The tip of my spear collided with a sandbag and tore it apart. I wasn't trying to hit it, but it got in my way. Sand fell quickly and took a huge amount of space in the practice arena. There were only a few people in the practice range, and they didn't seem to notice my mess yet. Thalia and her best hunters were gone but there were a few honing their craft in the archery range. Hmph, probably the weakest of the hunters. Too weak to fight the monsters at the camp's gates.

Piper was the only Greek training besides me. She held her dagger and practiced with another hunter. She used her left arm to fight while her right was in a sling. I was surprised she didn't disqualify herself yet. Her arm was completely messed up from her last match. She landed on it hard after her fall with Jason. She was tough but stupid. I doubt she'll make it far in the tournament.

I looked at my spear and realized that the tip was broken. That's the second spear within the hour that I've broken. I threw the spear away and grabbed another from an available bin. Broken spears are better than broken dreams. My match against Annabeth had done a number on me. I left the infirmary late at night and ran towards the Field of Mars. I tried to sleep to no avail and ran away. It was that field where I trained for several hours before making it back. I skipped most of the winner's fights. I didn't need to see Annabeth fighting the very opponent I should be facing. I instead focused on practice, so I would never lose again. I've been running on no sleep but I'm still fuming.

Take out Percy Jackson, and we're even.

Mar's words stuck to the back of my mind like thick glue. I couldn't take it out. It was stuck there. I fought Percy so many times in the past, but I just realized that I usually came up short. Hell, even my own godly father came up short. That's the only reason he told me to take him out. I didn't know what to do, so I trained.

I trained for another forty-five minutes before the doors to the arena opened and smoke came burrowing in. It even reached the practice range and I started to cough. Someone was going to get their ass kicked for this. Piper and the rest of the hunters were coughing as well but I was the first one out of the room, running towards the smoke. When I entered the viewing arena, I noticed that the smoke was coming from the balconies as well. The smoke never got that far as it dissipated quickly as the doors closed and three idiots came in.

Leo and the Stoll brothers both came in laughing. Leo looked virtually unharmed while Conner had a couple of bruises around his arm. Travis looked even worst for wear as his face was covered in soot. He looked like a cartoon character who had their face blown up by an ACME explosion. I waved my hands in the air to push away the remaining smoke as I ran up to them. I was already pissed by the amount of smoke that filled up the area, but their smiling faces full of laughter push me past the point of no return.

I ran up and grabbed Leo mid-laugh. He saw it coming and put his hands up instinctively.

"Whoa now, calm down Clarisse." Leo said with a smaller smile.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't pulverize you where you stand, Valdez."

Leo gave it some thought. "Because you don't pulverize your friends?"

I gave him a good shake before the Stoll brothers pulled me off. Leo fell to the ground, straight on his butt.

Frank Zhang ran up to push us aside. "Hey, fighting is prohibited here. What's going on."

Leo got up. His trademark smile was gone as he pointed his finger at me.

"What's your problem? I won my match in losers. I thought we would be celebrating.?" Leo whined.

With one look at what I've done, I started to feel a twinge of regret. However, the children of Ares don't regret a damn thing.

"Clean this smoke up before I come back from my match. Then we'll talk about celebrating."

With the Stoll brothers off of me, I walked off towards the other side of the viewing area with Frank and Leo staring me down. There was another exit to the arena that I could enter. I didn't want all eyes on me by using the main stairwell. I had to calm down before my match with that Roman.

By the time I reached the secondary stairwell, I saw another face watching the arena from a window. This part of the viewing area was usually empty, but here was another demigod to ruin my mood. It wasn't any Greek I knew, but a Roman. This time, it was the praetor, Reyna.

She watched the crowd from her secluded window. Her praetor armor was clean and fully outfitted. Both her sword and knives were on her person as her praetor cape flapped in the wind, giving out a distinct smell. Her regal face didn't match her eyes. They sparked with loneliness.

She noticed me quickly enough and walked towards me. I wasn't one to back down and approached her as well.

"That wasn't wise." She said with certainty.

I gave her an odd look. "What? Elaborate."

Reyna crossed her arms while still staring out the window.

"Agitating one of the only friends you have is a bold move. Leo may be playful, but he'll remember that."

"How did you—it doesn't matter. I don't care what that elf thinks, and I certainly don't care about your opinion." I said before walking past her.

Reyna turned around with swiftness. I even hear her praetor cape fluttering in the air.

"You should care. You have this new air about you that is dangerous. I don't know what happened to you after your fight with Annabeth, but it's clearly changed your demeanor for the worst."

I gave her a sideways glance. "Watch yourself. I'm not in a good mood for jokes."

"The only joke here is your match against that child of Demeter. You brutalized her. If Kahale wasn't the topic of discussion, then you would be."

I sneered at her. "So what? This is a tournament and you're asking a child of Ares to chill out? People like Katie should know the risks involved. So should you."

Reyna opened and closed her mouth quickly. As if she wanted to say something. Instead, she positioned herself to the wall and sat down with her knees up in the air. She held her knees and was deep in thought. This was a position you saw in some weak and aimless high school girls, not in praetors.

Her arms were still cross as they sat above her knees. "I won't give you a speech, but it's up to the praetors of the camp to inspire, Clarisse. If you're looking for moral redemption by winning this tournament, then I feel sorry for you."

I was starting to lose my cool and I haven't even started my match yet. "I'm not looking for anything. I just want to win this tournament."

Reyna looked straight at me. "For what purpose? I heard that you're going to university now. Our students at New Rome university aren't legionaries anymore. They have nothing to prove, so what do you hope to gain? Why fight?"

I formed a fist. Veins started to take shape on my arms as a smile started to appear.

"To dominate. Nothing less, nothing more. If I can break a few bones along the way, then the better."

Reyna didn't seem pleased by that answer as she turned her head away.

"I doubt that. As I said, something happened to you after your first match. Percy tells me that you're a good person at your core. You don't hurt people for the fun of it." Reyna said with certainty.

I wasn't going to allow this bitch to psychoanalyze me anymore.

"Well, why do you still fight, huh?" I asked. "The legion is cursing your name because you entered. Hades, you even tried to throw your last match against Thalia. What's your game?"

Reyna gave out a weak chuckle. "It would be easy to disqualify myself and go back to my leadership duties, but I don't do easy. Not only that, but I have a goal I need to seek out."

"And you can only complete this goal by winning the tournament?" I asked.

Reyna buried herself in her arms even more. "I don't know, but I know I won't find it out there. Fighting monsters beyond our gates isn't where my answers lie. I was praetor for so long that I forgot the meaning of it. I need the answer."

"The answer to what?" I asked. I was getting tired of beating around the bush.

Reyna looked towards the window. From her angle, she could only see the sky.

"What it means to be praetor. I fear I have forgotten it long ago."

"I'll tell you what it means."

The voice came from behind us. Standing there was a boy in armor and sword to his side. His darker complexion didn't stand out in the dark corridor that we were standing in. His arms were jacked, and his face and hair were washed. As if he took a shower a few moments ago. Michael Kahale stood next to us.

"Being praetor is no different than being of probatio rank. Your leadership doesn't matter, but your contributions to the legion do."

Reyna immediately got up. She was back to a more regal stance.

"What are you doing here, Kahale? What are you scheming?" She asked.

Kahale had a look of disgust on his face. The mere idea of scheming was beyond him.

"Know that I used to work under Octavian, but that doesn't mean that I picked up his weasel-like tendencies. I am here because I chose to be. That's all."

"I find that hard to believe." Reyna said.

Kahale walked towards both of us. "Funny, I don't remember asking for your opinion on the matter, Ms. Ramirez-Arellano."

Reyna's eyes bored into him as her anger spiked. I guess her last name was a no-no.

I stepped up towards him. I had no real beef with him, but he beat the crap out of Will, and I had to make my distaste known."

"Ok, tough guy, you want to fight somebody? How about we go a few rounds right now?"

Kahale smiled. "Fighting a Greek like you would be no different than fighting a rabid dog. I've seen you in your last fight and I'm not impressed."

Now my anger spiked. "Oh, big man beats an archer and now he thinks he's the be all end all, huh?"

Kahale ignored me and looked towards Reyna. "I wish you well in your match against your fellow Praetor Zhang."

I grabbed him by his armor pieces. He didn't flinch as the child of Venus was calm by all of it.

"I don't like being ignored. Do it again and I'll find a way to break you."

Kahale chuckled a bit. "I knew dogs were affectionate, but this is a bit much."

That's it. This man was going to die.

"Stop it!" Reyna yelled.

When I didn't immediately put him down, Reyna ran up and forced me to drop my hands and separated us.

"You both have your own matches, and Clarisse, yours is up next. Go now." Reyna demanded.

I sneered at both before walking off with a chip on my shoulder. In the corner of my eye, I saw Reyna and Kahale continue their conversation. I didn't care enough to eavesdrop as I made my way towards the arena.

…

The crowd went full throttle when it came to cheering. They had no clue that there were monsters making their way to camp and honestly, it was better that way. If the campers knew then there would be pandemonium.

I walked towards the center of the arena and saw my opponent. Hazel of Camp Jupiter walked in with a sword to her side and light armor on her torso. Her helmet wasn't a traditional legion helmet. It looked like the type of helmet worn by horse riders at Camp Half-blood. I tried not to pay attention to it. She seemed to have a nervous energy about her. She was ready to fight no doubt, but there was something else bugging her. It didn't matter to me; they all fall the same.

Hazel and I met at the center as Hazel extended a hand.

"I know we haven't really talked before, but I'm looking forward to this bout." Hazel said extending an olive branch.

I slapped her hand away. Hazel and the rest of the crowd frowned at this.

"I'm not here to be friends with you Romans. Either put up or shut up."

The crowd booed instantly. I guess Hazel was a fan favorite now.

Hazel looked hurt by this but adapted quickly as she pulled out a sword.

With Chiron's horn blowing in the distance, I took that as an opportunity to launch my spearheaded assault.

I ran with quickness and stabbed towards her with all my might. She backed away and gained some distance between us, but that didn't matter. My range and speed were unparalleled.

I tried again and this time I landed a hit to her arm. Stabbing it with full vigor. Hazel gave out a small yelp as she grabbed her injured arm instantly. It wasn't her sword arm, but it was a good stab, nonetheless. Hazel wasn't sweating yet, but I gave her a little taste of my power.

Hazel continued to create some distance between us, but I sprinted to close the gap. I knew she was just like her brother Nico. They had the powers of the underworld to their side, but they're both frail children at the end of the day. All I had to do was ramp up my momentum every chance I get. Force her into a fight rather than a power fest.

I ran into her for a tackle, and she dodged it. I got up from the floor quickly as Hazel went for a sideswipe at my legs. It was a wide swing on her part. Her form wasn't bad, but there was some anticipation coming off it. It was slow. Slow enough for me to grab her sword arm with my left hand to stop the blow altogether.

Hazel started to panic as her bleeding left arm was useless and her sword arm was in my grasps. It was over for her. I stabbed my spear towards the ground and was ready to pull her in for a punch before a huge number of rocks came from below us and hit me right at the chin. I flew back as the number of rocks was blowing up from the ground like a geyser, as it separated both me and Hazel.

Hazel landed on her feet while I fell on my ass. I was disoriented for a few seconds before realizing that I didn't even get hit by rocks. I checked the floor near me and saw diamonds, sapphires, and even bits of gold pieces all around me. In fact, there were gems all over the arena now. The crowd went silent as it noticed millions upon millions of dollars worth of gems stacked in the arena. Some even drooled at the sight of them.

Hazel walked towards me with a small smile. She was embarrassed.

"Sorry, but at least they're not cursed gems anymore. Don't take any of them. Just in case."

I roared as I got up. I was being made a fool of for the second time this week. I went to grab my spear and noticed that it wasn't on me. Instead, the spear was stuck in the ground a few meters away from me, and Hazel was protecting it. She knew it was my best weapon.

I still had a sword on me, and I made that fact known.

"Forget the spear," I said while raising my sword to her. "Let's see who the better swordswoman."

Hazel's eyes beamed with excitement. I could tell she was ready for the challenge as she ran towards me and went for an overhead slice. I blocked it quickly and was met with a series of strikes to my mid-section. I made sure to block them all as I tried to memorize her pattern of attack. Her quicker and smaller hits were all stabs, which was typical for a Roman. Her showy hits were like that of the Greeks. Slashes from above and blunt hits from her hilt. It was like I was fighting Prissy for a few seconds. I gritted my teeth and parried all of her hits. Trying to learn rather than fight.

Hazel went for a quick stab to my legs. I had to block it and extended my arms downwards. Hazel knew this and quickly turned her stab into a feint. Instead, she used her other arm to pull the ground below me. Despite the damage I've done to that arm. I lost balance as the ground at my feet was rising. I jumped away and didn't see Hazel routing me to my side as she stabbed me my legs and I fell.

Both thighs were bloody as my body was on the floor. Hazel didn't waste time as she ran up towards me.

I thought she would finish the job, but she extended a hand instead.

"Yield." She spoke. Her brown eyes were not of a warrior. Instead, they were that of a worried companion.

No. Not again. I won't lose and be pitied again.

I accepted her hand and pulled her towards me. Hazel was shocked as her sword fell and I went for her bad arm. We were both on the floor as I held her arm in a Kimura lock. It's been years since I tried this, and I barely knew the basics. It was enough as I had Hazel's arm locked in as her head was on the floor. I held it tightly so she wouldn't escape. Hazel tried to fight back, but she figured out quickly that moving around only made her arm feel worse. If she continued, then I could have broken her arm. This skinning 14-year-old didn't have much time left.

The arena started to shake violently. I thought she was summoning gems at first, but the shaking got bigger and bigger. This was an earthquake.

I didn't have much time left. "Hazel, say uncle right now!"

I couldn't even see Hazel's face as her head was planted on the ground. She wasn't saying a damn thing.

It got worse and worse. The gems on the ground were bouncing like they were on a trampoline.

"Say Uncle now or I'll break your arm!" I screamed.

I was desperate and Hazel knew. She ramped up the earthquake even further and I let go of the arm lock. I was in serious danger if I didn't. I tried to get up from the ground and fell numerous times before finding my footing and running towards my spear. I pulled it from the ground and looked back at Hazel.

She was gone. I couldn't see her anymore. I was shocked as I was alone in the arena full of gems and no enemy to fight.

'Where could she be?' I thought to myself. I had to think. Leo fought and lost against her. I wasn't really paying attention to the fight at hand. I just remember Leo using all the flames he could muster against her. She used the Mist, but how?

It was then when I felt it. I felt something coming from behind me. Before I could answer that, Hazel appeared out of thin air and attacked me from the front. She went for another overhead strike, and I stopped it by grabbing her sword arm again. Hazel looked shook after that. We were back in the same situation as earlier. That's when I knew something was wrong.

The air shifted around me, and I turned around and grabbed Hazel by the neck as she crept behind me. I now held two Hazels in both hands. Both of them exactly the same.

"I don't know how to fight against the Mist, but I can always sense a rat trying to backstab me." I sneered.

Hazel didn't respond as the other Hazel in front of me faded away. With one of my hands free. I grabbed Hazel's neck from both sides and dropped her to the floor. She fell with a thud as I choked her out. I switched positions and went to a sleeper hold. Something I never tried before. I was choking Hazel out as the crowd watched from a distance. Hazel was spitting and trying to talk, but it was no use. Only a few seconds before she was unconscious, and it was my victory.

I looked towards the crowd again and they were cheering. Cheering for me? Hazel was their fan favorite. Even the Romans cheered for me. What was going on? I didn't mind it at all until I noticed that Frank Zhang was in the balconies cheering for me as well. Why would he cheer against his own girlfriend? What was going on?

Something was up. There was a joke going on and I wasn't a part of it. I thought back to when I held two Hazels in my hand. Which one was the real one? The one who attacked me from the back? I thought so as the one in the front faded away. Was it a trick? Did I fall for a feint created by the Mist? I'm choking Hazel out right now but why do I feel like I'm falling asleep?

My thoughts were cloudy, my heart was racing, and I couldn't even respond to what was happening.

I did the only thing I could do and bit my tongue. If this was an illusion, then pain was the only way to get out. To wake me up. I bit my tongue to such a degree that I started to bleed. As I bled, a new scene came before me.

I was getting choked out by Hazel. This was the reality of the situation. I was on the ground, and I wasn't fighting back. The crowd roared as I was slowly losing consciousness. Hazel squeezed with all her might. She wouldn't be able to choke me out if I was aware of it. I would fight back easily otherwise. Faking me out with the Mist was the best way to put me down, but it didn't work.

I screamed with all my might as blood came crashing down from my mouth. My scream pierced the heavens as I spit out all the blood from my tongue.

Hazel freaked out and let loose with her hold. Bad move, little Roman.

I turned my body using all my weight. Hazel wasn't even close to ready as I pushed her aside. I was on top of her now and was choking her out. The crowd stopped cheering and watched in horror. Yea, now that feels real to me.

Hazel tried to fight back. She tried to reach for her sword, but it was out of her range of field. She tried punching me at my stomach and legs. Not enough. She even spat at me. Oh, that's not even close to enough. I held that choke for a minute before she finally fell asleep. It was done. I got off her and wiped all the blood away. I couldn't even speak. I messed up my tongue that badly. But that didn't stop me from screaming bloody murder to celebrate my win. Chiron blew his horn to confirm it. I was in the top 8 now and winning was my only option left.

Next Chapter coming on June 16th.