When Flames Go Dark [A Leo Valdez Fanfiction]

Epilogue

>:>

Anyways, here it is:

~.~

It was the last day that Leo was serving his sentence in the Fields of Punishment. After this he would get to go to Elysium, as decreed by Hades himself.

A century of imprisonment had given him a lot to think about, and he didn't even think he belonged there anymore. Well, any person who had been through the fields of punishment would have given anything to be in Elysium.

But not him.

Sure, when he went to Elysium he would be able to see all his friends, and maybe. Just maybe. She would be there too. And all he wanted was to see her again. But would she even want to see him though? After all the sins he'd committed?

These thoughts gave Leo an impending sense of dread that he couldn't ignore.

~.~

The sound of his heavy footsteps reached his ears as he walks towards the gates of Elysium, through the gates of Punishment, head down. There was no longer anything to look forward to. He stopped.

There's no longer anything to look forward to.

Maybe he should just turn back now. Maybe-

"Leo Valdez."

It couldn't be. That voice that could only belong to one person. It was hers.

Leo's head jerked up. He met the familiar dark almond eyes, the warmth and brightness he had forgotten about filling up his heart.

And for the first time in around a century, Leo felt pure joy.

He realised the eyes were among many other pairs. Sea green, stormy grey, kaleidoscope, sky blue, brown, gold, dark brown... Everyone was here.

Before Leo could say anything, everyone quietly lined up in front of him, Calypso in front.

Leo was confused. They queuing for their hugs and kisses or...

Calypso brought her hand hard across his face in a stinging slap that sent him stumbling backwards.

"That's for turning into such an idiot. How could you do all those stupid things? What on earth were you thinking, Leonidas Valdez?"

Before Leo could reply with a witty and clever comment like, "What?", she took his face in her hands and kissed him fiercely.

"But the old you is back. Though the stupid isn't gone. You wouldn't be Leo without the stupid."

"Okay." Leo's voice was an octave higher than usual. His legs felt weak. "Love you too, Sunshine."

Next in line was Piper, who kicked him in the knees, causing them to buckle.

"Hey, Beauty Queen," Leo said, wincing.

"Don't you 'Beauty Queen' me!" Piper seemed mad, but her swollen eyes said otherwise. After berating him, she tackled Leo in a bear hug. "Repair Boy, you idiot," she murmured into his shoulder. "You know you could have told us what you were going through. We would have helped you, every step of the way."

Leo suddenly found a keen interest in his shoes. "Yeah."

Jason was next.

"Hey man. Uh, do me a favour and don't kick me in the nuts. Or something. Also, I like your new glasses."

"Bro, the guys are all cool. It's the ladies who are doing all the abusing. You probably just gave Annabeth more ideas." Leo saw Annabeth's eyes glint and shuddered. "Anyway, just glad you're back."

Percy was next in line, and he told Leo about what happened after his death. After a long and hard battle that lasted for quite a few days, all the monsters were killed. Nico came back to camp and banished Minos who was fired as a judge of the dead. The tyrant was turned into a llama and forced to roam the Fields of Punishment where there was no llama food (and attend the various punishments there) as a punishment for his sins.

The line gradually shortened, and soon there was only one person left. It was a burly boy with dark skin and olive green eyes. Leo didn't recognise him. The boy grinned, then stuck out a calloused hand. Leo took it.

"Leo Valdez, eh? Pleasure to meet you. I'm Beckendorf." Beckendorf? It took him a while to recall the familiar name. He had heard it the first time he came to camp, the first time he met his cabin mates. That felt like a million years ago.

And maybe it was.

Leo knew he wasn't the same person he was all those years ago. He wasn't the same jumpy energetic kid that would give to see the guy he had heard so much about. The guy that was cabin 9's ex-head counsellor and another hero who'd sacrificed himself to defeat Kronos. Also a great builder. Basically a legend.

But Leo felt his 17 year old self freaking out again. He gapes mid-handshake. "C-Charles Beckendorf?"

He nodded. "We convinced Hades to let this beauty over here into the Underworld." Beckendorf cocked his head towards Festus, who snorted steam. "Heard you fixed him. No one's ever done it. Good job on that."

"Wow. Oh my gods. Thank you." Leo looked around. "Thank you all for coming to see me. I'm so sorry for... you know." He stared down at his feet. After all this time, all his friends had waited for him to finish serving his punishment instead of going for rebirth.

"I really was an idiot." His cheeks flushed a bright burning red.

"Yeah, I'm not gonna deny that, bro. You were pretty stupid, even for my standards," Percy grinned. Jason facepalmed.

"Shut up, Jackson," Jason sighed exasperatedly. "Perce never says the right thing at the right time."

Percy mock-glared at Jason before turning back to Leo. "It's okay, man. We all forgive you. The funniest part is that I understood why you did what you did. Believe it or not, I once saw a guy go down the same path as you and he had a lot of reasons to do that. So forget about the past. That doesn't matter anymore. At least we're all back together."

Leo stood there, speechless, eyes brimming with tears. "Thanks guys, I really... just thank you so much. This is more than I can ever ask for..."

Jason clapped Leo on the shoulder, then chuckled. "Time to get to Elysium. Nico will be glad to see you. He couldn't come 'cause he's got some, er, Son of Hades stuff to do. Anyways, I got us some fancy rides." He whistled, and there was a rush of air as Tempest arrived moments later, along with a few of his storm spirit friends. Again, how they were there, Leo had no clue, but he didn't care. Leo and Calypso clambered onto Festus, and the rest got onto the storm spirits.

With Calypso's arms around him again, Leo spurred Festus into flight. The bronze dragon spread his wings once more, and Tempest and his friends got ready to take off. The day ended in joy and laughter as they soared towards Elysium. 

Leo knew he would never be able to forget what he did, or what he went through. But a certain someone had taught him that running away from the truth was taking the easy way out, and letting go and moving on was the thing that was truly important. Even until now, the words echoed in his mind:

"Come on, Leo. Come back home."

Well, he had taken it. The hand that had reached out to him.

Because that was where he was at now.