“Kit, hurry! The ship’s going down!” Arte shouted from below as Kit continued climbing to the roof of the cabin. They didn’t respond, too focused on the task at hand. The sounds of beams splintering, the pop of lines breaking, was almost constant. There was very little time left.

The boards beneath Kit snapped and they narrowly avoided falling through, clinging for dear life to the remaining wood and climbing back up. The jolt left them shaken, panting and afraid. Splinters dug into their fingertips as they crawled their way onto the damaged roof. It wasn’t the least bit sturdy, buckling dangerously beneath their feet; they would have to act fast.

“Jamil!” Cupping their hands around their mouth, Kit called out to no avail. The Beast didn’t seem to hear. They called again, louder, and this time they got its attention. Staring them down, it didn’t move.

“Jamil, come back! This isn’t you!” Kit cried, and they could feel their power bubbling up inside them like carbonation. With the Beast watching them, they began to glow.

Immediately the Beast screamed at Kit so loudly their eardrums buzzed and it charged forward. The sudden rush of wind almost pushed them over but they stood their ground, fists clenched in defiance. It was in front of them now, black eyes burning into them, but they were not afraid. Slowly, Kit extended their shimmering hands toward it. To their surprise, its eyes shifted to blue and it touched its beak to their hands.

Right away Kit was bombarded with flashes of thoughts and overwhelming pain. They could feel Jamil in there, weak and alone and scared, but there was another consciousness with him. Something incredibly powerful, loyal, and terribly sad. Was this…? Kit gasped as a single word danced through their mind.

“Zaszi…?” They spoke aloud, and the Beast growled in response. “Is your name Zaszi?” Before they could get an answer the last few beams holding the ship together shattered and suddenly the ocean was rushing up to meet them. For a split second they seemed to float there in the air and Kit saw panic in the Beast’s…no, in Zaszi’s eyes. Then everything crashed down into the water.

It was chaos. Kit couldn’t tell which way was up as they were tossed around by the turbulent water and debris. Flailing their limbs, they tried desperately to grab onto something, anything to keep them above the surface. The broken bones of Seafire Sally churned the icy waters into a deadly whirlpool, sucking everything down into the depths. Kit tried to swim but the pull from below was simply too powerful. The water pushed them away from the wreckage, carrying them to who knows where. Water filled their mouth and stung their nose, the oxygen in their lungs depleting.

Real panic overtook Kit then as a new feeling of hopelessness set in. There was no way out of this. The ship was destroyed, Jamil and Arte gone. Trying to summon their powers did nothing. Fireworks exploded in their mind as their lungs screamed for air, every inch of their body throbbing. The drowning dream made sense now.

Kit closed their eyes. It felt like the correct thing to do. The pain and the cold were fading, and they began to feel as though they were floating on a cloud. If this was dying, they wondered what all the fuss was about. It wasn’t that bad.

A ringing started in their ears as the welcoming darkness surrounded them, growing steadily louder as if approaching from very far away. Soon the ringing filled Kit’s head like a school bell, fuchsia light shining through their eyelids. It felt warm and familiar, like their favorite blanket. Soft hands gently held either side of Kit’s face and they opened their eyes, but all they could see was the light.

“Now is not the time to give up, my child.” Kit had never heard such a melodious voice, yet they knew right away it belonged to the pink lady from their dream.

“N-Nona…?” Immediately Kit wanted to cry when they felt the Goddess’s arms encircle them.

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“Your journey does not end here, child.” Her gentle voice was like a cool breeze on a hot day, and the hopelessness in Kit’s heart began to fade.

“Nona…” They felt as though they were meeting her for the first time yet had known her for their whole life. “Please…I-I can’t do this…”

“You can and you shall. Your power is great, even greater than my own.” As Nona spoke of it, the power within Kit stirred as though responding to the Goddess. They felt it build, pressing on their soul from the inside. The now-familiar tingling broke out all across their skin and Kit got an intense feeling of being flipped upside down before their light exploded out of them.

All traces of cold and fatigue vanished and Kit suddenly felt alert and strong, their power surging within them like electricity. Opening their eyes now, Kit saw they were still underwater, surrounded by their glow. It acted like a sort of force field, keeping the water away. Nona was nowhere to be seen, yet Kit could feel her presence.

“Nona?” They called, looking around. An unseen hand touched their shoulder.

“I am with you, child. Even when I am not.”

“I can’t see you.”

“I must remain hidden. I am projecting my consciousness to you.”

“Where are you?” Kit squinted through the halo of their light but only saw darkness beyond. Where even were they? “What am I supposed to do?”

“Find me, child. Find the Hiding Place, where Vendic cannot reach. Find it, and come.” Something struck the outside of Kit’s light barrier and Nona made a soft sound of distress; outside the light, Kit could just barely make out the impossibly large shadow swimming away. “I will see you safely to shore but I will be unable to assist you beyond that. Vendic must remain ignorant of you, child, and my power will only attract his attention.” Nona’s presence began to recede and Kit grabbed at nothing, but for just a moment they thought they felt the silky ghost of fine fabric sliding through their fingers.

“Wait! Don’t go, please! I-I don’t want to be alone!” They wailed, and again they felt Nona’s hand on their cheek.

“You are not alone, Kit. You are never alone. Trust in your friends and do not fear.” As suddenly as she had appeared Nona was gone, leaving behind a warm feeling that permeated Kit’s entire being even as the cold of the water began to seep back in. Just as she promised, the Goddess’s light infused with Kit’s and they found themself able to glide through the water as if they were flying. They were still confused, still had so many questions, but for now they had to get to safety.

Aiming skyward, they soared up through the water. For several long minutes they passed through nothing but gradually lessening darkness until they finally broke the surface. Rising high into the air, Kit looked all around but only saw water in every direction. There was no evidence of the shipwreck, no debris floating on the surface anywhere, nothing. How far off course had they ended up? Floating even higher, they could just make out a shape in the distance if they squinted. It might be Mystibel, might very well be something else entirely, but Kit headed for it anyway.

There was no sign of anyone, not Jamil or Arte or any of the other passengers. Kit flew for what felt like an eternity, their eyes never stopping scanning for their friends, ignoring the sinking feeling that was growing in their gut. Nona had said to trust in their friends, so they had to believe they were still alive. That was just going to have to be good enough for now.

Nona’s extra energy began to wane as Kit approached their destination, a huge crescent-shaped island densely edged with forest, and by the time they reached its rocky shore they were running on empty. Fatigue crashed over them as they sank to their knees, their own power fading so fast it left them dizzy. Black spots danced in their field of vision and they fell face-first into the sand. Their heartbeat was drumming in their ears and they were overcome with an intense need to sleep. Their eyes slid closed.

“Hey! Hey, are you okay?” A concerned voice drifted in on the breeze, but maybe they just imagined it. It didn’t even sound real, more like an old out-of-tune radio. Cracking one eye open, Kit saw the blurry form of someone running toward them, someone with big heavy steps that rumbled through the sand. Their eye closed again as the coolness of the approaching shadow fell across them, and they thought they could smell smoke from a wood fire as consciousness left them entirely.

~