Time flew in New Rome and the night before the demigods of Camp Half-Blood would go home came quickly. A group of us sat at a picnic table, sipping coffee or hot chocolate and conversing casually. I was spacing out, thinking about the prophecy and wondering when I would go and where and what I would be doing in the mean time. A shoulder nudged me, bringing back to the present. "Hey Arthur, you alright?" asked Piper.

I blinked and said, "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. Just lost in thought. Was someone saying something?"

"Nope;" she said, "Just wanted to be sure. So, what are you going to do until Zeus comes?"

That was one of the questions I had been asking myself. "I have no idea. Can I get in on some of that Legion training?"

Jason grimaced. "They could let you but it would be hard. You wouldn't be accepted like those demigods who were led here from the Wolf House by Lupa and her pack. Hey Frank, Hazel, you guys will be staying here when we leave. You think he'll be okay?"

Frank nodded. "I'll vouch for him and I'm sure Reyna will back me up."

"I'll sponsor him myself if I have to;" said Hazel with a grin. "You'll make a fine addition to the Fifth Cohort."

I nodded slowly but something felt wrong about this and I didn't know why. "Here, I'll even write you a letter of recommendation;" said Percy with a grin.

He grabbed a clean napkin and used his pen, saying as he did. "Romans, as your former Praetor I highly recommend that you accept Arthur Price, Son of Artemis, into your legion. He's already got a ton of monster fighting experience under his belt and has spent his entire life hunting monsters. Yours truly, Percy Jackson - Son of Poseidon."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and Jason looked at it before saying, "Here, give me the pen and I'll sign it too."

Hazel and Frank were laughing and shaking their heads. "That's not how that works."

"It isn't?" ask Percy as he passed the napkin to them. "Then how does it work?"

Just then, Reyna and Hylla walked up. The praetor's hard eyes zeroed in on the napkin and she picked it up. Dead silence followed and her eyes flicked to Percy, Jason, Hazel, Frank and me before setting it down and adding her name to the list before walking away.

Hylla just chuckled and followed her younger sister. For a solid two minutes, no one said anything until Percy said, "Well that's settled. You should carry that with you."

I snorted. "I'm not carrying a napkin in my pocket."

Percy looked hurt. "Awe come on, man. We worked hard on this and even got Reyna to sign it."

I laughed, "Sure, and I'll definitely keep it but I'm not going to carry it around. It would get ruined and fall apart. Anyhow, I do appreciate the endorsements though. So, what's on the docket for the rest of the day?"

"Well most of us are packed already," said Annabeth, shooting her boyfriend a meaningful look. "We'll be taking the bus back to Camp Half-blood first thing tomorrow morning. Our Roman brethren are planning one last huge party in the forum tonight with us and with the Amazons. Apparently they'll be heading back to Seattle tomorrow morning too."

Percy grinned. "You and that Amazon gonna become pen-pals?"

I blushed and looked back into my coffee cup. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he said patiently, "are you going to stay in contact with her? She's totally into you, man."

"I really don't think an orange jumpsuit and a metal collar suit me;" I countered.

"Dude, I'm not saying you should move to Seattle and join their super secret underground empire driving forklifts and the like. I'm just asking if you're going to stay in contact with her?"

I hadn't really thought that far ahead. "Eh, I might Iris message her every now and again. I dunno."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Boys!" she said as if it were a curse, "listen, Arthur, if you're going to stay in contact, don't just Iris message her. Write her letters. She can keep those and reread them."

"Wait a sec!" I said, lifting my hands. "I never said that-"

"Yeah, yeah;" she waved it away; "I'm just saying that if you do, write letters, don't just send Iris messages."

I was still blushing and apparently, they all found it quite amusing.

The party was even bigger and more energetic than any of the previous nights had been. There were no contests or games, just lots of laughter and dancing and eating and drinking. I was getting slightly overwhelmed and tried to stick to the outer edge of the crowds. Dancing in one of the groups, Danielle spotted me and motioned me over to her. I shook my head, trying to convey my unease in large groups using hand motions. Rolling her eyes she danced her way through the crowd. When she got to me, she said, "What's the matter? Don't you want to dance?"

"I don't feel comfortable in crowds;" I said.

Danielle laughed and said, "I guess that doesn't surprise me. Well you have to join in the fun somehow! You're acting weird!"

I blushed and she grabbed my hand, pulling me towards a group of mixed Romans and Amazons. They were talking and laughing together, some of the Amazons flirting and boasting with the demigods. When we got there, several of the Amazons turned and considered us. "Hey, it's the champion archer!" said one of the Amazons with a big smile. "Where have you been hiding? We could have used some eye candy."

I blushed and managed to say, "What, with all the fine demigod specimens running around?"

Laughter and even a few catcalls were heard before one of the Roman's said, "So you're a son of Dianna. How does that work?"

"What?" I asked, suddenly taken aback and cautious.

"How does that work? Dianna is sworn to be a maiden goddess. Yet, here you are. How did that happen?"

I felt my ears turning red as over a dozen pairs of eyes turned to me. Clearing my throat, I said, "All that it takes for a life to be created is for two beings to give a little of themselves - or at least, that is how my mom explained it. When it's two mortals, it requires the biological actions of sex for procreation. But the wonderful thing is that, when the gods are involved, all it takes is a blessing and a little magic. My mother is still the maiden huntress whether she is called Artemis or Dianna."

Silence followed my declaration before one of the Amazons asked, "But how exactly-"

"At my mother's command, my father killed a yearling and put it on a sacrificial fire. Then, he and my mother added their blood and ichor to the fire and, presto, there I lay, a little baby boy."

Again, silence followed. Danielle looked fascinated but some of the other looked almost disgusted. Suddenly, one of the younger demigods, a girl of no more than fourteen piped up. "Do you have a belly button?"

That totally threw me off. "A what now?"

"Do you have a belly button. Do you have one?"

I resisted the urge to laugh. "Yeah, I do. Why?"

"Well why, if you were born the normal way, I'd understand but since you weren't-"

She was shushed by her comrades. I just shrugged. "I dunno. Never really thought about it. Anyhow, that's how I'm here."

After a long silence, one of them asked, "I heard you only just got to camp half blood at the end of spring. What did you do before that?"

Now that was a subject that I could warm up to. "I traveled with my sisters, the Hunters of Artemis."

"But they don't except boys."

I chuckled at the ridiculousness of my next statement. "I don't think I counted."

There was many a snicker after that. They were all good listeners as I talked about hunting and the times that I would visit my grandmother Leto or Britomartis. My grandmother would walk around with me in the mortal world. We'd go to malls and movies and amusement parks. By contrast, Britomartis and I would always get into so much trouble together. Pretty soon, I had them laughing with a story of how she and I had played a game of hide and seek for two weeks straight, only instead of simply finding me, she had stalked me and caught me in a trap.

It was well passed midnight when we all staggered back to our bunks. I fell asleep as soon as my head was on the pillow. Immediately, I fell into a dream. Thalia was looking at a map on the banquet table in one of the hunters' tents. "Where are you, my lady?" she murmured.

My heart sank and I wished I could help her. Suddenly, another hunter came running in and breathlessly said, "Thalia, we have trouble! A group of demigods came out of nowhere and attacked us. I don't know who they are but they aren't from Camp Half-blood or Camp Jupiter."

"What?" said Thalia, "that isn't even possible! Who-"

I followed in my dream and saw Thalia and her companion run out of the tent in time to see a half a dozen demigods in bronze armor with masked helmets that looked like the faces of lions. They had spears, swords and shields and were approaching in tight formation. "Who are you?" demanded Thalia as she touched her wrist band.

It expanded into her shield, Aegis. With a flick of her other wrist, her spear extended. The enemy demigods faltered at the sight of Thalia's shield. I knew what effect that shield had. It wasn't exactly like Athena's, which could petrify her enemies with the face of the Gorgon Medusa but it did cause her enemies, and even her friends, to recoil in fright. From the rear of the group came a call. "Hold."

He materialized from the shadows - a tall boy with dark hair and a scruffy face. Even with his stubble, he couldn't be any older than eighteen. "I'm warning you, Huntresses, turn back. Your mistress is in no danger. Leave her to our father and master and there need be no more bloodshed."

Thalia snorted and said, "Interesting. Allow me to counter-offer. Release lady Artemis to us or, by all the gods of Olympus, we will hunt you down and make you pay one at a time."

"So be it;" said the boy and he fell in with his fellows.

They looked as though they were ready to charge when the demigod in charge froze. After just a moment, he said, "Fall back! Leave them for the night but cover your tracks. I don't want us followed."

The hunters rushed forward but one of the enemy demigods threw something on the ground and acrid smoke filled the air. The hunters coughed and spluttered and when they breached the smoke, they found that they were alone. "We must follow the tracks!" snapped Thalia.

Putting a horn to her lips, she blew a long blast and ran back to the tent. She muttered under her breath and it folded up to a square of fabric the size of a handkerchief. Without another word, they ran off, following the trail of the mysterious demigods.

I woke to the sounds of Sherman Yang hoisting his duffel bag onto his back. With a yawn, I stood and dressed quickly, wanting to see my friends off. They were all gathered around their bus, putting their bags into the compartments beneath the passenger compartment. Hazel and Frank were hugging their friends and saying their goodbyes. I walked up, suppressing another yawn and Percy jogged over. "Hey man, good luck on your quest. If you need help, Iris message me and I'll do what I can."

He gave me a bear hug, slapping my back soundly. The others came around and did the same. Nico De Angelo frowned and said, "Are you alright, Arthur? You look like you didn't sleep too well."

I sighed and briefly recounted my dream. Immediately, the mood darkened quickly. "We'll need to discuss this as soon as we get back to Camp Half-blood;" said Annabeth.

"And we'll bring it to Reyna and before the senate;" said Frank. "Another group of demigods is big news. The fact that they are willingly attacking Diana's Hunters and have all but admitted that they know where she is kinda worries me."

I nodded. "I wish that Zeus would hurry up and give me the quest. She's already been gone for a long time now."

"That can't be helped;" said Jason. "Be patient. When the time comes, you'll be ready for it."

From the bus came a yell from Coach Hedge. "Alright! Load up, Cupcakes! Time to get back home."

Another quick round of hugs followed and the demigods of Camp Half-blood loaded up. I stood with Hazel and Frank and we watched as the bus disappeared. "We should find Reyna and- hey! Here they come. Looks like the Amazons are heading home too."

Hazel was right. The Amazons were gathered near a fleet of SUV's. Frank, Hazel and I went over and joined the Roman officers who were assembled to bid the Amazons farewell, along with not a few Roman legionnaires who were going to miss the company of the beautiful if dangerous and heavily sexist Amazons. As I stood near the group of Romans, three figures detached themselves from the Amazon group. It was Danielle, Britney and Sheena. One at a time, they hugged me. "Take care, Arty;" said Britney, batting her eyelashes. "I'd love for you to visit in Seattle."

"Yes, that would be great;" said Sheena.

"Who knows, Gargarean;" said Danielle. "Maybe we could even convince you to stay awhile."

"Convince me, huh?" I said. I knew exactly what their idea of 'convincing' me was. "We'll see. Safe travels, ladies."

When Queen Hylla looked over and considered me, I bowed and said, "Safe travels, your majesty."

"Thank you, Arthur. Take care of yourself."

She surprised me and proffered her hand. I shook it firmly and they loaded into the SUV's. As they pulled away, I noticed Frank lean over and murmur something to Reyna. She didn't respond with more than a quick nod. When the Amazon caravan was out of sight, she called over. "Arthur, come here please."

I strode over and she handed me a small scroll with a smile. Frowning, I took it and unrolled it. To my amusement and unending gratitude, I saw that it was the letter that Percy had wrote for me, with all the names signed neatly at the bottom. With a chuckle, I said, "Thank you, Reyna."

"Thank Percy Jackson. I just signed it in agreement. Apparently we have a lot to discuss. Aside from the issue of you joining the legion for your brief stay here, we also need to talk about your quest and your dream. It warrants an assembly of the full senate."

I nodded, feeling my stomach clench. I wasn't at all sure how the Roman senators were going to handle it. They already seemed to have uneasy feelings about Greek demigods in general. Being the son of a maiden goddess on top of that would definitely make me an unpopular demigod. Suddenly, a howl came from Temple Hill. All eyes turned towards and a great gray wolf stood between two of the half-constructed shrines. Everyone else stayed still but I felt a call from the wolf. She stared straight at me and sat on her haunches.

Squaring my shoulders, I went to meet her, knowing who she was. My mother had told me about the wolf goddess Lupa, how she had saved Romulus and Remus. When I reached Camp Half-blood, Jason, Percy and Frank had explained further that she lead Roman demigods to Camp Jupiter and began their training. Now she wanted to speak to me.

As I got closer to her, I realized that she was much larger than I had previously thought. Sitting on her haunches, she was a head above me and looked down with her silver eyes. I was tempted to look away but knew that, since we had locked eyes, doing so would be a sign of weakness. Showing weakness to wolves was a grave and deadly mistake. After some time, she seemed to nod and I heard her voice in my head. At the very least, you have courage and sense, pup. I can tell just by looking at you that you have been hunting for the majority of your short life.

I nodded my head. I am a son of Diana, the goddess of hunting. Since I was six years old, I have hunted with her attendants.

The wolf's lips curled over her fangs and a low growl sounded in her throat. If you seek to impress me, child, then you have failed. I care nothing for the Olympians and even less for their personal followers. You have not been a part of my pack.

I stared at her, feeling my pride begin to rise. Well then where do I sign up and how do I start?

The curled-lipped growl turned into what could have been a smile. You have courage and heart but you are already here. If you wish my blessing, you will need to earn it, child of the Moon.

I nodded my head resolutely. Then I will. I'll become a member of the legion with or without your blessing.

We will see; replied Lupa before turning and loping away.