Born Again

[1: entering the underworld]

When people describe death, most say everything went dark. This wasn't true, or at least it wasn't for Leo. Everything was so bright at first, the flames were everywhere, and for once, Leo burned. He felt the pain the flames caused, felt his skin start to fall off in dead heaps, felt his heart get slower and slower until the light faded into nothing. Not darkness, no, just nothing.

Then he was standing in line for judgement. He could have taken the "EZ Death" and headed straight to the Fields of Asphodel, but he felt like he could do better. He couldn't. All the bad he has done in his life, accidentally killing his mother, technically leaving an oath broken, and being borderline cruel to his friends, balanced out with all the good he's done, sacrificing himself to Gaia, helping out his foster siblings as much as he could, helping his friends out when they're blue with a couple of jokes. The Fields of Asphodel is where he ended up. He remembered Percy and Annabeth had described their adventure into the Underworld with their friend Grover on the Argo. They said it was like standing in a field in Kansas forever, doing nothing.

Leo wished he went to Elysium, not just because it was the Greek equivalent of heaven, but because for his plan to work that's where he needed to be.

Everyone was directed to drink from the River Lethe before entering the Fields, but Leo simply walked around the people doing so. No one stopped him, strangely enough. The zombies seemed too tired and not-caring enough to let him go. He couldn't help remembering Hazel describing her experiences. She said she hadn't drunken from the River, and that was what allowed her to come back to the world of the living. Leo didn't want to forget everything and just wander her aimlessly. He needed to find a way to get into Elysium for his plan.

The fields were filled with zombies. Not literally, well maybe a little literally, but the forgotten souls were just shuffling around as if they were on 'The Walking Dead'. There were a few trees, and plants that looked like wheat covered the entirety of it. But it was never ending, and there was no escape.

Leo had a plan to escape the Fields of Asphodel, just like he had a plan to defeat Gaia, but this one will be a lot harder.

Leo walked over to the big oak doors where he, as well as everyone else, had entered. Every few seconds a new soul would enter, each and every more diverse than before. An old man would enter with his cane and old softball cap, and the next would be a young child clearly from a war zone across seas. It was always so sad whenever a child entered, especially since they weren't in Elysium.

There was no guard from the fields leading out, but the doors were however locked. There didn't seem to be a physical lock, but the doors never opened when he pushed out on them. Leo kept staying by the door, trying to act as brain-dead as he could incase someone looked in.

This time, just as the doors opened for someone to enter, Leo tried leaving. His own spirit body passed through the soul of the one entering, which appeared to be a middle-aged woman with such tired eyes. It was hard to look at these people and not wonder their stories. Was this woman a mother? Did she have a big family, with a bijillion cousins, or only a sister or brother. What did she do for a living? Maybe she was a CEO of some big company, or maybe she worked at a McDonalds down the street from one.

As Leo passed through the woman, he made it through the doors. He was outside the Fields of Asphodel, and he quickly ducked behind a potted plant. He wondered why there was a fern in the underworld, it was probably Persephone's idea, but he was to processed in his thoughts.

This was a lot easier than it should be. He shouldn't have been able to leave the fields that quickly. Leo knew that something bad was going to happen, that was just how his lucked worked out. Nothing good could ever happen without something bad

Of course, Leo just had to be right.

A skeleton soldier grabbed his shoulder and dragged him out from behind the plant, and soon there were around a dozen skeleton hands grabbing him. He didn't know where they were taking him, but it couldn't he good.

"Hey! Stop! Where are you taking me?"

The first skeleton turned to him, and if it was possible, Leo could have sworn he had an angry expression. "The Fields of Punishment. Anyone who tries to escape is automatically taken there."

It was in that moment Leo's heart stopped.