After that big explosion of blue, I managed to open my eyes only when the brightness of it died down a little.

I was back on the mainland, surrounded by Jin and the water faeries. It felt kind of weird, admittedly - heck, I'd just had the tremendous battle underwater for a good 30 minutes, and once you're out of it, even if your skin is exactly that of water, it's still hard to -

Skin made of water?

I caught it before everyone else managed to point it out. My whole body seemed to be made of water, although it was doing a good job of not being wet or liquidy. I stood up, and experimented with brushing myself off. Felt just like my body's normal and solid, but it looked so...

"Nice going down there." Wilma finally added in, stretching a little as she did so. "Although I had to take Lysa's account of it, since she had a front row seat." Lysa was busily trying to pop her neck, which had a slight bump on it. "Shyeah, the little guy packs a punch." It was around this time I came to the realization how suddenly that creature had appeared. I snorted.

"So you were the big jellyfish down there, hm?"

"The very same. You handled yourself pretty well. I usually manage to knock out any challengers in about 2 minutes. You went the whole nine yards, and I never did get more than one good shot in."

Wilma brushed back his hair, clearing her throat. "Well, you passed the test, kiddo. So you've got your powers. There isn't much of an instruction manual around, but you've got us to teach you. You're a water Shoyru home. Our home is your home."

With that, she and Lysa smiled, looking as proud as if I'd just bodyslammed 5 Monoceraptors in their name. Was what I'd done THAT big of a deal? Apparently so.

"So...what's with the new look?" I turned to acknowledge Jin, who'd been studying me this entire time. I guess seeing this much of a radical change in his favorite Neopet for months was a bit of a shocker, even more than me, and that body was the only one I had.

Lysa, nodding to Jin, began to explain. "Since AquariusDragoni - may we call you AD? It's easier. Thanks. - managed to complete the trials to the fullest ability, he got the whole bit of water-blessed powers. It's one thing to defeat me with standard weaponry, but he picked the Trident of Common Power..." She trailed off around this point, arousing my suspicion. I'd heard of this Trident of Common Power thingy, Jin even HAD one. But they weren't that great of a weapon...

Lysa continued after regaining her composure. "The Trident of Common Power is a normal trident for the most part - when held by a water faerie or water Neopet, it gains substantial power by drawing from the lifeforms around it. However, you managed to do that even before you fully...manifested in the water, and you infused far more energy into the trident than we could...interesting."

I looked to the side, and saw Jin holding the thing. He tossed it to me, and I reflexively caught it with my left arm. Instantly, it lit up like a Christmas tree - you could feel the pure energy just coming out of it, almost as if it was at capacity. "Right now, the Trident's at full power," Wilma noted. "But it's gaining a lot more energy off of you, and everyone around you, by the second...it should be at full power, but you're managing to infuse even more into it...I guess you're just special like that." She smirked a little, and giggled. Times like this tend to boost my ego, so I cocked my eyebrow and brought the trident to a battle position. It *felt* right...it felt like it was a part of me, almost. I loved this weapon.

"It's yours, by the way."

"Huh? It is?"

"Yeah." Lysa shifted towards me, smiling. "You certainly earned it. And if the weapon is better wielded by you, why not let it be put to better use? Although with your new powers, it'll make you pretty powerful."

"New powers?"

"Mhm. For one, you don't just look like you're made of water, you partially are, or wholly, whenever you want. Just will yourself to liquify, and see what happens."

Liquify, huh? Well, it was certainly worth a try. So I closed my eyes, and just thought of myself as water - that was all it took.

Suddenly, the ground rushed up to meet me. I felt like I was falling, but I didn't land with a big crash...Needless to say, I was confused. Looking up, I managed to piece out that for some reason, I was flat. Then it hit me - I really was water! As in...a puddle on the ground. I tried moving, and succeeded, sliding across the ground..as a puddle. Oh, yeah, this would come in handy! Like the time I accidently locked myself in Jin's closet. Sure, I would've wet his carpet all up, but I would've gotten out in less than 3 days.

Reforming was as easy as liquifying, just imaging myself solid. Lysa and Wilma didn't even have to show me *that*. Took a while getting used to, though - I staggered a bit, getting a chuckle out of Wilma. "It takes some getting used to, but you'll be fine. You can also partially control the shape of your body, so long as you're concentrating enough, but since that part'll be almost wholly water, don't go trying to make swords or something."

Well, crap. No fun for AD.

"Two more things..." Lysa spoke up. "One, you can control the flow of water, and use that to make a bubble shield stronger than the one you had down below. Two..." She stopped and grinned widely at this point. I'm assuming it was her favorite part - it was sure to become mine! "You can dive and swim at massive speeds. Especially if there's a current - if you liquify yourself in water, you become essentially unstoppable in races, since you'll *be* the water. That's about it, but it's certainly a boon, ain't it?" I nodded, absent-mindedly forming my hand into a mace.

Hoo-hooooo, this was gonna be fun.

Jin, absorbing all of this with his arms folded, spoke then. "That about it? All this water talk's making me thirsty as all get out."

"That's about it. AquariusDragoni, all the Water Faeries of Neopia are now your allies and friends. We'll know you on sight. If you ever need a place to rest or information on something, feel free to drop by here or any lagoon. The streams and rivers around the planet tell us things before most others, and we do love visitors. Worthy ones, anyway." Lysa giggled at that.

I smiled, and left about 5 minutes later. Felt like I'd joined the Marines or something...but I felt better about it. Hey, I have allies. And there's nothing wrong with that, is there?