"Secure those lines!"

"Tie everything down- anything that moves!"

"Pull, men, pull!"

"Faster! Faster!"

The crew of the Emperor's Key rushed to and fro, desperately trying to batten down the hatches. A storm had come up a few days out of Espen- almost out of nowhere- and there was now a frantic scramble to protect the ship.

Down below, Yuma and Shark were doing the same in Yuma's room. "Here, put these in that drawer before you tie the chest down." Yuma tossed Shark several sets of dueling cards. "As soon as we're finished here, we'll head back up on deck to help out there." Everyone had to help in a storm- it was one of Emperor Kazuma's rules. Even though he was their ruler, and should be kept safely in his cabin, the Emperor would be pulling his weight tonight along with those who were in his service.

The only people who were permitted to stay below deck were Tori and Cathy. The two girls were hurriedly bunkering down to wait out the storm. "I hope Yuma and Shark will be okay," Tori murmured, curling up in a blanket.

"Of course they will!" Cathy said fiercely. The ship lurched, sending the lantern hanging from the ceiling swinging wildly. Cathy, who had been standing at the time, reached for the beam in the middle of the room to support herself. Squeezing her eyes shut, Tori reached for the heart-shaped locket she always wore around her neck- the one her father had given her before he'd passed away.

Her eyes snapped open. Her most precious possession was gone! "Cathy! My locket's gone!"

"What? But how?"

"I- I don't- Oh, no! I took it off while we were doing the laundry this morning! It's still out on the back deck!" Throwing off the blanket, Tori jumped to her feet, almost crashing to the floor as the ship once again heaved up on the swells.

"Tori! You can't go out there! Not in this storm!"

"That locket is the only thing left I have from my Father, Cathy. I have to get it back." With that, the greenette opened the door to the cabin and stepped out of its protective walls.

"What do you need us to do?"

"What?" Flip yelled over the roar of the storm, unable to make out what Yuma was saying.

"I said: WHAT DO YOU NEED US TO DO?" Yuma shouted.

"Oh! Well, you can go and help you Dad and those sailors- they're trying to get the sails down!" Flip shouted back, pointing to where Emperor Kazuma and several others were straining with a thick rope. The wind was keeping the sail full and heavy, making it harder to collapse. "Shark! You head to the back deck and make sure everything is secured there. Here- when you get there, tie one end of this around your waist and the other to the rail, in case you get washed overboard!"

Shark nodded, not seeing the point in yelling, and accepted the long, thick rope Flip offered him. He turned and hurried in the direction of the ship's stern.

Tori clung to the ship's rail and inched her way along, the wind and water stinging her eyes. She was trying to get close enough to the washing equipment in order to be able to let go of the rail and crawl over to it. She was sure she had put her locket down on one of the wash basins.

Please, please don't let the storm have washed it away yet, she prayed. Managing to get as close as she could, she dropped to the deck and began to crawl her way towards the wooden cauldrons. The win wasn't as bad now that she was closer to the deck, but the wood dug into her hands, and there was no relief from the constant assault of rain and spray. Finally, she reached the first wash basin and grabbed it, feeling along its edge for her locket. Nothing.

She moved to the second, then the third, and – there! Her freezing fingers found the delicate chain and the smooth metal heart attached to it. "Oh, thank goodness!" Tori said as she cradled it almost crying with relief. She let go of the washing tub to fasten it around her neck, managing to do it despite her numb fingers. So focused was she on her task that she failed to notice the ocean gathering itself for its biggest wave yet.

Shark moved slowly around the opposite side of the rear deck, checking every knot he came across for to make sure it was pulled tight. He felt the ship surge beneath him and grabbed the rail, realizing what was coming. In the next second, the wave came, completely blinding and drowning him for several moments. He finally managed to find air again and gasped for it greedily, coughing and spluttering.

Despite his garbled senses, he still heard the scream. He knew immediately what it was. The same sound had haunted him in his dreams on Chironex's ship, and had come back to torment him further once he'd remembered.

"Marin!" The screaming faded into the storm, but Shark wasn't going to let her go this time. He yanked on his safety line to make sure it was secure, before diving overboard after his sister.

The water was cold, and the darkness made it impossible to see anything, but his sister's cries drove him forward. He kicked viciously against the waves, fighting to keep his head above water. Why didn't you save me, brother? Why did you leave me all alone? Where were you? You said you'd come…

"I'm coming, Marin, I'm coming!" Fighting the storm was exhausting, but Shark knew he couldn't give up. He couldn't fail his sister. Not again… He couldn't hear the screams anymore, so he began swimming all the harder, diving under water and reaching out into its depths, praying that if she was sinking he would find her before she was beyond his reach.

Unable to hold his breath any longer, he fought his way back to the surface and was fortunate to find it again. In violent waters, once you went under, you often couldn't keep your sense of up and down. "Marin! Marin!" He called desperately to her, but his voice was lost in the wind. HE could barely hear it himself.

He continued to swim, but his body was weakening. "Hang on…hang on, sis. I'll save you. I won't leave you…not this time…" His hand brushed against something. It was soft, and at first he thought it was just seaweed, but then he found the neck and shoulder that were attached to it.

His energy restored, he seized the arm with both hands and pulled. The current fought against him, but he refused to let go. He oud the soft part again and, realizing it was hair, wrapped both his hands in it and pulled.

He gasped for breath as his efforts sapped what little energy he had left. More than once he found himself with a mouthful of salty water, but he finally managed to get his arms around her chest, and with one final kick, he forced her to the surface.

Her head broke through the water and rolled limply to the side. He clung to her cold body with all his might- which at this point wasn't much- and desperately treaded water. Please, please… Shark thought as the cold seeped into him further, causing his teeth to chatter. Please don't let it be too late…

"What do you mean, Tori came up on deck?" Kazuma shouted over the roar of the storm.

"She left her locket out by the wash stand and went to retrieve it! When she didn't come back after a while I got worried!" Cathy could barely hold herself up.

"All right, Cat, get back below deck. We'll go after her!" Kazuma gestured to Lord Kay, Yuma, Flip, and some others that were nearby. "We're going to head to the back deck! Tori Meadows should be back there; keep your eyes peeled!"

Receiving their orders, the group began to edge its way around to the back of the ship, clinging to the rail and to each other. It was one of those frustrating situations in which your senses of caution and speed were at war. One part of you wanted to sprint to the back deck, and the other part screamed at you to hunch down and stay there until the danger was passed. Every member of the rescue party had to sacrifice some caution and some speed in the end, but they reached the stern without incident.

Squinting through sheets of rain to scan the deck for the missing greenette, Yuma began calling for his friend. "Tori! Are you our here? Please, answer me!"

"Yuma! Your majesty!" Flip waved frantically to his friend and the Emperor. "There's a safety line hanging over the rail here- and it's pulled taut!"

Kazuma's face paled. "Shark must have gone overboard! Pull, men, pull!"

The five sailors, Yuma, Kazuma, and lord Kay grasped the life line and tugged with all their might. "Heave! Heave!" Muscles strained, sweats broke out, palms were rubbed raw, as they slowly began pulling Shark back on board.

Shark himself at first thought that it was an illusion, some sort of phantom sensation created by the waves coming at him from all sides. But it soon became apparent that he was, in fact, rising through the air. He tightened his grip on the cold, limp person in his arms, determined not to lose her.

At one point, he was bashed against the side of the ship, but he barely cared, as long as his fragile burden was protected. He finally felt strong arms hoisting him over a wooden railing and setting him down on a wooden deck. There were voices all around him, but they were lost in the fog that had become his mind.

He became aware that they were trying to take his sister from him, but he tightened his grip and wouldn't let her go. "No!" he cried, cradling her close to him. He looked down at her to make sure she was alright, and immediately panicked. She wasn't breathing!

"Get back! Get back!" he demanded, waving the onlookers away. He laid the girl on her back, tilted her head back, and tried frantically to breathe the life back into her. Skills he had learned years before came back to him in an instant as he watched for her chest to begin rising and falling. It was barely moving.

Something's wrong! "What's wrong?" he murmured to himself. "What's wrong?" The dress! It's too tight! Looking wildly around, he spotted a knife on the belt of a bystander and snatched it. There was a yelp of surprised, but he barely heard it as he cut off the restraining corset and bodice.

The onlookers recoiled in shock when Shark refused to release Tori, saying something in his native language. They were even more surprised when he began to breathe into her, apparently trying to bring her back from the grave.

"Kay, is it possible that he could get her to start breathing again?" Kazuma murmured to his friend.

"I don't know. I've never heard of it being done." Lord Kay adjusted his glasses in fascination.

When Shark cut off Tori's bodice, still talking in a tongue that was gibberish to them, many of the men gasped in shock to turned away blushing. She was still wearing her slip, of course, but to a Heartlander, with their strict ideas of modesty, she might as well have been naked. Yuma himself turned bright red.

"Shark! What are you doing?" Yuma's question went unanswered as, as it had been througho0ut the whole scene, Shark didn't seem to hear him. He once again leaned down to breathe into Tori's lungs. To his very great relief, her chest began rising and falling, and then…suddenly her eyes flew open and she was coughing up sea water and gasping for air.

"Tori!"

"Miss Meadows!" Yuma, Kazuma, and Lord Kay hurried to her side, helping her to sit up and make it easier on her lungs.

"Tori! Oh, thank goodness you're alright!"

"What happened?" The greenette asked, bewildered. "The last thing I remember… I was out on deck looking for my locket, and- my locket!" Tori's hands flew to her throat. To her amazement, her father's last gift to her was still around her neck. "I remember now. I had just put it on when this huge wave came and swept me overboard." She looked around. "How did I get back on the ship?"

Kazuma smiled. "We sent Shark back to check all the bindings. He must have seen you washed overboard and jumped in after you. Or maybe he was washed overboard with you and managed to grab you before you were swept away too far. Either way, he undoubtedly saved for life, Tori."

"That's right!" Yuma exclaimed. "Shark's a hero!"

"Speaking of Shark," Lord Kay spoke up, "Where is he?" Everyone had been so concerned about Tori that they hadn't noticed her savior slip away.

"Shark! Shark!" Yuma called for him. There was no answer. The hero of that day had disappeared.

Next time on A Tale of Two Slaves: A wall is finally broken down.