Chapter 2: I Saw The Light.
Even though my conditions for OCs were very demanding, three people actually PM'd me their own characters, so I'm gonna include them in this story. Also, sorry for the slow updates, I'm balancing this with playing Skyrim Special Edition, which I just bought this weekend. Anyways, here it is.
Chapter 2: I Saw The Light.
Percy's P.O.V.
You know, dying is really weird. It's sorta like when you press a vacuum cleaner against your chest and it sucks on your skin. Only, instead of your skin, your spirit is the one being sucked out.
My soul was pushed through a large wormhole-like tube that stretched on for miles, bending and twisting all the way. It was mainly dark, suggesting we were underground. Of course we were, Hades was underground after all.
Eventually, after what felt like ages, I was blinded by a large amount of red light entering the area.
The Underworld.
It was exactly how I remembered it. Dark, gloomy, miserable, and a large red river blocking the way.
Down the bank a bit, a tall robed man stood boredly while practicing with his oar as if it was a spear.
I trudged up to him, and cleared my throat. The man jumped, and turned to look at me, a slight scowl on his face. That scowl disappeared once he saw who I was.
"Perseus? So the monsters and demons finally became too much for you?" He asked, looking to make sure I was actually dead. "No, Charon, not monsters and demons. Inner demons, yes. Nothing can kill me, but me, it seems." I smirked, trying to make light out of the fact that I had commited suicide.
Charon nodded mournfully at me. "Well, Perseus. I wish you luck in your judgement. Do you have any drachmas?" He asked, holding out his hand for the coins.
I mentally cursed. Drachmas, that's what I forgot. I turned my pockets inside out, frowning at the old ferryman. Charon shook his head sadly. "You know what, the last time you were here, you paid me enough to last 5 lifetimes, since you really didn't know how this worked. I'll just use one of those coins as payment for this ride. Hop on, hero." He offered, and I smiled gratefully at him, climbing into the boat.
It was a smooth sailing, and when we reached the other side, I bid Charon farewell, heading towards the large three-headed dog guarding the gates.
"Woof." Cerberus barked happily at me, but whined after he tried to nedge me. His heads had gone right through.
I smiled at him. "'Fraid not, boy. I'm dead this time." I said sadly to the guarddog. Cerberus whined again, and stepped aside for me to enter.
The Underworld was… interesting. Hades himself wasn't here, being that he was still on Olympus with the others, probably trying to console Nico. After getting lost a few times, I finally found the judgement table.
They had appointed new judges, as part of the program to make this shitty world a better place. Instead of the usual demigod, son of Zeus kings, they had appointed great men worthy to judge souls for eternity. The epitomes of Good, neutral, and evil
They were Abraham Lincoln, the judge of Elysium. Napoleon Bonaparte, the judge of the Fields of Asphodel. And Adolf Hitler, the judge of the Fields of Punishment.
A long line graced the judging table, so I begrudgingly took my spot at the back, preparing for the never-ending wait.
-Time Skip-
"Perseus Achilles Jackson!"
I heard Napoleon call out my name, and I hesitant took a step forward. The three judges looked at me curiously, and it was as if they were staring right into my soul.
They snapped out of their trance, and started firing questions at me.
"Have you ever killed a man or woman without provocation?" Hitler asked, and I thought about it. Might as well answer with the truth.
"No, not without provocation, no."
"Have you ever gone out of your way to help with the simpler things, like helping an old woman carry her groceries?" Lincoln asked, smiling slightly, as if he already knew the answer.
"Yes, a few times."
"Alright, we want you to think about this one. If the chance arose, would you take the power of time travel, or invincibility?" Napoleon asked, his calculating eyes studying me.
What a random question.
I thought about it for a while, and Hitler had begun tapping his foot impatiently, cursing under his breath. "Why do ve have to have zis question? They always take so long" He mumbled, and Lincoln chuckled a bit.
I thought more. On one hand, time travel would allow me to see all my old friends like Luke, Zoe and Bianca again, and possibly save them. On the other hand, invincibility would be pretty sweet, and I'd be able to protect everyone with it, since nothing could stop me.
Nothing could stop me.
Oh, now I know the correct answer.
"I would choose time travel, since it would not only allow me to see my deceased loved ones once more, but the opportunity might arise where I could save them and countless more. For example, I could…"
I trailed off, thinking of what I was going to say. In all honesty, I was going to say I could stop the holocaust, but that wouldn't be a good idea, considering who was sitting in front of me.
"I could… stop deadly events, like the crusades, or the civil war, or…" I tripped on my words, trying to come up with more. Hitler smirked at me. "Or the Holocaust?" He asked, and Lincoln laughed again in a very grandfathery way.
I nodded. "Yeah, like the Holocaust."
Napoleon, Lincoln and Hitler all went into deep discussion, muttering to each other rapidly, before coming up with a decision.
"Perseus Achilles Jackson, we have decided that you shall remain in Elysium, until you choose rebirth." Abraham Lincoln announced with a smile, banging a gavel onto the large table.
I smiled to myself, thanking the gods I hadn't gotten Asphodel. From the way Hazel had described it, it was very boring.
I was lead to two large pearly gates, and they opened by themselves to reveal a blinding white light. Smiling to myself, I stepped into the light.
-Time Skip-
Elysium, it's better than I thought. Imagine a high school party, times it by 100, and have it never ending. That was basically the centre of Elysium, while it was surrounded by many houses and apartments for the souls to rest in.
The first time I'd stepped in there, I'd been deafened by the loud music, which reverted from the centre all the way out to the gates. After that it just ceased.
There are a lot of familiar faces in Elysium. I soon found all my old friends. Luke and Zoe, who were now dating, surprisingly. Bianca, who had not chosen rebirth, she had just had that told to Nico so he'd move on from his dead sister. And Charlie and Silena Beckendorf, who were married, or as married as you can get when you're dead.
They all lived right next to each other, and since she lived alone, I moved in with Bianca. She had basically become a little sister to me since I first arrived in Elysium, and aside from a few fights over dishes, our relationship was great.
The six of us would often have sleepovers, as immature as that sounds, and trust me, it is immature. Luke, being a lot more fun and easygoing than when he was under pressure from Kronos, always seemed to start some sort of civil war in the group, mostly Boys vs Girls.
In fact, Charlie had somehow managed to forge BB guns that could be used on spirits, and Luke had started a fight with them. BB guns were as far as we were allowed to go, though. If we shot a ghost with a ghost-killing bullet we'd probably be shipped off to the FoP immediately.
That battle was fun though, Zoe sniped my butt from halfway across the room and it hurt for a week. I got her back with a nice shotgun blast to the stomach.
Anyway, that's just a taste of the crazy shit we do down here in Elysium. You won't believe the story of how we got broken out of Elysium by my little sister and Bianca's little siblings…
Hey guys, how'd your day go? Mine went pretty well, aside from the anxiety attacks. But I'm not gonna dump my shit on you guys, you go and enjoy the rest of your days. How do you like it so far? Review and tell me what you think!
Word Count: 1471
