"Well, Griffin. Now you know how you came to be here." Hades finished telling his story, and prying me off him. I eventually sat back down on the couch.

"I'm sure you have questions of your own." Persephone, or... great grandma, said. "Go ahead, ask."

"Um..." It was an odd feeling, sitting there with not one, but two gods, both of which I thought weren't real and belonged in the mythos of antiquity. Not only that, but having a casual conversation. I didn't really know what to feel, though I did know what to ask.

"You said you rescued me from the hive, what about Atran? Where is he?"

Hades let out an uneasy sigh. "I know that in the short time you've known him, you've become somewhat attached to Atran, after all he is your father in law, but you must understand something, people in the underworld are punished, or rewarded, based on their deeds."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"He's been returned to 'hunted hell', where he belongs. He'll spend eternity being chased and shot, then strung up like a trophy by the hunters. In life he treated others like playthings, used them, toyed with their feelings. He killed countless innocents, or forced them into a life of poverty for some notion of revenge. The only reasons he wasn't thrown straight into the Phlegethon are because of the suffering he was dealt in life, and by his acts of repentance before his demise."

I sat for a moment, taking in what Hades explained. Was Atran truly such a horrid person? He seemed a nice enough guy to me, but I didn't know his life story. What's more, I wasn't about to tell the god of the dead how to do his job.

"Besides, you saw for yourself, he seemed to manage pretty well. Who knows, maybe he'll find a boat or something and cross into a lesser hell, if he manages to avoid the patrols." He added at the end. Did he just suggest... A wink confirmed my suspicions.

"What about Craig, and Nayla, and Lester?"

"Ah, now they're a different story. You see, souls in Elysium are given a choice if they want to stay, or be reborn. Those in the fields of Asphodel, or 'Purgatory' as you know it, live one lifetime, and are then reincarnated as well. Souls in lesser hells have the same sort of situation. They're punished for their sins, but once that punishment has been dealt, they're sent back to the living world."

"So, they'll eventually get another chance at life?" I asked.

"That's how it works. Craig was only sentenced to five years of solitude. Nayla, in life, murdered her husband after finding out he was unfaithful. She was given three lives of hardship, with no memory of the previous ones. You ended her second one, taking years off her punishment. As for Lester, I sent an 'overseer', a kind of demon responsible for keeping track of everyone down here, to pick him up. The overseer came back full of fish hooks and a load of sand in his mouth."

"What about Trixie, or Geirmund? Where are they?"

Hades gave a toothy smile. "Well, that's something you'll want to see. Persephone? Would you mind bringing the boy down to the Inn?"

"Not at all dear." She motioned for me. "Follow me."

As we walked through the halls of the castle, Persephone and I talked a fair bit more. After all, I had so much I wanted to ask, and needed to know.

"Mind if I ask you some things?"

"You're so curious." She smiled.

"Well yeah, otherwise how do you learn?"

"All right, ask away."

"So... if I'm a descendant of gods, do I have any super powers or anything?" She laughed slightly at that.

"Alright, well, first thing you have to know is that having divine lineage isn't exactly as rare as you'd think it is." Persephone began.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, most of the gods tended to sleep around with mortals quite a bit, so, you wound up with a bunch of demi gods. And then they all had children. They're demi gods, they're the ancient heroes. They were famous, and good looking, and charming. They could do it with pretty much whoever they wanted, so when I say they had kids, I mean they had a LOT of kids, and they they all had kids, and THEY all had kids. Around four hundred years ago, about 10% of the population of earth had SOME god blood in them from somewhere."

"Huh..."

"Well, at that point in time, people started exhibiting special abilities. Things that weren't really normal. Things people couldn't really explain. And that's when humans got it in their heads that it was a good idea to round up everybody who wasn't normal, tie them to wood posts, preach to them, and then set them on fire. Or throw them in rivers. Or crush them under stone blocks."

"You mean witch trials?"

"Exactly. Though most of them were complete nonsense, they did get quite a lot of divine descendants. Nowadays, their numbers are bouncing back, but the bloodline is so diluted that almost nothing comes of it. Ever see a guy that for whatever reason, he just never gets sick? Maybe a woman who can talk her way out of anything, someone who simply wakes up looking good, or wins at the casino a little more often than they should? Bingo."

"Huh."

"Well, now that we've got that covered, you're a bit fresher than those long line descendants. You've got a quarter god blood, half of it from me, the other half from Hades. From him, you got a couple things. You've used hell fire before, haven't you?" She asked,

"Yeah. It was kind of just a 'hey, that would be cool' idea, thought I'd try it out, and it worked. When I tried to teach it to the crew, they couldn't do it." I replied.

"Well, hell fire is something that belongs to him, so his children all inherit it. Nobody else can use it."

"Wait, Fia used it too!"

"That's right. Her great, great, great grandmother was another of Macaria's children."

"I see."

"Other than that, have you ever noticed that despite being frequently set on fire, you've never been seriously burned?"

Thinking back, all the way back to the time I first arrived in Equestria, now that I think about it, when I was fighting 'Blacky' I probably should have been burned a lot more than I was. When I first used hell fire, I panicked and tossed myself into the ocean, but I didn't really get burned by it. When I was experimenting with the condensed air projectile spell, it blew up in my face all the time, but I never got more than singed feathers...

"What about before I arrived in Equestria? And why didn't my dad ever show any signs?" We exited the castle through a large pair of double doors with a pair of giant guards in black iron armor standing watch. They saluted stiffly, the ground rumbling slightly as they clacked their heels together. When I say giant, I mean 50 feet tall giant.

"Well, Earth has a lot less magic to it, to the point that if you didn't know what you were looking for, what it felt like, or how to use it, you'd be blind to it. There used to be more, but again, humans went about disposing anything with an ounce of magic in it for the sake of purity. As for your father, he was always so deep in the bottle that he couldn't focus enough to use his abilities, so not even I know what they are. Possibly an indestructible liver, since his drinking habit probably should have killed him by now."

"I see." We walked down a large set of stone stairs into a valley that rested below. Off to the right, I could see a peaceful looking field with a large iron fence around it. Tall strands of wheat were swaying in the wind, a gentle breeze washing over them that I could feel even from my position. I ruffled my feathers, slightly opening my wing so I could get a better feel on it.

"Onto your previous question, I've only told you what you inherited from your great grandfather. As for me, or my mother Demeter, that has yet to be seen. You haven't exactly been trying to grow crops."

"Yeah, well, I haven't really had time to try that." I rubbed the back of my head and cringed a bit.

"You should try it some time. It's relaxing. You need to do that more, or you'll wind up stressed out like my husband. In any case, we're here." At the fence, there was a large building that looked like a rustic hotel, the words 'Last Sin Inn' hanging on a sign outside. Both Persephone and I walked up to the doors. I could hear loud, raucous laughter pouring out from within. She motioned for me to go inside, and I followed her directions.

"WELCOME!" The moment I took my first step through the door, I was pulled inside by a multitude of limbs belonging to all sorts of creatures. I immediately had a mug of beer crammed in my claw, a cigar shoved in my beak, and a rather well endowed woman wrapping her arms around my neck, stroking them with a gentle touch.

"Come come! Newest arrival! Come, sit! Let Zaria fill you in!" I let the cigar fall as I was swept to the center of the room where a Zebra wearing what looked to be a priestess garment sat atop one of the tables, smoking a very long pipe.

"I am Zaria! I am pleased to welcome you to Last Sin Inn!"

"That there's Zaria! She's been here the longest out of all of us! Tell him the story! Come on!" Shouted a boisterous griffin.

"I, am Zaria!" She began again as the everyone on the floor hung on her every word. "I, am a ZEBRA!"

"OOOOH!" Everyone oohed. I get the feeling they're all plastered.

"I was a priestess of the zebrican god of vengeance... MALICE!"

"BOOOOO!"

"When the time came for my death, I used aaaaaaannncient soul magic to switch myself with a spider! For the next four thousand years, Malice have angry lady spider trying to bite his head off!"

"AAAAHAHAHAHAHAH! Oh no!" The griffin from before laughed so hard he busted a gut. Literally. His stomach and intestines fell out onto the floor. "Stiiiiitch! A lil help here?" He shouted. A woman who's skin was all sewn together like patchwork stood up from her seat at the bar and with a scowl on her face smashed her mug over his head, knocking him out.

"Yeah yeah..." She said with a voice like leather. "Alright, lemme see..." She pulled out a needle and some thread, then started shoving his innards back into his abdomen before sewing the hole up.

"So, Zaria asks, what brings you to this place, Griffin of irony?" The zebra turned her attention back to me.

"I'm looking for Trixie and Geirmund. Are they here?"

"EH! Zrixie! Geirzgrund!" One of the patrons slurred. "The grzzin erver's er werts teer ser ya!"

"Alright, erry body make room! Hey! Zaria say move your asses! And not just donkeys!" The zebra shouted. The crowd split apart somewhat, letting a pair of familiar ponies through.

"Griffin!"

"Trixie, Geirmund!" The two of them ran up and we all had a big group hug. After they died, I never thought I'd see them again. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"Heh, didn't think we'd see you down here. Don't tell me they got you too?" Trixie asked.

"What? No, I'm still alive! I got tossed down a well and I made my way here."

We had some catching up to do. I recounted everything that happened to me since we were separated. Apologized to Trixie for eating her. She said it was fine, she didn't need her body any more anyways. And her soul wasn't all chewed on, she looked whole, other than a stitched up scar on her chest, from where she got impaled by that shard of rock. Geirmund looked like his normal self, though he said that under all the steel is a load of stitching keeping him together.

"So, now I'm trying to get back topside. I don't really know how much time has passed, I'm just want to get back to Gilda and my son. Oh geez, I don't even know his name yet! I really hope they're okay."

"Um, Griffin. I, uh, I think I have some bad news for you." Trixie began.

"Huh?"

"I mean, you got tossed down the well pretty much right after we died right?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Thing is, time down here in the underworld actually moves at the same pace as time in the living world, for the most part. And, well... Geirmund and I have been here for six months already."

"......WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?"

"Crap! Six months! That means that it's the start of fall, late September? Gilda has been raising our son all alone for six months!"

"Griffin, calm down. Everything will be alright."

"No, it won't! I've got to get back topside! I will not miss my son's first birthday. Hell, I've probably already missed his first steps, maybe even his first words! I've got to go!" I took a deep breath to calm down. "Wait, you can probably come with me. Back to the living world."

*Zap*

Suddenly, I was back in Hades's study.

"Sorry, I'm afraid I can't do that." The man himself said with a glare.

"What? Why not?"

"Listen Griffin, I know how important Trixie and Geirmund are to you, but you must understand. They're dead. They can't go back. If they return to the world of the living as they are now, not reincarnated, but as spirits, they'll throw off the balance of nature. That, and they'd be miserable." Hades spoke sternly. His mood was no longer the jovial tone of a grandparent, and the fact that he had teleported me right to his study to have this conversation told me how seriously he took the subject.

"But they..."

"No. No Griffin. Can't you see they're happy here? The Last Sin Inn is a wonderful place, at the edge of Elysium. They drink, dance, and make love freely. They laugh, cry, and tell stories of the hardships they overcame. It's not truly paradise, but it's as close as one can get without getting lost in bliss. Only under extremely exceptional circumstances can the dead ever be allowed to leave the underworld."

"I... see."

"Now, Persephone isn't here, so, I'm going to tell you something she doesn't know about, something she likely wouldn't approve of. Don't go telling her, or I'll spend the next thousand years sleeping on the couch. She's a HUGE stickler for rules. Especially ones that can't be broken."

"Uh?"

"I mean rules like life and death. Now listen alright? Just as I brought you to Equestria, I also brought you to the underworld."

"What? Why?"

"The three fates reside here, where they forever weave the fabric of life. Your thread was supposed to be cut. As was the thread of the fox, Fia. Back at Ancientwell, you were supposed to kill each other. Obviously, that didn't happen. The armored titan of a diamond dog who tossed you down here, Ringo, was acting on my will."

"I don't understand."

"Then shut up and let me finish explaining, okay?" He sighed. He wasn't angry, he just seemed... exasperated. As though he was tired of dealing with all this. "Ringo was a great hero who did great things, but was slain by his comrades who then set about bringing the griffins to the sad state they exist in today. He was so desperate to make things right that he left the paradise of Elysium and begged me to allow him to return to the living world, to make things right. I allowed this on one condition. That when the time came that my children were in danger, he'd cast them down the well he dug to make his escape from this realm. Even before you were born, I knew it was your fate to die fighting your cousin, and she to die fighting you."

"So then... you saved me?"

"I did. And, I also broke the rules." I remembered my encounter with Malice, how Hades had been furious that he had 'broken the rules' and the spider payed by having his web torn asunder. "The rules that prevent gods from interfering with the lives of their mortal descendants. Secondly, I changed fate. You and Fia were supposed to die, but you didn't. That's because I abused my relationship with the three sisters to find out what they had intended for you. Third, I willingly allowed a soul that belonged in my domain to return to the world of the living as an unkillable specter. Once the dead leave my realm, they are beyond my power. If Ringo had been corrupt, it would have been disastrous."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"So you know why I can no longer help you. You sent Ringo back here when you burnt him with hell fire, so that ties up at least one loose end. The thing is, I've been helping you subtly this whole time, in ways the other gods wouldn't notice. Do you recall back at the temple, with the giant spider? The sword you just so happened to name after me conveniently wound up in the perfect position to block the spider's fangs, even though you couldn't see where they were coming from and could barely move when tied up in that web? What about when your body was wracked with withdraw symptoms, and you were nowhere near a doctor? How you just 'figured out' you needed dragon blood?" He's right. I always thought that was kind of lucky how it just 'happened'. Or how I learned magic just by chance, or came up with the hell fire spell because 'I just wanted to see if it'd work'. Or even the black river dreams, while they may have been foretelling me falling in the Acheron, at the time it told me what I needed. It wasn't just happenstance, it was Hades doing everything.

"The most recent one being in the wasp's nest. That's why I didn't bring you here immediately, I had to convince Zeus to let me do my job in 'returning a living person to the world of the living' and that this wasn't me just bailing you out again. Countless instances have occurred in which you should have died, but I've been ever so slightly plucking at the strings of fate. I'm telling you now that I've done this, the others are going to be keeping a closer eye on me, and I can't do it any more." Hades explained.

"So... you're telling me I can't rely on you?"

"That's right. It's also why I had you come to the underworld in the way that you did."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you remember how I told you that the gods would protect their mortal children by alternative means, with Achilles being dipped in the Styx?"

"Yes."

"You spent three months completely immersed in the Acheron. I know it hurt. I know it was painful, and soul crushing, and nobody should ever have to live through that. That's why any soul tossed in that river loses all sense of individuality. But you didn't. You're still whole. Any magic used in this realm, besides my own, is suppressed. Once you leave here, you should find yourself quite a bit better off. Achilles became invincible to all but god forged weapons, and he was a demi god. You're only one quarter, but you spent far longer in a river. Not even I know what will arise, or when. That depends on you."

"You mean, all that time I suffered, you knew, and you wanted that? The reason my son is growing up without a father, the reason Gilda is raising him all on her own?"

"I know I know. I'm the god of the dead, I have spent an eternity dishing out suffering to the wretched souls of my realm, my own grandson is no different, but listen, if I didn't do that, and you left this place, went back to the living world? You'd wind up right back down here."

"How do you know?"

"I've been breaking the rules, remember? Manipulating fate? If Persephone found out she'd have a field day! Not to mention what would happen with the other gods. Zeus would come storming down here, Poseidon would flood the place, it'd be a huge mess. The point is, I know what's going to happen next, and let me tell you, what you've been through is nothing compared to what is coming."

"... Persephone is right. You are stressed out."

"No shit. Well, now you know everything I can tell you. The tallest spire of the castle leads to the lowest chamber of the city of Sheol. If you go through there, you can make your way back up to Equestria. I'll send you back to the inn now. You may want to say your goodbyes."

"Wait, just like that? I'm just leaving?"

"Well, did you WANT to spend more time in hell, or do you want to get back to your girl and son? The underworld is no place for the living."

"Point taken."

"You may not understand it right now, and it may seem like I've been cruel, letting you suffer needlessly, but every single thing I've done has all been for your benefit, even if it doesn't seem like it."

"So, why then? Why are you going through so much trouble? Why are you jeopardizing everything by breaking the rules, putting up with all this shit, just for my sake?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Hades asked. I shook my head no. "It's because you're my great grandson. I love you, idiot."

Author's Notes:

I have had 'The Last Sin Inn' scene stuck in my head for the past 6 months. Good to finally have it come out! I'm so happy!

Okay, I know this chapter seems kind of frantic, and almost all of it was just Hades talking about shit, but I'm trying to get the information out there, and get the point across that Hades is pretty much a nervous wreck about this because he's broken the rules a LOT. And doing it even a little carries a harsh punishment. However, just like Griffin, Hades is really good at breaking the rules WITHOUT getting caught.