Fog rolls over the land as Raven, Dexter, and Cupid proceed onward. It's deathly silent, apart from their footsteps and the tension in the air. Raven makes a point of looking away from Cupid, Dexter handling the back, and Cupid staring straight ahead. Raven glances at the cherub, unsure what to say to break the ice.

"So..." she starts, scrambling for words. "Haros."

"Son of Charon the Ferryman," Cupid answers bluntly.

"Right..." Raven trails off.

Cupid purses her lips. "... So... Sapsorrow?"

"Wh-What about her?" Raven stammers.

"Sucked away the magic? Came out of a book?" Cupid looks over her shoulder at her. "People keep saying that... you let her out?"

Raven glances away, trying to hide the look of guilt she feels creeping up on her face. "...Yes, I did let her out of the book. But I didn't know she was in there! I mean, I did know something was in there. But I didn't - I thought I was just talking to a book!"

Cupid turns to Dexter who shrugs.

"But she didn't seem evil. Bitter and resentful, yes. But not evil." She glances up at Cupid. "Grimm was the one who put her in there. Because, she refused to live through whatever destiny she had."

Cupid's brow furrows. "And you're afraid that because you did the same thing - "

"That he'll do the same again." Raven finishes. "If not to me, then..."

Dexter rests his hand on her shoulder. She smiles the tiniest bit, but it quickly fades. The fog begins to dissipate, tall Corinthian columns tower over them, and shriveled, gray vines twist around the marble. Dexter raises an eyebrow. Hanging from these vines are large, ripe, juicy pomegranates. Curiously, he reaches out towards it.

He gasps as a pairs of hands pull him back. Cupid holds him to her chest while he stands there, utterly perplexed.

"What the hex?!"

Cupid spins him around and grabs his shoulders firmly. "Don't. Eat. Anything. If you do, you'll be bound to this place."

Dexter freezes, a bit stunned. He blinks as he realizes Cupid is squeezing him very tightly. "Uh...Cupid?"

"Hm? Oh! Right..." She promptly releases him, blushing profusely.

She tentatively draws in a breath, pulls the two of them closer, and whispers. "What I am about to tell you is very important. Up ahead are the Three Judges. They have the final say in where a shade will spend its eternity. If they see you, your entire lives will be scanned from birth to now and we could get separated." She guides them into a huddle. "All you have to do is stay in the shadows. Head for the door in the far back, down the corridor and up the stairs."

"Okay..." Raven gulps. "But what about you?"

Cupid cringes. "I'll distract them. Just stay behind me until I say so, and remain in the shadows."

Raven and Dexter glance at each other uneasily. Seeing this side of Cupid is something neither of them anticipated. But if right now is not the time for kindness and love... Cupid proceeds onward into the mist. Dexter swallows uneasily, adjusting his glasses.

"Dex?" Raven gently sets her hand on his arm. "Are you okay?"

He chuckles hollowly. "This place is...well..." He rakes his hand through his hair, trying to find the right words.

"I know it's a lot," she acknowledges, her voice growing heavy with guilt. "We can go back if - "

"No!" he cuts her off, taking her hand. "This is...This is bigger than me. If it keeps anyone from getting hurt, then...well, you know."

She smiles and squeezes his hand. "If you're sure."

He nods. "Yeah."

Raven tears her eyes away for a split second and notices Cupid, half-covered by the fog, staring at them. Her face is blank, the only emotion indicated by the slight downturn at the corners of her lips. Raven squeezes her boyfriend's hand again and starts leading them forward to meet her. As soon as they reach her, she immediately turns and continues slowly into the mist. Raven bites her lip uncomfortably. She doesn't spend most of her time with Cupid, but they're usually very friendly with each other anyway. This time, something seems wrong. She can't quite place her finger on what exactly, but Cupid doesn't seem like herself.

Cupid halts herself again. Above them, the columns circle into a massive colonnade. On either side of them, a queue of souls appear along the row of columns, both leading to the colonnade. Up ahead, three giant thrones sit holding a titanic figure. Cupid presses a finger to her lips and gestures for Raven and Dexter to cut away from the line. Dexter looks around frantically for a gap to squeeze past. Raven shrugs and shakes her head. Shaking, Cupid swiftly shoves them straight through a female shade whom simply looks up in confusion. Dexter stumbles until his back hits a wall, and Raven staggers into his chest. Everything is dark.

Cupid begins frantically whispering to them. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Cupid books in towards the front, and Raven and Dexter start creeping after her. The cherub curls a lock of hair around her finger. Even after coming here countless times, the Judges of the Underworld still make her heart stop from sheer terror. Even though she is among the immortal, they still give her the same treatment as any other shade.

At least they can't read my life, she reasons, knowing that is only for the dead.

As she reaches the front, she hastily shimmies her way between two shades before the Judges have a chance to see her. Meanwhile, Raven and Dexter take in the sight before them as they reach the entrance of the colonnade. The thrones are pitch black and fifty feet tall but are mere footstools compared to the three beings who sit in them. Each reach 100 feet sitting down, no doubt twice as tall standing. They appear no older than 40, with thick, long beards and curls that reach just past their shoulders. Their bodies are draped in red, black, and gold togas, and bronze circlets wrap around their heads. The look in their eyes is steady, unmoving, stone-cold. Raven grips the sleeve of Dexter's jacket, and he holds her closer.

The two watch as a shade makes its way into the center of the colonnade and kneels before them. The floor below them flashes, and, in front of them, the tile opens and a spinning wheel rises up. The middle god raises his hand. The spindle turns slowly, and the string begins to unravel. It floats up into the air, swirling and twisting around until the golden thread zigzags together to form a large, golden scroll. The scroll glides down to the left god's hands and he proceeds to read through it. He looks up at the shade every so often, pondering over something. He hands the scroll to the god in the middle, letting him read through it. He holds the same expression. They finally both turn to the god on the right. He stares at the shade for a moment before he extends his hand and juts his thumb out to the side.

A door to Raven and Dexter's left immediately lights up. The scent of autumn leaves and faint flowers seeps out from the gateway as the shade floats towards it like a moth to a flame. It steps into the light and vanishes, the doorway fading into darkness. Dexter snatches Raven's hand and yanks her across, holding her close and hiding them behind one of the columns.

The gods repeat this process as the two hop from column to column. They both watch in awe and terror as the shades float towards the dimly lit gate. Once or twice, the gateway on the other side would open up, shining and glowing like the sun. Music and smells of flowers, wine, and good food flood out, and the shade melts gently into the light. Raven smiles a bit at the sight.

Cupid is nearly to the front, observing the shade in front of her as it begins its examination. The gods scan their eyes over its scroll. Unlike the others, though, their faces go grey. The right-most god sticks out his hand and drops his thumb down. Almost instantly, the floor caves. Deep, horrifying groans cry out from the pit and the shade seeps into the cracks. Raven covers her eyes just as the floor reassembles and repairs itself. Dexter shakes her a bit, urging her to continue. She is frozen.

Cupid finally steps forward. The gods lay their eyes on her, and the color drains from their faces.

"Heeeeeeeeeey! Hi, guys!" Cupid flashes a bright smile to them, turning to each of them as she says their names. "Minos, Rhadamanthus, Aeacus. Long time, no see."

They all groan. Raven plasters her back to the wall behind her, her insides shaking from the sound. Finally thrown from her trance, Dexter pulls her over to the next column. Cupid chuckles nervously as she stares up at them.

"How long has it been?" she inquires. "Five?... six decades?"

The left god - Aeacus - leans forward to get a better look at her. "Aren't you tired of coming here?"

She shrugs. "Well...no harm in it, huh?"

"Right. No harm," he snarks. "Chariclo, while your influence over the mortals is essential for creating life, it has no part here."

"Not to mention the extra work we've had to do since the creation of the Mourning Fields." The middle god - Rhadamanthus - shakes his head. "Reading through the pathetic lives of those who've wasted away on love unrequited."

"We-Well, I mean, when you say it like that, it sounds really - Why don't we see this as a positive?" Her eyes continue to follow Raven and Dexter as they inch their way behind the three thrones. "I mean, it opened up a lot more room down here. You really weren't using the space so...y-you know, it's a good business venture."

"Business venture?!" Rhadamanthus booms. Aeacus facepalms while Minos pinches the bridge of his nose. "Do you realize how much trouble it was to build that place? All the moaning and wailing out for things we had vowed to leave behind."

"Uh - I...well, uh..." Cupid stammers. "In my defense, your love lives were not my fault. I wasn't even born!"

"Who wants to be reminded of it?!" Aeacus thunders, swinging his arm over to Minos. "Not King of Crete over here!"

"Okay, I get it. Fairest point." She massages her temples. "I - I just wanted to...well..."

Aeacus sighs exasperatedly. "Yes, yes. We know what you want."

The three raise their hands in unison. Behind them, a black door studded with precious stones stands as tall as Rapunzel's tower. The colossal doors swing forward with a slow, old groan. Cupid stares at her shoes as she rushes forward, feeling the gaze of the three judges on her tail. Rhadamanthus shakes his head once more.

"You realize Persephone's not here to help you this time, right?"

She clenches her fists. " ... I know."

And with that, she steps inside. Seizing their chance, Raven and Dexter make a mad dash for the door and slip inside just as it shuts behind them.

Dexter opens his mouth to speak.

"Don't!" Cupid cuts him off. "Please..."

Raven and Dexter's jaws hit the floor. Stretched out before them is a bronze and onyx corridor supported by marble columns, shining so brightly that the two must cover their eyes. When their eyes adjust, they see it is not the walls that are shining. Thousands upon thousands of golden spinning wheels line the walls, moving slowly into the several halls that connected to the main corridor. Raven cautiously steps in and peeks down one such hall. Two shelves line the wall of either side, towering a mile over her head and spanning so far she can not see where it ends. She watches as a spinning wheel slides in on its conveyor belt and onto the shelf. The spindle begins to jerk, the wheel slowly turns. Wisps of gold strands begin to appear on the tip of the needle and coil itself around the spindle. It continues to weave the thread around and around and - whoosh! - it catapults down the hall and out of sight.

"What you just witnessed," Cupid chimes in, breaking Raven's train of thought. "is a soul being born."

Dexter points after the spinning wheel that had just launched down the hall. "So, all of these represent living people?"

Cupid nods. "As long as they keep spinning." She peeks back down the main corridor. "Which actually makes this a bit easier. Very few people reach a hundred years old."

She waves for them to follow her. Their shoes click on the marble floors, echoing in the vast expanse. In front of them, three porcelain white statues tower above them, circling around a spinning wheel. A strand of thread weaves through their hands, connecting them together. Raven gazes up at them curiously. Their faces are serene, but an unpleasant aura emanates from their eyes. They are cold, unfeeling, and look to be staring straight through her. She hastily moves away from the statues to rejoin the group. As they proceed, Dexter notices several bronze placards hanging on the walls, each marking a hall of spinning wheels. He creeps closer and lifts up his glasses to reach the inscription:

"20ος αιώνας"

"Hey, Cupid!" he calls. "What does this mean?"

She slides up next to him and peeks at the plaque. "Oh, that a category plaque. You know, like the ones in the library. This is for the 20th century. You guys would have been born around the very end of that period." She glances up at Dexter and shuffles away a tad. "This is all arranged in birth order. D-Do you know when Sapsorrow was born?"

Raven's mind flickers like a dim lightbulb for a split second. No, she never got around to asking that. She was too busy trying to save all the magic from being drained. But, if she has to guess... "Sh-She seemed around our age...and a hundred years...uh..."

"The end of the 19th century!" Dexter proclaims.

"Exactly!" Cupid dashes across the corridor, running her finger over the placard by the door. Neither Raven nor Dexter can understand what it says, but the number 19 is clearly shown. Cupid gestures for them to follow as she crosses the threshold. Unlike the previous hallway, this one is less bright and shiny. The spinning wheels lining the shelves are still, no longer shimmering gold, and some so old that cracks have begun to form. The threads on the spindles are motionless as well, with the only sign of them being anything other than normal are the occasional wisp of gold dust that slowly sinks to the floor. Raven gazes down the corridor and finds that nearly all of them bear the same barren nature. She wrings her hands.

"This might be harder that I thought," she voices aloud.

"Or easier. Like Cupid said," Dexter reasons, following Cupid over to a raised platform. "Is this safe?"

"Of course." The cherub slides her hand across its panel and the platform rumbles to life. Sharp obsidian rocks creep up from the sides of the platform, twisting around her to create a barrier. She helps Dexter inside, then holds out her hand to Raven. Raven hesitantly accepts and stumbles in. Cupid scrolls through the settings, then she glances back over her shoulder. "Hold on tight."

She presses her hand to the panel and the platform harshly jerks upward. Raven and Dexter hit the floor as the platform launches upwards while Cupid hardly seems phased. Her eyes rapidly scan over the shelves that fly past until she suddenly gasps. The platform comes to a sudden halt. Raven clings to Dexter, slinging her shoes around one of the bars when the force threatens to launch them upward. They fall to the floor with a loud bang. Cupid whirls around.

"Guys?!"

Raven groans and staggers to her feet, helping Dexter as he struggles to keep his lunch. "Did you find something?"

Cupid squints. Two spinning wheels stand side by side, turning in unison. The cherub shakes her head. "False alarm. It's somebody else."

Raven leans forward to read the names inscribed in front of the wheels:

"Rosalinda Solana Beauty" and "Belleza Luna Beauty"
May 10th, 1878 BCE

Dexter scratches his head. "Well, I mean, it makes sense."

"I never knew Sleeping Beauty had a sister," Raven states in amazement.

Cupid taps the panel. "It seems we went too far back. Maybe twenty years or so."

Raven and Dexter tightly grip the railing as the platform drops. They stop suddenly, knocking them to the floor. They barely have the time to stand before the platform lurches to the right, traveling further into the corridor. Raven gasps and feels herself falling through space. Dexter grabs a hold of her wrist. She forces her eyes open against the force of movement. The narrow view of the floor below her turns her stomach. She had nearly plummeted to her death.

Dexter strains to pull her back onto the platform, yelling to Cupid to stop the platform. It's no use; she can't hear over the wind in their ears. He looks around frantically, unsure of what to do. A bit of light crosses the corner of his eye. He looks, sure he had been mistaken. But another passes. He blinks. How can Cupid have missed it? Raven screams, throwing him from his trance. Cupid finally peers over her shoulder and slams her hand onto the console. The platform slows, and Dexter yanks her back into the platform and huddles her close. He glances back at the shelf. The sight of thousands of dead spindles pass his vision.

"Raven, are you okay?!" Cupid cries.

Raven inhales sharply, giving her a thumbs up. Dexter helps her to her feet, keeping a steady grip on the railing. Cupid glances at the spinning wheel beside them. It is the same as the ones they had seen before, glowing and spinning. Raven steps onto the shelf lightly, still regaining her balance. She reads the epitaph:

Sapsorrow Alla Kinsov-Furr
March 18th, 1898 BCE

A smile spreads across her face. "This is it!"

Cupid and Dexter exchange triumphant looks. Raven creeps closer to the spinning wheel, examining the thread weaving into the spindle. Her hands tremble. To think, she only lived this long because of Grimm, because she fought back. Her stomach turns at the thought that this could have easily been her. She reaches her shaking hand out to touch the rod of the spindle. Suddenly Cupid's hand grabs her wrist.

"Wait!" she exclaims, her face drained of color. "What are you doing?!"

"G-Getting what we came for!" Raven stutters, confused.

Cupid gawks, whipping her head back and forth between Raven and the wheel. "You can't just take the spindle off while it's still spinning!"

"What did you think I was gonna do?!"

Cupid shrugs, shaking her head erratically. "I don't know. Take a picture or something?"

Her hand tightens around Raven's wrist. Raven instinctively pulls away, but Cupid only drags with her. "Cupid, let go."

Cupid begins to pull her back to the platform. "Raven - "

"Let go!"

The cherub shakes her head. "I knew we shouldn't have come down here. We should go!"

"What? No!" Raven continues to pull. "We'd just be coming here for nothing!"

"If I had known you were coming here to mess with the threads - "

Raven's hand clenches around Cupid's own wrist, trying to pry her off. "What do you want me to do then?!"

"Guys!" Dexter shouts.

Raven finally twists her arm loose, stumbling backwards. Her back hits the wheel. It rattles. They all watch in horror as it tips. Raven lunges.

"No!" Cupid cries.

The spinning wheel lands square across her back. The thread winds through Raven's hair, but it makes no point of stopping. Raven breathes a sigh of relief. Cupid shakes her head, grasping her hair. "No no no no no no."

The corridor instantly goes dark, and a shrill alarm blares. Dexter swiftly hauls the wheel off of Raven and back in its place, but it seems too late. Cupid yanks Raven to her feet and snatches Dexter's hand, making a break for the platform.

"We need to leave now!"

Before Cupid can step foot onto the platform, there's a snap. The platform whizzes past them and drops several hundred feet below. Seeing no other option, Cupid tightens her grip on her friends' hands, turns back to them, and says: "Hold on and don't let go."

Before they can react. Cupid sprints towards the edge of the shelf and leaps off, dragging the two with her. They yell in terror, but Cupid closes her eyes to concentrate. The limbs on her back glow and extend, jetting them upward. Raven and Dexter hang onto her for dear life as she glides them safely down to the ground. Raven clutches her chest, not ready to have nearly fallen to her death twice in one day. Cupid lets out a breath, her wings folding back to wear they had been before, and she collapses.

"Cupid!" Dexter kneels by her, noting how pale she looks.

"I'm okay," she assures. "You guys are heavy, you know." She shakily rises to her knees.

The floor seeps with black smoke trailing at their ankles. This smoke had not been here before. Dexter yelps, holding his leg. Raven looks and holds in a scream of her own. A brittle, skeletal hand clamps around Dexter's shoe. She jams her heel into it, allowing Dexter to step back. They gaze back up the hallway, and they begin to see them. Hundreds of black, rotting skeletons in battle armor, holding swords and spears, have begun rising out of the smoke.

Cupid grabs them fiercely and hauls them back towards the exit. Raven too starts to feel tugging at her heels as the skeletons advance on them. She shakes her head, incredulous.

"What the hex is wrong with this place?!"

They squeeze through the archive doors and slam them shut. Swiftly, they turn to sprint into the center of the colonnade. Inches before they pass the columns, sharp obsidian rocks shoot up from the ground, blocking their path.

"This way!" Cupid dashes behind the columns to go around. The rocks burst through the ground in front her as well. The archive doors burst open. The skeleton gain on them, spears raised. They're all around them, coming from all sides, rising from the floor.

"Cupid, what do we do?!" Raven screeches, her back hitting the wall. A short gasp moves past her ear. The skeletons cover Dexter's mouth as they drag him away from the wall. Cupid takes a step forward, her arm outstretched to grab him back. A sharp prick at her neck sends her back into the wall with Raven. Or...there should be a wall. Cupid and Raven lean back, and their feet leave the floor as Dexter and the skeletons grow smaller and smaller.

They're falling.