Thunder rumbled through the grey clouds as the downpour worsened. Lightning streaked past. The waters splashed heavily, turmolous as they tossed the vessel about.
Ada held onto the railing, the nipping wind holding her captive. The waves rose up again, she ducked slightly, narrowly missing the onslaught of blue-green water. She stood on shaky legs, moving as fast as possible away from the railings as the ship began to tilt dangerously to the right.
"Jane, come on." Cain shouted from where he stood with the others at the main mast, they all held it tightly, almost loosing their grip with the erratic shaking of the ship and the sloshing water below them. Ada creeped forward, her back flat on the wall of the upper deck. Her heart thundered loud in its cage, mixing with the turmoil of chaos around them. She slipped, her heart in her throat. She wracked, her hands flailing as the ship tipped to the left.
She felt a hand grab onto her, jerking her out of her panicked state. She gulped looking up to see a grey haired man holding her tightly while he still held them both to the mast. The hostage's memories revealed that the man was her father. Her body trembled as the man pulled her in, allowing her to be once again among the huddle.
By doing so, he lost his grip slightly. He fell away, his hands leaving the wooden surface of the mast. Ada reached out to hold onto the man's hand, as the ship tipped again, the sea eagerly waiting for his arrival. She grabbed him, his large hands clamped around hers. The man's green eyes met Ada's now blue ones, they teared up as she tried to tighten her grip.
"It's not worth it." The memories of the hostage pulsed with a love that Ada hadn't experienced, although the Woman was considered by all the girls as their mother, she was more creator than a mother. An ethereal being that created them but couldn't show care since after her work she would be imprisoned once again by the tribunal.
"I'll be lost without you." The conscious of the hostage said, revealing that Ada was losing control. Her vision erupted with spots.
"Of course you won't my love, I can't find you. Only you can find yourself." He whispered, before jerking out of her grip. The conscious of the hostage screamed as the man fell. The ship stabilized, throwing them all to the floor.
"The kraken has returned!" A long tentacle came out of the depths of the sea, hitting against the mast. It shuddered, tilting away as it fell through the upper deck. Dust billowed up, mixing with the intense rain.
Its grey scales bulged and pulsed. It's eyes glowed, casting a shadow against the ship in its terrifying wake. Another snake like tentacle rained down on the upper deck, splinters of wood smashed, water filling into the ship as the monster roared.
Ada watched the erractic movements of its elongated tentacles. It swamped against the sea, swatting it as ripples of waters crashed against it. They shook along, falling over.
"The jewel!" Dawn suddenly gasped as the tentacle slammed into the fore mast before it fell into the sea. They jumped as the tentacle swept past them.
"I heard that the krakens in this waters are guardians of the jewel we saw by the beach side yesterday," he said quickly as a bolt of lightning broke through the sky, distracting the kraken.
"I had always thought it was a myth. Anyway, I think it wants the jewel. Look at it's forehead." Dawn pointed, they saw a red jewel at the middle of its forehead, similar to what they had found.
"So someone just needs to row away on one of the row boats with the jewel then that would lead the kraken away." Dawn spoke, running a hand through his matted brown hair.
"But that would be a straight death sentence." Cain yelled.
"Then what would you rather have of us do wise one?" Dawn hissed, Ada seperated the two advancing males from each other.
"I'll go." Ada said. Cain drew her back, his eyes holding a pleading glint.
"No, you can't do this. You can't possibly be the one." Ada took the sadness that immersed itself in his eyes. The thunder and lightning continued their work, seemingly distracting the kraken for the time being. It dawned on her once again, if she did this in this body and died, Jane would also die along with her. She couldn't bring anymore harm.
She wasn't sure entirely whether she could float around this realm with only her conscious. The blood on her hands flashed to mind as she remembered the horrors of the isle of the lost, she shook her head. She needed to find herself, only she could.
The tribunal could not truly deem her as lost if she found herself.
Look to the core of the sea, there you will find new life.
She concentrated, tuning the racket out as she concentrated on the beating of her heart. Look past the blood, look past the mistakes, look past the tribunal and their deceptive rules and hypocrisy, there you will find your core in which beats with a new life. Her conscious crawled out.
It crystallized, black tendrils twisting around each other. Her body fully formed and she opened her eyes. The kraken was already slamming into the mizzenmast by her left.
"Dawn, give me the jewel!" The man furrowed his brows. Despite that, he threw it to her. She caught it easily. An identical jewel in hand, she began running across the railing. The monster lost its focus and its eyes trailed after her. She ran up to the side of the ship, the accumulated skills from all the other hostages melding to one. She walked up the bowsprit, her bare feet firm as water soaked her loose tunic.
The kraken whirled, a tentacle slapping the bowsprit. It broke, the surrounding water feeling the effect. She used what had been stowed away from Luna's magic, allowing her to stand on water. The black tendrils ripped through her blood, making her figure distort slightly. The krakens eyes glistened. She ran.
The kraken sped behind her, tentacles flailing, resurrecting shudders of waves. Her body shimmered, tendrils shifting as she hazed in between. She made make shift daggers that hazed in and out like her body, she threw a few at its eye. The kraken roared, the daggers embedded in its target. She smiled, momentarily losing focus. An impending wave shadowed her in its wake.
The waters drenched her whole, pushing her downwards. She fell down, her eyes adjusting to the dimness. The instincts of Mei kicked in, her body already in motion as it began to propel her forward quickly. She held the jewel tightly as she continued to swim, her muscles ached.
She broke through, alternating between breathing and swimming as the monster gained on her. The frigid cold gripped her, her body unresponsive as her momentum began to lull. Dark spots ringed her vision with the blue of the mild rain. She began to sink, her body fell short as she tried to claw out of it. She opened her mouth, her lungs burning from the intake.
A slimy tentacle gripped her leg, jerking her out. She coughed, water sputtering from her lungs as she hung upside down. She shivered as the jewel fell into one of the tentacles grasp. It looked uglier and scaly in person, greenish hints embedded in the grey scales. The kraken narrowed its eyes, already opening its mouth. Instead, it flung her.
Cold air blew against her, her body flying like a projectile. She fell into the sea. She was scared of what would happen, still guilty of the crimes she had committed. She fell further down, bubbles following as the world darkened. She felt weariness crease her conscious, she had no idea what the goddesses would do. She felt a little light against the heavy burdens, happy that at
least she may have found herself. Whatever that meant.