Old South Sea took a deep breath as he looked over the railing of the Old South Prince. It’d be the last good scent of the port he’d get now that he and his crew were shipping out. North Sea was off securing the cargo below while his crew move about the ship, doing what needed doing. The old kappa would almost miss this place, but they’d overstayed their welcome. All they had to do was shove the kitsune off and they could sail away with no worries.


    “Captain?” Old South Sea turned to sea North Sea standing there.


    “Aye?”


    “The crew and I had a thought.”


    “From you that’s expected, but the others? Maybe the gods are granting us a miracle.” North Sea let out a low chuckle.


    “Perhaps. We talked about it, I think it best we wait until we’re out at sea to, uh... “drop off the present.””


    “Aye, would probably be for the best. Maybe we get stranded and it becomes our next meal.”


    “Or makes a meal out of us. Little River almost lost an arm to it.” Old South Sea shook his head; it’d be good to wash their hands of this whole thing. Slowly the crew meandered into the bridge, and with a nod the crew manned their stations as the ship’s anchor rose rapidly into the ship’s side. Old South Sea could see Maddock rush out of his office and the kappa grinned and dragged one of his eyelids down, sticking his tongue out at Maddock through the window as the ship began to turn. Maddock started to shift into his true form but Old South Sea had a plan for that, a little gift from his employers; a flick of a lever and suddenly the ship was rocketing forward out of Maddock’s reach. The waters churned mightily but his crew was accustomed to worse than this and in moments they were sailing freely through the tunnels of the deep-docks, navigating their way through the tall tunnels until they reached the barrier to the sea, slipping right through it and into the deep waters.


    He could see it in his crew, the way the all seemed to shudder in relief, and he couldn’t deny having water that wasn’t soiled by Yokaitown funk felt grand on his hide. A shame the hold was waterproof, they could just drown the damn beast below but so it goes. It would be another few hours before they were safe enough to float up to the surface, basking under the starless night.


    “Ah, drink it in lads. Only a bit more to go and we can set sail to whatever port we wish. We could head home and pay off our debts.” The crew booed. “Or we can make some new ones wherever we land!”


    The crew cheered and Old South Sea laughed, White Lake chortling as he spoke up, “Maybe we’ll win enough to fix that hole!”


    Old South Sea froze, looking right at White Lake. The other crew caught on quick and quieted down, White Lake still chortling for a moment before he was elbowed in the arm, “Ow, whazzat for?”


    “White Lake.” Old South Sea gripped the wheel of the ship.


    “Yes Cap’n?”


    “What hole?” White Lake blinked and scratched under the bowl of his head.


    “That vent what’s been popped off.” Old South Sea pressed a hand to his face before looking to North Sea, his second in command already raising a hand.


    “I’ll take care of it. C’mon, White Lake.” White Lake blinked in confusion but got out of his seat to follow North Sea. The captain shook his head, focusing on the sea instead. Oh, if White Lake wasn’t a friend, he’d be gone already. It was a few minutes longer when there was a crackle on the radio, North Sea’s voice coming through, “Captain, we got a problem; think we got a stowaway.”


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    Old South Sea quickly picked up the mouthpiece of the radio, “You’re certain?”


    “Unless someone’s decided to start wearing boots, we got a-”


    There was a burst of static and North Sea’s voice suddenly cut off...


    <hr>


    Ray watched the two kappa raise their hands up as Zanzibar leveled his shotgun at them, the intercom they were using a crater thanks to said gun. He had a feeling Zanzibar was still rather angry about losing his boot and having his sock soaked through as they sneaked onto the ship. The kappa were ushered into a cargo container, a pair of shikigami wrapping around their wrists and ankles like cuffs as the door was locked. Araki huffed, “I believe our chance for stealth has just disappeared.”


    “Maybe, maybe not.” Agent Woodbanks pointed at Ray and Araki. “You two find the package. Boothe? With me.” The group split, going towards opposite ends of the cargo hold. Ray kept his eyes peeled as they moved through unmarked boxes and pallets, a hand on his knife and dolls before they found a cage... completely busted open, the bars bent outwards. The two Hunters looked at each and took a single step back to retreat before something echoed through the boat, and Ray felt his whole soul shake. The sound itself was low, but Ray’s vision was blurry from how it shook him, accompanied by a clicking that hit him like a series of punches until something landed on his shoulder and the world became clear.


    He quickly turned to see Araki holding his shoulder, a faint green light pouring off him. “Calm thyself.”


    Ray nodded and realized he hadn’t been breathing, coughing once before he took deep breaths, “What, ugh, what is this?”


    “I’m not sure, but we are not remaining here to find out. Come on.” Araki started dragging Ray away, back towards the vent they got through, and saw Zanzibar looking annoyed while Agent Woodbanks looked ill. Araki didn’t ask anything, instead making several hand gestures before a faint light washed over them all, Zanzibar and Woodbanks relaxing. “The kitsune is already gone, we need to get to the bridge. I’d rather fight a crew of kappa then-”


    There was a loud, metallic clang and the cargo hold doors buckled inward, only a small bump it was enough for the four to look at each other before rushing out the vent they came in. The closer they got to the surface the louder the sounds of shouts became, and once they were above deck the four of them quietly shuffled towards the side of the bridge, Ray sending out a shikigami to scout ahead. What he saw was the kappa crew, some armed with harpoons, trying to corner a black-furred kitsune on the deck of the ship. “I see... six- no, eight kappa and the kitsune. It’s fighting the crew off but-”


    Ray saw the kitsune plants its feet and its whole body seemed to swell before that deep noise hit again, disorienting the crew. “The kappa are-”


    Something jostled Ray out of the shikigami’s vision, and he saw Zanzibar rush past the group as Araki and Woodbanks failed to make a grab for him. Both adults swore and Woodbanks rushed out to follow Zanzibar, Araki trying to stop the agent before quickly turning to Ray, “Stay here, prepare your shikigami to rescue us if we fall in the water.”


    Ray simply nodded and Araki rushed off to join the others. Ray focused and shikigami flew from his pocket, one landing on his back and flattening itself. He peered around the corner and watched the trio surprised the kappa, shouting at them to get on the ground or drop their weapons. Some of the kappa turned but others were torn on whether the sudden humans or the kitsune were the bigger threat. Ray watched carefully, ready to react if things got worse, when he noticed something: the kitsune’s head shot up, ears perked forward. It was staring past the crowd and at first Ray thought it was staring at him, but he felt a creeping dread run up his back and he turned to stare at the water.


    In the distance was a patch of fog that was steadily approaching the ship, faint glowing lights hovering above the fog. The instinct to follow orders broke immediately as Ray raised a hand and shouted and order, “Rise!”


    The arms of the dolls grew into wide white wings that rapidly flapped, dragging the four into the air. The shikigami brought them all close together in the sky high above the boat and Ray could see Araki trying to say something but it was lost over the sounds of the shikigami flapping and the wind, so Ray simply pointed to the incoming fog cloud. The water clearly trembled before a massive, skeletal whale breached out of the water, slamming itself down onto the ship. The group stared in horror as the ship all but vanished under the water before bobbing back to the surface, albeit upside down.


    They were going to be in so much trouble for this.