Thank you all so much for the wonderful support; here's the next chapter!

Penny nearly screamed from the pain in her head; she was living a nightmare, and now it was taking over her head too.

"Penny!" He was shaking her. Godsforsaken son of Vulcan, why couldn't he leave her alone? "We need to get out of here! Come on!" She shook her head, still buried between her hands. Why wasn't the pain stopping? "Alright then, you're giving me no choice. Don't kill me for this later."

Had she not known better than to shriek with a monster army so nearby, Penny would have as Leo lifted her into the air and over his shoulders. "Let. Me. Go," she muttered weakly, hardly able to move.

"Only when we're out of range," he replied, face grim as he started running. Even though most considered him scrawny, Leo had to be grateful that Penny was so small; running for your life was difficult enough without a person on your back. He might have gotten a quarter of a mile away before Penny pounded on his back and he nearly dropped her. Instead, distracted, he tripped over a rock and fell, the girl still on top of him.

"Ow," he groaned, as she rolled off of him. "What was that for?"

She stood, headache completely gone. "You got me out of its range, and your hand was a little too close to my butt to feel comfortable anymore."

Leo stumbled to his feet as well. "So that's why you went haywire? A range thing?"

"No Leo, I enjoy having panic attacks before a battle, it gets me all riled up," she said sarcastically. "Of course that's why I went a little crazy! But I wouldn't blame me completely; she's been in my head for months. Close contact made it worse."

"Hold up!" Leo said, startled. "You've known about Echidna for months? And you never told anyone?"

Her gaze soured. "I didn't know it was her, I didn't know who was messing with my dreams. I just knew that she was bad news, but could promise me the Romans' downfall. And don't look now Valdez," she said, breathing heavily. "But the nightmares started when I first arrived in Rome. I was a scared Greek girl, sure that I was about to be used and tortured and raped until kingdom come. I'm still not sure that it won't happen if I go back with you."

Now he was the angry one. "I protected you! I made sure that you weren't hurt, that you were properly cared for and treated. And the entire time you were planning to have us all killed?"

She shook her head now. "At first I did. I wanted your heads on spikes and for Percy to appear and rip this country in half. Julian started appearing to me as well, offering help. But then you showed up, Leo. You were different. You were kind and honest and clever, and to be honest, not the real definition of a Roman. And it wasn't just you. Piper was different. Even Jason... he was just trying to run his own country, besides the fact that he kidnapped Annabeth. But when you all started threatening Nico, and you, Leo, wouldn't help me anymore... I lost that trust in you. And I needed to save my friends, so I did. I'm sorry that Piper got caught in the middle of this, but it happened and I can't afford to think that I could have done otherwise."

"So that's it then?" Leo asked, eyes blazing. "You're going to find your way back to your friends and sail away? Never mind that thousands of innocents will die, because poor innocent Princess Penelope made an honest mistake, and now an entire country will pay for it. Never mind that she was actually cared for and admired and maybe even loved there." He was so angry, and so disappointed, and maybe a little bit... Was he scared? "Have you even thought of what will happen when Echidna finishes terrorizing Rome, huh? She'll move onto your precious homeland and tear it to shreds, Penny."

The headache was inching back into her head again; the monsters were on the move. "I don't have time for this," she said softly, before putting two fingers to her lips and whistling long and hard. She turned back to Leo, her eyes watering. "Please, don't make me do this."

"Do what, Penny? You've never done a damned thing that you've never wanted to do before, why would this time be any different?"

"Don't make choose between you and my country!" She screamed over his shouts. "Because... I'm not sure if I can do it anymore." Her tone was broken, defeated. "This shouldn't be so hard to do, it shouldn't. But then why..." She stared up at the sky, her eyes wide.

Leo paused, anger diminishing quickly. "Penny, what are you going to d-" He stopped when she grabbed hold of his arm and started to run, pulling him with her.

"When I say jump, follow my lead," she ordered, racing toward the edge of a nearby cliff.

"You're completely insane, Princess," he shouted at her, still being dragged along.

She smirked, nearly genuine. "Not like I haven't heard that one before." They were right at the edge now, and Penny screamed "Jump!" as they reached it. Suddenly they were falling through the open sky... until Leo's behind hit something and he almost shrieked like a little girl.

"Do try to contain yourself, General. Pegasi don't like getting spooked," he heard Penny yell at him from behind. Leo opened his eyes and almost jumped again, off the flying horse that he was currently seated on top of. The beast turned its head, almost as if to look Leo in the eyes, then turned back, whinnying once before flapping its white wings and thundering off through the clouds. Leo gripped tight to its long mane, holding on for dear life.

"What in Pluto's name are we doing riding pegasi, Penny?" Leo shouted into the wind, and turned just to see Penny's horse gallop up beside him, a golden pegasus with a black mane.

Penny laughed into the wind, whooping once as her pegasus flew circles around his, then returned back to his side. "Not really a good time to invoke the god of the earth, Leo. Poseidon made the horses, and Zeus gave them wings. This is my one chance to be above the earth without getting blasted into millions of pieces; don't ruin the moment."

"Um, end of the world ring a bell, Penny? What are we doing?!"

"Choosing between you and my country," she said more softly. "Hold on tight, this is going to be a fast ride."

Fast was an understatement. Country that took minutes to pass through on a regular horse took seconds to pass via pegasus. Leo's horse seemed to be laughing at him; he whinnied loudly and obnoxiously every time Leo seemed on the verge of falling off of it. Penny seemed to be conversing with her pegasus, for what Leo could hear.

"Yes, I missed you too." Whinny. "Have the armies marched into battle yet?" Neigh. "Oh by the gods. Annabeth and Nico, they're safe, right?" Whinny. "No, it is none of your business what I have been up to." Neigh. "What do you mean, mating smell?!"

All in all, it was a very one-sided conversation to his ears.

The pegasi began to act very skittish the closer they got to the battlefield, whining loudly and, in Leo's case, nearly bucking him off. When he almost got hit by a flaming arrow, however, Leo began to understand the problem.

"We need to get out of the skies!" Penny shouted over the howl of the wind, which had picked up dramatically. Another arrow flew a little too close to her head for comfort, and Leo heartily agreed. "Hold on!"

The descent was in no way comfortable, or even remotely safe. Leo admitted it this time; he screamed like a little girl the entire dive down. In his defense, he thought he was about to be splattered onto the ground in a pile of Leo-mush. It was a perfectly good explanation.

Somehow the pegasi managed to touch down on the ground like feathers, barely a bump on the landing. Leo fell off that horse as quickly as possible, only to have a piece of cloth thrown on top of him.

"Put on the cloak," Penny said, having thrown him her own. "You won't survive long here if you're not disguised."

"Penny, what are we doing here?" Leo said, looking up to see a giant crest of Greece staring right at him; a dolphin, a horse, a sword, and an olive tree intertwined. "My entire army is going to die; I'm supposed to be in battle-" He shut up as her hand covered his face.

"You're in my army now. My plans. And I have an idea that could save us all."

He pushed her hand away from his mouth. "Please, just quit with the crazy talk and tell me what's going on!"

She grumbled, muttered to herself for a moment, then sat down next to him, her voice hushed. "This whole thing, the entire plan; it has to do with Piper, and I think I may know why. We have to get her to wake up. And I know the only person in the world that could do it."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Think about it, Leo!" she said, trying to explain herself. "Everything Julian did, every time he came to me; it all had to do with hurting Jason, which is kind of epitomized by harming Piper. He cares about her more than anyone in this world. And I fell for the stinking trap. When Piper took the potion, she started trying to tell me something about wards. Was there ever anything in place that could keep monsters out of Rome, some kind of magic?"

Leo shrugged. "My main job was to train Rome's soldiers. Octavian and Piper dealt with any magic sides when it came to defenses."

"So that's how Julian knew so much when it came to those wards! Octavian could have told him having no clue what his father was actually like."

Leo was still confused. "Why did these wards fall when Piper fell asleep, though? Shouldn't Octavian have known how they were kept up as well and just replaced them?"

Penny shook her head. "Those monsters have been trying to get into Rome for centuries; Echidna told me as much. If any wall managed to fall for even a second, they would have rushed in like water through a broken dam. Octavian may not have even noticed that they had fallen until it was too late. And he probably hasn't even told Jason yet if his father got to him beforehand. Julian is... extremely persuasive when the need arises. The wards may still be down. So we need Piper awake, and soon."

Leo nodded. "Couldn't agree with you more." A great war cry shook the air around them, and Leo stood instantly. "That's Rome."

Another shout, more varied, carried through the air. "And those would be the Greeks," Penny said as she stood up beside him. "We need to find my friend, and quickly. Those armies are going to war and don't even know about the monsters." She grabbed his hand and started walking, slightly pulling Leo along. "Don't make eye contact with anyone, and try to cover up that armor!" She reprimanded him.

"I'm sorry, but it's not really my fault that you and I have different cloak sizes!"

"I'll try to find something near the middle next time," Penny said under her breath, only to stop in her tracks.

"Princess? Is that you?"

Cliffie. I apologize... nah, not really. Hey, the battle is on it's way; forgive me for wanting it be perfect!

Don't forget to go to my profile and vote on the next "When in Rome" story to be told! It's incredibly important for me to write something that I know you guys will want! Prequels, sequels, all of the above, AUs of the AU... Tell me what you want!