***Hi all, here's Chapter 34—hope you enjoy it! Thanks again to all the amazing reviewers! Quick disclaimer: I'm not Rick Riordan, I have absolutely no idea how he's going to tie everything up in BoO, but this story is my best guess. Chapter 35, featuring Jason's POV, will be up by Monday, June 30. Have a great weekend!***

XXXIV. HAZEL

When Reyna said "Seize the traitor," Hazel was certain she meant Octavian. So when two centurions from the First Cohort stepped forward and grabbed Percy's arms, she didn't understand, at first, what was happening. Neither, apparently, did Percy because he didn't fight back as the centurions dragged him forward to face Reyna.

Annabeth was quicker on the uptake. "No! Reyna, you can't do this, it wasn't his fault. It was Gaea, she sent an eidolon, that's why the ship fired on New Rome, you can't—"

"Restrain her," Reyna said in clipped tones, not taking her eyes off of Percy, who was beginning to understand what was going on.

Two more centurions, from the Second Cohort, Hazel saw, grabbed Annabeth, but she struggled wildly, almost breaking free, until Percy said, "Annabeth, stop." He was looking at Reyna as if he'd never seen her before, but his jaw was set. "She's right. I swore on my life that the Greeks meant no harm."

Other Roman officers came forward and seized Hazel, Frank, Jason, Piper, Leo, and Nico. The Roman army was still standing at attention, ready to hold back the Greeks if they made a move to interfere.

Octavian stepped forward. The augur's face was alight with malice as he said, "You also swore that if the Greeks attacked us, you would fight to defend Camp Jupiter with your life, Percy Jackson. Instead, you ran away on the very ship that instigated the attack. Do you deny it?"

"No," Percy said. His eyes were blazing, but he made no move to defend himself.

"You were a praetor," Octavian said gleefully, turning so that he could speak to the camp at large. "Yet you betrayed us, running off to the ancient lands, which have been forbidden to Roman demigods for centuries. But I forgot," he added, leering at Percy, who glared back, "you're not really Roman, are you? You're Greek." Octavian spat the word like it tasted bad.

Several Greek demigods raised their weapons at this, but Reyna pressed the point of her own sword against Percy's chest. The others lowered their weapons. "Do you deny the charges, Percy Jackson, former praetor?" she asked quietly.

"It's true," Percy said through gritted teeth. "But you know why we left, Reyna, why I had to go." He raised his voice so that the watching demigods could hear him. "I admit I left on the Argo II and traveled to the ancient lands. But it was to defeat Gaea. If we hadn't stopped her, barely an hour ago in Greece, she would have risen up and destroyed everything. Starting with Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood."

Hazel's heart was beating so hard she thought it might burst right out of her chest. Reyna's expression was inscrutable. Hazel couldn't imagine that the praetor would actually execute Percy, not when she knew the truth about fighting Gaea, but she couldn't be sure, not with all the Romans around and Octavian, the scheming rat, going on about justice, as if he knew anything about it.

"We're not talking about that, though, Percy Jackson," Octavian said. "Perhaps what you say is true, though we have no proof—"

"He's telling the truth," Frank growled, sounding so much like a bear Hazel was surprised to see he hadn't turned into one. "We were all there. We defeated Gaea and saved all of your sorry, ungrateful hides."

"Be that as it may," Octavian said, talking over Frank, "it is not the point. Percy Jackson broke his oath to the people of Rome. What was it that prophecy said, the Prophecy of Seven, the one you claim to have completed? An oath to keep with a final breath." Octavian's sneer was so vile, Hazel almost puked. "You will keep your oath to Rome, Jackson. With your final breath."

"No!" Annabeth shrieked. She started fighting against her guards again, as did Hazel and the others, but Reyna pressed the point of her sword harder against Percy's sternum, ripping his t-shirt, and they stopped.

"He has a point," Reyna said, keeping her eyes on Percy.

"Reyna, I'm praetor, too!" Frank said. "And I say you can't do this."

Octavian laughed. "You, you big lumbering oaf, a praetor? Lies."

"It's the truth," Jason said. His eyes were narrowed at Octavian and Hazel could have sworn she saw sparks fly from them. "I resigned my post and raised Frank to praetor on the battlefield in Epirus."

"True, but Frank was not the praetor at the time Percy swore his oath," Reyna said. "I'm sorry, Praetor Zhang, but this matter is not your concern."

"Not my—," Frank spluttered, but Octavian cut him off again.

"Yes, Praetor Zhang, shut up. You should be charged with treason yourself, for abandoning New Rome and crossing to the ancient lands. And Hazel Levesque." Hazel's stomach clenched as Octavian took a step towards her. She glared at him. "Am I correct in remembering that you spoke for Jackson when he arrived at Camp Jupiter? By our laws, you should share his punishment."

"No way," Percy said. For the first time, Hazel saw a flicker of fear cross his face. "Reyna, this is on me. Not Hazel, or Frank, or any of the others. I made the oath, just me."

"I fired on New Rome," Leo said. His face was pale, but he looked determined. "If anybody should be in trouble, it's me."

"You were possessed by an eidolon," Piper snapped. "That Gaea sent; it wasn't your fault. Reyna, this is ridiculous."

"Don't listen to the little witch," Octavian shrieked, his hands over his ears.

"I wasn't using charmspeak, you idiot. I'm just telling the truth," Piper retorted.

"Enough." Reyna's voice wasn't loud, but it immediately caught everyone's attention. She raised her sword until the blade was resting against the side of Percy's neck. "You say you accept the charges laid against you, of betraying Rome in her hour of need and traveling, without permission, to the ancient lands."

Percy's face was white, but he said, "I do."

"And do you agree to accept full responsibility for the actions of your co-conspirators?"

"Yes," Percy said, his voice more steady. "I'll accept full responsibility for all of it, the attack, leaving Rome, traveling to the ancient lands, the whole thing. Just let the others go."

Reyna nodded. "To be clear, you are accepting the blame for the crimes committed by Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Leo Valdez, Jason Grace, Piper McClean, and Annabeth Chase, as well as your own offenses."

Percy didn't hesitate. "Yes."

Reyna turned to Octavian. "The punishment for treason against Rome is death, correct?"

"That is correct. Although the method of execution is often left up to the praetor, depending on the severity of the crimes." There was a manic gleam in Octavian's eyes. "And in this case, since he has been found guilty of such vile treason, I, for one, am just not sure a sword is severe enough."

Reyna looked grim. "I agree." Hazel saw Percy's hands shaking, but his face was blank. Reyna lifted her sword from his neck and pressed it against his chest again. "Percy Jackson, because of the severity of your own treason, and because of the severity of the crimes of the others which you have taken upon yourself, I sentence you to death."

"No," Jason and Frank both growled.

"You can't," Hazel said.

"Reyna, please," Annabeth begged.

"Silence!" Octavian shrieked.

Reyna ignored them all. "The manner of execution must match the severity of the crimes." She took a deep breath. "Percy Jackson, on behalf of Rome, whom you have dishonored, I declare your method of execution: being thrown into the pit of Tartarus."

Percy's knees almost gave way. Hazel felt as if all her insides had dissolved. She could hear an uproar from her friends, but it sounded as if it were miles away. She can't, she thought numbly. Reyna had been there the day Percy and Annabeth had escaped from the pit. How could she be so cruel as to send him back? Hazel glanced at Annabeth, expecting to see her friend looking shattered, but her expression was almost as shocking as Reyna's verdict. Annabeth's eyes were shining and she looked as if she were trying hard not to smile. But that made no sense whatsoever. Hazel was completely confused as Reyna began speaking again, almost shouting to be heard over the yelling.

"And I declare that this execution was carried out on July first, the Kalends of July, beneath Rome."

Utter silence.

Relief washed over Hazel as she realized what Annabeth had understood first. She would have clapped her hands if two beefy centurions hadn't been holding her arms. Slowly, she watched comprehension dawn on the faces of the others, grins slowly appearing, as a look of horror crept across Octavian's face.

"By falling into Tartarus, you have fulfilled your execution," Reyna continued, and Hazel almost thought the praetor was fighting back her own grin. "I hereby decree that you died in Tartarus, a traitor. When you rose again in Greece, you did so as a hero of Rome. And because their crimes were expunged by your execution, I also declare that Jason Grace, Frank Zhang, Hazel Levesque, Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez are also heroes of Rome for their efforts in the war against Gaea."

Percy looked so dumbstruck, Hazel had to laugh. The centurions holding Hazel and the others released them and the rest of the Romans lowered their swords. Percy turned to Annabeth as she moved to stand beside him and took his hand. "What just happened?" he asked.

"Reyna's a genius," Annabeth said. She grinned at the praetor. "Seriously, that was brilliant."

"And you got him to take responsibility for what we did," Hazel said, impressed. "So everyone's in the clear, but justice was still carried out."

"Almost," Reyna said, looking behind Hazel. "There's one last problem to sort out."

Hazel turned to see Jason and Frank walking forward with Octavian struggling between them.

"Unhand me, traitors!" he demanded, flopping around like a fish caught on the end of a line. "I am the augur of Rome!"

"Not for much longer," Jason said. They stopped in front of Reyna, whose face was impassive once again.

"Octavian, legacy of Apollo, augur of Rome," Reyna said, "you, too, stand accused of treason. I've kept quiet in order to give you a chance to come clean. Will you confess or will you force me to state your crimes?"

Octavian glared at her. "I have no idea what crimes you're talking about. I've done nothing but follow Roman law."

They had a silent stare-off. Reyna's lips hardened into a thin line before she said, "Fine. If you won't confess, I will tell everyone what happened." She raised her voice so that the watching Romans and Greeks could hear her. "Nico di Angelo did not stab me in the back. It was Octavian who attempted to assassinate me."

Cries of shock and outrage could be heard from the Roman army, but Hazel kept her eyes on the scene in front of her. Far from looking afraid, Octavian looked smug. As the commotion died down, he said, "I will admit that I stabbed the praetor. But," he had to shout to be heard over the yells from the Romans, "but in doing so, I broke no laws."

That quieted everyone down. Hazel saw Frank's hand tighten on Octavian's arm. It must have hurt, but the augur didn't seem to notice. His eyes were fixed on Reyna, who was now glaring at him. Octavian smirked. "You broke the law, praetor. You traveled to the ancient lands. You committed treason against Rome. As a loyal Roman citizen, I was completely within my rights to kill you upon your return."

Every curse word Hazel knew ran through her head. The nuns at St. Agnes would have fainted. But Octavian was, technically, correct. She clenched her fists. Hazel saw her own fury reflected on her friends' faces, but before anyone could respond, Reyna held up her hand for silence. She took a step closer to Octavian.

"Laws can be changed. Especially laws that were made out of fear." She glanced up at the Athena Parthenos statue. "Yes, the ancient lands are dangerous. But by cutting ourselves off from them, we cut ourselves off from an important part of our legacy as demigods. We have been divided too long, both from our heritage and from our Greek counterparts." She looked around at the assembled armies of demigods. "Maybe the statue itself can't bring the Greeks and the Romans together. But it took Roman and Greek demigods, working together, to rescue the statue and return it here to Camp Half-Blood. Our two camps can get along, if we choose to. But we need to be united in our purpose of, well, uniting."

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Reyna as she turned back to Octavian. "You were within your rights, based on Roman law, to attempt to kill me when I returned from the ancient lands. But a true Roman should own up to his or her actions. Instead, you took the coward's way out. You blamed Nico di Angelo for what you yourself had done, in order to stir up more animosity between the Romans and Greeks. You, Octavian, have been set on dividing us from the start. But no more." To Hazel's surprise, Reyna turned to Jason. "Jason Grace, former praetor of Rome, you have stated that you gave up your position to Frank Zhang on the battlefield in Epirus, Greece. Please share your reasoning with the legion, so that they can decide whether or not to accept Frank Zhang as their true praetor."

Keeping a firm grip on Octavian's arm, Jason stepped forward and said, "Frank Zhang is a son of Mars. He has twice in battle received the blessing of the war god. In Venice, he defeated an army of monsters single-handedly. His strategic decisions and leadership led us to victory against another army of monsters in the House of Hades. He helped to kill the giants Clytius and Alcyoneus. Plus, Frank was the leader of the quest to recover the golden eagle of the legion, thereby restoring the honor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. And he was willing to lay down his life to defeat Gaea. He's a true Roman." Jason grinned at Frank. "Those are the reasons I gave up my position to Frank. He'll be a great praetor."

Frank's face was so red, Hazel could practically feel the heat coming off of him. Pride swelled within her, though, as Jason listed off everything Frank had done. Her sweet, silly, fierce, awesome boyfriend would make an excellent praetor. Hazel just hoped the Romans could see that, too.

Percy raised his hand. "As a former praetor, I second everything Jason said. Frank's the best man for the job."

Reyna nodded. She turned to face the Roman legion. "Legionnaires, you have heard Frank Zhang's qualifications. Will you accept him as your praetor?"

Hazel held her breath, but she needn't have worried. The Romans must have been impressed by what Frank had done (and the growth spurt he'd had in Italy probably didn't hurt), because they banged their pila against their shields and yelled, "Ave, Frank Zhang, praetor!"

Frank was still bright red, but he straightened his shoulders and raised his hand in salute. "Thank you."

Reyna was smiling, but her expression quickly turned somber again. "Now that we've settled our praetor situation, we still need to deal with Octavian. However, because the crimes he committed were against me, I cannot fairly pass judgment on him." She handed Frank her sword. "Praetor Zhang, I will leave it to you to dispense justice."

Frank took the sword and glanced at Hazel. "Will you?" he gestured for her to take his place. She nodded and grasped Octavian's arm firmly as Frank moved to stand in front of the augur. Octavian glared daggers at Frank, but he kept quiet.

"Justice," Frank mused. His hand was clenched around the hilt of Reyna's sword. Hazel's heart was pounding fast again as Frank surveyed Octavian. "You attempted to murder Reyna, who is a praetor of Rome, then you lied about it."

"She traveled to the ancient lands," Octavian said through gritted teeth. "She broke the law. I was within my rights to kill a traitor of Rome."

"Maybe so. But I'd also be within my rights to kill you as a traitor for what you did," Frank said. He raised the sword and laid it against Octavian's neck, the same way Reyna had done to Percy. All the blood drained out of Octavian's face. Hazel couldn't read Frank's expression, which worried her. She wasn't sure what she wanted to happen next. Sure, Octavian had caused them a lot of grief, but executing him in cold blood still felt wrong.

"Lucky for you, I believe we can choose our own fates," Frank told Octavian. He lowered the sword. "So I'm giving you a choice. You can choose to stay in the legion, but you have to stop spouting this prejudice against the Greeks. Like Reyna said, we're done being divided."

"And if I refuse to accept those terms?" Octavian asked.

"Then you can leave," Frank said simply. "You'll be drummed out of the legion. You'll leave Camp Jupiter and make your own way in the mortal world."

For a long moment, Octavian glared at Frank. Then, the augur hung his head. "Fine. I accept your terms. I will stay in the legion and try to get along with these Greeks."

Hazel figured that was the best they could hope for from him and Frank seemed to feel the same way because he nodded. "Good. Now—"

Frank stopped speaking as an Iris-message suddenly flickered to life near the pine tree. A pretty girl with spiky black hair, electric blue eyes just like Jason's, and a bow slung over her shoulder looked out at them.

"Thalia!" Jason, Percy, and Annabeth all said.

"Thank the gods you guys are okay," Thalia said. She seemed to be standing in some type of enormous room, but Hazel couldn't make out many details through the hazy message. "Look, I'm in the throne room. I have a message. You seven," she pointed to Jason, Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Leo, Frank, and Hazel, "have been summoned to Olympus."