- Poseidon and Thanatos -
Four guards came into the portal room. Two removed the corpses while the other two took the former guards' place. Poseidon and Thanatos made quick work of the palace, killing guards that would soon be replaced with other guards. In moments, the palace had effectively fallen, not that anyone would be able to tell.
After handling that, the two left the palace and started moving swiftly and inconspicuously through the Underworld city. Thanatos was leading their movement. Eventually, the two arrived at a large gate wrapped in chains guarded by Cerberus. The three-headed guard dog snarled at Thanatos.
"Out of our way," Thanatos said as he tossed a vial of a green liquid at Cerberus's face.
Cerberus fell to the ground and covered his face as his body twitched. One head tried lifting up to bite at Thanatos while another kept attempting, and failing, to conjure a fireball out of their mouth. The middle head was whipping back and forth, attempting to howl but only managing a weak squeal.
"I still think we should just kill it," Thanatos suggested.
Poseidon looked at the struggling Cerberus and quickly turned his head away. "My brother is quite fond of the beast. I don't want to make what's about to happen any more difficult for him."
"Whatever..." Thanatos mumbled as he placed his hand on the large gate.
The gate filled with silver energy that ran along the chains. The chains disappeared and the gate opened. The two walked in and Thanatos lead Poseidon down a large spiral staircase that was descending into a seemingly bottomless pit.
Poseidon shuddered. "Don't know how my brother stands this. Father's whispers are getting louder, almost as if they're shouting."
"Keep it together," Thanatos sighed. 'I don't know what those 'whispers' he's referring to are, but it doesn't matter.'
After what seemed like an endless spiral of stairs the two were on some kind of floor. Whether it was the bottom or not was difficult to tell, given the layout of the area. Pitch darkness was spread out in all directions with white balls of energy intermittently placed, making this "floor" resemble a night sky full of stars.
"He should still be in that direction," Thanatos pointed off in the distance. "Stay close, or you might get lost in here," He chuckled.
Poseidon placed a strong grip on Thanatos's shoulder. "Oh don't worry, I plan on staying right behind you."
- Lucifer and Death's side -
"How's he doin'?" Peter asked a returning Lucifer.
"Fine enough," Lucifer sighed. "It's nothing we didn't expect."
Lao wasn't far behind Lucifer. He entered the coliseum with his head down, not wanting to speak to anyone. Yvere ran up to him.
"Is everything okay between you two?"
Lao mumbled, "Yeah, it's the same old same old," He looked up slowly. "I don't think I want to keep playing. I have a lot to think about."
Yvere sighed. "That's fine. Just don't rush any decisions, okay?"
"I won't," Lao said through a half-smile.
Death blinked over to Lucifer. "Is this...normal for your group?"
"Yes and no," Lucifer answered. "Whatever happens after this vacation won't be anything I wasn't expecting. Lao's always had ambition," His expression shifted in a way that indicated he just thought of something. "Maybe he should join the Grim?"
"It would be a safer option than him runnin' off on his own," Peter added.
Death looked over at Lao. "It's up to him. If he agrees to the idea I'd have him join Yuri's or Xiao's squad. It wouldn't be any less dangerous than your old missions, so you know."
Dimitri came through the coliseum entrance. He grabbed Lao by the back of the shirt and dragged him to Lucifer. He ignored Lao's asks of what he was doing and kept his grip tight. Yvere gave a confused stare to Lao as the two went towards the others.
Dimitri walked up to Death, looked up at him, and spoke with as much false confidence as he could muster. "Let him join your Grim. Otherwise, his stupid ass is going to get killed doing mercenary work."
Lao pulled himself out of Dimitri's grip. "That's my decision, not yours!"
"Uh-huh," Dimitri responded in a bored tone. "I'm just expediting the process."
Before anyone could say anything, Dimitri walked off towards the coliseum seating. Lucifer and Death stared at each other and then turned to Lao.
"The Grim would be happy to have you," Death said in an unsure tone.
"I think it's a good idea, Lao," Peter said.
"I can get you an echo so you could still call us if you need help," Lucifer said. "You have no obligation to keep working for Hell."
"I-I-I, um," Lao was stammering. "I'll think it over. Let's discuss this once we actually get back to Hell."
Lao turned around and walked in a huff toward Dimitri.
Peter chuckled. "Dimitri always was good at readin' others. He would have been a great addition to the team back in the day if not for his affinity."
"So, now what?" Death asked Lucifer.
Lucifer rubbed the back of his head. "I guess we should head back to the palace for now. Maybe go for a swim in Hades' pool?"
"I'll ask them," Death blinked towards Hades.
"You?! Swimming?!" Hades's voice was easily heard throughout the coliseum.
The group started their return to the palace. On the walk back Dimitri and Lao argued about everything that happened. Yvere and Peter stayed close to them in case one of them got the idea to run off. Near the front, Sabu, Elijah, and Heinrich were talking about the soccer game, and Death and Lucifer were talking about swimming.
"So you haven't swum much either?" Death asked.
"No," Lucifer sighed. "I know how to swim but I don't bother much with the actual activity. Especially after a certain incident."
"Poseidon?" Persephone tilted her head.
Hades nervously chuckled. "Again, sorry about him. Even given what he's been going through there's no excuse for what he did."
"I'm not talking about Poseidon," Lucifer insisted. "It's a long story."
Near the back of the group, Peter was grabbing Dimitri while Yvere grabbed Lao. They stopped the two from trying to leave in opposite directions.
"Just fucking join them!" Dimitri shouted.
"It's my decision!" Lao yelled back.
"I-" He turned his head to Peter. "-fuck you're strong,"
Lao could have broken out of Yvere's grip but felt bad that she had gotten involved at all.
Peter started walking as he dragged Dimitri. "Ya two can scream it out once we get back to the palace. I'm not fuckin' searchin' the Underworld because one or both of ya decides to run away."
Dimitri struggled. "I'll walk, just let me go!"
"Nah," Peter replied.
Yvere let go of Lao. "Please just walk. I really don't want to drag you."
"I will," Lao appeased. "Sorry for this. You shouldn't need to get involved."