Other than being able to sense the water held in a massive tank which I had no idea how they'd fitted into the aquarium itself, I couldn't sense any other monsters or creatures that would be in a show. Unless they were going to pop out from somewhere with some more pyrotechnics. "Beautiful exhibit, isn't it?" I honestly couldn't say, though I kept the snide remark to myself. I wanted to remain on Phorcys's good side for as long as possible.
"What do you keep in there? Giant killer goldfish?" Frank asked though I couldn't quite tell if he was being sarcastic or not. To be honest, it wouldn't surprise me if there was a giant killer goldfish out there somewhere.
"Oh, that would be good! But no, Frank Zhang, descendent of Poseidon. This tank is not for goldfish." Beside me I felt Frank flinched so I instinctively moved myself so that I stood in front of him, narrowing my eyes slightly. How could Phorcys know Frank's name and also that he was a descendent of Poseidon? Was he able to glean those kind of things just from our scent? Percy demanded to know the very questions I had asked myself, all of us now completely on edge. "Well…it was probably in the descriptions Gaia provided. You know, for the bounty, Percy Jackson." I heard the familiar ring of Percy's sword as he uncapped it, preparing for a fight as he faced down Phorcys.
"Don't double-cross me, Phorcys. You promised me answers."
"After the VIP treatment, yes. I promised to tell you everything you need to know. The thing is, however, you don't really need to know anything." This…was steadily going downhill. "You see, even if you made it to Rome, which is quite unlikely, you'd never defeat my giant brothers without a god fighting at your side. And what god would help you? So I have a better plan. You're not leaving. You're VIPs – Very Important Prisoners!" And thus springs the trap. Great. I sensed both Frank and Percy go to attack even as I drew Amaryllis in sword form, however in an instant I felt Phorcys's presence vanish so I held back from attacking until I could figure out where he had gone even as his voice sounded all around us. "Yes, good! Fighting is good! You see, Mother never trusted me with big assignments, but she did agree that I could keep anything I caught. You three will make an excellent exhibit – the only demigod spawn of Poseidon in captivity. 'Demigod Terrors' – yes, I like that! We already have sponsorship lined up with Bargain Mart. You can fight each other every day at eleven a.m. and one p.m., with an evening show at seven p.m."
"You're crazy!" Frank shouted as Percy and I naturally pressed our backs to one another, both weapons drawn in our fighting stances.
"If you think you can keep two demigod children of Poseidon locked up and trapped in a place like this, then you really do have crab brains!" Throwing away all sweetness I twirled my sword in my grasp, ready to fight anything that was thrown at us. Phorcys laughed.
"Don't sell yourself short! You'll be our biggest draw!" The boys started to run for exits but I could already sense the walls shifting and changing, creating a dome around us that effectively locked us inside. The air grew thick as I tried to steady my breathing, realising that we really had walked straight into a trap and now we had no choice but to fight our way out of here. Frank yelled again, insisting that we wouldn't cooperate, but Phorcys didn't seem to care at all. "Oh, I'm optimistic. If you won't fight each other at first, no problem! I can send in fresh sea monsters every day. After you get used to the food here, you'll be properly sedated and will follow directions. Believe me, you'll come to love your new home." I seriously doubted that. I was already beginning to feel panicked over the fact that we were about to be trapped. If this was last year, then I wouldn't have stood a chance in the water, but at least now I knew I could breathe under it freely, though Frank was a different matter. If this place floods then he'd have no choice but to turn into an animal that could breathe underwater otherwise he was toast.
"I'm the son of Poseidon! You can't imprison me in water. This is where I'm strongest." I heard a slight tremor in Percy's voice which I wasn't expecting as the water began to leak in from above, already starting to fill up our own personal fish tank. What had Percy all nervous? Water was his element, his domain, it responded to him far better than it did to me even now. Phorcys left us with a final word that the water was where he was also strongest and that the tank we were trapped in was specially designed to keep demigods locked inside. We had no means of escape, and next thing we knew, the water came crashing down upon us all. Returning Amaryllis to my wrist I screamed out Frank's name, searching for his presence as I threw my hands up and forced the water to part around me so it didn't hit me all at once. Daughter of Poseidon or not, it still would have hurt to have so much water hitting you at once. I let it swirl and curve around me before allowing it to meet, surrounding me completely as my sunglasses came loose so I grabbed them and hastily stuffed them into my backpack. Brilliant, just brilliant. We were trapped and Coach Hedge was still nowhere to be seen, plus we had no means to call for backup. At the very least, hopefully if we're gone for a certain length of time, Annabeth would bring the others to come looking for us and I knew she'd be smart enough to start looking for saltwater, which would also bring her here.
Good, so there was a backup plan at the very least. However, we should probably try to think of a way out of here ourselves. Searching around, I could already sense Frank above us in the form of some kind of fish as his panicked thoughts unwittingly reached me so I satisfied myself that he was alright but then I heard and felt Percy near to me as he beat the water to stay stationary, though I got the distinct impression that he was holding his breath. I couldn't hear him inhaling or exhaling at all, no bubbles of air popping any time he breathed out. "Perce? You okay?" I questioned as I reached out to him and placed my hand against his shoulder as I found him, sensing his unease. "It's okay, it's just water." My voice came out strangely underwater, bubbling and undulating like it would anyone else. Even though we were Poseidon's kids, we still talked funny underwater so generally we conveyed thoughts to other sea creatures, though I wondered if it would work with each other. Percy, can you hear me?
Yeah…yeah I hear you.
Everything okay? You seem tense.
It's nothing, just something stupid. I frowned at this because I seriously doubted it but I didn't press the issue for the time being. Percy then panicked about Frank so I told him to look up as I swam back then just floated in the water, feeling rather comfortable wrapped up in its surrounding embrace. This was where I felt I belonged, though the walls and giant fish tank were the only reason I felt claustrophobic. This wasn't natural, and no amount of water could change the fact that I didn't belong here anymore than the other creatures trapped here did. Dude, a goldfish? Percy questioned as I listened to Frank's animal form moving through the water, fins and scales gliding towards us as I judged him to be the roughly the same size as Percy even as a goldfish. I flashed him a grin.
I freaked. We were talking about goldfish, so it was on my mind. Sue me.
Well I think you look great Frank. I complimented him so he started to thank me.
Thanks Lily that's…wait a second. Now I laughed, the sound bubbling outwards as Frank grumbled that I shouldn't tease him so I responded that he made it too easy since he was so gullible, but that I didn't mean anything by it and that a goldfish was as good as anything considering the circumstances. Unfortunately Frank was unable to change into something else at Percy's suggestion as it turned out that he was currently stuck as a giant koi since he was still in a panic, which according to Frank happened sometimes.
Still, being able to turn into different animals is an awesome ability. I so wish I could rub this in Clarisse's face. She's a child of Ares. I supplied in explanation to Frank who still had no clue who Clarisse was, so I promised to tell him all about my good friend Pork-Chop once we were out of here. Speaking of which, anyone got any ideas? The tank is meant to hold demigods in no problem, so I'm thinking it's not going to be as easy as breaking the glass with whatever weapon we've got. We tried everything but had no luck. With no exits and the top of the tank covered with Celestial Bronze mesh so that we couldn't escape, our only hope was to try and break the glass itself but Percy's sword didn't work, and none of the other weapons he found lying around worked any better.
How about your weapon, Lily?
I don't know, if I use Amaryllis then I might end up freezing the water itself. Ever since I got her back, she's been stronger than ever. I mused as I fiddled with the trident charm on my bracelet. Maybe if I used her I could freeze the glass and make it more vulnerable to breakage, but I'd have to work in a pocket of air space to make sure I didn't affect you guys. The last thing we need is for all of us to become popsicles.
Can't you turn off the ice effect?
No Percy, I can't 'turn off the ice effect'. This weapon went toe to toe against a Titan. She's not going to hold herself back against a piece of glass. Shooting my brother a sarcastic look, Frank instantly became intrigued by the mention of a Titan and wanted to know the story, but since now wasn't the time for that kind of stuff, I promised to tell him later and assured him that it was absolutely epic and that he was going to love it. Instead, Percy and I tried to use the water itself to break the glass by making it expand, but it seemed like Percy was having trouble with controlling the water the way he had before. It was too much for me to handle alone so all I got was a small whirlpool in my hand whilst Percy only accomplished popping something below us. I didn't even bother to ask what it was. Percy, what's wrong? Seriously, this isn't like you at all. But my brother wouldn't answer me, which annoyed me a lot because we never kept secrets from each other. My eyes brightened as they became clearer and I could finally see the prison we were trapped in, but all I could see was Percy. He was bone dry, of course, his inky black hair which was in desperate need of a haircut drifting like seaweed in the water, but his face was strained like he was trying to hold himself together. Hey, whatever it is…I won't let anything happen to you. I told him privately, my big sister instincts kicking in. But whatever is messing with your head right now, you need to get a grip. I am not spending the rest of my life as some kind of entertainment spectacle for whoever walks in through those doors. Come on Percy, focus! We're getting out of here, and I need you to snap out of it! Don't make me hit you, because I will. The tough love seemed to do the trick because Percy blinked then narrowed his eyes, focusing on me with a looked more determined than before. That's more like it. He tossed me a grin which was his lazy way of saying 'thanks sis' before starting to look around for more ideas as I did the same until Frank called for us to look at something.
Would you believe it? Coach Hedge was still alive and uneaten. If I were Keto I probably would have fed him to the squid, but right now I had never been happier to see that old goat. Unfortunately neither of them seemed to notice us as they crossed to head off somewhere else, so we all desperately tried to get their attention. I managed to make the water move a little but not much, spouting out the top and sloshing over the side as Percy had launched a marble at the glass, and thankfully the sound drew Coach's attention. The moment he turned his head, I waved my arms like crazy with an expression I hoped read 'get us out of here or you're goat-meat!'. Coach Hedge, crazy as he was, soon became my newest hero. He was totally calm about seeing the three of us trapped in a tank, hiding his angered expression and instead distracted Keto so that he could totally smack her in the back of her head with one of his hooves after whipping off his fake feet. I cheered with bubbles rushing from my mouth, waving my fists in celebration of such an awesomely wicked achievement as the goddess went down. Who else would have the guts to kick a goddess? No one other than Coach Hedge. If this didn't make him legendary then I doubted anything would.
Rushing over to the glass, Percy and Coach Hedge had a little exchange of charades in order to communicate until it was decided that we would all try to break the glass at the same time. I decided to risk it and use Amaryllis, preparing to draw her in trident form to throw her at the glass as Percy prepared the countdown since it seemed like Keto would stay down for long. Benefits of being a goddess, I guess. On the count of three, everything happened all at once. I threw Amaryllis with such force that this time, the glass broke as she became lodged there where ice began to seep into the glass and spread the crack. Coach kicked it from the other side which spread the spider-web cracks further as Frank, now in human form, shoved his shoulder against it on this side to further the breakage. Percy, however, was the finishing touch, as all fifty thousand gallons of withheld water suddenly exploded outwards and shattered the barrier all at once. All three of us got sucked out at once and spewed out onto the amphitheatre floor which became awash with the water. "Pan's pipes, Jackson! What were you doing in there?"
"Sightseeing." I responded tartly as I staggered to my feet and immediately began to search for Amaryllis, seeing her bronze form glinting on the ground still lodged in a block of glass which had become brittle from the ice and frost that had seeped into it. Reaching my weapon, I whirled it around and struck the head against the ground to cause the excess to shatter, leaving my precious weapon shining and bright as I then returned to the others. Alarms were already ringing and I guessed we wouldn't have a lot of time before Phorcys came to investigate or Keto recovered from her unexpected bath. Phorcys screamed Percy's name in outrage as the released water had clearly short-circuited his system as everything was exploding with special effects as we ran. I hated to leave behind the trapped creatures, especially the Nereids and Hippocampi, but I swore that I'd be back for them and suspected that my brother was having similar thoughts. My hand found his as we raced all the way back to the mortal side of the aquarium where everything had burst into a panicked rush to escape. Allowing my sight to fade, I navigated our way through with expert senses and reflexes, getting us out of there so that hopefully Phorcys and Keto were unable to follow. The next time I come back here, they were both so screwed.