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:

Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters

Campers and Hunters Selected to Save Artemis and Annabeth

You would think since the oracle was able to walk down to the woods, she could walk back, but no, Grover and I were elected to carry her back to the attic.

"Watch her head!" Grover warned as we went up the stairs. But it was too late.

Bonk! I whacked her mummified face against the trapdoor frame and dust flew.

"Ah, man." I set her down and checked for damage. "Did I break anything?"

"I can't tell," Grover admitted.

We hauled her up and set her on her tripod stool, both of us huffing and sweating. Who knew a mummy could weigh so much?

I assumed she would not talk to me, and I was right. I was relieved when we finally got out of there, and I was right. I was relieved when we finally got out of there and slammed the attic door shut.

"Well," Grover said, "that was gross."

"How did we ended up doing that?" I asked.

Grover shrugged. It was not like we were least favorite people in camp right now. Well, I might not be. I am sure Grover was selected because he kept bothering the Hunters. Still it was not like anyone was in celebratory mood before the Oracle arrived. Everyone was in shock because for the first time ever a camper-vs-hunter game of capture the flag ended as a draw. Now there was the new prophecy from the Oracle. It was lie the spirit of Delphi had gone out of her way to exclude me. She had ignored my question and walked half a mile to talk to Zoë. And she had said nothing, not even a hint, about Annabeth.

"What will Chiron do?" I asked Grover.

"I wish I knew." He looked wistfully out the second-floor window at the rolling hills covered in snow. "I want to be out there."

"Searching for Annabeth? Or Pan?"

He had a little trouble focusing on me. Then he blushed as he clopped his hooves uneasily. "I know it sounds crazy, but I can't help but wonder… with the Great Stirring… if all those ancient powers waking up, maybe Pan is among them."

Two thousand years ago, the nature god Pan went missing. He was rumored to have died, but the satyrs did not believe that. They were determined to find him. They had been searching in vain for centuries, and Grover was convinced he would be the one to succeed. It should be a lot easier now that Polyphemus the Cyclopes no longer has the Golden Fleece, which been attracting satyrs to his island as the Golden Fleece magic was close to Pan's. But this year, with Chiron putting all the satyrs on emergency duty to find half-bloods, Grover had not been able to continue his search. It must have been driving him nuts.

"I've let the trail go cold," he said. "I feel restless, like I'm missing something really important. He is out there somewhere. I can just feel it."

Before I could think of something to say, Thalia came up the stairs. Thalia decided not to yell at me or praise me for disobeying her to get the flag since I did drop it on her to take across the creek. Too be honest, the moment the arrows started flying at me, my cover was blown and that the flag just put an easy target on me. I also hoped that give Thalia time to get the flag across the creek.

. "Percy, hurry up downstairs. Dionysus is calling a council of cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy, and that includes you."

I guess I should of saw that coming. The prophecy did mention both campers and hunters taking part on this quest.

…

The council was held around a Ping-Pong table in the rec room. Dionysus waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Then Chiron reminded him that wine was against his restrictions and most of us were underage. Mr. D sighed. With a snap of his fingers the wine turned to Diet Coke that nobody drank either.

Mr. D and Chiron (in wheelchair form) sat at ne end of the table. Zoë and Bianca di Angelo (who had kind of become Zoë's personal assistant) took the other end. Thalia and Grover sat along the right, and the other head councilors—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers—sat on the left. Ares were supposed to send a representative, too, but all three of them had gotten broken limbs (accidentally) during capture the flag, courtesy of the Hunters. They were resting up in the infirmary.

Zoë started the meeting off on a positive note. "This is pointless."

"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He began scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping.

"There is no time for talk," Zoë continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

"And go where?" Chiron asked.

"West!" Bianca said. I was amazed at how different she looked after just a few days with the Hunters. Her dark hair was braided like Zoë's now, so you could see her face. She had a splash of freckles across her nose, and her dark eyes reminded me of someone, but I could not remember who. She looked like she had been working out, and her skin glowed faintly, like the other Hunters, as if she had been taking showers in liquid moonlight. "You heard the prophecy. Five shall go west to the goddess in chains. We can get five hunters and go."

"Yes," Zoë agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."

"You're missing something, as usual," Thalia said. "Campers and Hunters combined prevail. We're supposed to do this together."

"No!" Zoë said. "The Hunters do not need thy help."

"Your," Thalia grumbled. "Nobody has said thy in, like, three hundred years, Zoë. Get with the times."

Zoë hesitated, like she was trying to form the word correctly. "Yerrr. We do not need yerrr help."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Forget it."

"I fear the prophecy says you do need our help," Chiron said. "Campers and Hunters must cooperate."

"Or do they?" Mr. D mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine bouquet. "One shall be taken. One shall perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"

"Mr. D," Chiron sighed, "with all due respect, whose side are you on?"

Dionysus raised his eyebrows. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful."

"We're supposed to work together," Thalia said stubbornly. "I don't like it either, Zoë, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"

Zoë grimaced, but I could tell Thalia had scored a point.

"We must not delay," Chiron warned. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty-first, is the winter solstice."

"Oh, joy," Dionysus muttered. "Another dull annual meeting."

"Artemis must be present at the solstice," Zoë said. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."

"Are you struggling that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked.

"Yes, Lord Dionysus."

Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You are right, of course. Carry on."

"I must agree with Zoë," said Chiron. "Artemis's presence at the winter council is critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest."

"Three and two," I said. "Since the Oracle gave Zoë the quest, it's only fair there be three hunters and two from Camp Half-Blood."

Thalia and Zoë exchanged looks.

"Well," Thalia said. "It does make sense."

Zoë grunted. "I would prefer to take all the Hunters. We will need strength of numbers."

"You'll be retracing the goddess' path," Chiron reminded her. "Moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: The bane of Olympus shows the trail. What would your mistress say? 'Too many Hunters spoil the scent.' A small group is best."

Zoë picked up a Ping-Pong paddle and studied it like she was deciding who she wanted to whack first. "This monster—the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis's side for many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be."

Everybody looked at Dionysus, I guess because he was the only god present and gods are supposed to know things. He was flipping through a wine magazine, but when everyone got silent, he glanced up. "Well, don't look at me. I am a young god, remember? I do not keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversation."

Well, he had a point about him being a young god. Although Dionysus is an Olympian, it is easy to forget he was a half-blood like us at one point. Especially the way he treats half-bloods.

"Chiron," I said, "you don't have any ideas about the monster?"

Chiron pursed his lips. "I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are monsters the size of skyscrapers. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful."

"That's some serious danger you're facing," Conner Stoll said. (I liked how he said you and not we.) "It sounds like at least two of the five are going to die."

"One shall be taken in the land without rain," Beckendorf said. "If I were you, I'd stay out of the desert."

There was a muttering of agreement.

That was when I remember when Hades took my mother from me before the Minotaur could kill her. I thought it meant death, but it turned out to be a ploy to try and get me to return the Helm of Darkness.

"Taken might not necessarily mean death," I said to brighten the mood. "It could just mean being kidnapped."

"That's true," Chiron agreed. "That line might not mean death."

"What about the Titan's curse must one withstand?" Silena said. "What could that mean?"

I saw Chiron and Zoë exchange a nervous look, but whatever they were thinking, they did not share it.

"One shall perish by a parent's hand," Grover said in between bites of Cheez Whiz and Ping-Pong balls. "How is that possible? Whose parent would kill them?"

There was heavy silence around the table.

I glanced at Thalia and wondered if she was thinking the same thing I was. Years ago, Chiron had had a prophecy about the next child of the Big Three—Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades—who turned sixteen. Supposedly, that kid would make a decision that would save or destroy the gods forever. Because of that, the Big Three had taken an oath after World War II not to have any more half-blood children. Any other kind of children like Cyclopes were permitted so the Big Three can burn off any of their own needs if they do not go after mortals. But Thalia and I had been born anyway, and now we were both getting close to sixteen.

And even if I was not a child of prophecy, my shapeshifting powers makes me even more powerful than most other half-bloods of the Big Three—possibly stronger than Hercules himself. And it was no secret that Kronos is interested in that power, making me just as great threat as the prophecy child.

I remembered a conversation I had had last year with Annabeth. I had asked her, if I was so potentially dangerous, why the gods did not just kill me. Some were afraid of offending Poseidon,

Could an Olympian parent turn against his half-blood child? Would it sometimes be easier just to let them die? If there were ever any half-bloods who needed to worry about that, it was Thalia and me.

"There will be at least one death," Chiron decided. "That much we know."

"Oh, goody!" Dionysus said. Everyone looked at him. He glanced up innocently from the pages of Wine Connoisseur magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me."

"Percy is right," Silena Beauregard said. "Two campers should go at least."

"Oh, I see," Zoë said sarcastically. "And I suppose you wish to volunteer?"

Silena blushed. "I'm not going anywhere with the Hunters. Don't look at me!"

"A daughter of Aphrodite does not wish to be looked at," Zoë scoffed. "What would thy mother say?"

Silena started to get out of her chair, but the Stoll brothers pulled her back.

"Stop it," Beckendorf said. He was a big guy with a bigger voice. He did not talk much, but when he did, people tend to listen. "Let us start with the Hunters. Which three of you will go?"

Zoë stood. "I shall go, of course, I will take Phoebe. She is our best tracker."

"The big girl who likes to hit people on the head?" Travis Stoll asked cautiously.

Zoë nodded.

"The one who put the arrows in my helmet?" Conner added.

"Yes," Zoë snapped. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," Travis said. "Just that we have a T-shirt for her from the camp store." He held up a big silver T-shirt that said ARTEMIS THE MOON GODDESS, FALL HUNTING TOUR 2002, with a huge list of national parks and stuff underneath.

"What are you two up to?" I asked.

"Nothing," both said, obviously lying. They were always up to something.

"It's a collector's item. Phoebe was admiring it." Travis explained.

"You want to give it to her?" Conner asked.

"Don't trust them," I warned Zoë.

Of course, she chooses to not listen and took the T-shirt. "I was saying, I will take Phoebe. And I wish Bianca to go."

Bianca looked stunned. "Me? But… I am so new. I wouldn't be any good."

"You will do fine," Zoë insisted. "There is no better way to prove thyself."

Bianca closed her mouth. I felt kind of sorry for her. I remembered my first quest when i was twelve. I had felt totally unprepared. I am sure Bianca felt the same.

"And for campers?" Chiron asked. His eyes met mine, but I could not tell what he was thinking.

"What about Percy?" Grover suggested. "His powers do make him good at scouting."

Zoë wrinkled her nose. "I think not. I am not willing to work with a boy. Especially one that does not even listen to orders," Zoë argued.

"Percy may not listen to orders, but his heart is in the right place," Thalia said. "I hate to admit it, if he had not disobeyed no telling how the game went."

Zoë was hesitant but she said, "No!"

"Then at least let Grover come," Thalia said. "He's a camper with satyr senses and woodland magic. Can you play a tracker's song yet, Grover?"

"Absolutely! I'll do anything to help Artemis."

Zoë wavered, but I guess she cannot argue against Grover's loyalty.

"Very well," Zoë said.

Great, she takes Grover, but not me.

"I'll go too." Thalia stood and looked around, daring anyone to question her.

As much as I rather go, at least I know Thalia will try everything in her power to save Annabeth and Artemis. Still, I have this feeling I am supposed to go.

Chiron concluded the quest agreeing with the arrangement.

…

Chiron stopped me before I left the Big House. "I'm sorry Percy. Thalia would not have been my first choice to go on this quest. She is too impetuous. She acts without thinking. She is too sure of herself."

"And according to Apollo she's over a week away from turning sixteen," I said.

"Yes, that as well. But sending both of you would be at risk too. Children of Zeus and Poseidon don't always get along."

"Churchill and FDR were able to," I said.

"That was because World War II had pushed them to work together," Chiron said. "Hitler had pushed them to work together."

"And you don't think Kronos could?" I asked.

"More of I'm afraid he would for the wrong reasons," Chiron said. "You can go home to your mother for the holidays. If we need you, we can call."

"Yeah, maybe." I said. "Chiron, do you have a drachma I can use?"

Chiron studied, then he pulled a golden drachma from his saddlebag and tossed it to me. "Call your mother."

I nodded as I headed to Cabin Three.

…

I stood at the saltwater spring, rubbing Chiron's coin in my hand, and trying to figure out what to say to my mom. I really was not in the mood to have one more adult tell me that nothing was the greatest thing I could do, but I figured my mom deserved an update.

Finally, I took a deep breath and threw in the coin. "O goddess, accept my offering."

The mist shimmered. The light there was just enough light from outside to make a faint rainbow.

"Show me Sally Jackson," I said. "Upper East Side, Manhattan."

And there in the mist was a scene I did not expect. My mom was sitting at our kitchen table with some… guy. They were laughing hysterically. There was a big stack of textbooks between them. The man was, I do not know, thirty-something, with longish salt-and-pepper hair and a brown jacket over a black T-shirt. He looked like an actor—like a guy who might play an undercover cop on television.

I was too stunned to say anything, and the guy were too busy laughing to notice my Iris-message.

The guy said, "Sally, you're a riot. You want some more wine?"

"Ah, I shouldn't. You go ahead if you want."

"Actually, I'd better use your bathroom. May I?"

"Down the hall," she said, trying not to laugh.

The actor dude smiled and got up and left.

"Mom!" I said.

She jumped so hard she almost knocked her textbooks off the table. Finally, she focused on me. "Percy! Oh, honey! Is everything okay?"

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

She blinked. "Homework." Then she seemed to understand the look on my face. "Oh, honey, that's just Paul—um, Mr. Blofis. He's in my writing seminar."

"Mr. Blowfish?"

"Blofis. He will be back in a minute, Percy. Tell me what's wrong."

She always knew when something was wrong. I told her about Annabeth. The other stuff too, but mostly it boiled down to Annabeth.

My mother's eyes teared up. I could tell she was trying hard to keep it together for my sake. "Oh, Percy…"

"Yeah. So, they tell me there is nothing I can do. I guess I'll be coming home."

She turned her pencil around in her fingers. "Percy, as much as I want you to come home"—she sighed like she was mad at herself— "as much as I want you to be safe, I want you to understand something. You need to do whatever you think you have to."

I stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you really, deep down, believe that you have to help save her? Do you think it is the right thing to do? Because I know one thing about you, Percy. Your heart is always in the right place. Listen to it."

"You're…you're telling me to go?"

My mother pursed her lips. "I'm telling you that… you're getting too old or me to tell you what to do. I am telling you that I support you, even if what you decide to do is dangerous. I can't believe I'm saying this."

"Mom—"

The toilet flushed down the hall in our apartment.

"I don't have much time," my mom said. "Percy, whatever you decide, I love you. And I know you'll do what's best for Annabeth."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because she'd do the same for you."

And with that, my mother waved her hand over the mist, and the connection dissolved, leaving me with one final image of her new friend, Mr. Blowfish, smiling down at her. At least she refers him as a friend, but I had a feeling it was more than that.

…

I do not remember falling asleep that night, but I remember the dream.

I was back in that barren cave, the ceiling heavy and low above me. Annabeth was kneeling under the weight of a dark mass that looked like a pile of boulders. She was too tired even to cry out. Her legs trembled. Any second, I knew she would run out of strength and the cavern ceiling would collapse on top of her.

"How is our mortal guest?" a male voice boomed.

It was not Kronos. Kronos's voice was raspy and metallic, like a knife scraped across stone. I had heard it taunting me many times before in my dreams. But this voice was deeper and lower, lie a bass guitar. Its force made the ground vibrate.

Luke emerged from the shadows. He ran to Annabeth, knelt beside her, then looked back at the unseen man. "She's fading. We must hurry."

The hypocrite. Like he really cared what happened to her.

The deep voice chuckled. It belonged to someone in the shadows, at the edge of my dream. Then a meaty hand thrust someone forward into the light—Artemis—her hands and feet bound in celestial bronze chains.

I gasped. Her silvery dress was torn and tattered. Her face and arms were cut in several places, and she was bleeding ichor, the golden blood of the gods.

"You heard the boy," said the man in the shadows. "Decide!"

Artemis's eyes flashed with anger. I did not know why she just did not will the chains to burst, or make herself disappear, but she did not seem able to. Maybe the chains prevented her, or some magic about this dark, horrible place.

The goddess looked at Annabeth and her expression changed to concern and outrage. "How dare you torture a maiden like this!"

"She will die soon," Luke said. "You can save her."

Annabeth made a weak sound of protest. My heart felt like it was being twisted into a knot. I wanted to run to her, but I could not move.

"Free my hands," Artemis said.

Luke brought out his sword, Backbiter. With one expert strike, he broke the goddess's handcuffs.

Artemis ran to Annabeth and took the burden from her shoulders. Annabeth collapsed on the ground and lay there shivering. Artemis staggered, trying to support the weight of the rocks.

The man in the shadows chuckled. "You are as predictable as you were easy to beat, Artemis."

"You surprised me," the goddess said, straining under her burden. "It will not happen again."

"Indeed, it will not," the man said.

"Now you are out of the way for good! I knew you could not resist helping a young maiden. That is, after all, your specialty, my dear."

Artemis groaned. "You know nothing of mercy, you swine."

"On that," the man said, "we can agree. Luke, you may kill the girl now."

"No!" Artemis shouted.

Luke hesitated. "She—she may yet be useful, sir. Further bait."

"Bah! You truly believe that?"

"Yes, General. They will come for her. I'm sure."

The man considered. "Then the dracaenae can guard her here. Assuming she does not die from her injuries, you may keep her alive until winter solstice. After that, if our sacrifice goes as planned, her life will be meaningless. The lives of all mortals will be meaningless."

Luke gathered up Annabeth's listless body and carried her away from the goddess.

"You will never find the monster you seek," Artemis said. "Your plan will fail."

"How little you know, my young goddess," the man in the shadows said. "Even now, your darling attendants begin their quest to find you. They shall play directly into my hands. Now, if you will excuse us, we have a long journey to make. We must greet your Hunters and make sure their quest is… challenging."

The man's laughter echoed in the darkness, shaking the ground until it seemed the whole cavern ceiling would collapse.

…

I woke with a start. I was sure I had heard a loud banging.

I looked around the cabin. It was dark outside. The salt water fountain gurgled. No other sounds but the hoot of an owl in the woods and the distant surf on the beach. In the moonlight, on my nightstand, was Annabeth's New York Yankees cap. I stared at it for a second, and then: BANG. BANG.

Someone, or something was pounding on my door.

I grabbed Riptide and got out of bed.

"Hello?" I called.

THUMP. THUMP.

I crept to the door.

I uncapped the blade, flung open the door, and found myself face-to-face with a black pegasus.

Whoa, boss! Its voice spoke in my mind as it clopped away from the sword blade. I do not wanna be a horse-ke-bob!

Its black wings spread in alarm, and the wind buffeted me back a step.

"Blackjack," I said, relieved but a little irritated. "It's the middle of the night!"

Blackjack huffed. Ain't either, boss. It is five in the morning. What you still sleeping for?

"How many times have I told you? Don't call me boss."

Whatever you say, boss. You are the man. You are my number one.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and tried not to let the pegasus read my thoughts. That is the problem with being Poseidon's son: since he created horses out of sea foam, I can understand most equestrian animals, but they can understand me, too. Sometimes, like in Blackjack's case, they kind of adopt me.

See, Blackjack had been a captive on board Luke's ship last summer, until we had caused a little distraction that allowed him to escape. I had really had very little to do with it, seriously, but Blackjack credited me with saving him. He insisted he be my main ride whenever I need to fly somewhere. Although I could shapeshifted into winged creatures to fly—including pegasus—but I am sure an actual pegasus have mystical powers I cannot use. Plus, flying does tend to be tiring if I do not know where to go.

"Blackjack," I said, "you're supposed to stay in the stables."

Meh, the stables. You see Chiron staying in the stables?

"Well… no."

Exactly. Listen, we got another little sea friend needs your help.

"Again?"

Yeah. I told the hippocampi I had come get you.

I groaned. Anytime I was anywhere near the beach, whether I was here at camp or with my mom at Montauk, the hippocampi would ask me to help them with their problems. And they had a lot of problems. Beached whales, porpoises caught in fishing nets, mermaids with hangnails—they would call me to come underwater and help. Beached whales are especially a headache to deal with. Especially if it is a blue whale or sperm whale. Those guys are not light weight creatures.

"All right," I said. "I'm coming."

You are the best, boss.

"And don't call me boss!"

Blackjack whinnied softly, which normally is him laughing.

I looked back at my comfortable bed. My bronze shield was now in wristwatch form, repaired thanks to Beckendorf. Annabeth's magic Yankees cap. On impulse I grabbed both, stuff the capped into my pocket and strapped my wristwatch onto my wrist. I do not know why, but I got the feeling I will need both.