CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR:
DEATH IN THE DEEP SEAS

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

AFTER A LOT OF pointless bickering and a few threats from Hedge (what a great start), the foursome managed to decide that their first stop would be the ‘Presidential Library’ Leo had parked them beside. As it happened, the ‘library’ was actually the Carter Center where Hedge so nicely asked (demanded) that the staff either called them a taxi or gave them directions to the nearest bus stop. Kit thought that the bat he swung around menacingly really did the trick.

One of the librarians, a tiny elderly woman with greying hair who was fittingly named Esther, insisted on driving them personally. Now, their initial reaction was a moment of panic -- surely this meant she was some kind of villain in disguise, which was seriously just their luck -- but after several more minutes wasted on a whispered debate with a bunch of clueless staff members blinking back at them, Hedge determined she wasn’t actually a monster at all.

“Smells normal,” he grunted. “With a hint of potpourri, cloves, rose petals. Tasty!”

“Great,” Kit sighed, turning his back on the nearest staff member, whose confused blinking quickly changed to a wide-eyed stare of alarm. “Now they’re going to think we’re cannibals. Thanks a lot, Coach.”

They piled into Esther’s Cadillac before anybody could stop them (or worse, call the police on them) and began their trip downtown. Tiny Esther muscled her car through traffic like a pro, regaling Hedge -- who’d stolen the front passenger seat from Percy -- and the three squished demigods in the back with stories about the craziest families she knew in Atlanta. By the end of their car ride, Kit was positive he’d know everything he could possibly know about the old plantation owners, the founders of Coca-Cola, the sports stars and the CNN news people. An odd bunch, sure, but you never knew when the founders of Coca-Cola might turn around and try to eat you (monsters really were everywhere.)

“Uh, so Esther,” Percy said the second she paused to catch a breath. “Here’s a hard question for you. Salt water in Atlanta. What’s the first thing that comes to mind?”

“Oh, sugar, that’s easy,” her amused chuckle made Kit uneasy. “Whale sharks!”

“Whale sharks,” he whispered, rounding on Percy and Frank in horror. Both boys had taken the window seats before Kit could call dibs, cramming him in between them like the forgotten middle child who they took turns to elbow when going around the corners. “Did she just say whale sharks?”

“You have whale sharks in Atlanta?” Frank asked while anxiously scratching at his head.

Esther nodded like they were discussing the weather. “At the aquarium, sugar. They’re very famous! Right downtown. Is that where you want to go?”

“Yes,” Percy answered before Kit could scream ‘no!’ and throw himself out of the moving vehicle. He definitely thought about it (and he’d wish he did it later on, that’s for sure.) “That’s where we’re going.”

Unfortunately, their car ride ended quickly after that. Kit was given no choice but to chase after Frank to the main entrance with Percy following close behind him -- probably to make sure he wouldn’t flee, not that Kit had thought about it… much. 

Esther, being the angel she was, insisted on giving them her cell phone number for emergencies, as well as a stack of cash for a taxi ride back to the Carter Center and a jar of homemade peach preserves she’d been keeping in her trunk ‘for a rainy day.’ With one last wave out of her window, she disappeared back the way she came, her black Cadillac ruthlessly parting the traffic. They watched her go in amazement. Had that really just happened?

“Are all people in Atlanta that nice?” Frank asked as he stuck the jar of peach preserves in his backpack for safe-keeping.

“I hope not,” Hedge grimaced. “I can’t fight them if they’re nice.”

“How chivalrous of you,” Kit scoffed.

Ignoring him, Hedge said, “Let’s go beat up some whale sharks. Now they sound dangerous!”

They didn’t get very far with the long line weaving out the door and down the sidewalk. Percy took in the scene with a weary sigh. “Well, I guess we wait in line. Anybody have money?”

“We have to pay to go on quests now?” was Kit’s reply.

Percy merely shook his head at him, thankfully deciding not to retort as Frank dutifully checked his pockets and answered Percy. “Four denarii from Camp Jupiter. Five dollars Canadian.”

Hedge handed the son of Mars his bat then patted down his gym shorts. “Aha! Three quarters, two dimes and a rubber band -- oh! Score! And a piece of celery.”

Much to Kit’s disgust, he started munching on the mouldy celery and eyeing the rubber band like it might be next. The three of them turned to Kit next.

“What?” he said, arms crossed over his chest. “I’m poor right now! It’s not like I can find part-time work when I’m living on a giant warship travelling out of the country!”

“Great,” Percy sighed.

“Why don’t we just wait a bit then break in--”

“Ah! VIP Visitors!” Kit yelped in terror, his admittedly illegal plan having been as a beaming woman dressed in a blue-and-green Georgia Aquarium shirt snuck up behind him. Her name tag read KATE, but Kit was too busy taking in her frizzy black pigtails, thick-rimmed glasses and chunky metal braces to pay attention to her name. She reminded him weirdly of a schoolgirl nerd but… well, in her twenties. It freaked him out. Something wasn’t right about her from the moment he laid eyes on her. 

“You have your payment, I see,” she continued with an eager clap of her hands. “Excellent!”

“What?” Percy frowned, but Kate was already scooping the four denarii out of Frank’s outstretched hand and pocketing them.

“Right this way!” she beamed before trotting back towards the main entrance.

“A trap?” Percy turned to gauge the rest of their reactions.

“Probably,” Frank mumbled.

“Coach, use your sniffer and tell us if she’s a monster or not,” Kit demanded while craning his neck to follow Kate’s figure through the crowd. She looked like a grown woman playing dress-up and yet not a single person spared her a second glance. Odd. Most definitely suspicious. 

“She’s not mortal,” Hedge confirmed as he, on this rare occasion, actually listened to Kit and sniffed the air. “Probably some sort of goat-eating, demigod-destroying fiend from Tartarus.”

“No doubt,” Percy agreed with a solemn nod.

“Our favourite kind of fiend from Tartarus,” Kit added.

“Awesome,” Hedge grinned, having to hold himself back from sprinting after Kate-the not-so-human-tour-guide. “Let’s go!”

Kate got them past the ticket queue and into the aquarium with no problem. Kit heard a few mortals mutter to themselves in annoyance but otherwise nobody protested their special treatment. 

“Right this way,” Kate stared over her shoulder at Percy with gleaming eyes. “It’s a wonderful exhibit. You won't be disappointed. So rare we get VIPs.”

“Something tells me we will be disappointed, but okay,” Kit muttered, impassively gazing at the large tanks that surrounded them. There was nothing that really stood out to him at first, just a whole lot of water and sea creatures of various shapes, sizes and species. Their captivity seemed to trouble Percy, but when didn’t something bother the Jackson boy? 

“VIPs,” Frank echoed, his brows furrowed. “Uh, do you mean demigods?”

Giggling to herself, Kate winked at him and put a finger to her mouth. She didn’t verbally answer his question, instead she began to gesture around the aquarium, playing the part of a pretty average tour guide who had no real interest in her job. “So over here is the cold-water experience, with your penguins and beluga whales and whatnot. And over there… Well, those are some fish, obviously.”

“Really? Those are fish?” Kit gasped, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “No way! Who would’ve thought?”

They passed one huge tank full of tropical species and when Frank pointed to a particular fish and asked what it was, Kate said, “Oh, those are the yellow ones.”

Kit took one look at Frank’s face and snorted.

On their way to the next room which, shockingly, was also lined with large water tanks, they passed what looked to be the gift shop. Despite Kit impatiently nudging him in the ribs to urge him along, Frank slowed down to check out a clearance table with clothes and toys scattered on top of it.

“Frank, we do not have the time to window shop right now,” he hissed.

Unfortunately, Kate just happened to overhear him. Probably with her monsterous super hearing, Kit thought grimly, watching her descend with her metal braces chomping in their direction like a mouse trap ready to snap shut.

“Please,” she was saying, batting her eyelashes at them both for good measure. “Take what you want.”

“No thanks,” Kit shook his head.

Frank, on the other hand, visibly hesitated. Rooky mistake. “Really?”

“Of course,” she insisted, as if this should’ve been obvious. “You’re a VIP.”

Quickly, before he could change his mind, Frank stuffed a pile of t-shirts into his backpack and shouldered it again. A sheepish smile spread across his face when he turned back around and found both Percy and Kit, side-by-side, blinking at him. 

“Dude,” said Percy. “What are you doing?”

“She said I could,” he hissed with a defensive shrug of his shoulders. “Besides, I need more clothes. I didn’t pack for a long trip!”

Kit scoffed. “What, you thought this would be easy or something?”

Frank, with his sheepish smile still in place, snatched up a snow globe to add to his collection of Georgia Aquarium merch. Then he picked up a braided cylinder about the size of a candy bar, holding it up to the light. “What is this?”

“Chinese handcuffs,” Kit said.

Just like that, Frank’s smile dropped. “How is this Chinese!?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, holding up his hands in a surrendering gesture. “I didn’t make them. That’s just what they’re called.”

“It’s like a gag gift,” Percy explained when Frank continued to look confused. As Kate called out for them to hurry up -- which didn’t seem so tour guide-y of her, if Kit did say so himself -- Frank quickly pocketed the handcuffs, encouraged by Percy promising to show him how they worked later.

They passed through a tunnel with various fish swimming over their heads. Vaguely, Kit felt like the walls were beginning to close in on him, the water slowly descending to swallow him whole. Not soon enough, they emerged into yet another viewing room, this one bathed in bright blue light. Holding up a hand to shield his eyes, Kit squinted at the seemingly never-ending aquarium tank housing two large, spotted sharks. They were bigger than two Kits put together, maybe even three Percys. They moved slowly, pale eyes staring blankly through the glass, their mouths wide open with fleshy pink gums.

“Whale sharks,” Hedge gasped, then deliberately bared his teeth at the toothless animals. “Now we shall battle to the death!” 

Percy regarded Kit with a look, only having to mutter his name for Kit to sigh and, with a mumbled ‘on it’, latch onto the back of the satyr’s shirt to drag him away from the tanks. 

“Hey! Unhand me, Dempsey! I’ll fight you--”

A giggling Kate emerged from behind the tank with a strange, placid smile. “Oh, you silly satyr. Whale sharks are peaceful. They only eat plankton.”

Kit felt his stomach dip like they were standing on the edge of the Argo II. Just like that, his hand slipped from the back of Hedge’s shirt. He watched Kate with visible wariness, slowly nudging Hedge forward in case her spine-chilling giggling suddenly went violent. 

Obliviously, the satyr had continued on with disgust. “Peaceful sharks!? What’s the point of that?”

Frank wandered over to read the plaque next to the tank. “The only whale sharks in captivity in the world. Huh. That’s kind of amazing.”

Percy’s nose scrunched up at that.

“Yes, and these ones are small,” Kate was busy boasting. “You should see some of my other babies out in the wild.”

Kit paused again, repeating, “Your babies?”

Kate’s smile was so sweet that it was almost sickening. Kit was pretty sure he didn’t want to meet any of her children anytime soon, lest he end up being one of their snacks.

“So, Kate,” Percy said, deciding -- thank the Gods -- that it was time to get to the point. “We’re looking for a guy -- I mean… a God, named Phorcys.” The name seemed to echo off the aquarium tank walls, ringing ominously in their ears. “Would you happen to know him?”

Kate laughed so hard she snorted. “Know him? He’s my brother.”

“Huh,” said Kit, tilting his head to the side. “You can sure see the resemblance.”

He was quickly silenced by Frank returning his sharp nudge to the ribs, but thankfully Kate didn’t seem to hear him as she continued prattling on. “That’s where we’re going, sillies. The real exhibits are right through here.”

“Real?” he exclaimed. “So these whales are just the opening act?”

Was it too late to turn back?

Nodding wickedly, Kate gestured to the wall that was furthest from them. The solid black surface rippled like flowing silk, slowly beginning to form the outlines of another tunnel that lead through to a luminous purple tank. Kit tried (and failed) to hang back as Kate strolled inside and the others slowly followed. 

Almost as soon as they entered, Coach Hedge whistled to himself. “Now that’s interesting.”

Gliding above them was a cluster of rainbow-hued jellyfish the size of mini trucks, each with hundreds of fleshy tentacles lined with what looked like barbed wire. One of the jellyfish had a paralysed ten-foot-long swordfish tangled in its grasp, throwing it around like a dog with a chew toy. 

“Oh,” Kit gulped.

Kate beamed at Coach Hedge, who had gone silent for once. “You see? Forget the whale sharks! And there’s much more.”

More. Yay.

She led them into an even larger chamber. On one of the walls, a glowing red sign proclaimed: DEATH IN THE DEEP SEAS! Sponsored, of course, by Monster Donut. Because who else would sponsor such a thing?

Percy had to blink at the sign a few times to make sense of it. “Monster donut?”

“Oh, yes,” Kate nodded. “One of our corporate sponsors.”

The name went right over Kit’s head (as most things did), but Percy went pale, gulping like Kate had just promised him a lifetime of pain and suffering. Kate moved them on once again; in one aquarium, a dozen hippocampi drifted aimlessly. The sight of them brought Percy a fleeting moment of relief. He tried to speak with them, looking out of his mind to Kit, but they just floated around and occasionally bumped their heads against the glass. Next to them, Kit wandered up to a smaller tank containing two sea spirits. Their long green hair floated like bits of chopped seaweed around their faces. They blinked their heavy-lidded eyes down at fans of playing cards, participating in what looked to be a very slow (and placid) game of Go Fish. 

“This isn’t right,” Percy muttered to himself. He turned to glare at Kate. “How can you keep them here?”

“I know,” sighed Kate, shaking her head while admiring her reflection in the speckled glass of another nearby tank. “They aren’t very interesting, are they? We tried to teach them some tricks, but with no luck, I’m afraid.”

Kit raised an eyebrow at that, catching Percy’s furious gaze before he forced his expression into something neutral again. Tricks. Kate made them sound like circus animals, something to be ogled at. It was actually kind of disgusting.

“Come,” she hurried them along with a flick of her wrist. “I think you’ll like this tank over here much better.”

When he spotted the next sea creatures, Hedge let out a gasp and sprinted ahead of them to press his face up as close to the glass as he could get. “Holy mother of goats! Look at these beauties!”

Kate was smiling at his back like an indulgent parent. Kit planted himself next to her, skin prickling at the proximity, as he too gawked at the creatures. Two thirty-foot-long sea serpents floated in the water. Their curling tails glowed with glittering blue scales and Kit had no doubt their hinged jaws could have ripped a whale shark into pieces. Next, they moved onto a squid the size of an eighteen-wheeler, then a dozen humanoid creatures with sleek seal-like bodies, doglike features and wrinkled human hands. They came to a stop in front of them.

“Are those--?”

“Telkhines,” said Kit without thinking. He tucked his fists into his pocket, jaw locked in a firm line. He recognised them.

“Yes,” Kate confirmed, grazing her four-eyed stare across Kit’s face before turning to Percy, who had originally asked the question. “They’re the only ones in captivity.”

“But they fought for Kronos in the last war,” Percy pointed out. “They’re dangerous.”

Kate rolled her eyes at him. “Well, we couldn’t call it ‘Death in the Deep Seas’ if these exhibits weren’t dangerous. But don’t worry. We keep them all sedated.”

Kit was beginning to wonder what the ‘death’ part of this exhibit would entail. He couldn’t look away from the telkhines. Their twisting human hands shifting through the sand at the bottom of the tank made his stomach sink like a stone. Bile rose to the back of his throat before being forced back down. His throat bobbed. Frank gaped at him like he was worried Kit would do something stupid (he was catching on quick!)

“Sedated?” he repeated. “But isn’t that illegal?”

Kate appeared not to have heard him. Thankfully, she lead them away from the telkhines, narrating the rest of the exhibits as she went. Each began to look more dangerous than the last and most of what she said went in one ear and out the other. Kit only paid attention again when Frank yelped and accidentally stumbled back onto his foot.

“Demigods?” he cried.

“Ow!” Kit glared at him.

“Sorry!”

“Yes, but they will eat whales or small boats too,” Kate answered Frank, then glanced at Percy and blushed. It was all very theatrical. “Sorry, I’m such a monster nerd. I’m sure you know all this, being the son of Poseidon.”

Red flags were popping up like landmines in a minefield. He flicked his gaze to Percy briefly, watching as the metaphorical alarm bells ran in his head like piercing sirens. Kate knew far too much. They were aware of this already; yet slowly but surely, she pieced together their lives with striking accuracy. Almost like she had known they were coming, the four of them individually.

“Who are you?” Percy demanded.

He was quickly backed up by Kit. “What are you?”

“Does Kate stand for something?”

“Kate?” She blinked then barked out a laugh. “Oh! No, it’s--”

“Hello!”

At once, the foursome flinched and whirled around in varying degrees of panic. Kit sized up the newcomer with careful precision. He was a smaller man, walking sideways like a crab, back hunched until his shoulders touched his ears. He wore a wetsuit, perhaps worst of all, that clung to bits of him Kit would’ve preferred not to see. The wetsuit was snot green with glitter on the chest. Printed in a large block font were two words that seemed to clash on the tongue. Porky’s Follies. What the…?

“Visitors,” the strange man beamed. His milky blue eyes were barely visible beneath wiry eyebrows. Kit clapped his hands over his ears as the man’s voice screeched into a microphone strapped to his head. “Welcome to Phorcys’ Follies!”

To Kit’s horror, the man swept his arms out on either side of them, striking a final pose and holding it. Through eyes squinted up from a full-body cringe, he watched the carnage unfold. Nothing happened. The man took the empty silence to heart, stomping his foot and dropping his stubby arms.

“Curse it. Telkhines, that’s your cue! I wave my hands, you leap energetically in your tank, do a synchronised double spin, then you land in pyramid formation. We practised this!”

Naturally, the telkhines gave no response. They didn’t even look at him.

As the man fussed around, Hedge leaned forward to cop a good look (and sniff) of his wetsuit. Kit and Frank eyed each other, somewhat concerned how this interaction would go.

“Nice outfit,” remarked Hedge. 

He wasn’t joking.

“Thank you,” the man cooed. “I am Phorcys.”

Frank shifted his weight from foot to foot. The sight of him reminded Kit of an unsteady bear navigating rocky terrain. “Why does your suit say Porky?”

Phorcys snarled at the question, revealing a row of pale white teeth. They looked… inhuman. Like a fresh canvas free from blemishes, the colour had been leached from his teeth and put into his wetsuit instead.

Kate tapped her name tag, shrugging her thin shoulders. “I told them my name was Keto. They misspelt it as Kate. My brother… Well, now he’s Porky.”

“I am not,” Phorcys growled. “I’m not even a little Porky.”

The corner of Kit’s mouth struggled against the curve of a smirk. He instead tried his best to focus on the obvious differences between the two siblings. There was a slight resemblance in the oily sheen of their skin but Kit could connect nothing else between them. Phorcys was short and wide where Keto was thin and bony. Both had dark hair but Phorcys’ was slick with grime and Keto’s hung like limp straw pulled into a heap by ribbons.

“That name doesn’t work with Follies either,” Phorcys continued his rant. “What kind of show is called Porky’s Follies? But you folks don’t want to hear us complain. Behold, the wondrous majesty of the giant killer squid!”

This time, fireworks shot off as he gestured with wild movements at the squid tank. Gold glitter fanned out in a cloud, clinging to every clean surface it could find. Music thrummed through the loudspeakers above their heads. The lights brightened and began to flash, revealing the innards of the squid’s seemingly empty tank. Kit caught a flash of the squid’s retreating body before it disappeared into its cave and chuckled to himself.

“Curse it,” Phorcys yelled once again. “Keto, training the squid was your job! Juggling, I said. Maybe a bit of flesh-rending for the finale. Is that too much to ask?”

“He’s shy,” Keto protested with a hard edge to her voice. “Besides, each of his tentacles has sixty-two razorlike barbs that have to be sharpened daily. Did you know the monstrous squid is the only beast known to eat demigods whole, armour and all, without getting indigestion?”

“I didn’t know,” Kit mumbled, swallowing around the breath lodged in his throat.

“Keto!” Phorcys snapped. “You’ll bore our guests with so much information. Less education, more entertainment. We’ve discussed this already!”

Keto pouted. “But--”

“No buts! We’re here to present ‘Death in the Deep Seas.’ Sponsored by Monster Donut.”

The last words echoed off the walls and were swallowed whole by the maze of tanks. Lights continued to flash out of sync with the thumping music. Smoke clouds billowed from the floor like fog, making donut-shaped rings that smelled… like real donuts?

“Available at the concession stand,” Phorcys’ grin was puffed up with pride. “But you’ve spent your hard-earned Denarii to get the VIP tour, and so you’re going to! Come with me.”

Percy’s arm shot forward, his hand raised. “Um, hold it.”

Phorcys’ smile melted like ice cream. It formed a puddle at his feet, casting him in shadows that Percy braved facing.

“Yes?” 

“You’re a sea God, aren’t you? Son of Gaea?”

Phorcys let out a sigh. “Five thousand years and I’m still known as Gaea’s little boy. Never mind that I’m one of the oldest sea Gods in existence. Older than your upstart father, by the way. I’m God of the hidden depths. Lord of water terrors! Father of a thousand monsters! But nooo… nobody even knows me. I make one little mistake supporting the Titans in their war and I’m exiled from the ocean — to Atlanta, of all places!”

Phorcys’ speech must’ve taken a lot out of him. By the end, he was huffing and puffing like the wolf ready to blow the little piggy’s house down. Keto patted his back sympathetically. “We thought the Olympians said Atlantis. Their idea of a joke, I guess, was to send us here instead.”

“And you’re a Goddess?” Percy asked her, clearly bemused.

She smiled happily. “Keto, yes! Goddess of sea monsters, naturally. Also whales, sharks, squids and other giant sea life, but my heart always belonged to the monsters. Did you know that young sea serpents can regurgitate the flesh of their victims and keep themselves fed for up to six years on the same meal? It’s true!”

Frank’s hands clutched his stomach like he was going to be sick. Kit clapped him on the back in what was meant to be a soothing gesture but translated as if he was trying to dislodge food stuck in his windpipe. He was unsure, really, what else to do. Frank looked ready to puke on Phorcys’ snotty wetsuit.

Hedge whistled. “Six years? That’s fascinating.”

Fascinating. That was one word for it.

“I know,” Keto giggled.

“And how exactly does a killer squid rend the flesh from its victims? I love nature.”

“Oh, well--”

“Stop!” Phorcys had gone red in the face. Spit flew from his mouth, crusting on his lips like sea spray. “You’re ruining the show! Now, witness our Nereid gladiators fight to the death!”

With Keto pouting in the background at the interruption, a mirrored disco ball descended from the ceiling above the Nereid exhibit. Kit craned his head to judge the two swords that had fallen to the bottom, sticking out of the sand like toothpicks. The Nereids ignored them and kept playing Go Fish.

“Curse it,” Phorcys howled.

Keto sighed apologetically. She was standing right beside Hedge now. He didn’t seem all that bothered. Kit, suspicious, edged closer as she spoke. “Don’t mind Porky. He’s such a windbag. Come with me, my fine satyr. I’ll show you full-colour diagrams of the monsters’ hunting habits.”

“Excellent!”

Percy opened his mouth to object but Keto was already attempting to usher Hedge back through the maze of tanks further away from them. Kit, the nearest of the group, was quick to jog after them, dodging Phorcys’ murky form and throwing his arm around a suddenly disgruntled Hedge’s shoulders.

“I just love full-colour diagrams of monster hunting habits. Real useful information, y’know?” He flashed a smile at Keto. “Lead the way.”

Keto gritted her teeth and forced a nod, conscious of Hedge’s presence between them. “Of course. The more the merrier.”

“I agree,” Kit nodded solemnly.

Still, he was quick to tune her out as Hedge smacked his arm off his shoulder, walking a few steps ahead where he got to properly admire the stadium seating. For the next several minutes, Kit was busy searching for the exits. Surely there was a fire escape or… or something! How did they even get these creatures into the aquarium? Surely not just through the front door. Kit could sense a fight brewing with every minute they spent away from Percy and Frank, who had gotten stuck back with Phorcys. He needed that exit, pronto!

“Dempsey,” Hedge barked at him from several feet away. “Hey! Dempsey!”

Kit whirled around, caught with the door to a disappointing supply cupboard propped open in his hand. “Huh?”

“Looking for something?” Keto’s smile stretched flat across her face. She appeared by his side in an instant, hooking a surprisingly strong arm through his to guide (drag) him away. “You don’t want to leave already, do you?”

Yes! Yes, please Gods, get me out of here, he thought.

“No! Of course not,” was what he said. “I just love me some Death in the Deep Seas. I was hoping there’d be more.”

Much to his disbelief, Keto believed him. “Alas, we’re yet to expand on the Death in the Deep Seas exhibit. Although, we are working on capturing a flesh-eating turtle that would make a great addition to the--”

Blah blah blah. Kit was no longer listening. Keto’s grip on his arm had tightened to the point he could barely feel it. His skin prickled with the sensation of pins and needles. Just when he thought she’d try to rip his shoulder from its socket, Hedge let out a yelp.

“Gods of Olympus, what is that!?”

Keto’s head snapped in the direction he was pointing. For a split second, she loosened her grip on Kit’s arm. Kit didn’t hesitate. Gripping her wrist, he mustered every bit of strength he had and judo-flipped Keto onto her back. She landed with a crash, flopping around like a fish. Hedge promptly took off his fake foot and ninja-kicked her in the back of the head with his goat hoof. She went out like a light.

“Excellent teamwork, Coach,” Kit smirked but Hedge was already sprinting away from him.

“Not the time, Dempsey!”

“Wha -- oh. Shit.”

One of the empty tanks they’d passed in Keto’s tour was now occupied. Percy banged his fists against the glass being circled by a… was that a koi fish? Kit shook his head. That aside, the tank had filled up with water. Percy was alright for the time being, but even a demigod son of Poseidon could only hold his breath for so long.

“What are you doing in there, Jackson?” Hedge asked.

Kit rolled his eyes. “He can’t answer you, Coach.”

Percy didn’t even seem to notice. He was mouthing something to them. Break it.

Hedge ignored him. “Where’s Frank?”

Kit hadn’t thought of that.

Percy pointed at the giant koi swimming behind him. Kit couldn’t even begin to comprehend that his brother the koi fish was waving his left dorsal fin at them. All of a sudden, Percy’s face slackened and he pointed frantically behind them. Kit turned to see Keto scrambling to her feet.

“This bitch,” he sighed.

Seemingly agreeing with the sentiment, Hedge shook his leg like he was warming up his kicking hoof, but Percy waved his arms in firm disagreement. They couldn’t keep whopping a Goddess on the head forever. She’d only stay down for so long and they needed to act quickly to free Percy and Frank from their new home.

“Focus on getting them out of there, Coach,” Kit told the satyr. “I can handle the Fish Goddess.”

Hedge didn’t need much convincing to sit out of this particular fight. While he turned back to the tank, communicating with Percy through one-sided shouts and over dramatic hand gestures, Kit stalked towards Keto.

“You can’t mess with the exhibits,” she cried, snarling as he plucked a dagger from his boot.

“I’m about to gut you like one of your children, lady.”

Letting out a war cry, Keto dropped to a crab crouch and launched her arms around his middle. Kit’s back skidded across the floor as they went flying in a mess of limbs. Keto’s fingers wrapped around his neck. She screeched as he slashed his dagger against her shoulder. It was all very juvenile. Kit had fought better toddlers.

He heard glass splitting before water exploded everywhere. Keto looked up, frozen, as a life-size statue of a diver body-slammed into her. Bye bye, Fish Goddess. 

Kit sat up, soaked to the bone, taking in the shitshow. Percy had been sucked out in a torrent of water, spinning around in a daze. Frank was tangled in a clump of plastic seaweed. Hedge had gone flying but was now trying to eat the large decorative marbles that had lined the bottom of the tank.

“Pan’s pipes, Jackson!” he exclaimed through loud crunching chomps. “What were you doing in there?”

“Phorcys,” came Percy’s breathless reply. “Trap. Run!”

Kit didn’t need to be told twice.

Like drenched rats emerging from the sewers, they booked it for the only exit just as alarms started to shriek.