(A/N) I hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving. I know that you guys hate cliffhangers, so I just had to come out with this next chapter. It's short, but there's a lot that goes on. Here's a Haiku from Apollo:

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope you stuffed your freaking face

The turkey is dead

As you can see I am not that good at making Haikus…ANYWAY on with the story!

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PJO

Jason POV

The first strike seemed to go in slow motion. Time slowed down as Percy's blade swung in a deadly arc towards me, the Stygian Iron engulfed by blazing Greek fire that swirled and crackled. I was rooted in place, so I raised my sword to defend myself. Metal rang out against metal and a jolt was sent through my arm as the impact nearly sent my sword clattering to the ground.

I only had enough time to regain my balance before Percy was on me again, fighting like a demon. His red eyes seemed to burn like fire and he bared his teeth like an animal as he attacked almost as savagely as one of Lupa's wolves. I could only dodge and parry, for the son of Poseidon left no room open for attack. Each blow sent my arms shaking like jelly and I felt myself becoming more and more tired.

Then I saw an opening and lashed out, my sword arcing towards his chest, but he blocked with inhuman speed that should've never been possible. I staggered back against the wall, my head swimming. How was this possible? What was happening? Percy snarled like a demon and launched himself at me, engaging me in a deadly dance. We parried, struck, blocked, dodged, and counterattacked as we circled each other. I was only barely able to keep up with Percy's excellent footwork and collected, powerful, coordinated blows. This dance was wickedly dangerous; the person who fumbled their maneuvers would end up as a human shish-kebob.

Percy grinned wickedly. "Not as good as you used to be, Grace." he snickered and slammed the flat of his blade into my side. I let out a scream but thankfully my ribs were only bruised, not broken. My side ached as if Frank had turned into an elephant and Irish step-danced all over it. I groaned and collapsed as the pain grew to the point that it was unbearable, already turning an ugly purple color. Percy leaned over me, his breath hot on my face.

"You're weak. I'm surprised you even had the slightest thought you could win against me." he growled, the fire of his blade, Trinity, casting dancing shadows across his face, making him seem all the more menacing. I leaned up, only barely able to ignore the horrifying pain that raced up my side as I did so.

I spat blood in his face and he staggered back, bellowing in outrage. He looked at me as he wiped the thick, sticky stuff out of his eyes, which burned with hatred. I grinned, knowing that the fact my teeth would be covered in blood would make a rather creepy effect.

"I wasn't trying to beat you!" I cackled, but soon after winced with pain. "I was just buying time." Percy scanned my face to tell if I was lying or not. His eyes bore a hole into me, but I managed to hold his gaze.

"For who?" he demanded

"Them." I replied and at that exact moment the door exploded and a torrent of campers stormed inside, waving swords and yelling battle cries. All I was able to decipher was the campers swarming Percy before everything went black.

-Ω-

I woke up more discombobulated than ever. My eyesight was terrible, shifting and tilting as if I was on a see-saw underwater. The dizziness was unparalleled and I nearly threw up over the side of the bed. I closed my eyes to get rid of the vertigo and collapsed back onto the pillow. My side ached and throbbed, demanding attention. I threw my arm over my face and groaned loudly. This was probably the worst way to wake up in the history of the world. I didn't think I'd be getting up anytime soon, so I just closed my eyes and slipped in and out of consciousness for the time being.

That's when I heard a door open and the sound of footsteps entering the room I was in. Slowly, my eyes fluttered open. The dizziness-inducing eyesight was gone, but the image was still blurry. I had to blink a few times before the picture of a blurry blob sharpened and turned into Will Solace. I managed a weak smile as he set a foot tray into my lap.

"Thanks man. How long was I out?" I croaked, amazed at how hoarse and gravelly my voice was.

"All day." Will replied vaguely, his face grave. Worry lines had etched into his face and there were defined shadows under his eyes. He looked as if he were running solely on coffee power.

"What do you mean by 'all day'?" I asked and picked at the delicious-looking pancakes in front of me. Afraid that Will would make me scarf it down, I began to take normal-sized bites, surprising myself when I began to gorge on them. I was so hungry I could've eaten a horse, though I didn't think Tempest would appreciate that. Speaking of which, I had been restricted to riding only when supervised, which was a complete bummer. They'd always tell me I was going to fast or too high, completely limiting everything there is to riding.

Pretty soon, I was done with the pancakes, finishing with a rather loud and rude burp. Will was just staring at me, astounded. Come to think of it, it was the first meal that I'd ever finished at my own will. The rest of the time people forced me to eat. It honestly felt good to know that my stomach was expanding, capable of holding more food than I was used to.

"So, how are the others?" I dared to question. The son of Apollo's face turned grave once more.

"Thankfully, Nico is up and running thanks to ambrosia, but Annabeth is…less so." he sighed and folded his hands in his lap as he sat at the edge of my bed. I struggled into a sitting position, nervousness gripping my heart. Was Annabeth okay? What could've happened that ambrosia couldn't fix? Will took a deep breath and continued. "Her skull…was cracked. Ambrosia wasn't working and everyone was panicking and panicking, running around screaming. It was…chaos."

"What then?" My voice was trembling just as much as my hands. My heart beat so loudly that I was afraid that Will would hear it and become all sympathetic with me. The blood roared in my ears and my mind was scattered like the pieces of a broken glass. What happened? Was Annabeth alright? Why was Will hesitating and drawing out the story? WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON?

"She...she…didn't make it." My breath hitched and I felt my eyes fogging up. I wiped furiously at the tears, but they just kept coming. I wanted to believe that this was a joke; just some sick joke that everyone was playing on me, but I knew that Will, even being the jokester he is, would not kid about these kinds of situations. Annabeth was dead.

Still hopeful that it was just a prank or a dream, I asked, "What?" Will bit his lip and his face hardened in a way that I'd never seen it before.

"Perseus Jackson killed Annabeth Chase, his own girlfriend. His exile will be in three days' time."