In Montauk

A/N: This story is set about 2 months after the end of Blood of Olympus.

Chapter 1

Annabeth was lying on her stomach on a beach blanket sketching when Percy came out of the cabin and dropped onto the blanket beside her. It was early enough that a slight morning chill still hung in the air, and the sun hadn't yet burned away the mist. They were spending the late September weekend at Montauk with Percy's parents. Sally and Paul had surprised Percy by renting a cabin and inviting Annabeth to join them. Annabeth had to admit, after the way the year had gone so far, they all deserved this vacation.

"What are you doing?" Percy asked.

"Just drawing." She tilted her sketchbook to show him what she was working on. Olympus was completed, but now that it was open again, a few of the gods had requested some minor modifications to their temples and villas. So Annabeth was playing around with ideas.

"Looks good." Percy tilted his head to study her sketches. "Ares and Aphrodite again?"

"Of course. I'm just surprised Apollo hasn't demanded some upgrades, too. What are you doing?"

"Absolutely nothing." Percy laid down with his arms behind his head and exhaled. "It feels frickin' awesome."

"I bet." Annabeth nudged his ankle with her foot. "How many pancakes did you end up eating?"

Percy grinned. "Might have been ten."

They were quiet for a bit, Annabeth still sketching, Percy possibly asleep. He was right, it did feel great to just relax and do nothing. No obligations, no quest, no homework even, since Annabeth had made a point of completing hers before the weekend, and pressured Percy into doing the same. He'd initially been annoyed, but he'd thanked her for it this morning.

Finally, Annabeth finished the sketch she was working on and set her pencil and sketchbook down on the blanket beside her. She stretched, then closed her eyes, pillowing her face on her arms, soaking in the sun on her cheek, and drawing in a deep breath. She jumped slightly when she felt Percy's hand on the small of her back. When she opened her eyes and looked over at him, he was watching her with an expression that made her pulse pick up. "I thought you were asleep," she said.

"Nah, just chilling." He traced his fingers up her spine and Annabeth shivered. "Done sketching?"

"For now." She pushed herself up on her elbows, then leaned toward him, letting her hair tumble over her shoulders, shielding them somewhat from the handful of other people on the beach. "Can you think of anything else I can do with my time now?"

Percy smirked. "I might have an idea." He tugged her closer and kissed her.

"Good idea, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth smiled against his lips.

"It happens occasionally." Percy kissed her again and Annabeth felt the beach fade away. For a blissful moment, it was just the two of them.

And then someone nearby cleared their throat. Annabeth sat up swiftly, hand reaching for a dagger that was no longer there. A man was standing right beside them, the sun behind him, so Annabeth couldn't make out his face. But Percy groaned as he pushed himself up onto his elbows and asked, "What do you want?"

"Sorry to interrupt, little brother," the man said. "But I need your help."

Annabeth shielded her eyes with her hand to block the sun, and she was finally able to see the guy's face. He was wearing board shorts and a plain white tank top that revealed his well-muscled arms. His long black hair was tied back in a ponytail, and his skin was faintly green. He was obviously an immortal, but she couldn't immediately place him. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

Percy was frowning at the guy. "Annabeth, this is Triton. Poseidon's son."

"And heir," Triton added casually but deliberately. "It's a pleasure to meet you, daughter of Athena."

"Nice to meet you," Annabeth muttered, though it was only partly true. Whatever he was here for, she doubted it was good news for them.

"Why are you here, Triton?" Percy was now sitting up straight, and his hand had drifted to the pocket where he kept Riptide. "I'm on vacation."

"Which is why I knew you'd have time to help me." Triton ignored the exasperated look that Percy and Annabeth exchanged. "I was sure you'd appreciate the opportunity to prove yourself once again."

"Fought Kronos, trekked across Tartarus, faced Gaea and her giants," Percy ticked off on his fingers. "Yeah, I think I already feel pretty good on the proving myself front."

"Then I'm sure you'd be happy to do it as a personal favor for me, little brother." A dangerous edge crept into Triton's voice. And there was something snide about the way he said "little brother" that Annabeth didn't appreciate.

Percy's jaw tightened. "Sounds like I'm not going to have much choice here."

Triton shrugged and flicked a speck of sand off his bronzed shoulder. "Well, you could refuse. And then we could talk to Father about your reluctance to help the family."

Percy glanced at Annabeth. "Did he just threaten to tattle on me to Dad?"
"That's what I heard." She narrowed her eyes at Triton. "Why don't you tell us what you actually need, and we'll decide if we want to help you or not?"

When he smiled, Triton revealed pointed teeth, like a shark. "No disrespect, daughter of Athena," there was an emphasis to the way he said her mother's name that made Annabeth's nostrils flare, "but I'm not here for you."

Annabeth opened her mouth to retort, but Percy laid a hand on her arm as he repeated, "What do you want, Triton?"

The minor god pursed his lips and shuffled his feet, suddenly looking nervous. Then he heaved a sigh and admitted, "My conch horn is missing."

"What?"

"My conch horn is missing. And I need a hero's help to retrieve it." When he said the last part, Triton looked like he'd swallowed a lemon.

"Which is me." Percy pinched the bridge of his nose. "And let me guess. You know exactly who has it, possibly even where it is, but ancient laws mean you can't go there and retrieve it?"

Triton studied his own perfectly manicured fingernails. "Something like that."

Annabeth crossed her arms. "And what, exactly, happens if this horn isn't retrieved?"

"Chaos. Most likely."

"Naturally," she said sourly.

Percy still looked like he was dealing with an oncoming headache as he explained, "The conch horn can control the waters. Like it can make them calm or—"

"Create a storm," Triton said. "A massive one. Destructive. It's a dangerous power in the wrong hands."

"I hate my life," Percy muttered. Then he looked up and said dully, "Who has it and where do we need to go to get it?"

"I believe it was stolen by a few of my Tritones." When Percy and Annabeth both stared at him blankly, Triton explained, "My sea-daimon brothers. Not unlike Dionysus's satyrs, although my men were around far before that particular immortal was even born." He sniffed. "Anyway, Dad threw the usual post-war party at the palace, after Gaea's defeat, my Tritones drank too much wine, naturally, and somewhere along the line, a few of them made off with my horn. It happens once in a while."
"So why does it matter this time?" Annabeth asked at the same time Percy said, indignantly, "Why wasn't I invited to the post-war party?"

She shot him an exasperated look and he said, "What? That's rude. And was there one last year, too? What the heck?"

"No minors," Triton said. "Don't worry, little brother, in a few years you'll be old enough to attend Dad's parties."

Percy made a face. Annabeth poked him, then repeated her question. Triton shrugged. "Some of Gaea, and even Kronos's, minions are still out there, biding their time, sneaking around. It would be disastrous if it fell into their hands."

After several more minutes of debate, they settled that Percy would go under the sea and track down the stupid conch horn that apparently he would likely find in the Tritones' barracks, which Annabeth thought sounded a bit like a frat house from the description Triton gave. That part was annoying enough, but worse was that Percy would be going alone.

"And why exactly is that?" Annabeth asked, now on her feet, arms crossed.

Percy sighed, shooting a quick glare at Triton standing near the edge of the surf. "Once again, can you breathe underwater?"

She gave him her own glare. "So annoying."

"That's what I hear. But I'll come back. Promise."

She relented a little bit. "You'd better. Because if you die down there, I'll kill you."

"Noted." Percy grinned, then pulled her in for a quick kiss. "I'll be back. If my mom asks…"

"I'll tell her it's Triton's fault." Annabeth squeezed his hand, then let it go, even though she hated this. "Be safe, Seaweed Brain."

"I do my best." He kissed her cheek, then set off down the beach. A minute later, both sons of Poseidon disappeared beneath the waves.

Percy was gone for hours. Annabeth hated feeling like she was on the sidelines. Being in combat wasn't fun, but at least it was active; there was always a plan to make or something to do. She felt somewhat in control of the situation. Waiting was just…boring. And a different kind of stressful.

She'd packed up her blanket and sketchbook and taken them back to the cabin, where she'd let Sally know where Percy had gone. His mom had sighed, looking unhappy but resigned. "Thank you, dear. Let me know when he gets back."

"Of course, Sally."

To distract herself, Annabeth took a walk down the beach. The weather was still warm, especially for early fall, so the beach was crowded. It would have been peaceful, if she wasn't worried about when her ridiculous boyfriend would be back or watching for a massive storm to roll in over the sea. Luckily, though, she was behind a dune, partially shielded from the crowds, when an Iris-message shimmered into existence before her. Expecting Percy, Annabeth didn't understand what she was seeing right away. Then, as the image cleared, she gasped, "Piper?"

"Hi." The daughter of Aphrodite was standing in what looked like an alley. At the end, Annabeth could see a slew of cars and taxis streaming past on the street. A little closer to Piper, Jason was leaning against the brick wall, hands shoved in his pockets, head bowed. Their backpacks were sitting on the ground at his feet. A second critical glance showed that Piper, too, looked exhausted. Her hair was matted and greasy, and there were bags under her eyes like she hadn't slept well in a while. When Leo had failed to appear by the end of August, despite the holographic message he'd sent that suggested he would be arriving soon (with Calypso, but Annabeth tried not to worry about that), Piper and Jason had set out to try and track him down. Judging by their current appearance, they hadn't had much luck.

"What's going on? Where are you guys?" Annabeth asked urgently.

"Manhattan," Piper said. Even her voice sounded tired. "Are you…any chance you're here?"

Annabeth felt a pang of guilt. "Actually, no, sorry. But we're not far. Well, Percy might be right now, but…never mind. Do you need help?"

Piper shook her head. "Actually, we were just hoping to meet up, chat, maybe shower. But we can just go to camp."

"Or you could come here." Annabeth's mind whirled, putting together a plan. There was extra space in both her and Percy's rooms. And she doubted Sally would mind. "We're in Montauk, kind of the other side of Long Island from camp. Just come here. I'm sure Percy's mom won't mind, she's great."

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely." Annabeth paused, then said, as gently as she could, "It looks like you guys could use the break."

Piper hesitated, biting her lip, but then she nodded. "That actually sounds great. How—how do we get there?"

Annabeth gave her directions, then Piper thanked her and swiped through the Iris-message. As it faded away, Annabeth scanned the ocean and beach again, but there was still no sign of her boyfriend. So, with a sigh, she jogged back up the beach to talk to Sally.

Luckily, Percy's mom was fine with Jason and Piper coming to stay. "It's no problem at all, honey. We have plenty of room. And plenty of food." Sally smiled. "And I'd like to meet these friends."

"They're great," Annabeth said. "Thanks, Sally. I really appreciate it. I know they will, too. It looked like they could use some rest."

"Of course." Sally glanced out the window at the ocean. "Any sign of Percy?"

Annabeth shook her head, worry twisting her chest. "Not yet. But I'm sure he'll be back."

"He always comes home," Sally said softly, and Annabeth had to quickly swallow the lump in her throat.

And he did. About half an hour later. Annabeth was once again sitting on the blanket, forcing herself to sketch to take her mind off of the waiting, after she'd killed some time helping Sally put fresh sheets on the other twin bed in her room for Piper and the lower bunk in Percy's room for Jason. They'd probably be here in maybe another hour or two, depending on traffic. She did check the sky occasionally, too, but Jason hadn't looked in much shape to fly the two of them across Long Island, so she assumed they'd take a cab.

When Percy strolled out of the ocean, Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled when he spotted her, and once again dropped down beside her on the blanket. "Hey."

"Hi." She studied him critically. "How'd it go?"

"I'm alive." Percy shrugged, but, when she gave him a look, he elaborated. "It was fine. Want to take a walk and I'll fill you in?"

Annabeth agreed and, after Percy quickly ducked inside the cabin to reassure his mom that he was okay, they set off down the beach.

"The stupid horn wasn't in the barracks, so I had to track down the Tritones across what felt like half the freaking ocean. They were throwing a party with some Naiads. It was pretty wild," he admitted.

"Who throws a party in the middle of the day?" Annabeth asked.

"Immortals," Percy grumbled, and Annabeth gave a small laugh. "Plus, it's pretty dark that far below the surface, so I can see how they'd forget about what time it is up here, but still. So yeah, I kind of crashed the party."

"You did?"

"Well, I mean, I wasn't supposed to be there. But no one really noticed me at first. Until I spotted this one Tritone guy, who totally looked like your typical frat boy, but with fish tails for legs. He was standing on a table blowing the horn and creating these tiny hurricanes. Showing off for everyone else, you know?"

"Wow."

"Yeah. So, I waited until he jumped down and got, uh, cozy with a Nereid. Then I just took it out of his bag and swam for the surface."

Annabeth bit back a grin. "So now you're a pickpocket?"

Percy made a face. "Dammit. I guess so. But it was for the greater good?"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Seaweed Brain." But she kissed his cheek. "I'm glad it wasn't too tough, though."

"Me too." Percy draped his arm around her shoulders. "I delivered the horn to Triton outside the palace, then got the heck out of there before he could send me to do anything else."

"Smart boy."

Their conversation was interrupted by someone yelling, "Yo, Jackson!"

They both turned, Percy already holding Riptide, but still in pen form. But it wasn't a monster or god who'd called out. It was just a teenage guy jogging towards them, a huge grin on his face. Annabeth didn't recognize him, but Percy relaxed. "Hey, Schwartz. What's up?"

"Not much, man." The guy was still grinning as he stopped in front of them. He was wearing the usual beach gear—t-shirt and swim trunks—and it looked like he might have been out in the sun a little too long yesterday, judging by the color of his nose and forehead. "Long time, no see."

"Yeah, a little bit. Got picked for this exchange program, so I was out in California last semester." Annabeth tried hard not to snort at Percy's explanation. "By the way, this is my girlfriend, Annabeth. Annabeth, this is Chris Schwartz. We were at Goode together last year."

"Nice to meet you," she said. She'd met a few of Percy's friends from Goode High School last year, but this guy hadn't been one of them.

"You too." Chris was still grinning and Annabeth was starting to suspect that was just his natural attitude. "Hey, so, not sure what you guys are doing this evening, but I'm throwing a bit of a party. Parents are going back into the city tonight, so the house is mine." The grin turned a little more diabolical. "Should be a good time."

Percy glanced at Annabeth and she gave a tiny shrug, so he said, "Yeah, that sounds good, man. Where's it at and what time?"

Chris pointed out his parents' rented house, farther down the beach on a much more expensive stretch of houses than the cabin where they were staying. After a few more minutes of catching up, he fist-bumped Percy, waved to Annabeth, said he'd seem them later, and jogged back up the beach.

"So," Annabeth said as they started walking back towards the cabin, "I guess we're going to a party tonight."

"Guess so." Percy glanced at her. "That okay?"

"Definitely." Annabeth leaned into him. "Might be nice to do something normal."

The words had barely left her mouth when a storm spirit horse spiraled out of the sky with two exhausted teenagers on its back. Percy jumped back as the horse landed in front of them, already fumbling for Riptide before he recognized Tempest, Jason, and Piper. Annabeth had to hide her smile behind her hand as he turned to her with wide eyes. As casually as she could, she said, "Oh, by the way, Piper and Jason are staying with us tonight. Did I not mention that?"

She couldn't help laughing as Percy rolled his eyes before they moved forward to greet their friends.

Thank you for reading! Chapter 2 will be up in about a week.