Ok, just a warning, some of the lines are the same. I didn't bother changing them, because they worked for either character.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters, or technically the story. All I really own is the idea… anyway!

...

I climbed off Blackjack, my pegasus, then patted him on the side. "You go back to camp buddy," I told him. "This monster seems to have a taste for pegasi."

"You got it boss," Blackjack said. "I don't want to become pegasus-fil-a." he flew off, and was soon a black dot in the sky. I turned back to the swamp, grasping riptide in my hand. Time to catch a monster.

I should probably back up, huh? A monster has been terrorizing long island for weeks, and it had eaten one of our pegasi, Gumbo. I took that kind of personnel, since all pegasi looked up to me. Plus, the mortals had put it on the news as the Long Island swamp monster. I was already angry about Gumbo, and if the mortals came to long Island to investigate, they could be the next ones eaten. I couldn't let that happen.

So, I asked Blackjack to take me to the swamp, and after I promised to buy him a entire box of sugar coated donuts, he agreed.

I walked through the swamp briskly, scanning the surface of the water. Thankfully, the thick water didn't affect me like it affected other people. One of the perks of being a son of Poseidon.

I spotted something hulking above the waves, and squinted at it. What the Hades was that thing? It was bigger then my apartment. Then again, so is my dog, miss o'lary. I kept watching it, trying to figure out what it was. All I could tell was that it was a crocodile, and that's all i cared about.

I snuck up behind the croc, and waited a second before stabbing it in the back with my sword.

The croc roared, and a slimy ball exploded out of its mouth, staggering around. The croc growled at me, and took off south. But I stared at the slimy ball, which turned out to be a kid holding a weird looking sword that was bent, and a stick. He was wearing linen pajamas, for some reason.

He stared back at me, glancing at my sword. From the way he was watching it, I could tell he could see a real sword. I figured he must be a demigod, since mortals that could see through the mist were rare.

"the crocodile. Where did it go?" the kid asked calmly.

I frowned at him. "You're welcome."

"What?" the kid asked.

"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?" I asked curiously.

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

"Your monster?" I asked. I walked toward 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, as this is my home turf. A few days ago, it ate one of our pegasi," I said, thinking of Gumbo again.

"Did you say pegasi?" the kid sounded shocked.

I shrugged, waving the question aside. "Is it your monster or not?" I asked. Maybe the monster was his pet or something? But that seemed unlikely, since I assumed he was a demigod.

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

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

I glanced him up and down, trying to decide who his parent might be. He could have been a child of hermes, but he lacked the mischievous smile. Maybe apollo? He didn't seem very sunny. Finally I shook my head. "I give up. Son of Ares? You've got to be a half-blood, but what happened to your sword? It's all bent."

The kid scowled, suddenly looking angry. "It's a khopesh. It's supposed to be curved." he gritted his teeth. "Just get out of here. I've got a crocodile to catch."

A khopesh? What the heck was a khopesh? But shook it off, decided to focus on the crocodile.

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

His fingers tightened around his sword. "I had everything under control. I was about to summon a fist—"

As soon as the word left his mouth, a weird symbol blazed between us. It looked kind of like a rock. A giant version of the rock appeared in the air. Now that I could see it better, it looked more like a fist. But I didn't have time to contemplate that, because the fist punched me halfway across the swamp, and I felt my shoes being yanked off my feet.

I landed flat on my back, my feet in the air. I stood up, and scowled angrily. That kid was definitely not a demigod.

"Man, I'm sorry!" the kids voice yelled. "Are you—?"

I raised my arms, and a twenty-foot wall of water slammed into the kid and pushed him back into the river. he came up spluttering and blinking.

I leapt at him, my sword raised in attack.

The kid lifted his sword and blocked me. He stumbled back, and I struck again. He blocked me every time, but I didn't let that stop me.

"Now I get it," I said, swinging at the kid's head. "You're some kind of monster."

CLANG! he blocked the strike, and staggered back.

"I'm not a monster," he said, panting. Yeah right, i thought. I swung again, and the kid used his stick to catch my blade in the crook. A jolt traveled up my arm, and the air between us flashed and crackled. I stumbled back, blue sparks popped around me. I scowled in anger.

"You said the crocodile was yours. You lost your pet, I suppose. Maybe you're a spirit from the Underworld, come back through the Doors of Death?" that was the most likely reason, unless he had been hiding in the mortal world for a while. I held out my right hand, forcing the river to change course. The kid fell over, and stood back up. I charged him again, my sword raised.

The kid dropped his stick, and reached into his backpack and pulled out a rope. He threw it and yelled TAS! Just as riptide cut into his wrist.

I felt my hand being jerked toward my head, and the rope the kid had thrown wrapped my hand to my head. Unfortunately, my hand was still clenching my sword, meaning I couldn't use it. I tugged at it with my free hand, but it didn't come loose. I sighed and glared at the kid, who was watching me. "I'm really starting to hate you," I growled.

"Hate me?" he protested. "I'm gushing blood here! And you started all this by calling me a half-blood!" he sounded strangely angry.

"Oh, please." I rose unsteadily, my sword throwing me off balance. "You can't be mortal. If you were, my sword would've passed right through you. If you're not a spirit or a monster, you've got to be a half-blood. A rogue demigod from Kronos's army, I'd guess."

He blinked at me. "So when you said 'half-blood'…"

He stared at him. "I meant demigod. Yeah. What did you think I meant?" he ignored my question.

"What are you? Part combat magician, part water elementalist? What nome are you with?" he demanded. I laughed bitterly.

"Dude, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't hang out with gnomes. Satyrs, sometimes. Even Cyclopes. But not gnomes." I realized how weird that must have sounded when the kid looked confused.

"Look," he said finally. "I'm sorry about hitting you with that fist spell. It was an accident. But the thing I don't understand…it should have 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 have vaporized your crocodile." that part was still bugging me a little.

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

"Okay, whatever." I said dubiously. "The point is, I stuck that crocodile 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 from the nearby subdivision—the terrified voice of a child.

My heart leaped with fear for the child's safety, and the kid locked eyes with me. "We've got to stop the crocodile."

"Truce," I suggested.

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

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

...

I summoned my shoes from the river, and put them on. The kid drank a liquid of some sort from a flask, and he seemed to brighten up. Then we raced off toward the sound of the screaming. The kid seemed to have a problem keeping up with me.

"What's your name?" he asked, wheezing as he ran behind me.

I looked at him warily.. "I'm not sure I should tell you. Names can be dangerous."

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

I relaxed a little. "Percy."

We jumped a rotten log and made it out of the swamp. We'd started climbing a grassy slope toward the nearest houses when I realized more than one voice was screaming up there now. Not a good sign. That meant there were even more mortals in danger.

"Just to warn you," carter said, "you can't kill the monster."

"Watch me," I grumbled.

"No, I mean it's immortal," he explained.

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

Carter looked confused before speaking again halfway up the hill. "No. This monster is a petsuchos—a son of Sobek."

"Who's Sobek?" I asked.

"The lord of crocodiles. Egyptian god."

I froze and turned to stare at him. He clamped up, and I glanced at his sword that he'd called a khopesh, then the stick in his belt. "Where are you from? Honestly," I asked.

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

I frowned. "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."

I grunted. "You sound like Annabeth." I guess that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, since she's my girlfriend. But still.

"Who?" Carter asked

"Nothing. Just skip the history lesson. How do we kill it?"

"I told you—"

From above came another scream, followed by a loud CRUNCH, like the sound made by a metal compactor.

We sprinted to the top of the hill, then hopped the fence of somebody's backyard and ran into a residential cul-de-sac.

Except for the giant crocodile in the middle of the street, the neighborhood could have been Anywhere, USA. Ringing the cul-de-sac were half a dozen single-story homes with well-kept front lawns, economy cars in the driveways, mailboxes at the curb, flags hanging above the front porches.

Unfortunately, the all-American scene was kind of ruined by the monster, who was busily eating a green Prius hatchback that kind of looked my stepdad paul's. But that's not important.

The crocodile looked even bigger on land then in water. He was about forty feet long, and as tall as a delivery truck. His skin glistened blackish green and gushed water that pooled around his feet.

The creature's eyes glowed yellow, and his jagged teeth gleamed white. But the weirdest thing about him was his bling. Around his neck hung an elaborate collar of gold chains and enough precious stones to buy a private island.

As Carter and I took in the scene, the crocodile clamped down and bit the Prius in half, spraying glass and metal and pieces of air bag across the lawns.

As soon as he dropped the car, a bunch of kids appeared from behind some of the other cars and charged the monster with water guns, screaming at the top of their lungs. They looked angry rather than scared. They ran around the croc, lobbing water balloons that splashed harmlessly against the monster's hide.

I couldn't help smiling. They reminded me of me when I was younger.

Carter was frowning, and he charged into the street, yelling, "Get away from it! Run!" he threw his stick at the croc's head yelling "sa-mir!"

The stick hit the croc's snout, and blue light rippled across it's body. The light formed a picture, and everywhere it appeared, the croc's skin smoked and sparked, causing the monster to writhe and bellowed in annoyance.

The kids scattered, hiding behind ruined cars and mailboxes. The petsuchos turned his glowing yellow eyes on Carter.

I let out a whistle. "Well, you got his attention."

"Yeah."

"You sure we can't kill him?"

"Yeah."

The crocodile seemed to be following our conversation. His yellow eyes flicked back and forth between us, as if deciding which of us to eat first.

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

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

"Why do I get to keep him occupied?"

"Because you're more annoying," I said, a little smugly. "Just try not to get eaten again."

"ROARR!" the monster bellowed.

Carter looked ready to argue, but he didn't get the chance. The petsuchos charged, and I ran to one side, and charged the monster on the right side. The mortal kids came out and threw water balloons at the monster, who had his mouth wide open. Probably so he could eat Carter.

Carter suddenly looked angry, and the air crackled around him. A blue light formed around him, and he was lifted off the ground in a giant chicken man.

I yelped. "Holy Hera! What the—?!"

The crocodile slammed into Carter, closing his jaw around the chicken's arm. Carter slashed his sword, which had also been supersized, at the croc's neck. He missed, and the sword cut into its hide instead. Instead of blood, he spilled sand. When Carter pulled the sword out, the wound closed. That was weird, but I was kind of focused on the glowing blue chicken surrounding my new friends. The crocodile whipped his head from side to side, shaking Carter by the arm like miss o'lary with her greek dummies.

The croc let go, and Carter smashed into a house, crushing it. The croc charged Carter, and he looked over at me and frowned.

I stared at him. "What the creeping crud is that?" I demanded. "You're inside a giant glowing chicken-man!"

"Hawk!" Carter yelled. He sighed. "A little help here?"

I shook off my shock and charge the croc as he closed in on Carter. Carter kicked him in the snout, which made the croc sneeze and shake his head. Carter jumped off the house and backed up.

I jumped on the croc's tail and ran up his spine. He thrashed around, his hide shedding water all over the place. but I managed to keep my footing.

Meanwhile, the mortal kids had found some better ammunition—rocks, scrap metal from the wrecked cars, even a few tire irons—and were hurling the stuff at the monster.

"HEY!" Carter yelled. He swung his sword at the croc's face—a good solid strike that should've taken off his lower jaw. But instead, the croc grabbed the sword and tugged on it. Carter pulled back with no success. "Percy!" he shouted. "Any time now!"

I lunged for the necklace, and grabbed it. I started hacking at the gold links, but riptide didn't make a dent.

The croc was shaking, tugging hard on Carter's sword. His giant blue "hawk" as he called it was flickering.

"Hurry," he told me.

"Can't cut it!" I yelled.

"A clasp," Carter yelled back. "There's gotta be one." his eyes flicked down. "There—on the bottom!"

I scrambled down the necklace, climbing it like a net. Carter's hawk collapsed, and he dropped to the ground. The monster lurched backward and stumbled over a Honda.

The mortal kids scattered. One dove under a car, only to have the car disappear—smacked into the air by the croc's tail.

I reached the bottom of the necklace and hung on for dear life. I'd dropped riptide, but that wasn't a huge deal. The monster stood back up, and glared at Carter.

In the distance, sirens wailed. Somebody had called the police, which wasn't exactly a good thing. Cops kind of hated me. Plus, it meant more mortals were coming here to become crocodile food.

Carter backed up to the curb and (tried) to stare down the monster. "Stay, boy."

The crocodile snorted, as if laughing at him.

Carter thrust his hand into his backpack, and pulled out a lump of wax and started working at it.

"Percy?" he called desperately.

"I can't unlock the clasp!" I yelled, pounding my fist on the base of the necklace. "Some kind of magic?"

Realization dawned on Carter's face, and he worked more furiously on the wax. The croc lunged, and Carter threw the wax figure, yelling "SHA!"

Instantly the wax figure came to life, and sailed headfirst into the crocodile's left nostril and lodged there, kicking its stubby back legs.

I stared at Carter. What the heck was that thing? I didn't have time to contemplate it, because the crocodile hissed and stumbled, shaking his head. I dropped off and rolled away, barely avoiding the crocodile's stomping feet. I ran to join Carter at the curb.

Carter was staring at his wax figure, which was either tried to wriggle free of the croc's nostril or work its way farther into the reptile's sinus cavity—I wasn't sure which.

The crocodile whipped around, and I grabbed Carter, pulling him out of the trampling path.

We jogged to the opposite end of the cul-de-sac, where the mortal kids had gathered. Amazingly, 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.

Carter gasped for air, but nodded. One of the kids offered him his Super Soaker, and Carter waved him off.

"You guys," I told the kids, "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!"

the kids listened, running off down the street toward the police. Carter looked impressed. "Good call."

I nodded grimly. The crocodile was still distracted by its nasal intruder, but Carter's wax figure probably wouldn't last much longer.

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

"Nothing," he 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 croc. 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. "Get ready to run for that necklace."

"You don't even have your sword," Carter protested. "You'll die!" he sounded worried, and I managed a crooked smile.

"Just run in there as soon as it starts."

"As soon as what starts?"

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

...

I stopped in front of the crocodile and raised my arms. I felt a tugging in my gut, and the water that had poured off the croc started swirling around the croc's feet, and quickly built speed until the whirlpool encompassed the entire cul-de-sac.

Carter stood there watching, and realization dawned on his face. But it was too late for him to run. I focused on the croc and water swirling around him. If I didn't, the whirlpool would stop. The croc stumbled, and I gritted my teeth, muttering, "Any time now!"

A hawk dived at the croc's necklace, and then morphed into Carter. He grabbed it, trying not to fall off. He looked exhausted, but ran his hand over the pictures on the clasp.

The crocodile bellowed and stomped, fighting to stay on its feet. I yelled out in frustration, trying to keep up the storm. But the whirlpool was starting to slow.

Carter pushed on a part of the clasp, but nothing happened.

The water slowly stopped swirling, and the croc turned against the current, facing me. I dropped to one knee, exhausted. The storm stopped. The croc bellowed in triumph, and I saw Carter hit the clasp with his fist. It sprang open, and Carter dropped to the pavement. Several hundred pounds of gold and gems spilled on top of him.

The crocodile staggered, roaring like the guns of a battleship. What was left of the hurricane scattered in an explosion of wind, and Carter closed his eyes. The cul-de-sac fell silent. No sirens, no crocodile roaring. The mound of gold jewelry disappeared, and I saw a baby crocodile. A small chain necklace (I assumed used to be the huge gold necklace around the croc's neck) was lying by Carter.

I leaned over him, grinning. "Nice work," I said. "Get the necklace."

"The necklace?" Carter asked weakly. he sat up, and put his hand on the pavement. His fingers closed around the strand of jewelry.

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

I pointed at the baby crocodile, and Carter stared.

"You can't be serious."

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

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

It was the mortal kids. Apparently they'd decided the danger was over. Now they were leading the police straight toward us.

"We have to go." I scooped up the baby crocodile, clenching one hand around its 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 had given me some of the drink he'd had from earlier. Since it healed my wounds and made me feel good, I assumed it was nectar.

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 cleaned up as best we could, but we still looked like we'd taken a shower in a malfunctioning car wash. My hair was swept to one side and tangled with pieces of grass, and my camp half blood t-shirt was ripped down the front.

Carter didn't look much better. He had falcon feathers in his shirtsleeves, and he was soaked.

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."

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

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

"Cheer up," I said, smiling. "Lunch is on me." I dug into the pockets of my jeans and pulled out my ballpoint pen, riptide. Nothing else. My smile faded. "Oh… Uh, actually…can you conjure up money?"

Carter rolled his eyes and pulled some money out of thin air. I decided not to dwell on that too much, and went up to the counter to order. In no time we had cheeseburgers and fries in front of us, and life was looking up. Cheeseburgers made everything better. I took a bite, then swallowed and looked at Carter.

"Cheeseburgers. Food of the gods."

"Agreed," Carter said. He glanced at me, and looked back at him, still eating the cheeseburger. "So, the necklace," I said between bites. "What's the story?"

Carter hesitated for a second, then said, "The necklace is enchanted. 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 said.

Carter nodded.

"So who?" I asked.

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

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

Carter took a bite of his cheeseburger, looking distracted.

"Someone wanted to cause trouble," he said after swallowing. "I think maybe…" he studied me for a second. "Maybe they wanted to cause trouble that would get our attention. Both of our attention."

I frowned, and drew a greek letter in my ketchup with a french fry.

"The monster had a Greek name," I said. "It was eating pegasi in my…" I hesitated for a second..

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

I glanced down at my shirt, shifting on my bar stool. 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," Carter said. "Don't worry. I'm not going to ask about your camp. Or the powers you have. Or any of that."

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

"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."

Carter nodded, looking uneasy.

"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." 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," I promised. "It won't cause trouble again. We deal with relics like this a lot."

"We," I said. "Meaning, there's a lot of…you guys?"

Carter didn't answer, and I threw my hands in the air.

"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."

Carter exhaled, looking relieved. "Thanks. Good."

"And the baby crocodile?" I asked.

Carter laughed nervously. "You want it?"

"Gods, no," I said. My mom would kill me if I brought that thing home.

"I can take it, give it a good home." he sat there thinking for a second. "Yeah, it'll fit right in."

I blinked at him in confusion, then decided I didn't want to know. "Okay, well…" I held out my hand. "Good working with you, Carter."

He shook my hand, and I half expected lightning to flash. But nothing happened. I got the feeling that this wasn't the last time we would meet.

"You too, Percy," Carter said.

I stood up. "One more thing. 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?"

Carter considered my question then asked, "Can I write something on your hand?"

I frowned. "Like your phone number?"

"Uh…well, not exactly." Carter took out an old stylus and a vial of ink. I held out my palm, and Carter drew a symbol there. 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 looked at my 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."

I stared at him. Ambush? Why would I lure him into an ambush? But he had a fair point. I smiled.

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

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

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

…

I walked through the door of my apartment. "Hi mom!" I said. My mom smiled at me.

"Hi Percy! What are you doing back here so early?"

"I need to call Annabeth," I said, hugging her. "But I love seeing you to. And your blue chocolate chip cookies."

She laughed. "Well, you're in luck. A batch just came out of the oven. But you better call Annabeth first." she winked at me. "If you hurry, there just might be some left."

I smiled. "Thanks mom!" I grabbed the phone and retreated to the living room, where I dialed Annabeth's number. She picked up on the first ring.

"Hey percy! What's up?"

I took a deep breath. "Annabeth, we need to talk."

…

Ok, that took forever! How do you think I did? Good? Bad? Let me know in the comments!