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- Inbox. 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

Jason: We Meet King Midas and his Son Lit

It took all three of us to hold back the satyr.

"Whoa, Coach!" I said. "Bring it down a few notches."

A younger man charged into the room. I guessed he must be Lit, the old guy's son. He was dressed in pajama pants with a sleeveless T-shirt that said CORNHUSKERS, and he held a sword that looked like it could husk a lot of things besides corn. His ripped arms were covered in scars, and his face, framed by curly dark hair, would've been handsome if it wasn't also sliced up.

Lit immediately zeroed in on me like I was the biggest threat, and stalked toward me, swinging his sword overhead.

"Hold on!" Piper stepped forward, trying for her best calming voice. "This is just a misunderstanding! Everything's fine."

Lit stopped in his tracks, but he still looked wary.

It didn't help that Hedge was screaming. "I'll get them! Don't worry!"

"Coach," I pleaded, "they may be friendly. Besides, we're the one trespassing."

"Thank you!" said the old man in the bathrobe. "Now, who are you, and why are you here?"

"Let's put our weapons down," Piper said. "Coach, you first."

Hedge clench his jaw. "Just one thwack?"

"No," Piper said.

"What about a compromise? I kill them first, and if it turns out they're friendly, I'll apologize."

"No!" Piper insisted.

"Meh." Coach Hedge lowered his club.

Piper gave Lit a friendly sorry-about-that smile. Even with her hair messed up and wearing two-day-old clothes, she looked extremely cute, and I felt a little jealous she was giving Lit that smile.

Lit huffed and sheathed his sword. "You speak well, girl-fortunately for your friends, or I would've run them through."

"Appreciate it," Leo said. "I try not to get run through before lunchtime."

The old man in the bathrobe sighed. "Well, since you're here. Please, sit down."

Lit frowned. "Your majesty-"

"No, no, it's fine, Lit," the old man said. "New land, new customs. They may sit in my presence. After all, they've seen me in my nightclothes. No sense observing formalities." He did his best to smile, though it looked a little forced. "Welcome to my humble home. I am King Midas."

"Midas? Impossible," said Coach Hedge. "He died."

We were sitting on the sofas now, and with the sunlight coming through in the room I got a good view of the room.

It was room was full of gold-the statues, the tea set, the chair that was definitely a throne. Even the curtains-which seemed to have opened by themselves at daybreak-appeared to be woven of gold fiber. No wonder it was heavily guarded outside.

The King reclined on his throne. Trick to do that in a bathrobe, and I kept worrying the old guy would forget and uncross his legs. Hopefully he was wearing golden boxers under there.

Lit stood behind the throne, both hands on his sword, glancing at Piper and flexing his muscular arms just to be annoying. I wondered if I looked that ripped holding a sword.

Piper sat forward. "What our satyr friend means. Your Majesty, is that you're the second mortal we've met who should be-sorry-dead. King Midas lived thousands of years ago."

"Interesting," The king gazed out the windows at the brilliant blue skies and the winter sunlight. In the distance, downtown Omaha looked like a cluster of children blocks-way too clean and small for a regular city.

"You know," the king said. "I think I was a bit dead for a while. It's strange. Seems like a dream, doesn't it, Lit?"

"A very long dream, Your Majesty."

"And yet, now we're here. I'm enjoying myself very much. I like being alive better."

"But how?" Piper asked. "You didn't happen to have a... patrón?"

Midas hesitated, but there was a sly twinkle in his eyes. "Does it matter, my dear?"

"We could kill them again," Hedge suggested.

"Coach, not helping," I said. "Why don't you go outside and stand guard?"

Leo coughed. "Is that safe? They might still have some traps out there."

"Oh, yes," the king said. "Sorry about that. But it's lovely stuff, isn't it? Amazing what gold can still buy. Such excellent toys you have in this country! Although I guess mortals had time to built them since I was first alive."

"Just a few millennia," Leo joked.

Midas fished a remote control out of his bathrobe pocket and press a few buttons-a pass code, I guessed.

"There," Midas said. "Safe to go out now."

Coach Hedge grunted. "Fine. But if you need me..." He winked at Jason meaningfully. Then he pointed at himself, pointed two fingers at our hosts, and sliced a finger across his throat. Very subtle sign language.

"Yeah, thanks," I said.

After the satyr left, Piper tried another diplomatic smile. "So... you don't know how you got here?"

"Oh, well, yes. Sort of," the king said. He frowned at Lit. "Why did we pick Omaha, again? I know it wasn't the weather."

"The oracle," Lit said.

"Yes! I was told there was an oracle in Omaha." The king shrugged. "Apparently I was mistaken. But this is a rather nice house, isn't it? Lit-it's short for Lityerses, by the way-horrible name, but his mother Demeter insisted."

"Demeter? As in goddess of agriculture? Piper asked.

"Yes, my dear, Anyways, Lit has plenty of wide-open space to practice his swordplay. He was quite a reputation for that. They called him the Reaper of Men back in the old days."

"Oh." Piper tried to sound enthusiastic. "How nice."

Lit's smile was more of a cruel sneer. "I was now one hundred percent sure I didn't like the guy, and I was starting to regret sending Hedge outside.

"So," I said. "All this gold-"

The king's eyes lit up. "Are you here for gold, my boy? Please take a brochure!"

I looked at the brochures on the coffee table. The title said GOLD: Invest for Eternity. "Um, you sell gold?"

"No, no," the king said. "I make it. In uncertain times like these, gold is the wisest investment, don't you think. Government fall. The dead rise. Giants attack Olympus. But gold retains its value!"

Leo frowned. "I've seen that commercial."

"Oh, don't be fooled by cheap imitators," the king said. "I assure you, I can beat any price for a serious investor. I can make a wide assortment of gold items at a moment's notice."

"But..." Piper shook her head in confusion. "Your Majesty, you gave up the golden touch, didn't you?"

The king looked astonished. "Gave it up?"

"Yes," Piper said. "You got it from some god-"

"Dionysus," the king agreed. "I'd rescued one of his satyrs, and in return, the god granted me one wish. I chose the golden touch."

"But you accidentally turned your own daughter to gold," Piper remembered. "And you realized how greedy you'd been. So you repented."

"Repented!" King Midas looked at Lit incredulously. "You see, son? You're away for a few thousand years, and the story gets twisted around. My dear girl, did those stories ever say I'd lost my magic touch?"

"Well, I guess not. They just said you learned how to reverse it with running water, and you brought your daughter back to life."

"That's all true. Sometimes I still have to reverse my touch. There's no running water in the house because I don't want accidents"-he gestured to his statues-"but we chose to live next to a river just in case. Occasionally, I'll forget and pat Lit on the back-"

Lit retreated a few steps. "I hate that."

"I told you I was sorry, son. At any rate, gold is wonderful. Why would I give it up?"

"Well..." Piper looked truly lost now. "Isn't that the point of the story? That you learned your lesson?"

Midas laughed. "My dear, may I see your backpack for a moment? Toss it here."

Piper hesitated, but she wasn't eager to offend the king. She dumped everything out of the pack and tossed it to Midas. As soon as he caught it, the pack turned to gold, like frost spreading across the fabric. It still looked flexible and soft, but definitely gold. The king tossed it back.

"As you can see, I can still turn anything to gold," Midas said. "That pack is magic now, as well. Go ahead-put your little storm spirits in there and see for yourself."

"Seriously?" Leo was suddenly interested. He took the bag from Piper and held it up to the cage. As soon as he unzipped the backpack, the winds stirred and howled in protest. The cage bars shuddered. The door of the prison flew open and the winds got vacuumed straight into the pack. Leo zipped it shut and grinned. "Gotta admit. That's cool."

And handy, I couldn't help but noted as that made carrying the storm spirits to Aeolus much easier. As long as the winds are in my favor, I should be able to fly us to Aeolus now.

"You see?" Midas said. "My golden touch a curse? Please. I didn't learn any lesson, and life isn't a story, girl. I did indeed reverse my magic on my daughter Zoe, but as it turns out she was more pleasant as a gold statue."

"She talked a lot," Lit offered.

"Exactly! And so I turned her back to gold." Midas pointed. There in the corner was a gold statue of a girl with a shocked expression, as if she were thinking, Dad!

"That's horrible!" Piper said.

"Nonsense. She doesn't mind. Besides, if I'd learned my lesson, would I have gotten these?"

Midas pulled off his oversize sleeping cap, and I didn't know whether to laugh or get sick. Midas had long fuzzy gray ears sticking up from his white hair-like Bugs Bunny's, but they weren't rabbit ears. They were donkey ears.

"Oh, wow," Leo said. "I didn't need to see that."

"Terrible, isn't it?" Midas sighed. "A few years after the golden touch incident, I judge a music contest between Apollo and Pan, and I declared Pan the winner. Apollo, sore loser, said I must have ears of an a-, and voila. This was my reward for being truthful. I tried to keep them a secret. Only my barber knew, but he couldn't help blabbing," Midas pointed out another golden statue-a bald man in a toga, holding a pair of shears (how did he get his hands on the statues of his victims from three thousand years ago if he been dead?). "That's him. He won't be telling anyone's secrets again."

The king smiled. Suddenly he didn't strike me as a harmless old man in a bathrobe. His eyes had a merry glow to them-the look of a madman who knew he was mad, accepted his madness, and enjoyed it. 'Yes, gold has many uses. I think that must be why I was brought back, eh Lit? To bankroll our patrón.

Lit nodded. "That and my good sword arm."

I glanced at my friends. Suddenly the air in the room seemed much colder.

"So you do have a patrón," I said. "You work for the giants."

King Midas waved his hand dismissively. "Well, I don't care for giants myself, of course. But even supernatural armies need to get paid. I do owe my patrón a great debt. I tried to explain that to the last group that came through, but they were very unfriendly. Wouldn't cooperate at all. Especially that daughter of Hades with them."

I slipped my hand into my pocket and grabbed my gold coin. "Daughter of Hades?"

"Yeah. She was one of those blasted hunters from Artemis," Lit snarled. "She called us abominations and said we should have never left the Underworld."

Track down the daughter of the Underworld, and she would lead you to your sister, I remember Hera telling me.

Of course. Piper and I thought we would need to track down ghost to find Bianca, but it make sense Bianca would also be tracking those that escaped the Underworld too.

"Was she with anyone else?" I asked.

"If you mean there were other hunters, yes a few," Lit said. "Her lieutenant claim to be a daughter of Zeus."

I felt a spark of electricity-a literal spark-travel down my spine. I caught whiff of electrical fire like I'd just melted some of the springs in the sofa.

"When?" I demanded. "What happened?"

Lit shrugged. "Few days ago? I didn't get to kill them, unfortunately. They were looking for some evil wolves or something. Said they were following a trail, heading west searching for a missing demigod."

Percy Jackson, I thought. Annabeth had mentioned the Hunters were looking for him. And my dream of the burned out house in the redwoods, I heard enemy wolves baying. Hera had called them her keepers. It had to be connected somehow.

Midas scratched his donkey ears. "Very unpleasant young lady, as was her fellow hunters," he recalled. "They absolutely refused to be turned into gold. Used the shadows to get out of here. Made my security system pointless. I don't have time for those who aren't serious investors."

I stood warily and glanced at my friends. They got the message.

"Well," Piper said, managing a smile. "It's been a great visit. Welcome back to life. Thanks for the gold bag."

"Oh, but you can't leave!" Midas said. "I know you're not serious investors, but that's all right. I have to rebuild my collection."

Lit was smiling cruelly. The king rose, and Leo and Piper moved away from him.

"Don't worry," the king assured them. "You don't have to be turned to gold. I give all my guest a choice-join my collection, or die at the hands of Lityerses. Really, it's good either way."

Piper tried to use her charmspeak. "Your Majesty, you can't-"

Quicker than any old man should've been able to move, Midas lashed out and grabbed her wrist.

"No!" I yelled.

But a frost of gold spread over Piper,and in a heartbeat she was a glittering statue. Leo tried to summon fire, but he'd forgotten his power wasn't working. Midas touched his hand, and Leo transformed into solid metal.

I was so horrified I couldn't move. My friends-just gone. And I hadn't been able to stop it.

Midas smiled apologetically. "Gold trumps fire, I'm afraid." He waved around him at all the gold curtains and furniture. "In this room, my power dampen fire and even charmspeak. Which leaves me only one more trophy to collect.

"Hedge!" I yelled. "Need help in here!"

For once, the satyr didn't charm in.

Midas chuckled. "No goat to the rescue? Sad. But don't worry, my boy. It's really not painful. Lit can tell you.:

A memory flashed in my head as I realized I heard of Lit before. He was killed by Hercules. Hera must have send it somehow, or maybe my dad. Either way, that gave me an idea.

"I choose combat. You said I could choose to fight Lit instead."

Midas looked mildly disappointed, but he shrugged. "I said you could die fighting Lit. But of course, if you wish."

The king backed away, and Lit raised his sword.

"I'm going to enjoy this," Lit said. "I am the Reaper of Men!"

"Who lost to Hercules," I said. "That's how you died right? He out bested you with his strength?"

"That is none of your business!" Lit responded.

I took that as a yes. I summoned my own weapon. This time it came up as a Javelin, which is good not only because of the extra length, but it's more suited for my strength.

"Oh, gold weapon!" Midas said.

Lit charged.

The guy was fast. He slashed and sliced, but I dodge his every strike. My mind went into different mode-analyzing patterns, learning Lit's style, which was all offense, no defense.

I countered, sidestepped and blocked. Lit seemed surprise to find me still alive.

"What is that style," Lit growled. "You don't fight like a Greek."

"A lot has change since you died. A new empire rose above the Greeks and with it came a few fighting style," I said as I grab his sword arm. "Also, it is my business how Hercules beat you, because I have his strength."

Before Lit could process what I said, I twist my body and threw him to the wall. Lit crashed through the wall. All though the wall was gold it crumbled as a new hole form.

"You'll pay for that!" Midas wailed as he charged at me. I dodge, but the old man was fast. I kicked the coffee table int the man knocking him down hard.

"You're the only one that will pay tonight," I said. "Another thing you failed to mention about gold is that it also makes a good conductor."

I felt a tugging sensation in my gut, and the air pressure dropped so rapidly my ears popped. Thunder rumbled. Outside, the sky turned black. I raised my javelin, and the ceiling exploded. A lightning bolt ripped through the roof like it was an eggshell, connected with the tip of my javelin, and sent arcs of energy that blasted the sofas to shreds. Chunks of the ceiling plaster crashed down. The chandelier groaned and snapped off its chain pinning Midas to the ground as the glass immediately turned into gold. I must of used a little too much strength just knocking him down and might have knocked him unconscious, but now he can't move either if he's not already dead again.

When the rumbling stopped, freezing rain poured into the building. The rain soaked everything, turning the gold chandelier back to glass. Piper and Leo were slowly changing back, along with other statues in the room.

Then the front door burst open, and Coach Hedge charged in, club ready. His mouth was covered with dirt, snow and grass.

"What'd I miss?" he asked.

"Where were you?" I demanded. My head was spinning from summoning the lightning bolt, and it was all I could do to keep from passing out. "I was screaming for help."

Hedge belched. "Getting a snock. Who needs killing?"

"No one, now!" I said. "Grab Leo, I'll get Piper."

All around us the statues of Midas victims were turning to flesh-his daughter, his barber, and a whole lot of angry-looking guys with swords.

I grabbed Piper's golden bag and my own supplies as well as her remaining ambrosia and nectar. If Lit wasn't dead, I hope he at least stay unconscious until we're away from here.

"Let's get out of here," I told Hedge. "I don't know if Cornhusker there will stay down, and we have to make a quick stop at the river."