"How can a ship just stop moving?" you muse to yourself in the empty captain's quarters as Newt had rushed out earlier to check Alby's claim. You try to distract yourself as you're left in the room once again to be alone. You wonder if you'd have more friends if you were below deck, if Alby and Minho would have conversations with you and you'd even be happy to answer their questions. Maybe if you were below deck, the rest of the crew would talk to you and you wouldn't be left missing the cold pirate captain.

Newt had quickly hidden away the maps from earlier when Alby had rushed in so you couldn't even play with those.

There's silence outside but then you hear Newt shout something that sounds like a command. Unfamiliar to the vocabulary of the pirates, you don't really know what's happening.

"Can't be good" you say out loud, your eyes scanning the captain's quarters once again for anything interesting. It's no good, you'd already memorized all the little details and even if something new had caught your eye, you'd still be stuck in your glass case.

"What does he plan to do with me...?" you run your finger along the scar on your tail, frowning at how different it looks from just weeks before when you had been playing in the ocean. From dawn to dusk, your tail feels normal, like it did before it had been struck with the spear but at night, the pain begins, elicited by the light of the moon.

With no room to move and the pain ten times worse than any spear, you can't help but thrash in the glass tank and you hold in your cries so that Newt doesn't hear you.

There's a loud sudden noise that seems to rip the silence from you and a cry escapes your lips. Your blood runs cold and the room becomes icy. A chilled breath is visible when you exhale and your body trembles. You hear a low rumble then the ship rocks violently but you're too distracted by the sudden burst of pain in your tail. The sharp, stabbing sensation moves up to your torso and makes it almost impossible for you to breathe.

Newt and his crew have seen plenty of storms during their time out at sea. They always see them coming from miles away, the dark clouds that hang abnormally low, always a signature for a thunderstorm and they're able to prepare for it. Either by finding an area obstructed by tall cliffs or just sailing through it.

This storm however was unexpected in that not a single crew member had seen a dark cloud or even felt the shifts in the wind. The thing that was most strange, was the thunder that came out of nowhere.

"Captain!" Alby shouts from the main deck. Newt's eyes are able to land on his friend just before the rain. Newt sees a lightening strike not too far from the ship then a low rumbling of thunder follows. The rain is so heavy, the crew members become blurred shapes running around the deck of the ship.

"Alby!" Newt calls out to his first mate.

"What in the seven seas is going on?!" Newt had been out there to check the wheel of the ship and confirm that Alby had been right. They'd stopped moving, completely still on the surface of the water. Now, this. A great storm that arose from nothing and the ocean is no longer still. Its waves crash violently against the great pirate ship and Newt grimaces as panic floods him.

More lightening, more thunder, more freezing rain and with each passing minute, the waves only become more violent and dangerous.

"Why didn't anyone notice the clouds?!" Newt has to yell when Alby finally reaches him. Both of them completely soaked to the bone along with the rest of the crew.

"There weren't any!" Minho yells from somewhere above them. He jumps down using a piece of rope and lands in front of them, graceful even in such a turbulence.

"Get us out of here!" Newt orders them both. Minho and Alby nod to each other and as Minho starts yelling commands to the rest of the crew, Alby runs to take control of the wheel.

The ship rocks but doesn't move from its spot. It's like there's something from beneath the water that keeps them there, a great, huge sea beast gripping tightly on the ship. There's something unnatural about this storm.

You continue to writhe in pain, the water flowing out of the tank as your body twists and shakes. You hear so much commotion outside, yelling, the continuous booming of thunder, boots running across the deck and the rain hitting the hard surface of the ship. There's an acrid smell that you know is coming from your tail from how much it flares in pain. It's like the scales of your tail are being pulled off, one by one, an all too familiar sensation. Your throat dries, your finger claw at your neck as it burns and your eyes roll back. You hear the winding of a music box before a familiar tune plays throughout the entire cabin. It's gentle in nature but loud enough to drown out the sounds of the outside. This time, it's successful in luring you into a deep sleep.

As quickly as the storm had manifested, it also disappeared in an identical manner. Newt is quick to notice the strange events his eyes were experiencing. First, the rain halted abruptly, followed by the last low rumble of thunder then the howling winds settled into a light breeze. The sun hangs high in the sky, not a single cloud obscures its rays as it touches every surface of their ship.

Newt's jaw clenches as the last wave rocks the ship, sending it moving once again.

"Now we can move?" Minho seems just as astonished as the rest of the crew as he stands beside Newt, overlooking the main deck. The crew are still shivering in their soaked clothing but are still as they wait for their captain's orders.

"Commence clean up right away" is all Newt says to Minho who wastes no time to relay the order in a loud voice to the rest of the crew. Alby remains behind the wheel, his eyebrows creased as his eyes scan the horizon. Newt gives him a nod and Alby sets sail to the ship. With no clear destination in mind, it's best they put as much distance as they can to whatever was holding them down.

"Looks like we're in the clear" Minho says as he looks back to the spot they had previously been and shudders at the thought of the clouds full of wrath.

"For now." Newt adds, shaking his head. He wrings out his captain's hat followed by his boots filled with water. Minho's about to say something more when Newt's eyes go wide,

"(y/n)!" He moves quickly towards his quarters, wincing as he thinks about your tank and how fragile the glass it's made out of is. Minho glances at Alby, making sure he's fine behind the wheel before following Newt to his cabin.

When you come to and your eyes peel open, the sea no longer roars wildly, the ship is steady and sails in calm waters and you no longer feel cold or in pain. In fact, there's something new about you. You sit in the tank, staring down at your legs, your brain is numb from the pain but you still try to figure out what is different about you.

Why am I sitting in a tank?

Did I have these scars before? You ask yourself, tracing your fingers across the damaged skin that runs across both your thighs. The scars seem almost connected.

"LEGS!"

You look up to see two young men standing in the door way. Both are drenched and both wear the same bewildered look on their features.

"When did you get legs?!"

//

Author's notes: sorry this sucks so bad omg 

anyways happy friday ♡

hope everyone has a good weekend, especially to my fellow Aussies! enjoy the long weekend and stay hydrated! it's too hot :(