Sean ran to the front of the ship and jumped up onto the bowsprit. Scanning the horizon, goosebumps formed on his arms. Listening to the bellow more closely, a panic started to set in on him. The bellow wasn't just haunting and loud... it was talking. From the water, a deep voice called out angrily. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Sean glanced back to see if the other Merfolk had heard it. They all stared out at the horizon, asking in soft whispers. "What is that?" Sean shook a little. Could no one else hear it? Nate shoved his way through the crowd, beckoning Sean back onto the ship as he yelled out in a panic. "Sean! Get back here! It's not safe!" Sean shook his head, retorting shakily. "Nate, I can hear it... Can't you?" Nate leaned over the bowsprit, ordering him sternly. "Sean! Now!" Sean reached out to accept Nate's hand, when the whole ship listed violently! Sean barely kept his balance as something massive breached the surface between the two ships and shot a geyser of water into the air.

On the other ship, Wade began ringing the bell more aggressively and screaming out. "WHALE!" Mark hopped up on the rail, grabbing the shroud for support as he called out to the crew. "Load the cannons! Fetch the harpooners!" Sean's heart sank to the pit of his stomach as the tail rose from the water. The width of the tail was the size as a single ship. In the water, merfolk launched out to get onto the ship with screams of fright. The tail twisted in the water before slamming down mere inches from Mark's ship. As the tail went under the water, the massive head rose from the water on the other side of the Sea Star! The sharp circular teeth were all too frightening on something he considered to be a gentle giant. The whale was eating the Mersharks beneath the ship! Hector rushed around the ship calling out orders to help the merfolk out of the water and to protect the ship. Sean locked eyes with the whale as it sank back into the depths of the water. Its eye had no mercy and its body was covered in frightening scars that had long healed over.

Nate quickly reached out to snatch his arm, yanking him back onto the ship. While nearby, Granny yelled out to Hector with concern. "Why is an Atlantean guardian attacking us?!" Hector gave her a shrug, shouting back. "I don't know!" The mershark's worked to load the cannons and set the sails, while Northern Merfolk manipulated the water move the ship around the other ships in a circle to keep from being attacked to easily. Sean leaned on the rail to see Mark barking more orders and lining men up with harpoons. Beside him, Nate withdrew his sword, telling him in a shocked tone. "It's a Livyatan. I thought the humans had hunted them into extinction." Sean shot Nate a nervous look, uttering out shakily. "Apparently being hunted has pissed him off!" The Livyatan breached the surface to bite the back of the Sea Star but missed by inches. Nate slammed his hand against the side of the ship, sending out purple sparks along the outside frame. As the Livyatan sped up to slam his nose into the ship, the sparks rippled over his skin and forced him back under the water in a pained retreat.

From the back of the ship, Merfolk threw their tridents and harpoons into the water. The few that stuck into its flesh barely even concerned it. It was so big... they were only making it angrier. The Livyatan switched targets. Speeding straight toward the broadside of Mark's ship! Mark fearless stood holding the shroud as he aimed his rifle and ordered out. "HOLD...! HOLD...! FIRE ALL!" Smoke burst from all over Mark's ship as guns and cannons went off. The Livyatan wailed in pain as cannon balls struck its flesh like bullets. A few men even got a few harpoons into him. Nate leaned on the rail, his eyes on Mark as he mumbled to himself. "Come on, Mark... Make it count!" Sean followed his eyes to Mark. Mark still hadn't taken a shot and the Livyatan was still coming straight for the ship! The second some of the smoke cleared, Mark fired his shot. The Livyatan jerked its head, then dived straight down. When its tail rose into the air, everyone on the Sea Star screamed.

Devan dashed up to Sean's side, raising his arms up to bring up a wall of water and then spread his arms out wide quickly. The wall of water quickly turned to ice before the whale's tail slammed into it. The merfolk managed to move the ship in that small window, before the tail battered against the wall hard enough to smash through the ice and back into the water with a heavy splash. Sean gawked at him. He didn't know he could do that. Devan then turned to face the others, ordering out loud and clear. "Brace yourselves! He's going to come back up! Any ideas?!" Sean glanced at the Red Viper. The idea made his heart leap from his chest as he rushed out to Devan. "We need to harpoon it!" Hector shook his head in disbelief, shouting out. "We tried that! He's too big!" Nate suddenly began to bounce with excitement as he got it, telling the others quickly. "The mast! We can use it like a harpoon!" Sean nodded to him. Hector stared up at the Sea Star's mast, stating out. "OUR mast? Are you insane!"

Nate pointed toward the Red Viper, quickly shouting back as he rounded up a few people. "Not ours. Theirs! I'll bet it's in the water." Devan grabbed Sean's shoulders before he could run off to join Nate. Pulling him closer, Devan asked him. "Whoa! Slow down. How do you plan to impale him with that exactly?" Granny moved up casually to volunteer herself with a smirk. "I'll do it. If I double my size, I can take some of the weight of the mast. The others can help lift it from the ship. Just don't shoot me." Sean shook his head, retorting with concern. "No! Teach me how to do it and I'll do it myself!" Granny waved him away, answering dismissively. "There is no time and you are too valuable to lose." Sean stubbornly pulled himself from Devan's arms to block Granny as he snapped back. "You're an Elder! You're too valuable to lose too!" Granny ruffled his hair, then ordered him seriously. "Do as I say, Sean. I mean it." Granny then shoved him aside and leapt over the railing. Sean yelled for her to stop but it was too late.

Just as Granny entered the water, the Livyatan burst from it. It was both beautiful and frightening to see the whale rise almost completely out of the water beside the ship. Its massive body blocking out the sun as it arched its back to fall over the ship. Every Merfolk raised their hands to speed the ship forward, causing it to lurch and clip the Red Viper's wreckage. The ship shuddered violently as something dragged across the side. Hector started pointing to people and screaming out. "You all, get down below! Check the hold! NOW!" Behind the ship, the Livyatan crashed back into the water, sending a wild wave to shove their ship in the chaos. The merfolk were starting to panic in the chaos. Leaving Mark's ship dead in the water as they tried to focus on their own safety. The wild wave hit the ship, causing it to rise high rapidly and drop just as fast. Sean and many others stumbled and tumbled across the deck, unable to stay on their feet. With no one guiding the ship... it slammed into Mark's ship.

Crew on both sides began to scream and yell things out in a whirl of panic. The ships had become entangled together by their riggings, trapping them together. The rough waves jostled the ships, putting strain on the masts. Nate scrambled over to Sean, shouting over the chaos. "WE'VE GOT TO CUT THE LINES OR WE'RE BOTH GOING DOWN!" Sean nodded, hefting his trident and rushing toward the railing. On Mark's ship, Mark withdrew his sword and shouted out. "CUT THE RIGGING!" Sean moved up to the first rope he saw and zapped it with his trident to sever it. Sudden screams broke out as wood snapped and dropped, causing a rope line to swing out across the deck. Sean dropped to the floor mere seconds before the rope caught him. Other people screamed in agony as other ropes broke to pin them to the objects around the ship. The ropes cut into flesh from the pressure and knocked others to the ground as they whipped through the air. Sean zapped a rope off their mast, then yelped as a line stuck him across the chest and sent him into the air.

Falling through the air, Sean managed to grab the railing to the side of the ship. Pulling himself up, he froze as a deep bellow resonated from nearby. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the whale charging straight for them. Sean wrapped his arms tight around the railing, bracing for impact. Just before the whale reached them, a large mast burst from the water to strike the whale under its jaw. The whale thrashed, turning to face a young-looking Granny. Even at her size, she was still smaller than the Livyatan. Splashing her long black tail in the water, she let out a loud screech to issue a challenge. Sean could see her using her power to manipulate the water absorbed into the mast in order to hold it like a weapon. The Livyatan lifted its tail from the water, slamming the bottom of Mark's ship in the process. Its tail rose high into the air, raining a curtain of water down like a shimmering waterfall. After adjusting, the whale slammed its tail back down to propel itself forward after her. Sean held his breath, watching Granny brace the mast.

The Livyatan didn't attack as she had anticipated. It didn't lunge directly at her; it tilted its head at an angle to bite her! Granny grunted loudly in surprise as the whale slammed into her, taking her by the waist and dragging her under. Sean exhaled in shock, watching Granny's tail lash against the whale before vanishing beneath the waves. Sean wanted to wait and see if she'd come up, but the shouts on deck drew his attention back. Luka ran up to Hector, telling him franticly. "The hold in damaged and she's gone!" Hector stopped trying to pull a line tight to secure a cannon, upon snapping out in a frustrated roar. "WHAT?!" Luka coughed water, answering loudly. "When we clipped the Red Viper, it put a hole in her ceil. She's gone. What do we do?" Hector punched a railing, commanding more calmly. "We can't look for her. Help keep the hold from flooding." Sean hefted himself up, yelling out to Hector. "Hector! Granny's not coming back up!" Hector staggered on his feet, looking torn between everything and just yelled out. "I can't! She'll be ok!"

Sean watched everyone trying to do their part to fix the ship or help the wounded. Looking back out to the sea, he heard the bellowing of the Livyatan below the water. Gritting his teeth, he dashed toward the back of the ship. He didn't know what to do, but he couldn't sit here! Granny needed help! Yanking his amulet off, he dived off the back of the ship. His arms began to glow brightly with the Atlantean runes. His veins bursting with power as he let the power absorb into his every muscle. He needed all the power he could get to take on a giant whale! For a brief second before he hit the water, he heard Mark call out his name. Sean didn't have time to look though, because as he hit the water his body changed... unexpectantly. The writing on his arms began pulsing with bright light, until his body spasmed and pulsed to a MUCH larger size. Sean twisted his body in the water to keep his massive red tail from slamming over the Sea Star.

Making his way through the water, he saw Granny pinned against a rock formation. The Livyatan refused to let her move from the spot. It just thrashed wildly and tried to bite her. Clearly, frustrated that the rock formation kept him from getting to her. Granny's eyes widened in surprise as Sean swam up and grabbed the whale's tail. The Livyatan turned to glare at him, then it jerked at the sight of him. After a moment's hesitation though, the Livyatan whirled around to charge him. Quickly Sean put his hands up to stop the Livyatan, but it still pushed him back from the force of his powerful tail. Keeping his hands on the whale's face, he shouted out sternly. "STOP!" His voice thundered throughout the water, causing the Livyatan to instantly calm down. Sean wanted to talk to it, but his head started to ach and he suddenly didn't feel so good. The Livyatan turned in the water to swim away, leaving Sean to feel his body shrink rapidly back to normal size. He felt overwhelming exhaustion and couldn't think anything beyond getting some sleep. He briefly caught Granny swimming toward him, before he passed out.

Nate finally finished getting the riggings separated, when Granny came back to the boat with an unconscious Sean. Nate rushed to help her bring Sean up, asking what had happened. Granny strained to climb up, limping a bit as she told him. "Well, good news is that he got the Livyatan to leave... They bad news. He used up all his energy to do it. The strain on his body to get that size and use a command like that... He's going to be out a while." Nate hefted Sean into his arms, telling her seriously. "I'll find him a place to rest. Where is his amulet?" Granny shrugged, panting out. "Don't know... Until we find it. Stay with him and keep his tail wet." Nate nodded, thinking about taking him below deck, when Mark snapped out at him from the other ship. "Nate! Bring him over here." Nate was reluctant to obey. He didn't trust Mark to care for Sean's needs right now. Dragging his feet reluctantly though, he obeyed. Sean would want to see him if nothing else. Mark led him to the cabin, opening the door to show him some of the furniture that the crew had managed to salvage from the Red Viper.

Slowly making his way inside, Nate stiffened at the sight of a large tank. Mark patted the tank, telling him seriously. "Lay him in this. It will keep him safe and keep his tail wet. Nate narrowed his eyes on Mark, who shot back firmly. "Don't look at me like that. It's just a large snake tank. The Captain kept a Red Viper, remember? With them dead... Why let it go to waste? He clearly needs it." Nate moved to the tank, anxiously laying Sean inside. He was just thankful that the lid was broken. Sean couldn't be locked in it... for now. Once he was in, Mark gestured for him to leave. Nate stayed put, until Mark slowly withdrew his pistol. Clenching his fists, Nate stormed out. Slamming the door, Nate lingered by it. He didn't want to go too far. Listening closely to the sounds from the cabin, Nate jumped as a soft voice whispered out across the deck. "Nate..." Nate looked around. The few people not working on the damage in the hold, didn't appear to hear it. Nate listened more closely, his eyes scanning the ship for anything unusual.

He didn't see anyone, but the eerie whispering voice called out to him softly. "Nate..." Nate felt a chill run up his back and spun around. Still he saw nothing, but he suddenly felt like he was being watched. To Be Continued...