News-A-Roo here with the latest news from Maraqua. With a ferocious whirlpool continuing to rage over the area where Maraqua once stood, many have now given up any hope for the underwater kingdom and its inhabitants. Joining me today are a team of rescuers who decided to take a look for themselves, and amazingly enough, they've lived to tell us what they saw on their journey to the ocean floor. Now, once and for all, we'll know for sure what has become of Maraqua...

Could you give us the details of your efforts to enter the whirlpool?

BAYNER: Sure. Well first, in situations such as this when you're dealing with a whirlpool, your best bet is to tunnel your way right down the middle. It's pretty scary, but as long as you stay steady and don't get too close to the edges, then you've got a decent shot at making it.

FINGHOLL: In this case, what we decided to do was lower a REALLY long rope down into the whirlpool. Thanks to our expert team of six Pteri's, who held the rope and hung on when things started to get rough, we were able make it all the way down with little more than a few bumps and scrapes.

So what did you see when you got to the ocean floor?

FINGHOLL: Oh, it was awful. There was destruction all around... nothing was spared. Making our way through the rubble, you could see the Maraquan debris that lined the ocean floor: shards of glass from fishbowls of the Aquatic Petpets, mangled scraps of metal--the only remnants of Maraqua's endless array of Utilityfish. I've never seen anything like it...

BAYNER: We then came upon the royal palace, and it was just as we'd expected... utter devastation.The lush gardens and opulent statues, priceless works of art that could never be replaced--all reduced to smithereens. Needless to say, by this point the notion of stumbling upon a few survivors was basically out of the question...

Given what you saw today, would it be safe to say that everything's lost, and that Maraqua's been entirely wiped out?

BAYNER: Well, as much as it pains me to say so, I'm afraid that that seems to be the case. I mean, if there was anyone or anything left to be saved then believe me, we would've been glad to give our best effort to mount some sort of a rescue mission...

FINGHOLL: Yeah, but that just wasn't the case... there was nothing down there left to rescue!

Well there you go, folks. At last we can say with absolute certainty that the Kingdom of Maraqua is no more. As our guests today have told us, there's simply nothing left. The mysterious raging whirlpool, which to this day continues to wreak havoc, has turned this once-noble land into a destitute scrapheap. This is News-A-Roo signing off, saying thank you and so long....