ᴾʰᵒᵇᵒᵖʰᵒᵇⁱᵃ [ᴶᵃˢᵒⁿ ᴳʳᵃᶜᵉ]

xiv.

"We won't cooperate, Phorcys," Percy shouted, snarling like a cornered animal. Aza skittered nervously on her feet, scratching her nails at her sternum - she couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe even now, when she had her last bits of oxygen. The sea god's voice boomed, "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."

The glass above Aza's head cracked. She stood frozen - her muscles were lead, too heavy for her to move. A drop of water splashed on her nose, then two more. Percy and Frank, everything was too much. Aza was overwhelmed, drowning even before the water flooded her. Percy's voice cracked, "I'm the son of Poseidon! You can't imprison me in water. This is where I'm strongest."

"What a coincidence," Phorcys' laugh came from all around them, "It's also where I'm strongest. This tank is specifically designed to contain demigods. Now, have fun, you three. Ms. Malin, I hope you can hold your breath." The glass dome shattered, and the water crashed in.

Aza's lungs burned immediately, and she inhaled a small bit of water. She flailed in the water, making an urgent scream - of course, it was muffled by the water. Percy's eyes were closed; she forced herself to swim towards him, and once she grasped onto his wrist she could breath. Her clothes dried, and his eyes opened.

Percy grasped her arm, shaking his head with a silent apology. She nodded, and motioned up towards Frank, who turned into a human-sized koi fish. She assumed Percy could talk to him in fish-talk, because Frank went to swim around the tank, and Percy brought Aza towards the glass. Together, they used Riptide and Mind Cleaver to beat and slash at the glass, but they couldn't make a dent. She banged her fist against it, but her movements were sluggish in the water. She thought about the Nereids, playing Go Fish in a mindless haze. It reminded her of the hospital, where she was forced to take sedating medications she didn't need. She couldn't go back to that.

She held her breath and swam towards the harpoon and fired it towards the glass, but it glanced harmlessly off the glass. She tried three more times, stopping to grasp Percy's wrist and break to breathe between each attempt, until the harpoon broke; Percy didn't have much luck. She swirled her arms through the water, miming Percy controlling it. He closed his eyes and held out his hands, but nothing happened, even when he scrunched his face in concentration, his arms shaking slightly.

Aza hadn't been so terrified in a long time. And she felt silly, that she had almost become accustomed to being bolstered by fear. It had become a tool in her belt, rather than the large wall obscuring her path. And now, she was back to being stuck.

Frank swam into the glass wall. Aza looked up at him for a moment, then looked out - Keto was leading Gleeson through the amphitheater, lecturing him on something whilst the satyr nodded and admired the seating. She banged her fist against the glass, but her movements were slow in the water. Percy joined her, but Gleeson didn't hear - Keto began to lead him towards the far end of the room. They couldn't let him leave.

Percy swam towards the bottom and grasped one of the glass marbles, hurling it underhand at the glass like a bowling ball. It hit the glass with a thunk!, not nearly as loud as Aza hoped. Percy swam back to her, resting his hand on her shoulder for a moment so she could breath. She felt his desperation smother her - but she should have had more faith in Gleeson. He, of course, had the ears of a satyr; he glanced over his shoulder, his eyes skimming between Aza, Percy and Frank, who was still a giant koi. His eyes fogged in confusion, then widened in surprise, then he reared back slightly in outrage, and finally slackened his features, masking calm.

The satyr pointed towards the top of the amphitheater. Aza had never been one for reading lips, but she had a feeling he was using the same last-resort move he had taught Aza on the way to camp, "Gods of Olympus, what is that?"