Behind the door, Percy was training. He'd opened the door to see a room full of life-size, fully functioning bronze monster automations. After activating some, he slashed, stabbed, and fought out his thoughts. Priming the Greek fire... Stab, block, roll. Kronos' scythe... Duck, jab, jump. The exploding ship... Slash, whap, chop. Beckendorf, sacrificing himself so that Percy could escape... Whack, deflect, jump, slash. The last automation fell to the ground. "This isn't working!" Percy growled to himself. Training always helped him clear his mind, but now it wasn't. "Gah!"
A fountain appeared in the corner, and Percy willed the water to flow out over the sides and flood the room. He made an air bubble in the corner of the room and sat there, trying to control his thoughts and feelings. A single tear fell down his cheek, and the door opened. ~In the other room~ The door slammed shut, leaving everyone staring at it. Minutes later, there came the sound of clanking and slamming from the other side. Paul exchanged a concerned glance with Annabeth. What was he doing in there? There was a flash of light, and a screen appeared in the front of the classroom. As everyone focused on it, the static cleared, the picture sharpening into what they assumed was the room behind the door. The screen showed Percy and what looked like an army of automations. The older demigods smiled when they saw Percy whirling his way through said army no problem. The mortals were in shock. He was good. No, good was an understatement. He was amazing. Any smiles previously held disappeared when they saw him strike down the last bronze monster. A fountain appeared in one corner as Percy growled, "This isn't working!" He then shouted "Gah!" as the room flooded, a single tear falling from his eye as he sat in the corner of the room. Suddenly, the door slammed open, leaving a wall of water where the closed door had been. Jason walked up to the door frame and placed a hand on the wall of water, pushing hard. The water didn't move, in fact it hardened, growing colder as it turned to ice. Sighing, the Sky Prince turned back to the rest of the room. "No one's going to be able to get in that room unless he wants us to." "Well," began Paul. "We shouldn't put off reading the book, only because I doubt that he needs to hear anything more right now. We should keep reading, and when he's ready, Percy will come out." Giving one last glance at the room now filled with ice, Paul tossed the book to Piper, who caught it with a slightly surprised look on her face. She opened the book and read the title. "Ok, chapter two. I Meet Some Fishy Relatives."