Chapter XXVIII JASON

Jason tore down the path, Achlys right at his heels. He dashed back to where the others were held prisoner and yelled,

"Hey, everybody, wake up!"

He ran back and forth between the nest, shaking them like a madman.

"Wakey-wakey! Rise and shine, everyone!"

Achlys jumped up and ripped open Frank's net with her long finger nails. But instead of attacking him, she let him tumbled out to the ground. Jason'e eyes widened as he realized what she was doing. The demon was setting them free. He knelt down and helped Frank up.

"Make it seem like you're terrified.' he muttered in the son of Mars' ear.

"Um- oh no! It's gonna get me!" Frank said in a daze.

Jason had to fight the urge to shake him. Frank was multi-talented, but acting was clearly not among those talents.

By now, Achlys had released the rest of the demigods. He made eye contact with the demon and she hissed,

"Go, son of jupiter. Face your fears!"

Jason nodded and, grabbing Piper's hand, pulled her down the caves. The others followed close behind. Distantly, he heard Gaea say,

"Achlys, what is going on here?"

"Ah, Gaea." the misery demon purred,

"There's been something I've wanted to say to you for a long time-"

And then came the sound of something greatly resembling a punch in the face.

The group ran, not stopping for breath. Jason was in the lead, and he forced himself not to slow down. They ran through the caves, trying to outdistance Mother Nature herself. Eventually, they stopped, everyone doubled over and wheezing. Nico was in the worst shape, despite his insistence that he was perfectly alright. Calypso stepped in and forced him to put his head between his knees in order to get some breath back.

"Uggh," Nico groaned,

"Why won't the world stop spinning?"

"Well, Nico," Leo started from his prone position on the ground,

"It's when you have increased levels of vertigo, which means you get dizzy and-"Stop." Nico muttered.

"Just stop."

Calypso bit back a small smile and helped Nico up. Jason had to grin at their romance. They were trying desperately to hid it, but it was so adorably obvious...Oh gods, he was starting to sound like Venus. Snap out of it!

The group stumbled into a cave to try and recoup. Jason slid down the wall and sat down, resting his head on his knees.

"I think we should all say what Achlys showed us." He said suddenly.

"It might help us deal with it better."

Everyone stayed silent and Jason cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Okay then, I'll start."

Jason relayed what the demon had shown him and upon hearing this, the group relaxed. Maybe some of their fears were similar. Maybe they just needed to know that they weren't the only ones who actually had fears. Whatever it was, it cleared the air.

"I saw a burning building down." Leo said at last.

"With all of you inside."

Jason understood that fear. Leo had already lost family in a fire, which he had been blamed for. His worst fear was losing his new adopted family.

"I saw warfare." Hazel said softly.

"Terrible, terrible warfare. Almost like the movie reels they used to show us of the Blitz in London, but even worse."

"You fear mass destruction." Jason said quietly.

Hazel nodded and Frank took her hand.

"I saw you guys being tortured." Piper said,

Jason turned to look at her and she gave a sad smile.

"You've all come to mean a lot to me."

Nico looked up from his corner and muttered one single word,

"Tartarus."

Calypso hugged him tightly as he said this and then she whispered,

"I saw myself being alone again."

"That's not going to happen, Cali." Nico replied forcefully,

"I won't allow it."

Jason let them have their moment and turned to Frank, the only one left to confide his fear. The son of Mars sat up and said,

"I saw fire. A forest fire , to be exact."

Upon seeing everyone's confused looks, Frank sighed,

"Well, it's about time you knew, I suppose."

Five minutes later, Jason was left staring at him in shock. He couldn't imagine having his life tied to something so fragile, that it could literally bun up in mere seconds...He shuddered at the very thought. Before he could say anything more, the group heard lumbering footsteps. At the doorway of the cave was a hulking monster. Jason whirled up, his sword already in his hand. Was it a Cyclops? Or a giant?

But it was none of these things. It actually looked like a gigantic teddy bear, with the big baleful eyes and cuddly body that seemed begging to be hugged.

"Mars Almighty, what are we facing now?" Frank sighed, jumping to his feet and pulling out his weapon.

The creature shied away nervously, making a rumbling noise deep in the back of its throat. Jason motioned for the group to get back and held up his hands to the animal.

"Hi there, boy.' he said, trying to sound soothing.

"You're a beauty, aren't you?"

"Jason, it's a monster, not a horse." Leo called softly.

"Attack already!"

Jason shook his head and the monster made another rumbling noise. A crack appeared in the ground between Jason's feet and he jumped backwards.

Calypso's eyes widened and she said excitedly,

"I know what he is! He's a Neade!

"Um- Like from Doctor. Suess?" Leo said awkwardly.

"No, silly! it's a ancient creature whose roar can split open the ground. That's why when he makes a sound, the earth splits open. They were originally native to the Grecian island of Damos, but I thought they'd all gone extinct. We must have entered his cave by mistake."

Calypso seemed prepared to stand there all day and admire the Neade, but Jason had other plans.

"Are they dangerous, Calypso?"

"Oh no, they're very gentle, but very shy. you must befriend him first, and then you will have his unwavering loyalty. "

Unwavering loyalty sounded pretty good. Jason stepped forward and smiled nervously at the Neade.

"Hi- er- Jeffrey!" He said, gently placing a hand on what appeared to be the creature's shoulder.

"I'm Jason Grace."

"Of all possible names to chose, you picked Jeffrey?" Leo asked as they rode around through the caves on the back of the newly christened Neade.

"Remember that this is coming from the guy who named a mechanical dragon "Happy", Jason reminded the group as they carried on.

"Besides, Jeffrey means "God's Peace." It seemed like a good omen."

Leo had no comeback for that.

All of a sudden, Nico tumbled off Jeffrey's back and fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Calypso practically flung himself down beside him and hauled him up again.

"Sorry," he murmured sleepily.

"Whatever's around here is giving off some serious Tartarus vibes. That, combined with bad memories, can kinda make you drop. We must be close."