Chapter Ten: Piper vs Frank Zhang

With thunder comes rain as drips of rainwater hit my forehead. It was a light drizzle. Definitely not in the forecast for today, but Jason doesn't really care for the weatherman's opinion. The rain stopped finally. There was another rainbow reflecting off the night sky. I never saw a rainbow at night, but it looked beautiful. I think they call them Moonbows. I stood there at the edge of the balcony as both Kayla and Jason left the arena. Kayla looked spooked out of her mind, seeing the full throttle of anger that was Jason Grace face to face. Everyone near the arena had a little bit of frizzy hair from the thunder and lightning but she got it the worst. She had strands of hair pointing straight towards the sky as Will carried her to the infirmary tent in the back. She didn't have any major injuries on her body, but I can't say she was fine mentally.

Jason flew straight towards me in the viewing arena. I wish I could skip stairs that easily. He hopped in the balcony next to me and I thought he was going to go for a kiss, but he went for a hug instead. I wasn't in a kissing mood, so I'll take this.

I broke away from him and took a look at his face. Untouched in battle and his smile was finally coming back, but there was still the uncurled brow and sad eyes that told me that he still wasn't ok after Reyna's fight with Kahale.

Jason spoke first. "I had to let out some steam there. Hopefully I didn't look too ugly."

I caressed his face. "You were fine, but I think Kayla is going to be scared of you for years to come."

Jason shrugged. "It doesn't matter. We're moving back here anyway. We're Cali-bound for the rest of the year."

I cringed when he said that. I tried to hide the fact that I didn't want to go to the California with him and he barely knew that. My dad was in Cali as well, but that wasn't enough. I wasn't comfortable with moving in with Jason. He could see it on my face as I failed to conceal my feelings. I thought he would try to ask for my opinion right there, but someone grabbed both of us a big hug.

"Good job frying the whole legion, sparky!" Leo said with Calypso not so far behind. "I thought the practice area was safe, but we almost got fried as well. Thanks for that."

My bad." Jason said sincerely. "I didn't have the best control over my powers there."

Jason turned to Calypso. "Do you know who Leo's facing in losers? I know he doesn't pay attention to that stuff."

Calypso looked beauty in the moonlight. She cleaned up really well with roman colors. Not everyone knows that she's a titaness, and it was best to keep it that way.

"You obviously don't pay attention to that stuff either Jason." Calypso said. "Do you even know who faces you in the next round?"

Jason shrugged. "Of course, I don't, I have to wait and see who wins the next match. Whoever wins that is going against me."

"And may I ask, who is in the next match?"

Jason didn't miss a beat. "If I think about the seeding, then off the top of my head it's Frank vs..."

Jason stopped and looked at me. Everyone looked at me. I usually didn't like to have all eyes on me, but this moment almost made me laugh.

I responded the best way I could. "Frank against me, and when I win, I'm against you. Not a bad bracket for myself" I joked.

Jason had a small grin. "You're kidding, right?"

Everything was silent as Jason instantly regretted his choice of words. Leo looked like he wanted out of the conversation and Calypso was waiting for me to respond. Like she was waiting for the bomb that Jason lit to go off.

"My sorry, you don't think I can beat him?"

"Dude, not cool." Leo said as he switched from Jason's side towards me.

Jason was on full damage control as he put his hands up. "That's not what I'm saying, you can beat a lot of people, maybe even Frank, but he's the praetor now and his abilities are no joke."

"I'm part of the seven. I went on the same end of the world quest as you did. Saved your butt a few times too. What's different between me and you?"

Jason struggled to find an answer. I thought he would back down by now and support his girlfriend like I support him, but he continued.

"I can't explain it ok. You're a great fighter, but don't expect to beat everyone. I know I don't.

"Wrong hill to die on, dude." Leo whispered loudly.

"Shh, this is best part." Calypso whispered back.

I stepped up to Jason. Despite the height different, I looked him dead in the eyes. He squirmed for a little but stood tall when he knew I was serious.

"I'm just going to ask you one question, Jason. Am I good enough to beat Frank and or you in a fight?"

Jason's poker face was in full effect, but his words betrayed his demeanor.

"Yes, you would lose to both of us in a fight."

Calypso and Leo winced when his words hit. Jason was shocked himself. He fell for my trick a little too easy.

He stuttered embarrassingly. "Wait, d-did you just charmspeak me into telling the truth?

I didn't even answer him. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

"Aren't my abilities good enough? My skills as a fighter? How about you stop worrying about your girlfriend and instead get some strategies going when you fight against me." I yelled.

I stormed off and didn't give him the chance to follow. I heard Terminus in the back calling my name and decided to put my anger to good use. I ran past a lot of concerning eyes. Guess they heard my shouting. Annabeth, Thalia, and even the Stoll twins were wondering what just happened in the balcony. I paid them no mind as I started to gear up quickly.

Jason didn't understand. He knew of my struggles sure, but he thinks he's always there to save me and not the other way around. I trained with Hazel on the Argo for weeks and continued my training at camp. I was way stronger than I was letting on. Half-bloods like Percy, Thalia, and Jason got it easy when it came to their powers, but that doesn't mean my power didn't have its uses.

I took off from the viewing area after getting my gear on. I was a war path straight towards the arena. I really wanted to win this tournament and prove myself, but now? I needed to win, no matter the cost.

By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, I saw Frank standing near the exit with Hazel in tow. Great, another functioning couple to compare to. As if Percy and Annabeth weren't enough. They were in midst of a conversation before I had the chance to greet them.

"This tournament has been killing you, Frank." Hazel said.

Frank lamented. "I know I haven't had the time to train with you and Nico."

"Frank! I don't care about training. When was the last time you slept? You can't manage this whole event by yourself. You're not Reyna or Chiron."

"No, I'm not, but I am praetor, and this camp needs a leader while Reyna rests."

I interrupted right then and there by walk down towards them. Both Hazel and Frank saw me with widened eyes.

Hazel saw me first before running up to me with a smile. I guess these two didn't hear the commotion upstairs.

Hazel gave me a hug and held my shoulders. She knew that I was facing her boyfriend in battle but wasn't weirded out by it. A true friend.

Hazel let go of my shoulder and gave me a wink. "Lay off Frank a little, I know you can give him a run for his money."

"I'm standing right here, you know?" Frank responded.

I laughed and grabbed Frank. "C'mon, we're going to be late. Thanks Hazel."

Hazel gave me a final look before heading upstairs. "Remember the high kick! Just like I taught you!"

"Wait, what?" Frank said before I dragged him into the arena.

The place was cleaned up and there were no clouds left in the night sky. Frank ran towards the other side of the other arena to get ready for the match. I didn't notice till now, but he was decked out in light armor, a bow to his back and a gladius to his side. Not as regal as Reyna but I imagine I wouldn't have to worry about his armor as his powers had no need for them.

I wore light armor myself. I was best in a fight when I was fast and nimble. I borrowed a sword from the armory that had a good balance. Of course, Katoptris was on my side. It may have lost its ability to see visions of people, but it was still a good knife. This dagger got me out of a lot of jams in the past. I didn't feel right without it.

I took another look at my opponent. His frame was massive as well. I knew of his transformation from a dumpy young kid to a towering 6-foot monster, but I didn't notice it fully until I knew I had to fight him.

'I fought literal giants' I thought. Size did not matter to me. Nor did it intimidate.

There were more people in the stands for this fight. We were reaching the end of the first night of the tournament. More Romans were in the stands than before. New Rome University students who just ended classes and came to watch the remaining matches. I look at the viewing area and saw Cassius watching. He came earlier to watch the matches. He had a number 1 foam finger on his ghostly hand. I can't explain how that even works, so I just let it go.

Percy and Terminus were waiting on us as they got their mic ready. Percy looked real excited for this match. Terminus still had the same bored look on his face. He was hard to impress.

"Alright, we got our glorious praetor and some Greek nobody, great." Terminus said without fanfare.

Percy waved his hand over Terminus, as if he wanted to handle the introductions himself.

"The Praetor of the Twelfth legion, one of the seven that saved both camps from Gaea, and my little bro, Frank Zhang."

The Romans chanted for Frank as he got a huge amount of applause.

Percy looked straight in my direction. I guess it was my turn.

"Another demigod who was part of the seven, saver of Juno, defeater of an Ice Goddess and several Giants, Piper McLean."

The Greeks came through with their yelling. It was just as loud as the Romans. Many of the people in the viewing area put in some work too. I was so close to crying but I held it in.

"Ready?" Percy asked already knowing the answer.

We both nodded as we pulled our weapons. Frank had his bow and I pulled out my blade.

"Then let's get ready to rumble! FIGHT!"

I ran up first as I unsheathed my sword and went full throttle towards Frank. My plan was to make sure he didn't have a chance to transform into any animal that might give him an edge in the fight. However, I wasn't dumb enough to not have a backup plan. I was ready for anything.

Frank pulled out his bow and let two arrows fly as I darted past the first one and cut the other to ribbons. I was gaining distance when Frank put his bow to his back and pulled out his gladius. The blade clashed with mine and we both traded blows. Every hit was met with a counter hit. Every exchange led into another. He went low and I was there. He went high and I countered quickly. Fighting Hazel everyday helped, they had the same fighting style. It was more than just Roman sword fighting too. I picked up on his habits quickly.

My sword nicked his thigh and he tackled me. This sent me into panic mode. I couldn't beat Frank in a grapple game, I rolled out of the way and got back up, but Frank was faster and grabbed my armor piece and shoveled me back into the ground.

"Get off of me!" I yelled with full fury.

Frank stopped with widened eyes. I didn't miss the opportunity as I punched him in the jaw.

SMACK

The whole crowd shuddered as Terminus laughed at the punch. Frank got back to his senses and created some distance between us.

Frank rubbed his jaw. I didn't do as much damage as I wanted.

"Charmspeak, nice. Sorry about dragging you towards the ground." Frank apologized.

I wiped off the dirt on my clothes. "No worries, sorry about the punch."

Terminus yelled from his desk. "Would you two please stop saying sorry and fight!"

"Ditto" Percy added. "Frank turn into a bear or something. Oh, transform into that funny looking monkey you did last time at my place. Orange something, I think?"

"Orangutan you idiot, how were you a praetor?"

"Would you two please start commentating!" Frank turned to them and yelled.

I took that as a chance and slashed at Frank. He didn't see it coming till the last second and disappeared before the sword could hit.

"Damn it." I said out loud. He must have transformed into a small animal, but I couldn't see him. I looked all over the ground and in the skies, but it was too dark to see clearly.

"Hey Pipes." Percy said. "I think he's that salamander climbing up the back piece of your armor."

"Great." I heard from behind me as Frank transformed back into himself and landed right on me. Frank wasn't ready for the fall either and rolled out of the way.

Frank and I got back on our feet.

"Cover blown, thanks Percy." Frank complained.

"Hey, you told me to commentate, and I made a comment, and I like helping my friends."

The crowd started to boo from both sides of the arena. It was loud enough that I lost focus for a bit. Thankfully, the same could be said for Frank. He looked worried that something happened in the stands. Guess he's too innocence to realize that the boos were for the match.

Terminus started to laugh. "Yes Romans, keep booing these bums and this subpar match! Last match was a major Greek beatdown and was way better. And that lasted two seconds."

"Umm, Terminus. They're not booing Piper or Frank. They're booing us right now."

"Why would they boo us? We're not even boring them with commentating this embarrassment."

"Commentating this match is kinda our jobs. Also, I'm starting to think we're not getting paid."

As Percy said that, garbage from the stands rained down towards the commentary desks and got all over them. Greeks and Romans alike threw all of their weight in garbage towards the duo. Reyna wasn't here and Frank was in the match itself. I guess they saw this as a chance to go buck wild.

Percy was protecting his head from the cascade of fries and soft drinks. Terminus, however, had no such defense as he had no arms to protect him from the rains of discarded plastic and smelly cold food.

"AHHHH GET IT OFF ME, I JUST GOT WAXED TODAY. WHERE'S JULIA?! WHERE. IS. JULIAAAAAAAAA!"

Terminus's mic cut off mid scream. Thank the gods.

I looked towards Frank as I saw him smirking. Guess he found that just as enjoyable as I did.

"No more distractions. You ready?" I asked.

Frank nodded and smiled. "To the finish."

I ran straight towards him with a stab. Frank easily parried it and pushed me back. The shove wasn't enough to knock me off my feet, so I kept running. Frank met me halfway and committed to a slash. I dodged most of it, but he was able to scratch my armor. With him still being in recovery, I took a stab to his shin and it penetrated through. Blood slowly came out.

Frank didn't even wince. Hades, I don't think he even noticed as he pulled out his bow and shot a bundle of arrows. Thalia's words came back to me. When she gave me some advice in the practice range.

'You can dodge all the arrows you want, but it's best to break a few and close the distance. Will lost at his own game which allowed me to close the distance between us.'

Thalia's logic rang true as I slashed through the first arrows and pulled out Katoptris. I used both my sword and Katoptris to rake through all of his arrows before throwing Katoptris straight at him. Frank didn't see this coming. His shocked face illuminated by the late-night sky. I aimed straight for his head before he slightly dodged it.

The wall behind made a clanging noise as Katoptris bounced straight off it. Frank's lower cheek had a scratch on it that slowly started to bleed.

Frank wiped off the blood. He looked spooked by my actions.

"Fatal moves are banned, Piper. Did you forget?" Frank asked in a low but threatening voice.

I was grinning ear to ear. "Naw, just betting that you would dodge it. What? Should I expect less of you?"

I lodged that question like a curveball and Frank took the bait. His face was beyond tired and now slightly irritated. The perfect conditions for defeat.

"No, but you should've expected this." Frank said defiantly before transforming.

The transformation was instant. His armor was gone, gladius on the floor. Standing before me was a massive grizzly bear. Biggest one I ever seen. He must have weighted more than 800 pounds. Frank grappled me before, but as a grizzly bear, I couldn't imagine the pain I would've felt. His mouth was foaming, his paws were dirty. Frank must've imagined the nastiest bear he could've and transformed into that.

Frank was as fast as he was big. With no hesitation, he ran straight for me. I didn't even have a chance to pull up my sword as Frank swiped me with his paws and I went flying. I landed in the pond and was soaking wet. My back was hurting, and I wanted to vomit. I could tell he was holding back. He hit me with his paw rather than the claws itself. That would be an injury I wouldn't walk away from. I stood up rubbing my eyes. Not knowing where I was. I still had my sword with me, but it was my last line of defense. When I opened my eyes I saw Frank running straight at me. His roar was heard all over the arena. In a matter of seconds, I would be mauled. The viewing area was screaming, the crowd was on their feet. This looked like the end.

'I'm not an idiot.' I thought. I always had a plan for this. If I had a few seconds left before getting mauled, then I was going to utter some words, and it doesn't end with Uncle.

Frank ran with full speed and jumped right at me. Seconds before my end I yelled out at the top of my lungs those few words that I knew would save me.

"Frank! Turn into a mouse!"

Frank transformed instantly into a rodent and landed right on my head.

The whole crowd was silent, all you could hear was Leo's laughter from the viewing area.

Frank as a mouse was pretty cute. His beady black eyes were in few panic mode as I grabbed him by the tail and let him hang. Any other daughter of Aphrodite would be scared of a little mouse, but not me. Frank was adorable.

I kept him hanging as he squirmed.

"So cute. Can you say Uncle, Frank? Can you? Can you?!" I said in a sugary voice.

Frank didn't seem to like that as he transformed into a snake. This freaked me out as I tried to drop him, but he wrapped around me like a Python. His head near my neck. He wasn't going to actually bite me, right?

I didn't give him the chance as I yelled out again.

"Get off of me, you jackass!"

Frank slithered away as I got control back and grabbed my dropped sword. I turned around to see where Frank was and all I saw was a donkey in the middle of the arena.

Frank didn't even notice that he transformed until Leo started to laugh again.

"Oh, my gods. Hey Donkey! Where's Shrek?" Leo snorted.

Frank slowly transformed back into himself. He was breathing heavily and didn't look too good. Transforming that many times was taking its toll.

However, Frank didn't budge. He still looked determined as ever.

"Gods, I hate charmspeak. I guess I can't transform without you turning me into a bunny or something." Frank said.

I shrugged. "I was thinking Siamese cat for my next one, but I guess we won't see that."

Frank let out a laugh before picking up his sword. He was ready to end it.

"All right, no more powers. Let's go."

I agreed with him. Funny as it was. I wanted to beat him fair and square. Using your powers was like swinging a sword, but I didn't feel comfortable with a victory like that.

Only a few moments pass before the action started. We both ran towards each other, in perfect sync. I was faster as I slashed his armor to no avail. I was getting weaker as time went on. Frank snapped back with a punch to the gut. I coughed up some spit, but no blood. I couldn't dwell on every hit. I had to be a machine. I had to focus and attack.

And I did just that. Time after time, I parried his stabs, rolled out of every hit, and hit him with the blunt of my blade. Frank parried my slashes, shoved my advances, and kept a great defense. I evaded and he stood like a defensive wall. We were getting nowhere.

Frank's breath was out of sync. Breathing heavily with each swing, luckily for him his swings were full of power. Causing visual damage to the ground when he missed me by a hair.

I was still full of energy, but my swings didn't have the same amount of power as Frank's. I didn't lack finesse however, as I eloquently created a series of strikes that lacked any set pattern or repetition. I got more hits in than Frank, but he shrugged each one off like it was nothing. I know I couldn't go all in without aiming for a fatal blow, but something had to give if I wanted to win.

I hit him with the flat part of my blade, which was a mistake. Frank took that as an opportunity to punch my sword straight out of my hand. He actually punched my sword. I would've called it the manliness thing I've seen in a fight if I wasn't in the receiving end of it. My sword flew to the other side of the arena. There was no possible way to get it. I was on my own.

Frank had sweat rolling across his face. He was almost of out of it and was quickly fading. With his remaining strength, he raised his sword and had it crashing down. I had no defenses. I didn't even try to use charmspeak. I wasn't fast enough.

His sword cut a huge gash on my shoulder. I felt all of it. It felt like most of my shoulder was being cut off. I felt the blood running before I even saw it. The gash was deep, too deep to pull out from. The sword was lodged in my shoulder and there was nothing I could do about it.

Frank knew this, as he had a face full of sorrow. He knew that he caused me physical pain, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. He had his reasons, and so did I.

"Yield." Frank barely said without puking. "Yield now, so we can heal you."

I wanted to faint right then and there. I wanted it to end. The pain was unbearable, but I couldn't. I needed to win. It was do or die. There was no other option.

I took one last look at Frank before grabbing the sword's hilt that was stuck deep in my shoulder. The same hilt that Frank was holding on too as well. Our hands touched as Frank's face went from sorrow to confusion. I grabbed the sword from him and teared the sword from my own flesh.

I screamed. I yelled at the top of my lungs. The pain was ten times worse than the first stab. I thought I would faint right then and there, but my adrenaline was pumping. The blood in my veins were on fire. After taking the sword, I stabbed Frank in his shins. The same spot I stabbed only minutes ago.

Frank was about to scream in agony, but I didn't even give him the chance to as I raised my leg and with full force, I high kicked him to kingdom come. My foot reaching for the sky as Frank's chin went flying even farther.

Frank fell with a thud. There was no fanfare, no applause, no sound in the arena. Frank was on the ground unconscious. Down for the count as I stood tall.

I looked towards the crowd and the booth. Everyone had their jaws to the floor. Percy didn't even move an inch, like he was stuck in a permanent freeze. Nobody could believe it. That I won.

But I didn't care about their reactions, as I looked to the viewing area and saw Jason.

Jason's eyes looked like they would pop right out of his skull. His pose was rigid as if Medusa herself laid her eyes upon him and turned him into stone.

His reaction was priceless. It was better than any kiss I could get from him.

I fell to my knees, smiled one more time, and then screamed at the top of my lungs.

"I DID IT! I WON!"

After that, I fell and took a nap. I deserved it.