Chapter 9: Beware the Life That Affects Us All
Maddy immediately ran to where Annabeth and Percy were. She slashed at Annabeth's chains repeatedly with her dagger, but it was no use. Then Sandy came over and gently taped the chains. The black sand turned to gold and fell uselessly to the ground. Maddy was a great healer, despite her age. She began working on healing Annabeth as much as she could, starting with feeding her some Ambrosia and dripping nectar over her body. She gave her more than usual, though still didn't risk feeding her too much. When proportioned right, the food and drink of the gods can help heal any demigod. But too much, can burn them up from the inside, literally.
Maddy then tried to cover the wounds and scars that Pitch made, but since there were so many, it was a difficult task. Lucky, she had brought a lot gauzes and bandages but seeing as how there were so many deep gashes, she used the gauze only on the most needed wounds and used the bandages on the smaller scars. Now that the blood had mostly stopped flowing, she used a big, wet towel to soak up most of the blood. Annabeth's Camp Half-Blood T shirt was so soaked; you would never know it was ever orange. Maddy tried to wipe it off, but it was hopeless.
Meanwhile, Percy was a bit distracted. He was looking at the son of Hades with a surprised look on his face. "Nico?" he asked. Nico gave his cousin a look that said 'I'll explain later'. Percy turned his attention back to Maddy. Nico walked up to the wet figure sprawled out on the ground that was Pitch.
"You know who I am," said Nico. "I will give you a choice, which is far better then you deserve, and you know that."
"Who's he talking to? Pitch?" Bunny whispered to North. Percy shushed him.
"Leave now and go to the Fields of Punishment," Nico continued. "Or, fight and go to Tartarus where you belong. Your choice. Either way you will end up in the Underworld."
Then Pitch spoke but it wasn't with his voice. At the same time, Jamie sat up and said the same words as Pitch but they both seemed to be in more of a trance. They spoke in the same voice, but the voice sounded even more ancient than usual. "Why should we listen to you, foolish boy? You can do nothing to us."
Nico's eyebrows furrowed. "I am the son of Hades! Call me foolish one more time and I will ensure that you are placed somewhere far worse than Tartarus."
"We have been here for eons. We refuse to just leave by the request of a foolish, mortal kid."
"I did warn you," said Nico. He raised his hands and made a rude gesture with his finger. The wind started picking up fast. Something dark seemed to start emerging from Pitch, like Peter Pan's shadow getting away from him. Then it grew darker and became more solid. The shadow thing multiplied. Soon, a thousand of them were surrounding Pitch and Nico. Nico drew his sword. "I am the Ghost King! I order you to go to Hell!" He plunged the blade into the ground. Directly in front of him a giant hole appeared. Inside it looked to be and endless hole with no bottom. The dark spirits made a hissing sound as they were sucked in. When the last one fell, the hole closed. After the ghosts left Pitch and Jamie's bodies, they had fell again. Now Pitch looked more…relaxed. Other than that, his appearance didn't change. Jamie however, looked like normal Jamie again. His hair was a messy mop of short brown hair; his eyes were chocolate brown as oppose to yellow, and his clothes were normal. But despite the words he had spoken at the same time with Pitch, he was still unconscious from the piece of ice that hit him on the head earlier.
Another few minutes of silence.
"Who the Hell are you?" Bunny finally asked Nico.
Nico smiled. "I'm Nico. You must be the Easter Kangaroo?" He held out his hand for Bunny to shake but Bunny didn't take it.
Before Bunny could make a smart remark, Jack interrupted with, "What did you do to Jamie?"
Nico turned to him. "Mother Nature told you about the spirits that took over Pitch's soul, right?"
"Is that what those shadows were? Old ghosts?" North asked. Nico nodded.
A series of pictures appeared over Sandy's head, but they were appearing and disappearing so fast, it was hardly readable. Somehow though, Nico managed to translate the pictures into words.
"I sent the ghosts to the deepest part of the underworld. They won't be seen for a while," he replied.
"How are you able to do that?" Bunny asked. He was either too shocked to remember the kangaroo comment earlier, or he was putting it aside for later.
Nico shrugged. "I'm the son of the underworld. Death is kind of my thing."
"But, what about Pitch?" Tooth asked.
"Oh, Pitch is fine," the demigod said. "The ghosts have been inside him for a long while, so I guess part of them became him. His heart is clean though…I think. He is still immortal, and has his powers, but I don't think they are as powerful now. He should be the same as he was before he was corrupted, but with slight changes." He turned to Jack. "As for Jamie, he is not hurt. Not that I see, at least. He should be as good as new in an hour or so."
From across the room, they heard Percy ask, "How is she?" to Maddy. His voice was pained as he spoke. The Guardians and Nico walked over to where Percy, Maddy and Annabeth were. Only Jack stayed behind with Jamie.
"Do you want me to be truthful, or do you want good news?" Maddy replied. Her face had a look of complete concentration. Percy glared daggers at her and Maddy sighed.
"Honestly, I am really worried about her. She has lost an awful lot of blood and her heart rate is alarmingly slow and getting slower. Frankly, I'm too scared to give her more Ambrosia. The stupid food doesn't even heal broken bones and there are a lot of them. Sure it will speed up the healing, but not fast enough in this case. I have done all I can. Gods I wish Will was here. He's much better at this than I am."
"I think I'd prefer it if you gave the good news," Percy mumbled. "Oh, Annabeth, I should have stayed with you. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I am such an idot, such a Seaweed Brain." He started sobbing as he hugged Annabeth's body tightly.
"She's not dead," said Nico in a comforting voice. He didn't say what he was thinking though; 'she's about to be.'
"Percy, I think we should go back to camp quickly," said Maddy. "I don't know how much longer she can hold out." Maddy glanced at Nico for an answer but he sent her a silent message that said, 'not now,' then he gestured to Percy.
Finally, Percy shook his head and wiped the tears from his eyes. "You're right," he told Maddy. "I'll call-" before he could finish his sentence, a golden glow formed in the center of the room. Something small and white fell out of the light and landed on the floor. The glow died. Percy, Maddy and Nico looked at each other wearily then Nico walked over to the fallen object. It was a small piece of paper in a small, white envelope. Written in small, fancy writing was the words, HERMIES EXPRESS
"It's a letter," Nico confirmed.
"What does it say?" Mother Nature asked cautiously. She and North had been in the middle of a conversation when the light appeared. Nico opened the envelope. The letter was written in gold ink and beautifully handwritten. It read:
'Dear Nico, I figured you would be the one to open this. Anyway, I am glad you all survived the fight. Now come to Olympus. Don't worry. Zeus won't kill you…hopefully.
-Poseidon
P.S. Don't forget Annabeth'
Nico read it out loud.
"Olympus?" Bunny asked. "How are we supposed to get to Mt. Olympus?"
Jack nodded in agreement. "Especially if the Romans overthrew it," he said. "Besides, Olympus is in Ancient Greece." Again, everyone looked at Jack in surprise. "What? Like I said, I read. But sooner or later someone notices the temperature drop and turns the heater up. That's when I leave."
"Ok…" Percy said. "Getting to Olympus is not what bothers me. What I am worried about is what will happen once we get there."
"We can worry about what they will do with us when we get there. We need to get Annabeth out of here. We are running out of time," said Maddy.
"I am not going," Nature said.
"Why?" North asked.
"Olympus is the home of the gods," Nature explained. "The very same gods Gaea tried to destroy last year. My waltzing into their home territory would be like rubbing salt in a freshly cut wound. I am not going. Good luck with surviving." When she finished speaking, she turned into a ball of green light and disappeared.
"What was that about?" Nico asked. Maddy's confused expression mimicked Nico's.
"Mother Nature…is Gaea," Percy said. "Ok, we need to leave, and fast. Nico, do you think you can take Maddy?" he asked. The tired expression on his face answered his question. "No," Percy said. "Ok. North, how many people can your sleigh carry?"
"My sleigh carries a toy for every good child of the world on Christmas. It can carry a lot of people," said North.
Percy managed to give a slight blush. If Annabeth heard that, she'd probably punch him (playfully, of course) for asking a question like that, then call him Seaweed Brain and explain all that herself. Annabeth. Gods he needed to get her to a medic quickly.
"Alright, Maddy, you don't mind riding with the Guardians, do you?" he asked. In Maddy's wide, excited eyes, Percy could see a hint of the young six-year-old and not the aged demigod.
"Of course!" she chirped. Percy sent Bunnymund a look that said, 'you don't mind, do you?' Bunny looked at the young demigod. Then his shook his head. No, he didn't mind. Although they had never before seen each other (other than Iris Messages) Percy could tell Bunny was already starting to like Maddy. Maybe it was because she had said Bunny was her favorite Guardian out of the five.
"So, how do we get to Olympus, anyway?" Tooth asked.
"Just meet me by the Empire State building," said Percy.
Pitch started stirring and Percy's eyes landed on him. The Guardians got their weapons ready just in case. Percy grabbed his pen and Maddy her dagger. Nico was the only one who was at ease. Pitch looked around. Then he stood slowly and backed away, his eyes not leaving the Guardians. He stepped into the shadows He didn't say anything but the look in his eyes said enough. His eyes held an expression that Jack thought he would never see on the Nightmare King's face: sorrow. Then he disappeared.
xXx
When everyone walked outside, the Guardians crawled into the sleigh. Jack carried Jamie as Maddy walked alongside them. North whispered the destination into the snow globe. Just as it did earlier, the Empire State appeared in the middle of the glass ball as North threw it. Then, North, Bunny, Tooth, Maddy, Jack, Jamie and Sandy flew through the portal that would take them to New York.
"What about us?" Nico asked.
"I'll get us a ride," said Percy. Nico hated it when he said that. He knew what Percy was going to do. "You don't mind riding Pegusi again, do you?" Nico shook his head. "…Didn't think so."
"No, I'll be fine…if you can convince them to let me ride them." The Pegusi and Nico don't really get along. That was probably because it was Poseidon who created Pegasus, and not Hades. For the same reason Percy can't fly, Nico has a hard time riding Pegusi.
"I got that covered," said Percy. "I'll just need a peace offering. A sugar cube, perhaps. Blackjack should be around here somewhere…" Just then, the black Pegasus emerged from the bushes. He whinnied cautiously at Nico. "I know, I know. But we need to get the Olympus, quickly," said Percy. Then Blackjack's eyes landed on Annabeth, who was lying in Percy's arms unconscious. The horse bobbed his head in anger. He whinnied. A few minutes later, two other Pegusi few toward the demigods and landed next to Percy. Percy smiled and patted Blackjack's neck. "Thanks," he said. It took them a few minutes, but they finally managed to secure Annabeth onto Blackjack's back to where she would not fall off. Nico put his Aviator's jacket on Blackjack so that Annabeth would have something to lie on and no blood would get on the horse. Percy managed to convince one of the white Pegusi to let Nico ride him (though it seemed that Percy wasn't going to have any dessert of the next couple of months) and Percy mounted on the other Pegasus.
Considering that they were still in the woods, the two of them rode to a nearby clearing. Percy looked at Nico with a crazy grin on his face. "Well. Olympus. Allons-y," he said. With that, the Pegusi flew into the air and headed towards the gods' home at top speeds that made Nico glad he hasn't eaten yet. If he had, the cities below them would probably not appreciate it.
The sun was a little lower than its halfway point, so Nico guessed it was around 3:00 to 3:30 p.m.
Finally, Percy voiced the question that had been bouncing around in his head for a while. "How did you know to come help us?"
Nico sighed. This is what he said…
xXx
Nico was walking around in an alleyway in California when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mother Nature materialize behind him. Nico scoffed. "Haven't seen you in a while."
"I like to keep my distance," she said.
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I - we - need your help."
Nico paused. Nature would never ask a favor from him unless it was serious. "What do you need my help with?" he asked.
Nature explained about her visit with Percy and the other Guardians. Then she explained her plan. "You are the only one who can really help him," she finished.
"I thought you didn't want to defeat Pitch," Nico pointed out.
"I didn't want to kill him. He is still my father. But this way, I don't think we have to."
Nico thought about it. "I'm in," he said.
xXx
"…After that, we went to get Maddy and here we are," he said.
"You can now officially say you've been abducted by a goddess like me and Jason," said Percy.
"She asked my permission first. At least it wasn't Hera." Just then, thunder boomed across the sky. Percy rolled his eyes. "What about you?" Nico asked. "How did you know about the Guardians?"
"It's kind of confusing, even to me," said Percy. "How much do you know about their world?"
"More than you probably think."
"You know about the Man in the Moon, don't you?"
"Let me guess, he chose you to help defeat Pitch."
"Yeah."
"Percy, do you know what this means?" Nico asked.
"Uh…no," Percy said.
"It means you are a part of our Greek world, but also of their world."
"My job is done. Pitch is good now. I'm planning on going to Camp Jupiter and having an early retirement with Annabeth." The idea of a demigod Percy's age having an early retirement was so ridiculous, Percy wanted to laugh. Even Nico managed a smile. But it quickly faded.
"You can't say no to this, Percy. Have you figured out your center?"
"I have a slight idea…" he explained his theory. "Is that possible?"
"Of course. You've figures it out. That's your center."
Percy shook his head. "But like I've said before; my life it too complicated with one world of magic and gods. The last thing I need is to be in another world."
"Percy, in their world, the moon is like a god. He is their leader. He chose you to become a Guardian. It is your destiny now."
"I'm not even immortal," Percy protested.
"You don't have to be immortal. It helps but you don't have to be immortal to help or rescue kids."
The rest of the flight was knocked into silence.
xXx
When the sleigh flew through the portal, North landed it by the entrance of the Empire State. Nobody seemed to notice them though, which was fine with Jack. He didn't want to have to explain what a giant sleigh and reindeer were doing in the middle of New York.
Sandy had fallen asleep by now, Maddy was talking to Bunny about her, Percy's and Nico's world, Tooth was giving orders to her mini fairies and North was feeding his reindeer. Jack didn't know where he got the feed, but he guessed he kept it nearby for times like this. Jack was sitting by Jamie, who was still knocked out. He was absent mindedly playing with a snowflake he'd created, which was the ultimate sign that showed that he was bored. Bunny noticed him, walked over to the winter spirit and sat down next to him.
"Long day, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah," Jack replied, though he continued fiddling with the snowflake."
"What do you think they want with us; the gods I mean."
Jack shrugged. "Before I met Percy, I didn't even know they existed, let alone talked to them."
"But you read about them," Bunny said. "What I'm confused about is, out of a thousand libraries full of books, you choose the ones on Greek Mythology. Why?"
"Greek isn't the only thing I read about. There is also Egyptian, Indian, Cherokee, and a lot of others. But, yes, I do find myself reading Greek more often. I don't know why. I guess I just find it more…fascinating."
Bunny smiled. "Well that fascination came in handy, didn't it?"
Jack laughed, then he looked at Jamie and his humor was replaced with concern. "I hope he will be ok," he said.
"The Hudson River is right over there. Maybe if you splash some water on his face, he'll wake up," said Bunny.
Jack thought about it. "I'll try that. Be right back," he said, as he grabbed Jamie and flew to the river.
Jack lay Jamie down at the water's edge. Just before he reached his hands into the water, he saw something quite strange. It was a face looking up at him from the water. His face raggedy and algae covered most of it. His eyes were a bright blue.
"Who are you?" Jack asked.
"I'm the water spirit of the Hudson River," the face said. "Just call me Hudson. But the question that should be asked is who are you? You don't look familiar and yet I can tell you are some kind of spirit."
"I'm…Jack Frost, the spirit of winter."
"Humph. Do you have a sand dollar handy?"
"Uhh…no," Jack said.
"Figured. The last demigod to come into these waters was one of Poseidon's kids. At least he had the decency to bring us a sand dollar."
"You mean Percy?" Jack asked surprised. "He went in there?" Jack had trouble picturing that. Sure he had cool water powers, but if Percy swam in there, than how was he still able to breath? The water was so polluted; he figured the fish didn't even hang around in that area.
"Bah, I don't know. He didn't give his name. All I know is, he cracked a sand dollar and I became clean. At least for a little while. Being clean doesn't last here."
Jack had no idea what he river spirit was talking about. "What are you here for?" he asked.
Hudson looked around. "I sensed someone oddly different by my river that I didn't recognize. I wanted to check it out. I don't see anyone else here so I guess it was you, unless it was that kid over there." He gestured to Jamie.
"Uh, sorry if I bothered you. I just wanted to borrow some of your water, if you don't mind. Then I will be on my way," said Jack.
Hudson watched him for a while. "Alright, go ahead. But next time you come, would it kill you to bring a sand dollar?"
"I'll…see what I can do."
"Thanks." The river spirit nodded then disappeared. Jack shook his head and cupped his hands into the water. He dripped a little of the water on Jamie and the boy started coughing. He sat up straight.
"Jack!" he yelled.
"I'm right here, don't worry," Jack said. He grabbed Jamie's hand and pulled him into a hug. Despite Jack's cold body, Jamie relaxed a little.
"Pitch…Nightmares. There was a girl there two. I-I think her name was Annabeth? Jack, I was so scared. Then Pitch came over to me and…and I don't remember after that." The boy started crying. It pained Jack to see him like that. He ran a hand through Jamie's hair.
"Don't worry. You're safe now. Pitch won't come after you again. I swear."
Jamie pulled himself out of the hug. "What about the girl I saw? Where is she?" he asked.
"Annabeth and Percy are on their way." Jack replied. He didn't want to lie and say that Annabeth was fine.
"Jack, where are we?"
Jack smiled. "We're in New York City," he said.
Jamie's eyes widened. "New York City? I've never been to New York. Why are we in New York?"
"It doesn't really matter. I'll take you back home when I can. Right now, we need to get back to the Empire State Building and meet up with Percy. You ready to go?" Jamie nodded then Jack grabbed him under the arms and leaped into the sky.
xXx
When Jack and Jamie landed in the sleigh, Maddy walked up to them. "Who are you?" she asked Jamie.
"I'm Jamie. And you are?"
Maddy giggled. "I'm Maddy. Nice to meet you," she said.
"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but I think Percy and Nico are back," said Tooth. She pointed to the sky. Sure enough, three Pegusi were descending from the sky.
Jamie looked at them in wonder. "What are they?" he asked.
"They are Pegusi. They are winged hoses created by the Greek god Poseidon," she said.
"So, Greek Mythology is real?" Jamie asked.
"Yep,"
"Ok."
When the Pegusi landed, Percy and Nico dismounted. Nico's face was a sickly shade of green. He ran over to the nearest trash can and threw up.
"What's his problem?" North asked.
"He's…not a big fan of Pegusi," Percy replied. He walked over to Annabeth's Pegasus and carried her. When Nico came back, he looked a little better. He grabbed his Aviators jacket and slid it back on.
"So, how do we get in?" Jack asked.
"I'll show you," said Percy. He turned and led the Guardians through the doors. The man behind the desk looked up when he heard their footsteps coming toward him. One look at Percy told him all he needed to know. Without question, he reached into a drawer and pulled out a key. He handed it to Percy. Percy grabbed the key and walked to the elevator. He turned.
"Well?" he asked. Everyone followed.
xXx
Five Guardians, three demigods, a twelve-year old boy and a wounded daughter of Athena can make a small elevator very crowded, very quickly. Luckily, the music had improved since the Giant war. Today, it was playing 'It's A Small World After All'. Yeah, since the war, Apollo had been placed in charge of the music. By the time the doors slid open, a thick layer of ice covered every inch of the speakers. No one complained.
Olympus was beyond amazing. The grass was so green. Pathways led off into different directions. The salad bar stood by the cobblestone path that led to the throne room. On one end, a path led to a humongous building that had an assortment of rainbow colored, flashing lights. Even from all the way over here, dancing music could be heard. Dotting the mountain were huge statues of the gods. Oddly, their eyes followed the group as they walked.
"Annabeth has been doing an awesome job, hasn't she?" Nico asked.
"Wait, she made this?" Jack asked in awe. He had never, in his three hundred and seventeen years of his existence, seen something as big, bright and beautiful.
Nico looked back at Jack with a crazy grin on his face. "Yeah. After the Titan war a couple years ago, Olympus got destroyed. Annabeth got the privilege of redesigning it.
"This is amazing," Jack said. "It's unbelievable how she did this stuff.
"Yeah, yeah, it's cool. Now can we please change the subject?" Percy asked. Jack looked at Annabeth, who Percy was carrying with his strong arms.
"Oh."
xXx
When they opened the door to the throne room, twelve people were staring at them while they sat on throne –like chairs. Well, they weren't necessarily people; more like giants. Each throne looked different, like the cabins at camp. Only, there weren't as many thrones as there were cabins. One throne was covered in green, grape vines. Sitting on it was a man in a loud, leopard shirt with a lazy expression on his face. On the opposite end was a young girl with auburn hair and a black hunters' uniform. At her side was a silver bow and arrow. Her throne was covered in large, animal pelts, one of which looked like a giant rabbit's. Something told Jack that it wasn't a Pooka's fur, but he still decided not to point that out to Bunnymund.
The thrones made a 'U' shape around the room. In the center of the 'U' was a man in a business suit. His hair looked like he had stuck his finger on an electrical volt and tried to brush it out before the meeting. His expression looked like a mix of seriousness and just plain anger. Sitting beside him was a man in a Hawaiian Tee shirt and khaki shorts. Beside him was a tall fishing rod. His throne looked oddly like a fisherman's chair. Jack looked at the fisherman, then at Percy, then back at the fisherman.
"You're Poseidon, aren't you?" Jack finally asked. "Percy's dad." Even without the family resemblance, Jack could tell the man was someone who loved water. All Jack had to do was put two and two together.
Poseidon smiled. "You are quite smart for your age," he said. His voice matched his kind, ocean-blue eyes.
Jack's cheeks became paler; which Percy took as his version of a blush. "317 years gives you a lot of free time."
"Can we get on topic here?" a woman asked. She wore a white, Greek styled dress and her eyes were the same color as Annabeth's. Her throne was gray as well, with owl carvings on the side.
"Right," said Poseidon. "First, I would like to start off by congratulating the Guardians for succeeding on their mission to defeat Pitch. And congratulations to our demigods for stepping up and helping. For that reason, we would like to reward you."
Five items shimmered into existence next to each of the Guardians. North received a small golden statue of a wrapped Christmas present. Engraved on it was the word, Wonder. Bunny received a beautiful Easter egg made of the same golden material as North's statue. Engraved on the egg was the word Hope. For Toothiana, since teeth were so small, she was given a golden statue of three little teeth that said, Remember. Jack's reward was a thin statue of a perfectly carved snowflake. It looked almost real, aside from its golden color. On its front was the word Fun. As for Sandy, his gift was the only one that wasn't golden. Instead, it was a clear, silver statue of a little girl with frizzy hair riding a unicorn. On the unicorn was the word, Dream. The silver color of Sandy's gift made sense to Jack. Why give gold to a man who was almost made of golden sand? Even Maddy and Nico got medals; Nico for his strength and Maddy for her medical abilities. Jaime got a golden snow ball.
That left Percy and Annabeth.
"What about Annabeth?" Percy demanded. Jack may have only been here for a few minutes, but he figured speaking like that to the gods was either a very brave thing to do, or a very stupid thing to do. "You said to bring her here, otherwise I would have gone straight to camp to get her to a medic.
The woman on the owl throne (Annabeth's mom, Jack guessed) closed her eyes. Jack could tell that the words she spoke were painful for her to say, but their affect was even worse to hear: "No medicine can save her."
Nico and Maddy, who have known Percy longer, could feel his anger boiling a second before Jack could. They ran towards Percy and grabbed his shoulders to hold him back.
"Percy, calm down. We'll…we'll think of something. Gods, where's Piper when you need her?" Maddy asked.
"Annabeth," Percy managed. Tears were pouring from his eyes. He fell to his knees and started sobbing. Nico patted his back awkwardly.
"Percy," Poseidon's voice was calm and soothing. "There is still one more way to save her."
Percy looked up at him. "What?"
"The council has voted and it shall be done," Zeus said.
"What shall be done?" Percy questioned.
Athena smiled for the first time since the group walked into the throne room. "Annabeth, my daughter, will become immortal," she said.
"Immortal?" Maddy asked.
"Yes," the huntress said. "Percy, do you agree? Be warned, the offer does not apply to you. If she becomes a goddess, you will stay mortal."
Percy closed his eyes. Then he opened them again and laid Annabeth on the ground in front of him. "It will save Annabeth. Of course I agree," he said, though the heartbreak was clear in his voice. Just then, a golden glow surrounded Annabeth. The dried blood on her skin began to sink back into her body. Some of it was turning a golden color before disappearing. Her scars, cuts, and bruises began to close and fade. Her hair seemed to shampoo the dirt and blood out on its own leaving her honey-blond hair looking clean and silky. The marks on her ankles and wrists disappeared. The light began to glow brighter and brighter.
"Look away," Nico said. The demigods closed their eyes and Maddy covered Jaime's. When the light died, Annabeth was lying on the floor, unharmed and beautiful. She now radiated an aura of power Jack was sure she hadn't had before. Finally, the intense gray orbs that were her eyes snapped open. She looked around, a little disoriented. She saw the Guardians, Bunny, Jack, North, Tooth and Sandy. She saw Maddy, Nico and Jaime standing off to the side. She turned to see all the gods looking down at her, some of them smiling. All eyes in the room were on her, which made Annabeth feel a little self-conscious.
"What?" she asked. She looked around again and her eyes fell on Percy. Gods he looked horrible. Tearstains covered his shirt and his hair was even more messed up than usual. His green eyes were puffy, which gave more evidence of crying. He looked like he was on the verge of sobbing again. But Annabeth could see something else in his eyes; hope.
Annabeth decided that something shocking had just happened, and judging by the look on everyone's face, she could tell that 'something' had succeeded. And judging by the way everyone was staring at her…
"Oh gods," she said. She looked down and yelped. Her body looked perfect; not as much as a cut on her skin. That was impossible. The last thing she remembered was Pitch cutting her open like a pumpkin on Halloween. "How long have I been out?" she asked.
"A few hours, maybe," said Tooth, her voice was small. A couple of hours? How could she have healed this much in that short amount of time?
Suddenly, Nico gasped. "Annabeth, your …your hair," he stammered. Annabeth didn't understand what he meant. Percy looked at Annabeth with a confused expression. Then his eyes became wide with shock. He gestured to a strand of her hair. Annabeth grabbed her hair and examined it. She gasped. A single strand of her now perfect, blond hair had been turned to gray.
"What is going on?" she asked. She was getting a little scared now.
"Annabeth," Athena said gently. "You are a goddess now."
"A…a what?"
"You are immortal," said Nico.
When Annabeth finally got over her shock after a few minutes, her mind automatically raced to one thing.
"And Percy?" she said hopefully, but something in their expression answered her question. "Oh," she said. Then she stood up and ran towards Percy, attacking him in a hug. His arms wrapped around her. He held her tightly, as though he would never let go.
"Why can't Percy become a god as well?" North asked. Sandy crossed his arms.
"We gave him the offer twice before. Both times he didn't accept," said Zeus. He sounded a little bitter. "The first time, he made us claim our children."
"Claim…?" Jack asked.
"It doesn't matter," North said.
"The second time, he just replied with 'the time isn't right'," Zeus continued. Percy and Annabeth were locked in a world where only they existed so they had no idea what people were saying around them.
Nico nudged Maddy and whispered, "He only denied their offer because he wanted to be with Annabeth." The whisper was so low that no one seemed to hear. But Bunnymund always did have the best hearing, what with his giant rabbit ears. Suddenly, all the resentment that Bunny had for Percy, vanished. This boy, this strong, powerful son of Poseidon, denied the gods' offer of being forever young and healthy, just so he could be with the one he loved. To Bunny, that was a very brave move. Percy had gained Bunny's respect and he now thought of Percy as a good ally. Not quite 'friend' just yet. Bunny thought of this as he looked at the golden egg in his paws.
Finally, Percy and Annabeth let go of each other. Percy turned to the gods. "I have something to announce," he said. "I figured out my center."
"What?" Annabeth asked.
"How?" North asked.
"What is it?" Jack asked.
"When we were in Pitch's lair, it nearly killed me seeing Annabeth hurt. I flooded the place out of hatred, and anger. I wanted to save my friends. I was loyal to them. That's my center. My fatal flaw is my greatest aspect. I am the Guardian of loyalty."
The Guardians clapped in celebration but Annabeth blinked in amazement. "That is probably the most intelligent thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth, Seaweed Brain" she said.
"So now there's Hope, Wonder, Dreams, Memories, Fun and Loyalty. Good group," said Nico.
"I guess I stand corrected when I said that loyalty will become your downfall," Athena said, though her expression looked like she swallowed a lemon.
Annabeth smiled. "What now?" she asked
"Later on, I will show you all you need to know about being a goddess," said Athena. "But for now, my daughter, go have fun with your friends."
Annabeth smiled weakly at all the gods and bowed. "Thank you," she said.
As they were leaving, an idea formed in Jack's mind and he stopped dead in his tracks. He had a mischievous smile on his face as he turned to the gods.
"Lord Zeus," he started. "What would you say is better; Christmas, or Easter?"
North and Bunny turned at the mention of their holidays. They too were interested to hear who the king of the gods preferred.
Zeus looked between the two of them with a poker face. Finally, he answered, "Groundhog Day." Everyone smiled as the two Guardians argued over what he meant. Their feud will never end. But that was fine. That was just them being them.
A.N.
One more chapter and this story will be over. It is official. This is the second to last chapter. Honestly, I don't remember if there are any DW references, but I could have rewritten it to make some, I don't remember. If you find one, good. If not, well, I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry.
Oh gods. I just realized something. The prophecy says "An oath to keep with a final breath", right? Percy promises to stay with Annabeth so they can be together at the end of Mark of Athena when they fall, right? What if that is what the prophecy line means? Percy will die trying to keep that promise. Oh gods. Oh gods *begins to sob* Spoiler, by the way, if you haven't read MoA yet.
Ok, so the whole point of the story was to help Pitch in a way. Get the ghosts out of him because it was actually because of themthat he was doing all those horrible things. When I read how Pitch was made, I almost wanted to cry for him. But he is good now so I am happy with that.
SomeRandomPerson: I don't care if you reviewed late, I am just happy you reviewed! :D Funny thing, when you said Nico wasn't there, my first thought was, "maybe that's because he is currently leading five other demigods to Greece and trying to defeat the Giants. You see, I had already finished writing this chapter and I completely forgot that I didn't post it. I read the review again and thought, 'oh'. :)
theHuntress101: Nico was the only one I could think of that would be able to get rid of the spirits inside Pitch and Jamie.
Ice Wolf Fang: In all honestly, I couldn't agree more. I just, can't think of anything more to put.
Clio: I'm sorry I made you sick. But honestly, Annabeth has been through worse. On the Last Olympian she took a poisoned knife to save Percy. I wanted to torture Annabeth because I figured if anything could make Percy angry, it would be Annabeth being tortured. There were no Doctor Who references in this chapter, or at least I didn't intentionally make them. I laughed when I read your 'fantastic' review. I can't wait to see you in the next chapter. Allons-y.
Turkeyhead987: *smiles* I am glad you liked the chapter. Technically, the world would drown. Good thing I got my floaties just in case. And my rubber ducky. *quack, quack*
I am glad your guns are down now. Although, if it were me, I would probably use a sonic screwdriver, or a pen. But, you do you.
I'm glad you're not mad at me. No, I'm not dead. I am perfectly healthy. Dang it. I don't have a funny pun to put here. Oh well. You get the idea. And with the whole Torchwood thing, I agree with you. My friend tried to get me to watch it so I did. I didn't really get into it though. But Honestly, I didn't get into Doctor Who until I watched some more episodes, so I tried Torchwood again. I didn't get past the second episode. I mean I love Jack, I just don't think he's a good main character for a show.
Winged Werewolf of the Night: One, 'Are you my mommy?' is a quote from Doctor Who. I was joking. Two, if you don't like cliffhangers, you will probably not like me very much. :)
Thanks to: Binglebop, gamelover41592, LizDilaurentis, shalalalalalala
