"Halt before the flag of truce!" Reyna commanded in a clear, directive tone. Scipio, her pegasus, reared to a sharp halt across the property line, wings flailing. The first row of flanking eagles swooped down to a landing, depositing the five campers alongside her — five centurions of the five legions. Jason caught Dakota's eye and tried to hold it, but Dakota refused to look directly at him. The moment the Romans landed, it seemed that they'd noticed the Parthenos. The front line didn't react, but as more legionnaires landed, row after row, whispers began running up and down their lines. They were caught off guard, maybe even confused as to what it meant. Jason hoped this was the best reaction.

Reyna dismounted and closed the space, dressed in full Roman armor and wielding her sword. Her expression was hard, without the slightest trace of mercy, and that didn't change when she narrowed in on the enemy's delegates — Piper and Jason.

"This is a trap," a voice came from the far left. Jason didn't have to look to guess who it'd be. "They torch New Rome, and then they call a truce? They've even recaptured the statue of the Athena Parthenos. I don't see any further room for discussion here. Lines, attack now!"

"For Rome!" Someone bellowed. Others echoed them, and the lines of the army locked shields, forming a shield wall, but remained hesitant, not quite prepared to directly disobey the praetor's command. Eyes flicked nervously upwards to Athena's stone, harsh face.

"We will attack, Octavian, that much is obvious," Reyna snapped. "Someone will pay for the damage and deceit. But first, let's hear what they have to say. We must respect the rules of battle, must we not?"

She stepped forward, and Jason held his breath. For a second, he'd hoped that the property line would keep the Romans out. Then he remembered Frank, and Hazel, and Nico, all of whom had entered without difficulty. Reyna crossed the property line, and a collective hush fell upon the campers. The other centurions stepped forth to join her.

"We cannot discuss with this one," Octavian ruled, looking directly at Piper. "There can be no fair council with one of Venus' sirens. Take her away."

Chiron stepped to say something, but already the Romans — the second and third centurions — had taken Piper and held her hands forcefully behind her back, gagging her mouth. Instantly, a wave of anger swept over Jason, and he instinctively drew his sword. "Let go of her," he said. "We're under a flag of truce."

Piper struggled madly, but there were two much stronger legionnaires holding her fast. Octavian smiled. "Not until we proceed with the discussions your camp so desires, graceus."

Thunder rumbled ahead. With great difficulty, Jason prevented himself from lunging at the creep's throat. He breathed deeply, and turned around. "Frank, please."

Nervous and jittery, Frank stumbled forwards, almost tripping, to general laughter from the Romans. The laughter intensified when they realized that Frank's centurion badge was still pinned to his shirt.

Only Reyna seemed to feel a hint of pity, staring at Frank's badge and lapels. Jason kept his eyes on Piper, who had slackened her stance and had given up fighting her bonds. She was unarmed. If their diplomatic efforts failed, she'd be dead meat in less than two seconds.

In other words, it was do or die. Jason cleared his throat uneasily and tried to think of how to begin. "So, the attack on Camp Jupiter happened only because our friend Leo Valdez was possessed by an eidolon, one of Gaea's servants. Gaea is the real enemy. By destroying each other, we're finished. We can't let her win."

Some people began snickering. "Yes, so this is what they will have us believe," Octavian said smoothly. "Of course, it wouldn't harm for the Greeks to take action discreetly while we walk straight into their little peace-trap. How convenient, since no one can prove that he wasn't possessed by the eidolons. If he was, why is he no longer?"

"Piper talked them out of it," Frank said heatedly. More people laughed, and Octavian's expression was theatrically incredulous. Reyna, Dakota and one or two of the other centurions were quiet. Some of the legionnaires, however, were getting impatient. Jason could read it in their faces — they'd come to deliver retribution, they wanted to see a battle — not a slow debate.

"And who will vouch for this?" Octavian asked. "Aside from their friends, who have already been deemed traitorous?"

"I will," said a voice from the other side of the hill. Everyone stopped and turned around, to see a figure walking towards them in a dim halo of light. Although it was impossible to see his or her face from this distance, Jason immediately knew who it was. The same expression of shock was reflected on a hundred faces.

"Lord Bacchus, we are honoured," Reyna said immediately. Bacchus raised an eyebrow derisively.

"Is that so? None of you are kneeling."

Jason got down on his knees, along with everyone else from both sides of the divide. As Bacchus walked down the divide, Jason could see his form flickering between two people — one taller, leaner, dressed in armor with a pinecone staff, the other shorter, pudgier, with a floral Hawaiian shirt and no staff. He guessed that he was witnessing the god alternating between his Greek and Roman forms. Each time his form changed, the air around him crackled with manic energy.

"You may rise," Bacchus said dismissively, waving his hand and heading towards the area near Chiron. For the first time, Jason could see whom Percy termed "Mr D" clearly and solidly. He was plump, with a slight pot belly, a ruddy face and a head of curly black hair. It occurred to Jason that he looked like a fifty-year-old Dakota gone to seed.

"So, how did this happen?" Dionysus said casually, sitting down on a foldable chair that a nervous faun, no — satyr, had hurriedly run and fetched for him. More satyrs ran up with a fold-out table lined with red picnic cloth, a platter of cheese and crackers, and a diet Coke. He popped open the Coke, glanced up at Chiron, then at the other campers. "Well, don't stand there, answer me! Activities Director?"

Jason took the plunge. "Erm, well, before we met you in Kansas, then Rome, we were supposed to be on a peaceful mission to unite the Greek and Roman camps. But, ah, Leo here got possessed by one of Gaea's minions and he fired on the Roman camp, and so here we are."

"Ah. Juniper Grover, is it not? I vaguely remember seeing you before." Dionysus' form flickered again uncertainly, settling on Bacchus. The Diet Coke changed into a Diet Pepsi. It was disconcerting, especially since every time his form flickered the people near him started looking drowsy.

"He needs to speak to one of our side," someone complained.

"No, his Greek form won't have any recollections," Jason cut the interrupter off. He glanced at Piper, who did her best to look reassuring despite being bound and gagged. "Lord Bacchus, we're the heroes who sacrificed the trireme to you. You helped us to defeat Ephialtes and Otis in Rome. Juno wanted to unite the Roman and Greek heroes to fight in the war against Gaea by doing an exchange of leaders. However, Gaea tried to sow the seeds of discord. And if you don't help us to reason with the leaders" — Jason had a hard time getting the words out — "of Camp Jupiter, we, and the gods, will lose."

"I see." Bacchus sat up straighter (well, much straighter than Dionysus) and focused on Jason.

"With all due respect, Lord Bacchus," Octavian interrupted. "How would you vouch for their honesty if you're unaware of the proceedings?"

Bacchus stared at Octavian, gaze steely. "I am not a fool, child," he said. "I can tell when I am being lied to, just like your praetor's ... pets."

Aurum and Argentum bared their fangs and crouched.

"Well, then, do you agree to this — er — agreement?" Bacchus asked in his best "severe" tone. He addressed Reyna only. "You have seen that your 'enemies' do not lie. The question is, will Rome accept this truth? Or will it blindly seek revenge, ignoring what's best for it?"

The Romans were silent. Reyna's expression was as smooth as ever, but Jason could see that she was under extreme mental stress — torn between what was right, and the pride of Rome. Pride had always been Rome's fatal flaw.

"The recapturing of the Parthenos is not a declaration of war," Jason said as reasonably as he could, this time addressing all of the Romans. "It is an attempt to restore the peace. And if you cannot accept this, don't forget that we can harness its power. Are you prepared to lose your numbers, to deplete your ranks?"

He looked at Reyna now, trying to gauge her expression. She seemed to relent; seemed to have made a decision. He waited for the hammer to fall with bated breath.

"I am deeply sorry, Lord Bacchus," Reyna finally said. "But Rome must be avenged." She glanced back at her troops, who seemed to be drawing energy from her words alone. Then she looked back at Jason, and he thought he saw a hint of regret? Sadness? "We cannot let this debt go unrepaid."

"So this is how you will face it," Bacchus said coldly. "I am not able to further intervene, but Juno and Venus will not be pleased to hear how their time has been wasted."

He stood up, drawing his cloak around him, banged his pinecone staff against the floor once, and then he was gone in a shimmer of purple, leaving only the smell of grapes lingering behind.

In the Romans' grasp, Piper's eyes were fearful.

"You cannot do this, Reyna," Jason said flatly. "You cannot be so stupid."

"You know nothing about leading an army, Jason Grace," Reyna hissed, stepping closer. "You never did take real ownership of Rome."

"That's what you really think? Well, I think that you put your pride too high on your list of priorities."

"You're becoming just like a Greek," Reyna said contemptuously. "Too weak to conquer, to frivolous to deal."

"Meaningless aggression is not what Rome's about, and you know it very well."

It was only then did he realize that he was standing right in front of Reyna — close enough to see the sweat beading on her forehead, close enough to see the white knuckles that grasped her sword hilt as though her life depended upon it. Close enough to see the fear in her dark eyes. She was nervous, and very much so. She regretted being in this position. She didn't want a fight any more than he did.

Hesitantly, he stepped back, keeping an eye on the guys holding Piper.

"Fine, then," Jason said. "Let's resolve this with minimal damage. A one-on-one gladiator fight. Me versus whoever wants to challenge. If you win, you advance. If I win, you retreat."

Reyna looked briefly behind her to her five centurions. Octavian was casually looking away, the other two were holding Piper, while Dakota and the other refused to meet her eyes.

"I will challenge," Reyna said at last, with resignation. She drew her sword and advanced. Immediately, Jason raised his shield, assuming a defensive stance.

Then Reyna lunged, stabbing straight for the gut. Jason swung out of the way and retaliated, letting his battle instincts take over. Reyna was quick on the mark, he had to say that much. She dodged and stabbed and whirled and fought like an Amazon, pressing him hard, never letting him past a wide ring of defense. Jason was just getting warmed up. He didn't want to pull the lightning hat-trick — he didn't want to injure her or anything, but she was making it hard. The only sound that could be heard for miles was the steady rumbling of thunder above and the clang of swords on armor.

He made a pass, but Reyna came up to meet it. Her brow was furrowed, and her concentration was tuned up to the fullest. He pressed against her sword with his shield, and electricity crackled down the shaft of her sword. She almost dropped her sword, but fought to keep it in her grasp, aiming for the chinks in his armor in short stabs. Jason defended calmly, using his sword to meet the strikes. It was Greek tactic he'd learned during training, those few months. As her strokes grew shallower, Jason slammed his shield down on her shield hand, forcing her to direct her attention there, then slashed. Reyna dropped her sword. He twisted downwards — another Greek tactic he'd picked up — on her shield hand, and her shield clattered to the ground. She stood before him, defenceless. He could see in her the staggering loss of defeat.

"So, he's picked up un-Roman fighting now," Octavian remarked from a side. Dakota looked semi-relieved. The shield wall bristled. It seemed that the fight had only served to anger them more.

"I suppose, though, we shouldn't have expected any less from a defector of Rome," Octavian continued. "Lines, advance!"

"We had an agreement!" Jason yelled.

"I don't recall anyone giving a solemn oath," Octavian said cheerfully. Jason seethed with rage.

"You take Reyna," he muttered to Frank.

"What?!"

Then the fight broke out. Hordes of Romans ran forwards, advancing in formation. Jason swiftly went for the centurions holding Piper hostage, taking them down in less than five blows and freeing her. "Run!" was all he said before he turned to check how Frank was holding up.

Frank was still in human form, fighting with a gladius — but rather uncomfortably. It wasn't his weapon of choice. He wasn't going to hold up long against Reyna, who was already pressing him backwards. Jason took right over, catching her blade on his hilt, and pushing Frank aside. Reyna's eyes narrowed and she fought back harder. As he channeled more effort into the fight, electricity began to crackle around them, charging the air with ozone. The campers who'd been standing around fighting turned their fights away, not wanting to get their hair singed.

"Give up, Reyna," Jason said through gritted teeth as he pressed her harder. A bolt of electricity shot right through his sword, forcing her to stumble backwards. "This isn't right."

"I've no choice," was all Reyna said. Jason fired another round of voltage through, pressing her further back. "You can still call it off," he said.

"Don't you get it? I can't." Reyna ducked to avoid another swing. Her moves were purely defensive now, and she was trying to minimize contact. In the distance, a cannon fired. The grass exploded with greenish fire. Campers and Romans alike shrieked as they dodged around the stuff. A few missiles rained down on the camp. Hephaestus' campers launched deactivators with the help of Apollo's campers, aiming to destroy the fireballs before they could fall onto the camp. Jason slashed and stabbed and moved through the chaos.

The battle was turning into a full-on assault. Although the Greeks had primed their defenses and were aiming to fire the eagles down instead of the Romans, more eagles just kept arriving. It seemed that the influx wasn't going to end anytime soon — the Romans had really summoned their backup. Fortunately, though, Jason didn't see any sign of, say, Hannibal, or any animals.

Reyna made another pass, and Jason's concentration almost slipped. Gritting his teeth, he sprung backwards to give himself space and swung. He'd battled Reyna countless times in training, but never during a real fight. He hadn't imagined that this day'd ever come.

Just then, the statue of the Parthenos glowed brilliantly with blinding white light like a supernova. Everywhere, swords stopped mid-swing and warriors turned to watch, fearful and amazed. The starburst grew steadily, and a million fuzzy grey balls of light seemed to simultaneously explode forth and rain down upon the battlefields. Some landed on the ground, turning the grass silver where it did. Most landed on campers — those from Camp Half-Blood, and enveloped them in a glowing halo of silver-grey light. To his surprise, Jason wasn't bypassed — the stuff swarmed around his head, and the silver mist cascaded like a curtain down to his ankles, clinging tightly to him. He realized his hands were shining with luminosity.

"The Blessing of Athena!" someone yelled. The clanging of metal on metal resumed, but this time Jason felt empowered, stronger. His sword arm seemed to have a life of its own. His movements were sure and fast, his mind racing ahead of his body, strategizing, pre-empting, calculating.

"Raise the eagle!" someone yelled. Was that Octavian? His voice sounded an octave higher than normal.

Dakota held it high. "Twelfth legion fulminata," he mumbled half-heartedly. Lightning spiralled out of the eagle standard in a thousand bolts, lighting up the dark valley, but all the Greek campers had gained momentary invincibility. "It's no use!" He cried.

Reyna, at least, seemed to realize that the battle was lost. Roman legionnaires outnumbered the enemy, but the Greeks couldn't be touched while under the blessing of Athena. More than enough Hephaestus and Apollo campers were being deployed to disarm the Roman artillery.

"Rome, RETREAT!" she bellowed.

"You can't be serious!" Someone yelled. Reyna took no notice. She slammed her shield as close to Jason's face as she could, and stood right in front of him. "This won't be the end, Jason," she said, and then she backed off, trusting him not to attack. A thousand eagles swooped in to pick up the campers and took right off, soaring across the sky in a trail like a long, golden dragon. None of the campers attacked the retreating Romans, which seemed to be something they already took for granted. Some didn't even bother guarding their backs as they ran. In the distance, Jason could already see the golden chariot disappearing over the horizon.

All around him, campers were doubled over, panting hard as the effects of Athena's blessing wore off. Jason hadn't realized earlier, but many of them were wounded. Medics — probably Apollo's children — were running around healing the injured campers, giving them refreshments, and tending to their wounds. Chiron, Piper, Leo, Hazel and Frank had already assembled to the right, and Jason ran up to join them. Their expressions were all solemn, much unlike those of the other campers who were in high spirits. Leo looked as though he was going to break down any minute.

"So, that turned out well," Jason said glumly.

"We've prolonged the inevitable," Chiron answered. "The camp's attempts were laudable, but I fear that we've only worsened the situation."

Nobody said a word. Finally Chiron slung his bow over a shoulder and stood straight. "We must assemble the head counsellors again to decide on our next course of action," he said. "We must prioritize — reconciliation with Camp Jupiter, or to invest our efforts in the bigger mission — to stop Gaea, and save our fellow campers." With that pronouncement, he left the group.

A/N: Please review.