A/N: I'm on a roll! Too bad next semester starts in 24 hours. I'm going to try and stay on top of this, but we shall see... Happy Holidays to everyone!

Chapter 6

Kanna rushed to the staircase that led to her corridor. The sky had become a murky black color and rain started to fall.

As she passed the gate she rang the warning bell and began to knock on everyone's doors. This was standard protocol for the shipmates. They would know they were needed on the top deck. Kanna paused at the end the corridor at her own door. Emsta was probably too busy with her ritual, and Kanna didn't want to have her brothers out in the middle of the storm. She passed on from the door without knocking.

Once everyone in her corridor was alerted, Kanna herself headed back upstairs. It seemed that the storm was progressing for the worse. The light rain earlier had turned into a torrential downpour. Kanna could barely see in front of her. With a raise of her hand she bended the water off of her face.

"Kanna!"

She turned in surprise to see that Corville was heading her way with determination in each step. It seemed he himself was aware of the air serpents chosen course. He was ready for battle.

"I got everyone from my corridor."

"Excellent. Kanna, I need you to get into formation along the railings with the other waterbenders. I'd imagine Kanza already told you what's coming. I need every bender available to survive this."

Kanna froze. She lost her concentration and the rain hit her face in hard stinging drops. "But you know I can't bend, not even to save my life!"

Corville's expression darkened slightly at that, "But you can to save another's."

"Wha-" before Kanna could finish her sentence Corville grabbed her by the shoulders and brought her face close to his. Kanna shirked back. Corville loosened his grip at her response looking like he was at a lost for words. That was certainly a first.

Not wanting to continue this escalating argument Kanna pushed on Corville's broad muscular chest, "Got it. I'll do it." He immediately released her and she moved to find a position in the forming line of waterbenders. Kanna found herself between a tall wiry black haired boy and a round motherly looking woman. Kanna couldn't recall either benders name. They both glanced at each other nervously. Kanna stared ahead at the sea, oblivious to the exchange around her.

The sea looked enraged, but the waves seemed to stop coming on board. Kanna saw some movement to her left. She realized that a few dozen benders were rhythmically shifting to keep the waves off of the deck. Kanna stared down at her clenched gloved hands. She didn't know how she was going to get through this, but she had to admit that Corville had a point. She couldn't ever bend well when it was for herself, but when it came to others, like Arika or the stranger, she could do it.

She had to do this.

A surprisingly large wave crashed against the ship knocking Kanna to attention. She followed the lead of the two benders beside her and raised her arms and separated her legs in a warrior-like stance.

Kanna heard Etorre scream out, "Hold your stances waterbenders. Earthbenders keep those damn barrels in place!"

A loud wail suddenly pierced the stormy skies. It seemed as if time stopped. Everyone on deck turned their gazes to the open sea. Kanna felt the blood leave her face. Just a couple hundred feet away a blast of wind seemed to erupt from the ocean surface, sending a ripple effect of waves at the ship. Kanna found her center and joined the other benders in fending off the water while not keeping her eyes off of the creature that just made itself known.

If Kanna had been in any other situation, and saw the air serpent, she would have described it as breathtaking. Now all she could feel was dread.

The serpent must have been as large as the entire Beothuk. It was a gleaming pearl white color with a flowing mane that appeared to be made of soft clouds. It was long and had menacing white claws that were probably as big as the cot in Kanna's room. Besides all of that, it had these eyes that looked like the pupils were made of sparkling diamonds. It was unreal, like something straight from the spirit world.

And it was coming for them.

As the air serpent dived back into the water, and began swimming towards the ship, a wave was sent forward that the benders couldn't handle. The ship was thrust up, almost like it was going to tip over. Kanna quickly grasped the railing to not slide across the deck. The wiry boy next to her wasn't so lucky. He slide off of his feet and smacked into an earthbender.

"My boy!" the large woman next to Kanna screamed.

Before the woman let go of her railing Kanna bended the water around the woman's wrist into ice. "No stop, he's fine. We need to focus."

The woman took one more look at her son, who was clearly just winded, and nodded. She melted the ice and took her stance again when the ship leveled out.

Kanna did the same as she heard Ettorre yell for everyone to regroup for another assault. Looking out at the rushing sea Kanna realized that the serpent was nowhere to be found. The foaming white sea played tricks on Kanna's eyes, she couldn't tell where it went.

"Where is it?" she asked the pump woman beside her.

"I'm not sure. This is troubling, those things aren't known to just disappear like that in the tales," she replied tensely.

Kanna started to nod her head but then felt her body loose balance and slam into the railing. If she lived through this she was going to be seriously bruised. She heard muffled screams as a few people fell over the rail and into the unforgiving sea. She suddenly realized that the creature's tail had whacked the ship from the other side, from under the water. Another strike came and Kanna lost her footing and started to fall between railings. She grasped a pole of it before she descended into the murky depths. Her arms screamed in protests, and she felt her fingers start to slip.

"Kanna!" someone screamed. Kanna vaguely noted it was male, but she was more focused on her wet gloves suddenly turning ice cold. Now, with her legs exposed and dangling out of the ship, Kanna looked up into the cold grey sky and saw that her hands had been encased with ice to keep them from slipping. Before Kanna could assess who had helped her, or what to do next, a blast of air shoved her flat against the Beothuk's black encasing.

When it finally stopped Kanna opened her stinging eyes to see the diamond eyes of the air serpent right in front of her. She felt herself scream but didn't hear the sound over the raging wind.

The creature didn't make any move to attack her, like she thought it would. It merely stared at Kanna and she stared back. When looking at it Kanna realized that this creature was ancient. It had scars both healed and fresh. Its eyes held what Kanna could only describe as a crazed look. It seemed that all those years had made this creature break. Break into something unearthly. And now it was going to break all of them.

The creature blinked and Kanna stirred into action. She quickly freed one of her encased hands and lifted her legs with a grunt into the space between the deck flooring and the railing. She then quickly bended the excess water around her into a ball. During this time the creature simply stared at Kanna. It almost seemed like it was waiting for something. Not wanting to wait for it to strike first Kanna took a deep breath, exhaled, and extended her arm forward forcefully. The water bubble responded to her by quickly elongating into a thin hard shard of ice.

It shot like a missile straight into the forehead of the sea serpent. The creature reeled back from the instant pain of the attack, and Kanna thought it might rush at the ship. It didn't. Instead it let out a piercing wail and closed its eyes and fell backward into the sea with a crash. Kanna stared with wide eyes as cold rain continued to soak her, she didn't even care. All she could see was the slowly sinking corpse of the creature she had thought was beautiful.

"Kanna, oh my spirits you did it! You killed that thing, that was unbelievable."

Kanna vaguely nodded at the voice that was currently connected to the body that was crushing her in a tight hug. She realized that she was still in the same crouching position, with her left hand iced, against the railing.

"I think she's in shock Malcolm," the warm voice rang out again to someone else on the deck.

Kanna nodded again. The person holding her must be that motherly woman who bended next to her, Malcolm must have been her clumsy son.

It seemed that as the sea serpent's storm died away so did the fog in Kanna's mind. She started to hear around her people starting to mill around her, but the sharp metal whip of Ettorre drew them back. He hollered something about cleaning up or the brig.

Kanna pushed gently against the woman. She released her and said, "Thank you dear. You saved us all."

All Kanna could think of to say was, "Your welcome."

Getting to her feet shakily Kanna surveyed the ship. It was covered in seawater and a few barrels had come loose, on the opposite end of the ship she saw some earthbenders straightening some metal railing that was bent. Her gaze fell on the waterbender corridor and Kanna started to rush forward. She had to make sure her brothers and the strangers were okay.

Just as she was halfway there she felt someone grab her by the waist and spin her around.

"Wha-?"

Seeming to remember himself the earthbender who had covered Kanna's shift so many moons ago released her. She had found out a few nights ago that his name was Grant. He smiled down at her and scratched behind his neck, looking like he was caught.

"Heh Grant what was that about?"

The earthbender let out a gravely laugh, "Just for saving everyone around here. I saw what you did to that beast. A few others did as well."

It suddenly dawned on Kanna that the wiry Malcolm had fallen into Grant. That was how he noticed her.

Kanna scanned around herself then looked back at Grant, "Um your welcome," Kanna motioned towards her destination, "I have to go check on my brothers but I'll talk with you later."

Grant smiled, "Sure thing Kanna."

Kanna turned on her soggy boots and made it to her corridor without incident. She looked back up at the stairs that led to the deck and wondered if Corville saw what she had done.

Putting that thought away for further evaluation, Kanna made her way to the rusting metal door of her room. Remembering herself, she quickly bended out some of the water on her clothes and put her hair back into its usual side ponytail. Besides some shifted furniture Kanna was sure that everything would be fine. She felt a pang of trepidation hit her but brushed it off as she opened the door to her room.

Kanna felt her breathe catch as she realized something was very wrong. The room was pitch black. The lamp that Kanna had placed on the table beside the cot let off an electrical spark every few seconds, illuminating the room in an eerie glow. Against the wall crumpled together sound asleep was Kartok and Nakoda, beside them on the floor with a knife clenched in her palm was Emsta. Kanna thought she made out blood around her head.

Kanna's gaze immediately fell to the stranger in the cot. Except he wasn't lying down anymore, he was sitting up. Each spark of light illuminated glistening blue eyes that mirrored the sea serpent Kanna had just killed moments before.

The stranger, it seemed, was finally awake.