Okay, so this fanfiction is for a game from 2007 called Aquaria, by the indie game developers known as Bit Blot. Unfortunately, despite its artistic and dramatic greatness, it was so unpopular that it never got a sequel like it should have-in fact, Aquaria was the only game Bit Blot ever made. Also, this website doesn't even have Aquaria as a category, hence this fanfiction being located in the "Misc. Games" section. Thankfully, it's still available on Steam for ten bucks, tagged as "Metroidvania," which (for those who don't already know) basically means it's based around exploring and gaining new abilities in order to be able to explore further. Also, you can find at least one or two playthroughs on YouTube if you want.
Really, though, you probably don't need to play the game to understand the story , but for the unlikely one person who is already familiar with Aquaria, this will be a partial novelization of the game, starting from the introduction of Li. It will be told from both Naija and Li's perspectives, and as you may expect, there will be some changes from the actual game.
I thought it would be interesting if Li were less of a sidekick character.
This island was my favorite vacation spot. Not because of the nice weather, nor the solitude, nor even the calm waters, but instead because of what lied under the surface of the waters...as well as what might lie there.
Several years ago, I had heard legends of this island, which lied near the spot where Nimbit, the first floating island ever to be colonized, was brutally destroyed by a meteor shower about a century ago. Very little of its remains were ever found, and ever since then, astronomers were stationed on floating islands in order for their denizens to be evacuated in the case of another such disaster. Myths were told that the waters below the island had become haunted with the spirits of those who had perished in the carnage, but of course, nothing could confirm such an idea. What was true, however, was that these waters were home to many dangerous creatures...but it made for one heck of a fishing spot.
Having never been one to shy away from danger, I made my first trip out to the island several years ago. I brought with me my basic camping materials and my best fishing gear, hoping to score a catch from which I could profit substantially. What I did find, however, was absolutely priceless.
On my second day of fishing, I had already caught many commonplace fish, but nothing worth the expedition so far. As I was searching for a new fishing spot, I noticed something quite peculiar in the water in front of my boat: a person's head. Specifically, a child's head...except they had strange skin and hair colors and fins on the sides of their head. The child waved at me, and quietly sank into the ocean.
I was stunned physically, while my mind seemed to run at about a hundred thoughts per second. Were the legends true? Was this island really haunted? Or was this something else entirely, as in...some sort of mermaid?
Or...maybe I had just imagined the whole thing. Maybe it was some sort of illusion or trick of the light.
No, I knew what I had seen, and I definitely wasn't dreaming. There was a mysterious creature living in the water near this island, one seemingly bearing a strong resemblance to a human. And if there was one, there had to be more. And I would be the one to find these creatures and learn more about them.
Every summer from then on, I would journey back to the island for weeks on end and search day and night for anything extraordinary. In the more recent years, I had gone so far as to rent scuba gear so I could dive below the surface for a better view. I also implanted a memory crystal into my helmet in order to capture proof of my findings.
The waters below the surface turned out to be surprisingly clear, in fact, I figured I could see for hundreds of yards in any direction. From here, I could tell what was so dangerous about these waters: they were filled with electric jellyfish, giant eels, and great white sharks. Several times I thought I could hear music coming from somewhere, but I assumed I was only imagining it.
Just below the surface, I discovered a cave containing land, light, and an entire memory crystal twice my size. The small crystal on my helmet could only contain a small amount of information; I would be able to transfer much more of my experiences to this larger one. The cave itself would also serve as a perfect save haven for my stay on the island.
One day, though, my destiny was finally realized.
I was swimming near a great white shark, which I had done many times before; given that I never interacted with sharks, they never saw me as a threat, nor did my geared-up form appear edible. Therefore I was greatly shaken when the shark suddenly gave off a thundering roar.
I immediately began to swim away, thinking that the shark was about to attack me. When I looked back, however, I realized that the shark was the one being attacked.
A creature about my size appeared to be throwing glowing energy blasts at the shark through the water. The creature had glowing, emotionless eyes, brown skin, and hands that were on fire despite being underwater. The shark attempted to bite it in self-defense, but this...demon was fast; it would propel itself away from the shark's jaws with its powerful legs and continue to fire. At last, the shark could not endure the destruction wreaked upon it; it gave one last cry of agony before sinking down to the ocean floor, which I might add was about a hundred feet below.
I started to record the demon's image on my memory crystal. I would need to notify authorities of its existence. An entity this dangerous could not be allowed to roam freely. Suddenly, right before my eyes, the demon transformed into...a woman.
She was breathtakingly beautiful, with short white hair and teal skin. Her feet were webbed, her head had fins on either side, and she was wearing a long pink cape. Was this the creature I had been searching for over the past eight years? Then I noticed her eyes...staring right at me.
I then remembered what I was looking at: this was a demon that had fought a great white shark and killed it without a hitch. I had to get out of here before I was destroyed as well. I started to swim in the opposite direction, only for her to follow me. No matter which way I turned, she would always be right behind me. In a panic, I retreated to my cave.
Assuming the demon's fire powers would only grow stronger outside of the water, I continued to swim under the surface until I reached the end of the cave. She had me cornered; she could have killed me right then and there, but instead she just...stared at me for a moment. Then she sang a few notes, her beautiful voice echoing off the walls of the cave...and then my helmet flew right off of my head.
Apparently she had realized that I cannot breathe underwater, and decided to drown me instead of incinerating me. But just as I had lost all hope, without igniting herself, she came closer, and...kissed me.
At that moment, I felt every ounce of fear vanish from my soul. I could just as well feel a mysterious force manifest around us. It felt magical, loving, and...melodious. I had never felt safer in my life than I did right now with...Naija. Somehow I knew that was her name.
I had gone into a trance; I had completely forgotten that I should have been drowning, or even what I was doing here in the first place. All that mattered was us...me...and Naija...
When I came to my senses, the first thing that came to my mind, oddly enough, was a strange three-note song. I didn't know where I had heard the song; in fact, I couldn't remember ever hearing it at all. I found that I had trouble even remembering falling asleep, let alone passing out outside my tent. As I stood up, I realized that I was still wearing my scuba suit, except without the helmet, but as my feet floated slightly above the ground, I realized something much more urgent: I was underwater.
I immediately swam straight up to the surface to take a breath, subconsciously noting that I did not need to breathe so badly once I had access to air. I climbed out of the water and walked over to my tent, and then I took a moment to sit back and remember what had happened before I lost consciousness. As I was thinking, I glanced into the water, and saw a woman.
Naija.
Suddenly it came back all at once: the fight with the shark, the chase, the kiss, the trance...and here she was, sleeping in my cave. She couldn't have been a demon, or I would have been dead already. Instead, I felt happy and safe around her. Then another thought occurred to me: if we both fell asleep underwater, then...did that mean I could breathe water?
I jumped back into the water and waited until I felt the need to inhale, only to find that I didn't need to inhale. It seemed that Naija had granted me the ability to breathe underwater. Speaking of Naija, I no longer cared about documenting her species for personal gain; I discovered that I only wanted to know more about her, to understand her...to be near her. But that would have to wait until she woke up; for now, I was craving fish.
Now, this I found strange, given that fish were never my favorite food. But I had already caught several fish during my vacation for sustenance purposes, so I didn't hesitate...except when I went to start a fire and cook a fish, when I realized that I wanted it raw. What on Terra had gotten into me?
Taking a bite straight out of the fish without making any efforts to prepare it properly, I discovered that I did indeed prefer it this way; why did we even bother cooking fish when they tasted this good raw? Then I had an even more frightening thought: was I still even human?
I gazed at my reflection in the water. I looked the same as I always had: black hair, white skin, human shape. I even shifted my toes around under the flippers of my suit just to be sure. The only difference now was how I felt: I felt drawn to the water, with Naija. And that's exactly where I went.
The waters of this island were normally warmer than in most places given its tropical location, but now they were comfortable. And now I knew I could hear music; it was very faint, but it was there. A comforting twelve-note melody, coming from everywhere and nowhere. Yet the song I was more interested in was the song I had learned upon waking up:
; () ^
As I hummed these notes, I was able to perceive three strange symbols: a red drop, a green ellipse, and two teal leaves pointing downward. After I hummed the song, though, I briefly saw a much clearer, blue, L-shaped symbol. Then I heard a small sound coming from below.
Naija was waking up.
I was originally just going to write a one-shot about this moment, but then I figured, screw it, I'm not stopping here. To be honest, I don't really expect anyone to read this, but the fact that you are right now clearly proves otherwise. So I'll just say: thank you so much, and please don't forget to review...it would mean the world to me. But no pressure.