Hi everyone, I'm back! And I've fallen deep into Hades hell and have been documenting canon Thanatos dialogue like I'm getting paid for it or something. I've beaten both epilogues so far and there's still so much new dialogue, thank you Supergiant (everyone say 'thank you Supergiant.') This story is mostly canon-compliant, so beware spoilers! I will try to mark them at the beginning of each chapter.
Hades (2018) belongs to Supergiant.
Typical Zagreus, Thanatos seethes. Typical Zagreus, leaving just like that and telling me nothing. Typical. He looms over the cowering man in front of him for a little longer than usual, swings his scythe down a little harder than usual.
He belatedly wonders if he's letting his anger affect his work as Death Incarnate. No matter. He needs to deliver this shade to Tisiphone, then get back to the House for his next assignment.
He doesn't need to check with his brother Hypnos about the last time Zagreus came crawling out of the Styx after another failed escape attempt or see if the Fury Megaera's sulking in the lounge after being defeated and failing to stop Zagreus from escaping.
He definitely doesn't need to find and confront Zagreus. He really doesn't.
But his resolve crumbles away when he returns to the House, reports to Lord Hades, and out of the corner of his eye, sees his mother trying and failing to appease a grumbling, muttering Fury. Thanatos and Nyx lock eyes for the briefest of moments and he decides that yes, he really does need to find and confront the prodigal prince of the Underworld.
In a flash of green, he finds himself in Elysium.
A cheeky grin appears on Zagreus' face and Thanatos reminds himself that he's supposed to be mad. He's supposed to be feeling anger and betrayal, not this… weird relief. He notes the prince's ragged breathing and the blood dripping from his head, his torso, his legs. His eyes narrow and he grips his scythe a little harder. Noticing this, Zagreus' smile disappears and his mismatched eyes harden.
"Thought you could just get away from me, did you?" Thanatos says.
"Thanatos." Zagreus shifts his blade to his dominant hand and lowers his stance. "I figured it was only a matter of time before Father sent you after me to do his dirty work."
Thanatos lets out a derisive snort. "Is that really why you think I'm here?" He looks to the golden seals materializing on the grass and Zagreus follows his gaze. Perhaps a contest is in order. "Let's see how many of these exalted champions you can send back to their dooms, unless you'd rather I would send you back to yours."
Zagreus may be fast, but Thanatos is much faster. A practiced hand, and whatnot. Or maybe it's the prince's exhaustion and injuries finally catching up with him, as he darts from shade to shade, swinging his blade wildly. He cries out as yet another arrow pierces his shoulder and it takes all of Thanatos' control not to whip his head around in that direction. He turns his head slowly, instead, and tells himself it's so he can look out for the next batch of shades that might materialize.
But the shades don't come. Thanatos lets out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and teleports over to the doors leading to the next chambers. He watches Zagreus pocket some of Charon's obol and stumble in his direction, leaving blood splatter and scorched footprints on the ground as he goes. Once the prince reaches his side, he drops his sword with a soft 'thump' and flops onto the grass, panting.
Thanatos looks away. "You left, without so much as telling me good-bye," he says quietly, not at all trying to hide the bitterness in his tone. "I suppose you knew I'd catch up with you sooner or later, is that it? No escaping death, and all?"
He feels a tug at the hem of his chiton and looks down. Zagreus' eyes are closed, his lips pursed as he breathes deeply through his nose. Thanatos thinks that expression on the prince's face is one of remorse, but he can't quite tell. He used to be able to tell.
"I left when it was necessary, Than." Thanatos feels his breath hitch in his throat at the nickname and swallows hard. He feels that anger he'd repressed coming to a boil in his chest, until Zagreus opens one eye, his green eye. There's a look, a flare he's certainly never seen before, Thanatos thinks. "I thought of you and hoped you'd understand. I have to do this."
Do what? Thanatos wants to say. Abandon your friends and family for another family? One you've never known? Leave without so much of an explanation or even a goodbye? He scoffs and looks away once again.
"That's more motivation than I've ever heard from you. Well, if you won't say it, I'll say it." He shakes himself loose from the prince's grasp, ignoring his weak protests. "Good-bye, Zagreus."
In another flash of green, Thanatos is back at the House, at his favorite spot at the southwest balcony. He lets go of the railing when his knuckles begin to pale and ache, and lets the muscles in his shoulders relax and fall.
Breathe in.
He must have an assignment by now, he thinks. He has to work.
Breathe out.
He should've brought Zagreus back with him when he had the chance.
Breathe in.
It wasn't too late, he could go back to Elysium and drag the prince back to the House before he could even realize what was happening.
Breathe out.
So what if he'd be betraying the prince? He was already betraying the House by letting the brat go, and - ! ...And the prince already abandoned the House, abandoned Lord Hades and Mother Nyx, abandoned him…
Breathe in.
But Zagreus would never forgive him for such a betrayal. He could hate Zagreus all he wanted and Zagreus would still try to talk to him, still try to be friends with him because that's just how Zagreus is.
But if it was the other way around…? If Zagreus hated him…? He'd find a way out of the Underworld somehow (because that's just how Zagreus is), and never see or speak to him again because he'd be on the surface with his other family and he'd hate him...
Thanatos lets out a shaky breath, lets himself drop, lets his feet touch the ground for the first time in a long time. He finds himself doubling over with a strange ache in his chest, and clutches the railing hard so he doesn't curl into a ball on the floor. He is Death Incarnate, he has a little more decorum than that. Plus, Hypnos would tease him about it for weeks.
He focuses on the sounds of the Styx below because the thoughts in his head are much too loud and much too vile for his liking and he doesn't know how to handle the possibility of Zagreus hating him or never coming back.
But luckily enough, Thanatos doesn't have to entertain the latter thought because a loud splashing and sputtering from below drags him out of his own head. He straightens up, peering over the railing to find the source of the noise from his vantage point on the balcony, and feels his heart ache once more. Zagreus is back.
Zagreus is back and he is also very loud. Thanatos is both grateful and annoyed that Zagreus is loud because he can focus on the prince's conversations instead of his own racing thoughts, but the fact that it's the prince's conversations is annoying beyond belief.
He hears Zagreus' short and clipped argument with Lord Hades, hears his playful tone - practically baby talk - with the three-headed hound. Is it considered eavesdropping when Zagreus is just loud?
Thanatos finally hears Achilles's kind and soft reassurance, and knows that Zagreus is now just down the hall behind him. Would Zagreus talk to him? Oh, blood and darkness, he wants Zagreus to talk to him. He'd really like that. Not like he'd initiate conversation though. But as furious as Thanatos is, Zagreus did come back. Albeit unwillingly. He's back and they could talk again… if Zagreus wanted.
Thanatos decides he'll let Zagreus come to him. There's no expectations that way, he tells himself. There's no disappointment if Zagreus decides to just waltz away to escape without telling him once again -
"Thanatos?"
Scowling, he turns around to find Zagreus smiling shyly at him. Thanatos feels his heart skip a beat and swats the feeling away before he can identify it.
"Go about your business, Zag." He sees the prince's smile widen slightly at the nickname and curses himself for his carelessness. "What if Lord Hades saw us chatting like this, now…? I risked everything by helping you out there, and still you failed."
Zagreus keeps smiling, but Thanatos recognizes his stiffened posture, the indignant look in his eyes. Perhaps he was harsher than he meant to be.
"Turns out there's quite a lot of dead to fight down in the Underworld," Zagreus quips. "Though I probably got farther than I would have, thanks to you."
"...How far?"
"What?"
"How far did you get?"
Zagreus scratches the back of his head and looks down, a hint of red coloring his cheeks. "...The, uh. The minotaur and the other guy," he grumbles.
Thanatos raises an eyebrow. "You mean Asterius and Theseus, the champions of Elysium?"
"Yeah, them," Zagreus sighs. "That's kind of unfair, isn't it? Two on one? How am I supposed to beat one of them while the other is rushing at me, cackling at me!" Thanatos wants to laugh, but the conversation is getting too familiar for his taste, especially when he's supposed to be mad at this man.
"But, at least I was able to defeat at least the minotaur this time, before that insufferable hero summoned aid from Olympus. I mean, who's side are they on anyway? But really, Than, I couldn't have gotten that far without your help."
Thanatos remembers that they're talking about the fact that Zagreus is actively trying to escape from the Underworld, perhaps for forever, and he feels a wicked anger bubble and rise in his throat. Thanatos coughs, catching the prince's attention.
"Always happy to oblige," he says sarcastically. Deflated, Zagreus pouts and looks at him pitifully.
Oh, no. How dare he. He had no right to pull this hurt puppy-dog routine, all sorrowful and guilty, when he was still trying to leave behind everything he knew and loved. If he had any remorse, he'd stop what he was doing and just stay home.
"Especially when it causes me to risk my station. To risk everything I've worked for," Thanatos spits out, taking a step back. Then, he teleports away before he gets a chance to see the look on Zagreus' face.
He stays on the surface for a little longer this time around.