Hello, everyone! Before anyone asks, I will not be writing one of these for Staff of Serpais. I'm sorry, but I've never been good at writing Sadie since she's a complicated character (an amazing one, but still complex). Sorry for that.

Since no one really knows when the Son of Sobek was, I set it after the Titan war but before Percy disappeared.

Disclaimer: I own nada. Sorry to disappoint.

My life sucks. Period.

Who am I, you may ask? Well, I am Percy Jackson, and I'm sure you've heard of me and my adventures, but this story? This story has only been told once before by a child of Athena named Rick Riordan, and he told it in Carter's point of view, but what was I thinking? I'm sure you've all wondered at one time or another; I know I sometimes wonder what my friends are thinking, so why shouldn't you do it with 'book characters'?

Anyway, why was I in Long Island Sound that day, alone with no back up whatsoever?

Well, everyone was busy that day and they believed that the demigod that defeated Kronos and has iron skin could defeat a mere monster, but truthfully, I did need help. You all know that.

So, I left camp that day, informing Chiron of where I was going and wishing Annabeth was with me, but she was working on Olympus that day, so I was on my own.

Suddenly, I heard a thrashing nearby, like a huge animal flailing about in the murky river ahead.

Peering around the edges of the trees, I spotted it: an enormous alligator with skin that leaked putrid water and a tail the length of me, if not longer.

I released my sword from its pen form with a shink! and before the monster could register the sound, I charged it.

Risky, yes. Necessary, definitely. Better to surprise it than sit and come up with a plan in my opinion, but don't tell Annabeth I said that.

I leapt into the air, my sword raised above my head and stabbed it right in the rump!

The alligator lurched forward and something came spilling out of its mouth before it scurried away. I was about to chase after it when I saw what it had just barfed up.

It was a kid, about my age and scrawny. He was African American with brown curly hair cut short and his brown eyes open in suprise. He wore a blue shirt and baggy brown pants, both linen, and they resembled pajamas in a way, honestly. A sword clattered beside him and he landed hard on his stomach, covered in crocodile goo.

Okay, I had seen plenty of weird things: gods, monsters, crazy Titans, hell, I'd seen a man with three chests and survived an explosion! But this was, by far, one of the strangest things I'd ever laid my eyes on. Seriously, I'd defeated thousands of monsters and none of them had barfed up a living kid- or a dead one for that matter, thankfully.

But there was something about him. He had to be a demigod, but... he just didn't seem like one. There was something about him that screamed 'I'm not like you!'

"The crocodile," he said, his voice shaking a little but I admired his attempt to stay calm even though a freaking monster had just thrown him up! "Where did it go?"

Seriously, no thanks? Now, I'm not one to go looking for people to be grateful to me, but really, I'd just saved his life! I deserved some kind of thank you.

I frowned. "You're welcome."

"What?" He asked, looking confused.

"I stuck that croc in the rump," I mimicked the action with my sword. "That's why it vomited you up. So, you're welcome. What were you doing in there?"

Okay, that was a stupid question, but I'm not known for asking the smartest questions, am I?

[You weren't supposed to answer that, Carter!]

Anyway, that ticked him off.

"I was resting," he snapped. "What do you think I was doing? Now, who are you and why are you fighting my monster?"

"Your monster?" I walked through the water towards him. "Look, man, I don't know who you are, but that crocodile has been terrorizing Long Island for weeks. I take that kind of personal since this is my home turf. A few days ago, it ate one of our pegasi."

"Did you say pegasi?"

I ignored the question. "Is it your monster or not?"

"I don't own it," he growled. "I'm trying to stop it! Now, where-"

"The croc headed that way," I pointed my sword south. "I would already be chasing it, but you surprised me."

I examined him closely.

There was something odd about this kid, and yet, it all seemed... familiar and strange at the same time if that makes any sense. The way he held his strangely shaped sword (reminded me of a question mark) reminded me of Clarrise and her siblings. Ready to fight at a moment's notice and confident they would win because they were that good at fighting. And yet, there was something else. An aura of all knowing that reminded me of Annabeth, like I could ask him any question and he could answer it. Raw power radiated off of him like that of a Big Three kid mixed with a Hecate kid's magic. This kid was powerful, no doubt about it.

"I give up. Son of Ares? You've gotta be a half blood, but what happened to your sword? It's all bent."

He bristled. "It's a khophesh. It's supposed to be curved."

What's got his underwear in a bunch? I thought.

"Just get out of here," he said through gritted teeth. "I've got a crocodile to catch."

"Dude, I have a crocodile to catch," I corrected. "Last time you tried, it ate you. Remember?"

He glared as hard as humanly possible. If looks could kill, I would've kneeled over. "I had everything under control." His hand tightened on his sword hilt. "I was about to summon a khefa-"

A blue fist glowed in the air before me, and I was so shocked I didn't even have time to dodge as it slammed me in the chest and I was sent flying backwards.

I landed hard on the ground. Due to my iron skin, I wasn't hurt, but it still irritated the Hades out of me. My shock at the spell was slowly turning to anger, and next thing I knew, a wave was soaring over my head and sending Pajama Boy back into the marsh.

I ran back to the marsh, my sword raised, and I leaped towards the dazed boy, probably resembling a ninja from the movies.

We started to battle, our swords clanging against each other and probably creating quite the racket.

He was good. Most people would already be sprawled on the ground, my sword at their throat, but he intercepted every strike and sometimes lunged out with one of his own. Maybe I was right about the son of Ares thing.

"I get it now," I said as I intercepted one of his strikes. "You're some kind of monster."

"I'm not a monster," he disagreed, our swords meeting with a CLANG!

He brought something out of his pocket, a boomerang made of ivory, and caught my sword in the crook of it. A shock ran up my arm as if my cousin, Thalia, had just touched me when she was in a mood. Even though it didn't hurt, I staggered back from shock (the stunned kind, not the literal one) and the force of the shock. Blue energy popped around me like the guy's spell didn't know what to do with me.

I was confused. A child of Hecate? But I'd never seen a wand like that before. The answer dawned on me; something Annabeth had mentioned.

"You said the crocodile was your's," I snarled. "Lost your pet, I suppose. Maybe you're a spirit from the Underworld, come back through the Doors of Death."

Before he could respond, I thrust out my hand and the river reversed course, sweeping the boy off his feet.

Just as he was getting to his feet, I charged, my sword raised.

He dropped the boomerang/wand and thrust his hand into his backpack, bringing out a... rope?

He threw it in my direction and yelled, "TAS!" just as my sword slashed his wrist.

The rope wrapped around my sword arm and lashed it to the side of my head, leaving me feeling like a freaking unicorn, what with my sword still in hand.

I watched as he wrapped what looked like cloth around the cut and I tugged at the rope with my free hand, but made little progress.

Finally, I just sighed and glared at Pajama Boy. "I'm really starting to hate you."

"Hate me?" He protested. "I'm gushing blood here! And you started all of this by calling me a half blood!"

I couldn't believe it! That was what this was all about? No way could he be mortal!

"Oh, please," I scoofed, rising unsteadily, and nearly toppling to the right. "You can't be a mortal. If you were, my sword would've passed right through you. So if you're not a monster or a spirit, you've gotta be a half blood. A rogue demigod from Kronos's army, I'd guess."

"So when you said half blood..."

"I meant demigod," I said, staring at him weirdly. "Yeah. What did you think I meant?"

He stared at me in shock and maybe a little fear. "What are you? Part combat magician, part water elementist? What gnome are you with?"

I laughed, bitterly. "Dude, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't hang out with gnomes. Satyrs, sometimes. Even Cyclopses. But not gnomes."

"Look," he said, "I'm sorry about hitting you with that first spell. It was an accident. But the thing I don't understand... it should've killed you. It didn't. That doesn't make sense."

"Don't sound so disappointed," I muttered. "But while we're on the subject, you should be dead too. Not many people can fight me that well. And my sword should've vaporized your crocodile."

"For the last time, it's not my crocodile."

"Okay, whatever. But the point is, I struck that croc pretty good, but I just made it angry. Celestial bronze should've turned it to dust."

"Celestial bronze?"

Our conversation was cut short by a scream- the terrified voice of a little kid.

Damn it! In all the excitement, I'd forgotten why I was here.

We locked eyes.

"We've gotta stop that crocodile," he said.

"Truce," I agreed.

"Yeah," he continued, "We can continue killing each other after the crocodile is taken care of."

"Deal. Now, can you please untie my sword hand from my head, I feel like a freaking unicorn!"

I didn't trust him, and I know that he didn't trust me, but we were fighting for the same thing; it only made sense that we worked together. It was kind of like with Ethan Nakurama or Luke in the final battle; I didn't trust them at all, but all three of us wanted Kronos gone, so we became allies, if only for a few moments.

I tried not to think about how they'd died.

My shoes flew out of the water and into my hand; I helped him wrap up his wrist and waited as he chugged half of... something in a vial. I guessed it was Nectar, but I wasn't sure because drinking that much could've killed him. A healing potion, maybe? The Apollo kids at camp made them occassionally with the Hecate kids' help. That was mostly for huge things, though, like punctured lungs, heart attacks, and the like.

Anyway, back on track. The two of us sprinted up the hill towards the screaming; he had a hard time keeping up with me, but I understood that. I'd been almost constantly running for my life since I was twelve.

"What's your name?" He asked.

I contemplated telling him, but as my mother had been telling me since this demigod stuff began, names have power. And currently, every monster in the world knew my name, and if they found out that this kid knew who I was, he was screwed.

"I'm not sure I should tell you that," I told him. "Names can be dangerous."

He seemed to understand, and I had a feeling that he knew how dangerous names could be first hand, but I wasn't about to ask him.

"Fair enough," he said. "I'll go first. I'm Carter."

I believed him; he didn't appear to be lying, and after all these years, I'd gotten pretty good at detecting liars.

Ah, to heck with it.

"Percy," I said.

We jumped a rotten log and started racing up a grassy slope in the direction of multiple screams. That couldn't be good.

"Just so you know," Carter said, "you can't kill the monster."

"Watch me," I grumbled.

"No, I mean it's immortal."

I mentally snorted. Hah, as if that's ever stopped me before.

"I've heard that before. I've vaporized plenty of immortals and sent them straight to Tarturas."

Carter looked confused when I said the last word; didn't he know what Tarturas was?

Maybe he didn't. In the confusion, I didn't know much, but I did know that there was something weird about this kid. We both used the same bases- gods, monsters, mythology- but his word choice and the way he acted were much different from those I'd met before. Gnomes, the weird sword, the even weirder glowing fist, the potion, the clothes. I had all the pieces of a puzzle, but it was like they didn't fit together.

Halfway up the hill, he tried to explain. "No, this monster is a petsuchos. A son of Sobek."

"Who's Sobek?" I asked, having never heard that word before.

"Lord of crocodiles. Egyptian god."

That stopped me in my tracks. Egyptian? No way.

We stared at each other, and I knew there was that voice inside our heads telling us the same thing: don't trust him. Turn away. Run. Now. Before it's too late.

As you know, I'm not exactly known for listening to that voice, but for the first and last time, I was grateful I didn't.

"Where are you from?" I finally asked. "I mean, originally."

"Originally, Los Angeles. Now, I live in Brooklyn."

This was bad. Chiron had warned demigods time and time again to stay away from California, Boston, and Brooklyn, unless it can't be avoided. He never did tell us why; honestly, I don't think he even knows. It's just another one of those god commandments that you need to obey or risk unpleasant consequences.

I'd deal with that later. Right now, we had more pressing matters to discuss.

"So this monster. This pet-suck-o, or whatever-"

"Petsuchos," Carter corrected. "it's a Greek word, but the monster is Egyptian. It was like the mascot of Sobek's temple, worshipped as a living god."

Apparently, I was right about the 'all knowing' aura I'd sensed earlier.

"You sound like Annabeth."

"Who?"

I waved the question away. "Nothing. Just skip the history lesson. How do we kill it?"

"I told you-"

Carter was interrupted by a loud scream and a CRUNCH! from nearby. We stopped arguing, raced up the hill, hopped a fence, and bolted into a residential cul-de-sac.

What I saw, I'll never forget.

Without the marsh water to disguise its form, the crocodile looked even more terrifying. It was about forty feet long and as tall as the Pavillion at Camp Half Blood; disgusting, greenish water oozed from its pores, creating an ankle deep river through the street. The creature's eyes glowed a sickly yellow, and his jagged teeth gleamed white (who knew a monster could have somewhat good hygiene; that's new).

Then, there was the necklace. A hundred pounds of gold and jewels hung off of the monster's neck, gleaming in the sunlight.

Kids were racing everywhere, throwing water balloons and squirting water from their Super Squirters, but everything they did just annoyed the monster, if it noticed it at all.

There were no adults around, and I had to admire the kids' courage, even if they weren't doing much with water and rubber balloons.

Carter reacted first. He raced forward, towards the kids, shouting, "Get away from it! Run!"

Then, he grabbed the boomerang thing from his belt and threw it at the monster's head.

"Sa-mir!" He chanted.

Blue light flickered across the crocodile's hide, causing it to smoke and blister; that couldn't have felt good, but the monster barely noticed it. If anything, it just ticked him off.

Still, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed at the power Carter had used.

The kids scattered, and I walked up to stand beside Carter, whistling under my breath.

"Well, you got its attention," I said as the monster turned its eyes on us.

"Yeah."

"You sure we can't kill him?"

"Yeah."

The crocodile was flickering its eyes between us, like deciding which of us to eat first.

"Even if you could destroy its body," Carter continued. "he would just reappear somewhere nearby. That necklace? It's enchanted with the power of Sobek. To defeat the monster, we need to get that necklace off. Then, the petsuchos should shrink back into a regular crocodile."

Should. Why does everything have to be should?!

"I hate the word should," I muttered. "Alright, I'll get the necklace, you keep him occupied."

"Why do I have to keep him occupied?"

"Because you're more annoying. Just try not to get eaten again."

"ROOAR!"

Now or never.

The monster charged, and I dove to one side, leaving Carter to the distraction part of the plan.

The mortal kids were sprinting out of hiding, throwing more water balloons. Carter had tried to protect them, so now they were returning the favor.

I readied myself to leap at the monster, but before I could, the air crackled with power.

Turning to Carter, my jaw hit the floor.

Blue light wrapped around him, lifting him several feet in the air until he was suspended in a gigantic, glowing, blue chicken man. He took a step forward, and the chicken man mimicked his stance.

"Hola Hera!" I yelped. "What the-"

The monster slammed into Chicken-Carter, but he barely budged. He swung the giant blue sword, which should've killed the monster, but Carter's sword caught on the monsters shoulder, cleaving its hide. Sand spilled from the wound, but as soon as Carter yanked the sword free, the wound started to close.

Oh, come on! I thought. A monster that won't disintegrate! Give me a break, why don't you?

The monster swung Carter around by his arm and flung him into a house, which practically flattened it. I really hope there wasn't a mortal in there.

"What the creeping crud is that?!" I screamed as soon as I found my voice. "You're inside a giant, glowing chicken man!"

Carter yelled something that I couldn't hear, but he sounded peeved off. I'd probably just insulted him. Whoops.

He yelled a little louder, "A little help here?"

Right.

I unfroze and raced towards the crocodile, scurrying up its spine, trying to keep my footing on the water soaked hide. Being the son of Poseidon pays for some things.

Carter and the crocodile were wrestling with his glowing sword, which the monster held in his mouth, when I leaped onto the necklace, slashing at it. Nothing happened.

"Hurry," Carter called.

Even though I'd just met Carter, I was a little worried. His voice was extremely weak, and the glowing blue thingy was starting to flicker.

Being a son of Poseidon, I've summoned a lot of power before, and I know that no one, not even a god, can use that much power for long. If a god would get exhausted by that much power, I can only imagine how Carter was feeling.

"Can't cut it!" I yelled.

"A clasp!" He shouted. "There's gotta be one."

There was a pause before he told me, "There- on the bottom."

I saw it and swung on the jewelry like a monkey before I started fumbling with it. I heard a thump and turned (which resulted in a very uncomfortable position) to see Carter back to normal, standing a few feet away. His thingy must've collapsed.

(I know it's an avatar now, Carter! But I didn't know that back then.)

The good part, though, is that the monster was holding onto Carter's sword, so when the thingy collapsed, the monster was sent lurching back.

After that, though, I barely noticed anything else; all my attention was on this stupid necklace and the stupid clasp because nothing I tried worked. The damn thing wouldn't open.

"Percy?" Carter called.

"I can't unlock the clasp," I shouted, punching it in frustration. "Some kind of magic?"

Carter did something; I couldn't tell what from my position, but whatever it was, it ticked the croc off.

The thing went berserk, roaring and thrashing, and I tumbled off, rolling across the pavement. As soon as I regained my footing, I stared in shock for a good ten to twenty seconds.

Is that a hippo? was my first coherent thought as I stared at the thing lodged in the crocodile's nose.

I didn't have time to ponder it, though, because the crocodile started trashing its way towards us, and I yanked Carter out of its path just in time (I don't think even he was expecting that).

We jogged to the opposite end of the cul-de-sac, where the mortal kids had gathered. Thankfully, none of them seemed to be hurt. The crocodile kept thrashing and wiping out homes as it tried to clear its nostril.

"You okay?" I asked Carter.

He certainly didn't look okay. He was pale and sweaty and hunched over, basically completely and utterly exhausted.

He gasped for air, but he nodded weakly.

One of the kids offered him his Super Soaker. Carter waved him off.

"You guys," I told the kids in my commanding-this-is-war-you'd-better-listen-to-me voice, "you hear those sirens? You've got to run down the road and stop the police. Tell them it's too dangerous up here. Stall them!"

I wasn't even entirely sure why the kids listened, but I was used to rallying troops. Maybe they sensed that, but either way, they obeyed and raced off towards the police cars.

After the kids raced off, Carter managed to say, "Good call."

I nodded grimly. The crocodile was still distracted by the hippopotamus wedged up its nostril (what a weird thought), but soon, that distraction would fade, and he'd be peeved off.

"You've got some moves, Carter," I admitted. "Anything else in your bag of tricks?"

"Nothing," Carter said dismally. "I'm running on empty. But if I can get to that clasp, I think I can open it."

I sized up the pet-suck-o.

(I know that's not what it's called, but I didn't know at the time! And only Annabeth can call me Seaweed Brain, Mr. Walking Wikipedia)

The cul-de-sac was filling with water that poured from the monster's hide. The sirens were getting louder. We didn't have much time.

"Guess it's my turn to distract the croc," I said, a little reluctant. "Get ready to run for that necklace."

"You don't even have your sword," he protested. "You'll die!"

I managed a crooked smile, my hand wrapped around Riptide in my pocket; I loved my sword and its many tricks. "Just run in there as soon as it starts."

"As soon as what starts?"

Then the crocodile sneezed, launching the hippo across Long Island. The crocodile turned toward us, roaring in anger, and I charged straight at him.

I stopped in front of the crocodile and raised my arms.

I did love this part because I confused every monster. After all, not many demigods just stand there like an easy lunch.

I also hated this part because I knew once I returned to camp, I'd collapse into my bunk and sleep for a week. Still, Carter looked like he'd have to do that, too, so the least I could do was this.

The crocodile seemed momentarily surprised. If nothing else, we would die knowing that we'd confused this monster many, many times.

My specialty, I thought. Confusing monsters.

Croc sweat kept pouring off his body. The black stuff was up to the curb now, up to our ankles. It sloshed into the storm drains but just kept spilling from the croc's skin.

I smiled.

As I raised my arms, the water began swirling counterclockwise. It started around the croc's feet and quickly built speed until the whirlpool encompassed the entire cul-de-sac, spinning strongly.

When I glanced out of the corner of my eye, Carter was gone. Careful not to lose my concentration, I scanned the cul-de-sac, but he was no where.

Don't tell me he bailed on me...

Nah, why would Carter go to all the trouble of distracting the crocodile to run away when we were so close to defeating it?

I hoped I hadn't accidently swept him away with the current.

'Any time now," I muttered, my arms shaking with the effort.

And then, I saw it with my peripheral vision: a hawk diving towards the monster.

No way could that be Carter. I didn't know any shape shifters, so I could only imagine how powerful you had to be to be one.

The hawk dove at the monster's neck, and it transformed into Carter, who clung to the necklace and started running his hands over the clasp, as though searching for something.

I couldn't keep the storm up much longer. I prayed that Carter would hurry.

I saw him slam a hand against the clasp, and I wanted to yell that I'd already tried that, but I didn't have enough energy for a whisper, much less a shout.

Carter hit it again. Nothing.

Come on, Carter, I thought, the hurricane slowing down, immensely.

Carter hit it one last time, just as my hurricane died.

The necklace unclasped, and Carter tumbled to the street, the necklace shrinking as he fell. Good thing, too. If that thing fell on him, Carter the Pajama Boy would probably no longer be with us.

The crocodile shrunk, too, going from a monster truck sized beast to a baby crocodile in seconds.

I couldn't help but give a stunned laugh. I mean, that monster had really been a baby crocodile? It was comical!

Just like that, the cul-de-sac was silent. No screaming. No roaring. Absolute, peaceful silence.

I raced over to where Carter was lying on the ground, and I leaned over him, smiling weakly.

His eyes blearily opened, and he stared up at the sky before his gaze focused on me.

"Nice work," I said. "Get the necklace."

"The necklace?" he mumbled, looking like he'd just run a marathon, jumped some hurtles, and then fell and bumped his head. His gaze was slightly unfocused, but he sat up and put his hand on the pavement. His fingers closed around the strand of jewelry, now normal-size…well, at least normal for something that could fit around the neck of an average crocodile.

"The—the monster," Carter stammered. "Where—?"

I pointed towards the very disgruntled baby crocodile not more than three feet long. It glared at me, as though I'd interrupted his nap. Meaning... he looked like Nico whenever I woke him up.

"You can't be serious," Carter said, looking close to laughing.

"Maybe somebody's abandoned pet?" I shrugged. "You hear about those on the news sometimes."

Down the street, voices started yelling: "Up here! There's these two guys!"

Oh, no, I thought. The mortal kids. I'd almost forgotten about them.

"We have to go." I scooped up the baby crocodile, clenching one hand around his little snout. I looked at Carter. "You coming?"

Together, we ran back to the swamp.

Half an hour later, we were sitting in a diner off the Montauk Highway. Carter shared the rest of his nectar with me, but he insisted on calling it a healing potion. Even though Apollo and Hecate used those sometimes, I was still reminded of the Harry Potter books and how they had to make potions... wow, weird thought. Most of our wounds had healed.

We'd tied the crocodile out in the woods on a makeshift leash, just until we could figure out what to do with it. We'd cleaned up as best we could, but we still looked like we'd swirled around in a whirlpool before racing through the woods and got hit by a few branches. I would know; I'd done both. My hair was swept to one side and tangled with pieces of grass. My orange shirt was ripped down the front, but that was okay; I could buy one from the camp store or even convince Travis and Connor to nick me one if I was running low on money.

Carter didn't look much better than I did. His brown hair was threaded with grass, and he was still drenched. Falcon feathers stuck to his hair and clothes, and he looked exhausted. When my hand accidently brushed his during the walk here, he was boiling hot. He didn't seem bothered, though, so I assumed a fever must be a side effect of the avatar thing or maybe even his shape shifting.

We were too exhausted to talk as we watched the news on the television above the counter. Police and firefighters had responded to a freak sewer event in a local neighborhood. Apparently pressure had built up in the drainage pipes, causing a massive explosion that unleashed a flood and eroded the soil so badly, several houses on the cul-de-sac had collapsed. It was a miracle that no residents had been injured. Local kids were telling some wild stories about the Long Island Swamp Monster, claiming it had caused all the damage during a fight with two teenage boys; but of course the officials didn't believe this. The reporter admitted, however, that the damaged houses looked like "something very large had sat on them."

Alright. The furies as old ladies. Ares as a biker kidnapper. Me setting off many freak explosions. Typhoon as a freak storm, and so much more. Still... a sewer accident was new.

"A freak sewer accident," I said. "That's a first."

"For you, maybe," Carter grumbled. "I seem to cause them everywhere I go."

I thought about the freak explosion in Brooklyn last year, the one Annabeth told me out. Could that have something to do with Carter and his... kind?

I decided not to ask.

"Cheer up," I said. "Lunch is on me."

I dug into the pockets of my jeans and pulled out Riptide (in pen form, of course). I had nothing else.

I fought down a blush as my smile faded.

"Oh… Uh, actually…can you conjure up money?"

Carter nodded and reached forward, his hand disappearing as though he'd reached between invisible curtains. I tried not to look surprised as he pulled his hand back out, this time full of money.

I had to admit: that was cool.

In no time we had cheeseburgers and fries in front of us, and life was looking up.

"Cheeseburgers," I said through a mouth full of food. "Food of the gods."

"Agreed," Carter said.

I wondered if he was thinking the same thing: we were referring to different gods.

I inhaled my burger. "So, the necklace," I asked between bites. "What's the story?"

He hesitated, and I understood why. I wasn't comfortable describing details of my 'mythology' (assuming it was different than his).

'The necklace is enchanted," he explained. "Any reptile that wears it turns into the next petsuchos, the Son of Sobek. Somehow that little crocodile got it around his neck."

"Meaning someone put it around his neck," I finished.

Carter nodded, reluctantly.

"So who?" I asked.

"Hard to narrow it down," Carter said. "I've got lots of enemies."

I thought of Ares, Kronos, Kronos's army, hundreds of monsters, and so much more before snorting.

"I can relate to that. Any idea why, then?"

"Someone wanted to cause trouble," Carter speculated. "I think maybe…" he studied me, and I knew he was contemplating how much to say. "Maybe they wanted to cause trouble that would get our attention. Both of our attention."

I frowned. I drew something in my ketchup with a french fry— the Greek word for protection. It hadn't done me much help before, but obviously, I was still alive, so hopefully, I'll stay that way.

"The monster had a Greek name," I said. "It was eating pegasi in my…" I hesitated, unsure of whether I should tell him about camp.

"In your home turf," he finished. "Some kind of camp, judging from your shirt."

I shifted on my bar stool, a little nervous and unsettled about this new alliance. I didn't know him. I didn't know who or what he was or what other gods existed, and honestly? I was kind of afraid to find out.

Finally I faced him. "Look, Carter. You're not nearly as annoying as I thought. And we made a good team today, but—"

"You don't want to share your secrets," he said. "Don't worry. I'm not going to ask about your camp. Or the powers you have. Or any of that."

I was so glad he understood, but I still had one question.

I raised an eyebrow. "You're not curious?"

I sure as Hades was curious about him and his bag of tricks.

"I'm totally curious. But until we figure out what's going on, I think it's best we keep some distance. If someone—something—unleashed that monster here, knowing it would draw both of our attention—"

"Then maybe that someone wanted us to meet," I finished. "Hoping bad things would happen."

That made my stomach twist and jerk.

I felt like we were two nuclear bombs. Apart, we were destructive. Together, we could cause utter chaos, maybe even the apocalypse.

"But we've met now," I said. "You know I'm out here on Long Island. I know you live in Brooklyn. If we went searching for each other—"

"I wouldn't recommend it," Carter said. "Not until we know more. I need to look into some things on, uh, my side—try to figure out who was behind this crocodile incident."

"All right," I agreed. "I'll do the same on my side."

More accurately, I'll convince Annabeth to do it, and I'll just try not to get myself killed (you know, the usual).

I pointed at the necklace, which was glinting just inside Carter's backpack. "What do we do about that?"

"I can send it somewhere safe," he promised. "It won't cause trouble again. We deal with relics like this a lot."

"We," I said, as a thought struck me. Of course, it'd crossed my mind, but I hadn't really had time to think about it until now. "Meaning, there's a lot of…you guys?"

Carter didn't answer.

I put up his hands in the universal surrender sign. "Fine. I didn't ask. I have some friends back at Ca—uh, back on my side who would love tinkering with a magic necklace like that; but I'm going to trust you here. Take it."

I was thinking about the Hephaestus, Athena, and Hecate cabins, but then, I realized. This was Egyptian magic, and we'd nearly destroyed a neighborhood trying to get it. Tinkering with something we knew nothing about... not the best idea. I'd best leave that to people that knew what they were doing. At least somewhat.

"Thanks. Good."

"And the baby crocodile?" I asked.

He managed a nervous laugh. "You want it?"

"Gods, no."

"I can take it, give it a good home." He laughed, as though thinking of something funny. "Yeah, it'll fit right in."

What kind a place did this guy live in that a baby crocodile would fit right in?

I guess I couldn't judge. I mean, Mrs. O'Leary, a hellhound, was a frequent visitor at our camp. A baby crocodile fitting in wasn't so weird when you thought of it like that.

"Okay, well…" I held out my hand. "Good working with you, Carter."

We shook. No sparks flew. No thunder boomed. But I still couldn't shake off this awful feeling that was pulled over my shoulders like a cloak. A kind of darkness.

I tried to make myself feel better by thinking of Nico, who was practically living darkness, and he wasn't bad, despite the darkness he carried with him. It still didn't help.

"You too, Percy."

I stood to go. "One more thing," I said. "If this somebody, whoever threw us together…if he's an enemy to both of us—what if we need each other to fight him? How do I contact you?"

He looked deep in thought for a minute. "Can I write something on your hand?"

I frowned. "Like your phone number?"

That would be a problem, seeing as I didn't have a phone and phones are dangerous for demigods. They attract monsters.

"Uh…well, not exactly." He took out a stylus and a vial of ink, and confused, I held out my palm. He drew a symbol there—an eye with a bunch of weird curls.

If anything, that symbol was a good place to start research on these people. I was curious, but I didn't want to ask and I didn't want him to ask, so my best option was to consult Annabeth, who would consult the books.

As soon as the symbol was complete, it flared blue, then vanished.

"Just say my name," he told me, "and I'll hear you. I'll know where you are, and I'll come meet you. But it will only work once, so make it count."

I stared at my empty palm. "So I'm trusting you that this isn't some type of magical tracking device."

"Yeah," he said. "And I'm trusting that when you call me, you won't be luring me into some kind of ambush."

We stared at each other before I smiled, a familiar sense of mischief creeping in.

"Fair enough," I said. "See you when I see you, C—"

"Don't say my name!" he spazzed.

"Just teasing." I pointed at him and winked. "Stay strange, my friend."

And then I walked out the door, around the corner into the shadows, and called for Blackjack.

I opted to tell Annabeth and no one else. Not until I got some answers.

As I flew back to camp, I thought about Carter. The strange magic kid with a bent sword and a boomerang and a bag of tricks. The shape shifter. Pajama boy. The wizard or magician or whatever he was.

I thought about the invisible symbol on my hand and knew that sooner or later, I'd have to use it.

I just hoped that whatever situation I got into, Carter would be able to help, and he wouldn't wind up being the one to try and kill me. That's happened a lot more than I would've liked.

Do you think I captured Percy's character well? I tried to make him the oblivious Seaweed Brain we all know and love, but I didn't want to make him stupid since Percy is a lot smarter than we all think he is.

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