Laxmi's crows had decided to stay on the ship. They black feathered birds were perched high on the poles of where the sails waved calmly with the warm wind. They never sleep, do they? Laxmi thought, becoming irritated and frustrated as she wanted to take a few gems and such.

---

As most of the ship's crew, save the nightguards of course, went to sleep, one might have thought that the night would go by without a major incident.

Which would be the case, the guards would see nothing in the dark, but anything that would get too close to the ship would be seen without a problem, thus the ability to alert the rest was assured.

As such, the guards would have said that indeed, nothing had happened this night.

Laxmi's crows, on the other hand, might have been able to spot the cowled figures, dressed in alternating shades of bile green and putrid yellow, giving off the pungently-sweet stench of decay, standing outside of sight of the guards, just watching the ship, casting weary glances at the blood-red runes Helbrecht had etched into the ship's hull.



For the entire duration of the night, they did nothing but watch in total silence.

Thus, as the night gave way to the dawn of a crimson sun, Helbrecht gave the command to have the ship undocked, he himself navigating it out of the harbor, thus, finally, after several hours, they found themselves back upon the open sea.

It was noon, the sun stood at its zenith.

As one might have expected, Helbrecht, with the present lack of slaughter, was anxious.

With his voice reaching its usual booming tone, he shouted up to the man inside the crow's nest of the ship "YOU THERE! UNNAMED FOOL! DO YOU SEE ANYTHING THAT MIGHT GIVE A GOOD FIGHT?"

---

"None, ca-" the man was cut off as the crows nest was smashed off the ship. A large creaking, a moaning was heard, followed by an immense roar. Several tentacles, thick as redwoods and just as long, breached the surface around the boat.

---

Even Helbrecht was silenced at the sight of the things creeping out of the formerly calm sea around them.

For a few seconds at least.

"KRAKEN! ALL HANDS ON DECK!# he roused his crew for the fight.

---

Katerina was violently shaken from her slumber in the morning sun as horrible booms and cracks attacked her senses and large wooden splinters filled the air.

She looked around frantically seeing pirates shouting and a huge slimy thing that had just slammed into the crow's nest.

She grabbed for one of her rifles, and loading it quickly she shot at the thing, before loading and firing again.

"W-WHAT IS IT!" She shouted, panicked by the chaos around her.

---

"Looks to me like a kraken!" Johnny shouted as he pushed a crate onto the deck. "Here's a crate of cannonballs; I'll go fetch more rifles!"

---

For a moment, many of the deckhands could only stare in terror at the massive tentacles which were about to coil around the ship, too fearful were these men and women to load the cannons or grab the rifles.

Then boomed the voice of their captain "WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU MISERABLE FOOLS! GATHER YOUR WITS JUST FOR THE TIME YOU ARE ABOUT TO DIE OF YOUR INABILITY TO ACT!"

The sheer volume managed to tear them out of their stupor, and with the same fear that had them stand frozen before, they now, with abandon, went for the munitions Johnny had brought out.

Rifles and cannons were being loaded, the pirates themselves held in a desperate silence.

---

Kairi woke up from her half-sleep, her eyes shooting open. The barrel she was in rolled, hit a wall, and broke open.

"Wha!!!" She shouted, rubbing her head and her eyes wide. The ship was shaking. Staying calm, she got up, but fell again. Desperately, Kairi crawled along the floor, digging her nails into it to stay put.

When she was above deck, she rolled forcefully and hit the side of the ship. Groaning in sore pain, she grasped the edge, trying to pull herself up. Then, she spotted the tentacles.

Kairi slipped, and hit her head once again. She had never heard or seen those large tentacles now grasping the ship. And, the crows nest was gone.

"What is that!!?" Kairi shouted, mostly asking the strange snake girl not too far away from her. Kairi grasped the edge, but couldn't get up. No matter what she did, she kept slipping.

---

Katerina looked back at a pirate-girl who seemed to be trying to talk to her, she swung her tail towards the girl.

"Grab onto that!" she shouted, waiting until the girl was upright she continued.

"I don't know, but it needs to die, now!" she screamed.

---

[Sorry for my disappearance, I've been busy.

Anyway, I read that there's a new character and there's a kraken attacking? I wonder how my characters could help fight off the creature...]

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