A/N Finally up. Sorry for the delay, this was harder than the past chapters to write.

000

Cuddy's fury was simmering, and Wilson, adverse to conflict as he was, decided to change the subject.

"Have you tested for cancer?"

"Hmm," said House, looking up at the ceiling and stroking his chin. "Have I checked for one of the most illnesses, one easily detectable, and whose symptoms don't fit the patient's?"

Wilson groaned. "What do you expect me to suggest? I'm an oncologist for Christ's sake!"

House rolled his eyes. "Fine, check for cancer. Then get me a lumbar puncture. After that check his nasal cavities for -"

Wilson stood, but Cuddy grabbed his wrist. "No."

House scrunched up his face as if she had been speaking Icelandic. "What?"

"We are not going to run your tests. This is your patient, you cure him."

Wilson gritted his teeth. He was suddenly afraid of what was going to happen.

"I need a team," said House slowly and through clenched teeth. He leaned in toward Cuddy in a manner Wilson found far more threatening now that he knew what House was capable of.

"Then you should have thought about that before you killed them," replied Cuddy. Her response was cool and collected. There was no trace of emotion. "If you're going to act like a god House, then you're going to be treated like one."

House nodded to himself and pulled back. "Now we're talking. You feed me the grapes while Wilson runs my tests, and then we'll all gather here so you can write hymns to me."

"I'm an atheist House," said Cuddy, completely unfazed by his humor. "As long as you manipulate us, treat our lives like toys, and demand we bend to your will, I'm going to treat you like every other god. You don't exist. And you can have the burden of saving the human race, running the universe, or whatever other nonsense you want to babble about all to yourself. We're leaving Wilson." Still holding the man's wrist, she stood and pulled Wilson behind her. He was able to give House an apologetic look before they were out the door.

"Help me, or by Zeus I'll turn you into a tree!" yelled House, but they were already gone. He slumped back into his chair and popped two Vicadins. "And to think they used to build temples to me. Ungrateful humans."

After a long moment he turned back to the white board. "Alright Mr. Marcus Kennedy, let's figure out what's wrong with you."

ooo

"Never have I seen such a joyful group of Tartarus bound," came a voice from behind Foreman, Chase, and Cameron just as they were about to set foot down the path to their first destination in the underworld.

They turned quickly and saw a man in perhaps his mid-thirties sitting very still on a stone bench. He wore a white toga and a very bored expression. He was tucked into a little grove facing the three paths, but was obscured from being seen by any coming down the road.

"Who are you?" asked Chase.

"I am Asclepius, son of Apollo, forgive me if I do not stand," he said in a slow, weary voice.

"You're a son of Apollo!" cried Cameron, her eyes wide. Foreman groaned.

The man turned his attention squarely on Cameron. "My dear, your enthusiasm speaks volumes. Do they still speak of the old gods in your world?"

"Well, ah, not really, but – " Cameron stopped when Chase placed his hand firmly on her shoulder.

"Look, we need to get going, why don't we just leave you be? Nice meeting you Aschiiseplous or whatever," he said hurriedly and moved to turn Cameron around.

"What do you think you're doing?" whispered Foreman harshly. "This is supposed to be a secret. We don't even know who this guy is,"

"A friend," Asclepius spoke up. "One with fine hearing, who has been punished unjustly by Hades, and who would know more of those who know Apollo and so willing enter Tartarus. Come, speak with me, perhaps I have a word of advice, one that will be unheard by traitorous ears."

The trio exchanged looks, and finally Foreman nodded. "Alright, fine."

They moved closer to the man. He nodded to himself, his bored expression now transformed into a slight smile. "My thanks. As I said, I am Asclepius, son of Apollo, cast here because Hades pleaded with Zeus for it. My crime was that my knowledge of medicine was so great I could return life to the dead, an act which directly threatened Hades's stature. Upon my arrival to this land he bound me to this bench so that I might watch the dead I cannot save on their way to the afterlife. Would that I might find my afterlife as well, perhaps even Tartarus would be a better place, though I expect this may well be my Tartarus."

Chase turned to Foreman and whispered in his ear, "Does everyone here talk so much?"

Asclepius grunted. "Some of us have lacked the comfort of company for some time, and may never experience it again. I will not burden you with my lonely presence for long."

Cameron slapped Chase hard across the shoulder. "Chase! Why did you have to say that?"

Chase began to retort, but Asclepius interrupted. "I am as eager to listen as I am to speak, tell me your tale and how you know Apollo."

"We work for him at a hospital," said Cameron. "He calls himself House now."

This drew a chuckle from the man.

Chase leaned in closer. "We're here to find the secret to a plague Hades is going to unleash on Earth, so that House, er, I mean Apollo can devise a cure for it."

"Indeed," he nodded. "Such a noble cause, and yet sent to Tartarus, a pity."

Foreman shook his head. "We were judged to go to Elysium, but with the stipulation that we visit Tartarus and Asphodel."

"A more just decision." He paused and observed them all closely. "I will tell you something of this place. If you are to return to the living, you will not see me again. None that have escaped Hades have passed back down this road. You will need to find another way."

An idea suddenly struck Cameron. "You said you could return the dead to life? You must have done this a number of times to get Hades to notice, but Charon said that only five people have escaped Hades."

Asclepius nodded solemnly. "I could only return to life those that had not yet crossed the Styx. And of those, only the ones that were willing to return. If I were to think that you three wished to escape Hades, I would give you this advice: no matter what you see, or what you do in your time here, do not give up the will to live."

Chase turned to the others. "Anyone got a notebook for all this advice we keep getting?"

"It's called my brain," said Foreman.

"I think it is best for you three to continue your journey. I wish you luck and courage."

"Is there anything we can do for you?" asked Cameron. "To thank you for helping us? Maybe we can get you off that bench."

Asclepius tried to speak, but Cameron was already tugging at his arm, and finding him impossible to move. "Come on guys!"

Chase and Foreman gave her a look, but also began pulling on the man. Though there were no visible bonds, they could not budge him, as though he were a piece of the bench itself. To his credit, Asclepius took the affair with a quiet dignity.

"It's no good, it's like he's bloomin' glued to the thing," said Chase.

Cameron frowned. "Maybe it's the bench. Why don't we try to break it, or tip it over?"

Asclepius's face became a mask of terror, and as much as he implored them to stop, the three had come across a mystery they wouldn't back down from. While Foreman and Chase each grabbed one side of the bench to push it over, Cameron went back down the path to find a good rock or tree branch, anything that might be used to break the marble bench.

After one good push, Foreman and Chase managed to uproot the bench and pushed it over so that Asclepius was now on his back. "OW!" he shouted. "What madness have you done! Right me this instant!"

Foreman leaned over. "Don't worry, Cameron's back with a big rock, we'll smash this bench for you in no time."

Cameron came up and handed Foreman a sharp looking, granite rock she had found along the trail. He began to smash it against the stone bench underneath Asclepius's legs. The man was unable to move them to resist, and could do nothing but flail is toes and continue yelling at the three of them.

After a few minutes of Foreman pounding the bench Chase said, "Are we sure about this? Charon told us not to interfere with people's punishments."

Cameron shook her head. "We're not technically in the part of the underworld where people are supposed to be punished, and anyway this is really an unjust situation. This man didn't deserve to end up like this."

"Being dead is kinda cool," said Foreman. "I'm not getting tired at all, and this rock should be cutting my hands to ribbons, and I can't feel a thing. This is great!"

"Can I take a turn?" asked Chase. "I'd like to imagine House's face every time I smash that rock."

Foreman stood and shrugged. "Go for it."

Chase began to smash the rock as well, and by now Asclepius had just given up on reasoning with the trio. Cameron found his silence disconcerting and went to speak to the man.

He noticed her right away and said, "My dear, I know your intentions are for the best, but this bench cannot be broken by mortal hands, and I cannot be removed from it. Such is Hades powers. Now if you would please –"

"Got it!" yelled Chase who jumped into the air. Foreman crouched down and saw a large fissure in the bottom of the bench. He gave Chase a big high-five.

Asclepius was flabbergasted. "It required the might of Heracles himself to remove Theseus from one of these benches! How could a mortal –"

"Seems like Ol'Heracles wasn't too bright. He didn't think about breaking the bench," said Chase smugly. "Come on guys, give me a hand. Foreman you take that side, we'll take this one and then we'll pry the bench off."

With great effort, the managed to push each side of the bench towards Asclepius, which had the desired effect of the bench snapping in half across the immovable connection it had with the man. A rather large piece of marble was still attached to Asclepius, but the magic had been diminished enough that he could stand.

"By the gods, this is a miracle!" He stood, completely in control of his movement again. "My suffering is over! You, you are legends among mortals." He hugged each other them, and danced a little jig. "Freedom! Where will I go? To Elysium of course! I am long past the judges, and all the routes are open to me!" He started off to the far right fork in the trail, which looked to the trio to be completely blocked off. "I will find a way to repay your kindness my friends. I swear it on the River Styx itself!"

Asclepius was gone then, and the three turned and traveled down the path that led to Tartarus.

They stood side-by-side-by-side and the path extended to accommodate them. The moment they stepped forward the forest they had been in disappeared and they were standing on a cliff made of red stone overlooking a dusty plain that stretched out for miles. The sky was a dull shade of rust punctuated by black clouds. Sharp winds blew dust and sand this way and that, scratching their bare skin. The sensation was immediate and terrible, since it was at this moment that their sense of touch returned.

Cameron screamed and nearly toppled over. Chase and Foreman, equally in pain, fought through it and pulled her in-between them to shield her with their bodies.

"Which way to do we go?" shouted Chase over the roar of the wind.

"Down!" said Foreman, pointing uncomfortable to the left. He gritted his teeth, and instantly regretted it as sand got in his teeth. Chase followed Foreman's suggestion and began to move down an accessible part of the hill they were on. The ground was made of dirt and rocks and was painful to walk on. They found an outcropping of large rocks that provided some cover from the wind and settled there.

"This is hell?" Chase asked. "Guess the fire and brimstone would be worse." He pulled a sharp rock from his heel. "Bloody hell."

Cameron was bunched up against a large stone, her hands covering her head to block the wind. "This isn't hell! It has the same purpose of punishing the wicked, but it isn't connected to Christian traditions. We can't expect to see the devil or demons or whatever!"

"It doesn't matter where we are!" shouted Foreman. "We just need to find the way through here and get to the next place! If we keep descending the cliff, the wind should get better, and then we can follow the mountain around and at least have some shelter!"

Chase was staring off over one of the rocks. "Guys, what is that?" Cameron and Foreman scrambled over to see what he was pointing at.

A frog of immense size hopped towards them. It was a monstrous thing, its shoulder the height of a man and its width even more. Its back was covered in what seemed to be diamonds, each the size of Foreman's hands. Bulbous eyes grew from the flat of its head and circled in all directions. A purple tongue draped indecently from its mouth. They immediately ducked back undercover.

"Maybe it'll just go past us," suggested Foreman.

But there was no such luck. Instead the monster came right up to the outcropping, and with its front legs, hoisted itself upwards and looked down at the trio.

"Welcome mortals," it rasped, its eyes not focusing on any of them, and its tongue jerking like a stringless puppet. Cameron felt nauseous and Chase and Foreman were equally disgusted by the beast. "The judges say that you're allowed only a taste of Tartarus, but were their word not supreme, you would be kept longer to add your suffering to this place. You are to continue onto Asphodel, but if you became lost, perhaps it would take you longer than you'd like? Yes, you won't find help escaping Tartarus, no, quite the opposite. Enjoy your time, guests."

Before any of them could react there was a blinding light, a sensation of falling, and then nothing.

oooo

Chase found himself sitting at a rustic wooden desk, inside what looked to be a log cabin, wearing a grey suit. After a moment of blinking away his confusion he went to run his hand through his hair and discovered he was wearing a hat. It was grey as well, with a short front brim and slanted at the top. He had never seen something like it before. On the desk were a number of letters, all hand-written, and an ink well and feathered pen. There were two stacks of papers; it seemed that he had been signing them. As he began to survey the room there was a sharp rapping at the door across from his desk.

"Enter," he said hesitantly.

A man entered quickly. He was dressed in a similar suit as Chase, who began to realize that it was a uniform of some kind. The man saluted. Chase returned the gesture and the man began to speak.

"Cap'n Chase, sir, we found Mr. Cameron's missin' daughter and the negro who took her!" The man spoke with a thick accent that Chase was unfamiliar with. It definitely seemed American though.

Confused, Chase stood and crossed the room to follow the man, floorboards creaking under his step. After a brief walk down a hallway and past a few other offices, they emerged through a set of wooden double doors. A crowd greeted them. It was mostly made up of people dressed in very old fashioned clothes and several more men dressed in the same grey uniforms. Behind the crowd was a wall made up of what Chase thought to be sharpened logs. Before he could puzzle over this, another man moved forward and pushed a black man down in front of him. The man seemed the worse for wear; his clothes were ripped and his hands were bound behind his back.

"This is him, Cap'n!"

The prisoner looked up, and Chase realized he had seen that face before. It was Foreman.

"We found 'im in the woods six miles from here rapin' Mr. Cameron's daughter," said the second uniformed man.

"Mr. Cameron?" whispered Chase.

A shrill cry broke the air. "Leave him be! He did no such thing! Let him go!"

A young woman pushed her way through the crowd, despite the confining and bulky dress she was wearing. Her voice sounded different, but there was no denying it was Cameron. "He didn't rape me! We were running North together to be free!"

A hush fell over the crowd. Two men secured her immediately. They forced her down next to Foreman. The man next to Chase, who surmised that these were soldiers of some kind, spoke. "She just confessed to treason! Consortin' with a darkie is bad enough, but treason, sir!"

Chase suddenly became award of a revolver hanging from his right hip. The crowd was now shouting, "Death! Death! Death!"

Chase looked down at the knelling forms of Foreman and Cameron. She pressed herself against him and her lips enveloped his. "Take my life, but you'll never take our love!"

Foreman merely glared up at Chase with eyes filled with hatred.

"But you love me," mumbled Chase dumbly. The crowd was making so much noise they couldn't hear him.

"I could never love a monster like you!" she spat on his dark boots.

Chase surprised himself with the anger that suddenly rose inside him. He pulled the revolver from his holster and put it to her forehead. The crow moved back, but cheered and hooted and hollered even louder.

"Say you love me," growled Chase.

"Never!"

Chase pulled the trigger.

Cameron crumpled over, her head falling into Foreman's lap. The crowd roared its approval. Foreman looked down at Cameron, her eyes rolled upward to the tiny hole in her forehead. Foreman let out a strangled cry of grief and looked up at Chase, tears pouring down his cheeks."

"The darkie too, sir?" asked the soldier.

Chase nodded slowly, aimed the pistol at Foreman and fired.

The crowd was deafening.

ooo

A/N: Next time: More House trying to do medical things! Wilson and Cuddy re-examine the universe! Foreman and Cameron's experiences in Tartarus! Will our intrepid trio make it out? Will they end up with clothes again? Who knows!