A/N: I don't own the rights to any of the Percy Jackson series or it's characters. That right gaoes 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.

Also, ever since I got my latest Laptop I been stuck using Google Docs and Copy and paste my chapters and for some reason when I save what I paste any formats I made is turn to normal format. I even have to bold the chapter titles, but as I'm sure you noticed sometimes I forget to do that. So anything I normally itallilize like thoughts come out normal text. A/N at the beginning and end of each keep the format changes because I add them without copying and pasting from google doc.

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
Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse
Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth
Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Stolen Chariot
Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sword of Hades
Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Bronze Dragon
Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian
Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Staff of Hermes
Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Singer of Apollo

Leo: Hephaestus Hijacks My Dreams

I kept looking back. I half expected to see those nasty sun dragons totting a flying chariot with a screaming magical sales-woman throwing potions, but nothing followed us.

I steered the dragon toward the southwest. Eventually the smoke from the burning department store faded in the distance, but I didn't relax until the suburbs of Chicago gave way to snowy fields, and the sun began to set.

"Good job, Festus." I patted the dragon's metal hide. "You did awesome."

The dragon shuddered. Gears popped and click in his neck.

I frowned. I didn't like those noises. I didn't tell my friends that the dragon went through a flash freeze before. I'm amaze the disc lasted a second one. If the control disk was failing again-No, hopefully it was something minor. Something I could fix.

"I'll give you a tune-up next time we land," I promised. "You've earned some motor oil and Tabasco Sauce."

Festus whirled his teeth. But even that sounded weak. He flew at a steady pace, his great wings angling to catch the wind, but he was carrying a cage full of storm spirits and now four passengers. The more I thought about it, the more worried I got. Even metal dragons have limits.

"Leo," Piper patted my shoulder. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah... not bad for a brainwashed zombie." I hoped I didn't looked embarrassed as I felt. "So you have the power greater than the strength of Hercules, beauty queen? I mean, you did talk us out of that spell-"

"It seem so," Piper admitted.

"McLean, are you saying you have some power greater than the greatest Hero alive?" Hedge said. "Where was that back in Wilderness School?"

"It's not that kind of power, coach," Piper said. "At least I don't think it is."

But it was still amazing. I felt terrible how easily Medea had set my best friend. And those feelings hadn't come from nowhere-my resentment of the way Jason always got the spotlight and didn't really seem to need me. I did feel that way sometimes, even if I wasn't proud of it.

What bothered me more was the news about my mom. Medea had seen the future down in the Underworld. That was how her patron, the woman in the black earthen robes, had come to the machine shop seven years ago to scare me, ruin my life. That's how my mother had died-because of something I might do someday. So in a weird way, even if my fire powers weren't to blame, Mom's death was still my fault.

When we had left Medea in that exploding store, I had felt a little too good. I hoped she wouldn't make it out, and would go right back to the Fields of Punishment, where she belonged. Those feeling didn't make him proud, either.

And if souls were coming back from the Underworld... was it possible for my mom to be brought back?

I tried to put the idea aside. THat was Frankenstein thinking. It wasn't natural. It wasn't right. Medea might've been brought back to life, but she hadn't seemed quite human, with the hissing nails and the glowing head and whatnot.

No, my mom had pass on. Thinking any other way would just drive me nuts. Still, the thought kept poking at me, like an echó of Medea's voice.

"We're going to have to put down soon," I warned my friends. "Couple more hours, maybe, to make sure Medea's not following us. I don't think Festus can fly much longer than that."

"You cupcakes still owe me an explanation," Coach Hedge

"Yeah," Piper agreed. "Question is-where are we going?"

"The Bay Area," I guessed. My memories of the department store were fuzzy, but I seemed to remember hearing that. "Didn't Medea said something about Oakland?"

Piper didn't respond for so long, I wondered if I'd said something wrong.

"Piper's dad," Jason put in. "Something's happened to your dad, right? He got lured into some kind of trap."

"Not surprise," Coach Hedge said. "The place was Titan territory. Bad place."

Piper let out a shakY breath. "Look, Medea said yoU would both die in the Bay Area. And besides... even if we went there, the Bay Area is huge! First we need to find Aeolus and drop off the storm spirits. We still need to track down Bianca to find Thalia who should guide us to Hera's location. Aeolus hopefully should know how to find her."

I grinned. "So how do we find Aeolus?"

Jason leaned forward. "You mean you don't see it?" he pointed ahead of us, but I didn't see anything except clouds and the lights of a few towns glowing in the dark.

"What?" I asked.

"That... whatever it is" Jason said. "In the air."

I glanced back. Piper and Coach Hedge looked as confused as I was.

"Right," I said. "Could you be more specific on the 'whatever-it-is' part?"

"Like a vapor trail," Jason said. "Except it's glowing. Really faint, but it definitely there. We've been following it since Chicago, so I figured you saw it."

I shook my head. "Maybe Festus can sense it. You think Aeolus made it?"

"Well, it's a ,agoc trail in the wind," Jason said. "Aeolus is the wing god. I think he knows we've got prisoners for him. He's telling us where to fly."

"Or it's another trap," Piper said.

Her tone worried me. She didn't just sound nervous. She sounded broken with despair, like we'd already sealed our fate, and like it was her fault.

"Pipes, you all right?" I asked.

"Don't call me that."

"Okay, fine. You don't like any of te names I make up for you. But if your dad's in trouble and we can help-"

"You can't," she said, her voice getting shakier. "Look, I'm tired. If you don't mind..."

She leaned her back against Jason and closed her eyes.

"Oh come on, what excuse is that?" Coach Hedge complained.

"Coach, let it go," Jason told him.

All right, I thought-pretty clear signal she didn't want to talk.

We flew in silence for a while, Festus seemed to know where he was going. He kept his course, gently curving toward the southwest and hopefully Aeolus palace. Another wind god to visit, a whole new flavor of crazy-Oh, boy, I couldn't wait.

I had way too much on my mind to sleep, but now that I was out of danger, my body had different ideas. My energy level was crashin. The monotonous beat of the dragon's wings made my eyes feel heavy. My head started to nod.

"Catch a few Z's," Jason said. "It's cool. Hand me the reins."

"Nah, I'm okay-"

"Valdez do what you're told. Or else I'll knock you out myself," Hedge said.

"Coach, you're not helping," Jason said. "Go on Leo. I'll make sure we stay on course since I can see the vapor trail."

My eyes started to close on their own. "All right. Maybe just..."

I didn't finish the sentence before slumping forward against the dragon's warm neck.

...

In my dream, I heard a voice full of static, like a bad AM radio. "Hello? Is this thing working?"

My vision came into focus-sort of. Everything was hazy and gray, with band of interference running across my sight. I'd never dreamed with a bad connection before.

I seemed to be in a workshop. Out of the corners of my eyes I saw bench saws, metals lathes, and tool cages. A forge glowed cheerfully against one wall.

It wasn't the camp forge-too big. Not Bunker 9-much warmer and more comfortable, obviously not abandoned.

Then I realized something was blocking the middle of my view-something large and fuzzy, and so close, I had to cross my eyes to see it properly. It was a large ugly face.

"Holy mother," I yelped.

The face backed away and came into focus. Staring down at me was a bearded man in grimy blue coveralls. His face was lumpy and covered with welts, as if he'd been bitten by a million bees, or dragged across gravel. Possibly both.

"Humph," the man said. "Holy father, boy. I should think you'd know the difference."

I blinked. "Hephaestus?"

Being in the presence of my father for the first time, I probably should've been speechless or awestruck or something. But after what I'd been through the last couple of days, with rogue Cyclopes and a sorceress and a face in the potty sludge, all I felt was a surge of complete annoyance.

"Now you show up?" I demanded. "After fifteen years? Great parenting, Fur Face. Where do you get off sticking your ugly nose into my dreams?"

The god raised an eyebrow. A little spark caught fire in his beard. Then he drew back his head and laughed so loudly, the tools rattled on the workbenches.

"You sounded just like your mother," Hephaestus said. "I miss Esperanza."

"She'd been dead seven years," my voice trembled. "Not that you'd care."

"But I do care, boy. About both of you. Just as I do care for all my kids and their mothers I fathered them with."

"Uh-huh. Which is why I never saw you before today."

The god made a rumbling sound in his throat, but he looked more uncomfortable than angry. He pu;;eda miniature motor from his pocket and began fiddling absently with the pistons-just the way I did when I was nervous.

"I'm not good with children," the god confessed. "Or people. Well, any organic life forms, really. I manage well with Cyclops like your friend Jeffrey, but that's because I work with them and-well as you can see for yourself, we got something in common besides work."

Yeah, I can see what he mean. Jeffreyand his brethren at camp didn't look as bad (at least no more than most homeless teenagers), but Ma Gasket and her two sons could match Hephaestus in ugly contest.

"I thought about speaking to you at your mom's funeral. Then again when you were in fifth grade... that science project you made, steam-powered chicken chucker. Very impressive."

"You saw that?"

Hephaestus pointed to the nearest worktable, where a shiny bronze mirror showed a hazy image of me asleep on the dragon's back.

"Is that me?" I asked. "Like-me right now, having this dream-looking at me having a dream?"

Hephaestus scratched his beard. "Now you've confused me. But yes-it's you. I'm always keeping an eye on you, Leo. But talking to you is, um,,, different."

"You're scared," I said.

"Grommets and gears!" the god yelled. "Of course not!"

"Yeah, you're scared." But my anger seeped away. I'd spent years thinking about what I'd say to my dad if we ever met-how I would chew him out for being a deadbeat. Now, looking at that bronze mirror, I thought my dad watching my progress over the years, even my stupid science experiments.

Maybe Hephaestus was still a jerk, but I kind of understand where he was coming from. I knew about running away from people, not fitting in with most. I knew about hiding out in a workshop rather than trying to deal with other people.

"So," I grumbled, "you keep track of all your kids?You got twelve back in camp. I also heard about that Beckendorf guy. How'd you even-Never mind. I don't want to know."

Hephaestus might've blushed, but his face was so beat up and red, it was hard to tell. "Gods, are different from mortals, boy. We can exist in many places at once-wherever people call on us, wherever our sphere of influence is strong. In fact, it's rare our entire essence is ever in one place-our true form. It's dangerous, powerful enough to destroy any mortal who looks upon us. So, yes... lots of children. Add to that our different aspects, Greek and Roman-" The god's fingers froze on his engine project. "Er, that is to say, being a god is complicated. And yes, I try to keep an eye on all my children, but you especially."

"I was pretty sure Hephaestus had almost slipped and said something important, but I wasn't sure what.

"Why contact me now?" I asked. "I thought the gods had gone silent."

"We have," Hephaestus grumped. "Zeus' orders-very strange, even for him. He's blocked all visions, dreams, and Iris messages to and from Olympus. Hermes is sitting around bored out of his mind because he can't delivered the mail. I'm sure Hades isn't too happy being locked out of Olympus again after being welcomed back last summer since he was in the underworld when Zeus gave the order. Fortunately, I kept my old pirate broadcasting equipment."

Hephaestus patted a machine on the table. It looked like a combination of satellite dish, V-6 engine, and espresso machine. Each time Hephaestus jostled the machine, my dream flickered and change color.

"Used this in the cold war," the god said fondly. "Radio Free Hephaestus. Those were the days. I keep it around for pay-for-view, mostly, or making viral brain videos-"

"Viral brain videos?"

"But now it's come in handy again. If Zeus knew I was contacting you, he have my hide."

"Why is Zeus being a jerk?"

"Hrumph. He excels at that, boy." Hephaestus called me boy as if I were an annoying machine part-an extra washer, maybe, that had no clear purpose, but that Hephaestus didn't want to throw away for fear he might need it someday.

Not exactly heartwarming. Then again, I wasn't sure I wanted to be called "son." I wasn't about to start calling this big awkward ugly guy "Dad."

Hephaestus got tired of his engine and tossed it over his shoulder. Before it could hit the floor, it sprouted helicopter wings and flew itself into a recycling bin.

"It was the second Titan War, I suppose," Hephaestus said. "That's what got Zeus upset. We gods were... well, embarrassed. Don't think there's any other way to put it."

"But you won," I said.

The god grunted. "We won because the demigods of"-again he hesitated, as if he'd almost slipped-"of Camp Half-Blood took the lead. We won because our children fought our battles for us, smarter than we did. Even got Poseidon to leave his own battle at his palace to help us out and Hades to leave the underworld to save Olympus. If we'd relied on Zeus' plan, we would've all gone down to Tartarus fighting the storm giant Typhon, and Kronos would've won. Bad enough mortals won our war for us, but then that young upstart, Percy Jackson-"

"The guy who's missing."

"Hmph. Yes. Him. He had the nerve to turn down our offer of immortality. I was fine with his idea to help young Cyclops. Too many cyclops wasted their talents going rogue. But then he told us to pay better attention to our children. Er, no offense."

"Oh, how could I take offense? Please, go on ignoring me."

"Mighty understanding of you..." Hephaestus frowned, then sighed wearily. "That was sarcasm, wasn't it? Machines don't have sarcasm, usually. But as I was saying, the gods felt ashamed, shown up by mortals. At first, of course we were grateful. But after a few months, those feelings turned bitter. We're gods, after all. We need to be admired, looked up to, held in awe and admiration."

"Even if you're wrong?"

"Especially then! And to have Jackson refuse our gift, as if being mortal was somehow better than being a god... well, that stuck in Zeus' craw. He decided it was high time we got back to traditional values. Our children were to be seen and not visited. Olympus was closed. At least that was part of his reasoning. And, of course, we started hearing of bad things stirring under the earth."

"The giants, you mean. Monsters re-forming instantly. The dead rising again. Little stuff like that."

"Aye boy. One of the reasons I reckoned Hades is having a fit." Hephaestus turned a knob on his pirate broadcast machine. My dream sharpened to full color, but the god's face was such a riot of red welts and yellow and black bruises, I wished it would go back to black and white.

"Zeus thinks we can reverse the tides," the god said. "Lull the earth back to sleep as we stay quiet so hopefully Hades can get control over the Underworld again. None of us really believes that. We're hoping to overrule his orders with the next council's vote-only time we can overrule Zeus' orders as long as we have enough votes. And I don't mind saying, we're in no shape to fight another war. We barely survive the Titans. If we're repeating the old pattern, what comes next is even worse."

"The giants," I said. "Hera said demigods and god had to join forces to defeat them. Is that true?"

"Mmm. I hate to agree with my mother about anything, but yes. Those giants are tough to kill, boy. They're a different breed."

"Breed? You make them sound like racehorses."

"Ha!" the god said. "More like war dogs. If we're lucky the two Damasen and Orion will stay out of this war too. Back in the beginning, y'see, everything in creation came form the same parents-Gaea and Ouranos. Earth and Sky. They had their different batches of children-your Titans, your Elder Cylcopes, your hundred-handed ones, and so forth. Then Kronos, the head Titan-well, you've probably heard how he chopped up his father Ouranos with scythe and took over the world. Then we gods came along, children of the Titans, and defeated them. But that wasn't the end of it. The earth bore a new batch of children, except they were sired by Tartarus, the spirit of the eternal abyss-the darkest, most evil place of the Underworld. Those children, the giants, were bred for one purpose-revenge on us for the fall of the Titans. They rose to destroy Olympus-well all but the two I mention earlier. But still, even without Damasen and Orion they came close."

Hephaestus' beard began to smolder. He absently swatted out the flames. "What my blasted mother Hera is doing now-she's medding fool playing a dangerous game, but she's right about one thing: you demigods have to unite. That's the only way to open Zeus' eyes, convince enough Olympiasn we must accept your help. And that's the only way to defeat what's coming. You're a big part of that, Leo."

The god's gaze seemed far away. I wondered if he could really split himself into different parts-where else was he right now?Maybe his Greek side was fixing a car, while his Roman side was watching a ball game or ordering pizza. I tried to imagin what it would feel like to have multiple personalities. I hoped it wasn't hereditary.

"Then why claim me now?" I asked. "Why not when I was thirteen, like you're suppose to? Or you could've claimed me at seven, before my mom died! Why didn't you find me earlier? Why didn't you warn me about this?"

My hand burst into flames.

Hephaestus regarded me sadly. "Hardest part, boy. Letting my children walk their own paths. Interfering doesn't work. The Fates make sure of that. As for claiming, you were a special case, boy. The timing had to be right. I can't explain it much more, but-"

My dream went fuzzy. Just for a moment, it turned into a rerun of Wheel of Fortune. Then Hephaestus came back into focus.

"Blast," he said. "I can't talk much longer. Zeus is sensing an illegal dream. He is lord of the air, after all, including airwaves. Just listen, boy, you have a role to play. Your friend Jason is right-fire is a gift, not a curse. I don't give that blessing to just anyone. You two are also right about each of the seven being born with special power, but they'll never defeat the giants without you, much less the mistress they serve. She's worse than any god or Titan."

"Who?" I demanded.

Hephaestus frowned, his image becoming fuzzier. "I told you. Yes, I'm pretty sure I told you. Just be warned: along the way; you're going to lose some friends and some valuable tools. But that isn't your fault, Leo. Nothing lasts forever, not even the best machines. And everything can be reused."

"What do you mean? I don't like the sound of that."

"No, you shouldn't," Hephaestus image was barely visible now, just a blob in the static. "Just watch out for-"

My dream switched to Wheel of Fortune just as the wheel hit Bankrupt and the audience said, "Awwww!"

Then I snapped awake to Jason and Piper screaming and Coach Hedge hollering.