Chapter Thirteen

Nothing to Fear but Fear Himself (and that other scary stuff, too)

Phobos smiled widely, cruelly.

"I see Ran has kept her end of the deal," he announced. "I get my revenge on Percy Jackson, and she gets rid of Percy Jackson."

He glanced dismissively at the other two.

"Eh, I guess I'll have some fun with them, too,"

He gripped me by the scruff of my shirt, staring into my soul. His eyes were black, lifeless, and empty. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I was a little bit scared. I mean, this was the god of fear and all. This wasn't my first run in with him. I had helped Clarisse recover a war chariot from him years ago. I had defeated him in battle back then, but he definitely had the upper hand at the current moment.

Phobos clicked his tongue, studying his prizes.

"So, the usual?" I asked. "You're going to vow to kill me?"

Phobos gave me another evil grin.

"Well, now, Percy, you know it's not so simple. I'm going to kill you, yes, but I'm going to scare you to death. It is my forte, after all - my specialty."

I scoffed. His eyes narrowed. He straightened up, brushing his leather jacket off. He dressed like a biker. Not quite like his dad, Ares, though. More like the dude they let in the Biker gang because he's the cousin of someone's brother who thinks he's a badass.

"There's nothing you can do to me. You showed me my fear years ago and I overcame it. Try again."

Phobos laughed, his voice reverberating throughout the chasm. Magnus and Alex gave me a look like I was crazy. I could already see the fear on their faces.

"Percy, man, fears change. You have a family now, don't you?"

A lump formed in my throat. I didn't say anything. It was really off-putting that he was addressing me like we were best friends. I couldn't remember the last time a god trying to kill me called me "man."

"Ah, yes, that's what I thought. Although, I do suppose you could overcome your fears again, but I doubt that will happen. Shall we begin? Everyone pick a number one through ten?"

We didn't answer

"Aw, Hades, you guys aren't fun. Alright. I'll close my eyes," Phobos continued. The vines started swirling around in a circular motion.

"And-a one, and-a two, and-a three!" Phobos pointed in front of him to Alex. Her face went white. She struggled against the bonds. They slackened, and she dropped to the floor. Suddenly, I felt like my mind was being transported through the ethereal plane. I was seeing everything Alex was seeing.

She was in a wide-open field. A large, towering man stood far above her. She whimpered, her body quivering as if she were out in the snow.

"L-Loki. . ."

Loki didn't respond, simply smiling evil-y at Alex

"Daughter, you're still scared of me? After all these years, I'm still your greatest fear? Ha! It's flattering, I suppose. Let's make that fear permanent, how about that?"

He reached down towards Alex. She seemed to be frozen in fear, unable to move, despite how much she struggled. Loki's finger glowed with an orange light. He placed it on Alex's chest; she screamed.

My vision returned to normal. Alex was still crying out in agony. She ripped her shirt off. Where Loki had touched her was a large circle that appeared to have been burned into her skin. I gulped, turning away. Magnus struggled to escape, sputtering curses at Phobos.

Phobos eyed him, eventually putting his gaze on me.

"You know, Percy, it's weird how the human brain works. It's truly astounding how much you people are driven by your compassion for one another. So many fears are about something bad happening to yourselves or those you care about. And you're no different from the masses, Percy. No matter what you've been told your whole life."

Phobos paused, letting Magnus drop to his feet. Magnus scrambled over to Alex.

"Him, for example," Phobos continued, "He just witnessed his greatest fear. Alex got hurt, and there was nothing he could do about it. And you, Percy. Your fear is real this time."

He gestured with his hand to the corner of the palace. I froze.

"Gods, no. . ." I murmured.

I watched in horror as Sophia walked towards the edge of the floor.

"Daddy! Daddy, why did you leave me? Daddy, is that you?"

She peered into the boiling lava below. Phobos twisted his finger and Sophia turned around.

"Daddy?"

I seriously hated how much of my life mirrored itself. Annabeth had thought I left her one time while we were in Tartarus. I had never heard her that scared before. Now, here was my daughter, scared for her life, wondering where I could have gone.

"Sophia! I'm right here, baby," I called out. "I'm right here!"

She continued her mindless walk in a circle. I struggled against my bonds. Phobos snapped his fingers, he disappeared, I fell to my feet. I sprinted towards Sophia. Magnus was helping Alex to her feet.

"Percy, wait! It's not real!"

As much as I wanted to believe that, I couldn't. I knew it was. Phobos told me my fear was real this time. This was why Annabeth couldn't find Sophia at Camp. Sophia had been taken. My heart pumped faster with every longing step I took. Sophia was too close to the edge. As I ran, the world seemed to be dissolving around me. The palace faded, the path faded. Roots sprouted up in their place. The lava remained, however, churning about beside my child. It formed a waterfall (or, uh, maybe a firefall?)

"Sophia!"

She was still in her trance, unable to hear me. I was so close now. A few more steps.

"Percy, this isn't right! Percy, this is a trick!"

A man in black appeared next to Sophia. He was tall, with a pointed face. In short, he looked like a bad guy. He gave Sophia a shove.

"No!" I yelped. Sophia snapped back to reality.

I reached over the edge before the slipped out of reach, yanking her firmly back to safety. I set her on the ground.

"Oh, gods," I breathed. But my joy was over just as quickly. The ground shifted, rocks crumbled, and I dropped towards the river of fire below.

"Daddy!"

I wanted to find something to grab onto, but nothing was available.

The man in black watched me fall.

"Welcome to Muspellheim." Was the last thing I heard.

A/N I usually don't leave these notes, but I just wanted to apologize for the long wait and the short chapter. I just wanted to give you a little bit of something so you didn't have to wait any longer. And apologize for the cliffhanger I left you with. The end of the college semester came up and I had to study hard. And it paid off as I have a degree now. Thanks for reading, and always leave feedback, whether good or bad. It helps me to write better.