Lightning struck hard around the large ship, and people were running in fear for their lives. The waves around them were very rough, and many were swept overboard. Luckily for them the ship has escape boats on the side, and the guests of the party managed to leave in safety, just as the ship was shattering to pieces. And they have Princess Tea to thank for saving them.
"Everyone, get on the escape boats, and hurry!" she shouted as she led a family off of the ship and into safety. Another bolt of lightning struck onto the sail, setting it on fire.
"Tea, c'mon! We've got to get out of here!" Serenity yelled.
"No, I'm not leaving until I know for sure that the people are safe!" Tea shouted in determination.
"Tea listen to me!" Mai shouted in desperation, "It's getting too dangerous, you have to go!"
"I can't just do nothing while the storm is taking people's lives! And that's why I'm staying to help, no matter what!" Tea shouted. Unfortunately, it was at this moment that a large wave came and swept onto the edge of the battered ship where Tea was standing. Before she could react, she was herself swept overboard.
"TEA!" Mai screamed as she and Serenity helplessly watched their best friend fall far into the water.
Meanwhile, at the same time, Atemu was swimming at top speed. Hang on my Lady, he thought, I'm almost there!
"Atemu, is that you over there?" a voice shouted in the midst of the loud rain. Atemu looked up just in time to see a small boat with a certain fisherman as the sailor accompanied by his two aquatic crewmates.
"Mako! Thank the gods you're safe!" Atemu said in relief, but then he went serious as question came into mind. "Where's Tea?"
"Tea?" Mako said, "She's still on board the ship trying to get everyone out of here!"
"WHAT?" Atemu practically screamed, and he went off swimming yet again. "Hang on Tea, I'm coming!"
"Good luck with the rescue, and be careful!" Mako shouted, "There's a wild Fiend Kraken out on the loose! If you're out to rescue the princess, you'll have to deal with that monster too!"
"Got it, Mako!" Atemu shouted from a distance, "Thanks!" As the Crown Prince continued to swim towards the ship, Ruby and Great White turned toward Mako.
"Captain," said Ruby, "Great White and I are going with the Prince. We'll distract the Fiend Kraken while he escapes with the princess."
"Yeah, I'm hungry for some live squid!" Great White proclaimed with a toothy grin.
"Sounds like a plan," Mako said, "good luck to both of ya!"
"No problem!" Ruby said with a wink, "C'mon Great White!" And she started swimming ahead.
"Hey Ruby, wait for me!" Great White shouted from behind.
Atemu finally reached the place where the ship was, and he was horrified at what he just saw. The ship was already battered and in the process of sinking. There was fire on some parts of the ship too. Some of the humans still on board were hanging on to what was left of it, only to fall into the water. Many struggled to keep from either drowning or freezing to death. Somehow, he did not see the princess among them. He swam around calling her name, avoiding the falling debris as he did so. Finally he caught sight of a certain damsel in distress doing her best to keep her head above the water. There she is! He thought. But as he had just begun to swim towards her, two enormous long tentacles burst out of the water, stopping Atemu in his tracks. The tentacles wrapped themselves around the princess, and they disappeared into the sea, dragging Tea down with them.
"TEA!" he screamed, his shock turning into a rising anger. It must be that Fiend Kraken! That beast will not get away with this! With a high leap, Atemu dove in the water to chase after the tentacles taking his princess. It seemed that debris of the ship littered undersea as well, attempting to block his path. Taking out his trusty spear, he dodged the large wood, and those he couldn't go through he sliced with his spear with no effort. Swimming as quickly as he could, he finally came face to face with Tea's captor. The kraken's tentacles wrapped around her tightly by the knees and the waist, and bound her struggling arms like an extended rope that simultaneously squeezed around her neck. Poor Tea didn't know what to do. Oh Divine Dragon, is this how I'm going to die? she thought, What will become of my kingdom? My beloved people? She was starting to choke, both from the tentacle around her neck and from the surrounding water. Even if the squid would release her, there is still a possibility that she would drown. Certainly all the odds were against her. The Kraken pulled her towards it, anticipating its next meal. This infuriated Atemu even further, who was unseen by the princess.
"You have taken so many lives, including that of humans," he roared, "but I will not let you take this life! Let her go, NOW!" And in record speed, Atemu lunged at the Kraken, and with a swing of his spear he sliced off the tentacles that held his beloved princess captive. The Coral Snake Lionfish was so fast, in fact, that to Tea he seemed like nothing more than a formless blur that disappeared as quickly as it came. The kraken itself roared in pain and the detached limbs loosened, freeing Tea. But she was still in danger, as she was quickly losing consciousness. Upon seeing his princess in the midst of drowning, Atemu quickly swam behind her and gently took her in the safety of his warm embrace, being very careful not to sting her by accident. Tea felt those strong arms wrapped gently around her, and she felt that comforting warmth that came with them, even though she did not see the one who gave that embrace. What? Who… she thought before she slipped out of consciousness completely. This made Atemu quite worried.
My Lady! Oh no! he thought, I have to take her back to the Realm Above, and fast! Adjusting his arms so that one was holding Tea securely, Atemu used his free hand to assist in swimming back up to the surface. The Fiend Kraken, of course, was angry that this merman has denied it its dinner, and attempted to chase after him. However, another sharp point had suddenly buried itself in its side. It turned out to be an arrow, shot by none other than Ruby, the Red Archery Girl.
"Hey you big bully!" She shouted, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"
"Yeah, like me Sushi Breath!" Great White roared and he literally took a bite out of the squid. The kraken once again roared in pain, and turned its anger onto the two monster warriors, its previous prey forgotten. It tried to slap its tentacle onto the shark-man, but he just dodged its attack and started to taunt it, saying "Nya, nya, you can't catch me!" And the two of them started swimming as fast as they can, luring the Kraken away from its hunting ground. Meanwhile, Atemu had reached the surface with Tea in his arms. Water spewed out of her mouth, but that was all she did. He could tell that her lovely eyes were closed, but he did not know whether or not she was breathing. Inwardly, he began to panic. I have to do something! He thought, and that's when it hit him. Land! I have to take her to land! She's not safe until then! And so Atemu started swimming, carrying the princess with him. I hope I'm not too late…
Hours passed, and the storm was over. All night Atemu swam, desperately looking for that strip of land. Tea's life depends on it, and he knew it. At first, his search seemed to be in vain, and Atemu was starting to express his panic outwardly. Then finally, when the sun had just finished rising up from the horizon, he spotted land. There was a beautiful castle right by the beach, but he had no time to admire it. His Lady was more important. Nearly exhausted by the swim himself, he nevertheless continued swimming toward the sandy beach. As he came closer, the water became more and more shallow, until finally, he reached the land beyond the water. There, he carefully placed Tea face up on the sandy beach. It was only then that he examined her. She was still unconscious, with her eyes closed to all that was around her. Atemu shook her gently, while rubbing a hand to warm her freezing body.
"Tea…?" he said. There was no response. He shook her again, his tears of liquid pearls streaming from his eyes as he dreaded the worst. "Wake up… Tea please, wake up! Open your eyes! Tea!" But there was still no response, and by now he cried like never before. "Why? Why won't you open your eyes?" And then that dreadful thought came to him. Was he too late? Had she…? Atemu took two of his webbed fingers and put them on the vein on the princess' neck. Hope slowly returned to him as he felt a weak pulse throbbing under his fingers. She's still alive! he thought in relief. But then he took notice that she was struggling to breathe, even as she lay motionless. He had to do something! He soon remembered a lesson on CPR from Mako during one of his visits. Perhaps this would be the best time to put that lesson to practice. As he was pumping her chest to get the water out, he realized that the next part involved having to put his lips on…just thinking about it made him blush furiously. But, he reasoned, her life depends on it more than anything.
"To hell with this!" he muttered and as soon as he finished pumping, he placed his lips on hers, breathing the air into her. The moment those lips met, he felt like his body was going haywire. And yet, he actually loved the sensation of those soft lips, for in his own they tasted so sweet. But as much as he wanted to linger, her could not, and so he continued with his CPR. His lips had finished transferring air for the third time, when he felt convulsions coming from the princess. His eyes widened with surprise, and instinctively he turned her to the side. Immediately she coughed out the remaining seawater and began to gasp as much air as she could possibly take in. Atemu rejoiced as his beloved had been revived. But then he heard voices coming from a nearby rock.
"Atemu!" said a sweet soprano voice. He realized immediately that it was Kisara. He turned to look and saw her with the rest of his siblings, along with his two Dolphin Folk friends.
"Bro, ever since the storm passed, we've been looking all over for you!" Marik said. "At least we know you made it out alive."
"Marik shut up!" Ishizu scolded, and then turned to her elder brother. "Atemu, since we found you, it's time to come home."
"Home?" he said incredulously, "I-I'm not ready to go home yet."
"You have to." Mahaado said, "If you stay any longer your parents will start to worry about you. Not to mention your grandfather."
"But I just saved her!" Atemu protested, gesturing to the princess in his arms who was still coughing.
"Leave the human princess, Atemu." Mahaado said, "Besides, she's going to be just fine."
As Tea stopped coughing, Atemu felt his own gills constrict.
"C'mon Atemu," Mana said, "you don't want to suffocate, do you?" Atemu looked down at the human princess, who started breathing more easily, and sighed in defeat.
"All right, I'll go." Atemu said, "But can you at least let me stay until I know for sure she's safe?" Everyone looked at each other before Ishizu spoke.
"Okay, but stay in the water and hide with us, all right?" she said. At that moment, Tea began to stir. Reluctantly, Atemu laid her down and crawled back into the water. He joined his siblings from behind the large rock and watched.
The sound seagulls filled her ears, as did the sound of the waves. Slowly, she opened her eyes to find herself looking up at the sky. Huh? she thought, Where am I? She struggled a bit, but she managed to rise into a sitting position. She saw that she was on a familiar beach, the waves crashing against it. What am I doing home? And on the beach for that matter? She thought. Then the horrific memory of the storm returned to her. Oh Divine Dragon! I almost drowned! She thought in fear. But then she also remembered being wrapped in something warm while she was underwater, something that gave her a sense of comfort and security. Even now, she felt that loving warmth lingering around her body. But when she looked around, there was no one there. What happened? She thought, How did I survive? What was that warm feeling that's caressing me just now?
"TEA!" a familiar voice called to her, interrupting her thoughts. She turned to see her friends running toward her, with Mai up front. And she was bawling like a baby as she ran. "TEA! YOU'RE ALL RIGHT!" before she could react, Tea found herself superglomped by the blonde. "We thought we lost you forever! Don't ever scare me like that that again!"
"Aww Mai." Tea said, "That's so sweet!" Soon Mai helped her up, just as her other friends came. Though happy to be surrounded by her loving friends again, she still couldn't help but think about that warmth, which had almost disappeared but had fixed itself straight into her memory.
Atemu watched as his princess was taken lovingly in the arms of several humans, some he hadn't seen before, and his heart began to ache yet again.
"Well, she's in good hands now. You can stop worrying about her." Mahaado said to him calmly. "Now are you ready to go home?" Atemu simply nodded. When all the humans were out of sight, all of the merfolk adventurers began to swim homeward. He took one more look at the castle before him, before he dove into the water to swim home with his three siblings.