Chapter Text
It was supposed to be a dream cruise for everyone to enjoy. And at first everyone did, there was laughter, music, bustling customers, hard working staff, and the sounds of the ocean bashing against the hull of the giant cruise ship holding over a thousand people.
It was the cruise of anyone's dream but it soon became a nightmare that cost lives.
A storm, a massive one the crew had thought for sure they would miss but when the dark clouds of doom rolled in, closer and closer, it was inevitable disaster would begin.
It was a mistake, by the crew, by the captain, by the staff.
And by the guests who foolishly thought they would be fine.
So when the waves that barely licked halfway up the cruise hull became the size of mountains, the dread was felt throughout the entire ship.
Including one of the residents currently running through the lower deck, lost and confused as crew members and kitchen staff run past him.
A golden blonde teenager with wild blue eyes now wide in fear and confusion, is a boy named Tommy Innes.
He didn't exactly mean to end up in the lower deck, he got bored and with his new friends he made named Eryn and Freddie, decided to explore.
Which ended with the disaster that was now. He had lost Freddie and Eryn in the chaos, the last thing he heard was them calling his name and the last thing he saw was Eryn reaching for him.
Tommy lost sight and sound of them soon after and now all he's trying to find now are stairs. If he can find his way up somewhere, all the way to the deck, then he'll find his parents, his new friends and get the fuck out of here.
He heard it from the chaos and screams of the storm and felt the entire ship shudder as it got hit by waves. Now the ship is being tossed left and right, making walking or even running down the halls almost impossible.
He's thankfully going the right direction. At least he thinks he is, several people had told him to go this way and that to find stairs up to the deck and he's mostly following a chain of staff rushing in what he hopes is an exit.
One massive lurch however, sends several people, including Tommy to the ground and that's when they hear it.
It shakes the ship almost as bad as the waves that crash into the cruise.
It doesn't sound human, doesn't sound even close to normal ocean music even with the massive storm outside.
A deep guttural sound that sounded like a mixture of a growl and a whale call froze everyone in their tracks as the entire hull went silent. It shook their bones and all forms of panic turned to awed confusion.
Now, Tommy knows mysterious sounds can be found in the ocean. Having been curious enough to find videos under the lines of "Mysterious sounds heard from the ocean" and he feels like this could fall under that category because…
What in the world was that?
Whispers echoed from everyone before panic slotted back on place when the shop once again shook from the beat of the mountain sized waves.
Everyone was back on their feet, a moment of mystery gone from their minds as instead, the urge to survive made its way back to the forefront of everyone's mind.
Turning another corner, Tommy spots the stairs and belines to it.
He almost made it when he knocked someone over, Tommy meeting the eyes of a staff member, probably a waiter with buzz cut hair and blue and brown eyes, flailing on the ground.
"Fuck, I'm sorry," Tommy quickly says before grabbing the guys hand and dragging him up. They don't have much time for introductions as they are pushed forward by the current of panicking people.
Tommy keeps his hand around the guys and he doesn't seem to mind at all as he holds on just as tightly.
They make their way up the stairs.
"I'm Jack by the way," the man shouts through the crowd, Tommy turning his head momentarily to him.
"Tommy!" He shouts back and receives a smile before both go back to concentrating on each step.
Everything after is a blur, Tommy and Jack both fighting their way up and up, mixing with the panicked individuals of crew members and staff and the occasional guests.
Most of the guests are likely on the top deck. In the main hall area to keep them safe.
Soon enough, as the people taper out, Jack and Tommy alone rush through a door that leads to the top deck. Their eyes meet crashing waves and heavy rain, dark clouds and darker waters. The occasional strike of a lightning bolt allows their eyes to lay upon the dark towering mountains of waves.
"Come on Tommy, we got to find the other guests," Jack pulls Tommy out of his stare and they both start running. The thought of his mother and father being worried sick makes his feet run faster. Maybe he'll be able to find Freddie and Eryn, they're likely there already.
The wet wooden flooring under their feet is almost slippery to run over in this rain but both boys manage not to fall.
Another strike of lightning makes Tommy's steps falter as something is caught from the corner of his eye.
Looking out at the sea, it's darkness that greets him, but another bolt of lightning makes Tommy suck in a sharp breath.
What was that?
Was that… eyes?
He doesn't realise it when he's leaning against the side of the ship, holding onto the rails with a tight hold as he locks his gaze where he saw something in the water.
Something huge.
Another bolt of lightning and he sees it… move.
What in the fuck is in the water?
Through the storm, he hears someone's feet rush towards him.
"Tommy, what the fuck are you doing? We gotta go!" It's Jack and when Tommy meets his eyes, wide and confused but with so much intrigue coming out of those big blues, he can't help but stay where he is.
"Jack, there is something out there, I saw something!" He can't be crazy, he just can't be. Yes, he's panicked over the ship most likely being capsized and wants to find his family but… what he just saw… It's nothing normal.
"What the fuck are you on about?! I can barely hear you, we need to go," the guy shouts again, holding knuckle white tight to the rails as is Tommy but on the opposite side, smart enough to not get too close to the edge.
But Tommy is not smart and he pays for it.
For before he can say anything else, the ship lurches harshly. A massive wave hit the other side of the cruise, making it tip. Jack's hand slips from the rail and he falls almost face first into the boardwalk but overall, okay.
Tommy however, was practically leaning over the edge of the ship and the momentum of the hit forced the boy to fly forward, over the edge of the ship where he dangles precariously, fingers clutching onto the side of the ship that's wet and slippery.
"Fuck! Jack!!" He shouts, desperate as he holds on as tight as he can.
Jack, who was recovering from hitting the floor hard, hears his name being shouted in panic and looks up to see the blonde teenager gone.
No, not gone, not yet.
"Fuck! Tommy!" The man gets up on unsteady feet, stumbling as the waves continue to shake the ship and runs to where the boy is holding on for dear life.
He had been a bit away from the kid so he ran, and ran fast.
But it's too late.
Tommy couldn't hold on too long when the ship swayed violently from hits of the waves and the rain water, making it too slippery for his nimble fingers to hold on.
So when Jack was only a step away from grabbing Tommy's hand, he slipped and fell.
Jack ran to the edge, holding out his hand, seeing if he could still grab the boy but it was too late, Tommy was gone.
He fell and the last thing he sees is a man he barely knew. Only knew his name, his face, his eyes, his accent. He hears his name being screamed by the guy, the last thing he hears before the salty seas of death take him.
He drops into icy cold water in moments and it hurts. He tries to fight, flailing his arms, kicking his legs, trying to swim up.
He was able to push to the surface and sucked in a quick breath of air but lost it too soon as strong waves crashed over him once more.
He tries to fight but his energy is quickly sapped from him as fast as the warmth of his body is drained away by the icy cold water.
He's kicked by current and water this way and that and his efforts quickly become futile.
His lungs burn and he wishes he could surface, wishes he could see his parents again, wishes he could see Freddie and Eryn again and talked to them more, wishes he got to tell his best friends Tubbo and Ranboo about the amazing time he's had and the new friends made, wishes he got Jack's last name and made fun of him for it.
But those wishes would never come true, prayers never reaching whatever god existed.
Instead he lets himself float in dark waters, the air tight in his lungs he lets out and water immediately fills them, replacing the air, making him choke.
His vision, already dark, saps away any hint of light as he floats down and down.
For a moment, he's at peace, for a moment he mourns his lost life but at least, he can pray his remaining friends and family at least live in his place.
His entire vision goes dark as he closes his eyes and welcomes the cold.
Any moment sooner in letting the ocean consume him, he would have heard the rumble of the ocean's child shake his bones as the beast that had watched the cruise fail from a distance, finds him.
And embraces him
—------
Mother nature is angry, it seems. She cries her fresh tears on the sea. Her lights of old flash in the sky, giving momentary vision to those with no sight.
It doesn't need it though, it watches the storm, watches her rage as she disturbs the sea, letting it join her anger. It's home now an area of chaos and it loves to watch her work.
It's pod isn't here but he knows if they were, they'd join in its watch.
But something else is amiss, something new. A shape that glides over the sea is attacked by mother's rage, unfortunate enough to be caught in her crossfire.
He hears the call and cries of creatures that pitter patter on it. Trying to fight and survive and not doing well.
It wouldn't be surprising if the creature's shell that glides on the water fails and it sinks into the depths of its home. At least it will have something to look forward to. Something new to investigate.
It feels pity for those creatures, they seem so small, not fit for the seas but they still seem to try.
It had earlier, when it first found the strange thing, thought it was alive and watching the storm with it so it rumbled a greeting, having never seen it before.
But it did not reply and upon closer expectations found it wasn't alive but had little alive things crawling around and inside it. Perhaps the little creatures are home.
It has never seen them before, maybe his pod elder would know of these creatures, it'll ask later. But for now, it will watch.
It's not soon enough, something interesting happened during its watch. One of the creatures spotted it. A small thing, likely a hatchling by the look of its big bright eyes.
Such innocence wavering off it, it feels the urge to get closer, to grab it and take it away. It's so small.
It stares at it and it stares back. Their eyes never leave each other for a few moments before interrupted by what seems to be another, calling out to the other.
The other doesn't seem happy but the youngling is desperate. Probably because of the sight of it. If it's never seen them before, then it's likely they've never seen it.
It sees it coming before they do. A massive wave made from mother's rage hits the giant shell, tipping the thing sideways. It sees many things fall into the water but one of them seems to be the small hatchling that had spotted it.
Oh dear, it's likely the small youngling shouldn't be in water if it needs the shell to glide over it.
So it dives under the waves, swimming effortlessly through the currents that attack it but do no damage with its angry current of water.
It's soon enough it finds the little young creature, fighting the water but failing profusely. Until it gives up all too quickly and lets itself float down into the ocean's embrace.
It rumbles sadly at the little things struggling and makes its way to the small things side.
Cupping its hand, it lets the little creature float onto its scaled fingers, the creature being only just longer than its middle finger.
It's so small, in its hand and so precious. Its hair reminiscent of glowing sun and warm sand, sways in the water like seaweed caught in the gentle current.
It hears its little heart beat, slowly fading. The little thing is dying.
It's likely not used to water, maybe it can't breathe it? It knows it sees land creatures before, they do not breathe water.
Maybe this one doesn't either.
So, it blows, from its second set of lungs that allows it to breathe in oxygen from the surface. Creating bubbles from the mucus in its mouth.
The bubbles stick to the creature's skin until it sticks to its head. The bubble slides around the creature's head until the entirety of it is inside.
It hopes this will work, he did not want this little thing to die. It would be sad if it did.
A beat or two passes and it waits for something.
It can still hear its little heartbeat so it's still alive. It just needs to fight.
And fight it does, because moments later it lurches forward and starts to cough. Water, probably stuck in its air lungs, spilled out into the bubble but not enough to fill it thankfully.
It coughs and almost falls off its hand but it manages to hold it gently down. Knowing it's too small and would probably break if it was any harsher on it.
When the little creature finally breathes, it collapses back into its palm, exhausted and likely to fall asleep again.
It coos at it which only gets a twitch in response from the little hatchling.
It's probably time to take it home, somewhere where it can live and thrive. It's never raised a hatchling before but it should be fine.
It takes off into the deep, knowing the perfect place to put it. And he calls to his pod, knowing they'll need to know about their new member.
It'll be wonderful.
Meanwhile, a ship filled with thousands of guests miraculously make it out of a storm. Some guests were bruised and the majority in shock but overall okay.
All guests were fine and accounted for.
Except one and a family and friends cry and mourn for the loss of their youngest. The news was told by a young adult waiter with brown and blue eyes.