The Great Kuro Neko: XD  Yes, I agree, obsession does make you sugar high! ^_^  Like when I obsess over Kane!  Tala has funny moments. ^_^

Elemental Water Mistress: Aww…they can handle it!  I love most of the guys that you love, except that Max and Ray I don't really think are as cute as the rest and I have to add Michael on my list of hot guys! O_o  No fair, I want a kiss from Kai! ^_~

Mg4e: ^_^ Sure!

Kerry: Wowz, looooong review, my personal favorite!  Oh yeah, I've seen Pirates of the Caribbean, good movie, but that's the most I can say.  Yes, I'm a very critical movie person and I haven't seen many movies I could say was awesome except for LOTR of course!  Kane's not safe tho, he has ME after him.  *grabz and glompz Kane*

Reicu: *nodz*  So is homework and I've got too much of it!

~*~Prodigious girl*~*: You call that freaking out?  I've freaked out worse, don't worry that was actually normal, besides that night I was a bit crazy.  Ash was cute, a bit, but I liked Richie better.  Shaman King again, I've gotta remember to watch that show!!!!

Jazzy Jade Gurl: *glompz* You reviewed!!!!!  So happy to see ya!  *blushes*  Aww…compliments…^_^  thank you!!!  Kane, Ozuma, cute, I don't think Zeo is though.  Nooo…unfortunately they won't be added in here, too many characters already.  And…*pokes*  when are you updating?  *grins*  I'm impatient – I mean, I'll be patient. ^_^U

Master Kyu: XD thank you!!!!  Water theme like plot, lol!  I'm not a huge fan of water tho, me, I'm scared of swimming!

Beyblader-grl: O_O AAAhh, homework galore!!!  Yeah, me too, report cards coming and all.  Of course I mean it in a good way!  You always make me laugh and that's not something I do that often.  I'll add in a bit of Ray/Willow for your pleasure! ^_~  Yeah, winter holiday, Carly's ice powers!  Never thought of the connection!

Just-some-girl1: I wouldn't kill them all!!! ^_~  They have to live and save the world!

Bimbo-blonde: You really like Kailee and Max, huh?  I should put in more of them then. ^_^  Yeah, but Max is Earth and earth is easily eroded by water, so he's a bit sick right now. XD

whisper*2*imaginary: I wonder why you like Dunga so much?  Why oh why?  Can't wait till you see Kane, he's absolutely gorgeous!  I blow fits all the time, lol!

~kai~: LOL.  I dunno what the heck that exam is, but it doesn't sound like something I wanna take. :P  Follow your crush, lol!  I think I'm getting over mine, it's not that he likes anyone else, but *sighs* he's cute, but I also think he's screwed up. O_O

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Chapter 30: Under the Sea

         "Turn away!!!!" Willow shrieked, "Please change course Cassie!!!"
"B-but the Water Sanctuary is beyond that!!!!" Cassandra protested.

"Our lives are more important than reaching the stupid Sanctuary!!!" Max yelled.

"Cassie, it's too risky!!!" Kailee pleaded, "Turn back!!"

Thunder struck around them and the ship rocked with the waves.

"No," Kai said firmly, "Keep going.  If we turn back, chances are that we'll get hit by thunder instead.  Or the ship might flip over in this kind of weather, our best bet is to keep going and reach the Sanctuary before the storm gets worse."

"You heard him!" Carly said, "Get below deck if you're scared."

Holly struggled to keep hold on the telescope, the winds were much worse up in the barrel on the mast and she was risking being blown away.

"Holly!!!!" Kai hollered, "Come down from there!!!  It's too dangerous up there!"

"I'm coming!!!  There's nothing else to watch for anyways," Holly said, carefully sliding down onto the deck, "It's so windy."

The winds just got worse, they were blowing so strongly that Cassandra lost control of the steering wheel and their ship zoomed with the waves, tossed around like a salad.

"WHOA!!!!!!!"

Everyone was thrown every which ways as the ship spun around and bobbed up and down.  Cassandra was still grabbing the wheel while trying to regain control.  Kai nearly got tossed overboard, but he managed to grab the side just in time.  Willow and Kailee crashed into the door to the lower deck and forced it open, the two of them tumbled in the lower deck.  Max hit the stern of the ship and held on for dear life.  Carly and Johnny smashed into one side of the ship while Hru and Tala hit the other side.  Holly managed to kept a hold of the mast pole and remain standing while Enrique grabbed the rope ladder for support.

"Cassandra, make the boat stop!!!!!" Kai yelled, "Turn it around!!!!"

"I can't!!" Cassandra shouted back, pulling the wheel and trying to get it to turn the right way.  "The ship's moving too fast!!!  We're going to hit the water twister!!!!"

"THE SAILS!!!!"  Johnny hollered, "SOMEONE TURN THE SAILS TO THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION!!!!"  He was too far and was in no position to run.

"I'll get it!!!!" Holly said, giving the rope a good tug and forcing the sails to rotate.

Hru bounded up and managed to grab the other rope and turn the other sails, "There!"

The ship slowed down, but it was still moving dangerously close to the water twister and thunder was still striking around their ship at alarming rate.

"The mast pole," Tala called, "It's like a lightning rod, if thunder hits it, it'll light fire.  Someone had to go up on the barrel and repel the thunder."

"It's too risky!!!!" Willow cried, popping out, "One of us might get struck by thunder."

"I'll do it," Kai said, "I have the Thunder element after all.  Cassandra, steer as fast as you can without losing control."  He scrambled up the ladder and hoisted himself into the barrel.

"We're getting close to the twister!!!" Cassandra yelled, "Everyone, get below deck."

The ship was starting to be pulled towards the twister as it kept sucking everything up.  The twister grew bigger and more violent each second.

"I'm losing control!!!!" Cassandra shouted, gripping the wheel, trying to get it to turn the other way.  Johnny rushed over and tried to help stop the wheel from turning.

The raging winds ripped a tear in the sails and the fabric flew away.

Carly blasted Ice from her hands and tried to freeze part of the twister while Tala conjured a wind twister to try to deflect the water twister.  Finally Cassandra called up a huge wave to help the ship go in the direction they wanted.  And with a huge kahuna wave washing their way, the ship finally pulled away from the twister and Cassandra was in control again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

         "The Water Sanctuary is right below us," Cassandra told them, "We'll have to swim there."

"Yahoo!!!" Carly cheered, diving into the water before anyone could stop her, "Bombs away!!"

"Argh!!" Johnny groaned, sighing and diving in after his best friend.

"I don't really want to get wet," Kailee sighed.

"We're Water Resistant, remember sis?" Kai asked, "We won't get wet."

All of them dived into the water and under the sea.  It was very beautiful under the sea and there was strange plants growing and strange fish swimming around.  The strangest thing was that they all had a bubble outline around them that kept them dry and allowed them to breathe normally.

"Fishies!!!" Kailee cried in delight, reaching out the touch a tropical fish.

"Not now sis," Kai groaned, pulling her away, "We're not in a petting zoo!"

"This is fun!!!" Holly said, swirling around in the water, "I feel as light as a feather."

"Being Water Resistant seemed to have made us even more weightless," Willow said, "It's so pretty down here."

"This is awesome, we can see underwater, breathe, and talk," Cassandra said.

"There's the Sanctuary," Hru pointed to an underwater building.  It was beautiful blue building with golden spirals and it gleamed majestically before then.

They all swam towards it and entered.  The water inside the Sanctuary was a pale blue instead of the deep blue outside in the sea.  The water was so pale it was almost clear.

"I can't believe there's water inside the building too!" Tala grumbled, looking annoyed.

Hru never resisted to opportunity to make fun of Tala, especially since he made every effort to do the same to her, "What's the matter?  Don't you swim?  Don't tell me you get seasick."

"Yes," Tala replied dryly, "But I'm afraid I don't walk on water or in it for that matter.  It's so hard to walk on and I feel like I'm bouncing on something jelly or something."  Just then, pressure under him increased because Hru accidentally stepped hard on the water behind him.  Tala lost his balance and spun upside down.

Hru burst out laughing as Tala crossed his arms upside down, glaring at her.

"Not funny," Tala said icily, standing right side up again, "You did that on purpose."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Stop it already!" Cassandra said, "It was harmless anyways."

"I hate water," Tala muttered, glaring at Hru who was stifling her giggles, "It's so bouncy and jelly-like and annoying and..."

Suddenly a figure swam out to greet them, "Welcome warriors and warrioresses.  Welcome to you, your Majesty."  She did a quick spin in the air and curtsied.

Cassandra's mouth dropped open, "You're - you're - you're a mermaid!!!"

"Why yes," was the reply.  It was indeed a young mermaid, complete with a turquoise fin and blue eyes.  She had long blond hair and a seashell necklace on, "I'm the Water Mage and welcome to the Water Sanctuary."  She did another fancy twirl in the water.

"Wow," Willow said, "A real mermaid.  You look so young, you can't be over 2000 years-old, are you?"

"Why yes, I am," the Water Mage said, giggling, "My age is preserved, but I've been counting the years.  I'm around your age right now, but I'm 2587 years-old to be exact."

"Gee," Holly said, "That's freaky.  You mean you'll never die??"
"Never ever," the Water Mage said, doing more whirls and twirls in the water.  She swam around all of them briskly.

"She's awful pretty," Johnny remarked.

Behind him Kai snickered, "As pretty as you think Carly is?"

"Very funny Kai!" Johnny snapped, turning red, "I never said that."

Kai laughed, "You didn't need to!"

"No kidding," Enrique said in awe, his eyes following the mermaid's graceful moments.

"Aw, shut up," Carly said, rolling her eyes, "You have a lot of nerve Enrique!  You don't care about Aquana's feelings at all!  You must be the most pathetic human being to ever walk the universe!"

Enrique slid off into the corner and looked glum again.

"What's wrong with you?" the Water Mage asked Max, looking at his sullen face.

"I'm seasick," Max replied, sighing.

"You'll get it over, don't worry cutie," the mage said, pinching his cheek lightly and giggling as Max blushed.

Kailee pouted and snatched Max's arm and pulled him away, "Come on Maxie, let's get you inside."

"She's...different," Hru finally said, raising her eyebrows, "Very playful.  Totally opposite of the Fire Mage."

"That old coot?" the Water Mage cried, "I should hope I'm nothing like him!  He's so down in the pits all the time and plus he's so old-fashioned, what we need here is change!!!"  She spun around and circled Tala again and again, surveying him with curious aqua eyes.

Finally Tala looked at her, raising his eyebrows slightly, "Stop that.  You're making me dizzy."

"And what's the matter with the brave Wind Warrior?" the Water Mage teased him, doing more flips in the air.

Tala flushed slightly, "Nothing.  I don't like Water that's all."

"You don't like Water???" the Water Mage asked in horror, "What's there not to like?  It's beautiful and fun!  I think you need to get out more.  Here, I'll show you."  She grabbed his hand and pulled him out the Sanctuary for a swim before Tala could protest.

"Hey, what the hell is she doing to him???" Hru demanded, "I can't take this much longer.  Her behavior is MUCH too lighthearted."

"She flirting with all the guys," Willow remarked, "I'm sorta glad Ray's not here."

"I'm going after Tala," Hru muttered, gliding outside in a huff.

"I think she likes him," Holly whispered to Willow.

Hru whirled back around, "I heard that and I do NOT!"

"Hey hey, I never said that 'she' was you," Holly protested, "I could've meant the Water Mage!"

"But you didn't and you know it!" Hru snapped, crossing her arms while floating in the water.

"You just assumed it," Willow said with a giggle, "That means you must like him."

"Oh, very funny Willow, laugh it up," Hru said sarcastically.
"Then why are you going after him?" Cassandra asked slyly.

"Listen, I don't care what the hell happens to that jerk, I'm just going to make fun of him," Hru said angrily.

Before she could move, the Water Mage returned gracefully and she was still leading Tala by the wrist.  The sight of that made Hru even more annoyed and Tala was blushing for some reason.

"Oooh," Hru snapped, "I'd like to strangle her!"

"And you say you don't like Tala?" Holly asked curiously.

"I don't!!!!" Hru growled.

"Why don't you guys stay here for the night?" the Water Mage suggested, doing all sorts of loops and turns in the water, "That way you'll be fresh and ready in the morning, you're tackling the Water Palace right?  You'll need a good dose of sleep, that Water Warlock is a tough customer."  She was whirling around so much, it made everyone dizzy.

"Do you like water now?" Johnny snickered at Tala.

"Very funny," Tala said, still flushing, "She's very pretty, that's all."

Johnny snickered some more and Hru looked very irritated.

Suddenly, they saw a veil of red stars and sparkles in front of them and two figures came out.

"What's that Water Mage?" Cassandra asked.

"It's a teleporter," the Water Mage said, "Uh-oh, red veil."  She quickly stood straight and still as out stepped the Fire Mage and Ray!!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

         "Ray!" Willow threw her arms around him and hugged him.  She sighed in relief when she felt his strong arms wrap around her, "Ray…"

"Gosh, you guys are okay," Ray said, returning Willow's hug tightly, his amber eyes tender, "I was worried that something might've happened to you."

"Us?" Cassandra said with a proud scoff, "With me as the captain?  No way, you didn't have to worry Ray, I took care of it all!"  Holly and Kailee laughed behind her.

"When will you ever grow up Water Mage?" the Fire Mage said in annoyance, "You have to take this seriously.  These are the future kings and queens of the Kingdoms standing before you and you're acting like a 5 year-old!"

"I am not!" the Water Mage said stubbornly, anger clouding her girlish attitude, "You are SO old-fashioned."

"I cannot imagine how a mere child like you became a mage," the Fire Mage muttered, "You obviously have no respect for your elders or your superiors."

"No one said I had to curtsy and kiss the feet of her Majesty," the Water Mage retorted.

Everyone sweatdropped at this scene.

"Um..." Cassandra put in, "Can I have a word please?"

"Sure!" the Water Mage said dismissively, "I'm tiring of listening to him speak anyways."

"Do go ahead," the Fire Mage said with a frosty glare at his fellow Mage, "Your Majesty."

Cassandra sweatdropped, "Um...yeah...thanks.  Listen, I think I speak for all of us here when I say that there's no need to bow and curtsy and called us all those fancy royalty names."

"Ohhhhh," Carly said with as much sarcasm as she could spit out, rolling her eyes,  "No way, I just LOVE being treated like royalty, don't I?  All that prissy nonsense...why don't we all turn into Robert while we're at it?"

Johnny snickered and Hru laughed.

"See?" the Water Mage said triumphantly, doing a water cartwheel, "I told you I didn't need to curtsy!"
The Fire Mage frowned, "But honestly, I do think that it is proper manners that we -"
"Please, I don't need to know a second Robert," Carly put in curtly.

"Ray, what are you doing here?" Willow asked, tugging his sleeve.

"We're a bit concerned about what's happening over here cuz water has already destroyed a quarter of my Kingdom and I just rebuilt it too!" Ray complained, "So I put things in order there and came here with the Fire Mage because he wanted a word with your mage."

"Her mage," Hru said in a tight voice, "Thinks Tala is SO brave."

"Shut up," Tala hissed, going a brilliant shade of red.

"That's it!" Kai said, throwing his hands in the air, "I have had enough nonsense for one day, I'm going to bed!"  He disappeared into the other room and when the rest of them went after him, Kai was already asleep on the furthest bed, his back turned to them.

"I'm tired too," Kailee yawned and curling up on the bed beside her brother's.  The Fire Mage and the Water Mage were still bickering.  Everyone sighed and decided to call it a day, getting into a bed and going to sleep.

"I'm going to go back with the Fire Mage," Ray whispered to Willow, careful not to wake anyone up.

"But you just got here," Willow protested, looking sad.

Ray touched her cheek, "I know, but I've got to get back and I won't last long here, I'll see you soon, okay?  Be careful, try not to get hurt."

"Ray…?" Willow murmured, "I'm sorry about your Kingdom, you worked so hard on it too…"

"It's okay, it can be rebuilt," Ray said reassuringly with a sweet smile, "I brought you something in case you needed some cheering up."  He reached back and held out a pale pink rose in perfect bloom, "I hope this makes your day."

"Oh!  It does!" Willow exclaimed in delight, "Thank you so much Ray."  She hugged him tightly and Ray gently tilted her face up, kissing her softly in response, holding her tightly in his arms for a brief while before letting go.

"I have to go now," Ray said reluctantly, "Be careful."

"Okay..." Willow whispered, "Bye."  And Ray disappeared outside to the main room of the Water Sanctuary.  There was a flash of red light and then silence.

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            Under the sea…*hums* You know, the song from Little Mermaid?  ^_^  Really really busy, nothing to say, no quote either, sorry, but review please!  Check out my new co-owned forum if you haven't done so already @ www.ty-kamara.net.tc

            Laterz, please review, I'm really tired!  ^_^U