I sped back into camp, and was greeted with a lungful of smoke. It wasn't smoke from a fire; more like the kind of smoke you would use in a smoke machine at a rock concert… only thicker and impossible to see through. I looked around and tried to get my bearings, but it wasn't working…. That is, until I heard the sound of blades clanging nearby. I rushed over to find 2 of the hunters being backed up against a rock ledge by some of the assailants. The men were dressed in all-black Roman armor, wearing the same masks as the one Brody had shown me in his journal. I didn't have much time to stand around staring, rushing in to help. As time stood still, I looked around for any way to disarm the men. I saw a bundle of rope over near one of the tents, rushing over and wrapping it around the men a few times and pulling. They all dropped to the ground, extremely confused by the sudden arrest. I smiled at the hunters, before taking off. Along the way I ran into a few more of the masked men, shoving one and tripping the other, not slowing down at all. I came skidding to a halt when I saw Thalia fighting off 4 of the armored men at once. She blocked one swipe with her wicked looking shield, then swung a long, bronze spear and swept one of the men out from underneath. She was holding her own, but 4 on 1 she didn't stand a chance. One of the men tried to flank her from behind, and that's when my brain finally realized it was probably time to actually DO something. I sped in, knocking the guy out of the way and sending him careening down a nearby hill, whipping out my blades and standing back-to-back with emo queen.

"What? I think I just totally saved your life." I commented with a smirk, Thalia looking first shocked, then annoyed.

"You didn't save anything, Foodfest. I-" She paused as she disarmed one of the men with her spear, then smashed him in the face with her shield, knocking him out cold.

"-Had everything under control." She finished. One of the masked attackers decided to come my way. I sped around him in a blur, undoing all of his armor and taking his sword from him, stabbing it into the ground and leaning on the handle. When time reverted to normal, his armor slowly fell off of him, leaving him in his boxers. I tried to stifle a laugh, but couldn't help it.

"Bummer, dude." I chuckled, swinging the butt of my Pugio into his helmet and sending him sprawling. After taking out a few more of them, Thalia turned to face me.

"Dakota, where's Lady Artemis?" She asked. I shrugged, looking around to nothing but smoke from all directions.

"I don't know; she did that flashy-light thing and kinda zapped herself back here." I explained, Thalia seeming to understand.

"You stay here. I'm going to go look for her." She commanded.

"What? No, I can help!" I said, but the look in Thalia's eyes spoke volumes.

"No, Dakota; you haven't had enough training. You could get hurt." She insisted. I couldn't believe it; I had just rescued a few hunters, AND helped her take out more than a couple of these losers; why didn't she trust me? Before I could respond, she took off into the smoke, leaving me standing there alone. For a minute, I was tempted to chasing after her, but decided against it. Suddenly, something bumped into me, and made me scream. I whipped around, pointing my blade directly at Brody, who had his hands up defensively.

"Whoa, dude! It's me! Chillax!" He cried. I quickly lowered my blade, breathing out a sigh of relief.

"We've GOT to get a bell for you, Brody!" I exclaimed. He looked around nervously, clearly not built for the heat of battle.

"Dak, Did you see the masks?" He asked, his eyes darting from side to side.

"Yeah… I saw the masks. What do you think they're here for?" I asked, Brody immediately shaking his head.

"I've got no clue, broseph; anyone crazy enough to attack the hunters of Artemis are freaking loco!" He whispered. Suddenly, his eyes widened in realization.

"I've got to get this journal out of here!" He exclaimed, holding up his satchel. I looked around, trying to see the edge of the camp. Finally, I was able to spot a little opening in the smoke; it looked like it was starting to clear out a bit. I reached over and grabbed Brody by the straps of his satchel, taking off in a gust of wind. When I was running, everything seemed weightless; I felt like I could bench-press a car. I ran Brody into a forest, far enough away from all the action that he would be safe.

"Ok, so like… what's the plan, brotato chip?" Brody asked. Before I could even admit that there really was no plan, I heard a scream come from back at the camp; the same direction Thalia had taken off towards. I pulled out one of my daggers, looking back at Brody.

"You stay here, and keep those things safe; I'm gonna go help out Artemis." I instructed. I didn't wait for him to object, speeding back into camp and looking around for them. I was really getting tired of all the smoke, but it had cleared out enough that I was able to see things from a distance; which is exactly when I saw him. A massive looking warrior, standing about 7 feet tall and having the body build of a tank. The guy looked like he would use trees for toothpicks. His eyes were glowing a bright, bloodthirsty red, and had a look about them of pure rage and hatred. I'd seen a lot of scary things in the past 24 hours, and I'm certain that I'll see plenty more… but I know for certain that this creature was by far the scariest thing I had ever seen and probably will ever see. It didn't help the fact that I could see both Thalia and Artemis off to the side, looking pretty beat up. Artemis had more than a few cuts and scrapes, golden blood trickling from her mouth and wounds. Thalia didn't look much better herself, clearly having taken a beating. The giant monster man started slowly trudging towards Artemis, and I got a better look. His skin was an odd green color, and looked like it was made of snakeskin. He had 2 goat-like horns protruding from either side of his head, and was wearing Roman gladiator armor. When he spoke, his voice was deeper than humanly possible, with a razor sharp edge to it.

"You have something we need, goddess." He bellowed, reaching down towards Artemis. I finally snapped out of my fear induced trance, taking a hesitant step forwards.

"Hands off, buddy. We have a strict "lookey no touchy" policy around here!" I called, trying my best to sound confident and keep my voice from cracking. Ever regret saying something? Yeah… I regretted speaking up big time right there, because muscles whipped around, seeming to just now notice my presence. I might be crazy, but he looked almost thrilled that another person joined the battle; like the thought of ripping my head off of my shoulders just made his day. He stomped over to me, each footstep feeling like it shook the ground. Finally, he stopped a few feet away from me. Compared to this guy, I looked like a freakin' action figure. I pulled out my knives, trying my best to stand my ground and keep my knees from shaking… it wasn't working. At all. They were practically knocking out Morse code for "Please don't eat me, Mr."

"You dare challenge me, boy?" He asked, anger evident in his tone. I'd like to tell you that I stuck it to him and called him out, but in all honesty I'm pretty certain the sound I made was somewhere between a high pitched squeak and "Help."

"Run, Dakota!" I heard Thalia yell, her voice weak and strained. I didn't need to be told twice, running circles around the giant man-beast. I hoped that by moving so fast I'd be able to find an opening to attack. He looked frozen in place like everyone else, except for one thing that made my stomach drop; his eyes. He was following me with his eyes as I sped around him, finally sticking out his arm in a blaze of speed, clothes lining me with his gigantic, meaty arm. I could feel my arm snap right there, crying out in pain as I went rolling end over end about 5 yards before smashing into a tree and coming to a halt. My vision turned red as I looked around, barely processing anything I saw, but I do remember seeing the giant creature picking up an unconscious Artemis and slinging her over his shoulder, before disappearing in a pillar of fire. I remember Thalia hobbling over to me, tears in her eyes as she looked at me, clearly horrified at what she saw. I tried to force myself not to look, but of all the times my stupid ADHD brain had to take over, it had to be now. I made the mistake of looking down at my legs… which were bent in all the wrong directions. I looked like what would happen if you gave a poseable action figure to a 2 year old. I felt Thalia's hand on my cheek, and could hear her talking but couldn't understand the words.

"-ay with me. Dako- you hear me? Don't close- Keep your eyes o- Dakota?! Medic!" She screamed. That was the last thing I remember hearing before passing out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I woke up in a strange bed, staring up at the ceiling of a tent. For a second, I forgot everything that had happened and wondered if it were still summer, and we were still camping out at Mah-Kah-Wee Camp back in Orlando. I tried to sit up, and the searing pain immediately reminded me of all that had happened; the hunters, the attack… Artemis. I looked over and saw one of the hunters looking at me with shock, running to the entrance of the tent.

"Thalia! Someone get Thalia; he's awake!" She called, which really confused me. Before I could question what the heck was going on, goth girl herself burst into the tent, hurrying over to the side of my bed and looking more relieved to see me than anyone I've ever known, which I'll admit was actually really nice.

"Dakota… can you hear me?" She asked. I nodded my head, my throat feeling really dry and tasting like copper. I swallowed and spoke anyways.

"Where...am I?" I croaked, shocked at the sound of my own voice. I sounded like I tried to swallow a cheese grater; hoarse and kind of squeaky.

"You're in the infirmary; you really scared us you little turd." She tried to sound normal, but I could tell she meant it; I must have been hurt pretty badly. I moved my legs, and they felt like they were back in their proper place, so I tried to sit up again, ignoring the pain and Thalia telling me to stay down. I instantly, saw red and stars, the medic girl rushing over some weird looking drink and sticking a straw into my mouth. I took a sip, and was shocked that it tasted exactly like that blackberry pie I had for my 10th Birthday party… the one party where my dad actually decided to come out of his room and wish me a happy birthday. I felt better instantly, draining the glass down to the bottom, quite disappointed when it was all gone. I looked over at Thalia, and could see the pain in her eyes.

"How long was I out?" I asked, smirking and trying to lighten the mood. It seemed to work a little bit, but not nearly enough.

"Almost a week. Dakota, what did I tell you? I told you to stay put and out of harm's way. This is why! You could have died, and then what?" She asked, raising her voice quite a bit. I shrugged, still smirking.

"I don't know; is there a heaven in Greek mythology?" I asked playfully, earning a death stare from Thalia that said "this isn't a joke" but I didn't care; I thought it was pretty darn funny personally. I pushed my legs off of the bed, ignoring the initial pain and enjoying the feeling of the ground underneath me. After a few more minutes, I stood up. My legs were extremely wobbly, and felt like jello, but other than that the pain was gone.

"That's some miracle juice you've got there." I commented, Thalia raising an eyebrow and watching me carefully.

"It's called Nectar; the drink of the gods. It heals demigods when taken in small doses." She explained. I looked over at her curiously.

"What about in large doses?" I questioned. She simply make an explosion sound, gesturing with her hands for extra effect. I swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat, focusing on what really mattered.

"What do we do now?" I asked, not needing to clarify. Artemis was gone. Kidnapped. We couldn't just sit around and do nothing. Thalia looked at me sadly, taking in a deep breath.

"We're heading to Camp Half-Blood, and making sure that you get there safely." She said. I practically jumped up in indignation, but stopped myself, both because of the pain and because I could tell Thalia wasn't in the mood.

"You need training, Dakota. I've already arranged for Sara to be put in charge of the hunt while I'm gone." She explained. At first, I didn't understand but it all clicked after a minute.

"You're going after Artemis alone? Did you not see the giant freaking Hulk that kidnapped her? What was that guy?" I asked.

"Menoetius. And he was a titan." Thalia said, barely above a whisper, almost as if she were afraid to even use the name. I remembered hearing that name one time in my history class, and honestly I was really regretting not paying closer attention.

"Men...toe us? I thought I remembered him dying in Greek mythology?" I asked, Thalia rolling her eyes at my pronunciation of his name, the tiniest smirk on her face.

"Menoetius," She corrected slowly, so I could hear correctly. "And yes; Zeus banished him to Tartarus during the reign of the titans." She confirmed, making me feel even more lost.

"But… how in the heck is he here?" I asked, Thalia looking just as lost as I was.

"I really don't know… but answers are going to have to wait until later. Right now, you need to get packed; you're leaving in a few minutes." She commanded, heading over to her tent. I followed her, already feeling a lot better.

"And what about you?" I asked. Thalia was shoving some clothes into a duffle bag.

"I'm heading out as soon as I'm packed. I've got to follow the trail while it's still fresh. I should have gone right away, but… I wanted to make sure that you were ok first." She admitted. I was honestly really shocked and heart warmed to hear her say that; she genuinely cared about me and my well-being… it was a really nice feeling, way better than what I was used to; people only caring because they're knee-deep in daddy's back pocket.

"Yeah, and what if you find this titan guy, huh? What then? What's your plan to take him out all by yourself?" I asked, probably sounding a bit more bratty than I meant to. Thalia's hand hovered over a bag of what looked to be graham cracker squares, hesitating for a moment, before continuing shoving things into the bag.

"I'll think of something." She insisted. For a minute I just stood there. Thalia was smarter than this; she had to know that there was no chance of her actually being able to defeat that beast in battle all alone. And to be honest, I knew that she was probably right; I was undertrained and completely underprepared for any kind of actual battle; trying to fight the walking tank had more than proved that to me. But a part of me still knew that letting Thalia go out there on her own just wasn't a good idea. By the time I had finally snapped out of my trance, Thalia was already outside of her tent, her bag completely packed and sitting next to her. She placed a hand on my shoulder, looking me in the eyes.

"You go to Camp. There's a lot of people there who will be able to teach you to use your abilities and to hold your own in a fight… a few of them are very good friends of mine. Trust me, you'll fit right in there. I'll be fine; heck, I'll probably be back before you even notice I'm gone." She tried a little too hard to sound confident, like maybe she was trying to convince herself more than me. She must have noticed my skepticism, because she smiled and ruffled my curly hair.

"For what it's worth, I'm really glad that I got to meet you, Dak. Now get going; the Hunt is about ready to leave." She said. I looked around, shocked at how quickly they had taken down all the tents. There wasn't a shred of evidence that there had ever been a camp there; we were standing in the wilderness once again. Sara came up beside me, gesturing for me to follow her.

"Come on, Dak; we're leaving." She said, nodding to Thalia before placing her hand on my back and guiding me the other way. She handed me a silver bookbag that felt pretty heavy.

"Your stuff." She explained. Suddenly, I felt a familiar presence beside me, this time only jumping a little bit.

"Hey bro; thanks for like… totally saving my hide back there. Wicked cool of you." Brody said, patting me on the back. I smiled at him, glad that he was here with me again. But just as quickly I remembered that Thalia wasn't; she was heading out on her own, to face the giant titan who had almost killed me… and she was going in alone. I stopped jerkily, standing planted in the path. My mind was racing; I had to be some new form of crazy for thinking what I was thinking. Sara stopped as well, looking down at me. She didn't even look surprised; like she knew what was coming.

"You're going to go after her, aren't you?" She only half-asked. Without thinking, I nodded.

"Artemis may have been a goddess… but she was my friend. She took care of me when she really didn't have to, and even tried to teach me how to take care of myself. And Thalia is my friend too; they're really some of the only friends that I have. What kind of friend am I if I don't have her back when she needs me?" I asked, Sara smiling at me, and for the first time I felt like maybe I was beginning to earn the hunt's respect.

"I must tell you… if you go through with this, you may never know who your mother is." She warned, my head shooting up in shock.

"They know who my mother is? At Camp?" I asked excitedly.

"Well, no… but Camp is where demigods get claimed; you mother would almost certainly claim you. You would know who she is soon enough." Sara said, and for a moment I almost hesitated. My mother... I had so many questions I needed answered, and she was the only one who could answer them. Who was she? Why did she leave my dad? Why did she never visit or at least reach out to me? All of this was swimming through my head, but was quickly stomped out when I pictured Thalia standing alone against that monster. I tightened my jaw firmly, making up my mind.

"Sometime the family that matters the most isn't by blood." I decided, Sara's grin growing even wider. I felt a hand on my arm, looking over at Brody and already knowing what he was thinking.

"No, dude… I couldn't ask you to do that." I tried.

"Then, like… don't ask. Easy fix, man." He said, that classic chilled out smile on his face. I couldn't help but smile at him; something told me he would have my back to the very end. I looked back at Sara, nodding an unspoken thanks before grabbing Brody by the satchel straps and taking off at mach speeds back the way we came. It didn't take long for me to catch up with Thalia, who was shocked whenever Brody and I suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Dakota, what are you doing here?! You're supposed to be with Sara and the Hunt!" She commanded firmly, and for a minute I almost felt inclined to run back, but I shook the feeling off, planting my feet firmly.

"No way, Thalia; if you're doing this, I'm going with you." I insisted.

"I'm down for whatever." Brody admitted nonchalantly. Thalia shook her head, grabbing me by the collar of my jacket and dragging me back the way I came, but I brushed her off harshly.

"I'm not asking, Thalia." I said seriously and with enough finality that it made her hesitate for a second. That was all I needed.

"Artemis is my friend, and so are you! I have every bit as much right to try and save her as you do." I said. Thalia still looked more than a little annoyed… ok, furious. I sighed, looking her right in the eyes.

"Thalia… you, Artemis, and Brody are like… all I've got. My dad is too depressed to even notice that I'm not at school, and beyond that I don't have any family. You guys cared more about me these past few days than my dad has my entire life. I can't… I can't let you go in all alone, with no one watching your back. I know I don't have much training… but that doesn't mean I can't help save my friend." I said quietly. I really meant every word, and I guess Thalia could tell, because she didn't say anything, standing there like a statue, her face void of expression. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she sighed.

"We're heading west. We'll travel until dark, then set up camp." She said, making me smirk.

"Alright, sounds like a plan." I agreed, Brody nodding his head.

"Sure, man; let's hit it." He agreed, pulling out his Ukulele. Before he could even pluck a string, Thalia spoke up.

"You strum that thing one time, and I'm breaking it over my knee." She growled, Brody immediately slinging it back around his back. Just like that, we were headed off into the unknown, to find and save our friend.