Welcome back! This chapter has a special guest. Dialogue comes from the 'Son of Sobek' with some minor additions. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 8: Baboons, Crocs and Chicken Boys Oh My!
September 1
Percy
If Percy ever wrote a memoir about his life, he was sure to tittle this particular day, 'The Strange Day I ran into Baboons, a Giant Immortal Crocodile, a Magician Dude that could turn into a Giant Blue Chicken Boy, and the Egyptian Gods are also a Thing, who would have Thought?' Okay that title was perhaps too long, he would have to work out the kinks if he ever got around to writing that memoir.
He was stumped with work right now. School had started back up the previous week which meant all the stress from schoolwork was back on him again. There was also the stress of having to take additional classes so he could graduate on time, preparing to take the SAT, basketball, and swim practice and not the mention the little book that he was currently writing. Fortunately, he had written the first three chapters and had sent them to Rick so he could edit them after his mom had looked them over and gave him suggestions as well.
Percy was in the shower washing away all the dirt, sweat, grass and other gunk that stuck to his body throughout the day. He exited the shower with a towel wrapped around his hips, he quickly got dressed then made his way to the bedroom where he took a seat at his desk.
He was unsure of what to do. He could get started on that big pile of homework on his desk, he could continue to study for his upcoming SAT, or he could start writing the fourth chapter to his book. Faced with all these options he decided to go with none of them and instead went with option number four. He opened his laptop and began typing away the events that transpired that day.
The day had started off normal. Percy was set to spend the entire morning at the pool for swim practice. After practice, he would have lunch with some of his teammates and then head home to get some work done. The practice bit did occur, but what happened afterwards is what changed.
Percy was in the locker room getting changed. He was tired and hungry. The coach had him swim several extra lengths to test the young man's endurance. Percy also had to go around pool, helping the younger swimmers with their strokes, timing them, and just overall act like a good role model as the swim captain. He spent hours in the pool and was ready to have lunch, head home and then maybe crash in for a nap. The big pile of work waiting for him could wait a bit longer.
Percy felt a hand land on his shoulder and he flinched from the sudden contact. He turned around to see that it was one of his swim mates, Bahman that had put his hand on his shoulder.
"Dude, you acted like I put hot coals on you. You ok there?" He asked.
Percy sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine, tired, and hungry. Coach really put me through the ringer today. He made me swim all those extra lengths. Can you believe it?" He put on his orange t-shirt. It was old faded camp shirt where all it said was 'Camp'. The rest of the design had fallen off. It fit him a bit tight around the shoulders but it would have to do.
Bahman chuckled. "I bet." He started changing out his swimsuit as well and into his regular clothes. "Are you still up for burgers with Daniel and Josh today?" He asked while getting changed.
Percy was almost done getting changed. "You know I could never turn down burgers."
"Great," Bahman closed his locker, he was almost done changing. "Will you bring that goddess of a girlfriend with you today?" He smirked.
Percy rubbed the back of his head. "She's doing interviews for architecture firms today, so she's pretty busy."
"Shame I really wanted to see her in person after you showed us that picture. What kind of summer camp did you meet her in? If I didn't have my own girlfriend, I would have gone there and see if I can find some ladies." He raised his eyebrows mischievously.
Percy punched him on the chest playfully. "Dude, you have a girlfriend, don't say stuff like that. She would probably kill you."
Bahman chuckled. "You're probably right. Ariana can get a bit intense at times, but I love her regardless."
"Were you guys talking about cute girls again. No fair, I want to see some cute girls." Josh said from the other side of the lockers.
"Hurry up and get changed Josh so we can go eat. I'm starving." Daniel scolded.
"Aww Daniel, you won't get a cute girl if you're always acting like an ass."
Daniel's voice was suddenly an octave higher. "Whoever said I wanted a cute girl? Idiot just get dressed so we can eat. Goddamn!"
Percy whispered to Bahman, "he's in a bigger mood today than usual."
Bahman whispered back. "Yeah, that's how he gets when he's hungry. He's the hangriest member on the team."
"I completely understand that sentiment."
They heard Josh laughing from the other side as Daniel kept fuming.
Percy waved and high fived the underclassmen that he worked with today as they left the locker room. He got acquainted with more of the members today and could almost recall all of their names by memory.
Bahman clapped his hands together. "Alright you guys, if you're all ready to go, then let's leave. I'm starving as well."
None of the boys argued with him and together they met at the school entrance.
"So, where's this place where will get burgers?" Percy asked. "You said it was pretty good."
"It's by the upper east side. It's close to your apartment Percy. I sent you all the address," Bahman answered.
Percy took his phone to see that he had indeed been sent the address. The place was a couple blocks away from his place.
"How will we get there?" Daniel inquired. "Will we take the subway, walk, or call a cab?"
"Well, I'm skating there," Percy said.
"I bought my bike with me today. If anyone wants to join me on the bike, I can take them." Josh offered. He looked Daniel in the eye as if specifically asking him to ride the bike. From what Percy remembered, Josh and Daniel were next door neighbors and sometimes the two of them would ride the bike to school.
"Great, so that just leaves me," Bahman sighed. "Maybe I should have bought my bike with me today."
Percy shrugged. "You could always ride with me on the board. I'm sure we can fit."
Bahman looked puzzled and eyed Percy. "Listen Percy, you're a cool dude but you and I do not have that kind of relationship. I won't wrap my hands around your waist as we ride the same skateboard down into the sunset. I don't even do that with girlfriend."
Percy chortled. "I was just offering you know. Besides you're not cute enough for me and I have a girlfriend." He countered.
Bahman just rolled his eyes. "Guess that means I'm walking then. You guys-"
He was cut off by Daniel. "Great then we'll see you there!" He pulled Josh by the arm and towards the bicycle. "Come on Josh, I'm starving." Soon enough, Josh and Daniel rode off together into the sunset.
"That board offer is still up for grabs." Percy insisted playfully.
"I'll just jog behind you." Bahman sighed.
"Whatever floats your boat man, now come on I could eat a horse."
"When can you not?"
Percy took off on his skateboard leaving Bahman in the dust. Maybe he should have waited for the other guy, but he was too hungry to care. From what his phone's direction's said, the place was near his house which meant that the ride would not be too long. Hopefully he didn't run into any monsters, crazy drivers or one of Hera's cows again . Gods, he'd been dealing with those cows on many occasions.
He stopped at a traffic light and looked behind him. There was his mate jogging behind, barely managing to keep up with him. Percy smirked once Bahman reached the stop light. He put his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.
"You know that offer is still up?" Percy smirked.
Bahman looked up with tired eyes. "You know what, screw all this jogging. Percy I'm getting on that board with you."
"Glad to see you finally saw reason."
"Whatever Jackson, now let's go."
They spend a moment or two getting situated on the board. As it turned out, perhaps this wasn't the best idea. Whenever they tried to move, they fell over and the board was making creaking noises that did not sound nice.
"Great, that's just great." Percy grumbled. "I just got this board, and I can't go around breaking it. The last one broke in a disaster."
"Guess, we're walking then?" Bahman asked.
"Guess so dude." Percy groaned.
They walked through the busy streets of New York chatting about their lives and such to pass the time.
Percy looked to his side. The Persian boy looked around the same height, but he was slightly curious about the numbers. "So how tall are you Bahman. You look my height."
"Last time I checked I was six feet tall (183cm). Tallest in my family that's for sure."
"Ah well I'm six feet and one inch tall (185cm)." He said boasting about that one-inch difference.
"Don't go and act all proud. Josh is like 6 foot 5 (195 cm) and I think Daniel mentioned he was 5 foot 10 (178 cm)."
Percy whistled. "Daniel is the smallest one out of us and yet he's got the biggest attitude."
There was moment of silence. "Hey Percy if you don't mind me asking. How did you get all those scars? Like the ones on your torso and arms?"
Percy looked at him confused. It was the first time he had been asked about his scars. He was pretty sure that most came from his fights with monster over the years. Before the school year started, he asked Will and the Apollo cabin to remove the most severe ones so that the swim team would not freak out when he took his shirt off. He kept most of the smaller ones since he thought it made him look cool. Perhaps now he was regretting that decision. He racked his brain for what he could tell his friend without freaking him out too much. He rubbed the back of head uneasily.
"Umm… you know, car accident when I was younger… and I had an abusive stepfather for a couple years. That's kinda… yeah." Was all he managed. Bahman's eyes widened which prompted Percy to quickly add, "I'm ok now, that's in the past and that stepfather is no longer in the picture."
Percy felt a hand on his shoulder. "It's ok Percy, you don't have to tell me. Although those scars make you look terrifying."
"Terrifying?" Percy asked.
"Yeah, you have this brooding look when you're not talking to someone, and the scars make you seem like you get into knife fights frequently with like gangs and stuff."
"Brooding? I don't brood." The knife fight portion was partially correct but his mortal friend didn't need to know that.
"Have you ever seen yourself in the mirror? Honestly, the entire team was terrified of you until you opened up."
"Is my look that bad?"
"I wouldn't say bad, just somewhat unsettling. Like you're planning something mischievous."
Well that something that he had heard plenty of times before in the past. Many teachers and school administrators always thought he was troublemaker, and although they were right, it still hurt. All those times he got in trouble weren't all his fault.
"Yo, you guys are late. Hurry it up slowpokes." Josh called from the front of the restaurant. Percy hadn't realized that they had made it the restaurant by the end of their conversation.
The subject of being terrifying dropped as Percy and Bahman raced to the front of the restaurant, ready to have lunch. They all sat a table and placed their orders when the waitress came. A couple minutes later, she bought out the drinks and said that their food would be out soon.
Percy sat back as his friends started bantering about their love lives.
"That girl was pretty cute. Don't you think? Should I ask her out?" Josh prompted.
Daniel rolled his eyes. "What is it with you hitting on every girl that we see? How desperate can you be?"
"Well unlike some people," Josh motioned to Daniel, "I like to live my life."
"You're going to be living a life of STDs if you keep it up," Daniel grumbled.
"Say guys, why don't we change the subject? Like talk about something else?" Bahman interjected.
"Like how you live a boring life? Like come on, you don't even hold your girlfriend's hand." Josh fired back at Bahman.
The Persian boy grew a shade of pink. "That's not… we are…" He cleared his throat. "I'm trying to be a polite Muslim boy and follow my family's wishes."
"A polite Muslim boy?" Daniel asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Shut it Park. She and I aren't in that step in our relationship yet."
"That's sad little Muslim boy. You guys have been dating for how long now?" Josh asked.
Bahman put his head down, trying to hide his blush. "We've been dating for six months now," he mumbled.
"Six months and you haven't even held hands? Man that's like the first step and you haven't even reached it."
"Shut up Josh. At least I'm not flirting with every random girl I see on the street." Bahman fired back.
"That's a bit of an exaggeration."
"Is it now?" Daniel asked incredulously.
"And you Daniel? Any luck in the significant other department? Any girlfriend or boyfriend for you?"
"Shut up!"
"Percy's been quiet this entire time. Why don't we ask about his relationship?" Bahman offered.
Percy hadn't realized that they were addressing him at first. He found their bantering to be quite entertaining. "What do you want to know?" He asked, taking a sip of his soda.
"Like you and your girlfriend. How long you've been together? Is she your first girlfriend? Stuff like that," Bahman fired in rapid succession.
Percy shrugged. "Annabeth and I have been together for over a year. We started dating when I turned 16."
"Is she your first girlfriend?"
Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, she's the first one."
"She's the first? I find that a bit hard to believe. I'm sure a guy as good looking as you must have pulled other girls," Josh insisted.
"Ah… well… there were a couple others." The demigod responded uneasily. He didn't really like to think about the subject too much. "But we never really hit it off you could say."
"Ah shit, I knew it! Tell us all about it."
"Guys listen. I was younger back then. It was strange time." There were also many other extenuating circumstances as well, but he didn't want to get into that. He didn't realize it at the time but Rachel had been into him when they were younger, so was Calypso (much to Annabeth's displeasure). He realized Reyna was hitting on him pretty early on and was quick to shut her down. There was also the case of Kinzie which he quickly shut down as well. The case of Nico took him completely by surprise, but with hindsight it made a bit more sense. There were also other cases like all the Naiads at camp, some of the campers and some people at school were always making googly and batting their eyes at him. Percy didn't pay them much mind. "I'd rather not talk about it."
The three other guys just stared him inquisitively like they really wanted to know about his past relationships. Eventually Daniel gave him a way out. "Alright, we won't ask. That's up to you to share."
"Thanks." He took this reprieve to take a sip of his soda.
"Have you slept with her?" Josh fired almost immediately.
Percy was taken aback by the sheer bluntness of the question that he nearly chocked on his soda. Was it genuine curiosity or just that obvious? He looked at Josh's eyes which were lidden with curiosity. Percy thought about it for a second and reasoned that it was no big deal if his friends knew. It's not like he and Annabeth were keeping it a secret. "Yeah, we've slept together."
Bahman clapped him on the back. "Shit man! Didn't know you had it in you."
"Says the guy that won't hold hands with his girlfriend."
"Can we not talk about that anymore? Please," Bahman pleaded.
The conversation shifted from talking about their love lives to talking about the upcoming swim meet taking place in a month in a half. Percy agreed to help his pals out although he himself needed some help when it came to the butterfly and the breaststroke. His freestyle and backstroke were great. He could compete in those two strokes. Bahman specialized in the butterfly, Daniel in breaststroke and Josh in backstroke. Percy also talked about his duties as the captain and how he enjoyed instructing and motivating the younger swimmers.
The waitress was about to bring their food out so of course, now would be perfect time for things to go out the ordinary.
Yo boss. You there? I need some help. Something bad happened.
Percy recognized that voice anywhere. It was his trusty Pegasus Blackjack. Percy had visited the camp the week prior to check how the Pegasus was doing after the Orion incident, and he was almost up to tip top shape.
'Blackjack, buddy what is it? What's wrong?' He communicated with the horse.
Remember that big croc I told you about? The one that was eating pegasi. I think I got a read on it and need some help bringing it down.
'You couldn't have waited until after lunch is over?'
Sorry boss, but it's important. We don't want another pegasi to get eaten.
Percy groaned internally. Great. Now he would be hungry and tired when facing a potentially dangerous crocodile. If only he could have gotten his food earlier.
Alright, he had to come up with some plan to leave the table without drawing suspicion. He took his phone out of pocket and pretended to read a nonexistent message.
"Shit!" He yelled.
The other guys jumped in their seats and looked at Percy as if he were crazy.
"What's wrong?" They all asked at the same time.
Percy was busy gathering his things. "Sorry guys, something just came up. I'm going to have to go." He said hurriedly. He was on his feet ready to pounce. "I'll see you guys around." He said before waving at them goodbye and leaving the restaurant.
'Blackjack, buddy where are you?' He called.
I'm in the alley next to the restaurant where you were. Please hurry, there's some cats giving me some funny looks.
Percy walked into the alleyway carrying his bag. He hadn't realized that he had left his skateboard in the restaurant. "Ah fu-" he cut himself off before uttering the curse. He didn't want Blackjack hearing him curse and take after him. He would have to come back later for his board or text his friends and ask if one of them could take care of it and then pick it up.
He walked further into the alleyway and there was Blackjack arguing with some cats. One of the cats hissed at the horse. Percy caught a glimpse at what the horse was saying.
Oh yeah? Well at least I don't spend all day licking my butt.
"Blackjack!" Percy called. The horse turned his head and galloped towards Percy, nearly knocking over the young man.
Boss. You won't believe how rude these cats were. Do you know what they said about my mother? Absolutely despicable!
"Hey, it's ok." Percy said. He hugged the Pegasus and Blackjack nuzzled closer to Percy, allowing Percy to wrap his hands around the Pegasus' neck. "How are you feeling buddy? All better now?"
All better now Boss now that you're here.
Percy rolled his eyes. "Right, so what's this crocodile problem you mentioned about?"
Right. There was this giant crocodile running around Long Island and it ate some of our Pegasi. I was coming to look for you and see if you could help me find that croc and teach him a lesson. I lost my read on it but I ran into some baboons dudes in Brooklyn who knew where the croc was.
"Great so where's that croc?" Percy asked.
That's the thing Boss. The baboons would only tell me the location if I played basketball with them, and I can't play basketball, so I came to get you.
"Fantastic! That's just fantastic." Percy grumbled under his breath. He sighed and then took a seat on Blackjack. "Aright, buddy let's go to Brooklyn and see those baboons about that croc."
Percy climbed on Blackjack's back. He hooked his bag over his shoulders so that it wouldn't fall while they were flying. Blackjack spread his wings to his full length, which was somewhat surprising given that the alley didn't have much space. The cats hissed and ran away to hide behind a dumpster. Blackjack began running and then took off seconds later allowing them both to rise into New York Airspace.
It had been a while since Percy flew over New York. He couldn't remember when the last time was. Probably before he was kidnapped he assumed but it felt exhilarating to see the skyscrapers move beneath him. They flew over the East River, seeing the cars and pedestrians crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. The sea breeze felt nice on skin.
Soon enough, they were flying over Brooklyn where Blackjack started flying at lower altitudes and stopped at a park where a group of three baboons wearing basketball jerseys were sitting on the basketball court.
"No way, it's these guys." Percy said. He got off Blackjack and nuzzled his snout as a thanks.
He had met these baboon dudes a little before he had been kidnapped. From what Percy understood, they really enjoyed basketball, and challenged the young demigod to play with them. Percy embarrassedly lost that match and vowed to get better at basketball to someday get revenge on these guys.
"Yo guys" he called out. The three baboons looked in his direction and perked up once they saw him. They got on their feet and started prancing around the court excitedly. One of the baboons was wearing a purple jersey that read 'Khufu' on the back. The second baboon had a on a green jersey that read 'Ramses' and the third one a red jersey that read 'Tut'.
"AHH!" Khufu screeched.
"Jeez, no need to be so loud you guys. Listen, I heard that there's a crocodile running around the place and that you guys know where's it's at. Could you point me in the right direction?"
"AHH!" Tut yelled.
"Yeah, that's the one. The one has been going around eating Pegasus."
"AHH!" Ramses screeched.
"What do you mean you won't tell me where it's at unless I play basketball? Listen guys I'm in a time crunch right now and I'm hungry so can you just tell me where it's at?" Percy said, he was getting more agitated as the conversation kept going.
"AHH!" Tut yelled again.
Percy crossed his arms. "No need to get so rude mister. I could wipe the floor with you guys If I wanted, but I'm in a hurry right now so if we can just move it along and tell where that croc is-"
He was cut off by another loud "AHH!" that came from Ramses.
"Excuse me?" Percy asked offended. "Well, your mama-"
Khufu cut him off with another "AHH!" Although this one wasn't as loud.
Percy sighed. "I guess you're right. Alright I'll play. Khufu and me against Tut and Ramses. How does that sound?"
The three baboons yelled "AHH!" in unison as approval. They played a game in which Khufu and Percy won. They pretty much wiped the floor with Tut and Ramses. The two baboons were grumbling and cursing under breath after being beaten.
"AHH!" Khufu said.
"Yeah, that was kinda fun. Anyway, can you tell me where that croc is?"
"AHH!" Khufu pointed in the direction of the sun.
"So the croc is by a swamp near a river shore going in the direction of the Sun and to look for any signs of disturbance?"
Khufu nodded then said another loud, "AHH!"
"Someone's already there dealing with it but they might need help?"
Khufu nodded again.
"Alright, guess two is better than one when it comes to taking down a large croc. Thanks for the help." The two high fived and Percy promised to come visit in the future so they could play basketball again.
"Alright Buddy. We got a swamp to find." Percy told Blackjack. He climbed on the Pegasus' back again and they flew off again.
Percy and Blackjack flew where the baboons had told them to. As they flew, the scenery changed from city streets and residential buildings to wetlands, swamps and riverbanks. Percy looked down trying to find anything that would give away the position of the croc. He noticed some upturned grass and mud like something big came out the mud and was possibly trashing around.
"Hey, Buddy can you set me down right there?" Percy pointed to a spot where there was a lot of disturbance.
Sure thing Boss. Blackjack started lowering himself down to the spot where Percy pointed. Percy got out of the Pegasus and would have sunk into the mud if not for his powers over water. He started looking around, trying to find anything that would show that the giant croc was there. A sudden load roar made him jump and Blackjack nearly flew off after being spooked.
Percy told the horse to stay put and he would go investigate where that noise came from. There in the middle of wetland was a young boy of around 16 with dark skin, a white t-shirt and pants fighting what Percy suspected was the killer croc. The kid wasn't bad, but he wasn't doing great against the croc. He kept sinking the mud and was struggling to keep his balance.
Suddenly, the croc lunged with its jaws wide open and before the kid could respond, it swallowed him.
"Holy crap!" Percy yelped. "That thing just ate that kid whole." Percy uncapped Riptide and ran towards the croc. The croc appeared to be distracted as it didn't pay the young demigod any attention. Percy got behind it and with all his strength, smacked the croc's rump with Riptide hoping that the force would make it spit out the boy. It didn't work and the monster let out a giant roar which quickly filled the area. He smacked it again and this time, the croc made a noise in its throat and spit out the kid like a cat would spit out a hairball. The kid landed in the mud face first. The croc ran around the marsh and disappeared under the mud.
That was just perfect. Now he would have to go look for the dumb thing all over again. As mentioned earlier, he was already hungry, tired and agitated from the mess that this little quest was giving him. He turned around to see the kid trying to get up from the mud.
The regurgitated kid slowly got on his feet but was stumbling, struggling to walk. He was covered in what Percy guessed was digestive juices. Overall, he looked like he had seen better days.
Percy walked towards him. They started at each other as if trying to size each other up. The kid was about half a foot shorter than Percy. He looked a bit scrawny, not as much as Leo, but also saw some muscle on him. What stood out the most was that the kid had weapons that Percy had never seen before. He had a curved sword and a magic wand that was akin to Harry Potter.
"The crocodile," swamp boy spoke in a calm level voice. "Where did it go?"
That's the first thing he asked. Seriously? No 'oh thanks for saving me from being digested by a huge reptilian monster. What's your name my savior?' Ok maybe that was too far, but seriously? That's the first thing the kid asks.
"You're welcome," Percy said sarcastically.
The kid turned to eye him. "What?"
Percy sighed. "I stuck that croc in the rump." He used Riptide to mimic the action like a gold club hitting a golf ball. "That's why it vomited you up. So, you're welcome. What were you doing in there?"
The kid stared, looking dumbstruck. "I was resting!" he snapped. "What do you think I was doing? Now, who are you and why are fighting my monster?"
"Your monster?" Percy asked. He trudged the mud effortlessly as he got closer to the strange kid. "Look, man, I don't know who you are, but that crocodile had 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 pegasus."
"Did you say Pegasi?"
Percy waved the question aside. "Is it your monster or not?"
"I don't own it! I'm trying to stop it," he growled. "Now where-"
Percy cut him off. He pointed with his sword to the south. "I sensed it go that way. I would already be chasing it, but you surprised me." Percy walked closer to the kid. Inspecting him further. He was wearing a pack while carrying a weird, curved blade and a magic wand. His once white clothes were coated with mud and his hair was covered in mud and grass. This kid was definitely a demigod. Could he a son of Ares or maybe he was a son of Hecate?
Percy shook his 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."
"It's a khopesh! It's supposed to be bent!" He yelled. "Just get out of here! I've got a crocodile to catch."
"Dude, I have crocodile to catch," Percy insisted. "Last time you tried, it ate you. Remember?"
The swamp boy gripped his sword tighter. "I had everything under control, I was about to summon a fist-"
Percy was suddenly thrown back with the force of an eighteen-wheeler going at 100 miles an hour by what looked like a giant blue glowing fist. The force was so strong that it knocked his shoes off and sent him flying over the swamp where he landed in the muddy water about 100 feet away. He was unconscious for a second before rage filled him.
Oh, that's how this kid wants to play? I can play rough if he wants. Percy thought as he regained consciousness.
The kid was running towards him, saying something. Percy's ears were ringing so he was unsure what the kid was saying. He summoned a wave that slammed into the kid and sent him crashing to the other side of the wetland. Percy smirked; certain the kid probably swallowed a couple gallons of swamp water in the process. Percy leaped towards the kid with Riptide in hand, but weird boy barely managed to deflect the blow with his curved sword. Percy struck again and again but was parried each time.
"Now I get it!" Percy growled. He swung for the boy's head which the boy parried but was thrown back by the force. "You're some kind of monster."
"I'm not a monster!" He managed. Percy swung again and this time the boy used his wand to catch the sword. He sent a jolt of energy up the sword and into Percy's arm. The air cracked and flashed, which made Percy stumble back, but nothing else happened.
"You said the crocodile was yours." Percy scowled. "You lost your pet I suppose. Maybe you're a spirit of the Underworld, come through the Doors of Death?" Percy thrust with his free hand causing the river to change course and send the boy slamming against the bank again. The boy was spread out the bank and Percy lunged, ready to make the killing blow.
The kid dropped his wand, went to his bag and grabbed a piece of rope and yelled out "TAS" right as Percy's sword cut into his wrists. The boy screamed and then looked nauseous and looked like he was struggling to keep himself upright as he was gasping for breath. He doubled over for a couple moments, trying to regain his composure. He fished out what looked by medical tape from his bag and pressed it against his wrists.
Meanwhile the rope that rope boy had summoned earlier had tied Percy's sword arm to the side of his head which made him look like some sort of unicorn. He tried to untie the rope with his other hand but has having no luck. He grumbled and took a seat on the water trying to untie the rope. Once he noticed swamp boy, he sighed and glared at him. "I'm really starting to hate you."
"Hate me? I'm gushing blood here and you started all this by calling me a half blood."
"Oh please." Percy rose to his feet unsteadily weighed down by the sword strapped to his head. "You can't be mortal, if you were my sword would have 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' army I'd guess."
The strange guy blinked repeatedly. "So when you said half-blood…"
Percy looked at him like he was an idiot. What else could he a have meant with that phrase. "I meant demigod. Yeah, what did you think I meant?"
This guy was really getting on his nerves. All the young demigod wanted today was to go to practice, have lunch, go home and then get some work done. Was that too much to ask? Nooo he just had to chase around a giant crocodile and run into some weird demigod and now he was cosplaying a freaking unicorn in the middle of a wetland.
The other guy shook his head. "What are you?" He demanded. "Some form of combat magician? Water elementalist? What nome are you from?
Was this dude for real Percy thought. Now he was spouting all sorts of weird things he had never heard before. Was this guys' brain partially digested while he was inside the crocodile? Did Percy slam him too hard against the riverbank that he hit his head?
Percy laughed. "Dude, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't hang out with gnomes. Satyrs, sometimes. Even cyclopes. But not gnomes."
The kid just looked on as if his whole world were falling apart. Yep, Percy knew that feeling all too well. The same thing happened to him when he found out he was a demigod. His entire world view had changed. Now that Percy noticed, the guys weapons were strange he fought in a way that was neither Greek or Roman. Could he perhaps be something else? If he was, what could he be? Maybe the guy was involved in some sort of Russian circus where one of the crocodiles had escaped.
"Look," wand boy said. "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."
Oh, so fist boy was trying to kill him. Now Percy wouldn't have felt as bad running the kid through with his sword. "Don't sound so disappointed. 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."
"For the last time, it's not my crocodile."
"Okay, whatever." Percy was unsure about taking the strange boy's words. "The point is, I struck that crocodile pretty good, but I just made it angry. Celestial bronze should have turned it to dust."
"Celestial bronze?"
There was a sudden loud scream coming from the neighborhood nearby. They both looked in that direction and then at each other.
"We've got to stop that crocodile," mystery boy said.
"Truce?" Percy suggested.
Swamp water boy nodded. "Truce, we can continue killing each other after the crocodile is taken care of."
"Great we can go for round two. Now could you please untie my sword hand from my head? I feel like a freaking unicorn."
The kid muttered something under his breath that must have been the counter spell. The rope undid itself and Percy was able to use his hand like before. He felt a pulling in his gut and the river bought back his shoes then quickly put them back on. Percy noticed the kid having trouble with his wrists and stepped closer to help him bind his wrists. Mystery boy then took out a canteen and chugged. Hopefully it wasn't alcohol, it was still too early in the day to get tipsy and he didn't need a drunk mystery boy to watch over as they battled the killer croc.
"By the way," Percy began. Mystery boy looked at him. Percy smirked. "How did that swamp water taste?"
Magic boy gave him a disgruntled look and Percy ran in the direction of the neighborhood, Not waiting for a response. They ran into the neighborhood with Percy pulling ahead. He looked behind and noticed wand boy behind him wheezing and gasping for air.
Oh crap. Percy thought. Hopefully he hadn't pushed this kid too far. He knew all too well the dangers of exerting yourself while your lungs weren't healthy. It had been well over a month since he got out of Tartarus and his doctor assured him that his lungs were fully healed on his last checkup. Although she mentioned that he should take things a bit easy for a couple more days.
He was about to say something but was interrupted. "What's your name?" Curved sword boy asked.
Percy frowned. He had just met and fought this kid. He was unsure if he should share his name so openly. "I'm not sure I should tell you. Names can be dangerous."
Magic boy stood up, catching his breath. "Fair enough. I'll go first. I'm Carter."
So that was his name. Percy would have to stop calling him magic boy, croc boy, rope boy, mystery boy, wand boy, curved sword boy, and swamp water boy. Percy exhaled and relaxed slightly. Carter had made the first offer. "Percy," he offered.
They continued their way out of the marsh and into the neighborhood.
Crocodile boy (not Carter) apparently had a name. From what Carter had said it was Sobek, or rather a son of Sobek the Egyptian god. All the fancy mumbo jumbo was making Percy's head hurt more than usual. The Egyptian gods were also a thing alongside the Greeks and the Romans. Who would have a thought?
Anyways, their first attempt to subdue crocodile boy (again not Carter) ended in complete disaster. The croc got into a cul-de sac and was doing… interesting things with a Toyota Prius. It may have wanted to assert its dominance on that car or maybe it wanted to make little Prius crocodile hybrid babies. The outcome was out for debate.
Some kids also got involved in the fight by pelting the croc with deadly water balloons which did nothing to the croc and put them in grave danger. Carter threw his wand to the croc's snout and made it wail in pain and annoyance. It roared and Carter told the kids to get away and get to safety which meant that they sat behind some cars.
Percy then jumped on the croc's back to get rid of the necklace that was giving the croc its power. Meanwhile Carter almost got eaten again when he almost didn't dodge the huge jaws that came his way, which Percy guessed must have made Carter feel embarrassed if he was going to be eaten again. Crocodile boy (this time Carter) began glowing blue as power surrounded him. He seemed to be in the middle of a transformation like all the anime protagonists that power up mid fight to defeat their enemies with the power of friendship blah blah blah. The croc didn't get the memo as he tackled Carter mid transformation breaking one of anime's most sacred rules.
Fortunately, the transformation was partially successful which allowed Carter to survive being slammed by a ten-ton reptilian monster. The monster bit down on Carter's holographic projection's arm, but he used his other arm to hit the croc with his sword on the croc's left, leaving a large wound which began closing up almost immediately. Sobek then used his strong jaws to grab Carter's avatar's arm again and fling him to the nearest house, crashing through the roof.
Percy had been knocked out the croc earlier and onto the street when Carter slashed it with his sword. Now he just stood there, dazed by everything that was going one. As the dust cleared, Percy noticed Carter in the middle of what looked like some form of blue projection in the form of a chicken warrior.
"What the creeping crud is that? He yelled from the street. "You're inside a giant glowing chicken man!"
"Hawk!" he yelled back. Percy shook his head. Nope that was definitely a chicken man. He had a new nickname for Carter now. Chicken boy.
"A little help?" Carter asked. Percy got out of stupor only to notice that the croc was advancing on Carter and would have probably eaten the guy again if Carter didn't kick it in the snout making it sneeze. Percy used this distraction to run on the croc's tail and onto its back where he spotted the necklace. Percy began trying to use Riptide to remove the necklace, but it was not having any effect. What was this necklace made of, indestructible enchanted metal?
"Percy, any day now!" Carter grunted.
Percy continued to hack at the necklace, but Riptide was not having any defect. This would also be the perfect time for the kids to come back and start hurling rocks, scrap metal, and tires at the croc which had no effect at all.
"I can't cut it!" Percy said. At this point Carter's chicken man cosplay was beginning to fizzle out.
"A clasp," Carter said. "There's got to be one." He paused for a moment. "There at the bottom!"
Percy scrambled down the croc's neck trying to get to the clasp. Carter's chicken man cosplay completely disintegrated causing the croc to barrel headfirst into a Honda. Hopefully the owner had insurance against giant killer crocs, if not they were out of luck. On the bright side, this impact caused the kids to scatter and put them out of harm's way. Percy dropped Riptide as he hung onto the clasp trying to solve the puzzle. It looked like ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. He got frustrated and started pounding his fists on it hoping that maybe that would loosen it or get it to fall off.
"Percy?" He heard Carter call.
"I can't unlock the clasp!" He yelled. He continued pounding the necklace with his fist. "Some kind of magic?"
Carter didn't respond. Percy turned and saw that he was making some form of sculpture out of wax. "Carter this is no time for arts and crafts!"
"Just trust me!" was his response. Carter threw the wax figure to the croc where it grew into a malformed hippo that got stuck in the croc's left nostril. This day just kept weirder and weirder. Percy jumped off the croc and rolled onto the street where it was rampaging and headed right for his new friend. He just managed to pull Carter out of the way before he was trampled by a rampaging croc with a hippo in its nostril.
Croc boy (not Carter) was now rampaging around the Cul-de-sac. In its rampage, it was wiping out homes and destroying cars completely lowering the property value. There was the sound of sirens nearby which would indicate that the cops were nearby. The police did not need to be involved, and Percy was not about to be arrested for fighting a killer croc. Nor was he about to take to take part in another national manhunt. What would Annabeth say? More importantly, what would his mom say if she had to bail him out of jail?
The kids gathered nearby."You guys," Percy 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 raced away. "Good call," Carter said.
Percy could only nod as the killer croc kept rampaging around the place trying to free itself from the hippo lodged in its nostril. It must have felt like when you get a cold and can only breathe from one nostril but maybe ten times worse.
Percy gave a slight smile. "You've got some moves Carter. Anything else in that magic bag of tricks? Maybe an instant defeat the croc button?"
"Nothing," he responded. "I'm running on empty. But if I can get that clasp, I think I can open it."
Percy looked at the ranging croc, it was pouring some greenish liquid from its hide. If there was water in it, he could control it. He felt a tugging in his gut, yep there was water in it. "Guess it's my turn to distract the croc," He offered. "Get ready to run for that necklace."
"You don't even have your sword," Carter protested. "You'll die."
Percy gave him his crooked smile. "Just run in there as soon as it starts."
"As soon at what starts?"
The croc roared with the hippo no longer in its nostril. He eyed the two of them and then ran towards the pair.
Percy charged straight towards the croc and raised him arms as if welcoming it for a hug. The croc momentarily stopped and looked surprised. The croc continued releasing that greenish brackish substance from its skin. Percy felt the tug in his stomach getting stronger and willed the water to create a whirlpool around the croc to keep it in place. Storm clouds gathered around the area as well.
Percy saw Carter jump so high that he thought that the magician boy had left him by himself to deal with the crocodile. If that were the case, Percy was sure to hunt him down and give him a piece of his mind. Instead, Carter landed on the croc's back and started fumbling with the croc's necklace.
Meanwhile Percy was getting tired a lot quicker than he would admit. All those extra laps he swam during practice and the fact that he didn't have lunch was getting to him. "Any day now," he said through gritted teeth.
He kept the storm and the whirlpool raging as his energy quickly decreased. He wasn't sure how long he could keep this up. Whatever the croc was releasing was not pure water. If it had been pure water, Percy would be able to control it all day with no sweat, but whatever the croc was releasing, felt like… like the poison that he had been poisoned with under the sea. He pushed the thought aside, he had to keep going for his and Carter's sake.
The crocodile stomped angrily, and Percy yelled in frustration, trying to keep it in place. His energy was only decreasing, and the waters started to slow in their spin. Percy dropped to one knee taking heavy breaths. The waters continued to slow down and soon he would be drained. Carter better almost be done with that clasp or Percy was sure to haunt him from the grave.
Suddenly the croc roared and staggered. Carter fell into the water followed by what looked like hundreds of pounds of gold and jewelry. The croc disappeared and Percy let go control the storm and water allowing it to dissipate. There was Carter in the middle of street, covered in water and a baby croc a couple feet from him.
Percy grinned as he walked to face to Carter. The dude looked like a competitive sewer diver. "Nice work," Percy said. "Get the necklace."
Carter blinked for a second, probably trying to get his bearings together. "The necklace?" He asked. He stood up with his fingers clasping the necklace that had been around the croc's neck. It was surprisingly normal sized.
"Wait, where's the monster?" Carter stammered.
Percy pointed a couple of feet away where the three-foot baby crock was laying on the pavement.
"You can't be serious," Carter deadpanned.
Percy could only shrug. "Maybe someone's abandoned pet? You hear about those on the new all the time. Last week someone lost their pet tiger in Manhattan. It was having a very intimate relationship with a tiger statue in the park."
A sudden boyish voice broke their conversation. "Up there. There's these two guys!"
Crap the mortal kids were coming back with a whole fleet of cops behind their backs. Percy grabbed the croc by its snout. "You coming?" He asked.
Carter nodded and together they went back to the swamp.
They were sitting at a dinner on the Montauk highway. Carter had shared his healing potion which Percy was pretty sure was Nectar. Well at least it wasn't alcohol. They tied the baby croc in the woods with a makeshift leash and tried their best to get cleaned up.
Percy was completely dry but his hair was covered in some grass and his shirt was ripped in places. Carter looked like he battled in the river of mud, his clothes were covered in mud, his hair was covered in grass, and it looked like he was cleaning feathers off himself. Guess that was the side effect of taking on giant chicken mode. They both turned to watch the television where the news was playing on their incident in the neighborhood.
According to witnesses, there had been a freak sewer incident in the neighborhood. Pressure had built up in the pumps causing an explosion that unleashed a flood so strong that the soil eroded and caused several of the houses to collapse. Fortunately, no residents were harmed. Local kids claimed that two teenage boys had caused all the damage but were waved off by officials. The reporter however did comment on how it looked like something very large had sat on the houses.
Percy whistled. "A freak sewer incident. That's a first. Usually it's a gas leak."
"For you maybe," Carter grumbled. "I seem to cause trouble everywhere I go."
"Cheer up," Percy said. "Lunch is on me." He reached into his pocket and pulled out Riptide in pen form and his phone which had surprisingly survived that encounter. Did he also leave his wallet in the dinner with his friends earlier. Could this day get any worse?
"Oh... actually can you conjure up some money?" Percy asked.
Carter sighed and pulled out money from what looked like an interdimensional portal. Soon enough, they were bought burgers and fries. Percy could finally have lunch at 5 PM.
"Cheeseburgers," Percy said. "Food of the gods."
Carter could only smile as Percy practically inhaled his burger.
"So, the necklace," Percy said in between bites. "What's the story?"
Carter looked a bit uneasy, as if lost in thought for a couple of moments. "The necklace is enchanted. Any reptile that wears it will turn into the next petsuchos, the son of Sobek. Somehow a little crocodile got it around his neck."
"Meaning someone put it around his neck," Percy said.
Carter could only nod.
"So, who? Got a lot of enemies?"
"Yeah, the list is huge."
Percy snorted. "Yep I can relate to that. Any idea why then?"
Carter guessed someone wanted to cause trouble. Someone wanted to get both of their attention. Percy wanted to open up to Carter about his life as a demigod, but he wasn't sure if he should. He had just met the guy and although they made a great team, Percy was not comfortable sharing his secrets, at least not yet.
Carter didn't pry any further. He said that he was curious to know more, but said that due to dangerous circumstances they should stay separate. Perhaps after they figured out this entire situation they could perhaps be friends.
Carter agreed to take to the croc back to his place. Apparently, he would fit right in. They shook hands one last time and were saying their goodbyes before Percy asked for a method of communication which Carter insisted the best way would be to write an Egyptian hieroglyph on Percy's hand.
Carter explained that Percy just needed to call his name and Carter would be able to hear him and know Percy's location. He said the magic only works once so to make it count.
"See you when I see you C-"
"Don't say my name!" Carter yelled.
"Just teasing," Percy said. He pointed at Carter and winked. "Stay strange my friend."
Percy whistled after the left the diner. A minute later Blackjack swooped down.
Yo boss. You ok? Did you deal with that croc?
"Yep now take me home, buddy I'm exhausted."
Sure thing Boss, just climb aboard.
Percy climbed on board the Blackjack's back. Thankfully his bag was still around the horse's neck meaning that he didn't lose all of his possessions that day. Blackjack took off and began flying back to the upper east side. As they flew, Percy thought back about everything that happened. The Egyptian gods were their own entity along with the Greeks and the Romans. Did that mean that there were other godly figures involved? The Norse? The Aztecs? Thor challenging Jesus to an arm-wrestling contest? And everyone else, could they all also exist? Thinking about this at this height was making his brain hurt.
They stopped at a donut shop since Blackjack insisted. The magical flying horse said that the donuts would be payment for carrying Percy all across the city. Percy rolled his eyes but acquiesced. They sat together in the parking lot munching on donuts for a couple minutes. The mist must have made Blackjack appear as a dog or some sort of pet as the patrons didn't notice a large horse with wings sitting in the parking lot.
Some of them had gotten near Blackjack and were petting him on the snout. "Aww he's so cute. What's his name?" A lady asked.
"Blackjack," Percy responded.
"Oh, who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" She continued, nuzzling Blackjack's cheeks and rubbing behind his ears. If Blackjack had eyebrows, Percy was pretty sure he saw them move up in a message that said, 'this is how you should be treating me Boss.' The lady stopped and pet the pegasus once more before commenting, "he's such a beautiful German Shepperd."
After about half an hour, Blackjack dropped from the young demigod in front of his apartment complex. He thanked the Pegasus and said that he would come visit camp soon. Blackjack nuzzled Percy and then flew off into the sunset.
Thankfully, Percy didn't lose his keys in the entire debacle. The little trident keychain that Tyson had given him was enchanted with magical properties. From what Percy could gage, the keys would always return to his pocket whenever he needed them.
He opened the door and called, "I'm home."
His mother was in the living room watching one her Tv shows. She looked up, her expression was bemused at first, but she smiled. "Welcome back, Percy."
"Hey mom," he answered. He dropped his bag on the floor and went to sit on the recliner. He leaned back and put his hands behind his head letting out a loud sigh.
"Everything ok with you? Anything interesting happened?" Sally asked.
Percy shrugged. "Not much. Swim practice, played basketball with some baboons, fought a wizard guy, wrestled a killer croc. You know the usual for a Saturday."
"Everything ok? You look a bit beat up and you smell a bit bad."
"Yeah, everything's fine, just tired you know." He groaned. "I still need to get all that work done."
"Then you better get to it," Sally replied.
Percy stood up and was about to make his way to his room when his mother stopped him. "Oh, by the way, some sweet boys visited earlier. They said you ran off during lunch and left your skateboard in the restaurant." Sally stood up and grabbed the skateboard. She handed it to Percy. "Make sure to thank them next time you see them."
Percy smiled and took the board. "Thanks mom, I will."
Percy entered his room to grab a clean set of clothes and then went into the bathroom to let the cool waters wash away all the grime of the day. He got dressed, a towel still on his shoulders. He sat on his desk now, pondering what to do with his time. After thinking it through, he picked up his phone and dialed Annabeth's number.
She picked up after two rings. "Hey Percy" She greeted.
"Hey, Wise Girl, you won't believe that happened to me today."
AN: I wonder how many of you guessed Carter Kane from the Kane Chronicles would appear? I tried my best to tell the Son of Sobek from Percy's POV. Percy seemed to be in bad mood when he ran into Carter so I made him hangry which would put him in a bad mood. Go and read The Son of Sobek if you haven't already.
The Staff of Serapis is told from Annabeth's POV, and the Crown of Ptolemy is told from Percy's POV, so there won't be chapters on those, but there might be mention of the events that transpired in those stories.
As always, thanks for reading and I welcome any feedback/ideas!