the out-of-control vehicle, but the steering wheel spun uselessly in its column; it had broken loose.

“Danny! Do something!” Sam shouted.

Thinking quickly, Danny planted his hands on the dashboard and tried something he had never tried before. With all the focus he could muster, he willed the ectoplasm surrounding the Specter Speeder to grab them and slow their descent. He had never done something like this before, but he knew that powerful ghosts were able to shape the ectoplasm around them. He had seen it before. Just once or twice. But only in the lairs of the ghosts doing so (Skulker was a prime example; he loved manipulating the ectoplasm in his lair to make all sorts of death traps).

Well, according to his friends (and some of his enemies), Danny was one powerful ghost. Maybe he could shape ectoplasm without a lair.

“C’mon, c’mon, please work,” Danny pleaded desperately as sweat dripped down his face. “Please work!”

And then, to his relief and utter disbelief, something did happen. He wasn’t sure what, but he could feel something shift, both inside himself and in the realm around him, and then the Specter Speeder began to slow, cocooned in the hold of the surrounding ectoplasm.

“It’s working!” Tucker cried in relief.

“But not fast enough!” Sam shouted, ruining the moment. “Look!”

Sure enough, sprawling in front of them was what looked like a frozen wasteland, that stretched as far as the eye could see. And they were approaching it far too quickly for any sort of safe landing to take place.

Danny threw his arms around his friends and held them tight, in hopes that he could somehow protect them from the inevitable crash. “Brace yourselves!”

But the inevitable crash never came. One second, they were careening to their doom at top speed. And the next… they weren’t. Danny opened his eyes and cautiously peered through the windshield, and what he saw was an unusual sight. The Specter Speeder was coated in what appeared to be… ice. And through the ice covering the window, Danny could just barely make out large figures. Who or what they were, Danny didn’t know, but it seemed that they had come to the rescue, and Danny was beyond grateful for the help.

“Are we dead?” Tucker whimpered, his hands clamped tightly over his eyes.

“I don’t think so,” Sam answered warily as she looked out the windshield. “What is this, Danny?”

Danny could only give a helpless shrug. “I don’t know. But I think we’re about to find out.”

Vlad POV:

In Vladimir’s mind, today truly couldn’t get any worse. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment and resources, years of research and work, all wasted. Destroyed, by Jack Fenton’s brat of a son and his own sorry excuse for a daughter. It would take months to get his lab back in working order, but there was no replacing the lost DNA samples and computer files. He knew he should’ve backed them up, he just… hadn’t gotten around to it yet, for pity’s sake!

And now he supposed he never would.

Vlad snarled in anger as he reached the top of the basement stairs and stumbled his way towards the parlour. He needed a drink. Everything hurt, but especially his face. The last thing he remembered was Danielle kicking him, right in the—

A sound halfway between a hiss and a whimper slipped past Vlad’s lips as he gingerly touched his broken nose. That ungrateful brat. When he got his hands on her, he would—

Both Vlad’s feet and his train of thought came to an abrupt stop when he entered the parlour and found that his armchair was already occupied. It had been moved, dragged in front of the roaring fireplace, and with the back of the chair facing him, all Vlad could make out of the intruder was a head full of stringy black hair.

Danielle? No, this person was far too tall, and their hands… Vlad could see the right one resting on the armrest, its long, spidery fingers tapping languidly against the leather upholstery. The skin was as white as snow.

Well, unfortunately for this trespasser, Vlad Masters was not in the mood for company right now.

But before Vlad could speak, the other person did so. A woman’s voice cut through the crackle of the splintering firewood, low and raspy in a way that instantly sent chills down the halfa’s spine.

“It’s a shame, really. I put so much effort into helping you, and it was all wasted.”

“What?” Was all that Vlad could muster in that moment, the sheer absurdity of the situation leaving him almost speechless. “Who are you?”

The fingers stopped tapping rather abruptly, the hand curling into a loose fist. When the woman spoke again, her voice had a hard edge of cold annoyance. “I’m the person you should be thanking for saving your sorry hide. You are dealing with beings of which you know nothing about, Vladimir Masters.”

The woman chuckled, and the sound echoed eerily through the room in a way that shouldn’t have been possible, sounding as if it was coming from everywhere, and yet nowhere. Vlad barely managed to keep himself from peeking over his shoulder, where he knew no one was.

“You see, the thing with Daniel is…” The woman continued slowly. Thoughtfully. “He has a very unique soul. His mentor would’ve found him the moment that you took him, had I not… intervened a little. Covered his soul’s ecto-signature with a bit of my own magic. However, once you let him get loose and activate his mark, there was nothing I could do.” Her voice took on a bitter tone then, a faint growl bubbling up underneath her words. “Apprentice marks are not so easily interfered with.”

Vlad’s patience was wearing thin. Whoever this woman was, she had long overstayed her welcome. Especially considering the fact that she wasn’t welcome in the first place. So with a sickly sweet voice full of venom, he asked again: “Excuse me, but who are you, and what are you doing in my house?”

There was no answer. And then the woman stood, slowly, the movement like a marionette being tugged around on its strings. And suddenly Vlad could feel as his voice caught in his throat, and his knees began to tremble, his fingers curling into tight, shaking fists as his mind screamed at his petrified body to run.

Slow and languid, as if she had not a care in the world, the woman turned to face him. She looked like a walking corpse, with a golden dress draped over her bony frame. The right half of her body was white like chalk, while the left half was a charred black. Her hair was like a burial shroud, as black as night as it fell over her shoulders and down her back in thin, inky strands. And her eyes? Two bottomless pits, in which Vlad saw a vision of his own body crumbling to dust.

A choked sound of terror forced its way out of his throat, but when he blinked the vision was gone. A smirk was pulled taut across the woman’s thin lips, but Vlad dared not look any higher on her face, for fear of seeing that… that nightmare again.

“I am Melinoe,” the woman said, and Vlad swore he could hear whispers mixed in her words, indiscernible yet terrifying all the same. “Goddess of nightmares, madness, and ghosts. The first halfa. And I have a proposition for you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ehehee, Melinoe is finally here. >:3

FYI, this Melinoe is not going to be anything like the Hades 2 Melinoe. This is the Percy Jackson Melinoe (which only showed up in a side story in the original book series, but still). We were hoping to introduce her long before Hades 2 was even announced, but uhh… here we are. 🤷‍♀️

First: Prologue

Previous: Chapter 35

Danny is Thanatos’ son. They will never be a romantic couple because they are father and son. If you are looking for Danny x Thanatos in this fic, then you will be disappointed, and we highly suggest that you look elsewhere, or write your own.

Thanatos turned back to face the god. “Is something the matter?” He asked, all the while wondering if he should try to find respite elsewhere. Hypnos’ chambers, perhaps? It was usually quite peaceful there, but Thanatos didn’t particularly feel like sleeping at the moment…

“Thanatos,” Hades said again, his hands falling into his lap as he stared at his feet. “I must speak with you.”

Thanatos walked over and came to a stop in front of Hades, waiting patiently for him to speak. But Hades refused to meet Thanatos’ gaze, seemingly more intent on staring at his own sandals. Thanatos wondered how long Hades would keep him standing there in silence before sending him away.

But after only a few seconds, Hades sighed. “I messed up…”

Thanatos frowned, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Hades ran his hand through his hair and growled in frustration. “I’m no better than my brothers,” he muttered bitterly. And when he finally looked up at Thanatos, his eyes were dark and troubled. “A few years ago… I was unfaithful to my wife.”

Thanatos was slightly taken aback. He had never known Hades to behave in such a way. “With whom? Does Persephone know?”

“A mortal woman,” Hades admitted somberly. “Her name is Althaea. Her husband had passed, and she had been praying to me incessantly, and Persephone was away with her mother, and…” Hades shook his head, slapping his hand against his temple with a frustrated growl. “It doesn’t matter. It does not excuse my actions. And no, Persephone knows nothing about this, or else I’m sure she would’ve done something drastic by now. I was hoping that this whole mess would just be a one time thing, and nothing would come of it! It was a mistake!” Hades’ voice rose with his insistence, but then it fell again as he continued his mournful confession. “But Althaea prayed to me again today, and I learned that she has a child. My child.” He groaned and dropped his head back into his hands. “What am I going to do, Thanatos?”

Thanatos remained silent, but after a brief pause he sat down beside his friend, his feathers ruffling slightly as little droplets of water splashed onto them from the fountain behind him. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Hades keeping this from Persephone (he knew both gods considered him to be their good friend, and he respected them both equally). But how Thanatos felt didn’t particularly matter—it wasn’t any of his business.

The fountain burbled peacefully as the two gods sat in silence, neither quite knowing what to say.

“Well, what do you feel like you should do?” Thanatos eventually inquired of his fellow god.

“I don’t know.” Hades admitted. “Althaea asked me for help. She says that she has no more food or money to care for herself and her—our child. As a husband, I want to just forget about this whole thing, but as a father… I want to care for my offspring.”

“Then do what you feel is right,” Thanatos suggested simply. “I am not sure why you needed my input on this matter.”

“Well…” Hades glanced at Thanatos before looking away awkwardly. “That’s… because I need your help.”

“With what?” Thanatos asked him, completely bewildered. “What could I possibly help with?”

Hades sighed and ran his hand through his hair once more. “I… want to meet my child. I want to get to know them. But I’m afraid of… messing it up, or… something. So… I want you there with me.”

“Like… emotional support?” Thanatos questioned.

Hades clapped his hands. “Yes! Exactly.”

“I don’t do emotions, Hades.”

“Thanatos…” Hades pouted like an unhappy toddler. “Please? Just this once?”

Thanatos was silent as he thought for a moment. He didn’t know what good having him along would do, but it wasn’t like it was a burden to him. Not much of one, anyway.

Thanatos sighed tiredly. “Alright. I will go with you.”

Hades immediately brightened—well, as much as the King of the Underworld could, anyway. “Really? You would do that for me, Thanatos?”

“Of course, Lord Hades,” Thanatos replied. “We are friends, are we not?”

.

They left for the mortal world a few days after Persephone’s return, with Hades claiming to his wife that he had to go check on some of his temples on the surface. Persephone, as bright and warm and lovely as always, had smiled and nodded and wished them safe travels. Thanatos had remained silent.

Hades, who seemed equal parts excited and anxious for this meeting, had opted to take the long route rather than just shadow-travel to the woman’s home—perhaps so he could have time to calm his nerves. So, draped in long, dark cloaks that hid them from the prying eyes of other deities, the two gods set off on their journey.

There wasn’t much conversation. They greeted Charon, and thanked him for their passage over the River Styx, but Thanatos otherwise remained silent for most of the trip, while Hades muttered quietly to himself. The king turned to Thanatos a few times, looking as if he were about to say something—perhaps to suggest that they should call off this whole escapade, and return home—but then he would just look away again, without a word.

As for Thanatos, he just stood there and waited for the boat to arrive on the far shores of the river. Going along with Hades meant he would have more work to catch up on once he returned to his duties, but it wasn’t like it would be much of a burden to him. Thanatos was used to the ceaseless work. It was more or less the same, day after day.

Nothing ever changed in his dull, unending life.

They reached one of the hidden cave entrances to the Underworld shortly after the sun had risen, and the morning dew on the plants surrounding them quickly dried up as they journeyed onwards through the world of the living. Hades had been at least somewhat composed back in the Underworld, but what little composure he’d had began to crumble as they reached the border of a small village.

“Oh, Gaea, what am I doing here?” Hades muttered anxiously. “This is a terrible idea! We should turn back.”

Hades turned on his heel and started back towards the cave, but Thanatos placed a hand on Hades’ shoulder, stopping his friend’s hasty movement. “Hades, we have come this far already,” Thanatos stated calmly. “We may as well complete our journey.”

“… you’re right, Thanatos.” Hades sighed in resignation. “Of course, you are right.”

After taking a moment to steel himself, Hades started towards the village again; Thanatos fell into step behind him, silent as a shade. Together, they walked along the outskirts of the town, sticking to the shadows to avoid unwanted attention as villagers emerged from their homes to go about the day’s work.

By mid-morning, they came upon a small house on the very edge of the town. Hades froze at the sight of the little homestead, as though he was suddenly petrified.

This must be their destination, then.

With each step they took towards the house, Hades seemed to become more and more tense. Thanatos quietly followed as they slowly approached, until they came to a stop at the door. Hades stared long and hard at the door, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He seemed conflicted.

Thanatos waited patiently.

Before Hades had managed to settle whatever internal debate had taken him over, the door opened. A woman with olive skin and long, dark, wavy hair in a messy bun stood at the threshold, holding a bucket. An uncomfortable silence reigned as Hades and the woman stared at each other, both seemingly surprised by the other’s presence.

“Hello, Althaea,” Hades greeted at last, finally breaking the silence.

The woman, Althaea, smiled and looked like she might say something in kind, but then her gaze shifted to the side and she finally noticed the death god standing behind Hades. Althaea gasped in terror and dropped the bucket, her face turning as pale as a ghost. She moved quickly to shut the door, but Hades stopped her.

“No! I won’t let you take me to the Underworld!” She cried fearfully. “I can’t go! I’m not ready!”

“Althaea, please calm down. We’re not here to take you anywhere,” Hades spoke quickly, trying to calm the mortal woman.

“Then why did you bring him?!” Althaea shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Thanatos.

“He’s just here as my friend,” Hades explained. “He’s not going to do anything to you, I promise.”

Several tense seconds passed as Althaea looked between Hades and Thanatos, until finally, the woman seemed to relax just a bit.

“Why are you here, Hades?” Althaea asked hesitantly. It was clear that she was being careful not to look Thanatos’ way, perhaps for fear that the two gods might change their minds about letting her live. Or perhaps she wanted to act like Thanatos wasn’t there, ominously looming over their shoulders. Thanatos didn’t care if she looked at him or not; he was used to being ignored.

“I’ve heard your prayers,” Hades answered, trying not to sound uncertain in front of the mortal woman. “And I, uhh… I am here to answer them.”

Althaea stared at the god in disbelief for a brief moment, before tears started to leak from her eyes. She stepped forward and threw her arms around Hades, who awkwardly returned the hug. Thanatos took a step back, unsure of what was going on. He didn’t care to be involved in whatever this was, so he would let Hades handle it; he was just here for Hades, anyway.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Althaea said between sobs, and her eyes shone with tears as she raised her head and smiled gratefully at Hades. “You have no idea how relieving it is to hear that.”

Hades offered a small smile in return, but it quickly fell away as he got to the true reason for his visit. “In your prayer, you… you mentioned a child?”

Althaea nodded as she stepped back and wiped her eyes. “Yes, I did. A daughter.” She then turned around and walked into the house, calling, “Dianthe!”

Thanatos stood beside his friend in silent support as the other god shifted nervously on his feet. Thanatos had seen Hades with his godly children, Melinoe and Zagreus, enough times to know he had a soft spot for children. So he didn’t understand why Hades was so nervous now.

Althaea returned to the doorway, and smiled at Hades as she said, “Lord Hades, meet your daughter, Dianthe.”

There was some movement behind the woman, and then a small child peeked out from behind her skirts. The girl couldn’t have been more than three years old, and her shockingly blue eyes instantly caught Thanatos’ attention. If this truly was Hades’ child, then he wondered where the eye color had come from; neither Hades nor Althaea had blue irises.

“Dianthe,” Althaea gently chided the child. “Quit being shy.”

The little girl hesitantly stepped out from behind her mother, her hand clinging tightly to her mother’s skirts as she came into view. And with just a glance, it was rather obvious that she was indeed Hades’ daughter. Her skin was ghostly pale, just like his, and contrasted sharply against her mother’s olive complexion. Her hair was also black and silky, and as straight as a reed. In fact, except for her eyes, she looked like a miniature version of her father.

Althaea gestured to Hades. “Dianthe, this is your father, Hades.”

Dianthe stared up at Hades with big, wide eyes. Hades stared right back, taking in his youngest child’s appearance with wonder. Hades briefly glanced at Thanatos, as if looking for reassurance, before crouching down to Dianthe’s eye level.

“Hello, Dianthe,” the god said softly.

Dianthe took a step back, trying to hide herself behind her mother once more. But Althaea shook her head and gently pushed her daughter forward. Dianthe, for her part, did not back away again as she stared at Hades in a childish mixture of shyness and curiosity.

“Ay… Ay-dee?” Dianthe finally spoke, sounding out her father’s name. Then she beamed. “Aydee!”

Hades smiled at his daughter’s butchered attempt at saying his name, and held his hands out to her in welcome. Dianthe giggled and toddled forward with her arms outstretched towards Hades. It looked to be second nature to Hades as he scooped his daughter up, and the little girl giggled as she was swung up into her father’s arms. Thanatos could’ve sworn there were tears in Hades’ eyes, but that easily could’ve been a trick of the light. Regardless, he was glad that his friend had finally found his courage. And perhaps it hadn’t been such a burden to Thanatos to come along after all.

.

After Althaea invited them into her humble home, Thanatos stood off to the side while Hades and Althaea discussed matters amongst themselves, such as what Hades could do to provide for her and their child. Well, Hades was trying to, at least. Althaea seemed more interested in discussing the weather or something just as inane as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. Thanatos didn’t care much for their conversation, so he just looked out the window overlooking the nearby fields and tuned it out.

Maybe he should check his list while they talked… he wondered how many souls had been added to it in the short time he had been away… Did Hades even still need him here? Perhaps Thanatos could just leave and get back to his work before it got too out of hand… mortals were always dying, no matter what was going on in the world. Dying, dying, dying, and leaving Thanatos with far too much to do…

Something small latched onto the bottom of Thanatos’ wing, drawing him out of his thoughts. He looked over his shoulder, and saw Dianthe standing behind him, her hands buried in his feathers.

She looked up at him, her big blue eyes bright with curiosity. “Mine?”

“Uhh… no…” Thanatos answered slowly, and he shook his wing gently to try and get the little child to let go, but not strongly enough to knock her over. “That is… uhh, mine, thank you.”

Dianthe’s grip tightened painfully, and she tugged on his feathers as she angrily stomped her foot. “Mine!”

The sound of snickering reached Thanatos’ ears, and he saw that Hades had his mouth hidden behind his hand, an amused glint in his eyes. Althaea was watching too, though she didn’t look anywhere near as amused. Thanatos gave the other god an annoyed glare before directing his attention back to the little girl.

“Hey, that’s not nice,” Thanatos scolded quietly. “Don’t pull on my feathers, please.”

“Oh…” Dianthe let go of his wing, and her eyes turned shiny with tears as she frowned worriedly. “Hurt?”

“I mean… yes?” Thanatos answered uncertainly. Was Dianthe about to cry? Why?

Dianthe whimpered as she reached for his feathers again, but this time she gently—gently for a child, anyway—brushed them, as if she were petting a dog.

“Pretty bird…” Dianthe mumbled to herself, loud enough for the other occupants of the room to hear. “Pretty bird…”

Thanatos did not know how to respond to that. He wasn’t a bird. Didn’t this child know that? Thanatos also didn’t know how he felt about his wing being petted, but he did know that if he tried to pull his wing away, Dianthe would likely start crying again. For whatever strange reason.

“I’m not sure I want her to be so close to… him.” Althaea muttered to Hades, as if she thought that Thanatos couldn’t hear her.

Hades scoffed good-naturedly. “I am her father. I say it’s fine.”

Althaea scowled at the god. “And I’m her mother…”

Thanatos tuned out the rest of their argument just as Dianthe sneezed. She had been nuzzling her face into his feathers, so he guessed that one must have tickled her nose in the process.

Dianthe sniffled a bit, and then proceeded to wipe her nose on Thanatos’ wing.

“Dianthe!” Althaea gasped, horrified by her child’s actions. “I am so sorry, m-my lord! She’s not usually like this, I-I swear—”

Thanatos waved off her concern. “It is alright. I have been covered in far worse than mucus.” Which really, he had. As the god of death, and Ares’ good friend, blood and bits of viscera often found its way into Thanatos’ feathers.

Althaea paled at the implication of his words. “… ah.”

Dianthe giggled.

As morning became noon, it was eventually time for Hades and Thanatos to take their leave. Hades stood by the door, waiting for Thanatos, who was still being held somewhat captive by a three-year-old. Thanatos gingerly attempted to pull his wing away, but to his dismay, Dianthe’s eyes immediately filled with tears and she began to cry again.

Thanatos glanced at Hades, his eyes asking the other god, “what do I do?”

Hades looked just as unsure, and shrugged hopelessly in response—but Thanatos could tell that the other god was holding back a smirk.

“Come on, Dianthe,” Althaea chided, grabbing the little girl and pulling her away. “Leave him alone.”

Dianthe let out a tearful wail, but finally released Thanatos’ wing from her grubby hands. Thanatos shook out his wing, briefly noting that he would have to thoroughly clean his feathers later (were child hands always so sticky?), and tucked it behind his back before joining Hades by the door.

“Thank you for blessing us with your presence, Hades,” Althaea said with a polite bow. “I hope you will visit again soon.” She winked at Hades with a coy smile.

Hades smiled uncomfortably in response. “I am a very busy god. I doubt I'll be able to visit often.”

Althaea hummed as she turned her attention to her daughter. “Say goodbye, Dianthe.” She told the little girl, gesturing to Hades.

Instead, Dianthe looked at Thanatos and waved. “Bye bye, birdie!”

Thanatos looked at the little girl, who for whatever reason seemed to be enamored with him, and hesitantly gave her a little wave. He then watched in bewilderment as Dianthe’s eyes lit up, and she giggled as she hid behind her mother.

Without another word, Hades and Thanatos slipped out of the little home and returned to the path they had taken earlier that day, heading back to their home beneath the surface.

They traveled in peaceful silence for only a little while before Hades spoke.

“My daughter seems to like you more than me,” Hades muttered enviously, but there was a clear note of amusement in his voice.

Thanatos scoffed. “If you’re jealous, you can grow your own set of wings and let her pull your feathers out.”

Hades chuckled. “No, thanks. I’ll pass.”

The conversation between the two gods as they made their way back to their home was far more lighthearted than the one they’d had that morning. But as they reached the caves that led back to the Underworld, Hades stopped and grabbed Thanatos’ shoulder.

“Thanatos,” he said quietly. “Once we return to the Underworld, we cannot discuss what happened today. If Persephone were to find out…”

Thanatos nodded. He understood. Of course he did. If Persephone were to learn of Hades’ infidelity, or the offspring that it had resulted in…

All of them would face her wrath.

.

A year had passed, and Persephone had once again left and returned to the Underworld, before Hades suggested visiting his daughter again.

“May I join you?” Thanatos asked him. Why he asked, he wasn’t sure—the words had just slipped from his mouth before he even realized it.

“Yes, I… I would appreciate that,” Hades admitted sheepishly. “I’m still a bit nervous about this whole thing, you know.”

Thanatos did not know, but he nodded as if he did. He didn’t particularly understand Hades’ feelings, or care for the god’s love affair. However, he was… intrigued by the little girl that had come from it. It was strange, to not only be noticed by someone so small and fragile, but… to not be feared. Perhaps she didn’t know better; she couldn’t possibly understand death, or the sorrow and fear that it brought.

Maybe Thanatos shouldn’t come along on this trip. Perhaps it would simply be better to leave the little demigod well enough alone until the time came for her soul to be collected. He did not need to interfere in her life, or inadvertently cause any undue trouble for her by getting involved for no good reason. There was no point in asking to come along.

But… for some reason… Thanatos wanted to go. Thanatos didn’t think he had ever really wanted something before. His wants had never really mattered, so he had never paid attention to them. Death did not have needs, so therefore there was no point in tending to his wants.

But now… he wanted to see that little girl again. She hadn’t left his mind since the moment he met her. He wanted to see her little smile, and her little hands reaching for his feathers. He wanted to hear her little voice, saying…

“Pretty Bird!”

They had reached the little mortal home without any issues or delay. Hades had been eager to knock on the door, and when it had opened, the two gods had been surprised to see that none other than Dianthe had been the one to open it. She had grown taller since they last saw her.

Dianthe had blinked owlishly at the two visitors, before her face had split into a wide grin, and she’d said that silly little nickname that Thanatos had been sure she would’ve forgotten by now.

Hades made a noise of confusion at the fact that his daughter had completely ignored him, while Thanatos couldn’t help the small smile that came to his lips. It was strange. Had he ever smiled before now?

“Hello, Dianthe,” Thanatos greeted softly.

Dianthe jumped up and down excitedly as her mother came up behind her. She looked startled by the unexpected guests, but then she quickly bowed her head. “Lord Hades. A-and Lord Thanatos! It is a… an honor to see you both.”

Hades nodded. “Likewise.” And then he turned to Dianthe, his expression one of betrayal and hurt. “What?” He asked the little girl, affronted. “No greetings for your father?”

Dianthe’s cheerful demeanor fell away, and she suddenly became the meek child that Hades and Thanatos had met last year. Thanatos could practically feel Hades’ disappointment, but then Dianthe shyly tip-toed forward and hugged his leg.

“Hi, Papa,” she said shyly. She let go and looked up at the god hopefully as her little hands nervously fidgeted with the fabric of her chiton. “Do you wanna see the flowers I picked yesterday?”

Hades smiled endearingly at her, all sense of disappointment forgotten as he nodded at his darling mortal daughter. “I would love to.”

.

As time passed, Hades and Thanatos continued their secret visits. They could only visit once a year at most for fear of catching Persephone’s attention and drawing her wrath down on either of them, or even Dianthe and her mother. But under Hades’ orders, Thanatos did discreetly check in on Dianthe every now and then, when time allowed. Thanatos was in the mortal realm more often than the Underworld most days, so it was easy for him to sneak a passing glance here and there as he flitted about doing his work. Just to make sure the little girl was alright.

Dianthe grew by leaps and bounds in the few short years that Thanatos had known her. He never knew that mortal children grew up so fast. Granted, Thanatos knew godly children became full grown within a matter of days, if not in mere hours or in the blink of an eye. And he knew that mortals grew far more slowly than that. But for some reason, watching Dianthe grow was different. It was like every time he saw her, she’d grown a little taller. Her hair had grown longer. The shape of her face had become slimmer. It was like she was growing old right before his eyes, and… it made him feel odd.

It was… unpleasant. As an unchanging being, it was strange to see her change every time he looked back. It… hurt, to know that her life would be over before he knew it. But wasn’t that ridiculous? How could emotions hurt? Thanatos had felt true hurt before. He had been cut and bruised. He had fallen many a time. He had even broken his wing once. So why did this feeling ache so deeply within his chest? It carried no visible scars, but the feeling occupied his thoughts more often than not. It itched constantly in the back of his mind, bringing worries and fears that he had never experienced before.

How would Dianthe die? When would she die? And why did he care? Was it because she was his friend Hades’ daughter? Or perhaps… did he see Dianthe as a friend?

Now that was truly ridiculous. A god—Death, no less—being friends with a mortal? The notion was laughable, at best.

But… in all honesty…

… that didn’t sound like a bad idea to him.

As Dianthe grew, Thanatos almost expected her to lose interest in him. No mortal being had ever cared for his presence—in fact, most feared it. But Dianthe always greeted him with joy and delight, as if he were a beloved friend. “Papa! Pretty Bird!” She would always call whenever she saw the two chthonic beings coming up the path. And she would always run up to greet them, and tell them about everything that had happened since their last visit.

Thanatos found it sort of… endearing, if he was being honest. The way that she looked at him like he had hung the stars in the sky (though that had actually been his mother’s work), and how her face lit up with joy whenever she was so much as in his presence. Thanatos wasn’t used to others paying attention to him. He wasn’t used to having people—a mortal, of all beings—talk to him and ask about his day (not that he could tell her about his day; that was probably too morbid for most children to hear about). And when she would ask him to play… it was almost like he was a child again. The only other person he had played with when he was little had been his twin, Hypnos. Meeting Dianthe, and being around her… it made him feel seen. Acknowledged.

It made him feel real. Like he was a person with feelings, and more than just a being with a purpose to fulfill.

But because of that, being told that he was only to check on her from afar, and never interact… hurt. And Thanatos knew what his duty was. He knew that he was to obey his lord’s commands.

But… a little visit surely couldn’t hurt.

.

“Pretty Bird!”

Thanatos smiled at the little girl. He had found her in a field close to her home, where she was hard at work picking flowers. “Hello, Dianthe.”

Dianthe motioned for him to sit down beside her, and Thanatos obliged. He watched silently as she braided the flowers together by their stems, twisting them into a delicate cord.

Thanatos tilted his head to the side. “What are you doing?”

“I’m making flower crowns!” Dianthe chirped happily. “Do you want me to show you how?”

Thanatos didn’t particularly care about the art of making flower crowns, but he nodded anyway, just to see Dianthe’s smile grow wider. The little girl excitedly handed Thanatos a bunch of freshly picked flowers, and Thanatos thought to himself that this little visit wouldn’t hurt. Not at all.

Hades didn’t need to know.

.

Unfortunately, Hades did need to know, after all. Because Dianthe had made Thanatos promise her that he would give her father the flower crown she had made for him. She had made one for Thanatos, as well, once the both of them had realized that his flower-braiding skills were… inept, to say the least. And the silly little loop of blossoms that she had put together for him was now perched atop Thanatos’ head as he fluttered down into the Underworld, his stomach dropping as he mentally prepared himself to deal with Hades’ displeasure. Thanatos was known to be a stickler for rules, and to follow commands without question. So for him to go against Hades’ orders now? And for such a silly reason?

Hopefully, the frivolity of the situation would ease Hades’ anger.

As Thanatos neared the obsidian palace, he saw Hades on a balcony overlooking the garden. Thanatos glided down and perched on the railing next to him like a rather large bird.

Hades scowled at him. “I told you to stop doing that.”

Thanatos ignored his king’s remarks and proceeded to reach into his satchel. “I have a gift for you.”

“What?” Hades looked bewildered. Thanatos bringing him gifts wasn’t exactly a common occurrence (if it had ever even happened before this point).

“From your daughter.” Thanatos pulled out the flower crown that he had tucked carefully inside his bag and held it out to Hades, being careful to ignore the god’s perplexed gaze.

Hades took the circlet and looked at it closely, clearly confused. “But Melinoe wouldn’t have…” Hades’ eyes widened in realization, and Thanatos winced as the god looked at him in complete disbelief. “Dia—”

Thanatos gave a curt nod and looked over Hades’ shoulder pointedly, silently warning him not to say anything. And almost as if on cue, none other than Persephone rounded the corner. She smiled at Hades in greeting, but frowned when she saw the god perched beside him.

“Thanatos? Why are you on the railing?” Persephone asked. “You’re going to fall again.”

Thanatos rolled his eyes and finally hopped down from the railing, coming to stand beside Hades. Honestly, he was a little relieved. With Persephone here, Hades wouldn’t be able to scold him for disobeying his secret orders.

But Thanatos’ relief disappeared instantly when Persephone’s frown grew and she pointed right at him. “What is that on your head?”

The two gods immediately looked at each other, both of their faces going pale. Thanatos had forgotten about his own flower crown.

“Oh…” Thanatos said weakly, his voice catching in his throat as his gaze flitted about, landing everywhere except Persephone’s face. “I-I… I… made it.”

That was the first time Thanatos had ever lied. And he wasn’t sure if he had done a very good job of it.

Persephone looked surprised by his claim. “Really?” She then looked at the one in Hades’ sweaty hands. “And you made one for Hades, too?”

Thanatos nodded fervently. He could feel Hades’ eyes burning holes into the back of his head, the other god staring at him in complete and utter disbelief. Thanatos was making a lot of surprising choices today.

Persephone frowned again, but this time she looked hurt. “And you didn’t make one for me?”

Oh no. “I-I… I…”

“H-he didn’t think you would want one!” Hades added quickly, coming to Thanatos’ rescue. “Since this is… the first time he’s made one, and… y’know…” Hades lifted the crown he was holding and awkwardly placed it atop his own head. “He wanted to practice first. Right, Thanatos?”

Thanatos nodded again. He knew that if he tried to speak, all that would come out of his mouth would be a stuttering mess. He hadn’t stuttered in ages. Not since he was a child.

Persephone was quiet for a long, agonizing moment as she stared at the two deceitful gods standing in front of her, both with silly flower crowns on their heads. Thanatos’ feathers bristled as he clenched his jaw, his hand coming to rest on his satchel. He was sure that Persephone was going to see right through his foolish lies. And when she did, the truth would be unraveled, and then Dianthe…

Thanatos was a fool. He never should have visited Dianthe. Why in all the realms had he thought that was a good idea?

The winged god flinched when Persephone spoke, but to his complete disbelief it was not words of wrath.

“Well, you better make one for me next time. Alright?” Persephone leaned forward and tapped the crown on Hades’ head, her magic making it instantly bloom anew and sprout fresh blossoms. “I think they’re rather cute.”

Thanatos nodded weakly, feeling strangely lightheaded from the relief that immediately washed over him. And as Hades and Persephone wandered inside the palace, leaving Thanatos alone on the balcony, the god of death realized that he would actually have to learn to make flower crowns on his own to keep up his clever lie.

… perhaps Dianthe could teach him again the next time he visited.

.

It was another dull day of work, just like any other, when everything came crashing down.

Thanatos was leaving the archives when he saw none other than Hades marching quickly towards him. There was an urgency in the god’s steps that made Thanatos pause, a strange feeling of dread settling in his gut as Hades drew near.

“Thanatos.” Hades’ voice was taut with tension. “I must speak with you. Now.”

Without waiting for an answer, Hades grabbed Thanatos’ arm and pulled him into an alcove in the wall, away from any prying eyes or wandering spirits.

“Persephone knows.”

“… how?” Thanatos asked quietly, stunned as his heart began to beat erratically in his chest like a hummingbird’s wings. He knew all too well what Persephone could do in anger. If she had truly found out about Dianthe, then Thanatos dreaded what might happen to the poor child.

“One of Demeter’s nymphs saw me talking to Althaea and told Demeter,” Hades whispered quickly. “And you know how she gets whenever I’m involved.”

Thanatos nodded. Having been by Hades’ side since the god first stepped into the Underworld, Thanatos knew plenty about the contention between him and his mother-in-law.

“Demeter told Persephone what the nymph told her, and then Persephone confronted me.” Hades sighed heavily. “Nothing I said would ease her anger. Now she’s gone to… take care of the issue.”

A strange weight fell upon Thanatos’ heart, and it felt like it was crushing him from the inside. Thanatos knew what Persephone’s anger was like. And death would be a blessing for any of her victims. Thanatos could only hope that Persephone would have mercy on Dianthe, considering she was only a child…

Hades squeezed Thanatos’ arm, drawing him out of his spiraling thoughts. “But she doesn’t know about Dianthe.”

“… what?”

“She must have been out with you when I was seen,” Hades explained quickly. “Which means there is a chance that she may live.” Hades released Thanatos and pushed him away, then dug into the folds of his robe. “Go. Now. Take her before Persephone sees.” From the folds of his robes, Hades drew a parchment scroll, which carried the sooty scent of fresh ink. He placed it in Thanatos’ palm and wrapped the god’s fingers around it, squeezing his hand tightly. “I’ve written this for her mortal uncle in Argos. Take her there.”

Thanatos nodded in understanding and moved to leave, but Hades grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. A pained look was etched across the father’s face. “Do not visit her again, Thanatos. I—we cannot risk it. Once she is safe, leave. And do not go back. Promise me.”

It was a simple request. One that Thanatos should have had no problem agreeing to. But he found that his tongue was like stone behind his unmoving lips, and his head refused to bow in acknowledgement.

Hades’ grip on his shoulder tightened painfully, his eyes never leaving Thanatos’ own. He would not let Thanatos leave until he agreed.

Thanatos swallowed thickly. “… I promise.”

.

Thanatos found Dianthe in the fields on the other side of her little town, about as far from her home as she could be. Thanatos supposed he should thank the Fates for that, but his only focus at the moment was the little girl in front of him, who stood up when she saw the winged god descending from the sky.

“Pretty Bird!” Dianthe smiled as Thanatos landed right in front of her.

Thanatos immediately held out his hand to the little girl. “Come with me. Quickly.” He said.

Dianthe looked somewhat taken aback, and she frowned in question. But Thanatos did not have time to tell her what was going on. He grabbed her hand, knocking the freshly picked flowers from her grasp, and dragged her into the shadows.

They resurfaced a few kilometers from the village, and Thanatos immediately looked around, searching for any signs of magic—life magic, in particular, for that would signal to him that there were nymphs nearby.

But there was none. Not a hint of magic in the air, except his own. Thanatos could only assume that the local nature spirits were all a bit preoccupied at the moment, helping their mistress deliver swift retribution upon her husband’s mortal lover.

Which meant that Thanatos could escape. He could take Dianthe, and carry her far away from all of this. But only if he moved quickly, lest wrathful eyes looked his way.

Dianthe stumbled, looking all around her with an air of bewilderment. “What’s happening? Where are we?”

Thanatos didn’t answer, instead taking a few fleeting seconds to plan their getaway. It would be better if he could just shadow-travel with Dianthe all the way to Argos, but that wasn’t an option with her youth and lack of experience. He could already see how ill she looked from the short distance they had teleported. Which meant they would have to fly.

“Pretty Bird?” Dianthe looked at him, clearly worried. “What’s—”

“We must leave.” Thanatos cut her off, picking the little girl up and holding her tightly to his chest as he spread his midnight-toned wings. “Now.”

Dianthe shrieked in terror as they took flight, but her voice was lost almost instantly to the roar of the wind as Thanatos raced across the sky. He hoped that Persephone had not been listening—it was unlikely she had heard anything—yet he swore he could feel her eyes on his back, her burning gaze watching him betray her trust as he flew away carrying the product of her husband’s infidelity.

No words were spoken as they traveled across the skies, from Dianthe’s little town on the outskirts of Sparta to the city of Argos. Thanatos was too focused on completing his task. That, and he didn’t have anything to say. For some reason, his throat felt tight, and his thoughts were all flitting about his head, like flies around a corpse. He couldn’t form a sentence if he tried—he was sure it would all come out as a jumbled, wobbling mess.

But after a few kilometers had passed in silence, Dianthe spoke. “You’re sad today,” she remarked quietly, her cutting blue eyes seeming to see right into Thanatos’ very core. “Why?”

Sad?

Death didn’t feel sadness. Death didn’t feel anything.

“I am fine,” Thanatos replied, but the words felt odd on his tongue. Was that another lie, falling from his cursed lips? Wasn’t it lying that had gotten him into this mess in the first place? Lying to Persephone by omission, and then by word, and now…

Thanatos had never felt so wrong as he did right now.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Dianthe offered. “My mom says that talking about your sad feelings can make them go away.”

Thanatos did not answer, because there was nothing to talk about. He was not sad. He did not know how to feel sad.

But the awful ache in chest, that had been there ever since Hades gave him the devastating news, seemed to say otherwise.

After a long moment of silence, Dianthe spoke again. “Where are we going?”

Thanatos swallowed, hoping his voice would not fail him when he answered. “To your new home.”

“What?” Dianthe’s hands gripped the fabric of Thanatos’ chiton just a little tighter, and he could hear the distress in her tone. He did not dare look at her face. “Why? What about Mama?”

“… your mother cannot care for you anymore,” Thanatos informed her quietly, for he could sense now that her mother had passed on. Thanatos had managed to sweep Dianthe away just in the nick of time.

Perhaps it would be best to keep that information to himself, though.

“Why?” Dianthe questioned, her voice beginning to wobble. The weak sound was enough to make Thanatos’ heart feel like it was being crushed beneath a mountain of stone. “Why can’t she? Can I go home now? Please? I-I—”

From the corner of his eye, Thanatos spotted a little earth-colored home, at the far end of a modestly-sized field. They had finally reached their destination.

Dianthe yelped as Thanatos banked sharply, dipping down through the clouds and then spreading his wings to slow their descent. Dianthe clung to Thanatos as if she was terrified she might fall, but she didn’t need to fear; Thanatos would never let her fall. He held her tightly to his chest as the wind billowed past them, tearing at his hair and feathers, until finally he landed in the middle of the little field, stumbling just slightly as his feet struck the earth. He wasn’t used to flying with others in tow.

The little girl in his arms was still clinging to him, and Thanatos was still holding onto her just as tightly, even though they were no longer in flight, and there was no danger of her falling. Truth be told… a small part of him didn’t want to let go.

But let go he must, for that was his duty. To deliver her into the safety of her uncle’s care, and then to leave and never return, to ensure that Persephone never learned of her existence.

Thanatos was silent as he set Dianthe down on the ground. She stumbled, her legs shaking, but quickly regained her footing. When she looked up at Thanatos, he could see the tears shining brightly in her eyes. Thanatos looked away with a quiet sigh, and wondered once again why his chest was aching so terribly.

Dianthe looked around at the field, which was full of wheat, still green and not even a meter in length. From here, they could easily see the humble little farmhouse just past the field, on the other side of the fence. There was smoke rising from its chimney, indicating that someone was home.

“Where are we?” Dianthe asked quietly. Timidly.

“This… is the home of your uncle,” Thanatos revealed, watching the way that the little girl’s shoulders slumped at his words. “You will be living here from now on.”

He waited for her to ask him why, as she had several times already, but to his surprise she just nodded silently after a moment.

It was for the best that she didn’t ask, because Thanatos could not give her an answer. He couldn’t tell her that her mother had been killed by a vengeful goddess. He couldn’t tell her that this would be their last meeting until her death, for fear of catching Persephone’s wrathful eye. But he did have to tell her that this… this was…

“This… is farewell.”

Dianthe turned back to face him, surprise evident on her face. Thanatos knelt down and reached into his satchel, pulling out the letter Hades had written, and gave it to her. “This is for your uncle,” he instructed her dutifully. “Give it to him as soon as you can.”

Dianthe nodded again as she clutched the little scroll in her trembling hands. “Will you go with me?”

“I… I cannot.” Thanatos looked down at the ground as his voice cracked in his throat, and it felt like his ribcage was being split in two. “I must go now. There is much work to be done, and I have been away for too long.”

A few tears dripped down Dianthe’s cheeks as she set her mouth in a thin, wobbly line and nodded once more, but with less certainty this time. “I’ll see you later… right?”

Thanatos tried to shake his head, but it felt like he was made of stone. Stone that was cracking, crumbling, and ready to fall apart right then and there. He opened his mouth to tell her no—no, they would not see each other again. Not until her death, which hopefully would not come to pass for at least a few more decades. Even though he desperately did not want to tell her the truth, he felt that… maybe he should. It would be wrong to let her carry false hope in her chest for so long.

But when he opened his mouth to speak, the words caught in his throat. His eyes burned, and when he blinked, he was surprised to find his vision had gone blurry.

What was happening to him?

Dianthe’s eyebrows creased with worry as she reached up, her hand coming to rest on his left cheek. “You’re crying.”

Crying? Was that what he was doing? How… odd. He had never… cried before. He didn’t know that he could, as strange as that sounded.

“I… I’m sorry.” Thanatos muttered quietly, feeling rather foolish.

“Don’t worry,” Dianthe soothed him, and wasn’t that ridiculous? A child soothing a god? “This isn’t goodbye for forever. I’ll see you again soon.”

She said it with such surety that Thanatos couldn’t help but smile weakly, even though he knew it wasn’t true. He would only get to see her once more in her lifetime, and for her sake, he hoped that it was many, many years from now, after she had lived a long and happy life.

Dianthe smiled, and then she wrapped her arms around Thanatos’ neck, pulling him into a warm embrace. Surprised and caught off guard, Thanatos didn’t know how he was supposed to respond. He wasn’t exactly the kind of being to be on the receiving end of hugs. He wasn’t sure he ever had received a hug before now, except maybe from Hypnos back when they were children. Or Hades, when he was drunk. Was he supposed to give one in return?

But before Thanatos could do so, Dianthe pulled away. Her eyes were still watery, but there was a hopefulness in her smile that gave Thanatos his own hope that she would be alright. He hoped that she would settle in here at her uncle’s home. He hoped that she might find friends, and be happy. That one day, she might be able to forget about this sad day, and think of it as no more than a figment of her imagination. It would be for the best.

“Goodbye for now,” Dianthe said earnestly, with all the hopefulness of an innocent, naive child. Then she turned, and with a confidence that Thanatos could only wish to have in that moment, she walked away, towards the house at the end of the field.

“… bye.” Thanatos replied quietly, knowing that she would not hear him. Then he stood, and disappeared into the shadows, never to return.

~~~~~~~~

So… what do you guys think?

Yeah, the flower crown scene may not have fit the vibe of this chapter too much, but we had to leave it in. The original The First Apprentice is way longer and we had to cut out a bunch of fun scenes, but we’re keeping this one, gosh darn it! It’s too funny!

Maybe we’ll post the entirety of The First Apprentice as its own fic later on, would you guys be interested in that? We have way too much fun stuff in there to just leave it in a WIP folder.

Also, we won’t be updating this again for a little bit. We’ve got a lot of stuff going on IRL, and we’re also trying to get some cosplays done for a convention this fall, so we’re gonna be pretty busy. Thank you for reading! We hope to be back soon!

First: Prologue

Previous: Chapter 34