A/N (I recommend reading this): I'm going to MAKE THIS CLEAR. Just like I mention on my bio page about every other fanfiction I done: I DON'T OWN THE PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIAN SERIES or AND THE KANE CHRONICLES OR IT'S CHARACTERS as the rights goes to Rick Riordan. Also I suggest you guys start paying attention to the Author notes and my warnings that I left on EVERY chapter of EVERY story.

Sorry if this chapter is too much like the book.

This is a The Tales of version of the Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles crossover and takes place after 'The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus part of the series. So if you haven't read them yet read before reading this story as stuff that happened in them will be mentioned:

The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: the Early Adventures
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: The Lightning Thief
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: The Sea of Monsters
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: The Titan's Curse
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: The Magical Labyrinth
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: the Stolen Chariot
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: the Sword of Hades
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: the Bronze Dragon
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: The Last Olympian
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: the Staff of Hermes
The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero
The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The Quest for Buford
The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune
The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena
The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The House of Hades
The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The Blood of Olympus
The Tales of Magicians and Demigods: The Son of Sobek
The Tales of Magicians and Demigods: The Staff of Serapis
The Tales of Magicians and Demigods: The Crown of Ptolemy

Also if you haven't got the chance feel free to read:

The Tales of Classical Mythology

A crossover with The Tales of series with my dictionary on Greek/Roman Mythology where The Tales of Percy Jackson tells his version of stories behind famous names in Greek and Roman Mythology.

And if you are a fan of Stephen King:

The Tales of the Heroes of the Stand

Which is basically a crossover of The Tales of series with one of Stephen King's best novels The Stand.

Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed as long as you inform me about it.

Trying to Warn People Before a Race is Impossible

Note to self: trying to reveal important information just before a three-legged death race is not a good idea.

No one would listen to me because of the excitement going on. I come to later to find out for demigods that was normal because of the Attention Deficient in their ADHD.

Most demigods have ADHD to a certain degree due to their brains being hardwired for battle causing the hyperactivity and attention deficient being a side effect of the fact their brains are not as easily fooled by illusions of the Mist as Mortals, but there are demigods who are fortunate out there not to have ADHD (it is rare though), and it seems I was one of those demigods. Not that it is doing any good right now.

Despite last night's grumbling and complaining, the campers were now buzzing with excitement. They spent their lunch hour frantically cleaning weapons, lacing armor straps, and whispering among one another to form secret alliances.

I will admit before coming to the pavilion I stopped by my cabin and grabbed the Kopis Percy lend to me. Why not? Meg might be using her imperial gold swords; I might as well use my own weapon that stands out among the rest—even if it is not really mine. Besides, I swore to the River of Styx not to use a bow until I become a god again (I came to realize that swearing off using the only weapon I know how to use before a death race—whether it was with the river of Styx or not—was stupid on my part).

Many tried to convince Harley, the course architect, to share hints about the best strategies.

Harley loved the attention. By the end of lunch his table was piled high with offerings (read: bribes)—chocolate bars, peanut butter cups, gummy bears, and Hot Wheels. Harley would have made an excellent god. He took the gifts, mumbled a few pleasantries, but told his worshippers nothing helpful.

I tried to speak with Chiron about the dangers of the woods, but he was so frantic with last minute race preparations that I almost got trampled just standing just near him. He trotted nervously around the pavilion with a team of satyrs and dryad referees in tow, comparing maps and issuing orders.

"The teams will be almost impossible to track," he murmured, his face buried in a Labyrinth schematic. "And we don't have any coverage in grid D."

"But Chiron," I said, "if I could just—"

"The test group this morning ended up in Peru," he told the satyrs. "We can't have that happen again."

"About the woods," I said.

"Yes, I am sorry, Apollo. I understand you are concerned—"

"The woods are actually speaking," I said. "You remember the old—"

A dryad ran up to Chiron with her dress billowing smoke. "The flares are exploding!"

"Ye gods!" Chiron said. "Those were for emergencies!"

He galloped over my feet, followed by his mob of assistants. I see why Kayla had to take over teaching archery. Even without ADHD there was just no way to keep Chiron focus on how to aim a bow and arrow with everything else going on today.

And so, it went. When one is a god, the world hangs on your every word. When one is a sixteen-year-old demigod… not so much.

I tried to talk to Harley, hoping he might postpone the race, but the boy brushed me off with a simple "Nah."

As was so often the case with Hephaestus's children, Harley was tinkering with some mechanical device, moving the springs and gears around. I did not really care what it was, but I asked Harley about it, hoping to win the boy's goodwill.

"It's a beacon for Leo just in case whatever is blocking communications is messing with Festus," Harley said.

"Leo Valdez."

Harley squinted at the device "Beside Leo, the only other person who knows how Festus works was Beckendorf. But I cannot Iris-Message Beckendorf for his opinion any more than I can contact Leo, and without a prophecy I cannot just go out to search for either one of them, so this is the next best thing."

Made sense. Even I heard great things about the Head Counsellor that lead Hephaestus cabin during the Second Titan War Charles Beckendorf. He was truly one of Hephaestus' pride and joys that was not a machine—possibly along with Leo after the second giant war. Especially when Beckendorf and Percy caused the Princess Andromeda ship to explode taking out a chunk of Kronos' army with it. If I could not ask Leo for help, I would have turned to Beckendorf. But alas, all the good demigods had gone off to college.

"Just got to find the right frequency." Harley continued to work on the beacon. "I gotta concentrate. Can't stop the race." He turned his back on me and walked off.

I cannot help but admire the young boy's hard work in finding his missing brother. Harley probably does not admit it, but I think he been missing Leo longer than when all communications were cut. At least when demigods still had a form of communications, Harley could Iris-Message Leo when he missed his brother, but now he cannot do that. So instead, he used it as an opportunity to find a way to bring Leo home.

I wonder if anyone at Olympus would do that for me, but I doubted it.

I stood forlornly in a corner of the pavilion and ate a sandwich. I watch the sun wane in the winter sky as I thought about my chariot, my poor horses stuck in their stables with no one to take them out for a ride.

Of course, even without my help, other forces would keep the cosmos chugging along. Many different belief systems powered the revolution of the planets and stars. Wolves would still chase the Norse goddess Sól across the sky. The Egyptian God Ra would continue his daily journey in his sun barque. The Aztec God Tonatiuh would keep running on his surplus blood from human sacrifices back in the Aztec days. Even the Biblical God will keep the sun going if he has anything to say about it. And that other thing—science—would still generate gravity and quantum physics and whatever.

Nevertheless, I felt like I was not doing my part, standing around waiting for a three-legged race.

Even Kayla and Austin were too distracted to talk with me. Kayla had told Austin about our experience rescuing Sherman Yang from the woods, but Austin was more interested in swabbing out his saxophone.

"We can tell Chiron at dinner," he mumbled with a reed in his mouth. "Nobody's going to listen until the race is over, and we'll be staying out of the woods anyway. Besides, if I can play the right tune in the Labyrinth…" He got a gleam in his eyes. "Ooh. Come here, Kayla. I have an idea."

He steered her way and left me alone again.

I understood Austin's enthusiasm, of course. His saxophone skills were so formidable, I was certain he would become the foremost jazz instrumentalist of his generation, and if you think it is easy to get half a million views on YouTube playing jazz saxophone, think again. Still, his musical career was not going to happen if the force in the woods destroyed us all.

I got the strong sense someone was watching me, and I turned to see Alabaster standing twenty feet glaring at me. Now that I think about I, ever since I came here, when he was not hanging around Ethan Nakamura, he was glaring at me.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"You don't recognize me, do you?" Alabaster asked.

"No…"

"Typical. I guess I was just another minor demigod to you Olympians." Alabaster said.

"Excuse me?" I rose.

"Alabaster," Ethan called. "Strategy time."

Alabaster hmphed and headed over to Ethan. I got this feeling he has deep hatred for the Olympians and me being here is not brightening up his mood.

Whatever. I got my own problems to deal with than a moody demigod.

With no one else willing to listen, I finally decided to seek out Meg McCaffrey.

I spotted her at one of the braziers, talking with Julia Feingold and Alice Miyazawa. Or rather, the Hermes girls were talking while Meg devoured a cheeseburger. I marveled that Demeter—the queen of grains, fruits, and vegetables—could have a daughter who was such an unrepentant carnivore.

Then again, Persephone was the same way. You will hear stories about the goddess of springtime being all sweetness and daffodils and nibbling on pomegranate seeds, but I am telling you, that girl was frightening when she attacked a mound of pork spareribs.

I strode over to Meg's side. The Hermes girls stepped back as if I were a snake handler. Compare to moody Alabaster, this was more of my liking.

"Hello," I said. "What are we talking about?"

Meg wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. "These two wanna know our plans for the race."

"I'm sure they do." I plucked a small magnetic listening device from Meg's coat sleeve and tossed it back to Alice. Too be honest it amazes me that despite all communication being cut off, a small listening device was working. Maybe only forms of communication that works two ways only works.

Alice smiled sheepishly. "Can't blame us for trying."

"No, of course not," I said. "In the same spirit, I hope you won't mind what I did to your shoes. Have a good race!"

The girls shuffled off nervously, checking the soles of their sneakers.

Meg looked at me with something resembling respect. "What did you do to them?"

"Nothing," I said. "Half the trick to being a god is knowing how to bluff."

She snorted. "So, I take it since you have that sword Percy gave you, you haven't had much luck unlocking at least some useful demigod powers besides that sonic whistle."

I frowned. "Actually, I have, but I rather not d talk about it," I said. "What about you? What you been doing since Sherman's boot camp training."

Meg shrugged, "Billie showed me around that garden with all the plants and stuff."

"Garden of Persephone II?" I asked.

"I think that's what she calls it. Why is it even called that? Where's the original Garden?" Meg asked.

"The original Garden of Persephone is in the Underworld. Hades had it planted there to please Persephone when he was trying to persuade her to be his wife," I stated. "I think they wanted to name it after the original garden since it was meant for her as well."

"Well, it's definitely well-tended," Meg said. "The nymphs helped Billie and me out since we were low on campers in our cabin. Apparently, a lot of those plants were their kens along with satyrs that died in some final battle against the Titans."

"Battle of Manhattan," I said. "I heard there were casualties in nature spirits as well as demigods. I guess that explains where all the plants they reincarnated into went."

"You didn't know?" Meg asked.

"Dealing with flowers and plants aren't part of my job description. Unless it is my sacred plant, I do not really pay much attention to it," I explained. "Unless our jobs involve dealing with another god's domain, we normally don't mess with each other's domains. Not if it is a domain of a minor gods or goddesses. That's why most minor gods and goddesses are divided between the Olympians based on what domain goes involves which Olympian."

"I guess that makes sense." Meg responded. "So is your sacred plant in the garden then?"

"No. From what Will told me, my flower only grows inside and around Cabin Seven," I said. "Other than that, you only find it on Delos since that's where Artemis and I was born."

"Right… so, what's our top-secret plan?" Meg asked—I am guessing she wanted to talk about something else other than plants. "Wait. Let me guess. You don't have one."

"You're learning. Honestly, I meant to come up with one, but I got sidetracked. We have a problem."

"Sure do." From her coat pocket, she pulled two loops of bronze, like resistance bands of braided metal. "You've seen these? They wrap around our legs. Once they are on, they stay on until the race is over. No way to get them off. I hate restraints."

"I agree." I was tempted to add especially when I am tied to a small child named Meg, but my natural diplomacy won out. "However, I was referring to a different problem."

I told her about the incident during archery, when Sherman had almost been lured into the forest. However, I did not include the head injury he got from Meg being related (it is possible the two were related). I did not want Meg to get in over her head or feeling bad about it—I do not know which of the two ways she might react.

Meg removed her cat-eyeglasses. Without the lenses, her dark irises looked softer and warmer, like tiny plots of planting soil. "You think something in the woods is calling to people?"

"I think something in the woods is answering people. In ancient times, there was an Oracle—"

"Yeah, you told me. Delphi."

"No. Another Oracle, even older than Delphi. It involves trees. An entire grove of talking trees."

"Talking trees." Meg's mouth twitched. "What was that Oracle called?"

"I—I can't remember." I ground my teeth. "I should know. I should be able to tell you instantly! But the information… It's almost as if it is eluding me on purpose."

"That happens sometimes," Meg said. "You'll think of it."

"But it never happens to me! Stupid human brain! At any rate, I believe this grove is somewhere in those woods. I do not know how or why. But the whispering voices… they are from this hidden Oracle. The sacred trees are trying to speak prophecies, reaching out to those with burning questions, luring them in."

Meg put her glasses back on. "You know that sounds crazy, right?"

I steadied my breathing. I had to remind myself that I was no longer a god. I had to put up with insults from mortals without being able to blast them to ashes.

"Just be on guard," I said.

"But the race doesn't even go through the woods."

"Nevertheless… we are not safe. If you can summon your friend Peaches, I would welcome his company."

"I told you, he sorts of pops up when he feels like it. I can't—"

Chiron blew a hunting horn so loudly my vision doubled. Another pledge to myself: once I become a god again, I would descend upon this camp and take away all their horns.

"Demigods!" said the centaur. "Tie your legs together and follow me to your starting positions!"

We gathered in the meadow about a hundred yards from the Big House. Making it that far without a single life-threatening incident was a minor miracle. With my left leg bound to Meg's right, I felt the way I used to in Leto's womb, just before my sister and I were born. And, yes, I remember that quite well. Artemis was always shoving me aside, elbowing me in the ribs and generally being a womb hog.

I said a silent prayer that if I got through this race alive, I would sacrifice a bull to myself and possibly even build myself a new temple. I am a sucker for bulls and temples.

The satyrs directed us to spread out across the meadow.

"Where is the starting line?" Holly Victor demanded, shoving her shoulder ahead of her sister's. "I want to be the closest."

"I want to be the closest," Laurel corrected. "You can be second closest."

"Not to worry!" Woodrow the satyr sounded very worried. "We'll explain everything in a moment. As soon as I, um, know what to explain."

Will Solace sighed. He was, of course, tied to Nico. He propped his elbow on Nico's shoulder as if the son of Hades were a convenient shelf. "I miss Grover. He used to organize things like this so well."

"I'd settle for Coach Hedge," Nico pushed Will's arm off. "Besides don't talk about Grover too loudly. Juniper's right over there."

He pointed to one of the dryads—a pretty girl dressed in pale green.

"Grover's girlfriend," Will explained to me. "She misses him. A lot."

"Okay, everybody!" Woodrow shouted. "Spread out a little bit more, please! We want you to have plenty of room so, you know, if you die, you won't take down all the other teams too!"

Will sighed. "I am so excited."

He and Nico loped off. Julia and Alice from Hermes cabin checked their shoes one more time, then glared at me. Connor Stoll was paired with Paolo Montes, the Brazilian son of Hebe, and neither of them seemed happy about it.

Perhaps Connor looked glum because his mangled scalp was covered in so much medical salve his head looked like it had been coughed up by a cat. Or perhaps he just missed his brother Travis.

As soon as Artemis and I were born, we could not wait to get some distance between us. We staked out our own territories and that was that. But I would have given anything to see her just then. I was sure Zeus had threatened her with severe punishment if she tried to help me during my time as a mortal demigod, but she could have at least sent me a care package from Olympus—a decent toga, some magical acne cream, and maybe a dozen cranberry ambrosia scones from the Scylla Café. They made excellent scones.

I scanned the other teams. Kayla and Austin were bound together, looking like a deadly pair of street performers with her bow and his saxophone. Chiara, the cute girl from Tyche, was stuck with her nemesis, Damien White, son of… well Nemesis. Billie Ng from Demeter was leg-tied with Valentina Diaz, who was hastily checking her makeup in the reflective surface of Billie's silver coat. Valentina did not seem to notice that two twigs were sprouting from her hair like tiny deer antlers.

I decided two teams were the biggest threats. One was of course the one with Malcolm Pace. You can never be too careful with children of Athena. Surprisingly, though, he had paired himself with Sherman Yang. That did not seem like a natural partnership unless Malcolm had some sort of plan. Those Athena children always had a plan. It rarely included letting me win.

The other team I considered a threat was also why Chiara and Damien were stuck together. Ethan Nakamura and that Alabaster kid—son of Hecate: goddess of magic. By the looks of how they are tied together, Alabaster can easily cover the side that Ethan cannot see with his eye-patch—which he wears as he gave up that eye for some blessings—or so I heard from Damien (more likely to prove Ethan's worth to Kronos probably). But Alabaster covering Ethan's blind spot is not what I was worried about. I heard rumors that among the blessings Ethan got from Nemesis for that missing eye was the ability to see through and be immune to the Mist. So being paired with a child of Hecate like Alabaster in a mystical place like the Labyrinth would make them tricky if not deadly team to deal with.

The only demigods not participating were Harley and Nyssa, who had set up the course.

Once the satyrs judged we had all spread out sufficiently and our leg bindings had been double-checked, Harley clapped for our attention.

"Okay!" He bounced up and down eagerly, reminding me of the Roman children who used to cheer for executions at the Colosseum. "Here's the deal. Each team has to find three golden apples, then get back to this meadow alive."

Grumbling broke out among the demigods.

"Golden apples?" I spoke. "I hate golden apples. They bring nothing but trouble."

Meg shrugged. "I like apples."

I remember the rotten one she had used to break Cade's nose in the alley. I wonder if perhaps she could use golden apples with the same deadly skill. Perhaps we stood a chance after all.

Laurel Victor raised her hand. "You mean the first team back wins?"

"Any team that gets back alive wins!" Harley said.

"That's ridiculous!" Holly said. "There can only be one winner. First team back wins!"

Harley shrugged. "Have it your way. My only rules are stay alive, and don't kill each other."

"O quê?" Paolo started complaining so loudly in Portuguese that Connor had to cover his left ear.

"Now, now!" Chiron called. His saddlebags were overflowing with extra first-aid kits and emergency flares. "We won't need any help making this a dangerous challenge. Let us have a good clean three-legged death race. And another thing, campers, given the problems our test group had this morning, please repeat after me: Do not end up in Peru."

"Do not end up in Peru," everyone chanted.

Sherman Yang cracked his knuckles. "So where is the starting line?"

Good question. Last time I heard, the closest entrance I know of was at Zeus' fist in the woods. But we were reassured we were not going to be in the woods. Was there a closer entrance discovered around here?

"There is no starting line," Harley said with glee. "You're all standing right where you are."

The campers looked around in confusion. Suddenly the meadow shook. Dark lines etched across the grass, forming a giant green checkerboard.

"Have fun!" Harley squealed.

The ground opened beneath our feet and we fell into the Labyrinth.

A/N: I double checked the myths and Sól is the Norse God of the sun that the wolves chased across the sky east to west, but Magnus' dad Frey is the god of sunshine so he does possess sun base powers for Magnus to inherit.

I also kept Alabaster's grudge against the Olympians that was the reason he betrayed Olympus which is why he was glaring at Apollo. His and Ethan's connections from the time they both fought for Kronos against Olympus is the only reason Alabaster came back-that and he does care for his half-siblings in Hecate's Cabin.