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Amber crashed into the Sea, but never felt it. In those first few moments, she didn’t feel the water at all. The temperature came through first. The bitter cold that shocked her nerves and mind. After the shock, the pain. Panic that arced through her as the harsh, freezing water filled her nose and lungs. Amber’s eyes were shut tight to the water, her vision blank. The Ethersea pulled her under, dark, cold, and cruel. Amber choked and spit. The water burned and Amber's nerves spasmed in the searing cold. She panicked. Memories tugged at her mind, compelling her body to remember.
………
Amber stepped onto the helm and stared into the rippling blue. Wind whipped loose strands of hair into her face as the boat steered into a gale. She had never been this far out before. Amber breathed the anticipation in. They’d seen the unmistakable dorsal fins cut through the water. She was ready. She couldn’t be more ready.
Joshy steered them in pursuit. The boat was chaotic in the din of the crew. Amber ran to the front of the deck with the other Warriors. She held back a grin as she followed the path of the fins. The waves of the Ethersea were unyielding, peaked with white.
They chased the sharks into the storm. The Ethersea threw itself at them. Amber braced herself against the sides as waves shook the boat. The students chattered and worried over the storm.
They lost the sharks. The Ethersea raged below them. The weather grew fierce. Clouds thick with rain unleashed their burden on the boat. Lightning lashed the sky. The Ethersea batted and toyed with the ship, tossing it around like a cat and a bug. The boat sighed and groaned under heavy water. Rain pummeled the deck and the students. The Warriors clung to the ship and looked towards their captain. Joshy led them onwards.
Hours into the chase, Amber tore her gaze from the mass of swirling Ethersea colors. She shook any doubts from her mind. If sailing into the storm was a bad idea, she couldn’t care about it now. She had a responsibility. She had a job to do.
Joshy found the blinksharks. They were going in for the kill.
With the sharks in sight, Amber stepped to the front of the Warriors. The wind shrieked in her ears. The winds howled at her to turn around, go home. Blinksharks circled the ship. She ignored the pounding rain, the groaning ship, the panicking students, and the violent Sea. She had a job to do. The noise faded. Amber took a breath. Green, ghostly light poked at her vision. She closed her eyes. Energy coursed and focused in her belly. She threw her arms at the sharks.
A wave ripped Amber from the boat and sent her crashing into the Sea below.
Amber fell like a rock into the Ethersea. The water pulled and tore at her. Amber gasped and flailed at the water, kicking through the waves. She was thrown and pounded dizzyingly under. Amber couldn’t tell what direction was up. She panicked and swam, betting on her instinct to carry her to the surface. Pain seared in her lungs and throat. Her waterlogged clothes made her heavy. Blinking lights appeared in her peripheral vision. The water pleaded her deeper. Blue filled her mind and her lungs. Her aching muscles tired. She burned, struggled, and drowned. Amber closed her eyes.
…………
Her muscle memory begged Amber to move, to swim, to fight. Amber was dreaming. She dreamed of a blue and painful Sea. Her body convulsed as the water ballooned in her lungs. Amber’s vision seared white light. She was lifted towards something.
…………
Grass scratched her face. Amber’s eyes adjusted to the white light. Sunrise. The sky was streaked with warm pink, orange, and red. A gentle breeze rustled the grass. It teased her clothes and tugged at her sleeves as she sat up. Amber was home. She couldn’t remember if she’d been here before. Amber breathed easy. The sun warmed her worn skin. Her bones settled and muscles calmed. Amber turned lazily to the giant object passing her by. The mammoth boulder lifted off the ground. She realized it was a pair of impossibly large feet. Had she seen anything like it before? A memory beckoned and was swept away. Amber sank back to the ground. A warmth blossomed in her chest and tugged at her lips. She laughed at the whistling grasses. Tears pricked at her eyes. She could rest. She didn’t need to know where she was, she was home.
Rain fell onto her. It carried her out of the grass and into the sky. The sky was dark and angry. She gasped as the water filled her lungs.
.............
Devo’s harrowed, panicked eyes met Amber’s in the burst of blue energy’s glow. Amber’s arm shot out to meet his own and she pulled him upward. The Sea cried and danced. Amber tore through it. Spots blinked in her vision. She fought with a hollow energy. Devo kicked weakly in the water by her side, clawing at her arm to hold on. She pulled them through the water. The Ethersea held her down, opened her mouth, and pushed at her lungs. She coughed and swallowed water, vision searing blue, then white, then teal. Zoox took her other arm and yanked them from the water.
She pushed Devo onto the dock. He clambered desperately onto the surface, falling onto it. He coughed and gasped. Zoox fretted over him. Amber hung over the side of the dock and retched. Her lungs and throat tore open. She forced the Ethersea out. She gasped and grabbed at the air, holding her side. Amber’s vision cleared. The sea frothed below her. Amber stood on shaky legs. Her peripheral vision acknowledged Zoox and Devo behind her. She vaguely heard Devo’s shout to get to the Coriolis. Amber ran for the ship. She had a job to do.