Percy woke up in a humid dark space. He could only assume it was a cave or something similar, because he could hear the water dripping down all around him. Why he was there, he didn't know, but he could only guess.
He tested his hands and his feet. They were shaky, but unbound, which was good. It usually meant that the captor (if there was one) was un-hostile. Percy stood up and tested his legs. They were also shaky, but he was able to stand up anyways. The only ever time Percy could remember being this shaky and wobbly was right after he had woken up from his eight-month supernap.
Which was a problem.
Percy breathed in and out before he could get any more freaked out.
He looked around himself, took stock of his surroundings. He couldn't see much, considering it was practically pitch-black inside here. Wherever here was.
He spun his head around again, and looked closely. There! Just faintly, he could see a pinprick of light at the end of the tunnel.
Percy laughed. Always good to find the funny in every situation. He wandered down over to it, his legs getting stronger and stronger with every step, faster and faster, until he was jogging, then running, then sprinting.
Exhilaration tore through him, making him dizzy with giddiness.
He slowed down at the edge of the cave. It was a straight drop down. Just his luck, he was trapped in a mountain.
A blue blur sped past him in midair.
"Hey!" Percy shouted, waving his arms and feeling thoroughly ridiculous. "Hey, wait!"
The blur slowed down and started speeding to his little cave. When it stopped, Percy got a good look at it. At him.
The blur was actually a boy with white hair and a blue sweater, and he was holding what looked like a frosted over shepherd's staff. And he was good looking. The boy flashed a smile.
"What's your name?" He asked.
(^)(^)(*)(^)(^)
"What's your name?" He asked. Always better to be polite, right? Jack smiled again at the black-haired boy who was quite obviously stuck in the cave. The boy was a little old to believe in him, maybe eighteen or so, but whatever. As long as he could see Jack.
Wait- see Jack! He could see Jack! Jack flew into the cave as fast as he could and began rapidly shaking his hand.
He quickly let go. The boy's hand was wet.
"Eeeeewwwww." He wiped his hand on his sweater.
"Sorry," the boy said. "Can't help it. Comes with being a son of P-" The boy seemed to realize what he was saying and quickly clammed up.
"Son of who now?" Now Jack was curious. You don't just shut up on a normal parent's name. Key word being normal.
The boy flushed. "Paul."
The answer was hasty and was clearly a lie. Jack decided to ignore it for now. There would be time to interrogate him later.
"So what's your name, kid?"
"Percy. And don't call me kid. I'm older than you."
"Want to bet?" Jack's face curled again into his usual sarcastic grin.
"Seventeen." So Jack was close with his eighteen estimate. Now should he go with a shocker or a believable lie? Shocker. He'd already seen Jack flying, after all. How bad could it be?
"Three hundred exactly."
The boy- Percy-'s reaction was unexpected. Instead of gasping, paling, or fainting, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a pen.
"Are you a monster? Not a god, you're too young. Do you know a Luke? Castellan? Long Island? Do you even know where I am and what the date is?" the last part was screamed as Percy went down into hysterics.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down, kid." Jack held out his hands in an attempt to placate the boy. "It's 2012. Blue Mountains. Australia."
Percy started hyperventilating. Something was obviously bothering him, and whatever it was, it was major.
"No, no, no." he started muttering. "No… Annabeth. Camp. Wait…. I'm nineteen!" Percy cursed.
Jack was confused, as far as things went. This boy was either seventeen or nineteen. Why did Long Island ring a bell, though? Long Island… Long Island… Maybe he was talking about that one spot on Long Island, the one Jack couldn't enter…
"I'm serious, North! It was real!" Jack said desperately. He had been fighting with North over this issue for over three hours now, and so far the old man had either diverted the subject or offered him cookies, or insisted that such a place wasn't real. Yet all his attempts made Jack more suspicious. North visited every child in the world in more or less one night. Surely he'd know about the ones hiding in the barrier of Long Island. Which meant he, too, was hiding something.
Because he looked eternally juvenile and really wasn't known for making amazing excellent decisions, nobody ever took him seriously. It sucked.
"Oh, it's that childish prankster, Jack Frost."
"He doesn't get much right, does he?"
"I wouldn't trust him with anything."
"All he does is mess stuff up."
They never knew he heard, and those comments stung. Anytime Jack walked or flew by, they would cease their whispering and turn away from him. At least they noticed him enough to ignore him. Always look for the positives, right?
"Listen, Jack, is it not enough you must make tales of tall? Nobody believes in you. Just go. Maybe it was a fig-mint of your fruity imagination." North smiled to show Jack that he meant no ill will, just wanted him out, and partially guided, partially shoved him out of the workshop at the North Pole.
"Have a nice flight!" North called, just before the doors slammed shut.
"Percy? Percy, what's wrong?" Jack asked. He was starting to get worried about the boy. Also, the wind was picking up and he couldn't get it back down. "Wind? Wind!"
The boy, the boy. The wind was swirling around Jack, whispering the problem to him. It isn't us. He cannot help it.
This boy controlled to winds too? Most likely unconsciously, in his panicked state.
"Percy? Percy! You need to calm down!" Jack was yelling now, desperately trying to get Percy to calm down before he or Jack got injured.
Slowly, Percy's breathing evened out, and the winds died down. Unfortunately, so did he.
Percy's head hit the floor with a worrisome thunk.
And to Matt: First off, I'm not loser. Secondly, Percy is not dead, a spirit, or a Guardian. He has just been asleep for two years. NOT DEAD. Thirdly, studies show that people with low self-esteem are rude/bully other people to make themselves feel better. So, try thinking before you respond.