(A/N) Sorry about the cliffhanger…JK I'm not that sorry. I didn't update sooner because I was working on an awesome PJO/Hunger Games crossover. It was up to a part that I was really looking forward to writing (which was the Tribute Parade and Caesar's talk show, you should really check it out), so I accidentally forgot to update this one.

Percy: Iwovepizza DOES NOT own me

Nico: Or me

Leo: Or me

Frank: Or me

Hazel: Or me

Piper: Or me

Annabeth: Or me

Every damn PJO character: Or me

Jason: Or me

Percy: Aren't you supposed to be insane or something?

Jason: Shaddap you judgmental bastard *crosses arms and stomps away*

Percy: What the hell? *throws hands in the air in exasperation*

Me: Well, you get the idea. I DON'T OWN PJO

Chapter Six: Setting Out

Leo POV

Jason was a cool guy. Laid-back, heroic, and totally chill about the fact that he had a disease that was going to drive him insane. Before he went kray-kray he seemed pretty chillax about everything. He couldn't participate in camp activities, but he still watched from the sidelines and ate meals with us. During our free time we'd play video games in his cabin and I'd kick his sorry butt in Call of Duty, but he didn't seem to care.

He began wearing long-sleeved shirts. Even if it was, like, a bazillion degrees outside, he still wore long sleeves. He seemed pretty nervous and began to keep to his cabin with Nico and Percy. I only found out what the big deal was when I took a bathroom break at the campfire sing-a-long. I found Jason in the bathroom, clutching his hair. He looked up at me with large, round, terrified eyes.

"What's happening to me!?" he screamed and grabbed my shoulders with both hands, shaking me violently. "Tell me!" That's when I saw that there was a windbreaker kicked off to the side and I was able to see Jason's bare arms. Spider webs of green veins snaked up his arms and his neck. It looked absolutely terrifying. I managed to break away from Jason's iron grip and I backed up.

"Listen man, just calm down. Chill. Just calm yourself and-" I never got to finish the sentence because Jason began to scream. He just lost it. He clawed at his face, leaving deep gauges in the flesh. Blood began to trickle down, which made Jason scream harder. That was one event of many to remind us that Jason was going to go insane.

Well, that memory was replaying itself over and over in my head as Argus burst into the room. All of his eyes were round and horrified. I realized that the scream had come from him; because even if you had an eye on your tongue you could still scream. Argus pointed urgently down the hallway and everyone got up and ran to Jason's room. We crashed through the door and stepped towards the cage. Then I saw it. Jason was laughing hysterically; a maniacal, petty laugh that reminded you of a lunatic. His hair was on the floor in blonde clumps. Jason's scalp was nothing but a marred surface of ripped, bloody skin and he was missing two fingers. Jason turned to us and laughed again.

"Fun!" he giggled.

"No! Not fun!" Nico yelped and covered his mouth. Piper's eyes were wide and her mouth was open in a silent scream. Tears began to stream down her face.

"Jason." She murmured and hugged herself.

"That is Jason's name." Jason said happily. I couldn't believe that this maniac had once been my friend; my heroic, kind, selfless, optimistic friend was reduced to…this.

"Jason stop this. Stop hurting yourself." I found myself begging to the animal that was once my friend.

"Nope. No, no, no, no, no. Too much fun!" Jason replied and clapped his hands.

"You ripped all of your hair out?" Clarisse asked in awe.

"It was getting in Jason's eyes!" Jason snapped. "It blocked the shadows from him. Jason couldn't see that shadows!" He said this as if it were a horrible thing.

"We could've cut it! You didn't have to rip it out!" Percy gasped.

"Hair would've just grown back. Better if it's gone." Jason replied indignantly. Percy turned to me and Piper.

"You two. We have to go. Now." He declared in a low voice as Jason laughed his ass off for no apparent reason.

"Agreed." The two of us said in unison. Together, the three of us dashed out of the Big House. We passed man curious campers who tried to stop and ask us how Jason was doing, but we ignored them and continued to run. We passed the campfire and the racetrack, as well as the strawberry fields. Satyrs gave angry huffs and shook their fists as we barged through the strawberries, accidently stepping on some of them, but we didn't care. My friends seemed rather confused as we passed the pegasus stables.

"Leo, where are we going? I could've gotten Blackjack…" Percy's voice trailed off as we burst into the woods. I knew the way by heart. We wove through the underbrush and tripped over sticks and rocks, but not once did we stop for a break. Finally we arrived at the entrance to Bunker 9. We all stopped to take a breather. My legs screamed and I was panting, but the adrenaline I had kept me going.

"What is this place, Leo?" Percy asked, staring at the supposedly normal rocky wall.

"Are you serious?" I scoffed, but then I realized that Percy had been at Camp Jupiter when I'd discovered Bunker 9 and began building the Argo II. I sighed; the Argo II had been destroyed during the war with Gaea and the only things we could salvage from the wreckage were the Archimedes sphere, Festus the figurehead (who by the way now had a body), most of the crew's personal belongings (the first discovered being Percy's underwear, which was neon blue and had tridents on them), the tracking device, and the crystal.

"Hello, Festus. Nice to see you two, bud." I laughed and stroked Festus' nose. Festus snorted smoke and made a whirring sound.

Are we going on a quest?

"Yes." I told him. I saw Percy watching me in astonishment; he probably didn't know I could speak to machines until now. Piper on the other hand, seemed used to it. I turned to them. "Okay, here are the rules. No dying. No falling. No falling and dying. Got it?" Both of my friends nodded vigorously. I clambered onto Festus' back and helped Piper and Percy mount behind me. I pressed a button on the wall and another section of the Bunker opened up, revealing a hidden runway. A robotic voice began to count down.

Ten.

Festus spread his wings to their full length and the bronze glittered in the electric lighting,

Nine.

I felt Piper shuffling nervously behind me and she held on tight to Festus.

Eight.

I tried to steady my breathing; Jason was dying and we had to save him, n matter what the cost. That could give anyone the jitters.

Seven.

Percy coughed and I felt him shifting to try and make himself comfortable, which would never happen.

Six.

Festus shook his head and snorted smoke, eager to take off.

Five.

I felt everyone tense as the robotic voice's countdown came to the last five numbers before takeoff.

Four.

Festus stomped his feet, making all of us bounce uncomfortably on his back.

Three.

Two.

One.

Blastoff.

Festus shot down the runway with such speed my eyes began to tear up. My hair was whipped into a frenzy and the wind clawed at my cheeks and clothes. Festus let out a roar of triumph as we shot into the sky, giving all of us a painful case of whiplash. Piper had given up on holding on to Festus and now had her arms constricting my chest. I could barely breathe, but I managed a chuckle that was lost in the roaring wind. Beauty Queen was always unsure about Festus and this was just pure gold; clinging for dear life on someone who wasn't Jason. Then again Jason was a sick psychopath at the moment who was biting his fingers off, not eating or drinking, and tearing his own hair out without feeling pain.

Finally the ride smoothed out as Festus found an altitude that appeased to him. All three of us were panting and when I looked back my passengers' eyes were wild and their hair stuck up all over the place. "Never riding Festus again." Percy said. That's when I realized something; we didn't even pack for the trip.

"Um…guys?" I began.

"Yeah, I just realized that. This is going to be a problem." Percy snorted, but he was still holding on tightly to Festus. Percy was the most experienced out of all of us; he killed Kronos and Gaea and had years of experience and training. Even he was scared of a bronze dragon, which I couldn't blame him for. He was the leader of this quest and my heart wrenched when I realized that he was in Jason's spot; the spot that the son of Jupiter had sat when we went on our first quest. He had been the leader of that quest and now he was in a cage in the Big House laughing like a freaking lunatic. Great.

"Does anyone have anything in their pockets?" Piper asked. We all rummaged around; I even tried to look for a few bucks or spare change in my magic tool belt, but money wasn't necessarily found around a workshop.

"I have five drachmas and at least ten dollars in mortal cash." Percy said glumly after pulling his hands out of his pockets.

"I have a dollar and fifty-three cents along with two drachmas." Piper added.

"I have breath mints, but that's about it." I snorted, taking out a tin box and popping one into my mouth. "Mmm. Minty."

"LEO!" Both of my companions cried in unison.

"What?" I asked innocently and put the breath mints away.

"So all we have is eleven dollars and fifty-three cents in mortal money and eight drachmas. Wow, this quest is getting off to a good start." Percy growled and rubbed his temples. That's when lightning flashed right in front of us.

"Uh-oh. We got company."