The Storm

Harsh winds beat against the closed sails, trying to tear them apart, the waves broke furiously against the side of the ship in the hope of sinking the hated ship along with the entire crew. The ship tossed from side to side and Smollett's orders sounded more like barking - how he could laugh and give orders in one breath, Michael didn't even want to know. Not a single drop of rain could hit the deck thanks to Michael's efforts, and they still hadn't crashed into a random glacier thanks to Han and Khan.

The twins steered the ship forward, pushing the glaciers out of the way. It was noticeable that they often worked together, because even now they covered each other's backs. Michael wasn't sure he could control the ship with the skill they had even after years of practice.

Michael continued to hold back the rain so as not to worsen the situation of the team, the water surrounded the ship in a sphere of water that quickly flowed into the sea. So far, he hadn't had to repair holes or rescue drowned men, but he was ready for action.

It had already been an hour since they had entered the storm, and Michael began to hope that things might not end so badly. Of course, they could still drown, but if things continue like this, they will be able to get out without any prob-

"Brace!" Michael heard someone scream, but didn't have time to react. Something hit the side of the ship with great force and the whole ship jerked to the right. Michael was thrown onto the deck and the "shield" around the ship shook, but remained in place.

When Waterbenders try to feel what is inside the water, they must focus, otherwise all the information they receive will be a jumbled mess. So few people could attack and monitor the environment at the same time with the help of water, this type of thing was the specialty of Airbenders.

"What the heck?" He muttered and pushed away from the floor only to freeze in place. Circled around the ship in the sea were dozens, if not hundreds, of sea creatures Michael had never seen in his life. Their silhouettes looked like alligators with shark tails and hammerhead heads.

"Load the cannons! The Hammergators decided to have us for dinner!" Smollett shouted, holding on to the helm. "Cordato! Get rid of them if you can, don't care about the rain!"

"Yes sir!" He yelled back and jumped to his feet.

Dropping ​​the shield, Michael winced as the cold rain hit his body. Normally Waterbenders would have been happy with rain during a battle, but now he was in the middle of the ocean, so he had enough material to work with.

Ice spikes immediately surrounded Michael's body and with a wave of his hand, he sent them into the sea, giving them an extra boost with blasts of air. A few of the Moths stood still in shock as their unexpected addition to the team poured icy death over the Hammergators. Spike after spike stuck into the bodies of sea creatures, but most of them just fell into the sea. But as soon as the thought slipped through the sailors that Michael had missed, the spikes twitched to life and began to chase the Hammergators.

Cannon shots thundered in the storm and shook the ship, the sailors got rid of the Hammergators as best they could, alas, the cannons were too slow to turn. But if the canon ball fell into the body of sea creatures, then they were torn apart like piñatas.

Lightning flashed through the clouds above the ship and made Michael lose focus for a second. His nostrils filled with the smell of ozone and he barely had time to raise his eyes to the sky to see the lightning that was striving for him. His vision was filled with blinding light and the only thought was: 'Shit.'

His hand clenched into a fist and he raised two fingers to the sky. Michael knew he had little chance of surviving the lightning strike, and he knew that only Firebenders could redirect the lightning. Unfortunately, now he had no choice but to try.

Lightning struck his outstretched fingers and Michael clenched his teeth to keep himself from biting off his tongue. Bringing his hands together in front of his stomach and passing the lightning Chi through his body, he raised his left hand towards the sea to release the lightning… Or so he tried.

As soon as he raised his hand, Michael felt his body freeze and arks of electricity ran through his blood, but then the lightning just… disappeared.

"What…?" He muttered, but didn't have time to think about this strange incident. The Hammergators were still surrounding the Ship, and noticing a pause in his attacks, they took their chance. The ship shook and Michael grabbed the side to keep from falling. While he was focusing on the left side of the ship, the Hammergators came in from the right. "Сука, блять!"

More ice spikes surrounded his body and this time he didn't even look to see if they hit their target and started throwing them into the water. Blood and death quickly filled the sea, and the smell of metal was felt even through the howling wind. Captain Smollett looked at Michael with wide eyes, not believing that a random Waterbender had so much mastery over his element. Even so, the Captain couldn't stop laughing.

"Steer to the right!" One of the twins yelled, and the ship jerked to starboard.

When Michael saw that there were no Hammergators left on the port side of the ship, he moved to the right, where he decided to change his tactics. The water in the sea around the Hammergators has become much thicker and their movements have slowed down. The animals didn't understand what was happening, and in the next moment Michael swirled his arms in front of him and threw them sharply to the sides. The bodies of Hammergators began to pull in different directions and they didn't even have time to scream as they were torn apart.

Wodaniel was surrounded by wind, rain, lightning and animal corpses. Smollett looked from his seat at his team and frowned. So far, everything has been going well, especially with the help of Mr. Cordato, who was helping his crew survive right now. But it had only been an hour since the storm had begun, and he didn't want to bet on luck. Lady Fortune is a touchy Mistress, and can turn her back at any moment. That is why Smollett was ready to pray at any moment.

Khan and Khan continued to pull the ship forward, oblivious to what was happening around them. Their mission was to get to the North, nothing more.

Michael followed the latest Hammergators. From hundreds of underwater reptiles, only a dozen bastards remained who were in no hurry to climb on the rampage. Leaving the mutants alone, Michael looked around. The ship definitely saw better days in its voyages, the sides were scratched and even pierced in some places. The mast was tilted to the left and most likely would have fallen long ago if not for the efforts of several sailors who held it in place by the ropes.

"When did- not important." Michael shook his head and froze the base of the mast to keep it from falling.

The cold winds still beat on the faces of the sea men, but now everyone felt much better. Lightning still flashed in the sky, the rain was especially cruel and cold, but the crew had already got used to the storm and continued to work to get out alive. One sailor sat on the deck next to Michael and sighed heavily, it was clear that he was tired like a dog, but continued to push through his fatigue.

"Spirits, this can't get any worse." Michael's head snapped in his direction with fury in his eyes, startling the man. "Wot?"

A long, gutterul whail resonated through the sea, sounding like the sound of a terrible nightmare. Not far from the ship, the water began to boil and hiss, and the shadow of someone's huge body swam under the bow. Michael slowly turned towards the water and crouched closer to the deck. "Just so you know, you've cursed us all."

Smollett's laughter grew even louder and drowned out even the storm. The captain had long ago abandoned the helm and held his saber, preparing for battle. "Gentlemen! We were visited by the greatest Spirit of the Seas! Never in my life did I believe that our life would end in the jaws of this monster!" The sailors left their business and looked at their captain with horror, right now he frightened them much more than the creature under water.

"This is not the Leviathan for you, and not even the Bloody Bangputys!" Michael staggered. That was a God that shouldn't have existed in the mythology of this world. "Our death will be the fault of the great Brer'yuth!"

A colossal body slowly rose from the sea, sending waves around itself. Michael expected something similar to Cthulhu, but instead of a living Lovecraftian horror, a beast appeared from the sea, which even for this world was insane. Long, twisted arms with jagged claws, a head on the neck so thin that it was more like a thread in relation to the body. A maw full of bloodied fangs and Hammergators flesh, and beady eyes set deep in the skull. The Spirit looked more like a mangled human who lived his life killing everything in his path. Only part of his body was visible above the water, but even so, the Spirit was huge. He did not swim in the sea, he stood at the bottom of it and towered over their ship like a child over its toys in the bath.

"All men on board." Smollett began, suddenly deathly calm. "Pray for your souls, for if he takes them, you will not see peace after death."

Brer'yuth's head rested on his shoulders, his neck coiled like a snake preparing to attack. A roar filled with rage sounded from the throat of the Spirit and Michael felt his knees begin to tremble.

"Jasmine, I underestimated the danger of this world… Perhaps the Void will welcome me."