"Paragon!" Travis yelled over the squall, then blinked as he felt the wood beneath him shift. Walls formed around him and his crew, soon followed by a ceiling, shielding them from the pounding rain from brunt of the rain but casting them into total darkness.

'"Parago - Woah!." Travis fell onto Myrllen as their containment lurched.

Everyone fell into a large pile as the floor tipped, then leveled with the sound of a splash through the walls. They bobbed in the ocean, buffeted by the storm-driven waves.

"Sorry!" Travis apologized as he climbed out of the pile.

"Where are we? Did they capture us?" Marin's voice rang with a faint undertone of fear.

"I don't know, it's too dark to see in here." Travis felt around, then gasped in pain as he ran into something hip-height in the dark.

Green and white light illuminated the space. Myrllen held up the ball of starlight in his hand, while Costasiella's green spots and tendril tips provided further illumination.

"Thank you, both." Travis glanced around the space, both surprised and confused. The human soon realized the object he had run into was an oval table, half surrounded by a semicircular booth seating. However, he spotted stairs leading to a door and frantically raced towards it.

He opened the door and immediately became soaked by the heavy rain. "PARAGON!" His voice strained at maximum volume. "PARAGON!" His eyes scanned the darkness of the storm, so focused he didn't notice his crew join him on the deck. He felt the liveship's fear, remorse, but also a hint of confidence and assurance.

"There!" Marin pointed.

Travis looked in the gestured direction. He barely made out the white shape in the distance, obscured by the rain and waves. The human wiped his rain-soaked hair to the side, out of his eyes. He managed to spot the black pirate ship looming next to the liveship. "PARAGON!" His voice and mind strained over the noise of the pounding rain and roaring thunder, but he froze in horror as he watched the white and black ships.

Lightning illuminated the scene the instant Paragon struck the black ship's side. The collision was barely audible in the cacophony of thunder that surrounded the storm, and both vessels shattered, their pieces falling into the unforgiving ocean waves.

Travis suddenly felt empty.

Author Note

:)