A/N (I recommend reading this): I'm going to MAKE THIS CLEAR. Just like I mention on my bio page about every other fanfiction I done: I DON'T OWN THE PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIAN SERIES or AND THE KANE CHRONICLES OR IT'S CHARACTERS as the rights goes to Rick Riordan. Also I suggest you guys start paying attention to the Author notes and my warnings that I left on EVERY chapter of EVERY story.

Sorry if this chapter is too much like the book.

This is a The Tales of version of the Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles crossover and takes place after 'The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus part of the series. So if you haven't read them yet read before reading this story as stuff that happened in them will be mentioned:

The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: the Early Adventures
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: The Lightning Thief
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: The Sea of Monsters
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: The Titan's Curse
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: The Magical Labyrinth
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: the Stolen Chariot
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: the Sword of Hades
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: the Bronze Dragon
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: The Last Olympian
The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: the Staff of Hermes
The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero
The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The Quest for Buford
The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune
The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena
The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The House of Hades
The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The Blood of Olympus
The Tales of Magicians and Demigods: The Son of Sobek
The Tales of Magicians and Demigods: The Staff of Serapis
The Tales of Magicians and Demigods: The Crown of Ptolemy
The Tales of Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle

Also if you haven't got the chance feel free to read:

The Tales of Classical Mythology

A crossover with The Tales of series with my dictionary on Greek/Roman Mythology where The Tales of Percy Jackson tells his version of stories behind famous names in Greek and Roman Mythology.

And if you are a fan of Stephen King:

The Tales of the Heroes of the Stand

Which is basically a crossover of The Tales of series with one of Stephen King's best novels The Stand.

Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed as long as you inform me about it.

We Break into the Indianapolis Zoo

Calypso knew how to motivate me.

The thought of scrubbing toilets again was more terrifying than my dreams.

We walked the dark streets in the cold early morning, keeping an eye out for the polite mobs of killer blemmyae, but no one bothered us. We didn't dare bring the Myrmekes gunk. We were off to save Griffins, not chase them off. Along the way, I explained my nightmares to Calypso.

I spelled out the name C-O-M-M-O-D-U-S, in case saying it aloud might attract the god-emperor's attention, Calypso had never heard of him. Of course, she'd been stuck on her island for the last few millennia. I doubted she would recognize the names of many people who hadn't washed up on her shores. She barely knew who Hercules was. Which was actually reassuring. Hercules was such an attention hog.

"The way you talked about him last night, you seemed to know him personally," Calypso said. "You said he wasn't always evil."

I convinced myself I wasn't blushing. The wind was just stinging my face. "We met when he was younger. We had a surprising amount in common. Once he became emperor... well at first his father actually shared position so he didn't have as much power," I said. "But after his father died, he inherit it his father's power at a tender age. It messed with his head. Like Justin, Britney, Lindsay, Amanda, Amadeus-"

"I don't know any of those people."

"We need to spend more time on your pop culture lessons."

"No, please." Calypso struggled with the zipper of her coat.

Today she was wearing an assortment of borrowed clothing she must have picked out in total darkness: a battered silver parka, probably from Emmie's Hunters of Artemis days (it actually made her resemblance to Zoe more pronounced); a blue INDY 500 T-shirt, an ankle-length brown skirt over black leggings, and bright purple-and-green workout shoes. Meg McCaffrey would have approved her fashion sense.

"What about the sword wielding Cornhuskers?" Calypso asked.

"Lityerses, son of King Midas and Demeter. From what I heard, he's not as powerful with plants as Meg. Other than that, I don't know much about him, or why he is serving the emperor."

"And this Gaul?" Calypso asked.

"She I don't know anything about," I said. "We can only hope to get in and out of the zoo before they show up. I don't relish the idea of meeting him in combat."

"At least your friend Meg escaped her escorts," she noted. "That's good news."

"Perhaps" I wanted to believe Meg was rebelling against Nero. That she had finally seen the truth about her monstrous step-father and would now rush to my side, ready to aid me in my quests and stop giving me vexing orders.

Unfortunately, I knew firsthand how hard it was to extricate oneself from an unhealthy relationship. Nero's hooks were buried deep in the girl's psyche. The idea of Meg on the run without a destination, terrified, pursued by the minions of two different emperors... that did not reassure me. I hoped she at least had her friend Peaches the grain spirit was the good hands Britomartis mention, but I had seen no sign of him in my visions.

"And Trophonius?" asked Calypso. "Do you often forget wen someone is your child?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"We're looking for a dangerous Oracle that drives people insane. The spirit of this Oracle happens to be your son, who just might hold a grudge against you because you didn't answer his prayers, thus forcing him to cut off his own brother's head. Those facts would have been good to know."

"Trophonius was using his fame to steal from others. Not exactly something worthy to reward-unless you are praying to Hermes," I said.

"Trophonius most likely didn't see it that way," Calypso explained.

I folded my arms. "I'm beginning to remember why we exiled you on that island for three thousand years."

"Three Thousand five hundred and sixty eight. It would have been longer if you'd had your way."

I hadn't meant to start this argument again, but Calypso made it so easy. "You were on a tropical island with pristine beaches, aerial servants, and a lavishly appointed cave."

"Which made Ogygia not a prison?"

I was tempted to blast her with godly power, except... well, I didn't have any. "You don't miss your island then?"

She blinked as if I'd thrown sand in her face. "I-no. That's not the point. I was kept in exile. I had no one-"

"Oh, please. You want to know what real exile feels like? This is my third time as a mortal. Stripped of my powers. Stripped of immortality. I can die, Calypso."

"Me too," she snapped.

"Yes, but you chose to go with Leo. You gave up your immortality for love. You're as bad as Hemithea!"

I hadn't realized how much anger was behind that last shot until I let it fly. My voice resounded through the city.

Calypso's expression hardened. "Right."

"I only meant-"

"Save it." She gazed ahead.

"Look, I was hoping for advice on how to proceed." I said.

Calypso ruffled the fletching in my quivers. "If you want advice why not ask your arrow? Perhaps he knows how to rescue the Griffins."

"Humph." I did not like Calypso's advice for seeking advice. I didn't see what a Shakespearean-talking arrow could contribute to our present quest. Then again, I had nothing to lose except my temper. If the arrow annoyed me too much, I could always fire him into some monster's gloutos.

I pulled out the Arrow of Dodona. Immediately, his sonorous voice spoke in my mind, the shaft resonating with each word.

LO, it said. THE MORTAL DOTH FINALLY SHOW SENSE.

"I've missed you, too," I said.

"It's talking?" Calypso asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. O, Arrow of Dodona, I have a question for you."

HITTEST ME WITH THY BEST SHOT.

I explained about my visions. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, talking to an arrow as we strolled along West Maryland Street. Outside the Indiana Convention Center, I tripped and nearly impaled myself through the eye, but Calypso didn't even bother to laugh. During our travels together she'd seen me humiliate myself in much more spectacular ways.

Talking proved a slower way of bringing a projectile up to speed than by simply launching it from a bow, but at last I succeeded.

FIE. The arrow shuddered in my head. THOU HAST GIVEN ME NOT A QUESTION BUT A STORY.

I wondered if it was testing me-gauging just how far it could push me before I snapped it in two. I might have done so long ago except I feared I would have two fragments of a talking arrow,which would give me a bad advice in harmony.

"Very well," I said. "How can we find the griffins? Where is Meg McCaffrey? How can we defeat the local emperor, free his prisoners, and take back control of the Oracle of Trophonius?"

NOW HAST THOU ASKED TOO MANY QUESTIONS, the arrow intoned. MY WISDOM DOTH NOT SPEW FORTH ANSWERS AS IF 'TWERE GOOGLE.

Yes, the arrow was tempting me to snap it.

"Let's start simply, then," I said. "How do we free the griffins?"

GOEST THOU TO THE ZOO.

"We're already doing that."

FINDEST THOU THE GRIFFINS ENCLOSURE.

"Yes, but where? And don't tell me at the zoo. Where exactly in the Indianapolis Zoo are the griffins being kept?"

SEEKEST THOU THE CHOO-CHOO.

"The choo-choo."

IST THERE AN ECHO IN HERE?

"Fine! We look for a choo-a train. Once we locate the griffins, how do we free them?"

lO, THOU SHALT GAIN THE BEASTS' TRUST WITH TATER TOTS.

"Tater Tots?"

I waited for clarification, or even just another snarky comment. The arrow remained silent. With a snort of disgust, I returned it to my quiver.

"You know," Calypso said, "hearing only one side of that conversation was very confusing."

"Twas not much better hearing both sides," I assured her. "Something about a train. And children made of potatoes."

"Tater Tots are food. Leo-" Her voice caught on his name. "Leo likes them."

My vast experience with women told me that Calypso was either feeling remorseful about her argument with Leo yesterday or she got emotional on the subject of Tater Tots. I wasn't inclined to find out which.

"Whatever ist the case, I knowest not-" I spat the Shakespearean English off my tongue. 'I don't know what the arrow's advice means. Perhaps when we get to the zoo, it will make sense."

"Because that happens so often when we arrived in new places," Calypso said. "Suddenly everything makes sense."

"You have a point," I sighed. "But much like the point on my talking arrow, it does us no good. Shall we continue?"

We used the Washington Street Bridge to cross the White River, which was not at all white. It flowed wide, sluggish, and brown between retaining walls, the water breaking around islands of scrubby bushes like acné patches (with which I was now all to familiar). It remind me strangely of the Tiber in Rome-another underwhelming, long-neglected river.

Yet world altering history had been made along the banks of the Tiber. I shuddered to think what plans Commodus had for this city. And if the White River fed the canals I'd glimpsed in his throne room, his lair might be close. Which meant that his new prefect, Lityerses might already be at the zoo. I decided to walk faster.

The Indianapolis Zoo was tucked away in a park just off West Washington. We crossed an empty parking lot, heading toward the turquoise marquee of the main entrance. A banner out front read WILDLY CUTE! For a moment I thought perhaps the zoo staff had heard I was coming and decided to welcome me. Then I realized the banner was just an advertisement for Koala bears. As if Koalas needed advertising.

Calypso frowned at the shuttered ticket booths. "Nobody here. The place is locked up tight."

"That was the idea," I reminded her. "The fewer mortals around, the better." Not to mention no telling how many heard us on the way here. "Can you still use air magic?"

"Of course. I lost my immortality but I still have my powers," Calypso said.

She started singing and summoned the wind spirits to carry us over the fence.

I wanted to tell her off that at least she got her magic, but I decided to drop it. We still have to work together to get through this.

Calypso and I crept through the zoo, keeping a lookout for morals or imperial guards. Except for a zookeeper hosing down the lemur display, we saw no one.

We stopped in an area that seemed to be the park's main crossroads. To our left stood a carousel. To our right, orangutans lounged in the trees of a large netted compound. Strategically placed around the plaza were several gift shops and cafes, all closed. Signs pointed toward various attraction: OCEAN, PLAINS, JUNGLE FLIGHTS OF FANCY.

"Flights of fancy," I said. "Surely they would file griffins under fancy flights.

Calypso scanned our surroundings. She had unnerving eyes-dark brown and intensely focus, not unlike Artemis' gaze when she took aim at a target. I suppose on Ogygia Calypso had had many years of practice staring at the horizon, waiting for someone or something interesting to appear.

"Your arrow mention a train," she said. "There's a sign for a train ride."

"Yes, but my arrow also said something about Tater Tots. I think it's getting a bit warped."

Calypso pointed. "There."

At the nearest outdoor café, next to a shuttered serving window, a lunch menu was posted on the wall. I scanned the selections.

"Four different kinds of Tater Tots?" I felt overwhelmed by culinary confusion. "Why would anyone need so many? Chili. Sweet potato. Blue? How can a Tot be-?" I froze.

For a nanosecond, I wasn't sure what had startled me. Then I realized my keen ears had picked up on a sound in the distance-a man's voice."

"What is it?" Calypso asked.

"Shh." I listened more intently.

I hoped I might have been mistaken. Perhaps I'd simply heard some exotic bird with a gravely croak, or the zookeeper cursing as he hosed out lemur poop. But no. Even in my diminished mortal demigod state, my hearing was exceptional.

The voice spoke again, a familiar and much closer. "You two, go with Luguselwa that way. You two with me."

I touched Calypso's jacket sleeve. "It's Lityerses, the Cornhusker."

The sorceress muttered another Minoan curse, naming a part of Zeus' body that I did not want to think about. "We need to hide."

Unfortunately Lityerse was approaching from the way we'd come. Judging from the sound of his voice, we had only seconds before he arrive. The crossroads offered any number of escape routes, but all of them would be within Lityerses' line of sight.

Only one place was close enough to offer cover.

"When in doubt," Calypso said. "Tater Tots."

She grabbed my hand and pulled me around the back of the café.