The oblong creature stared at The Aegeusson with mysterious intent. It was the shape of an upside down vase with a completely black exterior, like a hole on the horizon. Its two bulbous eyes sat on the top half of the curved form and there was nothing on the flat end of the bottom. It simply stood floating on perfectly flat water with its level bottom. To Zalan, it looked like a black ghost with massive white eyes.

“What is that?” Zalan felt the need to whisper. The world was too quiet for regular volumes.

“A Thalassic Terror,” Captain Buttonwillow informed him, a serious tone in his voice.

It blinked out of existence and reappeared hundreds of feet closer to them. Zalan took a step back in shock. The Thalassic Terror could teleport. A faint sound of deep chimes rang over them, the only noise that came with its absurdly fast movement speed. Zalan swallowed hard.

“Create a perimeter around Rep and Zalan, keep them safe,” Captain Buttonwillow said, taking the spot between the Thalassic Terror and Rep and Zalan.

The others circled around them with varying degrees of fear. Magnolia looked ready for any fight. Rosemary kept throwing her glances between the creature above the water and her captain. Enzo looked absolutely terrified and Xavier tense. Zalan was surprised to see Nold join the perimeter to keep them safe. He stood closest to Zalan, a protective arm out to shield his student.

The Thalassic Terror warped closer, the deep toll ringing out. It was still several hundred feet away from them, but it watched with such a horrific intensity. Zalan wanted nothing more than for it to warp away. Everything about it made him feel like they shouldn’t be taking it on. The water below it was acting against physics. Its eyes never changed direction from staring at them. Zalan was trembling.

“How will it attack? How do we fight it?” Zalan asked.

“You need to keep as far away from it as you can,” Captain Buttonwillow informed him. “It will try to kidnap the two of you and then sink the ship.”

“Kidnap us?” Rep repeated.

“Us, specifically?” Zalan asked.

“Yes!” Captain Buttonwillow said firmly.

The monster warped closer, the toll clanging louder as it approached. Its wide eyes never once blinked, always scanning the boat. It waited for a few seconds, letting the chime ring out as the perimeter closed tighter around Rep and Zalan.

“It will try to envelop you in its body,” Nold said.

“You know about these monsters?” Zalan asked.

“Once it has captured you, it will no longer be able to warp. Instead it will try to slip away under the sea, safe from most Elemental attacks,” Nold finished.

Captain Buttonwillow nodded in corroboration.

“We might be able to keep up with you in the case that you are captured, but it would lead us to more dangerous waters. It would be best to scare it away rather than attempt to apprehend it,” the captain said.

“And how do we do that?” Zalan asked urgently.

The Thalassic Terror teleported even closer. Its eyes hovered somewhere between Rep, Zalan, and Captain Buttonwillow. Zalan felt the ringing sounded like a death toll now. An announcement for what was to come. The creature was only about five hundred feet away now. A few jumps from the ship with its movement speed.

“When it is right in front of the ship, we must blast it with all the Elemental might we have. Every one of us at full power. But we must strike at exactly the right moment. Too soon and it will easily dodge us by warping away. Too late and we will attack it when someone is trapped within its dark grip. But if we remain focused, a good attack will be enough to ward it off. Be prepared, we will strike soon,” Captain Buttonwillow said.

Zalan felt a little disturbed that Captain Buttonwillow didn’t even imply they would be able to injure it, only scare it away. He wondered if it was something like an Elemental and impossible to kill.

“But I do not understand why it would choose to kidnap either of the two of us. There are many on the ship,” Rep said suddenly. “What do we possess that it requires of us?”

The Thallasic Terror blinked closer. It loomed over them silently, looking down upon the boat, just about a hundred feet away. Its black figure blotted out the sun behind it and cast them in an eerie shade. The gong that came with the teleportation was like a clock tower right over them, loud enough to make the still water below it ripple ever so slightly.

“Be ready!” Captain Buttonwillow said bravely, the passengers all raised their hands tensely. The captain spoke quickly to answer Rep’s question. “It only wishes to kidnap the owners of the ship. No matter the circumstance, it knows precisely who the owners are. There is no hiding them. We do not know how it knows who the owner is, but it captures them in its flesh and leaves the rest. It will be completely disinterested by the rest of us, enough that we can act as a shield for you.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Rep and Zalan both widened their eyes in shock.

“Does it always know who the owner is?” Zalan asked quickly.

“No more time for questions!” Captain Buttonwillow snapped. “Crew! Make yourselves look large, cover Rep and Zalan and the Thalassic Terror with struggle to capture them!”

“But Captain! We are not the owners! Zalan and I agreed to give you the ship yesterday! When we were in our quarters!” Rep informed him.

“What?”

With a deafening bell tone, the Thalassic Terror appeared above them. Captain Buttonwillow was too distracted by the revelation. He was struggling to register the fact that he was the new owner of The Aegeusson. Nold, Xavier, and Magnolia were first to act, throwing a combination of fire, sand, and massive winds at the creature. The hits landed, but weren’t enough to deter the beast as it descended upon Captain Buttonwillow. The captain stared upward with a goofy grin. The dark monster looked like it was indeed intending to kidnap him. This was the immediate confirmation that he needed to know he was the true owner of The Aegeusson.

The rest of the passengers joined together to try and blast the creature, but they were uncoordinated. The ringing from the Thalassic Terror’s internal bell still filled their ears and they couldn’t hear one another’s call for attack. A mix of water, lighting, wind, sand, and fire whirled toward the creature but it popped out of existence, avoiding the most serious strikes. An instant later, it reappeared on deck with another deafening gong. Even more eerie, it didn’t tip the boat in the slightest, hovering weightless just above them.

The monster swooped down and made contact with the captain. Several small black arms appeared from within its vase-like form. They grabbed Captain Buttonwillow from several points and dragged him toward its body. As soon as the creature touched him, the captain’s smile turned to abject horror.

“The ship! Protect the ship!” the captain screamed as he was pulled inside of the creature.

Captain Buttonwillow flailed as he tried to break out from its tight grasp. As he was pulled in, he immediately slowed down, like trying to move through wet concrete. The creature was slightly transparent and the captain’s face could still be seen through the monster. But he was totally immobile. He could only look upon his ship and crew before he was dragged away.

The monster jumped ship with its new victim. It was unsettling to see it move without teleporting. It wiggled like a tadpole as it descended. As it launched off the ship, it held out an arm from within its black void and dragged it across the side of The Aegeusson. Its limb left a massive tear in the side of the hull. The creature sat atop the water, staring at the ship for a few seconds. Zalan ran after the beast and tried to blast lightning to strike it, but was hit with a staff of wood to change his aim. The bolt sailed off to the distance harmlessly.

“You cannot strike it with your lightning!” Rosemary screamed in a panic. “You could kill Captain Buttonwillow McKittrick!”

Magnolia thought quickly and cast a large net of Elemental Sand to capture the monster, holding one end of the net back on the ship. The creature slid under the water and began to swim away, only to be stopped by the net. The Aegeusson was tilting slowly to one end as it took in water from the gash in its side. Captain Buttonwillow stared, trying to communicate something with his eyes alone as Magnolia strained to hold the Thalassic Terror in place. It was pushing powerfully against the sand, breaking through the net one strand at a time. Magnolia groaned with strain.

“Quick! Repair the boat” Enzo said to Rosemary, diving into the water.

His earlier fears seemed to be placed aside when his captain was fully incapacitated. Using his Elemental Water to swim, he rapidly circled around to the front of the Thalassic Terror. He created a barrier of water to support Magnolia’s Elemental Sand. The Thalassic Terror continued to make progress against both of their efforts.

“What do we do?” Zalan asked, feeling useless when he couldn’t use his lightning.

“Help them!” Rosemary begged. She was using her Elemental Plant Power to create misshapen planks of wood to cover the new tear in the ship.

Rep sighed to himself in frustration and pulled his sword from its sheath and jumped off the boat. Zalan gripped his own sword in its sheath and went to follow. He was tugged hard on the back of his tunic. He gagged on his collar striking his neck as he spun around.

“Do not go after them. You could die,” Nold said urgently, gripping tightly to his clothing.

In the intensity of the moment, Zalan was surprised Nold cared. There was a time in which Zalan, himself, might have cared for his life over the life of others in this realm, but he had changed in his time here. This place was real now. The people were real and felt fear and pain. They could experience death. He was trying to help heal the realm of damage, not allow it to become worse. Someone was in need. Mom would have encouraged him to do something about it. He pulled against Nold’s tight grasp.

“Let go, Nold. And why don’t you help us yourself!” Zalan said.

“I am keeping this ship afloat!” Nold said sharply. Zalan noticed his other arm was busy using his Elemental Power. It bulged with veins from its usage. “Listen to me! If you die then this will all have been for nothing!”

Zalan felt like he didn’t have time to argue. He swung his sword at his back where Nold was gripping him. Nold imbued his arm with sand to stop the blade, but Zalan wasn’t aiming for Nold. He cut off the back of his tunic, freeing himself.

“No! Stay on the ship!” Nold demanded both desperately and angrily.

Zalan ran to the edge of the boat and dove into the water. On his way down, he saw the pandemonium of the battle. Captain Buttonwillow was tracking the scene with his eyes from within the creature. Magnolia’s face had gone red with strain. Enzo looked weaker and the Thalassic Terror was moving easier. It wiggled with more intensity, propelling itself slowly forward against the efforts of the crew. It would be free in seconds.

Rep and Zalan swimming with their swords in hand were the last line of defense before the monster escaped with their captain.