13: Water

Terri stepped out of her fold onto a small bright yellow sandy island surrounded by a beautiful crystal blue seas with the sky above them a dull blue, looking like a storm was coming. She looked around the area as the fold behind her closed. She sighed as she placed her hands on her hips.

"So bottom of the sea, that is easier said than done, the sea looks like it is hundreds of miles wide" she muttered to herself as she walked down to the water line, it was then she noticed something below the water about this island she was on. The sand stopped a short distance into the water and then there was a rocky step down, before a cliff. She walked into the water and down that step which brought the water just above her knees, she had the lower half of her tail below the water which while had a slight chill compaired to the air she diddnt feel the effect of. Her guardian clothing also diddnt seem to be effected by the water either. She looked down and could see that that cliff went down maybe 400 meters to the seabed, but with refraction that could be deeper. She could see several things swimming below, but she couldn't really tell how far down they were because the depth they were at an effect how big they look to her, something that looked big could be at the bottom and small near the top.

"This could take some time" She muttered to herself as she then leaped forwards and dived into the water. As she went under a layer went over her eyes to allow her to see clearly underwater and her gills took over from her lungs for breathing as she took in a breath in of water that flowed straight out of her gills. She tucked her legs back under her tail as it flicked and pushed her down deeper underwater, passing several different shapes, sizes and colours of fish.

She swam down to the seabed which was rocks and covered in different types of corals, looking around all over the place as she circled around where the island was, making note of a particularly large orange coral as a start point. As she went around she passed several more fish, some over twice the size of her. Eventually she got back to where she started.

"Where is this place I need to find?" She muttered, her voice a little higher pitched being underwater. A dark blue fish about the size of her tail fin that looked similar to what would be a goldfish swam before her face, just staring at her.

"Well hello there" She spoke to it. "You wouldn't know where I would find a buried guardian would you?" The fish stayed looking at her for a few more moments before swimming off quickly into the distance. She sighed with a slight smile "Knew that wouldn't work, come on Terri think, if I was hiding a body with a powerful artifice here where would I put it?"

It was then the fish came back before her, and circled around her. Before swimming off a little bit towards a anti-clockwise direction of going around the island, stopping a distance away and looking back at her. Terri looked at the fish a little confused but it seemed the fish wanted her to follow. She shrugged her shoulders as she flicked her tail and swam after it. As she got close the fish turned around and swam a short distance ahead, eventually in a direction away from the island.

After following the fish for about 15 minutes both it and Terri came to a stop before a canyon in the seabed. The fish swam up towards the surface with Terri following, and once they were just below the surface Terri then saw the canyon took on a shape, of the water guardian mark.

"Wow, that is incredible" Terri exclaimed as she then looked to where the fish was and it had gone, now swum off into the distance. "Well thanks" she called out. She then swam down towards the canyon and as she got close she noticed something about it, it wasn't that deep except for the point farthest from the centre, the start of the wave shape. She decided to swim to that point and found it went down about another 50 meters. She kept upright as she went down and as she reached the bottom of that part and saw before her was a tunnel, just big enough for someone 7 foot high to fit through with plenty of arm room, and this tunnel headed off in the direction for following the shape of the mark. She swam into the tunnel which quickly became dark.

She swam down the tunnel slowly as she kept her hands out before her feeling for where the corners were, also noticing that she was also swimming downhill. After a while she could see a faint pale blue glow ahead, she sped up and swam towards it. She entered a small chamber with 3 more tunnels before her, the whole chamber was illuminated by a blue moss-like substance like she had a home. Above the 3 tunnels before her were some markings that if you put all 3 together could make the water symbol. She stared at the marks, not wanting to go into a tunnel without knowing where they went in case there were more chambers like this.

"Something lost?" A young female voice spoke from behind Terri. She turned around and in the entrance of the tunnel she came down was a young child about 3 foot high that was similar to her. The child had dark blue hair that was wavy and came down to just below her shoulders and matching eyes. Unlike Terri she had purple scales with the fin of her tail being teal. She wore a dark pink 1-piece swimming costume.

"Pardon?" Terri asked the child.

"You lose something" The child asked again.

"Why do you think I lost something?" Terri was curious as to this little one.

"Only those who lost something come here, this place have nothing but danger" The child replied clearly not comfortable being in the place.

"Well I guess you could say I am looking for someone who came here a long time ago" Terri put her hands on the kids shoulders to try and comfort her, "A very old friend of theirs who is unable to come asked me to find them." She smiled at the child. "And I able to protect myself from danger." She had her wings spread out, having been tucked down all the time so far, she then waved her right hand creating a gentle current around her. "So don't worry about me, you go out to safety." She turned around to look at the 3 other passageways. "But before you go think you could tell me..." She turned about to face where the girl was, but she wasn't there, nor was the passageway she had come down from.

"What is going on?" she muttered a little unsettled, she pressed her hands to the wall that was now where she came in from, finding it solid. She then turned around and saw that 2 of the passageways had also disappeared, leaving only the middle one. She swam up to it, her wings tucking down again and she muttered to herself again "Well seems I only have 1 option." She then swam into the dark tunnel using her hands to follow it around.

She eventually reached another chamber like the one she had been in. 'Grate, looks like I am loosing it, I just swam in a circle' she thought to herself as she sighed and leaned back against a wall. As she stared at the 3 passages she noticed something in 2 of them, each had something in the distance: the first had a stone raised in it with the water guardian mark on it, the second had what looked like gold U hovering in it.

"The key part" She smiled, as she was about to swim into that tunnel she stopped. "No too easy" she muttered "There has to be more to this than that."

She looked back into the tunnel she saw the rock at the end of, and then she saw lurking around it was a Dolgag, clearly patrolling that end.

"If that is in there, then something must be..."She started whispering to herself before she heard a scream coming from the tunnel she couldn't see down. She flicked her tail hard as she sent herself down it feeling around the edges as she eventually reached a large chamber, about the size of the dining room at school. In there she saw the little girl from before, pinned down about halfway down the right hand wall with what could only be called a huge pale brown jellyfish, least 3 times her size hovering over the girl preparing to strike.

"Back off!" Terri called to it as she shot over, using her powers to create a current to speed her up to get there quickly. As she went past she grabbed the little girl in her hands just as 3 of the jellyfish's stingers flew down hitting the ground where the girl had been. She carried her to the far corner setting the child down in it and rested her left hand gently on the child's head. "Thought I told you to leave?" she softly asked.

The child didn't answer, she just pointed behind Terri and called "Look out!"

Terri turned around seeing the Jellyfish was moving over quickly. She held both her hands out before her and created another current to push it back, but it moved towards her and the child like the current was nothing. "Ok, try this then" she bitterly grunted as gently moved her arms to her right and then quickly flicked them to the right. A whirlpool vortex appeared around the Jellyfish. She sighed a little seeing it stuck inside, but then it just came out and moved right before her. "I won't let you have the kid!" she called to it as it rose up above her and it launched 6 stingers at her. She covered her head with her arms and hardened herself ready to take the blow.

She hovered in the water for what felt like an eternity, eventually lowering her arms to see what was going on, seeing the stingers had passed through her like she wasn't there. She looked up at the Jellyfish which then pulled it's stingers back and then faded away like it now had never been there.

"Who was this friend that sent you?" the girls voice behind her spoke, but sounding more mature now. This caused Terri to turn around fast and look at the child, who she was certain was about 8, but now sounding like she was early 20's.

"Pardon?" Terri asked her, startled as to how she was speaking now.

"It is like I asked, who sent you?" The girl spoke as she swam up and then around Terri, clearly looking over her. "Your clothing and wings tho a little differently shaped suggests you are a guardian but since when did any of them have scales or a tail?"

"Since a few days ago, on earth time." Terri replied, still confused about this little girl that swam around her. "As fro who sent me it was a Will."

"Will, that isn't a name I haven't heard since I passed away" The child smiled as she said it.

"I don't know if you are thinking of the same one, this is a Will Vandom or Olson, depending on which surname she was mostly known to have" Terri replied, as she realised about the comment of passed away. "What happened to you?"

"Just old age, and yes that would be the same one, red hair and all" The child replied. "What about you, humans changed it seemed and I haven't been gone that long."

"I am only half human, various other species have been on earth for nearly 200 hundred years now" Terri told her. "What year did you pass away?"

"About 2093, so what it got to be at least 2300 now then?" The girl thought out loud.

"Try 2513" Terri corrected her. "You have been here a long time, and I will admit you aren't what I expected you to look like, Irma if I am right as to who you are."

"So it has been that long then" The girl sighed as she swam back around behind Terri but came back round before her as a cyan spirit, looking human and wearing the robes, the shoulder length wavy hair remained. "And it does seem you know who I really am then."

"Wasn't easy, but the whole Will and year thing gave me the hints" Terri replied.

"And it seems you were wise to my tests, you showed care to the child twice, didn't take the obvious path that lead to a key part or go confront a Dolgag." Irma smiled as she got before Terri and stopped.

"So what exactly were you testing from me?" Terri asked curiously.

"The first encounter with the child was to see whether you really were meant to be here" Irma replied. "The doors in there were to hold you up for that chat, if you didn't satisfy me, you would have been sent out. Then the other one was to see what was important to you, the prize, attacking, or protection. And protection is the most important thing to a guardian."

"If only getting your approval was the reason I was sent here." Terri sighed. "And judging from the test involving the key part and a Dolgag you know why I am here."

"Indeed I do, any who have come end up failing the 1st part of the test and don't get any farther" Irma explained as she led Terri out of the chamber they were in back down the tunnel to the smaller chamber. "You see as part of the test I used the real key part I had. But it couldn't be taken without me letting it go." They then swam down the tunnel into the smaller still chamber with the key part in the middle.

"Quite a risky but clever test" Terri complemented Irma as they got before the key.

"It was always safe" Irma said as she waved her right hand over the part and it then had a blue glow appear over it which faded. "Take it, it is yours now."

Just as Terri reached for the part suddenly she felt something burn her on the back and throw her forwards past the key into the wall. She just managed to watch Irma get thrown forwards but pass through the wall. She turned herself around and saw 3 Dolgag's hovering in the water before her, 2 of them guarding the third that grabbed the key part.

"Amy's right, cheap shots sting" Terri muttered to herself, her back really felt like it had been burned. She then yelled to the Dolgag's "Hey, that isn't yours to take." She then kicked off the wall and launched herself towards the one taking the key, only for one of its protectors to throw her back against the wall by grabbing her tail and tossing her back. They then quickly turned away and swam off down the tunnels.

"What hit us?" Irma asked as she passed back through the wall into the chamber.

"Demal's pet Dolgag's" Terri replied, as she shook off the new hit against the wall. "They took the key part." She then kicked off the wall again and swam off down the tunnels.

"If they reach the surface they can leave the planet, the waters a fold shielded" Irma called after Terri as she followed. Both of them went through the tunnels eventually arriving out in the ocean, they could see the Dolgag's weren't far ahead, clearly they were not designed for swimming.

"Well if it keep them down, that can be arranged" Terri smiled as she held her hands just above her head and then flicked them down. Around the Dolgag's the waters suddenly became a current, pushing them down into the seafloor. She then descended next to them as she kept the currents from the water pushing them down.

"Nice work" Irma smiled. "But I can't touch the key now I am a spirit, nor have any actual powers outside my tomb besides able to possess things, but I can't possess them."

Terri looked around, only fish in sight were small ones, clearly unable to help and they were swimming away. "Looks like we need a plan B" She muttered. She sighed a little as she thought of an idea and slowly swam forwards into the current she was using to hold the Dolgag's down, the current bending around her so she could remain unaffected by it. She looked down to see which one had the key part. When she saw the one with it she went over and lowered herself next to it, and then reached out to grab the part, not realising that she had lost the ability to keep the strong nature of the current up on the Dolgag's. Behind her one of them moved its hand, aiming it at her, before a black fireball launched from it heading for her back.

"Move!" Irma yelled causing Terri to turn around and see the fireball coming at her, she quickly swam up, but the fireball hit right into her tail ,causing it to feel like it was on fire and she was unable to make it move. She moaned a little from the pain she felt. Irma then quickly launched herself over towards Terri as the currents stopped completely allowing the 3 to get up and swim around to shuffle their positions, hiding the key amongst them.

"Which one had it now?" Terri asked as the Dolgag's swam upwards in 3 directions. She had her wings spread out, her tail unresponsive from there hit.

"We only got time to take one of them before they reach the surface with your tail out of action" Irma commented as she looked at Terri.

They looked at the 3, 2 of them were close while the third was in a different direction. "2 being together could mean that 1 of them has it, but then again they may want us to go after them so the lone one can get away with it, but then making us think that mean if it is in the pair it gets away" Terri muttered, clearly trying to work out which one has it.

"Whichever you choose, better be fast" Irma was now concerned about them getting away.

Terri closed her eyes, trying to feel movements in the water, she felt that one of them was clearly moving differently, she opened her eyes and took off after the 2 that were close together. "The one on the right" She confidently told Irma as she followed.

Terri had to swim up by flicking her legs, her tail was being pulled up as deadweight, her wings flapped in rhythm with her legs acting as a pair of fins on her back. As she and Irma closed in on the pair the one on the left of the 2 turned around and started throwing the fireballs at them. Terri quickly placed her arms before her and hardened them to take the blows. The shots hit her arms and the effect of her ability meant she could take them without any effect. As she got close she threw her arms downwards creating a quick fast current pushing the one that was shooting her down. They were nearing the surface now, as she got closer to the one remaining she could just see in its hand the key part. She held her right hand out before her creating a small whirlpool in it that started to head towards the Dolgag, but just as it was about to reach it she suddenly got hit by a fireball in her right side, throwing her sideways and causing the whirlpool to stop. Irma looked around and saw the third one before her and before she could react she took a fireball throwing her back too.

It took Terri a couple of moments to regain her composure, her side also now feeling burnt like her tail. She looked up to the surface seeing the one that had the key part and the one she chose not to go after leave the water and fly up a good distance above it, the one she sent down swam up a couple of moments later and joined the other 2. She looked over to Irma who was also a bit shaken from her hit but Terri knew she couldn't let them get away. She started swimming up to the surface as a volley of fireballs were shot into the water. She flexed out of the way to dodge. She held both of her arms out to her side and the swing them forwards towards the Dolgag's and the water then launched a large jet at them. Sadly it was too late, jet before the water reached them, a fold opened and they went through, the fold then closing before the water reached them.

"Arr!" she screamed out in frustration. "Nearly had it."

"Calm down a bit" Irma softly spoke to her and she floated alongside. "As long as the other parts remain safe that is important."

"They already took the part Will had" Terri then went and told Irma everything they both surfaced and flew up into the air.

"Still, Demal only has 2 parts, if the others can get even one of the others that will cause problems for him" Irma calmly told Terri before deciding to joke a little "Besides with his age he would need a skeleton key made from his bones just to unlock his grave."

"So back to Kandrakar then?" Terri sighed as she took the orb she was given by Yan Lin in her hands holding it before her allowing a fold to open.

"Look in the end you calmed yourself to work out which one to go after, and kept calm as you went after it, had you not, I think the results could have been worse" Irma calmly told Terri who was still clearly annoyed with her failure turned around and gave a little smile.

"You coming with?" Terri asked.

"I was planning to regardless of whether you had the key or not" Irma told her as they then went through the fold, it closing behind them.

Next Time: Take to the skies.