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

Bianca di Angelo Is Offered to Become A Hunter

After seeing Dr. Thorn turn into a monster and plummet off the edge of a cliff with Annabeth and disappeared, you think nothing else could shock me. But when this twelve-year-old girl told me she was the goddess Artemis, I said something real intelligent like, "Um… okay."

That was nothing compared to Grover. He gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started yammering. "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so… you're so… Wow!"

I never seen Grover grovel this much, not even to Mr. D—Dionysus—who is practically his boss.

"Get up, goat boy!" Thalia snapped. "We have other things to worry about. Percy, are you sure you didn't see Annabeth."

"Positive. I even dived into the water and search myself," I responded.

"Whoa," Bianca di Angelo said. "Hold up. Time out."

Everybody looked at her. She pointed her finger at all of us it turns, like she was trying to connect the dots. "Who… who are you people?"

Artemis expression softened. "It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you? Who are your parents?"

Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis.

"Our parents are dead," Bianca said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but…"

She faltered. I guess she could tell from our faces that we did not believe her.

"What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth."

"You are a half-blood," Zoë Nightshade said. Her accent was hard to place. It sounded old-fashioned, like she was reading from an old book. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."

"An Olympian… athlete?"

"No," Zoë said. "One of the gods."

"Cool!" said Nico.

"No!" Bianca's voice quavered. "This is not cool!"

Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"

"Nico, shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"

I could not help but feel sorry for the di Angelos. I remembered what it was like to find out the Olympians were real. I am sure all demigods do.

Thalia's anger subsided in her eyes. "Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They are immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well… Our lives are dangerous."

"Dangerous," Bianca said, "like the girl who fell."

Thalia turned away. Even Artemis looked pained.

"Do not despair for Annabeth," the goddess said. "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her."

If this was coming from a mortal or a half-blood, I might question this, but I learn one thing about the Olympians is never underestimate them.

"Do you have any idea where she went?" I asked. "Because I swam deep down there, and I didn't see her."

"I'm afraid not," Artemis said. "I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished."

"Oo!" Nico raised his hand. "What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?"

"He was a manticore," Artemis said. "Hopefully, he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They re-form repeatedly, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear."

"Or they'll hunt us," Thalia said.

Bianca di Angelo shivered. "That explains… Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in D.C.?"

"And that bus driver," Nico said. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real."

"That's why Grover has been watching you," I said. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."

"Grover?" Bianca stared at him. "You're a demigod?"

"Well, a satyr, actually." He kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves. It looked as though Bianca was going to faint right there from shock.

"Grover, put your shoes back on," Thalia said. "You're freaking her out."

"Hey, my hooves are clean!"

"Bianca," I said, "we came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr. Thorn will not be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."

"Camp?" she asked.

"Camp Half-Blood," I said. "It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round if you like."

"Sweet, let's go!" said Nico.

"Wait." Bianca shook her head. "I don't—"

"There is another option," Zoë said.

"No, there isn't!" Thalia said.

Thalia and Zoë glared at each other. I did not know what they were talking about, but I could tell there was bad history between them. For some reason, they seriously hated each other.

I remember hearing from Annabeth that the Hunters of Artemis visited Camp Half-Blood during her seven years as camper, and that Campers and Hunters do not normally get along. But last, I check the last visit was after Thalia was turned into a tree but before I became a camper. So, I do not know what's Thalia's history with the hunters is.

"We've burdened these children enough," Artemis announced. "Zoë, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."

"Yes, my lady."

"And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you."

"What about me?" Nico asked.

Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while… as a favor to me?"

Grover just about tripped over himself getting up. "You bet! Come on, Nico!"

Nico and Grover walked off toward the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and a bunch of other geeky stuff. Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliff. The Hunters began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp.

Zoë gave Thalia one more evil look, then left to oversee things.

As soon as she was gone, Thalia stamped her foot in frustration. "The nerve of those Hunters! They think they're so… Argh!"

"I'm with you," I said. "I don't trust—"

"Oh, you're with me?" Thalia turned on me furiously. "What were you thinking back there in the gym, Percy? You would take on Dr. Thorn all by yourself? You knew he was a monster! If we had stuck together, we could have taken him without the Hunters getting involved. Annabeth might still be here."

I clenched my teeth. "I have you know I didn't attack Dr. Thorn until he was about to release his first volley attack that Annabeth saved the di Angelos from. I was scouting out the situation, and I did try to contact Grover with our empathy link when I knew I was over my head before he releases that attack."

I breath heavily after my rant. Then I looked down and saw something navy blue lying in the snow at my feet. Annabeth's New York Yankees baseball cap.

Thalia did not say another word. She wiped a tear from her cheek, turned, and marched off, leaving me alone with a trampled cap in the snow. I realized she was just grieving over what happened to Annabeth as I was. Thalia helped raised Annabeth when they were on the run so naturally, she would take this hard.

…

The hunters set up their camping site in a matter of minutes. Seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire. One of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. They began circling the camp like guard dogs. The Hunters walked among them and fed them treats, completely unafraid, but I decided I would stick close to the tents. Falcons watched us from the trees, their eyes flashing in the firelight, and I got the feeling they were on guard duty, too. Even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess's will. The air was still cold, but the wind died down the snow stopped falling, so it was almost pleasant sitting by the fire.

Almost, except for the guilt weighing down on me. I could not believe Annabeth was gone. What could have happened for Annabeth to disappear?

I thought back to our conversation back at the gym. What had Annabeth wanted to tell me? Something serious, she had said. Now I might never find out. I thought about how we had danced together for half a song, and my heart felt heavier.

I watched Thalia pacing in the snow at the edge of camp, walking among the wolves without fear. She stopped and looked back at Westover Hall, which was now completely dark, looming on the hillside beyond the woods. I wondered what she was thinking.

Seven years ago, Thalia had been turned into a pine tree by her father, to prevent her from dying. She stood her ground against an army monsters on top of Half-Blood Hill to give her friends Luke and Annabeth time to escape. She had only been back as a human for a few months now, and occasionally she would stand so motionless, you would think she was still a tree.

Finally, one of the Hunters brought me my backpack. Grover and Nico came back from their walk and check over their supplies with me.

Nico rummaged through his own bag, which the Hunters had apparently packed for him, though it amazed me how they had snuck into Westover Hall unseen. Nico laid out a bunch of figurines in the snow—little battle replicas of Greek gods and heroes. I recognized Zeus with a lightning bolt, Ares with a spear, Apollo with his sun chariot.

"Big collection," I said.

Nico grinned. "I've got almost all of them, plus their holographic cards! Well, except for a few really rare ones."

"You've been playing this game a long time?"

"Just this year. Before that…" He knit his eyebrows. "I forgot. That's weird."

He looked unsettled, but it did not last long. "Hey, can I see that sword you were using?"

I showed him Riptide, and explained how it turned from a pen into a sword just by uncapping it.

"Cool! Does it ever run out of ink?"

"Um, well, I don't actually write with it."

"Are you really the son of Poseidon?"

"Well, yeah."

"Can you turn into any animal you want?"

"Basically."

"Even extinct animals?"

That is a good question. "I never really try."

"Can you turn into dinosaurs?"

"I just said never tried turning into extinct animals." Although I now realized if I could turn into extinct artic animals, I might have stood a better chance against the Manticore.

He went on asking questions. Did I fight a lot with Thalia, since she was a daughter of Zeus? (I did not answer that one.) If Annabeth's mother was Athena, the goddess of wisdom, then why didn't Annabeth know better than to fall off a cliff? (I tried not to strangle Nico for asking that one.) Was Annabeth my girlfriend? (At this point, I was ready to stick the kid in a meat-flavored sack and throw him to the wolves.)

I figured any second, he was going to ask me how many hit points I had, and I would lose my cool completely, but then Zoë Nightshade came up to us.

"Percy Jackson."

She had dark brown eyes and a slightly upturned nose. With her silver circlet and her proud expression, she looked so much like royalty that I had to resist to urge to sit up straight and say "Yes, ma'am." She studied me distastefully, like I was a bag of dirty laundry she had been sent to fetch.

"Come with me," she said. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee."

…

Zoë led me to the last tent, which looked no different from the others, and waved me inside. Bianca di Angelo was seated next to the auburn-haired girl, who I still had trouble thinking of as Artemis.

The inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. In the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. Behind the goddess, on a polished oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns. The walls were hung with animal pelts: black bear, tiger, and several others. I figured an animal rights activist would have had a heart attack looking at all those rare skins, but maybe since Artemis was goddess of the hunt, she could replenish whatever she shot. I thought she had another animal pelt lying next to her, and then I realized it was a live animal—a deer with glittering fur and silver horns, its head resting contentedly in Artemis's lap.

"Join us, Percy Jackson," the goddess said.

I sat across from her on the tent floor. The goddess studied me, which made me uncomfortable. She had such old eyes for a young girl.

"Are you surprised by my age?" she asked.

"Uh… a little."

"I could appear as a grown woman or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray."

"Go astray?" I asked.

"Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves."

"Oh."

Zoë sat down at Artemis's right. She glared at me as if all the stuff Artemis had just said was my fault, like I had invented the idea of being a guy.

"You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you," Artemis said. "It is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. The last one to see this camp…" She looked at Zoë. "Which one was it?"

"The boy in Colorado," Zoë said. "You turned him into a jackalope."

"Ah, yes." Artemis nodded, satisfied. "I enjoyed making jackalopes. At any rate, Percy, I asked you here because one of my hunters overheard you were scouting the Manticore before he releases his first volley of attacks and brought it to my attention."

I rubbed the back of my head. "Ah… yeah. I was using artic fox form to sneak up in case I might overhear something important."

Artemis nodded. "Small, sly, and cunning foxes are, and with snow, Artic Fox's blend in really well. So, I would believe then you have overheard Dr. Thorn. Bianca has reported things the monster said. But she may not have understood them. I like you to tell me what you overheard."

And so, I told her.

When I was done, Artemis put her hand thoughtfully on her silver bow. "I fear this was the answer."

Zoë sat forward. "The scent, my lady?"

"Yes."

"What scent?" I asked.

"Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia," Artemis murmured. "Prey so old I have nearly forgotten."

She stared at me intently. "We came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one I seek. Tell me again, exactly what Dr. Thorn said."

"He said somebody called the General was going to explain things to Bianca and Nico," I answered.

Zoë's face paled. She turned to Artemis and started to say something, but Artemis raised her hand. "Go on, Percy," the goddess said.

"Well, then Thorn was talking about the Great Stirring. And he said, 'Soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring the downfall of Olympus."

Bianca nodded when I finish agreeing that was what Dr. Thorn said.

The goddess was so still she could have been a statue.

"Maybe he was lying," I said.

Artemis shook her head. "No. He was not. I have been too slow to see the signs. I must hunt this monster." Zoë looked like she was trying very hard not to be afraid, but she nodded. "We will leave right away my lady.'

"No, Zoë. I must do this alone."

"But Artemis—"

"This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me."

"As… as you wish, my lady."

"I will find this creature," Artemis vowed. "And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in."

"You know what the monster is?" I asked.

Artemis gripped her bow. "Let us pray I am wrong."

"Can goddesses pray?" I asked because I had never really thought about that.

A flicker of a smile played across Artemis lips. "Before I go, Percy Jackson, I have a small task for you. I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return."

"What?" Zoë blurted out. "But, Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed there—"

"Yes, I know," Artemis said. "But I'm sure Dionysus will not hold grudge just because of a little misunderstanding. Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down."

Zoë muttered something about foolish campers.

A shiver went down my back. Although I was not a camper back then, Annabeth told me about the last visit the Hunters made. Apparently after a game of hunters vs. campers Capture the Flag, Ares and Aphrodite got into a fight with the Hunters that resulted to many cabins being burned down. Both Hermes Cabin and the Big House was over filled with campers until the cabins were rebuilt.

"You can use Cabin Eight while you stay there," Artemis said.

I was not really shock about that. Although Cabin Eight, also known as Artemis's Cabin, was honorary as Artemis had no children, Grover had told me the Hunters stayed there whenever they visited.

"And now there is one last decision to make." Artemis turned to Bianca. "Have you made your mind, my girl?"

Bianca hesitated. "I'm still thinking about it."

"Wait," I said. 'Thinking about what?"

"They… they've invited me to join the Hunt."

"What? But you cannot! You must come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron could train you. It's the only way you can survive."

"It is not the only way for a girl," Zoë said.

I could not believe I was hearing this. "Bianca, camp is cool! It's goes a pegasus stable and sword-fighting arena and other stuff."

"We offer immortality," Zoë argued.

I stared at her, then at Artemis. "She's kidding, right?"

"Zoë rarely kids about anything," Artemis said. "My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal… unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or they break their oath."

"What oath?" I asked.

"To foreswear romantic love forever—whether it's from men and/or women," Artemis said. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally.'

"Like you?"

The goddess nodded.

I tried to imagine what she was saying. Being immortals. Hanging out with only middle-school girls forever. I could not get my mind around it. "So, you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods—"

'Not just half-bloods," Zoë interrupted. "Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth. All who honor the goddess may join. Half-bloods, nymphs, mortals—"

"Which are you, then?"

Anger flashed in Zoë's eyes. "That is not thy concern, boy. The point is Bianca may join if she wishes. It is her choice."

"Bianca, this is crazy," I said. "What about your brother? Nico can't be a Hunter."

"Certainly not," Artemis agreed. "He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys can do."

"Hey!" I protested.

"You can see him from time to time," Artemis assured Bianca. "But you will be of responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a new family. Us."

"A new family," Bianca repeated dreamily. "Free of responsibility."

"Bianca, please," I said. "Camp Half Blood is a good place. Just give it a chance."

Bianca hesitated for a bit. She looked at Zoë. "Is it worth it?"

Zoë nodded. "It is."

"What do I have to do?"

"Say this," Zoë told her, "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."

"I… I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."

"I turned my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt."

Bianca repeated the lines. "That's it?"

Zoë nodded. "If Lady Artemis accept thy pledge, then it is binding."

"I accept it," Artemis said.

The flames in the brazier brightened, casting a silver glow over the room. Bianca looked no different, but she took a deep breath and opened her eyes wide. "I feel… stronger."

"Welcome, sister," Zoë said.

"Remember your pledge," Artemis said. "It is now your life."

I could not speak. I felt like a trespasser. And a complete failure. I could not believe I had come all this way and suffered so much only to lose Bianca to some eternal girls' club.

"Do not despair, Percy Jackson," Artemis said. "You will still get to show the di Angelos your camp. And if Nico so chooses, he can stay there."

That was not very reassuring with the thought of Kronos gathering as many half-bloods as possible. Kronos might convince Nico to hate Artemis for taking his sister away from him and take revenge or something.

"How are we supposed to get there?"

Artemis closed her eyes. "Dawn is approaching. Zoë, break camp. You must get to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother."

Zoë did not look happy about this idea, but she nodded and told Bianca to follow her. As she was leaving, Bianca paused in front of me. "I'm sorry, Percy. I believe what you said about Camp Half-Blood being a good place. But I want this. I really, really do."

Then she was gone, and I was left alone with the twelve-year-old goddess.

"You do realize Kronos could use this to convince Nico to join him, right?" I asked. "He uses any grudge a half-blood could have as leverage to convince them to join his cause."

"I'm aware. I rather not risk the Titan Lord gaining more strength than he has, but I'm not the type to ignore maidens who might want to join," Artemis said.

I guess I can see her point. Bianca was an orphan, with no other family than her brother and I would want to help her get a second chance in a new life. But that does not mean I have to like it.

"Now, it's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, Apollo." Artemis said.