Border crisis

Thanatos never hated his job.

Even if he did, he can’t change it any more than Hades can change his position as king of the underworld; a somewhat reluctant title.

But some days he wished he wasn’t so feared. Some days he wishes people were happy to see him to guide their souls to Charon.

Unfortunately, the spot he was needed at today bordered on another deity group and he had to try to work with them. Which they were not making easy, it was boarding the Catholic territories and they tended to be territorial.

He tried to stay away from the closest area to them, putting his focus on the people that are clearly within his territory.

It was a small, man-made disaster, thankfully. He did not want to help clean up another one of his owns mess like last time. It at least means the death toll is comparatively smaller, maybe a few hundred to a thousand unlike the 40,000 they had during the last disaster.

There was some protest gone wrong, resulting in a small explosion that collapsed a 10-story office building.

And every single person he went to, to lead them to Charon was terrified of him. Their soul backed away in fear.

He even put his hood down to show his face but what he symbolized outweighed his human appearance.

There was a middle-aged man who died when the building collapsed, crushing his body. His soul was sitting up, transparent and numb. Wondering if this was just an out-of-body experience, he would be fine.

Thanatos appeared, kneeling to him but the man knew exactly what was going on.

The man shook his head, tears streaming down his face. “No, no please, I don’t want to die, it’s not my time, please.”

He started to back away but barely moved two feet, his soul still attached to his body.

Thanatos frowned, reaching out softly. “I’m sorry my soul, but your time has come.”

“But I have a family! I have kids “

“I’m aware.” He said gently.

The man sobbed. “Please don’t take me, please.”

Thanatos stayed silent as he stood, getting his sword and severing the soul from the body. “You are not the only one here who left families behind. Come, I will see you to your proper judgment.”

The man backed away from the hand. “No! No, it’s just an out-of-body experience.” Now that he was disconnected from his body he started to run.

Thanotos hated this part.

He appeared instantly in front of the running man who barely got 12 feet away from him, placing his hand on his shoulder. “Please do not run. You cannot outrun me.”

Before the man could try and run again he transported him the the underworld, leaving him with Charon and soon Hades.

It was like that for most of the souls he retrieved. He knew it was likely because many of the deaths were so quick, the building crushing most, killing them instantly. He understands why they feel so shocked, blindsided and terrified.

It doesn’t help the hurt he feels when they try to run from him.

Once his area was cleared, for now, many paramedics were on the scene and helping retrieve and help those trapped.

Artemis and Apollo were helping the medical workers as much as they could, there were many other deities there helping as well. Thanatos could see the exhaustion on Apollo's face as he helped guide minds and hands, and calm those injured.

Apollo sighed with a tired smile, that was all there was for now until more could be retrieved. He saw Thanotos watching him. Artemis saw him as well. Apollo looked over to her, silently asking permission to see him. Artemis nodded. “Go on. He looks like he could use a friend.”

He smiled. “Thank you!”

He gave a big smile to the death god, waving to him before running over to him. “Hey! How you been?”

“I have been better Apollo.” He said softly, sadly.

The sun god frowned, concern clear in his eyes. “Oh no, did you have to retrieve children? I know how that upsets you with disasters.”

“No. They all…fear me. I’ve had several attempt to run away. So many pleaded for me not to take them. Told me about the families they’re leaving behind. It weighs heavy on me today.”

Apollo frowned, looking away, thinking of anything he could do to help, “Would you mind if I played a song?” He got his lyre, seemingly out of thin air.

Thanatos gave a tired look to the god of sunlight. “I will not stop you but I have to see to the border area, there are still souls. And I don’t think you’re work is done.”

There was suddenly a cry of elation. “We found more survivors!”

Apollo looked over and smiled, seeing people being rescued.

“I guess I don’t have time for a song. But let’s meet when this is over, with Dionysus.”

“I will see you then.”

Apollo gave a little salute before going back to the medics to help.

Thanatos sighed, using the ability to instantly transport to get to the border area.

There he saw Azreil, already at work,

Azreil was a tall figure, taller than Thanotos, by at least three feet, with six wings on each side of him, eyes dotting his dark wings all the way to the base, a large golden halo was around his bald head, it also had eyes. He wore dark robes and a hood, as seemed standard for any god of death. But his hood was down, he wonders if for the same reason, he pulled his down; to attempt to calm those who feared him.

But the person whose soul he severed with his own sword wasn’t scared, in fact, seemed to welcome him.

The angel spoke, surprisingly soft to Thanatos, all the eyes on his wings and halo looking at him now, even if he didn’t turn his head; it was unsettling and Thanatos is not one to be easily unsettled. “Hello, Thanatos. You’ve done good work today.”

“I see you have been at work as well. Not often we work in the same territory. I hope I’m not overstepping.”

Azeril turned his body, the soul went into the afterlife. He got his book that was hanging by a belt on his waist, looking for and scratching off a name with a black feather quill. “Not at all. It is not your fault death happened on our borders.”

Thanatos gave a bow to him, giving a look of the area as he righted himself. He saw Samael there as well which was not good for him.

Saael was towering, just like Azreial but with more wings, if that was possible. Twelve black wings came from his back, thankfully there was less eyes dotting down his wings to the base but he had two golden halos, crossing over his head with eyes on them, and two dark horns that came from his head. He didn’t seem to notice Thanotos which was good. He was known for being as territorial as a cat.

He instantly arrived to a soul, doing his best to push away the hurt from the fear so many seemed to feel. But why were they not so scared of Azreial? They all seemed calm and followed.

Once all souls were retrieved he looked around the area, seeing more medics and another angel, Micheal.

He felt dread settle in his stomach. He’s rarely ever had to face the archangel. Micheal was just as tall and unsettling as Azreial but less wings, only four on each side, white wings with the same eyes dotting down to the base, a large, golden halo that also had eyes but he looked ready for war as he helped heal the injured and guide the medics. Fully armed with a sword and shield on his back, armor plating covering his chest as well.

Thanatos felt they got the last of the souls, all that was left was for the healers to do what they could.

Micheal healed similarly to Apollo, petting the injured one’s hair, keeping them calm, and using their abilities to aid in healing.

When Micheal was done he saw Thanotos and gave a weak glare, flying over quickly to stand in front of him. “This is our territory, what are you doing here?”

Thanatos glared weakly as he looked up at him, why were all the angels so tall? “It is a border, I cannot help people died on the border.”

“Well your job is done, you can leave.”

Azreial was suddenly next to his fellow angel. “Micheal, it is alright. He is not here to harm anyone. He is only doing his job, just as we are.”

Micheal just continued to glare down at him, with every single eye on him. “He is from the underworld. He can’t be trusted.”

Suddenly Samael was involved, probably just getting done retrieving his own souls. “Micheal is right. The Underworld cannot be trusted, it is just a short walk away from Hell.”

Thanatos glared but all the angels were so much taller and stronger than him. As he is a God of death, the only power he possesses is being able to freely go between the underworld and the living world.

But Thanatos thought of his dear friend Hades, of how caring and gentle he is with every soul. And the thought of someone calling the underworld Hell struck a nerve. “The Underworld and Hell are nothing alike!”

He didn’t mean to raise his voice but his mental energy was too low to handle this properly. The day had taken its toll on him and his patience was thin as hair.

Apollo must have heard or was already on his way to aid the medics when he was suddenly by Thanotos' side. “Whoa, what’s going on? Thanatos, are you ok?”

Thanatos was about to tell him he was fine when Samael grinned. “We were just having a conversation, little god.”

Apollo huffed. “Little?”

Samael smiled, hands on his hips, his 8ft frame towering over them both. “Yes. Little. I was just telling Micheal that he is right not to trust anyone from The Underworld; it’s just a short stop away from Hell.”

Apollo glared this time but Sameal continued. “And everyone knows that anyone that comes from the underworld are monsters. And the world has no place for monsters.”

Before Thantos or Azrael could say anything or step between them, Apollo already had his golden bow and arrow, glaring at the tall angel with righteous anger, his long blonde hair floating with his growing energy.

Sameal reacted as well, energy swirling around him. Both Thanatos and Azrael stepped in to stop their fellow deities.

“Apollo stand down!”

“Samael STOP!” The angel's voice boomed.

Apollo and Sameal just stared at each other in a stalemate through the blank space of Azrael wings that separated them.

Azrael spoke to Samaell first, Micheal had his hand on the hilt of his sword on his back, ready if needed.

“Samael, stop. He is only here to do his job. Just as we are. If you do not stand down I will ask Micheal to stop you.”

Samael glared weakly, his anger going down before leaving. “Fine.” He said before turning.

Thanatos did the same with Apollo. “Apollo, come along, we are done here.”

Apollo lowered his weapon before glaring softly to Thanatos, his earlier energy leaving him. “He called you and Hades monsters.”

“I know.”

“He deserves it.”

“I know Apollo. I’m just as infuriated but we cannot start a war simply because he’s rude. Let’s go home.”

Apollo sighed, starting to walk alongside Thanatos. “How fast can you get us to the underworld.”

“Three seconds-“

Apollo got his bow and arrow with lightning speed and shot at Samael, hitting him square in the ass.

The angel yelped in pain as Thanatos shoved Apollo into the portal to go home.

Apollo was laughing as they arrived in the underworld, outside of Nyxs home, Thanotos not wanting to bother any of the souls that might still be waiting for judgment.

Thanatos nearly growled, he was so angry. “That was so immature, there are consequences, you can’t just shoot an angel.”

Apollo waved his hand. “It wasn’t anything damaging, just enough to hurt.”

“That’s not the point. You risk starting a war with the archangels just because he was rude.”

Apollo glared back. “He also can’t be allowed to behave that way. Azrael didn’t stop him properly so I did. I may not be Hades' favorite person and he’s not my favorite but I’m not about to let some guy with eyeballs on his feathers call him a monster. Or you! At least now he knows we won’t take his shit.”

Thanatos sighed. “I think you are hanging around your humans too much.”

“Or not enough,” Apollo said with a smile.

Thanatos looked away. Apollo did have a point, even Angels need consequences for their behavior. He can only hope they don’t cross paths anytime soon. “Thank you, for defending me and my home. You didn’t have to do that.”

Apollo smiled. “Corse I did, I wasn’t gonna let him bully you. Now let’s get that drink, I think we really need one.”

They arrived to the temple in Elsuyam, already there were a few others there, Dioynous of course, Thanatos thinks he lives here sometimes, the wine god is there so often.

Dioynous saw them, coming over with a smile, and giving Apollo a big hug. “Glad you guys made it! How did the soul searching go?”

Dioynous gave a hug to Thanatos as well. He barely returned it, not quite sure what to do. “Uh, it could have gone better. But the souls are where they need to be, that’s all that matters.”

Apollo gave him a look. “So you’re not going to tell him about the angels?”

Thanatos gave him a stern look. Apollo shrugged. “What?”

Dionysus summoned two glasses of wine, handing one to Apollo. “You two have had a day.” Before Thanatos could get the other wine, Dionysus started summoning different herbs into it before handing it over.

Thanatos looked at it suspiciously, carefully taking the wine glass. “What did you put on mine?”

“Just some relaxing herbs; chamomile, lavender, marijuana-“

“You put drugs on my drink?” Thanatos exclaimed.

“It’s not a drug to us, and even so, it’s not like we have any drug test to pass to continue working. I can feel how tense you are and have been all day; please drink this and relax. You are among friends.”

Thanatos couldn’t argue with that logic, he just despised the idea of not being in complete control of himself. But he is among friends and Dioynous has always been a phenomenal host, making sure everyone was safe as they had a good time. He took a few sips, finding the flavor was exactly how he liked his drinks; sweet.

The wine god brought a steady hand to his back, gently ushering them to a cozy couch. “Now tell me everything, how did your day go?” He said, summoning his own wine as he sat on the grassy ground, carefree and casual.

Thanatos sighed. “I want to state I do not hate my destiny as the God of Death but some days, I wish I wasn’t.” His voice became quiet as he finished his statement, making Dioynous look worried and Apollo giving a knowing, sympathetic look, sitting cross-legged on the sofa next to him.

Thanatos continued. “So many souls are terrified of me. A few even ran away, pleading with me not to take them, telling me of the families they’re leaving behind.”

He felt the heaviness of what happened finally come down upon him. He didn’t want to be seen as emotional so he hid it by taking a few large gulps of his wine. It helped lighten the load, his emotions were already a little lighter.

“And then the angels were there.”

Apollo huffed. “Bunch of conceited assholes, they called me a little god.”

“Azrael is alright. He’s always respectful to us. It’s the others that take Umbridge with others, not from his sect.”

Apollo swallowed the wine he had in his mouth. “No, it’s Samael and Micheal who are the troublemakers. Especially Samael, the way he talked down to you.”

Dionysus frowned. “What did he say?”

Thanatos looked at the deep red of the wine in his glass. “He said all those from the underworld are monsters; a short step away from Hell. I raised my voice to him.”

Even Dioynous, as carefree as he is, had a certain anger in his eyes. “What happened then?”

Thanatos looked toward Apollo who had a guilty but smug smile. Dionouys saw this, raising an eyebrow with a growing smile. “Apollo, what did you do?”

Apollo took in a breath. “I was about to shoot him but both Thanotos and Azrael broke it up. Which, fair. Not sure we could take on Archangels without Athena or Ares. But before we left I shot an arrow at his ass, it hit and-”

“And it was very risky. We don’t know what the angels plan to do if they choose to retaliate.” Thanatos said, looking over at the blonde with a tired look.

Dionouys summoned a wine decanter, having it pour into Thanoto's glass mid air. Thanatos just gave him a weak look. “You're still stressed.”

“How can I not be? We might have triggered a war, those angels are always more than willing to start a war; remember the crusades?”

“Yes and we handled it then, we’ll handle it now, if that happens,” Apollo said, continuing. “But I doubt they'll do anything, Jesus is super chill but would probably throw another fit if his archangels got out of hand. They're probably already getting a lecture about respect.”

Thanatos smiled weakly. “I suppose you're right.”

Suddenly cheers erupted from the center. Apollo smiled, seeing Athena in the middle of it with a wine glass and a smile. “What's going on there?”

Dionysus smiled, looking over his shoulder. “Oh, she wanted a celebration. A patron of hers graduated medical school.”

Apollo stood quickly. “Wait really? I was helping with that too! How could I forget?” He said, frowning, nearly ready to run over. Thanotos tried to reason with his panic. “We also had a disaster to see to.”

Apollo frowned, feeling awful for forgetting. “I know, but her Patron, Sophia was working with me as well, I’ve been helping her for years alongside Athena.”

Thanatos smiled, the only real smile he’s had all day. “Go on then. It’s ok to forget, you were helping save lives today and I’m sure Athena and Sophia would understand.”

Apollo smiled back. “Alright. I’ll be back in a bit.”

He said, running over to greet Athena who smiled, greeting him with the excitement of seeing an old friend.

“Brother! Glad you made it.” She said as she hugged him. Apollo smiled sheepishly. “Same, I nearly forgot.”

“You’re here now, that’s what counts.” She said with a smile. “Now celebrate with us, our girl graduated and is now a licensed surgeon.”

Thanatos watched Apollo and Athena greet each other, celebrating their believer and her accomplishments with their shared help. But one question nagged at his mind.

Dioynous sensed his change in mood. “I can hear you thinking.”

Thanatos looked to the large blonde. “I’m just wondering; why we’re all the people I went to get scared of me but the ones the angels got seemed to calm and embraced them? Do they not see what we see?”

“Oh, that. The angels have some abilities we don’t have, or at least other Gods of death don’t have; they can instantly calm a soul. They don’t always have to use it but you know how they tell the souls do not be afraid. It’s some sort of incantation to calm those they go to.”

Thanatos nodded. “Makes sense now. All those eyes are unsettling.”

“That’s putting it nicely. Those aren’t even their actual forms, that’s just their forms for humans. They’re even more unsettling and bigger.”

Thanatos huffed. “Great. And Apollo just risked a war with them.”

Elsewhere in Heaven, Azrael stood next to Jesus, at attention as their king and commander lectured Micheal and Sameal, mostly Samael.

Jesus wasn’t often angry or upset, most of the time he was soft-spoken and the personification of peace, but not today.

Not today when Samael was so blatantly rude to boarding deities.

He stood, white robs and arms crossed. “Do you know how close you were to starting a war, over nothing? Thanatos was just doing his job!”

Sameal glared back, Micheal watching his fellow angel with shock.

“He is from the underworld,” Samael said.

“So?” Jesus said, staring right back, even if he was a good few feet shorter than the tall angels. “He’s not from Hell and even if he is, you do not start fighting unless I or Micheal say so, is that clear?”

Samael looked away, hands fisted. “His little friend shot me.”

“You deserved it and you’re lucky Apollo didn’t mean actual harm. Now leave, I have to send apologies to them, on your behalf.”

Samael grumbled, turning away sharply and leaving. Micheal frowned, fearing he may be in trouble. Jesus calmed, his posture softening. “You are not in trouble Micheal, although I would like you to trust the other deities more, I cannot force you to. If you see Thanatos again, just say hello. I promise you, he means no harm.”

Micheal bowed. “Thank you, you’re holiness.” He said before leaving the room.

Azrael sighed. “I apologize again for not handling my fellow angels properly.”

“It’s not your job to, Micheal should have been the one to step in and stop it before things escalated. But I’m happy someone did. You did no wrongdoing and are free to go.” Azrael bowed as he left as well.

Jesus sighed, summoning paper and a pen, sitting down at his white desk and writing an apology letter and makeing sure they know no war will come of this and that it was only a bad day.

The next day, when Thanotos was done with his work, he stopped to see Hades, he always made sure to visit as often as possible during the time his queen has left. He knew how lonely it was for Hades.

While Hades poured him a dark coffee, a drink he preferred over wine, a scroll came flying through the window that oversaw the dark canyons and lava-like rivers of the underworld.

The golden, floating scroll floated in front of Thanatos. Hades looked curious as he sat, his own mug of coffee in hand. “You have a letter from Jesus?”

Thanatos frowned, feeling anxious seeing it floating, wondering what might be on it. “Yes, and I’m not sure why.”

Hades sensed the anxiety in his friend. “Open it.” He gave a command, gently.

Thanatos reached out and gently grabbed it, unfurling it with both hands and reading over the golden lettering.

“He’s…apologizing for his angel's behavior. He promises no war will come of Apollo's behavior as it was justified defending his friends.”

Hades gave a small smile. “I told you there was nothing to worry about.”

Thanatos almost rolled his eyes. “I’m aware. I can’t believe he actually wrote me an apology.”

“Jesus is one of the better ones of that sect. He’s always been nothing but respectful toward others.” Hades said as he sat down on the couch across from his friend.

Thanktos filled the paper back up. “It was very kind of him to do.”

“Do you feel better now?”

Thanatos smiled. “I do. Now that I have peace of mind nothing will come of Apollo's actions.”

“Good. Now relax, as you tell me so often.”