Disclaimer: I do not own any of the properties used in this story.

Chapter 1: Turn of the Millenium

The act of dying was horrible, but Percy found the unbearable boredom in the Underworld to be just as bad as death. In Asphodel, there wasn't much to do aside from wandering around trying to get lost in thought. It also didn't help that he seemed to be the only soul that had yet to lose his mind. He had initially tried to make conversation with the plethora of Asphodel's inhabitants before he quickly realized how fruitless of an endeavor that would be. The souls here never were able to perceive anything, too caught up their whispered ramblings of incoherent thought. Percy always found that disturbing, no matter how used to it he became over the years. Today was just like every other day for Percy, he spent his time trying to find the quietest area he could among the wild and unkempt nature. The trees and grass had a black, almost necrotic hue to them that did nothing to alleviate the dreadful atmosphere. Finally, after what felt like hours of searching—time was difficult in Asphodel, to say the least—he managed to find little corner of the field he could call his own that would let him rest. Percy let gravity take him as the tall and eerie grass swallowed him up. Percy let out a long sigh. 'Well, it's just me and my thoughts,' he mused. Usually nothing good came from that.

Percy was in a panic. Everything around him was dark, and he found himself in some kind of line with frighteningly pale individuals. The last thing he remembered was… Oh yeah, he died. As if he didn't have enough to worry about, he suddenly found himself standing in a small golden ring. Surrounding him were three giant chairs, all occupied by equally sized men with varying ancient Greek attires that were all adorned in gold. Before Percy could try and make sense of all this, the giant in the middle spoke.

"Perseus Jackson, you stand before the Judges of the Underworld," he drawled. His voice was deep and echoed throughout the vast darkness with intensity.

The giant on Percy's left spoke next. "During your life you had proven yourself to be a worthy hero, despite its rather short duration." This judge sounded much less intimidating and almost bored.
Percy turned to face the third giant on the left who elected to remain silent before having his attention drawn by the man in the middle. "As such you have earned the right to enter into Elysium and be with the heroes of the past." Just as he went to make their judgement final, he was interrupted.

"But what about my mother and the rest of my family?" Percy timidly inquired. All three judges paused at this. Percy could feel the area around him begin to grow cold and he started to wonder if he made a mistake. Percy could feel their eyes on him and he felt the need to squirm under their tumultuous gaze. Finally, the judge on the right broke his silence with a boisterous, yet hollow laugh.
"You are certainly quite the curious mortal, Perseus Jackson," the right judge proclaimed. His voice was much calmer than the others, but despite this his words had more of an edge to them than any of the others. "I can recall very few instances where a mortal had any thoughts on their mind aside from their own self-preservation. Your family led ordinary lives, and as such, will lead ordinary afterlives. They will be sentenced to Asphodel once they pass through her. Not all trials are expedited like your own, you know."
Percy felt his heart drop and his mind began to race. 'After everything, I won't be able to see my family ever again?!' Percy felt his initial fear and trepidation begin to dissipate as they were replaced by anger and anguish. His thoughts began to darken, 'What's the point of Elysium if I'm never going to see any of the people I love? Am I just supposed to celebrate with heroes and abandon the only people to matter to me?!' Percy willed himself to calm down as his only option on the matter became clear to him. "I don't want Elysium; I want to go to Asphodel with my family."

The judges sat in stunned silence for a moment before the leftmost judge exploded. "Do you realize what you're asking for, foolish boy?" His words were accusatory and filled with anger towards Percy's insolence. "You've been granted an incredible honor, and you plan to desecrate our gracious reward? The middle judge said nothing but glared at Percy with a hardened gaze, his anger barely present in his expression.

"Well, I believe this little godling has made his decision," the right judge cackled. "We three sentence you to spend eternity trudging away in the Fields of Asphodel, may the gods have mercy on your half-witted soul."
As his verdict became finalized, the judges proceeded to let out harsh laughs that chilled Percy to his core. He could suddenly feel something pulling at him before he was violently ripped from their presence.

Percy shot up from his rest, his heart racing and his body covered in a cold sweat. 'That damn dream again,' he thought to himself. It wasn't a nightmare he frequently had, but it was one of the few to haunt him so. He stood up from his impromptu nap spot and stretched as he decided to try to search for his mother again. 'I doubt I'll ever actually find her, but that doesn't mean I can stop looking,' he rationalized. He had yet to find anyone from his home, let alone his mother whom he missed most of all. He meandered towards the most populated area in Asphodel, which was also closest to the entrance of the Underworld. Whether this was a coincidence or is there was a deeper meaning to that, Percy didn't know. Once he finally made it he bang shuffling through the swathes of souls, doing his best to ignore their disembodied moans. From his current vantage point, he could even see the river Lethe. With a sigh he went to turn to resume his search when something caught his eye. In the distance on the bank of the river was an approaching figure. Percy couldn't make out any details at this distance but who or whatever that was appeared to be rather small.

Percy hid himself among Asphodel's other inhabitants as he continued to eye the mysterious stranger. Whoever this was clearly had no fear of the Underworld as they quickly and confidently strolled towards the edges of the field. Finally, they were close enough to make out details and Percy couldn't help but be shocked by their appearance. The mysterious stranger appeared to be a teenage boy, around his own age. He had longer black hair that had an almost flat look about it. He wore strange clothes that were just as dark as his hair and had olive colored skin that was surprisingly pale. The boy had no fear as he strolled into the borders of Asphodel, the souls parting for him. He seemed to appraise them for a while before continuing onward towards some unknown goal. As the boy made his way towards Percy, he couldn't help but marvel at the strange teen's apparent control over the dead. Percy continued his charade as the stranger made it to where he was hiding. Once he was within arm's reach Percy's hand shot out, grabbing the boy's forearm. "Γεια τι συμβ-" before Percy could finish his sentence the two of them had disappeared. ("Hey, what's going on-").

Percy looked around at his new surroundings in confusion. He was now standing in some heavily forested area. He wasn't sure exactly where this was, all he knew was that was that he was no longer in the Underworld. He suddenly remembered the situation and that he still held the boy's arm and wasted no time in sweeping his legs, pinning him to the ground with a forearm as Percy kneeled over him, his other arm cocked back and waiting. "Αυτό που μόλις συνέβη στον Άδη?!" he exclaimed. ("What in the Hades just happened?!")

The boy stared up at him, his dark brown eyes meeting Percy's green ones, his fear evident. "Please don't kill me; I promise I wasn't going to do anything wrong!" he pleaded.

"Τι είδους γλώσσα είναι αυτή; Μίλα ελληνικά, φτου!" Percy ordered. ("What kind of language is that? Speak Greek, damn you!"). This kid was certainly a mystery. 'First he appears in the Underworld with some strange clothing and now he's muttering gibberish,' he complained.

The younger man fearfully agreed to Percy's demand. "Okay, whatever you want, just don't kill me!"

"Why would I kill you?" Percy responded. "Listen, I just want to know where we are and how we got here. For now, at least." Percy let the implied threat hang in the air as he was still wary of the boy and his odd abilities.

The fear started to leave the boy's eyes at this line of question. If anything, he looked more confused than afraid now. "We're in Central Park in New York. Wait, shouldn't you know that?"
"Why would I know that?" Now it was Percy's turn to be confused. "You're the one that brought me here!" his exasperation seemed to put the other individual at ease.

All the tension left the young man's body as he let out a sigh of relief. "If you don't know that, that means you aren't some minor god like I had initially thought. My name is Nico di Angelo and I'm a demigod like you." At this, Nico held his arms up in surrender. "Would you mind letting me up so we can talk more comfortably?"
Percy eyed him warily before stepping back and offering a hand that Nico happily accepted before dusting himself off. "You still haven't explained how we got here or what you were doing in the Underworld in the first place," Percy growled, his frustration still evident.

Suddenly Nico shrunk back as if embarrassed by having to explain himself. "I was… looking to see if I could find any of my siblings that had passed away. It's something I've done once before, and I guess it's starting to become something of a habit of mine. Oh, and if you couldn't already tell I'm a son of Hades. That's actually how I got us out of Asphodel in the first place. I've picked up the ability to shadow travel and anyone that's in contact with me is along for the ride. He suddenly seemed to take in Percy's own appearance, particularly his apparel. "Dude, that chiton is seriously old fashioned, how long ago did you die?"
Percy recoiled at the sudden question, taken aback by the bluntness as which Nico asked about something as traumatic as his death. "How am I supposed to know?" he asked defensively. "When you're dead you can't exactly tell how much time has passed, you know. I died around nine or ten years after Dionysus officially became a god."
Nico's eye shot open at Percy's admission. "Y-You've gotta be messing with me, right?" he stammered. He eyed Percy as if he were a bomb that could go off at any minute. "You might want to brace yourself for this one."

Percy could feel his patience for the teen wearing thin. "Whatever, just spit it out already!" he snapped.

"I don't how to tell you this," Nico started, his voice low and soft "but you've been dead for over a thousand years…"