200 REVIEWS EXACTLY! WE MADE IT!:DDDDDDDDDDDDDDD You guys are the best! I'm pretty sure that was the most reviews I've ever gotten for one chapter! Thanks so much for all the reviews and all the support! It means a lot to me, I promise. I'm so happy; I'm nearly about to cry... :')

Celebratory chapter time! (Although I kind of think a life-or-death trial isn't that much to be excited about... Oh well. :P)

Anyway, it's kind of important for you to understand Roman numerals for this chapter, so just in case some of you guys don't know, here's a crash course:

I: 1

V: 5

X: 10

L: 50

C: 100

And if a smaller letter comes before a big letter (i.e. if I comes before V), that means you subtract them. So VI would be 6, but IV would be 4. XI would be 11, but IX would be 9, and so on. Make sense? I hope so, because that was the end of the crash course. :P

Also, if you guys like the way I portray Reyna, you might want to check out my Reyna-centric story called War and Memories. *shameless self-promotion* You can read it while you wait for updates for this story. ;)

That's all! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: My lawyer hasn't found a loophole around the "only Rick Riordan can own the characters of PJO" copyright yet... But she's working diligently! :) (Haha, I wish...)

Leo

"Sorry about the magical floating chair, guys," Leo announced as he entered the Forum and drifted down the steps. He had decided to keep it casual and put people at ease with his amazing Leo-style humor. "I wish I could stand up and say my bit like a normal person, but I've been forced into using this thing. You see, apparently walking around two days after you almost die in a tunnel collapse is a bad idea. Crazy, right?" He shrugged. "I didn't know either."

He got more laughs than he had expected. Maybe Reyna was right. Maybe his defeat of yet another mini-army had earned the Romans' respect. "Brady also told me that sitting up two days after you almost die in a tunnel collapse is a bad idea as well," Leo added. "So don't any of you go trying that, okay?" He earned a couple more laughs. For a second, Leo allowed himself to grin. Then he sobered up. "But anyway, I didn't really have a choice," he told them. "As soon as this is over, I have to get back to the Argo II." He paused. "Or whatever's left of it." The thought of his beloved warship crashing almost brought Leo to tears, but he controlled himself. He'd never get the Romans on his side if that happened.

"What do you mean?" someone yelled from the crowd. The other people in attendance nodded and started muttering among themselves. Leo held up his arm for quiet, wincing slightly at the ache he still felt every time he moved. Eventually, they all fell silent.

"I'll explain," he promised. "But first… I want you guys to understand just how much we've been working to stop Gaea and save everyone – mortals, Greeks, and Romans. I want you guys to understand that my friends and I never wanted our camps to fight. So before I explain anything, I want to swear this on the River Styx." He'd checked with Reyna beforehand, and she had assured him that an oath on the Styx was just as binding to Romans as to Greeks. "I did not mean to fire on this camp. I was possessed by an eidolon, one of Gaea's minions. That was the enemy who wanted to destroy you guys – not me." He spread his arms wide. "We Greeks came in peace."

No thunder boomed. No boulder fell through the roof of the Forum and crushed Leo and his magical floating chair, although Octavian kept checking the ceiling hopefully. The residents of Camp Jupiter looked at each other, and then looked at Leo in surprise. Leo laughed inwardly at the undisguised amazement on some of their faces – he guessed they were the stubborn ones who had been begrudging his loyalty. But no one could ignore a promise sworn on the River Styx. If Leo was still alive, it meant he had been telling the truth. The legionnaires couldn't deny the facts staring them in the faces. It was time for Leo to really get going.

He looked at them sadly. "Believe me, if I could have discovered the eidolon before I ever got here, I would have gotten rid of it immediately. We didn't want any of this distrust to sprout between us. Why did you guys think we came here? Gaea is too powerful for one camp working alone, but together – united as one force determined to defeat her…" He grinned. "Well, old Dirt Face wouldn't stand a chance.

"That's why I left the Argo II in the first place," he continued, his smile disappearing. "When I found out that you guys were planning on destroying my camp – the first home I've known in eight years – I knew I had to do something. I couldn't let our camps start fighting. Otherwise, every sacrifice my friends and I made in Rome would have been for nothing." He took a deep breath. "Otherwise, Percy and Annabeth would have fallen into Tartarus for nothing."

No one moved. Even the dust seemed to freeze in the air. "Yeah, you heard me right," Leo said nervously. His voice seemed too loud in the silence. "You see, after my possessed self fired on you guys, we thought all hope was lost for an alliance. Then Annabeth told us about something her mom had mentioned. A statue that had some kind of power that would unite our camps once and for all." He looked at the mass of faces staring at him. "Annabeth told us about the Athena Parthenos."

Half of the legionnaires, most of the New Rome residents, and all of the Lares gasped. Out of the corner of his eye, Leo saw Reyna looking grim but not surprised. He'd finally explained everything to her yesterday afternoon.

Octavian shot to his feet. "Do you mean to tell me…?" he spluttered. "The Parthenos… you found it? It's impossible!"

Leo shook his head. "Annabeth found it. On her own. That was the catch." As quickly as he could manage, Leo summarized their adventures. Most of his audience just sat in amazement as he described traveling across the country and across the Atlantic. He talked about the endless rounds of monster attacks in the Mare Nostrum and the giants that had threatened to destroy Rome in a deadly round of "entertainment". His voice caught a little when he had to recount crashing through the Emmanuel Building's parking lot to find Annabeth standing on a ground more fragile than ice, with a giant spider trapped in a massive pair of Chinese finger cuffs and a huge statue of Athena at her sides.

"We thought that was the end of it," he told them thickly. "Annabeth had defeated Arachne and gotten the Parthenos all by herself. We had fulfilled the prophecy. We thought we were safe, at least for a while. But just as we started loading the Parthenos onto the ship, the floor started cracking. Even then, we thought we would all make it out okay, but there was a piece of spider silk wrapped around Annabeth's ankle, and Arachne… Arachne fell into Tartarus and pulled the silk – and Annabeth – down with her. It all happened so fast… Before any of us knew what was going on, Percy had grabbed Annabeth and tumbled off the surface with her. He had managed to catch hold of a ledge, so they were suspended between our ship and Tartarus. There was nothing any of us could do. Jason and Frank couldn't fly down and get them without getting sucked into Tartarus themselves. If I had just had a little more time, maybe I could have built something to pull them out." He shook his head. "But there wasn't any time. The next thing I knew, Percy had let go of the ledge, and he and Annabeth were gone." He paused, letting the news sink in. The Romans looked suitably astonished.

That good old silence started up again. It was shattered by two words that made Leo madder than he had thought possible. "So what?"

For a second, Leo was speechless. Then he leapt out of his chair, ignoring the way his midsection felt like it was turning to fire, and marched down the steps towards Octavian. "SO WHAT?" Leo had to force himself not to set anything on fire. He knew that any show of violence could be the leverage Octavian needed to turn the Romans back against him. Instead, Leo burst the pathetic augur's personal space bubble. Octavian stood up to protest, but for once, someone was shorter than Leo. He had the pleasure of glaring down at the idiot, with a look of pure murder in his eyes that shamed the augur into silence.

"So what?" he repeated, barely managing to maintain an inside voice. "I'll tell you what. Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus because they hoped that the Athena Parthenos would unite our camps. They forced us to rescue the statue instead of them. They could die because they cared about camp. Not only their own camp, but this camp too." He poked Octavian in the chest, and he stumbled backwards, almost falling into his seat. "They risked everything – are still risking everything – because they believed in peace. And you know what, Octavian? So did I." He scoffed. "Do you think I volunteered to stand trial because I didn't have anything better to do? The Argo II was attacked a few days ago. My friends are stranded in the Alps right now, and I'm the only one who can repair the ship and get them out of there. But I'm here instead. I'm here because I believe in peace too." He resisted the urge to smack some sense into Octavian and kept going instead. "And I didn't collapse the tunnels under Rome because I'm a masochist either, in case you were wondering. Trust me, pain is not fun. I did that because Gaea was sending a massive army of monsters to you guys, and I refused to let them reach you. I care about what happens to you Romans – or most of you, anyway. Octavian, I'd jump for joy if we got rid of you. But I think that most of Camp Jupiter agrees with me, so I don't feel too bad." The laughter that echoed through the Forum warmed Leo's heart. It made him feel like there really was hope for the Romans. Maybe they had senses of humor after all.

"Care about us?" Octavian scoffed, desperately trying to retain his dignity. "You could have killed us! You're just lucky that you didn't seriously injure any of us with your little demonstration."

"Are you kidding me?" Leo yelled. His hands balled into fists. "I wasn't trying to kill you guys! Gaea was leading an army of monsters through the tunnels! They would've surfaced and caught you within the Pomerian Line, weaponless and unprepared! Would you prefer it if I had let them?"

Octavian was quivering with anger. "You have no proof that there were monsters," he muttered. "Or indeed if it was Gaea leading them – or you."

Leo was about to haul off and knock Octavian's lights out for that jibe – or set the kid on fire, he wasn't sure which – but Reyna's voice stopped him just in time. "That's where you're wrong, Octavian," she said clearly. "Leo Valdez does have proof."

"That's right!" a tiny voice shouted. Leo's heart swelled with gratitude. Bless Alexander… That kid had come up with a plan that had saved Leo's life, and now he was sticking up for him. What had Leo done to deserve that kind of support? "I saw the spoils of war myself!"

"We all did." Todd added in his testimony too. "Monster dust was everywhere, along with monster weapons and monster hooves and horns. Besides, we found a couple of dracaenae who hadn't died right away." Leo looked up in surprise and locked eyes with Cohort Three's centurion. The guy was grinning wickedly. "They spilled their secrets before I gutted them."

"I was there when it happened!" Alexander said, obviously still in awe about the incident.

"I was too!" other voices shouted out. Leo felt gratified when one of the voices belonged to Catherine Lizelle. It looked like his cooking had paid off in the end.

Reyna looked coldly at Octavian, who was starting to seem nervous. "As you can see, Leo Valdez has more than enough proof to back up his story," she told him.

"And if it will make you happy, I can swear on the Styx that I'm telling the truth," Leo added. "In fact, I'll do it anyway. Everything I said about our journey to Rome is true. Everything I said about our adventures in Rome is true. And it's also true that Gaea told me that she was planning on attacking this camp with the army she was keeping in the underground tunnels. I swear this on the River Styx."

Octavian opened his mouth, couldn't think of anything to say, and closed it again. Leo smirked and then realized how much his ribs hurt. He went back to his magical floating chair before he could embarrass himself by collapsing or something. As far as he was concerned, he had made his case as well as he could. After all, he had his Roman friends, real evidence, and the Styx on his side. If those weren't enough to convince people, then Leo didn't know what was.

"I think we are ready to vote now," Reyna announced finally. "Each of you – whether legionnaire, New Rome resident, or Lar – can raise your hand to cast your vote. As I say each time we vote in this Forum, you are allowed to choose only one option." She looked sternly at the members of the room. "First of all, the magic in this room will prevent you from voting twice. If you try, you will be forcibly removed from the Forum, and both of your votes will be thrown out. Afterwards… Well, Rome is about justice, among other things. If any of you try to circumvent this law…" She smiled grimly. "You will have me to contend with."

Not for the first time, Leo reminded himself to never get on Reyna's bad side. "There are four options for you to choose from, Rome," she continued, treating them to another icy stare. "Choose wisely. First of all, you can vote to both march on Camp Half-Blood and sentence Leo Valdez to death." The way her voice quivered with anger as she listed this option made it clear to everyone how she felt about this choice. Leo gulped. He knew this was how Octavian would vote, but he prayed that the rest of the legion would see sense. "Second, you could vote to march on Camp Half-Blood but spare Leo Valdez's life." This option annoyed Leo to no end. If they chose this, Leo would have wasted days and immeasurable pain for nothing. If they chose this, the Argo II would have crashed for nothing. Jason, Piper, and Coach Hedge would have vanished for nothing. Gods, he hoped they didn't choose this.

"Third, you can decide that Leo Valdez's death is the price of peace. You can sentence him, but not march on Camp Half-Blood. After he is gone, we would begin peace negotiations." This option scared Leo the most. He knew it was the most likely, and he knew that if this was how the majority of Rome voted, he would have no choice but to accept it. If he tried to escape, or managed to escape, there would never be peace. Camp Jupiter would immediately attack his home. But Leo also knew that if he died here, his friends would be stranded in the Alps indefinitely, and that would spell the end of their quest. For the first time, Leo began to realize that maybe it would be bad if he died. His friends needed him if they were going to make it all the way to the House of Hades and free Percy and Annabeth from Tartarus. Maybe he was important after all. The idea was so foreign to Leo, he nearly toppled out of his chair in surprise.

"Finally, you can decide that we do not need any bloodshed to find peace. You can realize that the Greeks have been working to build peace for months now. Annabeth Chase faced her mortal enemy because she believed that the Athena Parthenos would unite our camps. Leo Valdez has offered to do whatever it takes to make us allies as well. He – along with the rest of the seven and most of Camp Half-Blood – has risked everything to try to convince us that they mean us no harm. I am convinced; after all, a promise sworn on the River Styx has to be truthful. If you choose this option, Leo will not be killed, and we will not start a civil war. Instead we will form a peaceful alliance with the Greeks, and together, we will defeat Gaea once and for all!"

Reyna spoke with confidence, making her position on the matter obvious to everyone in the room. Leo prayed that this option would win. It had to win. He wouldn't have minded dying to protect his home… But he didn't want to die if it meant he wouldn't be able to protect his friends. Gods of Olympus, he prayed, I don't ask for a lot from you guys. I've worked my butt off to get the Argo II flying, and I've been willing to do whatever it takes to find peace. But I need this option to win. And if you want to remain in power, you need this option to win. I've done all I can to make the Romans see sense. Please finish the job.

"All right," Reyna said. "The voting will now begin." Leo started drumming his fingers anxiously against the armrests of his chair, but he stopped quickly. First of all, if Reyna was nervous about the results, she didn't show it. Leo figured it would be a good idea to follow her lead. Second, it kind of still hurt to move.

"All those who would vote for Option 1 – put Leo to death and march on the Greeks – raise your hands." Octavian lifted his arm immediately, and then turned and glowered at the ranks of people sitting behind him. For a second, Leo thought he was safe. Then about half of the Lares raised their hands too.

"The Greeks have betrayed us over and over again!" one yelled angrily. "I will never forget the bloodshed of the Civil War!" Leo wondered which civil war the Lar was talking about – the ancient kind or the American kind. "They must pay for their crimes!"

Leo wanted to stand and complain, but he knew that it wouldn't do him any good. Their votes had been cast. It was too late to change their minds. Leo gulped as he stared out at the mass of raised hands. How many people in the Forum wanted him dead?

He turned to see if Reyna was going to announce the next option and gasped. Like magic, words were being written on the floor – in a substance that looked suspiciously like blood. He glanced at Reyna, and she shook her head slightly. It's not blood, she mouthed. That didn't reassure Leo as much as it should have. He looked back at the ground. Option I, it read. And underneath, LIII. He resisted the urge to wince. That meant there were fifty-two bloodthirsty Lares in the crowd who didn't want to be peaceful, and probably never would. Leo prayed that there were more of them who did still remember how to forgive.

After the mysterious writing had finished, Reyna stood again. She didn't seem fazed by the results. "All those who favor Option 2 – spare Leo and march on the Greeks – raise your hands." Only a few people did.

"Leo's cool," he heard one mutter, "but most Greeks are idiots." Leo didn't know whether to feel complimented or insulted, but he breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what happened, there were way more than 106 people who still had to vote. However the rest of the Forum split, either option three or four would win. Although Leo really hoped option four would, at least his camp would be spared either way. Option II, the floor read finally. IX.

"All those who favor Option 3 – ally with the Greeks but take Leo's life – raise your hands." An overwhelming number of people did.

"If Rome backs down without asking for something in return, we will look weak," someone said. Leo couldn't see the speaker in the vast crowd. "After all of the past bloodshed, we cannot just give up completely. Camp Half-Blood cannot have full amnesty. They would use that decision to take advantage of us." Leo scowled. Didn't the Romans understand that Greeks didn't have some angle they were playing? They weren't trying to catch Rome off-guard? They were just trying to have peace for once? How was that so hard to understand?

"The Greeks have feuded with us for millennia," another person shouted. Leo couldn't identify that voice either, but its next words made him feel cold as dry ice. "A grudge like that cannot, and should not, be taken lightly. A few simple acts will not wipe away past grievances. Those must still be accounted for. No matter what Leo Valdez has done for us, peace always comes with a price. That price must be paid." Leo winced, and not just because his ribs were aching. Was that all these people thought of him as? Not as a human being – but as a price?

More and more hands shot into the air. Leo felt close to passing out. That was a lot of votes. What if some of the rest abstained? What if there weren't enough to begin with? What if he died and never saw his friends again? What if his mother found out and blamed him for not doing enough?

Option III, the floor said. CLXXVIII. 178 votes. Leo started to hyperventilate. Reyna had warned him that about thirty people usually refused to vote. That left… Oh gods… He tallied up the numbers. Nine plus one hundred and seventy-eight pus fifty-three was two hundred and forty. Add thirty to that, and it was two hundred and seventy. Reyna had said that there were only about four hundred fifty people who qualified for voting in Rome, and nobody knew how many of them would show up to these things. Oh gods, it was going to be close. Oh gods, he didn't think he had 179 people who would vote for him. Oh gods…

"All those who favor Option 4 – avoid all bloodshed and form an alliance with the Greeks – please raise your hands." The please in there didn't go unnoticed in Leo's eyes. Reyna herself raised her hand, and so did many other people in the Forum. Leo smiled slightly. Even if they weren't enough to save him, Leo was glad that he had even this many allies.

Option IV, the floor wrote. C… L… X… Why did the magic writing have to go so slowly? Leo reached into his tool belt and clenched whatever came to mind in his fists, squeezing until he was sure his screwdriver had made indentations in his palm. It was the only way Leo could stop himself from setting anything on fire. X… the floor wrote. I…

Come on, Leo thought desperately. Let the next letter be an X. That would be 179 votes. That was all he needed to win…

I.