Seeing Death After Life (HoO Leo fic)

Prologue: The Resurrection

LEO WAS DEAD.

He knew that with absolute certainty. He just didn't understand why it hurt so much. He felt like every cell in his body had exploded. Now his consciousness was trapped in a charred crispy husk of demigod roadkill. The nausea was worse than any carsickness he'd ever had. He couldn't move. He couldn't see or hear. He could only feel pain.

He started to panic thinking maybe this was his eternal punishment.

Then someone put jumper cables on his brain and restarted his life.

He gasped and sat up.

The first thing he felt was the wind in his face, then the searing pain in his right arm. He was still in Festus's back, still in the air. His eyes started to work again, and he noticed the large hypodermic needle retracting from his forearm. The empty injector buzzed, whirred, and retreated into a panel on Festus's neck.

"Thanks, buddy." Leo groaned. "Man, being dead sucked. But that physician's cure? That stuff is worse."

Festus clicked and clattered in Morse code.
No man, I'm not serious," Leo said. "I'm glad to be alive. And yeah, I love you too. You did awesome."

A metallic purr ran through the length of the dragon's body.

First things first: Leo scanned the dragon for signs of damage. Festus's wings were working properly, though his left medius membrane was shot full of holes. His neck playing was partially fused, melted from the explosion, but the dragon didn't seem to be in danger of crashing immediately. Leo tried to remember what happened. He was pretty sure he defeated Gaea, but he had no idea how his friends were doing at Camp Half-Blood. Hopefully Jason and Piper had gotten clear of the blast. Leo had a weird memory of a missile hurtling toward him and screaming like a girl...what the heck had that been about?

Once he landed, he'd have to check Festus's underbelly. The worst damage would probably be in that area, where the dragon had courageously grappled Gaea while target blowtorched the sludge out of her. There was no telling how long Festus had been aloft. He'd need to set down soon.

Which raised the question: where were they?

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AN.
I'm sorry the opening was a complete ripoff of the book, but I thought it was the perfect setup to this story. Next chapter would be completely me, I promise.
I hope this story gets readers and fellow fans of "Heroes of Olympus".
With that said, on to the next chapter!