Nate was overwhelmed by the fact that he could swim and
breathe underwater. How wonderful! He thought, as he zipped through the
water using only his tail.
"Yes…" said Annah. "Nice, isn't it?"
"Come on," said Kylie, "let's go for a swim."
Nate took another gulp of cool water and followed
his new friends. Algae-covered rocks decorated the seafloor and tiny plants
swayed back and forth with the current. Rays of sun shone down from the sky,
emitting light beams into the water.
"Hey, wait!" Nate called. "How is it that you're
speaking to me now? On land I could only hear your thoughts."
"You are one of us now," said Annah. "We can
communicate easier now that we are in the same world.
"How much different is your world than mine?"
"Not much," said Annah. "You get used to everything,
and then it becomes similar, like home."
Then Annah and Kylie swam lower and Nate followed
them. As they swam deeper, the water became colder. It didn't feel so friendly
any more, either… almost tense. Like someone, or something, was about to pop
out and yell "Boo!"
"Where are we going?" Nate asked.
"The Ruins," said Annah with a flick of her tail.
"We must show you this so you can better understand…"
Nate, Annah and Kylie swam on a little further,
Nate enjoying the beautiful seafloor with all of its colorful plants. He glided
over a patch of seaweed, laughing because it tickled. Tiny heads poked out from
the seaweed and stared at him with dark blue eyes. A pair of sharp claws rose
from the seaweed along with long antennas sprouting from its head. Now Nate
had seen some pretty creepy mutant Neopets, but these were the creepiest. One
of the larger ones snapped its claw at Nate, who was jerked away by Annah.
"Don't let those Buzz bother you…" she advised,
"they live in the seaweed."
Nate had never seen a Buzz look like this before.
It looked horribly deformed. After snapping its claw once more, it disappeared
in the seaweed.
"Hey, I see the Ruins!" yelled Kylie, and she
waved on Nate and Annah.
They swam faster until Nate saw what Kylie was
looking at. It was a dark hole, like part of the seafloor had sunk in.
"Let's go!" Kylie giggled and disappeared down
into the darkness. Annah followed and Nate swam back. "Well?" called Annah,
snaking her head up out of the hole, "Aren't you coming?"
"Maybe," Nate said fearfully. "It's just so dark."
"Don't worry," Kylie told him, "your eyes will
get used to it."
Nate trusted her and followed them down into
the blackness. The water was slimy, probably from the lack of current. He was
starting to wonder what was down here. It seemed like only the most horrible
and ugly creatures could possibly live down here. But at least it was placid.
Nate started to push harder with his tail, and he used his front paws to stop
him when he hit the bottom. At least so deep down he didn't have to worry about
strong currents or waves. Nate's paws bumped against the cold seafloor and he
pulled out of his dive. He groped around in the darkness, trying to feel a rock
or anything solid that he could hold onto. He could no longer hear Annah and
Kylie's soft breathing. Where were they?
Nate, feeling panicked, started to flail around.
His paws were stretched out, but he felt nothing, only water.
Stay calm, he order himself, they're
around here somewhere… He called out to them, but no one answered. He swam
on a little, trying to conquer his uneasy feelings in his stomach.
Just as Nate was beginning to feel that hope
was all lost, someone was yelling for him, "Na-ate!"
Nate spun around. His eyes were beginning to
adjust to the darkness. Two figures were swimming over to him-Annah and Kylie.
Relieved, he swam back, taking a deep breath, proud of himself for staying calm.
"It's good to see you!" Kylie exclaimed. "We
thought we lost you!"
"I'm glad I found you," Nate echoed. "I thought
I lost you, too."
"Ah, but it's easy to get separated in the Ruins,"
said Annah, once again in her dreamlike tone. "Can you see better now?"
"Yes, much better," admitted Nate. His friends
were much more clear now and less fuzzy. "But what exactly are the Ruins?"
"You're standing on them," said Annah, and Nate
could feel a big story coming on, "Maraqua… a place of mystery and excitement.
Long ago, there was a whole other world that stood right in this very spot.
It was home to the best seafood, and home to many of us. But there are few of
those like us today." She sighed and said, "Maraqua was not only a place of
happiness, but also a home to many.
Nate didn't want to interrupt Annah's story,
but this question was bugging him, "How did Maraqua become what it is today?"
"Various whirlpools did much damage. Perhaps
it wasn't durable enough to handle those kinds of disasters."
"Is there anything left down here?" Nate asked.
"Not a thing. Just dust…. it was once a great
place. Kikos, Nimmos, Flotsams, Jetsams and other swimming Neopets used to visit
often. But when the whirlpools struck, those Neopets fled, and the Maraquan
Neopets were left homeless."
"It's so hard to find friends nowadays," Kylie
added, "Especially ones like you, Nate."
Nate smiled, a little embarrassed by her compliment.
The rest of that day zipped by. Nate had so much
fun chasing Kylie and Annah that he forgot how late it really was. Being down
in the Ruins and all it's darkness made it seem like night all the time. Nate
was worried about where they were going to sleep, but Annah and Kylie had an
idea. They crawled over to a pile of large rocks and slept in the crevices.
It was quite comfortable, for a rock, Nate thought. Since it was so dark and
the sea was so open, Nate's uneasiness was returning to him. He exhaled deeply,
bubbles coming out of his mouth. Soon, his eyes began to droop and Nate was
surrounded in darkness as he fell asleep.
***
Nate was jolted awake in the middle of the night.
He felt odd, as if someone were watching him. He sat up from his comfortable
position and squinted in the murky water. Something large was moving slowly
to his left. Fearful, Nate slid behind the rocks and watched it. It had large
yellow eyes that glowed like bulbs of luminous light. It fixed its eyes on Nate,
and swam up to him… Nate's eyes widened in fear.
"Hello," its voice was raspy and low like Edna
the Witch, whom Nate once encountered in the Haunted Woods. It slithered by
him, and Nate noticed that it had a sallow face and long spikes down its body.
His fingers were heavily webbed for speedy swimming and his mouth was twisted
into a crooked sort of smile. "New here, aren't you?"
Nate nodded. He thought about asking him what
kind of Neopet he was, but felt he shouldn't, in fear that it would sound too
insulting.
"The name's Sven." Nate told him his name and
Sven smiled, revealing rows of pointy teeth.
"Come with me, Nate. I'd like to show you something
before your friends wake up," Sven said throatily and he slithered a few feet
ahead then turned back. He smiled in that intimidating way again, "Follow me."
Not dreaming of disobeying Sven, or his razor-sharp
teeth, Nate tentatively followed. Sven glided ahead and Nate swam after him,
trying to match Sven's speed.
"Krawks are generally the fastest Maraquan Neopets…"
Sven pointed out. "I hope I'm not going too…" he paused, "fast, for you?"
So he's a Krawk, Nate thought. He knew
Krawks were hard to come across, so Maraquan Krawks must be very rare.
Sven led him into a small cave that was glowing
with gray light. Nate entered and looked around. The walls were solid and the
floor was covered in algae, making it slippery.
"Welcome to my home," said Sven, with a smirk.
He spun around and awaited Nate's comments. Nate forced a smile and said,
"It's…uh, very interesting." Sven's eyes narrowed
and he leered toward Nate, "I meant that in the best possible way… Sven…" Sven
paused, perhaps thinking whether or not to believe him. He nodded slowly and
Nate relaxed knowing that Sven was pleased.
"I am the most handsome Krawk in the sea," said
Sven loudly, putting his webbed hand over his chest and tossing back his head,
"I am known for my art of potion-making. Come with me, and I'll show you what
I do."
Nate followed him further into the cave. Deeper
in was a small room lined with stone shelves. On the shelves were hundreds of
clear bottles, filled with different liquids. It made shivers creep up Nate's
spine. He gasped and looked from shelf to shelf:
This room was filled with Morphing Potions!
To be continued...
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