A Toast! To Thine Demise!

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Everyone's glad to be back from the Underworld. Now, there is much to catch up on, from old and new comrades alike. Cheers! So much to do, so much to deliver, but hopefully enough time to do it all in.

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The rain fell gently over the Bifrost, reflecting the rainbow in the moist air. Heimdall stood quietly, allowing himself to become slowly drenched. Another quiet dawn to himself, another morning to reflect upon everything, or as he usually would. But instead, he thought only of the rain cleaning away his stress, his confusion, his love, and he was glad to see it run off his body and into the puddles around him.

Dionysus prances up to join the tall god, reveling in the rain. "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO RAIN! I believe this calls for a change of season party!"

A grin slowly crawls across Satan's face. "Your ideas intrigue me and I wish to learn more," he says to the sexy goddess on his desk.

Jesus sneezes. He chalks this up to the fact that he might have caught a cold from the rain, since he couldn't find his chambers during the night and was locked out of whatever hallway he had just exited. As it was, he was shivering in the gentle rain, soaked, walking around the outside of the coliseum trying to find another door.

"Aah yes," Heimdall said, smiling, "the usual party." He jerked his head from side to side, cracking his neck. "Is everyone else asleep, or should we go find them?"

"Let's find them," Dionysus answers. "And even if they are asleep, we can just wake them up. Cuz sleeping parties are SOOO three seasons ago..."

Thanatos wandered down the halls. Even after a good night's sleep he looked awful, like he hadn't slept in weeks, and was still on the emaciated side, but he felt good enough to walk. He had woken up a little while ago and decided to go make sure Venus had at least woken up. Thanatos looked outside the window at the rain and happened to notice Jesus, who was busy looking forlornly at a locked door. Thanatos went over and unlocked it, swinging it open, much to Jesus' delight.

"Thanks, man!" Jesus exclaimed, quickly walking inside, dripping water all over the floor. "I was stuck out there for a frickin' long-ass time." When Jesus is cranky he's more likely to cuss.

Morrigan leaned against the wall, her arms folded just under her chest. She smiled as Thanatos and Jesus walked through the door, a strange, unreadable smile. "Hello, boys." She used her leg to push her body away from the wall. "It's days like these that remind me of that day in the battle field..." The reminiscing look left her face and she smiled shyly into her hair, "But that was a long, long time ago." Morrigan turned to walk away and paused, her face obscured by her black hair, "Enjoy your time here." Then, she continued on her way, the clacking of her heels faded down the hall, and her form disintegrated into the darkness, as if she had become a wraith.

"Great. 'Enjoy your time here.' Fucking... Now if that doesn't sound familiar, I don't know what does." Jesus scowled, stripping off his wet T-shirt and wringing it out as he talked to Thanatos. "I might be stupid, but I'm not... stupid... or something. She's up to something. And I don't like it."

Venus rounds the corner. It seems like overnight, she progressed a good three months into the pregnancy when she had already appeared to be three months into it... but then again, gods are strange creatures. One never really hears about pregnant gods, so their pregnancies must not last that long. "Oooh, somebody needs to get out of those wet clothes," Venus said, glowing with that radiance pregnant women are supposed to have. However, her skin was pale and she said the line half-heartedly, not fully recovered from the previous day.

"I'm sure they're all congregated in some pocket of this place..." Heimdall said to his companion, arms behind his head.

Morrigan came into view, just before the two gods. She said nothing in greeting but kept up her pace. She stopped just in front of Heimdall in a silence that made even the God uneasy. "So much like him..." Morrigan said quietly, reaching out and gently stroking Heimdall's cheek. "Cuchulain was so Charming...Proud..." She stared directly into his eyes, her hand still carressing him, "ignorant and heroic..." Morrigan removed her hand and pulled it back -- a posture fit for striking someone -- before she slowly let her arm back down. A faint smile crossed her lips as she stared straight past the two Gods standing there, "The ending of one thing is the birth of another, and everyone must play their part." Her gaze focused back in on Heimdall and Dionysus, "Savor the rain." She brushed past without inquiring where they were going.

Dionysus watches her leave, admiring her backside. After a pause, he leans in toward Heimdall and says, "Dude, she was totally just hitting on you!"

"If so...that's the strangest pick-up line I've ever heard." Heimdall watched the Goddess go, confusion written across his face. "Who's Chuchulain?" He felt fairly certain Dionysus didn't know, but he still had to ask.

Heimdall guesses right. "I dunno," Dionysus replies, "but that sounded hot. Maybe he's a former lover of hers that you remind her of? I get that a lot... but then again, I shapeshift a lot too... Anyways, if I were you, I would soooo hit that."

"I would, if I weren't so convinced her vagina had fangs." Heimdall shook his head from the strange encounter.

Morrigan sat perched on Satan's desk, her legs crossed over one another as she examined the tip of her spear. "Ever had a lover?"

"Vagina dentata!" Jesus exclaimed, rounding the corner and seeing Heimdall in time to hear his last comment. Thanatos and Venus followed him. Jesus stopped to start wringing out his hair. "I take it you happened upon Morrigan, too?" he asked of the two.

"Yeah we did," Dionysus says, greeting Jesus with a gang-esque pound of the fist. "And is it just me, or is she really hot today?"

Satan looks up, and smiles. For once, he is actually interested in what Morrigan has come to bother him about. "Love is my favorite sin," he says wickedly.

"I'm not gonna lie, she creeps me out," Jesus replied.

"Dionysus, wasn't it obvious she was plotting something?" Thanatos said, frowning. "Or do you find plotting people hot? Or... are you just terribly horny today?"

Dionysus blushes, taking Thanatos' question as a compliment. "She's always acting like she's plotting something. But today, she was totally putting the moves on me and Big Guy over here." He neglects to mention that, at the time, she'd really only been paying any real attention to Heimdall.

"She said something about the ending being a beginning...or some sort of prophetic nonsense the Norns would churn out." Heimdall scratched the back of his head. Lately, Morrigan was by far one of his least favorite deities.

Morrigan smiled, letting the spear disappear. She turned and lay atop the desk on her stomach, her face near Satan's. "Tell me about it." She toyed with the collar of his suit.

"Yeah, she was talking a bit of code with us, too," Jesus said. "Well, more to me. Something about how she's going to kill me." Jesus frowned. "I may be paranoid, but just because you're paranoid doesn't mean an invisible monster isn't about to eat your face."

Satan blinks. Is she trying to seduce him? As much as he likes lust, he's never actually had it directed toward him. He tries to call attention away from his discomfort, asking, "What dastardly plan have you got now?"

"Please," Morrigan sat up on her elbows, "The one and only." Her legs swished behind her, and overall, it would be very suiting to an onlooker if she had a swishing tail to match. "Days like these remind me of people from long ago, plans long since laid to rest, with successful ends." Her red eyes gazed into his, "But I digress. I think you were about to tell me of some trysts from your own past."

"Harsh. She actually threatened you?" Heimdall's eyebrows rose dramatically. "Did she say what specifically she was going to use?"

"No, it was in fecking code," Jesus said, looking over his wet T-shirt and deciding he'd wait until he could find dry clothes. "She said, um, 'enjoy your time here.' Great. Unless she's building us a magical getaway in France I doubt she was being friendly."

"Uh..." Dionysus interjects, "is it even possible for her to kill you? I mean, I know we're of different faiths and all, but... Aren't you immortal?"

"Ahem," Satan now stands up, uncomfortable with the conversation now. "I said love is my favorite sin. Never said that I've ever fallen victim to it myself." It is unclear whether he is lying or not.

Morrigan grinned, satisfied with the thought that she could make someone as well-composed as Satan obviously uneasy. "It's not like it really matters anyway," she said, acting disinterested, "Though, I don't remember ever mentioning the word 'love,' just simply 'sin.'" The Goddess watched Satan's reaction through the corner of her eyes.

"There are ways," Jesus replied. "It's happened before. I got better and all, but I was only mortal. Once. Besides... there are things worse than death. I mean, I don't actually know what they are, and death was pretty groady, but I'm sure they're out there."

"Aren't you being a little too sensitive over this?" Heimdall asked, patting Jesus' shoulder. "I mean, Morrigan's a cryptic girl, she could just be psyching you out. You know, toying with your mind."

"Dude, I repeat my previous statement about paranoia. Not listening to my gut has gotten me into scrapes before." Jesus' voice suddenly went several octaves higher, like he was imitating someone. "'Oh, Judas would NEVER betray MEEEE!' 'Judas is a GOOD BOY! He would NEVER stab me in the back!' 'Why Judas, of course you can nail me to this two-by-four! Here, let me help you by holding the fecking nail' what a cunt." Jesus slouched, pouting a little. "I won't jump the gun, but I'm keeping my eye on her."

Venus glided up a ways. "You've been cussing a lot," Venus said, smiling a little without really meaning it.

"Oops," Jesus replied. "...sorry, I forgot you were here. Usually you're less quiet. Can't curse in front of a lady, and all that." Jesus looked down at his pants. "Erm, Heimdall..." Jesus reconsiders briefly, looking up and up at the much taller diety. "Dionysus. Or Thanatos. Anything I could borrow that isn't a bedsheet?"

Dionysus is confused by the bedsheet comment. But laughs anyway. 

Satan stares at Morrigan. "Regardless... your fond reminiscing hasn't lead to any brilliant new plots? I'm disappointed..."

"Now, I never said that, darling." Morrigan sat upright, her back arched. "My memories detail betrayal. Of the lust and death kind." she put a finger on Satan's chin, her mouth close to his, then suddenly pulled away and jumped off the desk. She looked over her shoulder with a mischievous grin, "I make the tides turn."

Satan is now becoming irritated. "Woman, I've no time for your games. What exactly is your plan?"

Morrigan frowned at Satan's outburst. After all, she was just trying to build up to what was on her mind. "You get Jesus." She said non climatically. "Feel free to do with him as you wish; but remember, the soul must stay intact." Morrigan ran her fingers through her hair, "When you're done with that, let me know. Meanwhile, I'll busy myself with a couple others that hold my interest." She looked down in an annoyed fashion at her shadow, glaring at it as it were an unwilling companion.

Jesus did a wierd combination of sneezing and shivering. Thanatos raises an eyebrow. "I have some clothes you could borrow," Thanatos mentions. "My shirts are fine enough but you could be too tall for my jeans. I have a few extra-long ones for my boots, we'll see how that works."

"Fantastic, dude, you're a life-saver," Jesus says. He might be immortal, but colds still suck.

"I have to see this," Venus giggles, coyly eyeing both Jesus' bare chest and Thanatos' dark clothing. "Oooh... Give him something with fishnet!"

Thanatos rolled his eyes and they walked to his room. Venus was forbidden to enter, despite her whining and flirting. "Don't make out too much while you're in there!" she called in. Jesus' laughter could be heard from outside. Thanatos was totally quiet.

A few minutes later, they emerged. Jesus was wearing long, black pants that sported chains, zippers, oversized pockets, and random red strips across the bottom. Two strips of cloth loosely connected the two legs. His black shirt had rips down the sleeves and a small hood. A worn print of a red skull was on the front, along with a small pouch for hands. Jesus had apparently decided to accesorize and had stolen a black hat and some of Thanatos' boots-apparently they were the same size.

"Very cute," Venus said, approving. He still looked like Jesus, but the black seemed to fit him in an odd way.

Satan smiles viciously. "Easy."

A little friendly wooden sign seems to appear about five feet from Jesus. In happy sky blue letters it reads "Free Cookies! This way ---->"

Jesus was immediately drawn to it. "Free cookies? That's nice. I like cookies," he said. "But what kind?"

Magically, the sign changes. It now says in happy sky blue letters, "Free Cookies! This way ----> they are chocolate chip".

"My favorite!" Jesus exclaims. "Amazing. How ever did they know? Oh well-free cookies!" He immediately heads in the direction of the arrow.

"Awh now," Morrigan said, coming up unexpectedly behind Dionysus and Heimdall, putting a hand on a shoulder of each god, "doesn't Jesus look adorable. Is he pretending he's an apostle of Death?"

"Um, Jesus," Thanatos says, stopping the Son of Gawd before he rounded the corner. "Do you really think you should be following that sign?"

"You're just jealous of my free cookies," Jesus replies, sticking out his tongue. "And they are mine, right, sign?" He looked expectantly at the sign that was still there.

The sign, growing larger as happy lettering is added to it, now also clarifies that the cookies are "for saviors of mankind only."

Dionysus makes a pouty face. "But I like cookies too!"

"You're not a savior of mankind," Jesus explains. "The sign might be offended if you take some."

"Well, we can't all be saviors." commented Morrigan, letting her hand slide down Dionysus' back. "After all, we're deities, love. We don't die, now, do we?" She looked to Dionysus for the answer.

"Yup! I totally died for these cookies. And now I shall eat cookies for your sins!" Jesus exclaims, turning around and immediately rounding the corner.

"True story," Dionysus replies to Morrigan, now completely forgetting about cookies. "So how've you been Morrigan? Haven't seen ya around in a while."

Around the corner is a smallish cave, the numbers 666 carved in large, jagged letters over the entrance. Another magic friendly sign is in front of the cave, and reads "Cookies in cave, yay!"

Jesus pauses, the '666' primarily catching his interest. He stared apprehensively at them for just a moment before seeing the new friendly sign. "What a bad place to put awesome cookies," he muttered, walking into the cave. "In and out with my awesome Savior Chip Cookies."

As Jesus walks further into the cave, something feels different. Wrong, really. It's sort of a lost, out of place feeling. The deeper he goes, the more overwhelming it becomes. He finally enters a largish opening, which has a chair in the middle. By the time he gets to this opening, the feeling is almost literally crushing him.

Jesus, collapsing in the chair, trying to breath, one hand clutching his shirt like that would help. He knows the feeling was familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. "Where are the fecking cookies?" he mutters. "Might just leave without them..."

"No cookies," Satan says, stepping out from a shadow. He doesn't seem affected by the crushing feeling - loneliness, it might be called, though it's more of an understatement. Satan paces in circles around the chair, a cruel smile coming to his face. "I'd appologize for the disappointment, but apologies are too close to confession for my comfort."

"I'm not a priest, feel free," Jesus says. "You lied about cookies? That's low." Jesus tried to take a deep breath, failed, tried again, and succeeded. He knew he was not exactly on his home court, but he was still being uppity. He wasn't sure why. "Since you don't need to confess, what else do you need me for?"

"I thought we could spend some quality time together, you know, brotherly love and such," Satan replies, pinching Jesus' cheek. "I even had this special cave made just for you. Notice anything special about it? Or rather, the lack of anything special?"

Jesus muttered something under his breath, rubbing his cheek half-heartedly. "Total lack of Dad." Jesus looked off towards where he had just come from. "Man, the contrast between this place and outside is almost refreshing. I hadn't realized our old man was still around." He looks around the cave. "I like it. A bit stark, but spacious."

"Oh you know, a little this, a little that. Mostly just tinkering away on my own. And how's my favorite drunken bastard?" It wasn't altogether an insult, fact, there was a smile on Morrigan's face as she ruffled Dionysus' hair.

Thanatos peeked around the corner, but Jesus was gone. "He'd better not rip my clothes," Thanatos muttered, then turned back to the conversation. He figured Jesus could take care of himself... mostly.

"I wish there were more to do around here," Venus said, mumbling a bit. "All we do is party. And that's not bad, but at least there should be a library or something around here." Not that Venus would read much, but the sexy librarian gig is always fun once in a while.

"I'm sure there's something more to this place." Replied Heimdall. "All we have to do is look around. If this place is comprised of all our worlds, there's got to be a place that collects the anthologies somewhere." He looked around in a circle for a moment, then pointed towards a direction. "There, let's see what we can find."

Venus giggled a little. Her gaze rested on Heimdall. At that moment, he reminded her of someone who would aim himself in a random direction and then see what kind of trouble he'd get into. Venus shook her head a little and then nodded. "Yeah, let's go," she said.

"You coming too, Thanni-tos?" Heimdall caught himself in the middle of the nickname.

"Thanitos," Venus echoed. "Sounds Latino."

"Yeah, I'll go," Thanatos replied, giving Heimdall a measured glare to let him know that he didn't approve, but at least the guy was making an effort. "As Venus said... nothing better to do." He looked at Morrigan. "And do you care to grace us with your presence?"

Dionysus wraps his arm around Morrigan's waist. "I insist she comes... haha, comes..."

Satan's grin turns quickly into a frown. "You really have that optimism thing down, don't you?" He stops pacing in front of Jesus. "You play the naive part pretty well too. But let's talk philosophy. Here, there is no God. There is no judgement. Just us. How strong is your faith, little brother?"

"I wouldn't call it optimism, bro," Jesus replies, putting off the last question, trying to figure out what Satan was up to. "Cuz, you know, the glass isn't half-full. It's not really half-empty, either. All I know is there's water in there, but I wouldn't necessarily drink it." Jesus falls silent, looking at his brother skeptically. "Faith in what?" he asks.

"Well, if the big guy insists I come," Morrigan glanced up at Dionysus with a grin, "Then come I shall."

Heimdall turned his back, perturbed. His offer of adventure was more or less to escape the bloodsucking diety. "Onward, then." He began to walk in the direction he had previously pointed.

Satan laughs. "In your Father. He clearly doesn't have any faith in your or your flock."

"Last time He had faith in someone other than Himself, the guy started a mutiny and tried to overthrow him," Jesus says, his voice quiet.

As they walked, Morrigan whispered into Dionysus' ear, letting her lips brush against his lobes, "You wanna get out of here?" She stayed where she was, her breath warm against his neck.

Dionysus' eyes light up. "Hades yes!" he says loud enough for the rest of the group to hear. "Hey guys, me and Morrigan are gonna go do the horizantal cha-cha. Catch ya later!"

Satan punches Jesus squarely in the face. He licks some blood off of his knuckles and laughs. "Next time I'll just leave a comment in his 'suggestions' box, right?" He shakes his head. "You dare speak to me like that. I'm a fucking angel, for His sake. You... you're nothing. You have no purpose. Savior of mankind? Feh. Mankind doesn't want to be saved. They don't even know how good they have it, but they do know well enough to throw it all away. It's worse now than it was when you lived. They don't just kill each other for money, power, and faith anymore. No... they really hurt each other now."

The cave room goes black for a moment. Then, images begin appearing all around, surrounding Jesus. Rape, murder, torture... and not just violent crimes. Parents teaching their children to hate people for their skin color or political beliefs. Extramarital affairs, child neglect and abandonment. The screaming is horrible, but the silence is worse.

"With you as a savior, there's no need for me to do anything. I just sit back and watch." Satan begins to laugh maniacally.

Jesus puts a hand to his face, wiping up blood and examining his nose. "Broken," he remarked. He stands up, shakily. "I've had worse. Hopefully Thannie can forgive me for getting blood all over his t-shirt." He looks squarely at Satan, sadness in his eyes. "You call this evil. Evil? There is no such thing. Just an absence of good. Hate is just the absence of love." Jesus looks at the images still playing, looking as though he would absorb them. "Suffering kills me. I'm there. I'm always there for them. Not even just in Christianity, but just to try and make their lives better, help them help others... Everything. It's just... sometimes they don't see me. But at least I try." Jesus looked back at Satan. "What exactly did you do to deserve the blame for all this?" he said, his voice very quiet.

"It's not for what he did,it's for what he always does." Said a raspy voice, a rough whisper, "What we always do." Hades stepped out from the shadows, helmet in the nook of his arm. The room spun, and reality blurred. Finally, the room stood still, and they were yet another cavernous area, a glowing, swirling abyss stood a few feet away and phantom screams could be heard, reverberating against the walls. Images of tortured people smoked above the pool, then dissipated.

"I know a great place." Morrigan licked her lips, "someplace we won't be disturbed." She led him down dark passageways with dripping stalagmites. Finally, at the end of a hall lay a door, of which she pushed him up against and crashed up against him. Morrigan's red lips met with Dionysus', her tongue snaking through.

Thanatos, Venus and Heimdall stood upon the stoop of a large building, the greek word "Gnosis" inscribed in large, fancy letters over the door. A few immortals wondered in and out, scrolls within their arms. "I think we've found the right place..." said Heimdall, slowing stepping up and into the building.

"Okay, now I'm totally lost," Jesus remarked, noting the absolute change in the area while placing fists on his hips. "And who might you be?" Jesus asks of Hades. He's trying to be polite, but his nose is broken and he doesn't know where he is.

Venus giggled enthusiastically. "Finally! Somewhere where my librarian pick-up lines won't go to waste!" She looks down at her protruding preggerness. "Well, I can't use them now, but in a bit."

"Look!" exclaimed Heimdall, "They have anthologies on mythologies!" He grabbed a book right off the shelf. "We've even each got our own book!" The book he held in his hand was on Artemis.

"Hades!" Said the god in the guttural voice, as if it truly pained him to say it so loudly. "The King of the Underworld." This addition was said with great strength and the raspiness had gone out of Hades' voice. The God had seemed to grow instantly, towering over the other two, and the cavern seemd to curve upwards to conform to his height.

Dionysus' clothing disappears. He's not much for foreplay. His arms wrap around Morrigan and hold her close to him, and he attempts to remove her clothing.

Satan rolls his eyes. "What are you doing here?" he asks the melodramatic god. "Morrigan said I get to play with this one." He sounds a bit like a whiny child.

"Ooh, even Morrigan was in on this?" Jesus asks. "I feel special." 

"Whoa," Venus says, picking off the shelf two books: that of her and Mars. "I wanna read these." She spies Dionysus' book but when she looks around to tell him, he is nowhere to be found. And neither is Morrigan. Venus rolls her eyes and looks back.

Heimdall pulled yet another book from the shelf. "Hey, check this out..." He held up a tome with the name "Morrigan" on the binding in gold letters. "I wonder what her story is..." He cracked the book open, and began to read.

Morrigan's fingers felt down along Dionysus' sides before fumbling for the handle of the door. She twisted the handle and leaned up against Dionysus, thrusting the portal open. Down, down, they fell into a dark abyss. "Sorry, Darling," Morrigan cooed, "I've already learned to fall for no one." She held her arms out, the tattoos swelling until her arms had turned black - she had transformed into a raven. Dionysus did not fall long, for, Morrigan had spun shadows to bind him, and she carried Dionysus as if he were her prey, bundled into a dark package. She swooped down, circling over the heads of Hades, Jesus and Satan.

"Just some foolish cat playing with its mouse?" Hades said condenscendingly. 

Jesus happens to see a shadow on the ground and looks up to see a naked Dionysus straight up. "Oh Dad!" Jesus said, immediately looking down and rubbing his eyes. "Warn a guy!"

Venus cradles her books above her stomach, looking intently at Heimdall. "Skip to the end; that's when all the good stuff happens," she says.

"What the Hades?" Dionysus yells as he's turned into prey. Then he spies the god from his own world. "Oh, speaking of which..."

Satan continues to pout. "I never get to have any fun..."

"Oh, so you've met?" Jesus asks Dionysus-or rather, he asks the floor and hopes either Hades or Dionysus get it. "Hey Dionysus, you know a way out of this place? I'm totally lost and would like to be on my merry way. Well, a little less merry now." Jesus rubs more blood from his face, trying to clean it totally now that there has been a little more clottage, hoping his nose wouldn't end up crooked.

Dionysus now spies Jesus, just below him. "J-man! How were those cookies, bro? Oh, man, what happened to your face?"

"The cookies weren't where I thought they'd be," Jesus said, grinning up but keeping his eyes shielded. "And this? Pshaw, you should see the other guy. Dude, what happened to your clothes, man?"

"Oh, me and Morrigan way did the nasty like eight times, and then outta no where she went all crazy bird thing on me and wouldn't let me get dressed. I'm into some kinky things, but..."

Satan rolls his eyes. "Amatuers," he mutters, in reference to Jesus' and Dionysus' poor attempts at lying.

"Hey Morrigan!" Jesus called up, not having heard Satan and guessing the raven was Morrigan. "Wanna put Dionysus down? And maybe let him have his clothes back?"

The claws that clutched at the shadows that ensnared Dionysus released, sending the god for a good fall to the ground. The shadows, however, stayed closely tied around the God. Short after, the bird began to descend, transforming back into Morrigan. She circled the lump on the ground that was Dionysus before standing akimbo. "When we're through here, I'll consider it."

Heimdall shrugged, flipping open to the table of Contents. Each chapter was dedicated to each major event, the last being her awakening in the Coliseum. About midway through, there was a chapter entitled "Chuchulain." The god furrowed his brow. "Chuchulain...isn't that the name of that guy she was talking about earlier?" He muttered to himself, flipping the pages to the chapter.

Venus furrowed her eyebrows. "I honestly can't remember," she confessed. "What did she say about him?"

"Fuck!" Jesus exclaims at Dionysus' rough tumble. He runs over to his friend, not really paying heed to nudity, although he is very very briefly tempted to just let him lie there. "You okay?!" He looked up at Morrigan, glaring. "What the hell was that all about? Is your thong riding up too high today?"

Dionysus slowly sits up. "Sweet burn!" he says to Jesus, laughing. His laughter isn't quite as hearty as before, as while he can't really die from a fall like that, he's still quite injured.

"No thong here, honey." Morrigan said smugly, approaching Hades. "Now do it."

The God looked down upon Morrigan, as if she were just an annoyance. "Two will not suffice. Bring me more, then I shall do it."

Morrigan's eyes flashed, a retort working its way out straight from her beating chest. "I brought you two immortal souls! How do I know if you'll actually live up to your end of the bargain. Do it now, then I will retrieve more!"

"You're not in a position to deal." Hades rasped, he would not be nagged by some goddess who hardly owned a domain of her own. The two stood there, fire burning behind each eye. At length, Hades broke the tension. His arm rose, right before Morrigan. Then, a black smoke began to seep from her body, sucked out by Hades' hand. Morrigan writhed, hugging herself tightly as if she expected her two halves to split apart from one another Hades clenched a bony, massive hand around the smoke, sending a portion of it swirling away, ultimately back over to Morrigan. "Only a part is what I have taken. Now, retrieve the others, or I shall send him back, along with others."

Morrigan turned away from Hades. "Come on, Satan." She walked past the immortal, "we're not done yet."

"Chuchulain..."Heimdall thought a moment, "I think she said something about heroism. I dunno." He glanced down at the page "Some mortal she knew."

"Um, you can't have my soul, by the way," Jesus informs Hades. "Not yours to have. Just so you know."

"Knew or 'knew?'" Venus asked, nudging Heimdall. "You know what I mean. Read more!"

Satan follows Morrigan, snickering to himself. Normally, he'd be offended that she'd ordered him around, but the little drama between his collegues was amusing enough for him to let it slide. He pokes Jesus hard on his broken nose before leaving.

"So..." Dionysus says, trying to break the awkward silence. "Hades, how are things? You still with Persephone? She was hot." He outlines a curve in the air to Jesus, indicating the body shape of Hades' wife, and mouths "oh yeah."

Jesus wasn't looking. He was a little preoccupied with burning pain. "Ow! Fucktard! Very mature!" Jesus yells out after Satan as he leaves. "My Dad, why don't you just pants me while you're at it and steal my lunch money?!" He sat down next to Dionysus, stripping off his shirt and offering it to the guy to cover him up. "Do you have siblings? If you don't, you're lucky."

"You kidding me?" Dionysus replies. "I've probably got a few thousand brothers and sisters I don't even know about it. Daddy was a playa. Like father, like son word."

"Oh," Jesus said. "I guess then it's probable at least one of them was an asshat." He stuck his tongue out at where Satan had just left.

Hades casts a look askance at Dionysus, refusing to dignify the god's question with a response. "You'd be surprised at who has access to your soul." He said to Jesus, looking out upon the swirling abyss of souls.

"By the looks of it, it seems Morrigan was in love with this Chuchulain." Heimdall raised his eyebrows, shocked that the goddess was capable of such a thing. "She aided him all the time in battle."

"I'm thinking you take Venus and I can try to haul in Heimdall." Morrigan said, looking straight ahead as she marched forward. She was determined to finish the deal.

"Ah, love," Venus said, sighing a bit, finally knowing something she and Morrigan had in common. "It is pretty cool. Anything about him? Was he hot? He was a warrior, so he was obviously ripped." Venus giggled, leaning over Heimdall's arm to read the book, casually pressing her upper torso against him, not even thinking about it.

Jesus pulled a face at Hades. "Boo to you," he said. "My soul is my own. Nobody owns it unless I give it to them; proven fact. Can we leave now?"

As a response, Hades just shook his head. Some immortals were absolutely clueless.

Heimdall, for the time being, also didn't notice Venus' breasts - he was more preoccuppied with the book. "Typical Hero...handsome and built for battle. She was totally enamored with him." He tapped a finger on a portrait of the man. "But I guess he didn't feel the same, no matter how hard Morrigan tried. Then, she basically led him to his death." Heimdall let out a small laugh. "Sounds like the Morrigan we know."

"Love can turn ugly," Venus admitted. "But then it stops being love, now doesn't it?" She withdrew from Heimdall, no longer interested, and looked down at her own book, stacked so neatly atop Mars'. "Um, I'm going to go check out the other sections, if nobody has an objection," she states hesitantly.

Dionysus laughs at Jesus' comment. "Proven?" he says. "Considering our very existance is based on faith, that is probably the funniest thing I've ever heard."

Satan nods to Morrigan, but hesitates. "Venus is fairly trusting, but that Heimdall... he's not as dumb as he looks. How are you going to get to him?"

"Hey, let's just say it's pretty much Against the Rules in my religion," Jesus said. "In a sense. Sort of. Okay, so I haven't really tested this theory, but I'm almost certain people can't take my soul without my permission. At least I've been told."

"In his mind, Heimdall has to be the hero." Morrigan said, narrowing her eyes, "and the hero will always save those in need." She turned to Satan, "I'll tell him Dionysus is in trouble...maybe go as far as I got in too deep with Hades. He'll come to the rescue. And that's when we get him."

"To say that is to deny the existance of all these souls." Hades spread his arms out towards the glowing pool, faces swirling in and out of view. "You forget, boy," Hades said, folding his hands behind him, "Your religion isn't the only set of rules around this place." A cruel smile played across his face.

"But you gotta have faith," Jesus said, grinning right back at the God. "...you gotta have faith, you gotta have faith..." Jesus stands and starts dancing. "BAAAABYYYYY, if I could touch your body! Cuz not just ANYBODY! Has got a body like youuuuu!"

Dionysus joins Jesus in song, as he is also familiar with it.

Satan rolls his eyes and mutters something about "every fucking time with the singing..."

Jesus, being in the other room and currently singing at the top of his lungs, doesn't hear his brother.

Venus lowers herself into a comfy chair, suddenly very tired. She wipes her forehead, looking very maidenly and helpless and tempting.

Heimdall took a seat in a nearby chair, engrossing himself in Morrigan's mythology. Know your enemy... seemed like an apt mantra.

Hades twitched his head, a crack echoing down his spine. "SILENCE!" His voice had grown inconceivably strong and reverberated through out the room.

Morrigan, having her interest piqued, slipped out of the chambers with Satan and back into the room with Hades and his 'guests.' "What's all the commotion, dears?" as she passed Dionysus and Jesus, she ruffled their hair.

"Ew," Jesus said. "It touched me." He looked around the room, made a horse noise out of boredom, then turned to Dionysus again. "Alright, I spy with my little eye, something... er... old."

Dionysus considers, looking around the room. "Is it Uncle Hades?"

Satan manifests back into the room, giving Morrigan a look. "We have some business to be taking care of," he says, reminding her that they do in fact have an evil plot.

"Yes!" Jesus exclaims enthusiastically. "Your turn."

Venus rises from the chair, suddenly uncomfortable, glistening with sweat. Something felt weird, almost wrong but not quite. She shook her head and grabbed the books, heading outside and looking very very pregnant. She saw Heimdall on the way out and just continued on her way without warning him, also passing by Thanatos without saying anything. Venus just wanted to get back to her room and lie down a bit.

Heimdall did not see Venus, he was far too engrossed in the book on Morrigan. The more he read, the more worried he grew. Slamming the book closed, he looked up, searching for someone. He ran up and down a couple aisles before finding THanatos, calling out to him. "I think..." began the deity, not knowing how to phrase his thoughts, "I think we should find everyone. Everyone."

"Darling," Morrigan cooed, tugging slightly at his tie. "Consider me...already there." and before his very eyes, Morrigan's form melted away into mist, rising up towards the ceiling.

"If you plan on keepig them here, intact, then keep them quiet." rasped Hades to Satan.

"Ooooh, wrinkly old man threatening to kill or maim or torture me if I don't stop talking," Jesus said, rolling his eyes. "That's never happened before."

Thanatos raises an eyebrow at Heimdall, then shrugs. "Alright, but if this is for another party, I'm going ditch it. Where is everybody, anyway?" He had seen Venus leave, but the goddess had looked rather preoccupied so he hadn't asked were she was going.

"Don't misunderstand me," said Hades, looking over his shoulder at Jesus as he made his way back to his throne, "I kill no one. I take souls."

"Trust me, this is NO party." Replied Heimdall, all seriousness in his voice. "This is about Morrigan."

"Uh-huh," Jesus said. "Hurt, send my soul to wherever, threaten me with random shit... yeah. Sure. I'm trembling in my skivvies." He did sit down, though, looking very bored-like at the ceiling; mostly for lack of anything to do. "Hey, can't we get like cards or something while we wait for doom?" he called out to his captors.

"It never really is with Morrigan," Thanatos said. "What did she do this time?"

"Satan, take care of this, do with them what you please, but leave their souls intact." Clearly, Hades was agitated by the jibbering.

"I'm not exactly sure what it is she's doing, but I'm thinking it's up to no good. Think of it...she's been pretty much below the radar these last couple days...then suddenly, she shows up, and basically tells us it's the end." Heimdall held up the book to Thanatos on a random page. "In here, whenever all's quiet on the Morrigan front, she's plotting something, and as chroniclized here, that something is never pleasant. She basically twisted the turn of fate just because this Chuchulain pissed her off. That's why we've got to get everyone together to make sure we're all accounted for." He didn't know the exact plans, but he figured it had something to do with Chuchulain's soul being bound to her, but he thought it best to discuss that with the group at large - much easier to explain only once.

"Huh," Thanatos said in an eloquent manner. "Alright, we'll go look for them. Jesus went off to eat cookies or whatever, Dionysus was attempting to shag Morrigan, I haven't seen Lakshmi in a while, and Venus just left here a few minutes ago--she couldn't have gotten far, maybe just to her room."

"I spy with my little eye something..." Dionysus looks around the room, "um... ugly."

Satan turns to Hades. "Don't get snarky with me, olive-eater. Do you want Venus' soul or not? You sit with the Moron twins for another hour and you'll get twice as many souls as you have now. So chill." And with that, Satan manifests himself away.

He reappears at the entrance to Venus' room, and waits there for her.

"It could either be this interior decorating scheme or the one who carried it out," Jesus speculates.

Venus comes around the corner into the hallway. She felt a bit more dizzy and wanted a quick lie-down when she looked up to see Satan. "Oh, hello," she murmured pleasantly. "Please come in."

"Another hour...of this?" Hades rubbed his temples. These mooks were trying his patience.

"Then we've got to get to her, quick." Replied Heimdall, hurrying Thanatos along.

Morrigan meandered in mist form through the hallways, deciding when to make her move. If she let them get to Venus' chambers, she ran the risk of having the two meet, and separating the two would become more difficult than what she had planned. Instead, she awaited the duo a little bit ahead of their set path, darkening up the hallway into nothingness.

"That's not it, but I do agree with you," Dionysus answers Jesus. "Guess again."

Satan is visibly worried about Venus. "You don't look very well, my dear," he says soothingly, taking her hand to help her walk. "Allow me," he opens the door to her chamber and leads her to the bed.

"Thank you, love," Venus said. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little... Well, with the baby and all." She sits down on the bed and leans her head back onto some pillows, looking drowsy. "Better already," she mumbles. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Thanatos freezes at the hallways. "This is odd," he states, referring to the blackness in front of them. "Not often hallways turn into nothing."

"Very funny." Morrigan stepped out of the swirling abyss, drawing the mist back into herself. "I see you've been doing some reading." She nodded to the books in their hands. The Goddess gave each deity a once-over, noting their expediated breathing. "What's the rush? Going somewhere?"

"Morrigan!" Thanatos comments wryly. "We were just talking about you. How have you been? Set anybody on fire lately?"

"I just thought I'd check on the prettiest diety I know," Satan says with his sugary voice. He rubs her back as he continues. "You know... hm, I don't know if I should tell you this. It might ruin my image..."

"MMm, yes, flatter the fat woman," Venus purrs, relaxing entirely. "I promise I can keep a secret. I'm all a-twitter."

Holding her sides, Morrigan mimicked a silent laughter roaring through her body, holding her hand as if to tell Thanatos to stop with the humor. On a moment's notice, she dropped the act, back to her sardonic self. "I have something I think you two might take an interest in seeing. But, if you're just here to make poorly thought out jokes at my expense, then perhaps I should just...keep it to myself. No matter what happens to Venus..." She nonchalantly took a glance at her nails.

Thanatos rolls his eyes. "What game are you playing, Morrigan?" he demanded.

"No game, I assure you." Remarked Morrigan, drawing up a circular smoke screen. Inside of the smoke, three faces flashed, contorted in pain, sharp shrieks exploding from their pale faces. Three faces they all knew very well: Thanatos, Dionysus and Venus.

"Well," Satan begins, blushing slightly. "As long as you don't tell anyone... When I'm not having a good day, I've always enjoyed taking a nice long bubble bath. I've even had a special bath made for me in my office."

Thanatos went deathly still. "No, not a game," he agreed. His right hand flexed.

Venus giggled. "Not exactly the most manly vice to have, but I like it," she remarked. "And I'm jealous. I hadn't even thought of getting one of those installed."

"Um..." Satan begins shyly. "If you like... maybe you could... borrow mine?"

"Always and forever!" Venus exclaims. "That would be so relaxing, especially now..." She eyes Satan. "And you don't mind that I'd look just about like a beached whale? Take up as much room, as well."

Satan smiles and replies, "My dear, at the risk of sounding un-gentlemanly, it would be a great honor to see your wet and naked figure. Come, to my office." He takes her hand to help her walk.

Venus laughs and accepts the help. She couldn't help but admit she was a little suspicious; this was obviously a booty call, but he should at least know he wasn't getting any. She looked a good 7 or 8 months pregnant. Venus mentally shrugs, writing it off as him just being nice, leaving her room with him.

"Erm, ugly," Jesus said. "Hades? Or did I already guess that?"

"Bingo!" Dionysus replies. "You didn't guess him yet. He's just pretty much the only thing in here. Besides maybe that chair. You're turn."

Satan leads Venus carefully toward the Underworld, where his office will be. He makes friendly conversation along the way. "So, have you figured out the father of your child yet? Or will we just have to wait until he or she is born?"

"Yes, the look on your face tells me that you're finally going to take me seriously." Morrigan dispersed the smoke screen with a wave of her hand.

"Where are they?" Demanded Heimdall. "What have you done with them?"

"Me? No, no. I'm afraid I can't take the credit for such a plan." Morrigan folded her arms in front of her chest. "I begrudgingly admit that Satan is the mastermind of such a thing." Heimdall had an apprehensive look upon his face. "Rightfully, you shouldn't trust me." Remarked Morrigan in a flattered voice, "But think about it...have I tried to kill any of you yet, and if this were all my plan, why would I be telling you about it? I'd be foiling myself if that were the case."

Narrowing his eyes, Heimdall said "I"m not so sure."

Instead of replying, Hades merely narrowed his eyes at the duo, loathing their very existence.

"Alright, um... something scraggly," Jesus said.

"No, I don't know the father's name," Venus replied, sighing as she and Satan progressed closer. "Hera won't tell me yet. Hopefully she will at least look like her father." Venus twittered at her slip with the baby's gender. "Well, I'm hoping it will be a girl; but of course I'd be perfectly happy with a boy. I'm just so excited."

Thanatos fell back with Heimdall. "At the very least, they're not dead," he muttered up to the taller god. "I mean, this has 'trap' written all over it. However, I'd like to see what she's up to, and Satan as well, if he's really involved. Do you think we'll be able to walk out of this one?"

"Um..." Dionysus thinks aloud, looking around the cave. "Is it Hades?"

Satan smiles. "I prefer baby girls to boys myself," he confides. "They tend to be quieter and cleaner."

"Believe what you wish." Commented Morrigan in a disinterested tone, inspecting her nails. "But why I would stop my own plan is beyond reason."

Heimdall bit his lower lip. "I think I can handle whatever awaits me."

Thanatos doesn't acknowledge Heimdall's comment with a nod. Instead, a scythe appears in his hand, as if out of the shadows. "Sure," Thanatos said, looking at Morrigan.

"You win again," Jesus said, looking thoroughly bored. "Can they just like kill us already, or what?"

"Oh, you have no idea," Venus retorted, shaking her head and thus brushing hair from her face. "Babies, no matter the gender, leak from both ends. It's only when they get a bit older that they MIGHT, key word MIGHT, form gender lines."

"Then, shall we?" inquired Morrigan from behind her hand. She turned away from the two gods, leading them down the hallway.

Thanatos followed, his grip tight on the scythe. He was going into this obviously armed, at the very least. It was a small comfort, but one nonetheless.

Satan and Venus finally arrive at the cave where the others are. Satan leads her into it, and they can now see Dionysus, Jesus and Hades.

"Venus!" Dionysus exclaims. After double-taking for a moment, he then continues, "Whoa, babe, you don't look so good."

"Dionysus!" Venus says, greeting him happily, although she was quite pale and her voice a little strained. "I'm fine, just a bit dizzy." She smiled at Jesus and even at Hades. "How are you, sir?" she asked, the older god. She looked about, still holding Satan's arm. "Is your office nearby?" Venus whispered.

"Terribly sorry, my dear," Satan says to Venus, manifesting a chair for the woman. "But we're not going to my office."

Venus almost started to take the seat, but stopped herself, even though she kept glancing at it. "Oh? And what are we doing in the Underworld, then?" she asked, her voice growing quiet. Not an emotional quiet, more defensive.

"Waiting for Morrigan to get back with the others," Dionysus replies before Satan can speak. "They want to eat our souls or something."

Venus paused for a moment before backing up, away from Satan towards the door. Her stance suddenly got very tense, and her hand strayed to rest on her belly. "No," she whispered.

"You can't honestly say," began Hades, "that a trip to my domain was anything casual."

"Keep in mind," said Morrigan in a haughty voice, "That if you harm me en route, the way to your friends is lost." She had perfect confidence that they wouldn't touch her -- but she just thought she would remind them who had the upper hand in this situation. The Goddess led the two along twisting, turning corridors, through a maze of stone. The further they got, the darker the passages became, until, there was nothing but darkness.

"Where in Hel's name have you taken us?" Shouted Heimdall, afraid that if he didn't speak loudly, his voice would be lost to the vacuum of blackness.

"I don't usually go in that entrance," Venus said, her throat tightening. Her other hand clenched into a fist, and she started looking much more determined, ready for a fight.

"Satan, why the hell did you bring her here?" Jesus hissed, his voice as tense as Venus' spine. "I mean... my Dad, a pregnant lady?"

Satan smiles and pokes Jesus again on his broken nose. "She has two souls," he explains like a child who found an extra toy in his cereal. "Two!"

"You're a cunt," Jesus said, spitting at his brother.

Venus didn't say anything. While Satan was distracted with tormenting Jesus, she just turned to leave.

Thanatos didn't say anything as they advanced, just kept a firm grip on his weapon. It wasn't for Morrigan, specifically--just whatever she might throw at them.

"And then we all fall down..." Morrigan said softly, and the very floor beneath them, or what they had perceived to be a fall, melted away into a void. They fell and fell, in a seeming nothingness.

"I don't think so." Barricades fell down around the entrances. Hades' arm was outstretched, muscular, yet somehow phantom in appearance.

Venus stopped, then ran to the barricades anyway, pounding at them with her small fists. "No!" she shouted, her voice high. "You can't have my baby! I refuse!" She started crying. "It's the only... if it's his... She's the only..." Venus fell to her knees, one hand against a barricade, other hand on her stomach, tears running down her face.

Jesus, of course, ran to her side and dropped down beside her. He didn't know what to say--Hallmark hadn't exactly made this situation into a typical card. It seemed enough; Venus started clinging to him for personal contact as she cried, which was her comfort zone, and he just put his arms around her back to sooth her.

Thanatos stood in the air as they fell as though gravity had no effect on him even as he descended, a serious look fixed on his face. It was very dramatic and he would have appreciated it if he wasn't so worried.

Finally, they landed on stone. They were in an alcove just a few meters away from Satan and the others. Morrigan held a finger up to her mouth, singaling for silence.

Thanatos stood still, silent as the grave.

Jesus looked over at Satan, almost grimacing in anger. "At least," he said, "Now I know why."

"Wait for just the right moment..." Morrigan whispered, "When you can take advantage."

Heimdall gave Morrigan a puzzled look. He wasn't quite sure what she was playing at.

Thanatos wasn't sure, either, but he didn't waste time looking over at Morrigan. He was busy trying to figure out what they were doing in Hade's chamber and why Venus was crying. And why Jesus' nose was bloody, and exactly why was Dionysus in his shirt.

Dionysus looks up at the new-comers. "Well, now everyone's here. This place is still kinda a buzzkill, though."

Satan looks away from Venus and Jesus, not because he feels bad, but because he's disgusted with their emotions. He glances at Hades. "Your move."

Hades lifts himself from his throne, "Ah yes..." he began, moving closer to the gathering. "But whose to take first?" The God of the Underworld passed by all the prey, sizing each up mentally. When coming across Dionysus, he rolled his eyes. "Not much of a trophy." he muttered. He stood in front of Jesus. A demented grin began to take shape on his grey lips. "Tell me, Satan, are you finished playing with this one?"

Morrigan stood back, rather than reveling in plan. Instead, she hugged her arms around her middle.

"What is go-" Began Heimdall. He was cut short by Hades' long, skeletal and gargoyle-like finger pointing at him. The God's throat closed up.

Thanatos stepped forward at this point, scythe gleaming. "Hades," he said. "This is your home but you're still intruding in my territory." He sticks out the arm with the scythe between Hades and Heimdall. "You rule over the dead. You don't create them."

"I don't." Hades simply agreed. "That is why I have helpers." He nodded towards Satan and Morrigan.

Thanatos didn't even look back at Morrigan. At least his suspicions were correct; she wasn't exactly on his side. "It is not their time. Nobody dies without my permission," Thanatos said, stepping towards the group in the room. "I often take... pains to make sure this is the case."

"You forget you're not the only Undertaker." Hissed Hades. "We live in a multi-religion world now. You no longer the only one with the power to take lives."

"Ah," Thanatos said. "But I'm the one with the pointy stick and the anger problem. Touch any of them and I know who I'll take the life of first."

Satan scoffs at the question. "I've been done with Him for a long time now."

Dionysus stands and walks over to Jesus protectively. "Hey, lay off the J-man. He's cool. If you guys are all butt-hurt because you weren't invited to my last party, you're just gonna have to get over it. Maybe throw your own party. A lame, wallowing in your own boringness party, but what else can you expect from ametures?"

Thanatos massages his temple. "Alright, that one you can have."

Hades sighs, rolling his eyes, "Right, toss me the table scraps." The God turned to Satan. "Then do away with him," he nodded towards Jesus, "even if that means taking care of the buffoon." The one referenced wasn't hard to figure out.

While everyone had been distracted with Jesus, Dionysus, Thanatos, Satan and Hades, Morrigan had been casting a spell under her breath. When the incantation was finished, she reached out, carressing Heimdall's back. As her fingertips met with the cloth of Heimdall's shirt, a magenta glow radiated.

"I hardly think that this is the time--" Heimdall whipped around to Morrigan. His eyes met hers, and he found himself cut off. Between the two was a look of mutual understanding. Heimdall loosed his sword from his hilt.

Satan sighs. "Well, let's see how well the older stuff works," he says, raising his hands to his face and forming a diamond shape between his fingers. He lets out a blast of fire at Jesus.

Jesus stood, quickly protecting Venus by standing in the way. For a second, the two are engulfed in fire, but as it fades, Jesus stands there, unharmed, Venus also likewise untouched. JC starts to look a little sad as he stares at his brother. His hands are clasped, as if in prayer. "Our Father, who art in Heaven," he said.

"Go." Morrigan said softly.

Heimdall broke out into a sprint, raising his sword on Jesus, and bringing it down upon his head.

"Oh me!" Jesus swore, seeing the sword at the last minute. The ground beneath Heimdall's feet parted, a neat crack forming in the stone; this got Heimdall off balance enough so that the sword missed Jesus by a hair, almost. Jesus got a bit of a haircut and an attractive gash on his cheek.

Heimdall lurched forward, but gained his balance fairly quickly. He rounded on Jesus, swooping his sword over him again.

"Heimdall, what the Satan's House are you doing?" Jesus cries out, changing his tactic and running the fuck away. As he runs, however, he seems to get brighter, especially around the head area.

Thanatos looks confused at Heimdall, looks back at Morrigan, then sets his priorities and walks over to help Venus to her feet. "Up you go, girl," he said protectively, helping her stand as she was shaking. She whispers something, but he doesn't quite catch it.

Heimdall sprints after Jesus, clearly in a better physical condition than his counterpart. Again, he swung his sword.

Jesus spins, sliding under Heimdall's sword, being smaller and slightly more agile. He then stops running, frowning at his new opponent, more light coming from his being. "Hallowed be Thy name," he murmurs, his gaze becoming more intense. The gash in his cheek begins to close.

Dionysus also helps Venus keep her balance. He looks at Thanatos. "Um, as much the badass that I am, I think the whole fighting thing is more your bottle of wine. I'll take care of her," he indicates Venus.

Satan glares at Morrigan. "The Christ is mine. Let your puppet take the others."

"NNnngh," Venus groans, grimacing. "I think the baby is coming."

Thanatos pauses for a second, then nods quickly. "Yup," he says vigorously. "You can take care of her. Be back later!" He darts off in the direction of the fight. The light coming from Jesus hurts his eyes a little too strongly, but he still continues coming towards Heimdall.

"Then maybe you should have done something about it." Morrigan remarked calmly. "Thanatos." Her voice echoed strangely, as if the echo itself were visible.

Heimdall rounded, spinning wildly away from Jesus. It was clear he had chosen a new target: Thanatos. The god begins towards the God of Death.

Hades stood at the fringe of the action, interested, yet not willing to partake. Instead, he chose to view it as a play unfolding before his very eyes.

Thanatos holds his scythe expertly. It is a much longer-range item than Heimdall's and he seems unafraid of the sword-weilding god. "I have no idea why I'm fighting you, but bring it," Thanatos said.

Raising his sword in defense to Thanatos's scythe, Heimdall grunts, before throwing Thanatos's weapon from his sword. He closes the gap, lunging forward with his sword.

Thanatos spun, allowing Heimdall's energy to bring the larger god past him. At the same time, he dug the butt of his scythe into the dirt at Heimdall's feet as the two passed.

Heimdall stumbled only slightly, kicking his boot firmly into Thanatos's rear.

Thanatos rolled instead of stumbling from the impact. He wasn't lying to himself; his opponent was much larger than him. But his roll took him far enough away; Thanatos spun around with his scythe still in hand, reaching out for a strike aimed directly at the other god, out of reach of a counterattack.

"Thanatos!" exclaimed Heimdall. It was more out of concern than rage, as if he, too, were confused as to why he was fighting in the first place.

"Thanatos" Morrigan emphasized once more.

Heimdall charged at Thanatos, swinging his sword viciously in front of him to repel any attack.

As Thanatos was still swinging his weapon in attack, the iron rod of the scythe instead dealt Heimdall a heavy blow to his shoulder. The blade ended up directly behind Heimdall instead of through him. Thanatos was almost too late in avoiding Heimdall's attack, but seemed to melt into the shadows and reappear closer to Morrigan.

"Methinks I'm fighting the wrong person," Thanatos intoned in a monotone, staring expressionless at Morrigan.

"Methinks if you harm or kill me, the spell over Heimdall will not be broken." Morrigan replied with disinterest, as if she had just meantioned the time of day or the weather. Then, she maliciously looked askance at Thanatos. "Venus."

Heimdall stopped dead in his tracks, his wound healing, though not as quickly as Jesus's had. Heimdall cracked his neck, then turned his attack towards the Goddess.

"Go on, make me do it." Morrigan said, watching Heimdall's change of interest to Venus.

"Y'know, at this point, killing you would just make me feel a lot better," Thanatos said. However, he straightened, looking over his shoulder as the god approached Venus. "Do I need to kill him again? It was annoying enough the first time..."

"Again? Honey, if you called that a death, then you're seriously a guppy in the ocean." The expression on her face was that of feigned malignancy. "Dionysus."

"Wow. That wasn't old the first time," Thanatos replied. He gave Morrigan an incredulous look. "Is is your period?" He was obviously getting fed up about being a part of... whatever game this was.

"How do you not get this?" Morrigan rolled her eyes. "I come in, mess things up, yatta yatta. You honestly think I'd make this easy and not annoying?" She shoved Thanatos away, lacing what she deemed to be a mediocre amount of black magic behind the stun. "You better hurry before he changes his mind again."

Meanwhile, Satan returns his attentions to Jesus. "Shut your mouth," he commands, irritated with his brother's prayer. "You don't need to bring our father into this. He can't save you." Satan manifests several sharp blades, and hurls them magically at Jesus.

Dionysus' eyebrows knit together. "NOW?" he says. "Oh Zeus, what are we supposed to do? I don't know how to deliver a baby! Uh... do you have to like lie down or something...?"

"Y-y-yeah, I guess," Venus stammers, sitting down first before trying to lie down. "It's... easier than a mortal's, but..." She yelps as another contraction begins. "I need hot water, blankets. I... need Hera. She's good at this."

"It is that time of the month," Thanatos observes, but dutifully heads back towards Heimdall. He could think about what Morrigan was up to as he battled Heimdall and tried to figure out how to snap the guy out of it. "Yo! Tall and ugly!" he shouted at the god. "You are Morrigan's bitch right now."

"Our Father saves those in need," Jesus said, grimacing as a knife buried itself into his shoulder in an unsuccessful attempt to dodge them all. He yanked it out, looking at the blood. "Y'know, I converted a guy with this stuff once," Jesus said, swinging the knife in an arc that splattered more than a little of the red liquid at Satan. The drops shined as they moved through the air.

Showing no reaction, Heimdall continues towards Venus and Dionysus, slowly, with ceremonious air.

"This is not how I wanted to start my morning," Thanatos muttered, launching himself silently at the slow god, scythe in front.

"Something tells me this room is cut off from the other gods, so I don't think we'll be able to get Hera down here," Dionysus says. "Um... damn, I've never manifested water... I'm pretty sure I can..." He does his best to make water appear, but fails several times, making wine, beer, and various other alcoholic beverages. Finally, he gets an idea. He summons a hot tub, complete with towels. "Score!"

Satan wipes the blood off his face, then licks it. "Well, no need to convert me," he says spitefully. "I already believe in the Almighty. And I hate Him." He sends a shower of acid rain down on Jesus.

Unexpectedly, Heimdall rounds on the approaching Thanatos when he is within range, and swings his sword, an aim meant to splice him in half.

Jesus bows his head, accepting the rain. He looks up, the water pouring down his face without harming him. "Purification," he says. "It happens." Jesus looks at Heimdall and Thanatos, and his glance flickers to Venus. "You know she can never forgive you," he states, still sad. "She didn't believe me when I said you were evil, by the way."

Thanatos doesn't bother to dodge. He grabs the blade in one hand, which struck into his bone with a meaty thwack--surprisingly, it doesn't lop the thing off. With the advantage gained from removing the threat for now, he thrusts the sharp edge of his scythe at Heimdall, his face a blank mask.

"You can't summon simple water!" Venus snaps, obviously losing it a little as she was in severe pain at this point. "What good are you!" The last word trailed off into a cry of pain.

"I'm trying! I'm trying!" Dionysus says desperately. "Now what do I do?"

Satan stops the rain, pausing in the battle to respond. "Betrayal... she knows nothing of betrayal. None of you do!"

"I... I don't know!" Venus cries out. "Hera did the rest! I just... pushed... haaaaaahhhhoooowww!"

"You're right, I wasn't betrayed by one of my best friends," Jesus spit at the brother. "I never even knew what it was like to question Dad or wonder why he was telling me to get killed. I mean... Holy shit! Get over yourself!" Jesus grimaced at his brother. "You aren't the only person to get kicked out of the house in the history of forever! Oh noooo, Daddy doesn't understand me. Lemme guess, you also write depressing poetry?"

"Can SOMEBODY who KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING get the fuck OVER HERE and HELP ME?" Venus shrieked.

"And not only that, but you drag innocent people into what is basically a family squabble!" Jesus snaps. "I shouldn't even be involved! It's clearly between you and Dad. You're just pissing on me because you can't deal with your own problems by yourself!" He threw up his hands. "But nobody worry about Jesus-he's the punching bag of the cosmos! Shit fuck damn cunt bitch whore ass!"

Venus pressed her hands to the side of her head. "I think my ears are ringing," she said weakly before going back to crying out.

Dionysus' eyes go wide. "I didn't know that thing could get that big," he says, noting that Venus is dialating quite rapidly. "Um... okay, I think we just need to calm down. Venus, breathe with me, like we're smoking something." He demonstrates, by taking a big breath, holding it for a second, and letting it out slowly. He repeats this breathing method and tries to get Venus to copy it.

Satan opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. He was not prepared for the language that Jesus just used, let alone the speech that went along with it.

Venus opens her mouth, breathing in and breathing out like Dionysus. The only difference was that, as she was breathing out, it came out with a small noise as she tried to surpress her yelling as best she could.

"You know what? Fuck this. Venus needs help. I want out of this." Jesus reaches into his pocket, quickly looking for something as he storms towards Satan. Finding it, he pulls the something out--a small bottle of water. He stares at it for just a second, mumbling a few words, and then uncaps it and splashes the water unceremoniously on his brother.

A demonic and unholy wail comes forth from Satan, who then melts into a nice puddle of cliche evil. Before his face disappears entirely, he looks at Venus, and then Jesus. A tear makes its way down his cheek, and disappears in a puff of steam.

"What the Hades is that?" Dionysus blurts, making gross faces at Venus' vajingo.

Jesus looks a moment longer at the puddle that was his brother. Oh, he was pretty sure his brother hadn't actually died--this sort of thing hadn't killed him before. And he wasn't sure if he wanted Satan dead. He shrugged off the feeling and hurried to Venus' side. "I've delivered lambs before," Jesus said. "Maybe I could do something." Jesus takes a look and then looks at Dionysus. "That would be the baby," he answers, exasperated. He takes a towel and goes to work. "Come on, Venus, breath," he said. "And push." He was a little uncomfortable at the whole situation but not enough to just abandon her. "Di, why don't you go to the other end to comfort her?"

"I WAS NOT MADE FOR THIS!" Venus screams.

Dionysus looks at Venus' head, then at the baby end. "I think I might be safer on this side," he concludes. "And what ever happened to Thanatos?"

"Push now," Jesus insists, then glances again at Dionysus. "I think he and Heimdall are fighting. Is that normal?"

Morrigan grumpily unfolds her arms. All these people, and Satan hadn't even finished off his own prey. She began to recite an incantation, melting into a shadow on the floor.

Hades twitched at the use of his name - he was not sure if he liked its context.

Gliding smoothly between the people on the floor, reforming behind Dionysus. She held out her hand, the same pink glow as before, reaching to stroke his shoulder.

Heimdall, unable to show his own emotions, wore a face as blank as Thanatos's. If anything, he looked aggravated at the loss of his weapon. Instead of accepting his fate, Heimdall uses a giant hand to swoop and shove Thanatos's side, knocking him off-course.

Dionysus jumps at the touch of her hand on his shoulder. "Oh, geez, Morrigan, not now. We're kinda in the middle of something important here."

Thanatos sighs and rolled smoothly, standing up with scythe in hand. He looks at his injured hand with only a little bit of interest, licking a little of the blood pouring from it. "Guess we'll have to do this the hard way," he said. With slow, deliberate motions, Thanatos pulls up the hood of his sweatshirt, and pulls on some gloves. He's putting on his full-body armor. "Y'know, Morrigan," he purrs, shadows coallescing at his feet, "it's really hard to kill Death."

Jesus looks up to see Morrigan performing some sort of voodoo on his friend. With a swift move, he reaches out with a goop-soaked hand and pushes Morrigan away, hard. "None of your shit right now, lady," he growls.

Morrigan grins, Jesus only an insect in her mind. "Who says it's death I'm trying to kill?" She raised her hand, absentmindedly, towards Jesus, letting forth what would be best described as a force field of shadow, striking Jesus and shoving him backwards.

Heimdall drops to a knee, blood rushing forth from the gash.

"Get up." said Morrigan disdainfully.

Heimdall's head rose. His face showed pain and anger. "I'm not getting up now." There was a pause between each word, as if it were an intense struggle to issue each one.

"Get up now." Morrigan raised her arm up, which seemed to pull up the God from his chest. "Come see what Fate I have in store for you."

Dionysus watches in dismay as his friend flies backwards, leaving Venus quite vulnerable at the moment. He turns back to Morrigan, a moral dilemma before him. He makes his decision surprisingly quickly. "Nobody messes with Jesus!" he yells, punching Morrigan in the face with the force of the God he really is. This is probably the first time he has ever chosen anything over potential sex.

Jesus lands, hard, the wind knocked out of him. He lays on the ground, taking deep breaths after a bit of panicked gasping, then gets hurriedly up and rushes back to Venus. "Are you alright?" he wheezes at the goddess.

"My baby," Venus growls. "Just... my baby. Pay attention to her."

"He isn't worth my time." Morrigan retorts, getting back up from the floor and holding her nose for a moment. Then she lowered her hands to show a small stream of blood, flowing to her lips. The goddess held her head back for a moment, then licked the red trickle away. "But if you want to play, then by all means..." A great darkness gathered within her hands, a strange screeching sound emmitting from the tremendous speed in which it swirled. "Let's play." Morrigan's voice reverberated in the throne room.

Even Heimdall took on this shadow-like substence. The blackness engulfed him entirely, momentum acruing dust all around. When the cloud dispersed, the God had been transformed into something clearly Dark. Heimdall was no longer in the bright, seemingly taintless garb he had once been in. He now donned nearly all black, with red details. The mist itself had seemed to solidify and create a new, sleek armor for the God. Even his hair had transformed from what had been sandy blonde to a pure, raven black. His skin seemed more pale. A dark mist lingered around his sword. The god raced forth, stopping slightly before Morrigan.

Morrigan plucked Dionysus up by his Toga, holding him above the ground. "You will now see that I am not called the Queen of Phantoms for no reason. Isn't that right, Rig?" Morrigan said to Heimdall.

Heimdall nodded his head. He had now become a Tainted Rig, a demention of what he had formerly called his alter-ego. Never had he been so dark. "The Underworld shall run forth with the Blood of the Insubordinate!" The voice was his, with something a bit more cruel behind it.

"And don't you forget it." Morrigan added to Dionysus, flinging him back as hard as she could muster.

---

To Continue on, please go to When It Becomes Dark
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