You know, with powers like these, it's kind of easy for one to take them for granted.
Powers like mine, I mean. Being a water Shoyru definitely has its perks - I can change my form to water, either fully or partially; I can swim faster than anything; I can breathe underwater, which obviously comes in handy; and I can envelop water bubbles around most anything underwater, regardless of size. That and I've learned just about everything a water faerie could teach a Neopet, from Water Jet to Bubble Shield, and so on.
I owe those water faeries a ton. They don't give these powers to just anyone who walks in off the street...
I remember the day Jin and I'd decided to get their blessings. We went to Maraqua - man, I miss that place - where a large group of faeries were usually around. I dunno WHY they hung around there, personally I'd be living it up in Faerieland. Awesome place, that. But I'm getting sidetracked...
We eventually came to a huge lagoon, with crystal clear water flowing down a waterfall amid this lush jungle grassland. Oh, it was tres cool. I go back there often, just to see that place.
Jin asked me to chill for a while, while he talked to the faeries themselves. I HATE when he does that. It's kind of annoying when someone has to constantly speak for you, even on important matters that involve, oh, I don't know, THE REST OF YOUR LIFE? I guess it can't be helped, though, especially the way it was back then, when he was my official owner...so I leaned against a rock and waited, while they talked it over, Jin explaining our piece. I gotta admit, that dude has a way of talking anyone into doing anything. One time he even got that old Battle Magic Shop owner to sell him a Wand of the Air Faerie for 2300 NP. 2300 NP!
...I'm getting sidetracked again. Anyway.
So after about 5 minutes, Jin steps aside, and these two water faeries were lying on a rock, looking me over. At the time, I was a kind of navy blue, and I was in pretty good condition, so I wasn't particularly worried about any tests or anything like that.
God, I was so stupid.
Later on, I learned their names - Wilma and Lysa. They're the ones I talk to the most now, since they DID grant me my powers, and stuff. But noooo, they couldn't do that without a kind of test.
"Mmmm..." Wilma'd said. "He looks like the type...but then, I've seen lots of Neopets that look sharp when they're dry, but once they go down there, they come out as if they were run through a washing machine."
She gestured towards the lake behind her, causing me to glance back at the sheer size of it. It was huge, alright, and a little intimidating. Sure, I knew how to swim, but this lake looked about a half a mile deep. No frickin' way I could swim all the way down, if that's the test they were talking about."
Lysa flipped her hair back nonchalantly. Water faeries generally look the same all over - long blonde hair, small blue scaly patches over a little of their skin, and the whole no legs thing. They all have blue eyes, too. Before I'd ascended - as I like to call it - my eyes were a heavy, heavy brown. So I wasn't used to those blue eyes.
Lysa played a little with her long, flowing hair and mused, "Well...we're not doing anything today, are we, Wilma? That whole Battledome thing's been over, and we haven't seen any new takers yet. Why not give the kid a shot? Besides, he looks so adorable, it'd be so nifty to have a cute one like him around."
About then, Jin snickered. Also about then, I elbowed him in the shin, which I know he hates. Wilma stretched, and continued, snapped both of us to attention.
"Mmm...alright, works for me. But watch it, kid. It gets kinda rough down there. Especially since it's been a while since anyone's gone down *there*."
Wilma then explained the entirety of this test. There was a ring down that lake, a large coral ring that doubled as a bracelet. The main objective of the entire test was to locate the bracelet, put it on, and that was that. Lysa'd noted that I didn't even have to think once I put it on; everything'd go from there. Since the sheer depths and pressure were too much for any unendowed being, I was being given a sample of my true powers - a bubble shield, which would surround me as soon as I entered the pond. This'd be to help me breathe, since when you're going a half a mile into water, you kind of worry about air. I wouldn't need to swim so much as glide, so I was pretty confident.
"Don't get too cocky, though," Wilma warned once she noticed my confidence. "There's something down there we sorta put to make this test not so easy. You'll see what I mean once you get close enough to the ring. You'll have *loads* of fun then."
I cocked my eyebrow at that last remark. It's a habit I picked up from Jin, but I think even if he didn't do that, I'd be doing it now. "Something" in tests like these usually came out to traps, or a puzzle I'd have to solve, or something like that. A Lupe friend of mine trying to get his elemental blessing from fire faeries had to solve a type of Rubik's Cube inside a volcanic cave before he passed out from vast amounts of heat. Took him three tries, but he did it. So I was pretty sure of myself. Least I was *then*.
Jin crouched down besides me, and turned his head.
"Hey, little dude...you sure you can handle this?"
Leaning my head back, I responded.
"No prob. This ain't nothin' but a nothin'."
"Alright, but stay cool. It's hard enough getting you to take a bath, much less dive in a lake."
I snorted at that, and folded my arms. "So, uh...when do we begin?"
Wilma idly waved her hand towards the lake. "Whenever you want. There's some weapons down there, if you really need them. You're welcome to use them, and you won't get docked anything if you do. They're pretty necessary, actually." I nodded, and stepped a little towards the pool, intending to just wade my way in.
Woahhhh, but that first step is a doozy.
I didn't know it at the time, but the second I set my foot into the water, I figured it out. It was a sheer, 180 degree drop from the edge of the shoreline to the very bottom of the lake. Not knowing this, I put my weight on the foot entering the pond and promptly - and not on purpose, either - went into a 4 foot dive, spiraling down into the deep. When the realization hit me, I shook off the surprise as best I could, and bolted upright. Sure enough, the bubble shield was there, and I could breathe. Glancing up, I figured I was a ways down already...may as well get started, right?
So I glided - or swam, whichever you prefer - down a ways, dodging a few rock and coral clusters that were floating around. Those things were sharp at some ends, and when your lifeline is a huge bubble, pointy things don't exactly stack up on your priorities. I gotta admit, I wasn't exactly focused on the task at hand. The water was - is - beautiful, crystal clear in every way. There wasn't a single other being in here - no fish, no nothing. I was seemingly all alone here. Looking up, you could easily make out the sun, and the slight ripples caused by my movement. It was hard not to get distracted.
Well, until something caused me to slam into a wall.
That certainly took me by surprise. It felt like a huge wave, a powerful surge of water propelling me into the side of the lake, causing a little dirt to dissolve into the water. Luckily, my bubble didn't break - resilent stuff, that - and I was able to regroup pretty easily and take a look at -
Oh, man. This wasn't going to be easy.
A huge jellyfish, obviously not a Neopet I'd seen before, and I'm pretty read up on the subject. It had huge tentacles, long and greyish-black, about...twelve of them, it looked like. The body itself seemed blue at first, but once I really looked him over, I noticed he was more transparent than anything. Almost a mushroom shape, the body of this thing bobbed a little, then proceeded to swing one of its huge arms towards me. This time, I had enough sense to dive further down, managing to evade the blow as the arm slammed into the wall while I continued diving, all the while planning out a form of attack and figuring out where I was.
Obviously, this was the real test the faeries put down here. I really wished it was a Rubik's Cube after all. At least you can't end up in the hospital playing with those.
I remembered Wilma'd said that I'd find this thing "when I got close enough to the ring", or something to that effect....I'd certainly found it, so the ring - yes! Looking down, I saw the ring embedded in coral, yet pretty loosely binded...it looked easy enough to grab. Of course, there was Tall, Transparent and Ugly over there to worry about first, and I was pretty sure he wouldn't take too kindly towards me getting this thing.
Another swing at me. I dived some more, trying to shake any sense of a pattern as I dodged this one, expecting him to follow up with another slow strike. It was about this time, I remembered something Jin'd told me about battles. "Never expect your opponent to do anything. Because with your luck, he ain't gonna do it." Around then, I looked up, and was hit by that same wave of water that threw me into the wall before. Except this time, it drove me into the ground.
And about then was when my bubble popped.
I was immediately flooded with water, my eyes temporarily blinded at the sudden surge of liquid in them. I almost panicked, pretty sure that yeah, I was going to die. This sucks. I could hold my breath, which I was steadfastly doing, but for how long? Since I was taken by surprise, I hadn't exactly gotten a full breath, so time was way limited. Then I figured, quite hurriedly, that I could use my *own* learned Bubble Shield, since it was an ability I'd learned a while ago, from a standard water faerie in a jar I'd freed, but never used like this. Only one way to find out...
I conjured a little of my power, and the bubble formed around me. Letting out a breath and gasping for air, something I'd taken for granted up until then, I sized up my situation. This bubble wasn't nearly as versatile as the one the faeries had granted me, so I'd have to watch it. Extremely. It seemed thin, but it worked, as obviously I was breathing...Looking up, I saw the watery demon just hovering, almost as if waiting for me to make a move.
I sure did. I hid.
Well, it looked like it to him, anyway. Actually, I was searching for those weapons the faeries'd hinted about down here. Diving next to some coral, I noted a small cave, extremely small, made into the wall of the lagoon. Looking behind me, I felt another giant surge of air coming at me, so I used it. Waiting until the last second, I dove towards the cave, propelled by the wave towards it, and eventually, into it.
Once I steadied myself, I looked over my surroundings. It was a cave, alright - dark one, too. And there were several weapons strewn about...a Sparkshooter, some creepy looking trident, a Black Frost Cannon, a Wand of the Air Faerie - hey, now! A WAF could be my ticket out of here! I reached for me, but...something inside me told me it wasn't what I wanted. I glanced back at that creepy looking trident...I had no idea what it was, or what it did, but it seemed to...call out to me. I didn't hesitate when I took it, and I'm glad I didn't. As soon as I fully gripped it, I felt like...I dunno...one with it. Like an extension of my arm, almost. Sensing this was what I needed, I crept out of the cave. The big dude was still there, alright, and he looked pissed. Didn't see me though...
I pointed the trident at him and somehow, bubbles began to form around it. They at first just gathered around it, but then they slowly moved towards it, clung to it, then were almost absorbed by the weapon. As they did that, the trident seemed to glow, then *I* started to glow, shimmering amid the blue atmosphere. My arm seemed almost...transparent, but I shook it off as just nerves getting to me. The creature noticed this, albeit too late, and rushed at me.
I let the trident go, flinging it towards the creature, and as the weapon edged the jellyfish's side slightly -
It disappeared. Just like that. It wasn't until later I was told it'd been absorbed, just like the bubbles before I'd thrown it.
Gliding up, I took the trident in my hand and made my way back to the ring. I took it in my hand, and felt that feeling again...that feeling like it was a part of me.
Then everything went....blue.
Powers like mine, I mean. Being a water Shoyru definitely has its perks - I can change my form to water, either fully or partially; I can swim faster than anything; I can breathe underwater, which obviously comes in handy; and I can envelop water bubbles around most anything underwater, regardless of size. That and I've learned just about everything a water faerie could teach a Neopet, from Water Jet to Bubble Shield, and so on.
I owe those water faeries a ton. They don't give these powers to just anyone who walks in off the street...
I remember the day Jin and I'd decided to get their blessings. We went to Maraqua - man, I miss that place - where a large group of faeries were usually around. I dunno WHY they hung around there, personally I'd be living it up in Faerieland. Awesome place, that. But I'm getting sidetracked...
We eventually came to a huge lagoon, with crystal clear water flowing down a waterfall amid this lush jungle grassland. Oh, it was tres cool. I go back there often, just to see that place.
Jin asked me to chill for a while, while he talked to the faeries themselves. I HATE when he does that. It's kind of annoying when someone has to constantly speak for you, even on important matters that involve, oh, I don't know, THE REST OF YOUR LIFE? I guess it can't be helped, though, especially the way it was back then, when he was my official owner...so I leaned against a rock and waited, while they talked it over, Jin explaining our piece. I gotta admit, that dude has a way of talking anyone into doing anything. One time he even got that old Battle Magic Shop owner to sell him a Wand of the Air Faerie for 2300 NP. 2300 NP!
...I'm getting sidetracked again. Anyway.
So after about 5 minutes, Jin steps aside, and these two water faeries were lying on a rock, looking me over. At the time, I was a kind of navy blue, and I was in pretty good condition, so I wasn't particularly worried about any tests or anything like that.
God, I was so stupid.
Later on, I learned their names - Wilma and Lysa. They're the ones I talk to the most now, since they DID grant me my powers, and stuff. But noooo, they couldn't do that without a kind of test.
"Mmmm..." Wilma'd said. "He looks like the type...but then, I've seen lots of Neopets that look sharp when they're dry, but once they go down there, they come out as if they were run through a washing machine."
She gestured towards the lake behind her, causing me to glance back at the sheer size of it. It was huge, alright, and a little intimidating. Sure, I knew how to swim, but this lake looked about a half a mile deep. No frickin' way I could swim all the way down, if that's the test they were talking about."
Lysa flipped her hair back nonchalantly. Water faeries generally look the same all over - long blonde hair, small blue scaly patches over a little of their skin, and the whole no legs thing. They all have blue eyes, too. Before I'd ascended - as I like to call it - my eyes were a heavy, heavy brown. So I wasn't used to those blue eyes.
Lysa played a little with her long, flowing hair and mused, "Well...we're not doing anything today, are we, Wilma? That whole Battledome thing's been over, and we haven't seen any new takers yet. Why not give the kid a shot? Besides, he looks so adorable, it'd be so nifty to have a cute one like him around."
About then, Jin snickered. Also about then, I elbowed him in the shin, which I know he hates. Wilma stretched, and continued, snapped both of us to attention.
"Mmm...alright, works for me. But watch it, kid. It gets kinda rough down there. Especially since it's been a while since anyone's gone down *there*."
Wilma then explained the entirety of this test. There was a ring down that lake, a large coral ring that doubled as a bracelet. The main objective of the entire test was to locate the bracelet, put it on, and that was that. Lysa'd noted that I didn't even have to think once I put it on; everything'd go from there. Since the sheer depths and pressure were too much for any unendowed being, I was being given a sample of my true powers - a bubble shield, which would surround me as soon as I entered the pond. This'd be to help me breathe, since when you're going a half a mile into water, you kind of worry about air. I wouldn't need to swim so much as glide, so I was pretty confident.
"Don't get too cocky, though," Wilma warned once she noticed my confidence. "There's something down there we sorta put to make this test not so easy. You'll see what I mean once you get close enough to the ring. You'll have *loads* of fun then."
I cocked my eyebrow at that last remark. It's a habit I picked up from Jin, but I think even if he didn't do that, I'd be doing it now. "Something" in tests like these usually came out to traps, or a puzzle I'd have to solve, or something like that. A Lupe friend of mine trying to get his elemental blessing from fire faeries had to solve a type of Rubik's Cube inside a volcanic cave before he passed out from vast amounts of heat. Took him three tries, but he did it. So I was pretty sure of myself. Least I was *then*.
Jin crouched down besides me, and turned his head.
"Hey, little dude...you sure you can handle this?"
Leaning my head back, I responded.
"No prob. This ain't nothin' but a nothin'."
"Alright, but stay cool. It's hard enough getting you to take a bath, much less dive in a lake."
I snorted at that, and folded my arms. "So, uh...when do we begin?"
Wilma idly waved her hand towards the lake. "Whenever you want. There's some weapons down there, if you really need them. You're welcome to use them, and you won't get docked anything if you do. They're pretty necessary, actually." I nodded, and stepped a little towards the pool, intending to just wade my way in.
Woahhhh, but that first step is a doozy.
I didn't know it at the time, but the second I set my foot into the water, I figured it out. It was a sheer, 180 degree drop from the edge of the shoreline to the very bottom of the lake. Not knowing this, I put my weight on the foot entering the pond and promptly - and not on purpose, either - went into a 4 foot dive, spiraling down into the deep. When the realization hit me, I shook off the surprise as best I could, and bolted upright. Sure enough, the bubble shield was there, and I could breathe. Glancing up, I figured I was a ways down already...may as well get started, right?
So I glided - or swam, whichever you prefer - down a ways, dodging a few rock and coral clusters that were floating around. Those things were sharp at some ends, and when your lifeline is a huge bubble, pointy things don't exactly stack up on your priorities. I gotta admit, I wasn't exactly focused on the task at hand. The water was - is - beautiful, crystal clear in every way. There wasn't a single other being in here - no fish, no nothing. I was seemingly all alone here. Looking up, you could easily make out the sun, and the slight ripples caused by my movement. It was hard not to get distracted.
Well, until something caused me to slam into a wall.
That certainly took me by surprise. It felt like a huge wave, a powerful surge of water propelling me into the side of the lake, causing a little dirt to dissolve into the water. Luckily, my bubble didn't break - resilent stuff, that - and I was able to regroup pretty easily and take a look at -
Oh, man. This wasn't going to be easy.
A huge jellyfish, obviously not a Neopet I'd seen before, and I'm pretty read up on the subject. It had huge tentacles, long and greyish-black, about...twelve of them, it looked like. The body itself seemed blue at first, but once I really looked him over, I noticed he was more transparent than anything. Almost a mushroom shape, the body of this thing bobbed a little, then proceeded to swing one of its huge arms towards me. This time, I had enough sense to dive further down, managing to evade the blow as the arm slammed into the wall while I continued diving, all the while planning out a form of attack and figuring out where I was.
Obviously, this was the real test the faeries put down here. I really wished it was a Rubik's Cube after all. At least you can't end up in the hospital playing with those.
I remembered Wilma'd said that I'd find this thing "when I got close enough to the ring", or something to that effect....I'd certainly found it, so the ring - yes! Looking down, I saw the ring embedded in coral, yet pretty loosely binded...it looked easy enough to grab. Of course, there was Tall, Transparent and Ugly over there to worry about first, and I was pretty sure he wouldn't take too kindly towards me getting this thing.
Another swing at me. I dived some more, trying to shake any sense of a pattern as I dodged this one, expecting him to follow up with another slow strike. It was about this time, I remembered something Jin'd told me about battles. "Never expect your opponent to do anything. Because with your luck, he ain't gonna do it." Around then, I looked up, and was hit by that same wave of water that threw me into the wall before. Except this time, it drove me into the ground.
And about then was when my bubble popped.
I was immediately flooded with water, my eyes temporarily blinded at the sudden surge of liquid in them. I almost panicked, pretty sure that yeah, I was going to die. This sucks. I could hold my breath, which I was steadfastly doing, but for how long? Since I was taken by surprise, I hadn't exactly gotten a full breath, so time was way limited. Then I figured, quite hurriedly, that I could use my *own* learned Bubble Shield, since it was an ability I'd learned a while ago, from a standard water faerie in a jar I'd freed, but never used like this. Only one way to find out...
I conjured a little of my power, and the bubble formed around me. Letting out a breath and gasping for air, something I'd taken for granted up until then, I sized up my situation. This bubble wasn't nearly as versatile as the one the faeries had granted me, so I'd have to watch it. Extremely. It seemed thin, but it worked, as obviously I was breathing...Looking up, I saw the watery demon just hovering, almost as if waiting for me to make a move.
I sure did. I hid.
Well, it looked like it to him, anyway. Actually, I was searching for those weapons the faeries'd hinted about down here. Diving next to some coral, I noted a small cave, extremely small, made into the wall of the lagoon. Looking behind me, I felt another giant surge of air coming at me, so I used it. Waiting until the last second, I dove towards the cave, propelled by the wave towards it, and eventually, into it.
Once I steadied myself, I looked over my surroundings. It was a cave, alright - dark one, too. And there were several weapons strewn about...a Sparkshooter, some creepy looking trident, a Black Frost Cannon, a Wand of the Air Faerie - hey, now! A WAF could be my ticket out of here! I reached for me, but...something inside me told me it wasn't what I wanted. I glanced back at that creepy looking trident...I had no idea what it was, or what it did, but it seemed to...call out to me. I didn't hesitate when I took it, and I'm glad I didn't. As soon as I fully gripped it, I felt like...I dunno...one with it. Like an extension of my arm, almost. Sensing this was what I needed, I crept out of the cave. The big dude was still there, alright, and he looked pissed. Didn't see me though...
I pointed the trident at him and somehow, bubbles began to form around it. They at first just gathered around it, but then they slowly moved towards it, clung to it, then were almost absorbed by the weapon. As they did that, the trident seemed to glow, then *I* started to glow, shimmering amid the blue atmosphere. My arm seemed almost...transparent, but I shook it off as just nerves getting to me. The creature noticed this, albeit too late, and rushed at me.
I let the trident go, flinging it towards the creature, and as the weapon edged the jellyfish's side slightly -
It disappeared. Just like that. It wasn't until later I was told it'd been absorbed, just like the bubbles before I'd thrown it.
Gliding up, I took the trident in my hand and made my way back to the ring. I took it in my hand, and felt that feeling again...that feeling like it was a part of me.
Then everything went....blue.
