Damon worked every ship at the port, crabbing for weeks at a time. He struggled to keep jobs due to his wild temper. It was because of his short fuse that he went to work on northern waters. Freezing cold air and long hours would keep him from exploding, he thought. That wasn’t the case. He was kicked off of ship after ship for his outbursts and volatile nature.

His last shot was a ship called the Crab ‘N Go. Silas Stone, a grumpy old captain, took Damon in on a small, two man ship and was careful not to ignite his temper. While hauling in cages, Silas would recount his younger years on the water and all the adventures he had. He would always round off his stories with his greatest regret.

“Mr. Cole, can you guess what my biggest failure in life was?”

“Family…” Damon replied quietly while pulling crab claws off his arm.

“That’s right. Now, I may have told you this before, but there’s no reason I can’t repeat myself. I wasted so many years living for myself that now, as my life comes to an end, I have nothing to live for.” Silas grew quiet and Damon peered at him curiously. “You have time, Damon. You’re still young.”

“If I knew I could be a good husband, or a good father, I’d already be those things, sir. Some people don’t deserve those things.”

“Hmm.” the captain grunted and walked back to steer.

The Crab ‘N Go began to tip back and forth from a large wave. Damon held tight onto the cage he had unloaded. Silas fell onto the deck and slid to the end of the ship. As Damon moved to help, the entire boat flipped into the ice cold water. 

As his racing heart was slowed by the freezing depths, Damon opened his eyes to see through schools of fish and connect to a pair of glowing eyes in the distance. An enormous creature swam away within an instant, but Damon would never forget that moment. He lost consciousness and felt his body give way to the cold.

After a while, a cage dropped down below Damon and then scooped him up to a crabbing vessel he once worked upon. Silas was gone. Damon saw death and was brought back to life. Doctors told him he should have died, that all of his organs would have shut down for the amount of time he was in the water.

Within days, Damon moved back to Big City, where he grew up. He returned to his neighborhood and married his high school crush. Over the next few years, he settled down completely, having three boys and two girls. 

One day, as they walked on the busy street, Damon saw a man bump his daughter. He turned to face the man and started shouting. “HEY!”

The man turned around and Damon had an aura of cold around him. He noticed this and began to weaponize it, focusing on moving it toward the man. His kids all tugged on his shirt, never having seen his temper before. They pleaded, “Daddy, chill!”

Damon dropped the confrontation and smiled at his kids. “Let’s go get some ice cream.”

The End

Later that night, when the family was asleep, Damon’s eyes wouldn’t shut. He saw the face of the man on the street, Silas’ face and the eyes of the sea. He couldn’t silence this awakening of his rage.

As quietly as he could, Damon snuck out of the house and walked the streets, looking for a problem. He walked into a gym that was still open and asked one of the boxers if he could spar.

“You’re a little small, but sure, this’ll be fun… for me.” the boxer chuckled.

Damon froze gloves over his hands and took a first swing. The man stood back calmly and removed his gloves.

“Ahh. You don’t want to spar. You want to hurt somebody. This isn’t the place. Here.”

Damon read a note the boxer passed him and went to the location scribbled on it. On the edge of Big City in an old building, stairs led down to a massive arena. All forms of fighter stood around watching while two battled in the center.

“You want next?” an old man asked Damon.

“Yeah. I want next.”

When it was his turn, Damon stepped into the ring with no idea who he’d be facing. From the crowd stepped out a large man in shorts. He was grunting to himself as he walked forward, “Er, agh, uhh, BOO-”

Damon froze the enemy’s entire body just before he struck. A large block of ice surrounded him. But it began to crack as Damon started to walk away.

“-YAH!” finished the enemy.

Damon felt the air tremble. This was power. The opponent approached, grunting. Damon stopped him.

“Fight’s over. I gotta go cut off some crusts.”

Seven Seas vanished without a trace, swallowed by the ocean he was once to be the captain of, his hat resting on the head of his furry companion, his ship beneath her. EmBark recalled the years together, searching for the very hat that allowed her to sail the world. There was no way she would leave him without his power. She searched on the water everywhere for him before realizing that he may very well be on land, living a new life away from the ocean. As this thought struck her, she headed to the port he rescued her from, inside Big City’s bustling bay.

The dog captain approached gradually, various massive ships yielding to her, respecting her ability to command the ship whilst having paws. When she stopped to dock, she was approached by the captain of another vessel, a frail old man with a long white beard similar to hers.

“'Yer’ hat…. I knew it once.”

EmBark turned her head adorably to listen.

“Everyone knew it.” He hobbled over to lean on the railing. “Seven Seas, eh?”

EmBark barked in an enthusiastic response and the ship underneath her rose with the ocean below, called by her.

“I heard speak that he’d been spotted far north. Heard he wasn’t what he used to be.” He drew an ‘X’ on a map and put it between the pup’s teeth. “Try here. If he’s what yer’ after.”

EmBark nodded gratefully and quickly took to the ocean. The old man hobbled back to his own boat, stroking his beard as if he didn’t just have a conversation with a dog.

The water expedited EmBark’s journey north. A wild current provided rapid passage across the globe to where the map indicated. Weather cleared in her path, an unusual occurrence in her experience. It was as if the ocean shared in her excitement to reunite.

Close to the harbor, she carved through ice on the surface of the water and breathed in crisp, dry air. Her nose picked up the scent of Seven Seas. Her ship rose from the sea, water and ice beneath her as she followed the familiar smell. People working on the docks took their hats off and stared as the boat sailed above the ocean.

To her dismay, EmBark found a small, decommissioned dinghy resting off to the side of the harbor. She couldn’t imagine Seven Seas would captain such a poorly kept boat. She hopped off her ship onto the shore, causing it to crash down into the water. Inside the dinghy, she overcame the smell of spoiled crab and noticed a picture inside. Seven Seas faced away from the camera, but there was another man with him. She hurriedly ran out and brought it to one of the dockworkers.

“Him, yeah. We kept in touch a little. He’s retired now, living in Big City. Name’s Damon. I got his number, but not much good that’ll do a dog. Good luck.” He pet EmBark’s head and resumed his work.

EmBark summoned her ship to the dock where she stood and boarded, thrilled to have a lead. Back to Big City she rushed.

The ocean again supported her quest and she was back in no time. EmBark knew that she’d never get anywhere on foot, so instead of docking at the harbor, she rode the wind. The boat lifted from the water and sailed the sky. Seven Seas had done so many times with her aboard, but it was her first time. She struggled to maintain forward motion, controlling the ship entirely with her mind; it was much more important for her to use her focus to keep it afloat. It felt unnatural, however. She and the boat both longed to return to the water.

In the distance, fate flagged EmBark down. A trail of ice formed and fell as a figure slid on it. Another figure flew beside. She focused her energy on speeding up to catch up. Soon, she met where the trail dissipated and her ship, of its own will, gravitated towards it, using it like the ocean. Her speed increased tenfold and soon she was right behind the pair.

All of a sudden, the ship halted in midair, as did the figure on the ice. The man flying, however, was moving freely, and began to inspect the EmBark’s boat. She looked down and saw that not only were her and the ice man stalled, the entire city was.

“What is this.” the red and white clad hero asked, allowing slow motion as a light on his arm turned from red to yellow.

“Woooooof.” EmBark tried to reply, grabbing the picture and presenting it to him.

“Oh. Thought you were here for me.” he turned his light green and instantly everything was moving forward again. “Damon, this is for you. Dog, this is Daddy Chill. He’s your man. I’ll go on ahead, catch you another time.”

“HardStop, wait up.” DC shouted at the stop sign man. HardStop did not wait up.

Daddy Chill looked back and saw the picture. The two of them relocated to a nearby rooftop to talk.

“You’re looking for me?”

EmBark shook her head in reply.

“You’re looking for Silas then. Why?”

EmBark pointed her head up to point to the hat. She then showed him the picture of Seven Seas in his full glory wearing his captain’s hat.

“I see. Always knew there was more to old Silas. Lucky for you, I know exactly where to look for him. I’ll have to let the family know I’m going on a trip.” DC said, pulling out his phone to send the text. “Let’s go find your captain.”

 

Above Big City, EmBark sailed on a trail of ice conjured by Daddy Chill, heading back toward the ocean to locate Seven Seas, Captain of the Ocean. If the civilians below weren’t used to that kind of thing, it may have caused a panic. It was difficult not to move slowly with such a method, so people did watch for a bit as they walked by. Nothing too interesting for the likes of Big City, however.

They plopped into the ocean just past the harbor and sailed on, Daddy Chill explaining his confidence in their destination. EmBark sat listening with her tongue hanging out, picturing her captain as DC spoke.

“Silas wasn’t fulfilled as a crabber. He said of all the battles that could happen on the ocean, we chose the most one-sided. From that picture you have, I can see why he’d say that. He actually looks formidable there. The Silas I knew could have been blown over by a gentle breeze.”

EmBark wagged and wiggled, awaiting the continuation.

“Before we capsized… before I was able to do what I can do now, he mentioned a hidden archipelago halfway across the world. He talked about it like it sounded like heaven to him. Said that he heard all the sea creatures there evolved differently. That the ocean was angry, mountainous as any area of land could be. I always thought he was just an old dreamer, but he gave me a decent idea of where he believed this place to be. You’ve searched for him everywhere that you know of, so if he’s not there, he’s not anywhere.”

EmBark’s face grew determined and she stood on the edge of the ship, her beard flying backwards as they sped across the ocean. Water was choppy and slowed their passage down significantly. DC conjured some true ice into EmBark’s bowl in the wheelhouse, providing her endless dripping water. She no longer had to scavenge for fresh water on her travels, she laid against his leg when he stood and slept against his back when he slept. They quickly became good friends as they travelled the world together.

Far from any shore, EmBark and Daddy Chill awoke to thunder. They rocked wildly from mounting waves. There was no storm overhead, however. As they continued onward, they crossed over into a strange area of the ocean. Water below them was many different colors, all flowing into and out of each other. Instead of the usual blue sky, it was a fiery red, orange and yellow swirl. It was also completely silent where they were. At first.

“OH HEY THERE’S A COUPLE NEW GUYS HERE.” An irritating voice announced, seeming to come out of the air itself, which now felt lighter.

“Are you talking to us?” DC shouted back into the sky, looking around for a source.

“OOPS, DIDN’T THINK THEY’D HEAR ME.”

“Guess not.” He looked down at EmBark and shrugged. She was still looking around, jumping up with her front paws on the edge of the ship to check over every side.

They followed a path of calm water between mountainous waves. Shallow waters were just past the worst of the ocean. They stopped near a sandbar to have a look around and determine next steps, as the map had become useful. Maps were no longer of use. None of the islands around were charted. DC suddenly hopped out of the ship to walk on clear crystal sand, water up to his knees. He froze a block of ice a few feet ahead, which began to float and he brought it to the ship.

“We must be close.” he commanded the cloudy ice to melt and from it emerged a crab the size of a car. It lunged at EmBark quickly, revealing that it’s claws had sawblades embedded in the shell. EmBark fearlessly barked to intimidate it, standing her ground. It disregarded her show and pressed on. Daddy Chill sat on the edge of the ship calmly and just before it reached the pup, he flash-froze it. A thick buildup of ice connecting it to the floor from the direction DC shot it prevented the crab from moving. 

“YOU SEE THAT!!? THIS GUY DOES ICE THINGS!” the disembodied voice said, raspy and excited.

EmBark sat back down and looked happily at her friend, believing this to have been the only threat. Proving her wrong was a creature neither of them had encountered before. Charging up from under the sand, a massive drill-horned rhinoceros with the lower body of a whale crashed through the ship’s dead center. It carried with it a tidal wave, heading straight for the boat.

Daddy Chill quickly reacted, shooting ice at the break in the boat to hold it together. He successfully built an ice bridge between the broken halves. EmBark launched a harpoon from the side of the ship and nailed the Rhinomaid in the stomach, leaving a rope attached. It charged forward beneath the sand, dragging the ship along with it. As it inadvertently helped them evade the coming wave, Daddy Chill focused on pulling the halves of the ship back together.

“CAN WE HELP THEM?”

“That would be great.” Daddy Chill responded, though the voice wasn’t asking him.

“OOPS… THEY HEARD ME AGAIN.”

“Ugh.”

As the beast moved, the wave began to grow below the ship. EmBark took a moment as the ship’s halves touched back together and focused on joining them. A loud SNAP, and the boat was one again. She barked at Daddy Chill, thanking him for his help. Another bark signaled time to cut the rope.

A blade of ice detached the rope from the Rhinomaid. They watched from above, riding the wave, as the beast drilled on, going deeper, becoming shadow as it dove deep into the translucent, crystalline sand. Once the seas calmed, the pair was thrilled to see in the distance a tower. It wasn’t of stone or wood, but of the remains of all manner of sea creatures. At the very top, it appeared to have a throne built of massive helms from many different ships. It had at the top a hammock made of sails.

EmBark knew right away that this was made by Seven Seas. She excitedly sailed towards it, commanding the ocean below to rise.

A loud whistling sound filled the air. Daddy Chill leapt towards his new friend to defend her from a flying object, shielding himself with ice to protect them both. The object struck the ice, cracking it and sticking out of it. It was the jagged shell of a turtle, knives pointing from all of its peaks. DC dropped his ice to inspect the shell, but more whistles began. EmBark lifted the ship higher to dodge anything incoming and to see where they were being thrown from.

Behind the tower, a wild, giant man grabbed the shells from the tower itself, having no fear of it falling apart. EmBark wagged and barked. It was Seven Seas. He was changed, but it was him.

Daddy Chill looked at her barking and was instantly impaled in his shoulder by one of the shells. He turned back around, pulled up his socks and covered the shell in ice. As he launched it back at the mad man, he felt pain on his calf, his pure white sock began to fill with red. He looked back bewildered, as his little friend, the captain of the ship, EmBark, moved to bite him again.

“WOAH.”

 

Anger flooded Daddy Chill as he realized EmBark was his attacker. She acted to defend her master, the mad-man launching bladed shells as the pair. DC looked down at her as she growled, taking an offensive stance, ready to strike again. He was hurt seeing the friendship he built dissolve as he defended her as well. She was overtaken by the sight of Seven Seas, who she couldn’t understand was absolutely bonkers, warped from time in this strange region of the ocean.

Daddy Chill dared not retaliate against the little pup, so he arose a wall of ice between them and continued expanding it as he stepped out of the boat and walked on the crystal sand, heading home, done with the journey now that the dog captain found her target. EmBark stood down when he left and directed her ship toward Seven Seas. His onslaught was unending. The ship grew closer, skimming over sand and shallow water to get to the crazed seaman.

“SHE’S REALLY GOING UP TO HIM!” stated the disembodied voice in disbelief.

“Quiet, you!!!! ENOUGH!!!!” responded Seven Seas, screaming to the swirling flame sky. Grabbing shells with one hand, passing them to the other and launching them in random directions over and over.

EmBark began to see the change in Seven Seas. His eyes were dark and darted around like he was afraid something would attack him. She stopped the boat just shy of him. Seven Seas checked out the small vessel and stopped his freakout.

“That ship. I know it. Yes, I know it.” he spoke to himself.

“WOOF!” EmBark barked to get his attention. He glanced quickly at her and then his eyes returned to their movement.

“And that dog. I know it. I do know it.” he gestured for EmBark to follow him. “Come now. Come now. Follow me.”

Seven Seas stepped haphazardously up his tower of massacred sea creatures. Bits and pieces and exoskeletons cracked or fell and rolled down to the sea floor. EmBark rode her boat just above, focusing hard to fly it, not wanting to disturb the tower. The madman stood beside the throne he had built out of boat masts.

“I tried to get this ship. I told it to come to me. But so many others came. Not this one. Not this one.” he rambled. “So many others came. Not this one. So many captains. So many crews.”

EmBark noticed Seven Seas wore a captain’s hat similar to her own; his old hat. She dipped her head down to drop the hat and catch it with her mouth. She stepped to the edge of the ship and nudged Seven Seas’ arm with it. He looked down and his eyes planted on the hat. His eyes then darkened further and his face became tense, with a frown growing that would cause EmBark to back away in fear and return the hat to her head.

“You took it. I searched the world for that hat before I EVER EVEN SAVED YOU.” his words grew louder as he spoke. “I SHOULD HAVE LEFT YOU THERE TO STARVE. YOU PUT ME UNDER A SPELL AND TOOK FROM ME MY POWER.”

EmBark backed up her ship. Seven Seas took hold of one of the helm handles and swung it high over his head and then down onto the front of her boat. It crashed into the tower she hovered over, causing everything to begin sliding down. She took control of the ship and backed away further, watching as Seven Seas surfed the sliding debris, his eyes locked onto her the entire way to the sand.

Seven Seas stood hunched in front of the collapsed tower, madness in his eyes and called upon the ocean. From his sides and behind the rubble came every possible sea creature, rising upon a wave that stuck in the air. He summoned from beneath himself a ship that picked him up as he charged forward at EmBark, who began to evade the oncoming attack. She abandoned all hope of saving her former captain. There was pure malice in his eyes where she once saw adventure and bravery.

“WOWZA!!!! THAT LITTLE SHIP’S IN TROUBLE!!! GO LITTLE SHIP, GO!!!!” said the voice.

EmBark gave up flying the ship and commanded the ocean to rise to her. It did so, but weakly, as if Seven Seas’ had a stronger influence over it. She scanned around for cover, but aside from the tower, she was in flat water and sand. Nowhere to go. Seven Seas moved his arms forward at his sides gently, which sent water shooting out from behind the creatures riding the wave that followed him. They were propelled onto EmBark’s ship. She hid in the wheelhouse as best as she could while they searched for her.

Closing in, the creatures chittered and sped up once they spotted EmBark. She felt the ship communicating to her. It gave her the defense she needed. The pup captain closed her eyes and the wooden deck of the ship opened up beneath lobster/stingray amalgamations. They slipped right through the floor and into the sand below. Seven Seas was gaining on her as both vessels sped through the ocean, though sending the sea creatures at her became futile. EmBark quickly learned to deflect any attacks by reconfiguring the ship.

Seven Seas got close enough to leap from his ship to EmBarks. The boat he left crumbled into the wave that subsided. All the creatures he summoned returned to whatever life they had in the strange ocean, losing all interest in the battle right away. The mad seaman stepped towards EmBark, who was stepping backwards into the wheelhouse. She opened the floor beneath him and his legs were through the ship, his feet skidding on the crystal sand. His face didn’t change, even in such a vulnerable position.

The boat stopped as EmBark moved towards the trapped madman. Seven Seas quickly grabbed from his back a large knife and he held it out towards EmBark, making eye contact as he reached forward and grabbed her beard with his other hand, pulling her to himself and closer to the blade.

“You could never be captain, dog.” he said with a low, evil tone. He swung his arm with the blade out to put an end to EmBark, who was failing to remove his hand from her.

A flash of blue filled the ship. A sheet of ice originated at Seven Seas’ forearm which blocked any motion at all. From the side of the ship, Daddy Chill calmly slid on an ice path to retrieve the knife from Seven Seas’ hand.

“HEY THAT OTHER GUY CAME BACK.”

“QUIET! YOU HAVE TO BE QUIET!!!!!” Seven Seas screamed into the air, more upset about the voice than being thwarted.

“You alright, captain?” Daddy Chill asked EmBark while he peeled off the madman’s fingers from her beard. She didn’t respond, seeming to be embarrassed by her attack on him.

“Listen, I got kids who tell me they hate me daily. This was nothing. Wasn’t gonna let this guy do anything to you.” he turned his attention to Seven Seas, whose body was half in the ship still. “Silas, what happened to you? You’re here attacking a dog? A dog who came to save you? You’re no captain.”

Daddy Chill removed the hat from Seven Seas’ head and saw on his head a decent sized mushroom being just laying there. EmBark and him looked at each other and then back at the fungus.

“What’s this?” DC asked Seven Seas, pointing to his head.

“I have something on my head?” he asked.

“You have something living on your head.” he replied.

The Very Magical Mushroom stood up and the voice came from the air again, “UH OH THEY FOUND US.” DC reactively encased it in ice and blasted it with frost, sending it far into the horizon. As soon as it was out of sight, the world around the trio started to change. The sky filled with blue again and the crystal sand vanished. The debris of Seven Seas’ tower disappeared and the madman himself began to transform from the wild captain of the ocean back into Silas Stone, the modest crabber. EmBark watched with tears forming in her eyes as her captain became the frail, old man that he truly was.

“None of this was real?” Daddy Chill asked him.

“It was real. It isn’t anymore.” Silas replied, his voice shaky and withered compared to the power he had moments ago. “The part of the ocean I was looking for wasn’t a place on the Earth. It was a place in my mind. My perfect destination. But the voice. It just wouldn’t stop. I’ll fight sea monsters for an eternity, but listen to that? No.”

EmBark released Silas from her ship and he fell into the water, struggling even just to stay afloat. Daddy Chill froze true ice beneath him, providing him a boat he could sail in, as both he and EmBark felt unwilling to provide transport for the man who risked both their lives. As they parted ways with the old man and headed back towards Big City, DC felt that EmBark was still feeling bad about how she treated him. As they arrived back at his house, he told her to wait as he went inside.

In his backyard, Daddy Chill made a boathouse the perfect size for EmBark’s ship to be stored. He motioned for her to come look. “You don’t have to use it… Just figured you may want somewhere to come home to.”

EmBark looked on with eyes glistening. She backed her boat into it and paced around, seeing out how she felt. A door opened at the back of DC’s home and his kids ran outside and excitedly came aboard, petting and hugging the captain. Her little nub tail wagged happily as she got all the attention.

“You’re free to come and go.” DC offered. His kids came back to surround him. “I know they’d love it.”

EmBark nodded humbly and laid down, enjoying not being in motion for the first time in a long time.