A/N: I don't own the rights to any of the Percy Jackson series or it's characters. That right goes to Rick Riordan. I also don't own the rights to Animorph including it's title.

I am, however, the person who posted 'The Tales of...' series.

This is not a crossover of the Percy Jackson series with the book/tv series Animorph, despite what you might think from the title. I just thought it be a proper name for the ability to turn into animals since that's why the tv/book series 'Animorph' was called that in the first place.

If you haven't read this yet, read:

AnimorphPercy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
AnimorphPercy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters

Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse

A Rescue Operation Gone Wrong

The Friday before winter break, my mom packed me an overnight bag and a few deadly weapons and took me to a new boarding school. We picked up my friends Annabeth and Thalia on the way.

It was an eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine. Sleet and snow pounded the highway. Annabeth, Thalia, and I had not seen each other in months, but between the blizzard and the thought of what we were about to do, we were too nervous to talk much. Except for my mom. She talks more when she is nervous. By the time we finally got to Westover Hall, it was getting dark, and she had told Annabeth and Thalia every embarrassing baby story there was to tell about me. Thalia even snickered when she heard my mom's nickname for me as a child 'little cub'. My mom used call me that back then because I would sometimes growl like a wolf—a side-effect of my powers to shape shift into any animal I want—along with me heighten senses that kicks in whenever I am stressed out or in danger. Only I could stop myself from growling most of the time (sometimes I do it without thinking). The heighten senses just comes and goes whether I am in battle or just taking a test.

My mom was able to meet Annabeth and Thalia at the end of camp last summer when she and Annabeth's parents picked me up to go home. Chiron was not too happy that Thalia and I both left camp for the school year, but Annabeth's dad arranged Annabeth to go to an all-girl boarding school in Brooklyn, so she be close to Thalia. Annabeth's dad agreed to this since Thalia did protected Annabeth after she first run away when she was seven, and Thalia and Annabeth had six years to make up for.

Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun."

Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other.

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" my mother asked.

"No, thanks, Mom," I said. "I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay."

"But how will you get back? I'm worried, Percy."

I hope I was not blushing. It was bad enough I had to depend on my mom to drive me to my battles.

"It's okay, Ms. Jackson." Annabeth smiled reassuringly. Her blond hair was tucked in a ski cap and her gray eyes were the same color as the ocean right now. "We'll keep him out of trouble."

My mom seemed to relax a little. She thinks Annabeth is the most levelheaded demigod ever to hit eighth grade. She is sure Annabeth often keeps me from getting killed. She is right, but that does not mean I have to like it.

"All right, dears," my mom said. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, Ms. Jackson," Thalia said. "Thanks for the ride."

"Extra sweaters? You have my cell phone number?"

"Mom—"

"Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?"

"Mom, seriously! We will be fine. Come on, guys."

She looked a little hurt, and I was sorry about that, but I was ready to be out of that car. If my mom told one more story about how cute I looked in the bathtub when I was three years old, I was going to turn into artic animal, burrow into the snow and hide.

Annabeth and Thalia followed me outside. The wind blew straight through my coat like ice daggers.

Once my mother's car was out of sight, Thalia said, "Your mom is so cool, Percy."

"She's pretty okay," I admitted. "What about you? You ever get in touch with your mom?"

Thalia gave me an evil look, that would look scary with the punk clothes she always wears—the ripped-up army jacket, black leather pants and chain jewelry, and black eyeliner and intense blue eyes. But I can turn into some of the scariest animals and even mystical creatures (if it is not half human) known. I can even partially morph part of my body into an animal just by slowing down my transformations. Although I probably can do that with my head or face, I never done it with any other body part but my arms, and that was only twice.

Only ones I will not turn into as long as Annabeth is near is species of spiders. Not only because she's terrified of spiders she's my friend and we been through a lot, but because I made that mistake two summers ago to break her out of a spell, and quickly found out first hand that as long as the spider is small enough and there's just one of them, she'll do everything in her half-blood training to not only kill a spider but even make good sure it's dead.

Still even though Thalia knows I can match her stare with my shapeshifting powers, that does not stop her from giving me a perfect ten evil stare.

"If that was any of your business, Percy—"

"We'd better get inside," Annabeth interrupted. "Grover will be waiting."

Thalia looked at the castle and shivered. "You're right. I wonder what he found here that made him send the distress call."

I stared up at the dark towers of Westover Hall. "Nothing good," I guessed.

…

The oak doors groaned open, and the three of us stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow.

All I could say was, "Whoa."

The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. I mean, I knew Westover was a military school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. Literally.

My hand went to my pocket, where I kept my lethal ballpoint pen, Riptide. My heighten senses has not even kicked in yet, and I could already sense something wrong with this place. Something dangerous. Thalia was rubbing her silver bracelet, her favorite magic item. I knew we were thinking the same thing. A fight was coming.

Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where—"

The doors slammed shut behind us.

"Oo-kay," I mumbled. "Guess we'll stay a while."

I could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music.

We stashed our overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. We had not gone very far when I heard footsteps on the stone floor, a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept us.

They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to me. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.

"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"Um…" I realized I had not planned for this. I had been so focused on getting to Grover and finding out what was wrong, I had not considered that someone might question three kids sneaking into the school at night. We had not talked at all in the car about how we would get inside. I said, "Ma'am, we're just—"

"Ha!" the man snapped, which made me jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!"

He had an accent—French, maybe. He pronounced his J like in Jacques. He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils when he spoke, which made it hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colors—one brown, one blue—like an alley cat's.

I figured he was about to toss us into the snow, but then Thalia stepped forward and did something very weird.

She snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. Maybe it was just imagination, but I felt a gust of wind ripple out from her hand, across the room. It washed over all of us, making the banners rustle on the walls.

"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," Thalia said. "We go to school here. You remember I am Thalia. And this is Annabeth and Percy. We're in the eighth grade."

The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes. Whatever Thalia did, it did not seem to convince him.

He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"

Despite the danger we were in, I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. A teacher named Got Chalk? He had to be kidding.

The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I… yes. I believe I do, sir." She frowned at us. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

Before we could answer, I heard more footsteps, and Grover ran up, breathless. "You made it! You—"

He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh—"

"What is it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Grover. "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here."

Knowing how horrible a liar Grover was, I stepped up. "Uh yeah, that's my fault. I was not feeling so good, so I was in my dorm. Annabeth and Thalia were keeping me company. But I feel much better now so we decided to join the dance. That's why we're here instead at the gymnasium."

Dr. Thorn glared at us. He looked like he wanted to pitch us off the castle's highest tower, but then Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily. "Ah yes. I am glad to hear you are feeling better Percy. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium!"

We did not wait to be told twice. We left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs". I also remember having to salute in the military schools I been in, so I did that, and fortunately Annabeth and Thalia followed my example.

Grover hustled us down the hall in the direction of the music.

I could feel the teacher's eyes on my back, but I walked closely to Thalia and asked in a low voice, "What was that finger snap thing you did?"

"You mean the Mist? Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?"

An uncomfortable lump formed in my throat. Chiron was our head trainer at camp, but he had never shown me anything like that.

"He said he would when I'm older," I muttered.

Thalia shrugged like it was no big deal. But it was to me. Why Chiron taught Thalia but have me wait until I am older.

"Hey relax. Even if you cannot manipulate the Mist, you still have the same powers as Periclymenus." Thalia said like that alone should make up for me not being able to use the Mist.

Then again, she does have a point. Last summer, I learned the first hero ever to have the same shapeshifting power as me—Periclymenus: Grandson of Poseidon—once fought Hercules and although he lost, he did gave Hercules a bit of a challenge. Because of it me being born with shapeshifting powers is a bigger deal than just me being the son of one of the Big Three.

But it does have its limits. Like if I turn into a mystical creature, I cannot use any of their mystical powers unless its the same as my own. Meaning, if I turn into a dragon that can breath fire (not all dragons can), I won't be able to breathe fire, but if I turn into a mystical creature that controls water, I can do that myself because I already have that power. More importantly if I over use my powers or the abilities the animals, I turn into has it affects me even after I turn back to human form.

Grover hurried us to a door that had GYM written on the glass. Even with my dyslexia, I could read that much.

"That was close! Good call on playing the sick card, Percy," Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"

Annabeth and Thalia both hugged Grover. I gave him big high five.

It was good to see him after so many months. He'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human—a red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves. He was wearing a black T-shirt that took me a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. I was not sure whether that was, like, Grover's rank or maybe the school's motto. Every military school is different.

"So, what's the emergency?" I asked.

Grover took a deep breath. "I found two."

"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?"

Grover nodded.

Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. These were desperate times. We were losing campers. We needed all the new fighters we could find. The problem was, unless the gods start taking more notice to their kids, we have no idea how many demigods are out there. We might find children of Athena, Apollo, and Demeter who always claim their kids, but we cannot locate them all.

"A brother and a sister," he said. "They're ten and twelve. They are orphans, and I do not know their parentage, but they are strong. We are running out of time, though. I need help."

"Monsters?"

"One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I do not think he is positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I am sure he will not let them leave campus without finding out. I doubt he will have a hard time since they are orphans. So, this may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he is always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"

Grover looked at Thalia desperately. I tried not to feel upset by that. Used to be, Grover looked to me for answers, but Thalia had seniority. Not just because her dad was Zeus. Thalia had more experience than any of us fending off monsters in the real world.

"Right," she said. "These half-bloods are at the dance?"

Grover nodded.

"Then let's dance," Thalia said. "Who's the monster?"

"Oh," Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn."

…

Weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there is a special event, and they get to be out of uniform. I guess it is because everything is so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they have got to overcompensate or something.

There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each other's faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices. Occasionally, they would surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. Some of the older guys looked more like me—uncomfortable, hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to hide, like any minute they might have to fight for their lives. Of course, in my case, it was true…

"There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo."

The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.

Annabeth said, "Do they… I mean, have you told them?"

Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."

He looked at me, and I nodded. I had never really understood what half-bloods "smell" like to monster or satyrs. I cannot smell out half-bloods myself, but the one time I turned into a spider around Annabeth I was able to sense her out as daughter of Athena. I am guessing satyrs and monster smelling out half-bloods is mystical, where as for normal animals are just naturally in tuned to certain demigods depending on their parent. I do know however, that your scent could get you killed. And the more powerful a demigod you became, the more you smelled like a monster's lunch.

"So, let's grab them and get out of here," I said.

I started forward, but Thalia put her hand on my shoulder. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in our direction. His blue eye seemed to glow.

Judging from his expression, Thalia's trick with the Mist did not affect him. He suspected who we were. He was just waiting to see why we were here.

"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we are not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."

"How?"

"We're three powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids."

"Dancing?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"

Grover looked hurt. "I did."

"Oh, my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like Green Day or something?"

"Green who?

"Never mind. Let us dance."

"But I can't dance!"

"You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy."

Grover yelped a Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.

Annabeth smiled.

"I take it that's normal with Thalia?" I asked. Although I had time to get to know Thalia from the time, she was expunge from the tree that hosted her soul until the end of summer, I am still learning new things about Thalia.

"Yeah," Annabeth said.

Annabeth had grown taller than me since last summer, which I found disturbing. She used to wear no jewelry except for her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace, but now she wore little silver earrings shaped like owls—the symbol of her mother Athena. She pulled off her ski cap, and her long blond hair tumbled down her shoulders. It made her look older, for some reason.

"So…" I tried to think of something to say. Act natural, Thalia had told us. When you are a half-blood on dangerous mission, what heck is natural? "Um, design any good buildings lately?"

Annabeth's eyes lit up, the way they always did when she talked about architecture. "Oh, my gods, Percy. At my new school, I get to take 3-D design as an elective, and there's this cool computer program…"

She went on to explain how she designed this huge monument that she wanted to build at Ground Zero in Manhattan. She talked about structural supports and facades and stuff, and I tried to listen. I knew she wanted to be a super architect when she grew up—she loves math and historical buildings and all that—but I hardly understood a word she was saying.

The truth was kind of disappointed to hear that she liked her new school so much. It was the first time she had gone to school in New York. I had been hoping to see her more often. But I hardly see them. My mom ran out of private middle schools to send me, so she sends me to a public school: MS54.

"Yeah, uh, cool," I said. "So, you're staying there the rest of the year, huh?"

Her face got dark. "Well, maybe, if I don't—"

"Hey!" Thalia called to us. She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die. At least his feet were fake. Unlike me, he had an excuse for being clumsy.

"Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."

I looked nervously at Annabeth, then at the groups of girls who were roaming the gym.

"Well?" Annabeth said.

"Um, who should I ask?"

She punched me in the gut. "Me, Seaweed Brain."

"Oh. Oh, right."

So, we went onto the dance floor, and I looked over to see how Thalia and Grover were doing things. I put one hand on Annabeth's hip, and she clasped my other hand like she was about to judo throw me.

"I'm not going to bite," she told me. "Honestly, Percy. Don't you guys have dances at your school?"

I did not answer. The truth was we did. But I would never, like, danced at one. I normally one of the guys playing basketball in the corner.

We shuffled around for a few minutes. I tried to concentrate on little things, like the crepe-paper streamers and the punch bowl—anything but the fact that Annabeth was taller than me, and my hands were sweaty and probably gross, and I kept stepping on her toes.

"What were you saying earlier?" I asked. "Are you having trouble at school or something?"

She pursed her lips. "It's not that. It's my dad."

"Uh-oh." I knew Annabeth had a rocky relationship with her father. "I thought it was getting better with you two. Is it your stepmom again?"

Annabeth sighed. "He decided to move. Just when I was getting settled in New York, he took this stupid new job researching for a World War I book. In San Francisco."

She said this the same way she might say Fields of Punishment.

"So, he wants you to move out there with him?" I asked.

"To the other side of the country," she said miserably. "And half-bloods can't live in San Francisco. He should know that."

"What? Why not?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. Maybe she thought I was kidding. "You know. It's right there."

And of course, I still have no idea what she was talking about. "So… you'll go back to living at camp or what?"

"It's more serious than that, Percy. I… I probably should tell you something."

Suddenly she froze. "They're gone."

"What?"

I followed her gaze. The bleachers. The two half-blood kids, Bianca, and Nico were no longer there. The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight.

"We have to get Thalia and Grover!" Annabeth looked around frantically. "Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!"

She ran through the crowd. I was about to follow when a mob of girls got in my way. I maneuvered around them to avoid getting the ribbon-and-lipstick treatment, and by time I was free, Annabeth had disappeared. I turned to a full circle, looking for her or Thalia and Grover. Instead, I was something that chilled my blood.

About fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards. Then I caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn. He was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks, like kittens.

I still could not see Annabeth, but I knew she would be heading the other way, looking for Thalia and Grover.

I almost ran after her, and then I thought, Wait.

I remembered what Thalia had said to me in the entry hall, looking at me all puzzled when I asked about the finger-snap trick. I thought about the way Grover had turned to her, expecting her to save the day.

Not that I resented Thalia. She was cool. It was not her fault her dad was Zeus, and she got all the attention… Still I did not need to run after her to solve every problem. Besides, there was not time. The di Angelos were in danger. They might be long gone by the time I found my friends. I knew monsters. I could handle this myself.

I took Riptide out of my pocket and ran after Dr. Thorn.

…

The door led into a dark hallway. I heard sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful grunt.

I thought of uncapping Riptide, but then I remember some monsters can sense celestial bronze when drawn out. So instead I put Riptide back in my pocket. I dropped to all four as scales grew all over my body and tail grew in as I shrunk down into Gecko form. I climbed up the walls and down the corridor, but when I got to the other end, no one was there and the door slightly ajar as though Dr. Thorn was in a hurry to close the door.

I pass through the door and found myself back in the main entry hall just as Dr. Thorn hurried the kids through the oak doors. A cold breeze blew through nearly freezing me. Great. If I must go out warm blooded.