A/N: Wow. 3500 words even before I write my notes. It's my favourite chapter so far so I hope you guys enjoy it. Please review.

Thanks to district12demigod, krystall97, chewie7876 and a guest for reviewing.

Guest: I do try to update as often as possible. This was ready Wednesday but the internet has been down all week and so I've only been able to upload it today. I try to update each week but I don't get back from sixth form most days till 5 ish so it all depends on how much work I have to do before I can start writing this. Sorry for any inconveniences.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO

Piper put herself at the end of the head table still unwilling to talk to Jason. Leo sat next to her, cracking jokes to make her smile; then came Hazel and Annabeth who were both sympathetic to her situation; then Percy; then Frank who was talking to his co-praetor Reyna; AND then Jason who as Pontifex Maximus was in deep conversation with Chiron about new cabins and shrines for some of the God's at Camp Half Blood. Everyone could see that the seating arrangements had been thought through.

The Roman Legions each had their own table for the meal and banter flew back and forth between the two camps attendees; although this was even subdued because of the upcoming tournament. More than once during the meal, Annabeth exclaimed at Percy that he would find out what was going to be in the tournament soon and that he should stop pestering her for information causing their friends to laugh.

By the end of the meal all the campers' eyes watched Chiron as he finished his conversation, waiting for him to announce the start of the tournament. It was silent as he rose and said:

"Competitors make your way to the new buildings on the side of the arena. Spectators go to the seats. May the best duellist win!"

There was an immediate scramble of feet as all the cambers made their way to the arena. Leo pulled Piper aside as they got to the entrance and he waited for the crowd entering to pass.

"Here, I've got something for you," Leo said fishing around in his tool belt pouches. Out came a sword that took Piper's breath away. It had a thin blade and an intricately designed hand guard and handle. The guard had sapphires implanted in it and curled on either side. Piper picked it up and went through a couple of moves and gasped at how balanced it was.

She flung her arms around Leo's neck – being careful so as to avoid cutting him – and squeezed him tight.

"Have I ever told you how much I love?" she asked rhetorically although it caused both of their hearts to race hearing the L word in conversation.

"I hope there is a hug left for me," a voice sounded next to them. The two broke apart and a gasp caught in Leo's throat and his stomach did a flip to see Calypso stood in front of them. A dolphin clasp held her hair to one side and she wore a simple white dress that covered only one shoulder. Leo stumbled forward unsure of himself and gave his previous crush a hug.

"Will you show me to the guests' box," she asked when they broke apart after a few seconds.

"Sure, I'll see you in there Piper." Leo said leading Calypso inside.

A fire roared inside Piper as she watched them go and a sort of anger almost crashed out. She pitied whoever she would face in the first rounds.

(In the females changing room)

"Is someone getting a little jealous?" Annabeth smirked as she tied up her trainers and then stretched her muscles. When Piper didn't reply, Annabeth turned and caught the forlorn look on her face. "I'm sure it was nothing," she went on. "Leo was the one who finally got her off the island that she'd been stuck on since the last Titan War. Anyone would be grateful for that. They both decided that a relationship wasn't going to work so you can be sure there won't be one after a brief hug."

"Annabeth's right – as you can expect," Hazel continued. "You've got to tell Leo your feelings. We're all sure- even Percy and his emotional maturity- that you two are right for each other. Leo won't tell anyone though, it's like trying to get blood from a stone with him and his emotions but look at the sword he made you. If he just thinks of you as a friend I'd like to see the gift he makes for the girl he actually does love."

"I guess," Piper sighed. "I'll tell him no matter what this week."

Before the two other girls could complain about how that wasn't good enough. A gong sounded and cheering erupted from the arena. The trio collected their equipment and followed the other girls down a tunnel which then connected with the boys' tunnel before emerging inside the arena.

All the stands were full with Greeks, Romans, Satyrs, Nymphs and other spectators. There was a "royal" box where Chiron was sat with Calypso and a number of other gods. The competitors spilled out onto the sand covered floor. There were roughly 150 of them that wished to take part and these numbers were going to be whittled down to 32 by a first round so that there would be 16 one on one fights in the next round.

Nobody expected the cracks of sound as the Olympian God's appeared and Zeus stepped forward to speak. The campers on the floor of the arena dropped down on a knee and fell silent.

"This will be the first of many competitions between the camps," Zeus began. "I have been told-" he cast a begrudging look at Hera. "-that this will promote unity and healthy competition between the Camps. Now may the games begin." He thrust his lightning bolt up in the sky and lightning spewed forth. Leo swore he heard Percy mutter something about a show off…

As Zeus took his seat, Chiron stepped forward.

"In this first round, groups of you will compete at a time so that there are 32 groups. There are 10 opponents for you to face each and all 10 must be vanquished without a hit that could maim or kill you being placed on your body. The Big Three, Zeus or Jupiter, Poseidon or Neptune, Hades or Pluto will choose which 32 of you will continue onto the one on one rounds. There will be 5 of those rounds where one out of each pair will be knocked out until we are left with one champion. The semi-finalists will receive a set of silver armour which will allow them to be recognised as the best duellists of a generation. The winner will receive a quantity of money depending on which camp they are from. Their name will be engraved on this:…" Chiron lifted up an intricately designed cup with precious gems set into it and a large base which already had the words THE GODS DUELLIST imprinted on it. "They will also receive a smaller one that will be theirs to keep." He held up another chalice which had smaller jewels on it and a smaller base. Chiron waited for the murmuring to subside before he continued. "The use of powers or abilities is banned and only the competitors' use of a weapon will win them the round. Now may the competitors move back inside the tunnel and the first group will be summoned."

(Later)

Leo was nervous. His group had just been summoned and he was unsure of what he would face. The competitors hadn't been allowed to watch this first round and once they left the waiting area they didn't go back and so none of them knew what to expect. Within Leo's group there was him; Pollux, Dionysus' son; Lacy, a daughter of Aphrodite who wore armour that looked a little too big for her; and a surly Roman who's tattoo showed he was the son or descendent of one of the Roman War Gods. Leo didn't pay too much attention to them as he knew he wouldn't face them in a one on one round as only one of them would make it through this round.

As he jogged down the tunnel with the others and emerged into the lit up arena, Leo noticed the competitors that had already been had taken up seats in one of the areas of seating next to the head box. Above the noise of the crowd, Leo heard the voices of Connor and Travis Stroll who Chiron had approached to be commentators of the game. There was laughter about something but Leo's mind had shut them out as he was led to one of quarter of the arena by a satyr.

He pulled his weapons off his back; his war-hammer went in his right hand and his new battle-axe in his left. The handle to his hammer was now slightly shorter to make it easier to hold but was still detailed with a gold leaf pattern on the sides of the head and down the shaft. The two 'hitting' faces were polished so that they flashed in the light. Leo's new battle axe, looked simple enough, although the entire side of the blade was embellished and adorned with engravings with a dragons head on one side and an engraving of the crew of the Argo on the other surrounded by scroll work. Leo thought they were things of beauty only beaten in it by the classic Camaro, Festus and Piper.

The Satyr came back with an armful of figures which he placed stood upright in Leo's quarter. With his pipes the clay figures grew until they were a couple of inches taller than Leo. In their right hands there were clay clubs. Looking around, Leo saw the other competitors faced the same foes. They were humanoid in shape but they had identical faces that looked as if they were drawn on by hand.

His fingers tingled as he waited for the round to start and he rolled his shoulders. Conversations dropped to a whisper as the crowd watched the contenders and Chiron in the box who was stood next to a mini gong. Leo's eyes fell back down to his opponents as his ears strained almost willing the gong to sound.

When it did sound, Leo was a blur of movement. His right arm came out and the head of the hammer connected with the first clay monsters chest. When he pulled it free there was a huge cavity and it fell to the floor. He whipped around and his battle axe slid cleanly through the neck of another neatly decapitating it. One more fell as the hammer slammed into its knee – if they were even classed as knees – and as it fell the axe came upwards through the falling face leaving a groove right through the middle of the smiling face.

A clay club came swinging in from Leos left which he blocked on the shaft of his axe. It spattered clay over his face and breastplate. He took two swift steps backwards so he could take an assessment of what was going on and so he could wipe his face.

A gasp from the crowd caused Leo to check on the other participants of the round. The Roman had taken out four of his monsters and was battling two more with his sword. Pollux had managed to take down two but his wrists didn't seem strong enough to hold his sword for long at a time. Lacy was unconscious in a corner where she had been flung by the impact of one of the clay clubs. Her remaining 8 goons were back to being statues as three satyrs walked on to her quarter; one carrying some pipes that seemed to have stopped the clay men and the other two carrying a stretcher.

Leo turned back to his quarry and realised how close they had come in the few seconds he had been distracted. A Sparta kick to the closest chest sent it and two others stumbling to the ground. Leo blocked another two attacks on his left before spinning inside the ones defence, placing his one leg behind this opponents' and then knocking him down to the ground. Leo dropped onto his knee on the throat hoping this would finish it. As he stood up he swung his hammer up in-between the legs of another making him ever so slightly taller but then fall to the ground on top of the one with the crushed neck.

Two more had closed on Leo on either side. As they brought their clubs round he dropped low once more and they flew overhead. The one connected with the others head causing that one to drop and Leo finished the other by bringing his hammer in on one side and the axe in the other almost splitting the clay monster in two.

The 3 that Leo had knocked down had now got back up and approached Leo from behind. Leo defended himself under the rain of blows losing ground. As the one pulled back for another swing Leo flicked his wrist cutting off the club leaving the figure holding a stump the size of a glue stick. Another blow from Leo sent him to the floor.

By then the floor was covered in 8 clay figures that had become solid as they 'died' and Leo tripped over one. He rolled in-between one of his attackers' legs coming up behind them. One turned to face Leo and charged. Leo lobbed his axe at it; the blade landing deeply into the chest, the momentum leaving the assailant who tumbled to the floor. The final one missed Leo with its attack allowing Leo to grip his hammer with two hands, spin around and send the head flying off into the crowd with a scream from a few of the spectators.

Leo collapsed to the ground panting hard. Looking around he saw that Pollux had been overwhelmed by his 10 and two satyrs were trying to dig him out of what looked like a clay man pile on. The Roman had finished a minute before Leo and was show-boating around his quarter the smiling face of one of the figures atop his sword. Lacy had been moved to the seating area next to the box with the other contestants that had completed the round but was now conscious.

A nymph came over and pulled Leo to the centre with the Roman positioning them so that they faced the box and the Gods. Someone else brought Leo's battle axe over and he placed it and the war hammer in the straps on his back. He couldn't understand why they were waiting; the Roman had clearly finished quicker.

Chiron stepped forward from Zeus, Poseidon and Hades and the Arena fell silent once more.

"Centurion Jack Burton finished in the shortest time." This was met from a lot of cheering from the Roman stands. "However, the Gods have decreed that the winner of this round is Leo Valdez; for his superior fighting technique and his variety in attacks. He also suffered no hits to his armour!" The last bit was almost lost in the cheering from the crowd but in disbelief Leo did look down at his armour. It was caked in clay and grime but other than that it was in perfect condition. Jack's (the Roman) was deformed and distorted. He had taken many hits to his chest and back but it seemed as if he had used himself as a battering ram.

Leo was led up to a separate seating area where the winners were sent; Frank, Percy, Annabeth and a number of others were already there. There was a door close by so that the gods and the guests from the head box could come speak to them. Sure enough Hephaestus came out. He seemed puzzled at what to say at first but then commended Leo on the weapons he had formed.

(Later that night)

Hazel was slumped on Frank's shoulder asleep after having put fierce competition in her round competing against a centurion from the Third Cohort. Nico had also joined them after his Stygian Iron had demolished his clay adversaries. Thalia had flown through her round – not literally – with her hunting knives; she was the only Hunter of Artemis to enter. Tyson had followed shortly whose club dwarfed the clay clubs and had knocked straight through them. Jason and Reyna had also made it through their rounds and were sat discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the other competitors. There were another 21 demigods up there, including Clarisse, Chris Rodriguez and Will Solace, leaving only one more round to make it up to the 32 for the second round and this was Piper's.

The arena floor had been cleared of the previous rounds clay remains and split into fifths for the final round. Piper jogged out with 2 Roman and 2 Greek demigods. As her name was read out by Connor she held up her sword and it glinted in the lamp light. There were a few whispers about it and Leo saw more than one girl's eyes light up.

The figurines were set up in front of Piper and then grown by the Satyr. She held her sword in her hand, down by her side, loosely but calmly. When the gong sounded she shot forward gracefully through the crowd of clay figures. Once passed them she stopped and watched the group; two of the clay men immediately fell down to the ground, a gaping wound in the ones torso just under the arm and the other's arm, leg and club had all been cut off. Leo wasn't the only one to gasp as no one had seen her do it.

As they closed again, another fell as her sword pierced its stomach, glinting as it passed out the other side before it was pulled back. She never stopped as she immediately backed off and then ran past the group and up the wall as one followed her. She pushed off from the wall and landed behind it kicking it into the wall as she turned and blocked two attacks from two more. She swept these two over by dropping and swinging her leg round. She finished the three off with quick stabs to the torsos and moved off again.

She sidestepped past one bringing her blade up the whole length of its body – from its heel up to the neck. As she finished that move, she came 360 and went to slice one in half. She cut into the clay monsters side and got three quarters of the way through but the hardening body caught her blade.

As it fell with her sword still in it the remaining two closed. She swayed left and right, gracefully dodging the swings whilst she looked for a weapon. As she backed away from it she came across the two that she had killed first. She went for the club but a wild attack from the one clay man came too close and as she rolled away she picked up the arm instead. It didn't matter to her though as she swung it as a club smashing it on the closest one's head leaving a dent in it.

Once again she was weapon-less. To Leo's horror she sprinted right at the last one and jumped up into the air, stepping off the last monster's swinging club mid-air and finally grabbing hold of its head as she reached it wrapping herself around it so the full force of the momentum hit the top of the figure. The force of it tipped the monster and as it fell she contorted her body and the monsters so that it landed on its head in what would have broken its neck if it had a skeleton.

Piper sat cradling the head as it turned back to being a statue breathing heavily. She was led into the centre when they had all finished with one of the Roman's and both Greeks. The one Roman was on a stretcher, a massive dent in the helmet that the satyrs and a child of Apollo were trying to get off.

There was less of discussion about this round between the three judges and Chiron stepped forward quickly.

"The winner of this round is Piper McLean. She was the first to finish and did it in style even without the use of her weapon in the end."

As the other three were led to the one stand the 31 other contestants who had passed onto the next round came down onto the arena floor. Leo came to stand next to her in a line as they all turned to face the box. Zeus stepped forward once again to make a speech.

"Well what a night!" he began. "These 32 have proven themselves and will move onto the next round which will be held on Tuesday night after the weekend for recuperation and some training. Next you will face one another. The lists for the rounds will be placed around this camp tomorrow morning. These are proving to be a good idea of mine after all." He said before he flashed away. Hera quickly hid her look of irritation before flashing away followed by the other gods.

Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Piper, Frank and Hazel made their way back to their cabin escaping the crowds of well-wishers sooner rather than later. They were all exhausted and it was a rushed good night. Leo only shed his armour, sweaty T-shirt, tool belt and shoes before collapsing into bed; choosing to sleep in his jeans much to Piper's amusement. She quickly got changed herself in the bathroom before curling up next to the already sleeping boy.

A/N: The links below are kinda what I was picturing the weapons to look like. If you're interested. Either way please review I love hearing from you guys.

Piper's Sword:

. /multimedia/archive/02219/Rapier_of_Christ_

Instead of the blue bits though, I described it as sapphires.

Leo's battleaxe:

images/PRODUCT/large/MC-HK-1098_2_.png

Leo's war hammer:

. /_cb20120612163313/elderscrolls/images/e/e7/Ebony_Warhammer_

Any way, please let me know what you think.

heeeeeem