Chapter 3: Goodbye
As for who I am, my name is Jack Frost.
Third POV
"Jack Frost? You put on a blue hoody, a white wig, makeup that makes you look frozen, and you expect me to believe that you're Jack Frost? If you are him, then how did you get in?" Percy asked.
"Maddy let me in," Jack said and surprise replaced the anger in Percy's eyes.
"Wait Maddy? Maddy Sanders? The six year old Maddy Sanders?" he asked.
"Percy," Annabeth said. "Maddy is at that age where she believes in those legends like the Easter Bunny and The Tooth Fairy and…" she looked at the white-haired boy. "…And Jack Frost. Plus, Maddy is a very responsible demigod. She wouldn't let anyone in the camp unless she was sure they would do no harm."
Percy looked at Annabeth. "You- you actually believe him?" he asked, surprised and Annabeth shrugged.
"When Chiron told me about the Romans, I figured other mythologies and legends would be real too, like the Easter Bunny and the Sandman. When I brought this up with Chiron, he said they were real, but that I should not tell anyone. It was not a good idea to mix mythologies. Speaking of Chiron," Annabeth turned to Jack. "Would you like to meet our camp director?"
(Page Break)
When Chiron opened the door and saw Jack for the first time, a look of mixed emotions flashed across his face. First came shock, and then came confusion, then surprise, then what looked like a hint of fear. But the second it appeared, it disappeared, replaced by a welcoming smile.
"Jack Frost. What brings you here?" he asked.
Jack blinked in surprise. The creature, "Centaur" according to Annabeth, knew exactly who he was. This camp seemed to get weirder and weirder by the minuet. Jack figured that if the 'Chiron' already knew him than it would be a pointless attempt to lie. "The guardians need help," he said.
"That's a first. I thought they needed help before and that's how you came into the picture. What would be so bad that the Guardians would need to our help?" Chiron asked. Jack opened his mouth to respond but Percy interrupted.
"Wait who are the guardians?" he asked and Annabeth nudged him.
"Shut up and listen Seaweed Bain and maybe you'll find out," she said.
"We call ourselves the guardians because we help guard the children of the world. We are your childhood figures," Jack said.
Percy, for his part, is usually open to new and surprising things. How can he not be, when he meets new creatures on an everyday basis and has faced more near-death experiences than an average U.S. Military soldier.But now, being told that the legends he had stopped believing in for a long time were true was like a slap in the face. It was just too much.
"This is crazy!" he said, trying to unfold it all in his head. "How can there be a bunny that hides eggs in one day or a fairy that takes teeth, or a man that flies around the world in one night in an old and worn sleigh?" Percy asked, more to himself than anyone.
"Oh it's not old and worn, believe me," Jack said trying to hide his amusement and Percy turned to him, all the pieces finally clicking.
"You really are the real Jack Frost, aren't you?" he asked and Jack nodded.
"You are Percy Jackson right? Like I said before, we need your help," Jack said and all humor that was in his eyes was gone.
"What do you need my help for?" Percy asked.
"A year ago, the other Guardians and I defeated a guy named Pitch Black and he's been suffering in his own fears ever since. Now he's returned but he seems much more powerful than the last time. We need you to help us defeat him," Jack explained.
"Whoa, whoa hold up. 'Pitch black'? Who the heck is he? I've never heard of him when I was young," Percy said.
"He's better known to children as the 'boogieman'. I personally think he hates that name," Jack said with a smile forming across his face. "Anyway, will you help us?"
"What happens if I don't?" Percy asked.
The white-haired spirit shrugged. "Darkness will take over, children and adults will have nightmares forever, the very thing the others and I have sworn to protect will be lost thus, making us fade and that's just the beginning," Jack said. Percy sighed.
"Do you think we should tell Rachel?" he asked.
"I'm sure she has a prophecy," Annabeth said.
"No we are already running out of time as it is. We need to go," Jack said.
"Where are you going?" Chiron asked.
"Santoff Clausen which is better known as the North Pole," the guardian said.
"We'll go get our bags," Annabeth said getting up.
"Annabeth-that is your name right? Annabeth, the Man in the Moon told me to get Percy and only Percy," Jack said.
"What? No! I'm not leaving without Annabeth," Percy said.
"Go on Seaweed Brain. I can't be selfish. Besides, I'll be here when you get back. And you better come back," Annabeth said that last sentence as if it were a threat but you could tell in her intense gray eyes that she was joking; only partly though.
"I promise you my life that I will not disappear on you again," he said and the two demigods hugged each other.
"I still need to pack a bag," Percy told Jack and he nodded.
"Be sure you pack warmly," Jack teased. Percy shot him a look than he and Annabeth left the Big House.
(I am just a lonely line break. Pay me no mind)
"I can't believe it. I finally come back, there are no Romans to fight and now I have to leave again," Percy said to Annabeth as he put underwear in his old yellow duffle bag. Annabeth sat on his bed watching him.
"Percy, the life of a demigod is never easy. You should know that by now," she said.
"I do know that but this is just cruel," Percy argued.
"Do you have drachmas?"
"I always keep them just in case," Percy pulled ten gold coins out of his pocket and put them in the bag.
"Good. You can use them to contact me. Percy, everything will be fine. Just stay alive or I'll personally go down to Elysium and bring you back myself," Annabeth said.
"Just like Orpheus did, right? Promise not to look back?"
"As long as I know that you're behind me," the two demigods joked. "So what do you think this quest will be like?" Annabeth asked. Percy shrugged.
"I have no idea what to expect. What if they look nothing like I imagined as a kid?"
"What if they are? Percy, don't let expectations get the best of you," Annabeth warned.
xXx
When Percy and Annabeth went back to the big house, they saw Jack talking to Maddy. When Jack noticed the two demigods approach, he whispered something into Maddy's ear and she nodded.
"Ready to go?" he asked Percy.
"Sort of," Percy said and he leaned down to talk to Maddy.
"Why did you let Jack in?" he asked the little girl.
"He's Jack frost. He and the other guardians are my heroes," she said.
"I thought you weren't going to leave the border again,"
"I wasn't. But if you saw a flying boy slam into the border and seem perfectly fine, what would do? Especially if you have ADHD and a bunch of curiosity like I do," Maddy said.
"Let me ask you this," Percy said. "What were you doing by the border in the first place?"
Maddy shifted from foot to foot uneasily. "I um… kind of sneak away every night. I hate singing," she said. Percy nodded then stood up.
"How are we getting to Santo- Santo – what you said?" Percy asked Jack.
"Santoff Clausen? Easy," Jack took a snow globe out of his hoody pocket, shook it then threw it. Instantly a vortex of many different colors appeared.
"We-we're going in that?" Percy asked. Jack looked at him surprised.
"Yeah. What's wrong with it?" Jack asked
"Um, kind of the fact that it's just a whole in the middle of the sky," Percy said.
"Well how else are we going to get there? We can't exactly walk, and North said you wouldn't be able to fly," Jack said.
Percy smiled. "Apparently North didn't know about my loophole," he turned to Annabeth and Maddy who were smiling brightly. He turned back to Jack.
"How well do you get along with pegasi?" he asked Jack.
(Page Break)
"Are you sure about this?" Jack asked Percy. Standing behind the son of Poseidon was a pure black horse with wings. The horse whinnied angrily at Jack, and Percy tried to calm him down.
"Yes I am," Percy said. "I have a way with horses. And I trust them more than I trust that portal."
"Who knew demigods could be so stubborn," Jack murmured to himself.
"Do you need a Pegasus?" Percy asked and Jack shook his head.
"I'm good. Can we go now?" Jack asked. Percy nodded and hugged Annabeth.
"Bye Percy. Don't forget to Iris Message us," She said.
"You know I won't," Percy pulled away from the hug and turned to Maddy. "Thank you," he said to the little girl then he jumped on Blackjack and soon they were both flying through the air towards the North Pole.
Line break
"I know you don't want to use the portal to the North Pole but are you sure that flying is the best way to get there?" Jack asked. He was riding the wind and keeping close to the demigod. He had noticed Blackjack start fly a little slower and Percy's eyes start to drop. The three of them have been flying for two hours without end.
"Blackjack and I just need a break," Percy said. "I still don't completely trust that portal of yours."
"What about that creepy thing you do with the son of Hades?" Isn't that like a portal?" Blackjack asked Percy.
"Yeah, but that's different. I knew where I was going then," Percy said.
"What's different?" Jack asked.
"Nothing. Blackjack said something and I answered him," Percy said.
"You talk to horses?"
Percy nodded. "And zebras. Anything closely related to horses, actually,"
"That's so cool. Anything else you can do?" Jack asked. Percy thought.
"No, that's it," he said.
"Why lie?" Blackjack asked.
"I don't know if I can trust him one hundred percent yet. I want to keep it on the down low for as long as I can," Percy mentally answered.
"That makes perfect sense. Don't trust the flying boy with the long magic stick. Got it Boss."
"You know what I mean."
"Whatever."
"Is Blackjack ok? He seems to be slowing down the further we go. You both do," Jack said.
'He's right, we need rest,' Percy thought.
'I'm fine. I can hold.'
Percy ignored him. "We're just tired. Can we take a rest?"
"I have a better idea," Jack said and took out the snow globe. "Are you willing to at least give it a chance?"
"Will Blackjack be ok when we land?"
"Of course"
"Alright" Percy agreed. Jack shook the glass ball.
"Santoff Claussen," he said then threw it. The colorful, swirling portal appeared out of thin air and the two guardians flew right through it.
A.N.
This chapter was really hard to write so sorry if I didn't get everyone's personalities. I tried to keep them in character. This is more of filler. I don't like it but it will get better in the next chapter.
Congratulations to Shur'tugal Daughter of Artemis for winning the cabin contest. And congratulations to those of you who got the right answer. Almost everyone got the right answer. The answer was Janus, the god of doorways, crossroads and beginning, and Tyche, the goddess of luck. (Roman is Fortuna) Janus made and appearance in BOTL and Tyche was talked about in the SoN (Feast of Fortuna {for tuna} ) and in the MoA (Nemesis talks about her).
One thing all of you should know is I don't care about spelling one bit. In fact, I failed almost all of my spelling tests when I was younger so it doesn't matter to me if you spelled the answers wrong as long as I can read it. This story may not be jack x OC. As I said in the second chapter, I don't think I will put Jack with anyone, not even Maddy since she is just six. Speaking of Maddy, what do you think of her? Do you like her?
Review replies:
Darkening I don't think I'm going to make Percy stronger than the others, but his and Jack's powers are going to be the most useful throughout the story. Is that ok?
Hypersreak Interesting question which will be answered later on in the story. I don't want to spoil anything.
Angelfabeth Maddy will play a big part in the story. I just wish I knew what it was :)
Mystery Girl Who Writes thank you for trying this. You may never know if you'd like a story by its summery. I'm glad you liked it.
Ivy night I don't update too often because I do have school but I'll try to update during breaks and sometimes during weekends. I need to get them written first…
Annabeth Brady I got your alert. Thank you soo much.
Monkeygirlz3 Thank you :) I didn't know if it'd be too lengthy or not.
Thanks to: Jessjess98, ninja4evs, ShadowPhase9, LindiJo, AnnabethandPercyJackson17, Quatuor Tempor alis Nocturna, Guest, PJO rulz, Guest, Guest, A Little Lost 1, theHuntress101, NekoAmi1216, Blueh, Town Of Thorns, H2O Pokemon FAN, Monkeygirlz3, ThaliaDaphneJackson12, mailaine, Unknown
