ᴾʰᵒᵇᵒᵖʰᵒᵇⁱᵃ [ᴶᵃˢᵒⁿ ᴳʳᵃᶜᵉ]

xiv.

The tunnel Phorcys led them through ran along the floor of a school gymnasium-sized tank. Aside from a few cheap decorations, which struck Aza as over-sized fish-tank novelties, with a moderately-sized pirate ship, and a pineapple with sunglasses, it was empty. Sulfur mixed with ocean spray burned Aza's nostrils; she moved slightly closer to Percy and gently knocked her elbow against his, smiling at him when he looked slightly down at her. He looked embarrassed when Aza steadied the flow of emotions rolling over the group, easing their worries.

When she blinked, Aza saw a flash of brown and green; though she was walking through the relatively spotless aquarium, she smelt muck. When she glanced at Percy, she felt him choking; she felt the throttle of fear suffocating him almost as much as the mud in his mouth.

Phorcys stopped in the middle of the tunnel and spread his arms proudly, "Beautiful exhibit, isn't it?" Aza took another brief glance - in one corner was a forest of fake kelp with a life-sized plastic gingerbread cottage. The peeling brown acrylic reminded Aza almost of the Hermes cabin. The floor, covered in a thick layer of white sand, was littered with glass marbles the size of bowling balls and an assortment of nautical weapons - tridents, harpoons and spearguns. Outside the display wall of the tank was an amphitheater with seating for hundreds.

"What do you keep in here," Frank chuckled nervously, "Giant killer goldfish?"

Phorcys nodded and tilted his head slightly, "Not a bad idea. But no, Frank Zhang, descendant of Poseidon. This tank is not for goldfish."

Aza's hands folded behind her back, and her dominant hand clasped on her bronze cuff, "How do you know Frank's name? And how do you know his lineage?"

"Well," Phorcys shrugged, poorly concealing the self-satisfied smile Aza wanted to wipe off his face, "It was probably in the descriptions Gaea provided. You know, for the bounty, Aza-Everett Malin."

Aza's eyes twitched. She lost control of the emotions, feeling the unbearing tide of unabashed fear beating down at her. As Percy pulled his pen from his pocket and uncapped it, Aza ran her fingers over the inscription on her cuff and nonchalantly swirled Mind Cleaver in the air, rolling her wrist in a circle. Phorcys nodded, "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," his grotesque smile widened, "You see, even if you made it to Rome, which you won't, 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!"

Percy lunged, and Frank hurled his backpack at the sea god's head. Aza tensed on her feet when Phorcys simply disappeared, her ears twitching for the slightest bit of noise. The sea-god's voice reverberated through the sound system, "Yes, good! Fighting is good. You see, Mother never trusted me with big assignments, but she did agree that I could keep anything caught. You three will make an excellent exhibit - the only demigod spawn of Poseidon and Phobos in captivity. Would you like to hear the name? Demigod Terrors! Yes, I like that. We already have sponsorship lined up; you three can fight each other every day at eleven AM and one PM, with an evening show. I'm thinking around seven?"

"You're crazy!" Frank yelled. Typically Aza didn't like that word, but she couldn't help but to agree. She wanted to strangle Phorcys' laughter, "Don't sell yourself short! You'll be our biggest draw!"

The son of Mars turned on his heel and ran for the exit, but he slammed into a glass wall. Aza looked at Percy - their eyes widened simultaneously and they both raced into a different direction. Their tunnel had become a bubble. Aza swallowed, unable to control her ragged breathing. She placed her hand on the glass; it was softening, melting like ice. Maybe Percy and Frank would be okay, but Aza couldn't breathe underwater.