HEY! Chapter 7 is here! -fanfare-
Disclamer: I DO NOT OWN THE MONKEY TEAM, just everything else ^^;
Prophecy of the Elements 7- Awaking Water
Nova and Demi landed on a mostly quiet and uninhabited part of Shugazoom's shore. The air smelled of sea salt and the sand smooth and pristine, of light tan color. The sun was setting, adding a touch of red to the brown cliffs, where they discovered a cave.
"We'll have to set up camp here or the night." Nova said, taking off her invisibility cloak.
"Who were those guys?" Demi asked.
Nova thought about her answer, not really knowing what to say. Should she tell her about the team? What would she think? Best to avoid the topic, she decided. "Maybe I can get a fire going."
Nova folded the cloak around her arm and dropped it on the sandy floor of the cavern. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Demi blink blankly and nodded her head rapidly, vibrating. "Can I look around the cave for a while?"
"Ok, but keep hidden." Nova said as she turned to face her, the sun behind her. "I'm gonna get some firewood."
She then started to walk down the beach, sighing at everything happening. "You did the right thing." Nova looked around to see her father, or a translucent version of her father.
"Dad," Nova beamed as a smile crossed her face, "Is it normal that I see through you?"
"It's only because I'm losing my power." Helios said as his eyes cast to the ground.
Now Nova was confused, "But the sun doesn't disappear when it sets it continues to shine just not on Shugazoom, so why are you losing power?"
Helios' eyes glanced at her with a slight frown, "You'll understand soon, Nova. No one is omniscient. We all have times of strength and weakness. It's our nature." His appearance was a simple outline, a spectral stare coming from his eyes.
"What? Wait, dad. I don't understand!" Nova called as he vanished just as the sun disappeared over the sparkling blue water.
Nova stared at the spot where her fraternal figure once stood. What had he meant about strength and weakness? How could someone so powerful suddenly be so weak? The though caused her brain to tumble and crash, she just couldn't process it.
"The time has come." Nova shot around to attack whatever it was only to see Demi standing there. She looked flustered at Nova's fist about 2 inches from her own.
Nova flushed as she recognized her, "Oh, Demi uhhhh, sorry." She threw both arms behind her hands and smiled innocently.
Demi smiled back and nodded, "It's ok. C'mon there's someone here for ya!" She grabbed Nova's arm and dragged her back to the cave.
When they got there, Nova recognized her mother standing there holding something in her hands.
"Miss Ranger, were here!" Demi said as she bowed respectfully.
"Thank you, Demetria. Nova, it's time to awake water; however, this element is very tricky. Water is the element of knowledge and in order to succeed at allying it, you must be able to match its intelligence."
Nova nodded to show her understanding.
"Good, now you'll both need these." Ranger handed them both a small device. "There respirators, these will allow you to somewhat breathe underwater."
Nova silently thanked her for the excuse not to use the monkey team equipment. She didn't want Demi questioning where she got them from.
"I shall cover your tracks so no one will know of your mission. Once you enter the water you must follow the current to the caverns of Atlanicamaron, there you'll find the water chamber."
"Seems easy enough," Demi said happily.
"The cavern is guarded by a terrible monster."
"It's never easy, is it?" Nova said shaking her head.
"You will need to outsmart the beast at its own game to pass. Good luck and Alistar speed girls."
Nova and Demi bowed respectfully and started towards the water.
"Alistar, bless us." Ranger bowed her head; silently praying, raising her arms as a heavy fog began to roll in.
Sprx was sitting on top of the Super Robot, his head pounding with questions and worries. Nova was in Shugazoom, and he was going crazy over her. He was barely surviving training and flight practice, something he could do with his eyes closed and one arm tied behind his back. He sighed, he knew Nova had to do this and he respected that. But he just couldn't shake this feeling she was in danger.
"Sprx, are you alright?" Sprx turned to see Gibson standing at the doorway of the neck a concerned look on his face.
"Yeah, I'm fine brain-strain." Sprx said, turning back to the city lights, a far-off gaze in his eyes.
Gibson looked down at the ground. The team had been concerned about Sprx since Nova left. They assigned him to try and help Sprx through his faze. He was baffled by the command because he and Sprx were never close, most of the time they were enemies.
"Are you sure? If there's anything I can do-"
"I'm fine Brain-Strain, really."
Gibson thought for a few minutes then proceeded to gaze at the star filled sky about a relatively quiet Shugazoom City. "The stars are very beautiful tonight."
Sprx lifted his heavy head to look at the light filled sky above them. "It really is."
Sprx shifted before looking at Gibson, "Hey, sorry about the trouble earlier." Gibson nodded as his memory returned to this afternoon when Sprx almost crashed the fist rocket 3 into the ground where he was standing.
"It's alright, Sprx. I understand you're upset."
Sprx went to argue back but was cut off. "You know, we are alive, Sprx. And we do experience emotion. It's what gives us our identity. Nova was -is- a great teammate and friend, and we were all saddened by her departure. But she will return, if not for the team… then at least for you."
Sprx eyes looked into his cobalt friend and saw nothing but honesty in them. He looked back down, Gibson was right, (obviously) Nova would come back, and she wouldn't want him moping for her. She'd want him to continue on and protect Shugazoom.
He felt a small smile slide on his face as he touched Gibson's shoulder, "Thanks, Gibson." The red and blue monkey's shared smiles until Gibson's head turned to his arm, a small beeping emerged from it.
"That's odd…"
"What's up?" Sprx asked.
"It appears there is some heavy, unexpected fog has moved over Shugazoom Bay. It was supposed to be clear tonight." Gibson pressed a few buttons analyzing the information.
"Should we check it out?" Sprx was now on his feet, ready for some action.
"It's probably nothing, but just to be accurate." Gibson mumbled as he too rose to his feet. They then proceeded by Jet pack down to the beach.
/
Nova and Demi were now about 500 ft below sea level and closing in on the caves of Atlanicamaron. To her surprise the trip had been relatively smooth trip and no monsters so far. Nova's mind was swarming, remembering her father's words, "No one is omniscient…"
Demi's words soon brought her out of her trance, "There it is!" She looked ahead of her to see a magnificent coral gate inscribed with the word, Intelligence. The stopped in front of the door, looking for an entrance to the coral cavern.
"Wait," Nova said holding up her hand, "Something isn't right…"
Suddenly, a large tail came out of nowhere and smacked Nova and Demi into the coral door. They turned around fast, and saw a large green sea serpent. Its glowing yellow eyes, eerie against shadowy water, send a death glare toward the two simians. Nova blinked, and found herself slammed against the cave floor. Unknown to her, the rock manage to reactivate her tracking device, a low beeping coming from her back panel.
"NOVA!" Demi yelled as the creature's tail whacked her across the room.
Nova sat up, rubbing her back lightly to relieve the swirls of pain. She then swam full throttle at the beast, ramming into its side. It screeched and backed away slightly. Nova moved to Demi and helped her up.
The creature recovered from the smash and began bolting towards them again.
"Burn it!" Demi yelled in panic.
"Only one problem," Nova said as she gazed at the bubbles forming around her hands, "no fire under water."
"So, now what?" Demi's voice was brimming with anxiety.
"Now… SWIM FOR IT!" Nova yelled as she began to swim away as top speed, followed by her green friend and the serpent.
/
The red and blue simian landed on the beach, the fog covering them completely in an eerie mood. Gibson looked down at his scanner again, only this time shock covered his face.
Sprx noticed his friends eyes widen, "What's up?"
"I-I'm picking up a familiar signal on the radar."
"What?" Sprx flew over to Gibson and grabbed his arm. Sure enough, on the screen, was a series of red circles but one yellow dot. Yellow?
"NOVA!" Sprx yelled out of pure surprise and joy.
Gibson had to shrink back and cover his mechanical senor. "We have to go get her!"
"Now, Sprx-" Gibson started, only to hear a faint 'sploosh'. Gibson turned to see ripples in the water where his crimson friend was standing.
Gibson sighed, "Oh for the love of..." he muttered before following him.
"DON'T STOP!" Nova yelled as she pushed Demi through the twirled cave-maze that they were swimming. Her breathing was quickening and her heart pounded in her chest. The serpent was now hovering above them, following their every move. Nova rounded a sharp corner and hid in the wall shadow, grabbing Demi as she swam by. The serpent continued swimming, losing the two simians in the maze.
"This is getting us nowhere." Demi said, panting beside her golden comrade as they pressed against the wall. "What is it playing?"
Nova thought for a second, her gaze focusing on the ground her father's words still echoing… No one is omniscient; we all have our strengths and weaknesses… strengths and weaknesses… strengths and weak-
"THAT'S IT!"
"What's it?" asked Demi, confused.
"Can you keep that think busy?" Nova asked.
Demi nodded after a few seconds, "I think I can handle it."
"Good, I'll be back." Nova proceeded around another corner out of the green monkey's gaze.
Demi then turned her attention to the creature, "Ok, let's play."
/
Nova swam back to the coral gate and touched it with her hand, "Intelligence."
The door began to glow a light red color and the coral began to crack open. The water swirled all around her almost creating a tsunami feel of chaos. Nova struggled against the current as the doors opened wider, to reveal another capsule similar to Demitria's. Nova swam in after the small storm ended. She touched the container, and whispered the chanting code; "Awaken Water."
The capsule opened as something moved inside. Nova peered to see a blue monkey, with rose red eyes. The bottom half of her body wasn't a monkey at all, it was a tail. It was a red mermaid tail with fins and scales.
She was a sea-monkey.
(A/N: The simian version of a mermaid)
"Mmmhhmmm… what on-?" the monkey muttered as she sat up.
Nova extended her hand apologetically, "Are you ok?"
The monkey looked over at her casually, then her eyes widened in shock at the mere sight of the golden monkey, "Madam-"
"Look, I don't have time for formalities. Right now I wonder if you would like to end your monster's 'Capture the Flag' routine."
"Monster?" The simian looked terribly confused.
"Yes, right now it's 'playing' with one of my friends Demi-"
"DEMETRIA?" Suddenly she sprang out of the container, as if it shocked her. Her tail propelling her out of the room at a blazing speed, leaving a very confused Nova standing in the catacomb
"Was it something I said?"
/
"The signal is coming from up ahead." Gibson motioned with his mechanical limb to a small cave near the watery depth. He and his red counterpart had pin-pointed the location of their missing yellow teammate. As they swam into the cavern, the darkness seeming foreboding what was in store for them.
Swimming ahead, Sprx edged deeper into the cave. His once fear of the water was dismissed by the pure determination of finding Nova. Suddenly a strong current came rushing towards them. The two monkeys braced themselves as the shock passed. Sprx opened his eyes to see a figure moving towards them through the darkness. For a second his heart jumped, could it-. His thought was cut short when a green haired and pinked eyed monkey stopped before them, panting out of breath. She glanced at them for a few moments before a horrible roar echoed through the cavern. All three monkeys froze, fear lodging their voices in their throats. Another roar followed by a fast moving shadow, causing Demetria to finally screech, then began speeding toward the entrance.
Gibson and Sprx looked at each other and then down the darkness once more. Finally from the depths, the water creature emerged, enraged and chaotic. Both primates screamed and followed the stranger's lead out of the cave and into the light blue water. The creature was stunned slightly by the light freezing to let its yellow eyes adjust to the brightened world. This gave Sprx and Gibson the time necessary to hide behind a rock formation.
"What the heck was that?" Sprx asked his blue companion, panting heavily.
"For once, I don't know," Gibson replied smoothly yet slightly shaken by the frightening beast. He peeked out from behind the rock, "It appears to be some kind of sea serpent." The creature turned around sharply at the sound of the monkey's voice. Gibson quickly hid again.
"Ok so how do we take it down?" Sprx emphasized his point, punching his fist into his hand.
A scream cut off what Gibson was about to offer. The partners swam out of hiding to see the serpent squeezing the green female.
"HEY! Let her go!" Sprx said as he and Gibson activated their transformers. The beast looked over at the pair, and with the distraction, Demi managed to escape his monstrous tail.
"Uh-oh," Demi muttered as she watched the monster attack the two other monkeys, "I'd better get Nova, stat!"
/
Nova and her friend exited the maze, "I don't understand, she was in here when I last saw her."
Demi swam up to the two, panting heavily, "NOVA, NOVA, NOVA!"
"Demi, what happened? The last time I saw you, you were heading off to fight the monster."
The blue sea monkey cleared her throat, "First of all, I wish to clarify that it's not a monster. It's the mythical Viper that was assigned to attack anyone trying to awaken me."
"Yeah, well, it's doin' a great job," Demi caught her breath and opened her eyes. She gasped and pointed toward the monkey, "AQUA?"
The monkey named Aqua returned the gasp, "Demetria! Oh it's so good to see you!"
The two monkeys embraced each other, giggling like two school girls. Nova stood there, awkwardly.
"Umm… you to know each other?"
Aqua looked at Nova, "Oh she didn't tell you?" Demi smiled and started bouncing up and down, "We're cousins!" (A/N: HAA! You thought I was gonna say SISTERS!)
"Oh," Nova said, again awkwardly, "Gee, maybe you could have mentioned that!" She sent Demi a look, which she completely ignored.
"Oh! Speaking of new people, I saw these two monkeys out of the cavern."
Nova stood straight like she'd been shocked, "WHAT?" Aqua and Demi just stared at her, a bit surprised by her sudden outburst.
"Uhhhh, I mean, No really? What did they look like?" Nova was praying that it wasn't who she was thinking.
"Umm, one of them was blue and the other was red." Demi answered after a moment of thought.
Nova slapped her forehead, great, just great. Why'd they have to show up now? Aqua's concerned voice brought her out of her thoughts, "What would they be doing around here?"
"Well, I was running from the Viper then I found myself outside, then it grabbed me," Demi eyes widened as she added with worry, "OH CRAP, THE SERPENT WAS FIGHTING WHEN I LAST SAW THEM!"
Aqua's eyes widened, "I'd better call it of before it does them in. You all go to land, I'll see you soon."
The trio nodded simultaneously, and sped off to their appropriate places
/
Sprx was hurled against the rock wall for what seemed to be the umpteenth time.
Dang this thing just keeps comin'!
He rubbed the back of his head, the metal dented from the thrashing creature. He looked up to see Gibson trying to escape the beast tail. Sprx charged up his magnets, preparing to attack it again, when out of the blue-
"VIPER!" A feminine voice projected itself from behind the monster. The beast whipped around and flung Gibson against the wall, knocking him unconscious.
"Gibson!" Sprx was about to swim for his friend only to find the creature's tail still in motion, and aimed at him. Its tail made contact with Sprx's body, sending him flying up and out of the water. He landed on the sandy beach, where he coughed up some water. He sat up, his body aching in ways he wasn't even sure was possible. He looked out at the bay, debating what to do next. He had to get Gibson, but rushing into battle with that thing, didn't seem like the best option. He needed help.
"Sprx to hyperforce, do ya read me?"
"We read you Sprx, what happened?" Chiro's voice came in over the communicator.
Sprx looked back at the water before responding, "You guys aren't gonna believe this."
/
"What is the meaning of this? You aren't supposed to be attacking mortalas, you'll give our position away!" Aqua scolded the sea creature, her blood red eyes blinking seriously. The serpent lowered its head, apologetically, begging its master for forgiveness. Aqua sighed, "I don't want to see this ever again. It doesn't matter now, I'm free. That means you are relieved of your duties."
The creature perked up and swam over to the girl, licking her lovingly, with a pleading look in its eyes.
"FINE! We can still see each other, on one condition. Stay hidden." Aqua stroked the creatures head as it licked her cheek in agreement then sped off into the cave once more.
"Well, now that that's taken care of-" Aqua was about to swim off when she notices someone lying on the sea floor. He was cerulean, similar to her fur, yet his eyes were a mysterious black. She stared at him curiously for a few moments, what was a cybernetic monkey doing on this planet? Could there be more? She shook her head, trying to remove the questions. She moved her hands around his neck forehead and chest. He is unconscious, she thought, I must get him on land. She swam down to him and hoisted him up to the surface.
As she breached the water's surface she released a breath she wasn't holding. She dragged the stranger on the shore and leaned down, placing her metal ear on his chest. She heard a faint heart beat, and laid him back on the sand. She moved her hands and arms in a circular motion before moving them toward the blue monkey's mouth. A steam of water exited his lips before he sat up, violently coughing. He flopped back on the sand, groaning.
Gibson barely opened his eyes, the sunlight blinding painful to his onyx eyes. For a second, he thought he hadn't survived the serpent incident. He then felt the wet sand under his fur and quickly determined that he hadn't died. He also saw a shadowed outline of something hovering over him, staring at him in concern. His eyes widened as he saw a pair of shockingly gorgeous crimson eyes blinking towards him. He was about to say something when he heard a voice call out for him, "GIBSON!"
Gibson sat up and turned to see his team running toward him, worry etched in their faces. Gibson turned back to his savior, about to offer his thanks, when he found no one there. A surprised and anxious look crossed his face as he scanned the area franticly for those eyes or for anyone, however he found himself alone.
"Gibson, are you alright?" Antauri's voice was the first to be heard as he was helped by Otto off the sandy floor.
"I-I believe so."
"We'd better get him back to the robot, just in case." Chiro added as he and Antauri nodded.
Gibson said nothing through the conversation, his mind was still occupied by the previous events. Who was that? His mind asked. The team made its way back to the robot, with Gibson following behind. He stopped and looked back at the water, he didn't know if he was hallucinating, but he could have sworn he saw a figure poke it's head above the water in the distance.
"Gibson, you alright?" Sprx called as he noticed his friend staring into nothing.
"Err… I'm fine, I'm coming." Gibson shook of his suspicions and assured himself it was all a mirage. Perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him, and there was probably no one there. He ran to catch up with the others.
/
Out in the water, Aqua poked her head above the surface. She didn't want to leave the stranger alone, especially in his condition; however she couldn't allow herself to be spotted. So at the lat second, she jumped into the water leaving the monkey alone.
She watched, carefully, as they conversed with each other. As far as she could tell, they were all males; and they appeared to be related somehow. She gasped and plunged under as she noticed the blue monkey look her way. She couldn't comprehend why she was acting the way she was, all timid and sheepish. It wasn't completely in her nature. She waited until they all left, before climbing on shore. She laid there breathless, panting like a fish out of water. A flash of light a few seconds later, revealed her tail gone, now replaced with blue legs and tiny white feet. Aqua stood on her feet, stumbling slightly as she began to walk down the beach.
She could shake the feeling she hadn't seen the last of that stranger.