"I'm not sure," replied her Aisha friend, Kalisna. "It sure is strange looking though, Gilly."

Gillian stared intently at the strange creature. It swam with four waving limbs, but they didn't look like fins, more like the branches of driftwood they sometimes saw. Attached to the rear of it was a strange, curly... she could only liken it to a piece of seaweed. Around its head was the strangest thing yet--a clear, hard bubble, attached to a cord, leading to a strange pack on its back. They continued to stare as the Mynci explored some nearby Maraquan ruins.

"What do you think it wants?" asked the Maraquan Aisha, waving her fins slightly as she bobbed on the ocean currents.

"I don't know. Let's get a closer look," suggested the Acara. Slowly she climbed down the mast a little, then pushed off with her tentacles towards the broken structure the Mynci had entered.

"Wait! We shouldn't-I mean, we don't even know if..." began Kalisna, but it was too late. Her friend was already nearing the wreckage. Hesitantly, she swam after the Acara. If this creature was hostile, it'd be safer to be together.

Gilly attached her tentacles to the edge of the wreck and peered in. Below, the strange creature was rummaging through the sandy, destroyed wares. Kalisna caught up, and also peeked in.

Sifting through the sand, Tarnell suddenly had the strange feeling he was being watched. But by who? Nothing lived near these ruins. A flash of movement caught his eye, then he turned and gasped in fright. There were two strange creatures staring down at him...

"RUN AWAY!" squealed Kalisna to her friend. She didn't have to. Gilly was already plowing through the water with her tentacles waving madly.

"I'm telling you, I saw sea monsters down there!" cried Tarnell.

"Puh-lease," sighed Filline, his Flotsam boss. "I don't want tales of sea monsters, I want artifacts!" Tarnell was desperate. Somebody had to know!

"One had these HUGE fins where the arms and legs should be," Tarnell insisted, "and it looked like an Aisha! The other one looked just like a green Acara with tentacles on it, and giant suckers! You have to believe me. What if there are others?" Filline smiled.

"Tarnell, are you implying that there might be more? That there might be a whole city down there?" The Flotsam smiled a bigger smile now, one of greed.

"Yes," said Tarnell. "I mean, there might be more... I don't know. But there are two, I can tell you that."

"...Because if there are more," continued Filline, ignoring Tarnell. "Then we could make millions off their discovery! Even with those two, imagine the Neopoints we'd make! I'd be rich... filthy rich. Yes, I like the sound of it. In fact, I love the idea! Tarnell, you're a genius!"

"Do you think they're gone?" Gilly asked Kalisna. The Aisha nodded. Gilly smiled.

"Shall we go home then?" suggested Kalisna. Gilly didn't have time to answer. They suddenly felt themselves being lifted up... and they weren't swimming. The two friends realized in horror that they were trapped in a gigantic net...

...Tarnell watched in horror as the net was cast, swooping up the two odd sea monsters. This wasn't exactly what he'd meant when he told his boss. Tarnell didn't want to harm them; he just wanted to make sure they weren't out to get him. He just blurted all that stuff out because he was frightened and excited. Now the excitement had drained away, leaving a bitter tinge of guilt.

Anxiously his tail curled and uncurled. Tarnell was grateful to be out of that confining diving suit and on the rough wooden deck instead.

The two creatures in the net struggled wildly as they hit the surface, and he worried that the air would kill them. What if they were like fish, and needed water in order to breathe?!?

His fears were soothed as the one who looked like an Acara shouted in terror, "What are you doing? Let us go..."

Filline gave the two a sharp, greedy smile... he seemed greatly pleased. "I don't think so. You're going to lead us to your underwater city."

"Please, please. Leave us alone!" the Aisha whimpered, trying to detangle herself from her friend's tentacles.

"Tarnell, you watch them. I hold you personally responsible," his Flotsam boss ordered harshly.

Tarnell watched helplessly as the two were dumped in a sealed tank...

Kalisna, on the other hand, was holding back. She didn't know what the creatures were, but she figured it would be best to ask, rather than just going crazy.

"Excuse me!" she cried to Tarnell.

The Mynci whipped around, staring at the weird creature.

"Are... are you talking to me?" Tarnell asked breathlessly.

"Yes," Kalisna replied, very irritated indeed. "I wanted to know, why are we here... and what are you?"

Tarnell stood still for a moment. It was hard for him to believe that these creatures were asking him the very same questions that he'd been dying to ask them. "Uh, well... I'm a Neopet, and I live in Neopia!"

"That's obvious!" the Aisha hissed. "That information goes for all of us! I just meant that the Neopets from where I come from don't look anything like you!"

"There are more of you down there?" Tarnell inquired with interest.

"Ooops!"

"Kalisna!" Gilly screamed upon hearing what the Aisha had said. "Stop talking to- to- what's your name?"

"Tarnell-"

"Stop talking to Tarnell! This place is dangerous! He's probably dangerous, too, if he locked us up like this!" Gilly snapped miserably.

"No!" Tarnell protested. "I didn't lock you up! I swear! It was Filline, he's the one who netted you!"

"That I did," said a gruff voice from behind the Mynci.

Tarnell groaned. "Hi, boss..." he muttered very unenthusiastically. The Flotsam took no notice, though... he was staring at his prisoners.

"Are you ready to take me to your secret city?" he asked innocently.

Gilly looked at Filline hatefully, and hissed...

..."N-" Gilly began, but Kalisna cut her off.

"Yes! Yes we will! But, you have to agree to let us go and... and warn our... our king! Yeah, our king... you've got to let us warn him that you're coming. Otherwise, he'll send out his army and you won't stand a chance!" Kalisna interrupted hastily, "But, you can't come with us, because the king hates visitors that... that don't have appointments!"

Gilly looked over at Kalisna with an astonished expression and narrowed eyes, as if she was thinking, Where in Neopia did your brain go? Kalisna gave her an encouraging look, and Gilly suddenly understood that she had a plan.

"Y-yes," she stammered, still thinking of what to say, "The king, he... he'll chop your head off if you come without letting him know! So... so... so you definitely can't come."

Filline chuckled. "Oh ho, quite hostile your kind is then? I'll have to make a note of that."

"Our kind?" Gilly hissed, her tentacles rolling tightly into fists. Kalisna silently hushed her, and she calmed down.

"Anyways, how will I know you're not going to run away?" Filline inquired. "I'm not stupid, you know. Actually, I'm quite smart."

Gilly's tentacles clenched together again, but Kalisna once again calmed her.

"Um... um, he can come!" Kalisna exclaimed, pointing to Tarnell with one of her fins.

Filline studied her for a moment, as if making sure she was telling the truth. Tarnell stared at her in astonishment.

"Very well then, off you go," he said slowly and quietly, in a voice that gave Kalisna and Gilly the shivers. He hastily threw Tarnell his diver's suit and air helmet, which he quickly put on.

Kalisna held back a smile; this guy was completely clueless! Her happiness soon shattered, however, as Filline brought out an odd-looking leash from a box behind him.

He threw one loop over Tarnell, and buckled it securely. He then threw the two loops on the other end over Kalisna and Gilly, after he had removed the lid from their tank.

"Now, you take good care of them!" Filline said to Tarnell, and knocked the tank over the edge of the harbor. Off course, being tied to the creatures in the tank, Tarnell was pulled into the water with sudden force.

Once they were underwater, and Tarnell had calmed down from the sudden shock of being thrown in the water with strange sea creatures, a steely silence hung in the air.

"Now, shall we go see your... uh... king?" Tarnell asked quietly.

Gilly stifled a laugh. Kalisna hesitated.

"Er..."

"But you said--" Tarnell started.

Gilly cut him off, "Please! You couldn't have expected us to stay in that tank all day! We've got important stuff to do!" Tarnell nodded, unbuckling the strange leash that bound them.

With that, Kalisna and Gilly began to swim away. He shouted after them, "What am I supposed to tell Filline?"

Without stopping or looking back, Kalisna said, "I don't know, make something up. Tell him our king rejected you or something."

Before he knew it, Tarnell was all alone, treading water. He couldn't go back just yet... had to think... what could he possibly say to Filline that wouldn't make him lose his temper?

Soon he was back on the ship, rehearsing his story again and again. He was so consumed in thought, he almost didn't hear Filline say, "Back so soon, Tarnell?"

"Yes," Tarnell said shakily.

"Where are the sea monsters? Don't tell me they got away!"

Tarnell tried to talk, but the words seemed to topple over themselves; he was in such a hurry to get them out. "They... no they didn't, but the king, he was angry with them, sent them to his dungeon for bringing me down there..."

Filline laughed a little, and said, with an unnaturally kind voice, "It's alright, boy! No harm done!"

"What?" Tarnell asked, confused. Whatever he had expected, it was definitely not that Filline would be reacting so calmly.

His boss smiled, "This is great! See, before we released them, I put this radio transmitter on one of them, and now all we have to do is follow the signal..."

Tarnell could not believe his ears, "WHAT?"

His boss's smile became a grin, "Come on! We've got an underwater city to discover!"

Filline moved happily across the deck, beckoning for Tarnell to follow, but he was frozen where he was. This could not be happening! This was not happening...

...Meanwhile, the two fugitives laughed heartily as they swam back to their home. "I don't believe it!" laughed Gilly. "I still can't believe that plan worked! I've gotta give you credit, Kalisna."

"It was spur of the moment, really," replied the Aisha. "Besides, even if we had brought them down here, I doubt that Flotsam would've found anything worthwhile..."

It was clear what Kalisna was talking about as they approached the ruins of Maraqua, which was once a beautiful city swarming with intellectual and breathtaking creatures. But now, it was nothing more than a large pile of debris. Kalisna sighed sadly as she gazed at her ancestors' former home. "The others have looked everywhere in that place, Gilly. If we didn't find anything, what could the surface Neopets have possibly found?"

"Yeah, and how would they have gotten... do you hear something?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

Gilly flicked her head fin. "It's like a... buzzing or something."

Kalisna wasn't sure what to say, until she saw a small blinking light behind her friend's head. Gradually she removed and studied it. "What is that? Some kind of bug?" asked Gilly.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this before..."

"Sir, please! Can't we just leave them alone? They're scared of us!" It was no use. Ever since Filline and his employees boarded their subpods, Tarnell's pleas were ignored.

"Keep quiet, Tarnell!" snapped Filline as he stirred the vessel. "We're going to find those two moneymakers, even if we have to drain this sea dry." Filline studied the radar and saw where the transmitter was located. "Hmm... they're not too far now. We better go easy, just so we don't startle them."

As they turned a large cliff of underwater rocks, far in the distance they saw the two Neopets floating completly still. Filline grinned. "Perfect."

Tarnell had to do something, and quick! Just as Filline was about to launch the net torpedos, he grabbed the intercom. "Kalisna! Gilly!" he shouted into it. "Run! I mean, SWIM! It's a trap! Get away as fast as you can!"

"What are you doing?" cried Filline as he lunged at Tarnell. The two began to struggle ferociously. It was difficult for Tarnell, since he was still in his scuba suit. Just then, he landed on the button for the subpod latch to open, and in a second he'd been sucked out of the subpod. So was Filline, but since he was a Flotsam, the water didn't bother him at all.

Gilly and Kalisna had witnessed the whole thing. "You heard him! Come on!" cried Gilly as she wrapped her tentacle around Kalisna's arm... but she didn't move. The Aisha couldn't tear her eyes away.

"What about Tarnell?" she asked. "He warned us! Maybe..."

"Forget about him! Look at those subpods! They'll capture us in a second!"

As much as Gilly tried, Kalisna didn't listen, and she pulled away from her friend, swimming madly towards Tarnell. His body was resting on a small ledge, but he wasn't moving. "Tarnell!" she cried, shaking him. Peering into his helmet, she saw a bruise on his forehead. He must have hit his head on the inside of the mask when he fell out of the pod, thought Kalisna. "Tarnell! Wake up! Please, Tarnell!"

Just then, a dark shadow covered the two Neopets. Hugging Tarnell close to her, Kalisna gasped as she saw...

"Not again, little pet." he said softly. Despite his calm tone of voice, a manic glint sparkled in his eye. Kalisna shuddered. His grip on her fin tightened, and she winced.

"Ow!" she cried. "Let go! Leave us alone!"

"I could do that..." he mused. "But why would I?" He grinned even wider, showing rows of pointed teeth. "I have a better idea." Kalisna's eyes grew round.

"What are you going to do?" she asked him fearfully.

Filline merely chuckled menacingly. He tore Tarnell away from her and tossed him aside, where he sank down the edge of the cliff.

"NO!" cried Kalisna. "He isn't a Maraquan Neopet! The water pressure will kill him!"

Filline merely shrugged, yanked her fin and pulled her into his subpod. He sped toward the surface of the water as she cried "Taaaarneeellll! Giiiiiillllyyy! HELP!"

Tarnell sank lower and lower. Gilly raced toward him, realizing Kalisna was right. Tarnell would not be able to withstand the water pressure. She grabbed him and brought him up to the top of the cliff.

"Tarnell!" she cried, shaking him. "Tarnell, wake up!" he didn't stir. "Tarnell, please! We have to save Kalisna... we just have to!"

"Kalisna!" her last word rang around in Tarnell's head. His forehead throbbed, and he struggled to open his eyes.

"Hooray!" cheered Gilly. "Tarnell, you hurt your head and blacked out, and Kalisna was captured by Filline, and we need to save her! I know that this seems like an awful lot to remember, but it's important! Do you understand?"

"Y-yes..." said Tarnell. He sat up, balling his hands into fists. "I never approved of Filline-how he treated people, or how he always was so greedy."

Gilly nodded and grabbed his arm, helping him swim to the surface. They climbed up the deck of the boat and peered around. Soon they spotted Filline, cackling cruelly.

"Oh no!" whispered Tarnell. "Look what he is doing to Kalisna!"...

...He had grabbed her tail fin, and lifted her up into the air. Another Flotsam opened the lid of a small tank in a cage while Filline flung her inside. He then placed a chain around her neck with a little flashing ball on it. The chain was on so tightly, that Tarnell didn't think anyone would be able to get it off.

"This is just the start of Filline's Sea Zoo!" he cackled evilly. "Once we get that other one, and then search for a few others, people will be dying to visit my zoo! And if one escapes, we can simply follow their tracks on my radar!"

Tarnell and Gilly couldn't believe what they were hearing. A zoo? Filline's Zoo? Being locked up in small cages and being stared at all day was bad enough, but Filline was cruel. He could torture Kalisna, and make her whole life miserable.

The Mynci turned towards Gilly. "We have to do somethi--"

Tarnell was ushered to keep quiet as Filline spoke again: "I will charge 1000NP for every person who visits. If we get a lot of visitors, which I'm sure we will, then I will be rich in no time at all!" He looked down at Kalisna and grinned. "All thanks to you and your interfering friend! Oh yes! I suppose I could thank Tarnell for this too!"

Tarnell's paws clenched into fists and he gritted his teeth.

"Tarnell, ignore him!" whispered Gilly, trying to hold him back. It was no use though. Tarnell couldn't stand around for much longer. He had to save Kalisna and finish Filline off for good.

"Come with me!" he whispered to Gilly. "You want to save your friend don't you? You want to get rid of Filline, right?"

Gilly nodded, but was still unsure of what Tarnell had in mind.

"Let's do it then!" yelled Tarnell louder than before.

Anger spreading inside them, the two Neopets confronted Filline, both ready to put a stop to his vicious ways...

...The two were about to leap forward when the ship lurched and began to move. They were going to dock! If they didn't do something soon, Kalisna would be a zoo specimen for thousands of eyes to feast upon. Filline's eyes widened as he saw the two pets ready to pounce, but they relaxed as he saw that the ship's movements were throwing them back and forth. A smile crept up Filline's face as he barked out orders. "You three! Guard the animal! You two! Detain that sea creature!"

Filline swept away, leaving the two surrounded. Gilly screeched, rage boiling and beginning to hiss. "ANIMAL? KALISNA'S NOT AN ANIMAL, SHE'S A PET JUST LIKE HIM!" she shouted, leaping towards Filline, breaking through the barrier of pets. "OUT OF MY WAY!" Gilly screeched, flopping after Filline.

The ring parted and began running after the maddened sea creature, leaving Tarnell to the guards. The pets stoped at him as he approached the cage, holding long rods that sparked at the end. The Mynci leaped and dodged, letting the three guards run into each other, knocking themselves out with the crackling rods.

"Tarnell!" Kalisna shouted, slamming against the tank. "We have to get out of here and help Gilly!"

"But first we have to set you free," Tarnell reminded her sharply, searching the guards.

"Aha!" Tarnell cried, finding a set of keys hidden in one of the guard's suits. He began to turn the lock on the cage, but suddenly Kalisna let out a gasp, and a shadow loomed above him.

"Not so fast," his former boss's voice boomed. He held Gilly by the scales along her neck as she squirmed and kicked, barely damaging her captor. In the other hand he held one of the rods. "Don't move."

Tarnell glared, rising to his full height. "I-I won't allow you t-to keep these creatures in captivity! They're just like us, despite what they look like, and they deserve to live as they please!" the Mynci stuttered bravely, puffing out his chest.

"And if you want to stop him, you'll have to go through us!" Gilly shouted in Filline's ear, and bit his arm so hard that he gave a yelp, and dropped her to the deck.

Filline's eyes widened for a moment, then he glared. "HAH! Not a chance! What ever you're trying to say, Tarnell, I don't give a flipper!" He raised the rod and a sparking net shot out of it. Gilly gasped and rolled out of the way, pushing Tarnell with her. "Come back here!" he shouted, running after them.

Kalisna tried tilting her tank over, and with a crash it fell, shattering glass. Squirming out, she grabbed for the keys and opened the cage, then tried at her neck. The collar snapped free, and with a shout she began to charge at Filline.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Filline turned, gasping, but it was too late. The Aisha ran into him, and there was a large thump as the ship hit the dock, although no one moved to anchor it. With a gasp the collided pets rolled over the rail. Tarnell and Gilly watched in silent shock. Nearly a minute passed. Gilly offered to go down, when suddenly, Kalisna emerged, holding an unconscious Filline, who had earned himself a black eye and a bent flipper.

"Serves him right!" Tarnell said happily, grabbing the rod Filline had dropped when falling overboard and producing a net over the Flotsam.

"Thanks for everything, Tarnell," Gilly said happily, splashing in the water.

The Mynci nodded, leaning over the deck rail. "I just hope this doesn't repeat itself. Greedy pets like Filline can't understand that all residents of Neopia, no matter how strange, are equal."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Kalisna said. They laughed hearitly, and Gillly and Kalisna began to float away.

"I wanted to study your kind, a-and I'm really sorry about what happened. It's all my fault," Tarnell admitted sheepishly.

Gilly smiled. "That's okay. You helped us defeat him, didn't you? By the way, what's going to happen to Filline?"

"I've called the police over, they'll be here soon. I'm afraid I'll have to go as well for... bringing this all about," said the Mynci, staring down at his feet.

The two sea creatures nodded sadly. "I'm sure they'll let you off, Tarnell. You're a good person," Gilly assured him.

The sound of approaching sirens echoed along the docks. "Oh dear, we better leave before they find us," Kalisna suggested.

"Good luck, you two," the Mynci said, smiling.

"You too Tarnell. Good-bye!" Kalisna said, waving. Gilly nodded, and with a splash, they were gone like a dream.

The End