Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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30th March 2013
01:10 GMT +2?
Zagreus loops his rope around the allegedly-immortal hydra head for a fifth time, and pulls it tight.
"Did that escape recently, or are there a lot of Greek missing person reports we can clear up?"
"It never left the lake, but it only gained the power to conjure its shade heads to its side recently." He ties off the rope and walks around to its front, looking it in the left eye. It tries to bite him, but the rope holds it tight. "I wonder if it's more intelligent than the beast we all assumed it to be."
"No."
"You're certain?"
"Power rings translate all languages. If it grunted with meaning, I'd hear words. I haven't even heard a single one. Even a cat or a dog can manage 'hungry' or 'mine'."
"Perhaps the most intelligent thing may sometimes be-" He looks pointedly at me. "-to say nothing."
"I'm honest enough to admit that I'm never going to believe that. Are the shade heads under control now?"
Zagreus lays both hands on the hydra head's snout and closes his eyes.
"Not… Yet…"
He draws back his right hand and slams his palm into its nose, making it jerk with discomfort.
"Now. Any I didn't reduce to ethereality with my arrows are there now."
"And the shades they ate to power themselves?"
"Weakened, but separated. They should…" He looks at the lake shore, as the foam… The translucent figure of a man weakly pulls himself out of the water, flopping onto the sandy beach. "Be able to pull themselves free, though it will be some time before they regain their full strength."
"Thank you."
"It is my duty. Or are you thanking me because you find it reassuring that in the fullness of time I will protect your shade with equal fervour."
"I'll quite understand if you hesitate a moment or two in my case. The portal?"
He walks over to the waterline and pulls the fallen shade up, patting him on the back. The shade's gaze is.. fairly vacant as a result of lacking animus, but there's a vague recognition as he staggers up away from the lake. Then Zagreus crouches down and puts his bare left hand in the water.
"Gone. It wouldn't have stayed open this long if the hydra wasn't using it. There were heads on this side too, hunting shades to fuel the link."
"Darn it." I shake my head. "Why did it take sixty years to find out?"
"Father's realm has a great many people in it, and he doesn't control every part of their lives. Not any more. And of course you brought him so many new subjects that he couldn't if he wanted to."
"And the greatest hunter in Erebos was running a safari in Africa."
"Yes. I was." He stands and turns back to me. "Perhaps the Greeks should have asked for an angel to guard the souls of their forebears, since clearly they don't need us."
"Don't be childish, Zagreus. Your responsibilities don't just vanish because people stop nagging you to fulfil them. At the very least you should have gotten someone to cover for you."
I don't labour the point, but he's clearly uncomfortable. And irritated.
"Why are you here?"
"Why is Themyscira still outside of the world? We dealt with the Anti-Life. Its grip on Earth is dispelled. Heck, I thought it would be back once we dealt with the Aztecs."
"No. We brought in the Amazons to cut off the reinforcements. The Aztecs were not the only pantheon… Afflicted."
"Olympians were Anti-Lifed?" He hesitates, but nods. "Who? How? You.. should be harder to affect than humans."
He nods, then looks around the lake. A handful more shades are crawling to safety, but there are almost certainly many more still inside.
"Charon, please aid our guests in leaving the water."
Charon -who had edged slightly away- nods. "And what about the hydra shades?"
"Orange Lantern can deal with those once he's recharged himself."
"But of course." I reach out my right hand… Nothing. No personal lantern. "But that might be a while."
Zagreus looks curious. "Are you helpless?"
I wave my right hand, releasing Gary and a couple of construct lantern aliens. I gesture, and they spread out to watch our surroundings. "Not completely, but you shouldn't expect too much. So who got Anti-Lifed?"
"Akhlys was the first." Oh heck. "Much like the Aztecs, not all of us are as far from the Anti-Life as we might like."
"But… Hephaestaean fixed her suffering. She looked good last time I saw her."
"She kept that machinery." He shakes his head. "I don't know exactly what happened. I can only imagine that no longer suffering herself didn't change how she thought."
"And she's still at full power? What's that… Like?"
"A terrible dread grips your heart, as your body feels every injury you have ever received and your mind feels every shame and sadness you have ever known. We now know what it is like to be her at her worst." He shakes his head. "I.. admit that I… Thought unkind things about what a 'more powerful' Akhlys would be like. Having seen the truth I will not make that mistake again."
"Where is she now?"
"Near to Olympus when last I saw her. But I have not tracked her."
"And that's it? We deal with her, and Themyscira returns to Earth."
"Yes."
Hm. How can I get an edge?
I look out across the water as Charon rows out towards a struggling shade.
Ah.
"Do you need those shade heads?"
"Need? Why?"
I smile.
01:10 GMT +2?
Zagreus loops his rope around the allegedly-immortal hydra head for a fifth time, and pulls it tight.
"Did that escape recently, or are there a lot of Greek missing person reports we can clear up?"
"It never left the lake, but it only gained the power to conjure its shade heads to its side recently." He ties off the rope and walks around to its front, looking it in the left eye. It tries to bite him, but the rope holds it tight. "I wonder if it's more intelligent than the beast we all assumed it to be."
"No."
"You're certain?"
"Power rings translate all languages. If it grunted with meaning, I'd hear words. I haven't even heard a single one. Even a cat or a dog can manage 'hungry' or 'mine'."
"Perhaps the most intelligent thing may sometimes be-" He looks pointedly at me. "-to say nothing."
"I'm honest enough to admit that I'm never going to believe that. Are the shade heads under control now?"
Zagreus lays both hands on the hydra head's snout and closes his eyes.
"Not… Yet…"
He draws back his right hand and slams his palm into its nose, making it jerk with discomfort.
"Now. Any I didn't reduce to ethereality with my arrows are there now."
"And the shades they ate to power themselves?"
"Weakened, but separated. They should…" He looks at the lake shore, as the foam… The translucent figure of a man weakly pulls himself out of the water, flopping onto the sandy beach. "Be able to pull themselves free, though it will be some time before they regain their full strength."
"Thank you."
"It is my duty. Or are you thanking me because you find it reassuring that in the fullness of time I will protect your shade with equal fervour."
"I'll quite understand if you hesitate a moment or two in my case. The portal?"
He walks over to the waterline and pulls the fallen shade up, patting him on the back. The shade's gaze is.. fairly vacant as a result of lacking animus, but there's a vague recognition as he staggers up away from the lake. Then Zagreus crouches down and puts his bare left hand in the water.
"Gone. It wouldn't have stayed open this long if the hydra wasn't using it. There were heads on this side too, hunting shades to fuel the link."
"Darn it." I shake my head. "Why did it take sixty years to find out?"
"Father's realm has a great many people in it, and he doesn't control every part of their lives. Not any more. And of course you brought him so many new subjects that he couldn't if he wanted to."
"And the greatest hunter in Erebos was running a safari in Africa."
"Yes. I was." He stands and turns back to me. "Perhaps the Greeks should have asked for an angel to guard the souls of their forebears, since clearly they don't need us."
"Don't be childish, Zagreus. Your responsibilities don't just vanish because people stop nagging you to fulfil them. At the very least you should have gotten someone to cover for you."
I don't labour the point, but he's clearly uncomfortable. And irritated.
"Why are you here?"
"Why is Themyscira still outside of the world? We dealt with the Anti-Life. Its grip on Earth is dispelled. Heck, I thought it would be back once we dealt with the Aztecs."
"No. We brought in the Amazons to cut off the reinforcements. The Aztecs were not the only pantheon… Afflicted."
"Olympians were Anti-Lifed?" He hesitates, but nods. "Who? How? You.. should be harder to affect than humans."
He nods, then looks around the lake. A handful more shades are crawling to safety, but there are almost certainly many more still inside.
"Charon, please aid our guests in leaving the water."
Charon -who had edged slightly away- nods. "And what about the hydra shades?"
"Orange Lantern can deal with those once he's recharged himself."
"But of course." I reach out my right hand… Nothing. No personal lantern. "But that might be a while."
Zagreus looks curious. "Are you helpless?"
I wave my right hand, releasing Gary and a couple of construct lantern aliens. I gesture, and they spread out to watch our surroundings. "Not completely, but you shouldn't expect too much. So who got Anti-Lifed?"
"Akhlys was the first." Oh heck. "Much like the Aztecs, not all of us are as far from the Anti-Life as we might like."
"But… Hephaestaean fixed her suffering. She looked good last time I saw her."
"She kept that machinery." He shakes his head. "I don't know exactly what happened. I can only imagine that no longer suffering herself didn't change how she thought."
"And she's still at full power? What's that… Like?"
"A terrible dread grips your heart, as your body feels every injury you have ever received and your mind feels every shame and sadness you have ever known. We now know what it is like to be her at her worst." He shakes his head. "I.. admit that I… Thought unkind things about what a 'more powerful' Akhlys would be like. Having seen the truth I will not make that mistake again."
"Where is she now?"
"Near to Olympus when last I saw her. But I have not tracked her."
"And that's it? We deal with her, and Themyscira returns to Earth."
"Yes."
Hm. How can I get an edge?
I look out across the water as Charon rows out towards a struggling shade.
Ah.
"Do you need those shade heads?"
"Need? Why?"
I smile.
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