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.

The Beast: Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus

I had never been so happy to see a killing field.

We appeared into a glade littered with bones. Most were from forest animals. A few appeared human. I guessed we had found the myrmekes' dumping site, and they apparently didn't get regular garbage pickup.

The clearing was hemmed with trees so thick and tangled that traveling through them would have been impossible. Over our heads, the branches wove together in a leafy dome that let in sunlight but not much else. Anyone flying above the forest would never have realized this open space existed under the canopy.

At the far end of the glade stood a row of objects like football tackle dummies—six white cocoons staked on tall wooden poles, flanking a pair of enormous oaks. Each tree was at least eighty feet tall. They had grown so close together that their massive trunks appeared to have fused. I had the distinct impression I was looking at a set of living doors.

"It's a gateway," I said. "To the Grove of Dodona."

Meg's blades retracted, once again becoming gold rings on her middle fingers. "Aren't we in the grove?"

"No…" I stared across the clearing at the white cocoon Popsicles. They were too faraway to make out clearly, but something about them seemed familiar in an evil, unwelcome sort of way. I wanted to get closer. I also wanted to keep my distance.

"I think this is more of an antechamber," I said. "The grove itself is behind those trees."

Alabaster frowned as though he notices something. "Do you guys hear anything?"

We gazed around warily.

"I don't hear anything," Meg said.

It is true. The forest was quiet. The trees seemed to be holding their breath.

"The grove knows we are here," I guessed. "It's waiting to see what we'll do."

"We'd better do something, then." Meg marched forward bones crunching under her feet.

"Something doesn't feel right," Alabaster said as we followed. "If the Grove been talking, summoning campers here, why is it silent now?"

"That's a good question," I said.

About halfway across the glade, Meg let out a sharp exhale.

She was staring at the post on either side of the tree gates.

At first, I could not process what I was seeing. Each stake was about the height of a crucifix—the kind Romans used to set up along the roadside to advertise the fates of criminals. The upper half of each post was wrapped in thick lumpy wads of white cloth, and sticky from the top of each cocoon were human heads.

"The missing campers," Alabaster gasped.

He was right. Arrayed in front of us were five demigods, all tightly bound. I watched, petrified, until I discerned the slightest expansion and contractions in the wrappings around their chests. They were still breathing. Unconscious, not dead. Thank the gods.

On the left were three teenagers I did not know, though I assumed they must be Cecil, Ellis, and Miranda. On the right was an emaciated man with gray skin and white hair—no doubt the geyser god Paulie. Next to him hung my children… Austin and Kayla.

I shook so violently, the bones around my feet clattered. I recognized the smell coming from the prisoners' wrappings—sulfur, oil, powdered lime, and liquid Greek fire, the most dangerous substance ever created. Rage and disgust fought in my throat, vying for the right to make me throw up.

"Oh, monstrous," I said. "We need to free them immediately."

"Wh-what's wrong with them?" Meg stammered.

"Apollo, what is this?" Alabaster asked.

"A form of execution the Beast use to use," I said. "I only seen this once before, and I never wished to see it again."

I ran to Austin's stake. With all my strength I tried to push it over, but it would not budge. The base was sunk too deep in the earth. I tore at the cloth bindings but only managed to coat my hands in sulfurous resin. The wadding was stickier and harder than Myrmekes' goo.

Then I remember what Rhea said about us needing Alabaster.

"Alabaster, your magic! It should free the campers." I spoke.

"Right," Alabaster said rushing over.

But before he could reach me there was a familiar snarl from above us.

The branches rustled. Peaches the karpos dropped from the canopy, landing with a somersault at Meg's feet. He looked like he had been through quite an ordeal to get here. His arms were sliced up and dripping peach nectar. His legs were dotted with bruises. His diaper sagged dangerously.

"What's he doing here?" Alabaster responded.

"Apollo." Meg's voice was heavy. She pointed to the tunnel from which we had come.

Appearing from the ants' nest were two of the largest humans I had ever seen. Each were seven feet tall and three hundred pounds of pure muscle stuffed into horsehide armor. Their blond hair glinted like silver floss. Jeweled rings glittered in their beards. Each man carried an oval shield and a spear, though I doubted they needed weapons to kill. They looked like they could crack open cannonballs with their bare hands.

I recognized them from their tattoos and the circular designs on their shields. Such warriors were not easy to forget.

"Germani." Instinctively, I moved in front of Meg. The elite imperial bodyguards had been cold-blooded death reapers in ancient Rome. I doubted they had gotten any sweeter over the centuries.

The two men glared at me. They had serpent tattoos curling around their necks, just like the ruffians who had jumped me in New York. The Germani parted, and their master climbed from the tunnel.

Nero had not changed much in one thousand nine hundred and some-odd years. He appeared to be no more than thirty, but it was a hard thirty, his face haggard and his belly distended from too much partying. His mouth was fixed with a permanent sneer. His curly hair extended into a wraparound neck beard. His chin was so weak, I was tempted to create a GoFundMe campaign to buy him a better jaw.

He tried to compensate for his ugliness with an expensive Italian suit of purple wool, his gray shirt open to display gold chains. His shoes were hand-tooled leather, not the sort of thing to wear while stomping around in an ant pile. Then again, Nero had always had expensive, impractical tastes. That was perhaps the only thing I admired about him."

"Emperor Nero," I said. "The Beast."

He curled his lip. "Nero will do. It is good to see you, my honored ancestor. I am sorry I have been so lax about my offerings during the past few millennia, but"—he shrugged— "I have not needed you. I've done rather well on my own."

My fists clenched. I wanted to strike down this pot-bellied emperor with a bolt of white-hot arrows, except that I had no bolts of white-hot power. I had no singing voice left. Against Nero and his seven-foot-tall bodyguards, I had just your average celestial bronze arrows, a Brazilian handkerchief, a packet of ambrosia, and some brass wind chimes.

"It's me you want," I said. "Cut these demigods down from their stakes. Let them leave with Meg. They've done nothing to you."

Nero chuckled. "I'll be happy to let them go once we've come to an agreement. As for Meg…" He smiled at her. "How are you, dear?"

Meg said nothing. Her face was as hard and gray as a geyser god's. At her feet, Peaches snarled and rustled his leafy wings.

One of Nero's guards said something in his ear.

The Emperor nodded. "Soon."

He turned his attention back to me. "But where are my manners? Allow me to introduce my right hand, Vincius, and my left hand, Garius."

The bodyguards pointed across to each other.

"Ah, sorry," Nero corrected. "My right hand Garius, my left hand Vincius. Those are the Romanized version of their Batavi names, which I cannot pronounce. Usually, I just call them Vince and Gary. Say hello, boys."

Vince and Gary glowered at me.

"And of course, I don't need introduction of you, Alabaster Torrington," Nero said. "Your reputation as son of Hecate is quite well known even to me."

Alabaster gave Nero a glare of his own as his grip on his sword tighten.

"They have serpent tattoos," I noted the bodyguards, "like those street thugs you sent to attack me."

Nero shrugged. "I have many servants. Cade and Mikey are quite low on the pay scale. Their only job was to rattle you a bit, welcome you to my city."

"Your city." I found it just like Nero to go claiming major metropolitan areas that clearly belonged to me. "And these two gentlemen… they are actually Germani from ancient times? How?"

Nero made a snide little barking sound in the back of his nose. I had forgotten how much I hated his laugh.

"Lord Apollo, please," he said. "Even before Gaea commandeered the Doors of Death, souls escaped from Erebos all the time. It was quite easy for a god-emperor such as myself to call back my followers."

"A god-emperor?" I growled. "You mean a delusional ex-emperor."

Nero arched his eyebrows. "What made you a god, Apollo… back when you were one? Wasn't it the power of your name, your sway over those who believed in you? I am no different." He glanced to his left. "Vince, fall on your spear, please."

Without hesitation, Vince planted the butt of his spear against the ground. He graced the point under his rib cage.

"Stop," Nero said. "I changed my mind."

Vince betrayed no relief. In fact, his eyes tightened with faint disappointment. He brought his spear back to his side.

Nero grinned at me. "You see? I hold the power of life and death over my worshippers, like any proper god should."

"And here I thought the Olympians were horrible," Alabaster mumbled.

"The Germani were always crazy," I told Alabaster. "Much like you, Nero."

Nero put his hand to his hand to his chest. "I'm hurt! My barbarian friends are loyal subjects of the Julian dynasty! And, of course, we are all descended from you, Lord Apollo."

I did not need the reminder. I had been so proud of my son, the original Octavian, later Caesar Augustus. After his death, his descendants became increasingly arrogant and unstable (which I blamed on their mortal DNA; they certainly did not get those qualities from me). Nero had been the last of the Julian line to become emperor. I had not wept when he died. Now here he was, as grotesque and chinless as ever.

If it were not for the fact Nero had an aunt that were exiled two emperors before him along with his sister during the first attempted assassination of the Caesar family and stayed exile during Nero's assassination, that would have been the end of the Caesar bloodline for good, and I would not have had been tempted by my descendant Octavian. But not only she stayed exiled, but her descendants later re-joined the legion as extensive line of augers.

Meg stood at my shoulder. "Wh-what do you want, Nero?"

Considering she was facing the man who killed her father, she sounded remarkably calm. I was grateful for her strength. It gave me hope to have a skilled dimachaerus and a ravenous peach baby at my side with Alabaster. I did not like our odds against two Germani, but Rhea said Alabaster was needed and I trust her words.

Nero's eyes gleamed. "Straight to the point. I have always admired that about you, Meg. Really, it is simple. You and Apollo will open the gates of Dodona for me. Then these six"—he gestured to the staked prisoners— "will be released to Mr. Torrington to bring back to his camp."

I shook my head. "You'll destroy the grove. Then you'll kill us."

The emperor made that horrible bark again. "Not unless you force me to. I am a reasonable god-emperor, Apollo! I would much rather have the Grove of Dodona under my control if it can be managed, but certainly cannot allow you to use it. You had your chance at being the guardian of the Oracles. You failed miserably. Now it is my responsibility. Mine… and my partners'."

"The two other emperors," I said. "Who are they?"

Nero shrugged. "Good Romans—men who, like me, have the willpower to do what is needed."

"Triumvirates have never worked. They always lead to civil war."

He smiled as if that idea did not bother him. "The three of us have come to an agreement. We have divided up the new empire… by which I mean North America. Once we have the Oracles, we'll expand and do what Romans have always done best—conquer the world."

"This guy is worse than Zeus," Alabaster said, with which I do agree.

I could only stare at Nero. "You truly learned nothing from your previous reign."

"Oh, but I did! I have had centuries to reflect, plan, and prepare. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to be god-emperor, unable to die but unable to fully live? There was a period of about three hundred years during the Middle Ages when my name was almost forgotten. I was little more than a mirage! Thank goodness for the Renaissance when our Classical greatness was remembered. And then came the Internet. Oh, gods, I love the Internet! It is impossible for me to fade completely now. I am immortal on Wikipedia!"

I winced. I was now fully convinced of Nero's insanity. Wikipedia was always getting stuff wrong about me.

"Apollo, I decided I rather deal with the twelve Olympians over being ruled by this lunatic." Alabaster said. "The Olympians are tyrants, but at least they're not as crazy as this guy."

I do not know if I should be glad to hear that or be annoyed.

Nero rolled his hand. "You may think I'm crazy, son of Hecate. I could explain my plans to prove otherwise, but I have a lot on my plate today. I need Apollo and Meg to open those gates. They have resisted my best efforts, but together you two can do it. Apollo, you have an affinity with Oracles. Meg has a way with trees. Get to it. Please and thank you."

"We would rather die," I said. "Wouldn't we, Meg?"

No response.

I glanced over. A silvery streak glistened on Meg's cheek. At first, I thought one of her rhinestones had melted. Then I realized she was crying.

"Meg?"

Nero clasped his hands as if in prayer. "Oh, my. We have had a slight miscommunication. You see, Apollo, Meg brought you here, just as I asked her to. I was not expecting Mr. Torrington, but no worries. Well done, my sweet."

Meg wiped her face. "I—I didn't mean…"

My heart compressed to the size of a pebble. "Meg, no. I can't believe—"

I reached for her. Peaches snarled and inserted himself between us. I realized the karpos was not here to protect us from Nero. He was defending Meg from Alabaster and me.

"Meg?" I spoke. "This man killed your father! He's a murderer!"

She stared at the ground. When she spoke, her voice was tortured. "The Beast killed my father. This is Nero. He's—he's my stepfather."

I could not fully grasp this before Nero spread his arms.

"That's right, my darling," he said. "And you've done a wonderful job. Come to Papa."