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

I Wrestled A Homeless God for Answers

"Tell me when it's over," Thalia said. Her eyes were shut tight. The statue was holding on to us so we couldn't fall, but still Thalia clutched his arm like it was the most important thing in the world.

"Everything's fine," I promised.

"Are... are we very high?"

I looked down. Below us, a range of snowy mountains zipped by. I stretched out my foot and kicked snow off one of the peaks.

"Nah," I said. "Not that high."

"We are in the Sierras!" Zoë yelled. She and Grover were hanging from the arms of the other statue. "I have hunted here before. At this speed, we should be in San Francisco in a few hours."

"Hey, hey, Frisco!" Our ángel said. "Yo, Chuck! We could visit those guys at the Mechanics Monument again! They know how to party!"

"Oh, man," the other angel said. "I am so there!"

"You guys have visited San Francisco?" I asked.

"We automatons gotta have some fun once in a while, right?" Our statue said. "Those mechanics took us over to the de Young Museum and introduced us to these marble lady statues, see. And-"

"Hank!" the other statue Chuck cut in. "They're kids, man."

"Oh, right." If the bronze statues could blush, I swear Hank did. "Back to flying."

We sped up so I could tell the angels were excited. The mountains fell away into hills, and then we were zipping along over farmland and towns and highways.

Grover played his pipes to pass the time. Zoë got bored and started shooting arrows at random billboards as we flew by. Every time she saw a Target department store-and we passed dozens of them-she would peg the store's sign with a few bulls-eyes at a hundred miles an hour.

Thalia kept her eyes closed the whole way. SHe muttered to herself a lot, like she was praying.

"You did good back there," I told her. "Zeus listened."

It was hard to tell what she was thinking with her eyes closed.

"Maybe," she said. "How did you get away from the skeletons before finding us?"

I told her about how I morphed into a rat to dodge around people's feet and got into the elevators where I saw Athena. Now that we weren't cornered Thalia agreed with me it was possible Athena did take interest since we can save Annabeth along with Artemis. I then mention meeting Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who saw me morphed back into human. I thought Thalia was going to call me crazy, but she nodded.

"Some mortals can see through the Mist and thus unaffected by it. Nobody knows why. It's possible this girl is one of those mortals," Thalia said. "But because your shapeshifting powers isn't an illusion of the Mist, she still saw you in your animal form."

It was then it occurred to me that my mom was the same way. She had seen the Minotaur on Half-Blood Hill and know exactly what it was. She hadn't been surprised at all last year when I told her Tyson was a Cyclops. Maybe she'd known all along. No wonder she'd been so scared for me as I was growing up. She saw through the Mist even better than I did.

...

"Where you guys want to land?" Hank asked, waking me up from a nap.

I looked down and said, "Whoa."

I'd seen San Francisco in pictures before, but never in real life. It was probably the most beautiful city I'd ever seen: kind of like a smaller, cleaner Manhattan, if Manhattan had been surrounded by green hills and fog. There was a huge bay and ships, islands and sailboats and the Golden Gate Bridge sticking up out of the fog. I felt like I should take a picture or something. Greeting from Frisco. Haven't Died Yet. Wish You Were Here.

"There," Zoë suggested. "By the Embarcadero Building."

"Good thinking," Chuck said. "Me and Hank can blend in with the pigeons."

We all looked at him.

"Kidding," he said. "Sheesh, can't statues have a sense of humor?"

As it turns out, there wasn't much need to blend in. It was early morning and not many people were around. We freaked out a homeless guy on the ferry dock when we landed. He screamed when he saw Hank and Chuck and ran off yelling something about metal angels from Mars.

We said our good-byes to the angels, who flew off to party with their statue friends. That's when I realized I had no idea what we were going to do next.

We'd made it to the West Coast. Artemis was here somewhere. Annabeth too, I hoped. But I had no idea how to find them, and tomorrow was the winter solstice. Nor did I have any clue what monster Artemis had been hunting. It was supposed to "show the trail," but it never had. Now we were stuck on the ferry dock with not much money, no friends, and no luck.

After a brief discussion, we agreed that we needed to figure out just what this mystery monster was.

"But how?" I asked.

"Nereus," Grover said.

Thalia nodded. "You did say Apollo told you to look for Nereus."

I nodded. I'd completely forgotten my last conversation with the sun god.

"The old man of the sea," I remembered. "I'm supposed to find him and force him to tell us what he knows. But how do I find him?"

Zoë made a face. "Old Nereus, eh?"

"You know him?" Thalia asked.

"My mother was a sea goddess. Yes, I know him. Unfortunately, he is never very hard to find. Just follow the smell."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Come," she said without enthusiasm. "I will show thee."

I knew I was in trouble when we stopped at the Goodwill drop box. Five minutes later Zoë had me outfitted in a ragged flannel shirt and jeans three sizes too big, bright red sneakers, and a floppy rainbow hat. I'm sure I resemble Tyson when he was living on the streets.

"Oh, yeah," Grover said, trying not to bust out laughing, "you look completely inconspicuous now."

Zoë nodded with satisfaction. "A typical male vagrant."

"Thanks a lot," I grumbled. "Why amI doing this again?"

"I told thee. To blend in."

She led the way back down to the waterfront. After a long time spent searching the docks, Zoë finally stopped in her tracks. She pointed down a pier where a bunch of homeless guys were huddled together in blankets, waiting for the soup kitchen to open for lunch.

"He will be down there somewhere," Zoë said. "He never travels very far from the water. He likes to sun himself during the day."

"How do I know which one is him?"

"SNeak up," she said. "Act homeless. You will know him. He will smell... different. Even to mortals and demigods."

"Great." I didn't want to ask for particulars. "And once I find him?"

"Grab him," she said. "And hold on. He will try anything to get rid of thee. Whatever he does, do not let go. Force him to tell thee about te monster."

"We've got your back," Thalia said. She picked something off the back of my shirt-a big clump of fuzz that came from who-knows-where. "Eww. On second thought... I don't want your back. But we'll be rooting for you."

Grover gave me a big thumbs up.

I grumbled how nice it was to have super powerful friends. Then I headed toward the dock.

I pulled my hat down and stumbled like I was about to pass out, which wasn't hard considering how tired I was. I passed our homeless friend from the Embarcadero, who was still trying to warn the others about the metal angels from Mars.

He didn't smell good, but he didn't smell... different. I keptwalking.

A couple of grimy dudes with plastic grocery bags for hats checked me out as I came close.

"Beat it, kid!" one of them muttered.

I moved away. They smelled pretty bad, but regular old bad. Nothing unusual.

There was a lady with a bunch of plastic flamingos sticking out of a shopping cart. She glared at me like I was going to steal her birds.

I'm starting to wonder if this is what it was like for Tyson and other homeless Cyclopes. Then I realized that it might been harder for them. No wonder so many gone rogue. They probably felt like the unclaimed back in Cabin 11: unwanted and angry. No wonder why so many Cyclopes chose to kill demigods children of the gods instead of helping the gods. They must have felt as spiteful as the half-bloods Kronos tricked into joining his army. But at the same time, I can understand why they were send to the streets. The gods don't want to spoil them and make sure the cyclopes at least be more appreciative for the skills they have. I met Polyphemus who is spoiled and expected gifts from Poseidon. But there has to be a better way to make sure cyclopes don't end up like Polyphemus.

I pushed that thought to the back of my mind. I got an old sea god to find and questions he can answer that could save Annabeth and Artemis. Solve Cyclopes problem later.

At the end of the pier, a guy who looked about a million years old was passed out in a patch of sunlight. He wore pajamas and a fuzzy bathrobe that probably used to be white. He was fat with a white beard that turned yellow, kind of like Santa Claus, if Santa had been rolled out of bed and dragged through a landfill.

And his smell?

As I got closer, I froze. He smelled bad, all right-but ocean bad. Like hot seaweed and dead fish and brine. If the ocean had an ugly side... this guy was it.

This guy has to be Nereus.

I tried not to gag as I sat down near him like I was tired. Santa opened one eye suspiciously. I could feel him staring at me, but I didn't look. I muttered something about stupid school and stupid parents, figuring that might sound reasonable.

Santa Claus went back to sleep.

I tense. I knew this was going to look strange. I didn;t know how the other homeless people would react. But I jumped Santa Clause.

"Ahhhhh!" he screamed. I meant to grab him, but he seemed to grab me instead. It was as if he never been asleep at all. He certainly didn't act like a weak old man. He had a grip like steel. "Help me!" he screamed as he squeezed me to death.

"That's a crime!" one of the other homeless guys yelled. "Kid rolling an old man like that."

I rolled, all right-straight down the post. I was dazed for a second, and Nereus' grip slackened. He was making a break for it. Before he could, I regain my senses and tackled him from behind.

"I don't have any money!" He tried to get up and run, but I locked my arms around his chest. His rotten fish smell was awful, but I held on.

"I don't want money," I said as he fought. "I'm a half-blood. I want information!"

That just made him struggle harder. "Heroes! Why do you always pick on me!"

"Because you know everything!"

He growled and tried to shake me off his back. It was like holding on to a roller coaster. He thrashed around, making it impossible for me to keep on my feet in human form. I thought of shapeshifting into a gorilla to increase my strength, but I wasn't sure I can focus with all this struggle. Then as we staggered toward the edge of the pier I got an idea.

"Oh, no!" I said. "Not the water!"

The plan worked. Immediately, Nereus yelled in triumph and jumped off the edge. Together, we plunged into San Francisco Bay.

"He must've been surprised when I tightened my grip, the ocean filling me with extra strength. But Nereus had a few tricks left, too. He changed shape until I was holding a sleep black seal. Unfortunately for him my shapeshifting powers always came easier with less concentration under water.

My body shrank as my arms and legs turned into tentacles with four more sprouting around my body until I was an octopus. I used all eight of my suction cup tentacles to grab hold of Nereus. Nerus plunged straight down, wriggling and thrashing, but I now had eight tentacles around his body.

Nereus splun and explanded into a killer whale, but I just grab hold of his dorsal fin before morphing into a large squid to maintain a tight grip. He burst out of the water and a whole bunch of tourist went, "Whoa!" I guess it wasn't every day they see a huge squid wrestling with a killer whale.

Nereus plunged into the water and turned into a limey eel, but I just shapeshifted into an otter and kept hold of him. Realizing I was a shapeshifter too and that I can match his powers with my own, he morphed back to human as did I. "Why won't you drown?" he waived, pummeling me with his fist. "How are you able to shapeshift?"

"I'm Poseidon's son blessed with the power of shapeshifting," I said.

"Curse that Upstart! I was here first!"

Finally he collapsed on the edge of the boat dock. Above us was one of those tourist piers lined with shops like a mall on water. Nereus was heaving and gasping. I felt great. I could probably do that again, but I didn't tell him that. I wanted him to feel like he'd put up a good fight.

My friends ran down the steps from the pier.

"You got him!" Zoë said.

"You don't have to sound so amazed," I said.

Nereus moaned. "Oh, wonderful. An audience for my humiliation! The normal deal, I suppose? You'll let me go if I answer your question?"

"I've got more than one question," I said.

"Only one question per capture! That's the rule."

I look at my friends.

This wasn't good. I needed to find Artemis, and I needed to figure out what the doomsday creature was. I also needed to know if Annabeth was still alive, and how to rescue her. How could I ask that all in one question?

A voice inside me was screaming Ask about Annabeth! That's what I cared about most.

But I imagined what Annabeth might say. She would never forgive me if I saved her and didn't save Olympus. Zoë would want me to ask about Artemis, but Chiron had told us the monster was even more important.

I sighed. "All right, Nereus. Tell me where to find this terrible monster that could bring an end to the gods. The one Artemis was hunting."

The Old Man of the Sea smiled, showing off his mossy green teeth.

"Oh, that's too easy," he said evilly. "He's right there."

Nereus pointed to the water at my feet.

"Where?" I said.

"The deal is complete!" Nereus gloated. With a pop, he turned into a goldfish and did a backflip into the sea.

"You tricked me!" I yelled.

"Wait." Thalia's eyes widened. "What is that?"

"MOOOOOOOO!"

I looked down, and there was my friend the cow serpent, swimming next to the dock. She nudged my shoe and gave me the sad brown eyes.

"Ah, Bessie," I said. "Not now."

"Mooo!"

Grover gasped. "He says his name isn't Bessie."

"You can understand her... er, him?"

Grover nodded. "It's a very old form of animal speech. But he says his name is the Ophiotaurus."

"The Ophi-what?"

"It means serpent bull in Greek," Thalia said. "But what's it doing here?"

"Moooooooo!"

"He says Percy is his protector," Grover announced. "And he's running from the bad people. He says they are close.

I was wondering how you got all that out of a single moooooo.

"Wait," Zoë said, looking at me. "You know this cow?"

I was feeling impatient, but I told them the story.

Thalia shook her head in disbelief. "And you just forgot to mention this before?"

"Well... yeah." It seemed silly, now that she said it, but things had been happening so fast. Bessie, the Ophiotaurus, seemed like a minor detail.

"I am a fool," Zoë said suddenly. "I know this story!"

"What story?"

"From the War of the Titans," she said. "My... my father told me this tale, thousands of years ago. This is the beast we are looking for."

"Bessie?" I looked down at the bull serpent. "But... he's too cute. H couldn't destroy the world."

"That is how we were wrong," Zoë said. "We've been anticipating a huge dangerous monster, but the Ophiotaurus does not bring the gods that way. He must be sacrificed."

"MMMM," Bessie lowed.

"I don't think he likes the S-word," Grover said.

I patted Bessie on the head, trying to calm him down. He let me scratch his ear, but he was trembling.

"How could anyone hurt him?" I said. "He's harmless."

Zoë nodded. "But there is power in killing innocence. Terrible power. The Fates ordained a prophecy eons ago, when this creature was born. They said that whoever killed the Ophiotaurus and sacrificed its entrails to fire would have the power to destroy the gods.."

"MMMMMM!"

"Um," Grover said. "Maybe we could avoid talking about entrails, too."

Thalia stared at the cow serpent with wonder. "The power to destroy the gods... how? I mean, what would happen."

"No one knows," Zoë said. "The first time, during the Titan war, the Ophiotaurus was in fact slain by a giant ally of the Titans, but thy father, Zeus, sent an eagle to snatch the entrails away before he could be tossed into the fire. It was a close call. Now, after three thousand years, the Ophiotaurus is reborn."

Thalia sat down on the dock. She stretched out her hand. Bessie went right to her. Thalia placed her hand on his head. Bessie shivered.

Thalia's expression bothered me. She reminded me of Tantalus last summer whenever he thought he about to catch his food before it escaped. Then I remember that Tantalus was also a son of Zeus.

"We have to protect him," I told her. "If Luke gets hold of him-"

"Luke wouldn't hesitate," Thalia muttered. "The power to overthrow Olympus. That's that's huge."

"Yes, it is, my dear," said a man's voice in a heavy French accent. "And it is a power you shall unleash."

The Ophiotaurus made a whimpering sound and submerged.

I looked up. We'd been so busy talking, we'd allowed ourselves to be ambushed.

Standing behind us, his two color eyes gleaming wickedly, was Dr. Thorn, the manticore himself.

"This is just pairrr-fect," The manticore gloated.

He was wearing a ratty black trench coat over his Westover Hall uniform, which was torn and stained. His military haircut had grown out spiky and greasy. He hadn't shaved recently, so his face was covered in silver stubble. Basically he didn't look much better than the guys down at the soap kitchen.

"LOng ago, the gods banished me to Persia," the manticore said. "I was forced to scrounge for food on the edges of the world, hiding in forests, devouring insignificant human farmers for my meals. I never got to fight any great heroes. I was not feared and admired in the old stories! But now that will change. The Titans shall honor me, and I shall feast on the flesh of half-bloods!"

On either side of him stood two armed security guys, some of the mortal mercenaries I'd seen in D.C. Two more stood on the next boat dock over, just in case we tried to escape that way. There were tourists all around-walking down the waterfront, shopping at the pier above us-but I knew that wouldn't stop the manticore from attacking.

"Where... where are the skeletons?" I asked the manticore.

He sneered. "I do not need those foolish undead! The General thinks I am worthless? He will change his mind when I defeat you myself!"

I needed time to think. I had to save Bessie. I could dive into the sea, turn into a giant squid and take my friends with me, creating air bubbles for them to breath. I did something like that before for Annabeth, just not with four people. But I don't know how I can make a quick getaway with a five hundred pound cow serpent.

I thought of going sperm whale and use it to create a tidal wave to smash into the manticore. No, too big. Mortals could get caught in it.

"We beat you once before," I said.

"Ha! You could barely fight me with a goddess on your aside. And alas... that goddess is preoccupied at the moment. There will be no help for you now.

Zoë notched an arrow and aimed it straight at the manticore's head. THe guards on either side of us raised their guns.

"Wiat!" I said. "Zoë, don't!"

The manticore smiled. "The boy is right, Zoë Nightshade. Put away your bow. It would be a shame to kill you before you witnessed Thalia's great victory."

"What are you talking about?" Thalia growled. She had her shield and spear ready.

That gave me an idea involving a tatic I used on Ares. But I need Thalia cooperation for her part.

I started focusing on the tide pushing as much back as I can without drawing too much attention.

"Surely it is clear," the manticore said. "This is your moment. This is why Lord Kronos brought you back to life. You will sacrifice the Ophiotaurus. YOu will bring its entrails to the sacred fire on the mountain. You will gain unlimited power. And for your sixteenth birthday, you will overthrow Olympus."

No one spoke. It made terrible sense. Thalia was only two days away from turning sixteen. SHe was a child of the Big Three. And here was a choice, a terrible choice that could mean the end of the gods. It was just like the prophecy said. As a relief that was that I wasn't the prophecy kid after all, it just means doomsday was happening right now.

I waited for Thalia to tell the manticore off, but she hesitated. She looked completely stunned.

"You know it is the right choice," the manticore told her. "Your friend Luke recognize it. You shall be reunited with him. You shall rule this world together under the auspices of the Titans. Your father abandoned you, Thalia. He cares nothing for you. And now you shall gain power over him. Crush the Olympians underfoot, as they deserve. Call the beast! It will come to you. Use your spear."

Not now, I thought, not only for Bessie's safe but because the tides weren't ready. I need to buy more time. And I need Thalia's cooperation.

"Thalia," I said, snap out of it!"

SHe looked at me the same way she had the morning she woke up on Half-Blood Hill, dazed and uncertain. It was almost like she didn't know me. "I... I don't-"

"Your father helped you," I said. "He sent the metal angels. He turned you into a tree to preserve you so you wouldn't die."

Her hand tightened on the shaft of her spear.

I glanced at Grover and looked at the water.

Grover looked between me and the water and he nodded. He raised his pipes to his mouth and started to play a quick riff.

The Manticore guards had been targeting Zoë, and before they could figure out that the kid with the pipes was the bigger problem, the wooden planks at their feet sprouted new branches and tangled their legs. Zoë let loose two quick arrows that exploded at their feet in clouds of sulfurous yellow smoke.

The guards started coughing. The manticore shot spines in our direction but they ricocheted off my Nemean Lion coat.

I felt the wave ready to go. "Grover, tell Bessie to dive deep and stay down!"

"Moooooo!" Grover translated. I hope she got the message.

"The cow..." Thalia muttere, still in a daze.

I released my tide as a surge of wave rushed forward the pier and hit the guards and the manticore. I willed the water to avoid my friends but enough water splashed on Thalia snapping her out of it.

"Thalia! I need a lightning bolt now!" I shouted.

"P-Percy!"

"Remember! Zeus and Poseidon together! Just like with F.D.R. and Churchill," I shouted. "I can't destroy the manticore without your help!"

That seemed to snap Thalia out of it completely. She aimed her spear at the surge of water slamming into the manticore.

"You can't destroy me!" Manticore yelled. "The daughter of Zeus will join us soon enough!"

"We'll see about that." Thalia fired an arc of lightning into the surge of water and at Manticore. He roared in pain which mixed with the roaring of the water, but soon there was only the sound of the roaring water.

I willed the water back to the ocean, making sure it take the mercenaries too. As the water retreated, nothing was left of the manticore.

"It worked!" Grover said in amazement.

"Children of Zeus and Poseidon had always been more of a dangerous force together than separated," Zoë said.

"So where do we go now?" I asked. "We found Bessie, but how is he supposed to show the way."

"He's not suppose to," Zoë said.

I looked at Zoë. "What do you mean? He's the creature we were looking for, right?"

Zoë's face was the color of fog. "He is, but it seems he was to remind me of where we need to go."

"Which is..."

She pointed across the bay, past the Golden Gate. In the distance, single mountain rose above the cloud layer.

"The garden of my sisters," she said. "I must go home."