Mitchell was worried. He had been searching for an hour but there were still no signs of her anywhere in the aquamarine waters. She always seemed to have an innate talent for wandering off into unknown places and getting lost and today was no different.

He had already advised the Maraquan Hissi against bringing her Babyca along but she had refused, giving the excuse that the Babyca would be lonely without her. Not long after they went to visit a group of friends for an outing to the Maraquan Ruins, Donna's petpet had gone missing. It was only natural for her to find her lost petpet and so, she'd swum off without notifying anyone.

Swimming his way past a school of Maraquan Shoyrus, Mitchell called out for Donna again. No response. He sighed, watching the tiny bubbles of air floating out of his mouth and drifting towards the surface of the water. He wondered if either of his friends had found her yet.

The Ruki was about to give up on his search and return to group up with his friends when he came across a cave. Beyond the entrance was a pitch-black abyss. He hadn't searched that part yet ... could Donna perhaps be in there? Part of him was scared of the unknown but he also couldn't ignore his friend if she really was somewhere in the depths of the dangerous looking cave.

Making up his mind, he swam towards the entrance and into the absolute darkness ...

Mitchell swam back and forth just outside the entrance to the cavern, trying to gather his courage.

You can do this, he told himself. There's nothing to be afraid of. Everything will be just fine!

He repeated these lines to himself a few times, trying to convince himself they were true. He was so focused on his positive thinking that when something brushed past him, he gasped in shock.

The Ruki breathed a sigh of relief when he looked over and saw his good friend Ciara, a lovely Maraquan Cybunny.

"Oh, Ciara, it's you!" Mitchell choked out, relieved.

"Hey, Mitch!" Ciara said cheerfully. "Whatcha doing?"

"Well, Donna disappeared again, looking for her Babyca this time, and I was just heading in the cave to see if she's in there," Mitchell said with more confidence than he felt. "Want to come?"

The Cybunny looked uncertainly into the darkness, but nodded after only a few seconds' hesitation.

Just then, the pair heard a shriek echoing from somewhere within the blackness. Mitchell took off toward the sound, with Ciara close on his tail...

After a few minutes Ciara was out of breath so the pair stopped for a moment. They looked around and noticed that they were completely surrounded by darkness.

"I can't see a thing," said Ciara in a squeaky voice.

"Neither can I," replied Mitchell. "Who knows what could be lurking in this darkness."

"I don't want to think about that," said Ciara. "Let's keep going."

Slowly, Mitchell and Ciara made their way through the darkness, trying to blindly go in the direction of the screams.

"Look," whispered Ciara. "There is a faint light up ahead."

"Lets go," replied Mitchell swimming towards the light.

As the pair got closer to the light, the shrieks became more audible.

"Help," yelled a voice. "Somebody please help me."

Mitchell stopped and let out a small shriek. The voice they were following was Donna's...

The bright light was coming from a small coral lantern that had fallen to the ground. Donna’s fins scrabbled for purchase on the floor as she struggled to escape what appeared to be an enormous slimeball. Ciara bolted forward and grabbed her hands, pulling back with all her might. “Help me, Mitch!” she screamed.

Mitchell rushed to her and grabbed her shoulders, summoning every ounce of rugged Ruki strength he could find as he fought to pull both friends out of danger. Suddenly, with a long slurp and a pop, Donna broke free from the slime and the three of them tumbled backwards and landed in a heap. Without pausing to examine what remained of the large blob of goo, Donna snatched up her lantern and pulled her friends back down the dark corridor, leaving a trail of bubbles in their wake.

“Almost there,” Ciara gasped. “Almost there...” She looked ahead and stopped short suddenly with a squeak of alarm. “Where’d the entrance go?” she yelped. “It was right here!”

“No...” Donna moaned. “No, no, no!” She slammed her fist against the solid wall that had once been the mouth of the cavern. “It must’ve woken up!”

“What must’ve woken up?” Mitchell asked nervously. Donna opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a low rumble. To their horror, the ground beneath them began to sway and throb like a haunted trampoline. Sweat beaded on Mitchell’s forehead. Had it always been so warm in here?

“Oh, great, and now it’s moving!” Donna cried, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “This is just perfect!”

“What’s moving?” Ciara yelped, grabbing Mitchell’s arm to keep her balance.

“This isn’t a cave, guys. We’re inside a sea monster...”

Donna glanced at him. “Yeah…those weren’t rocks at the entrance…those were teeth.”

Ciara looked pale. “Then that slime ball we rescued you from…”

Donna shuddered lightly. “Uh, best not to think about it. But on the plus side, I found my Babyca!” she finished brightly.

“As long as we have our priorities straight. We’re being eaten by a sea monster, but so is your Babyca,” Mitchell muttered.

Donna only rolled her eyes, but stayed silent.

“So…now what?” Ciara asked, her voice just a touch shakey.

“Now we find a way out! It’ll have to open its mouth eventually,” Donna replied, too cheerful. Mitchell was having a hard time remembering why he’d gone after her; his heart was still pounding.

And then he noticed something. “Hey,” he said suddenly, pointing off in the distance, “What’s that?”

Donna whooped. “That’s our ticket out!” she said, dashing off. Groaning, Mitchell and Ciara ran after her only to see….

Mitchell grimaced; it was a disgusting plan, but given their circumstances, it was probably the best they were going to get. He didn't particularly like the idea of escaping the mouth of the beast while it was feeding.

"What are we gonna do if it gets mad and tries to eat us again?" Ciara asked.

"Uh... Swim fast?" Donna suggested.

"I can't see any other way of getting out of here quickly, so I say we go for it," Mitchell opined.

"Alright," Ciara replied hesitantly. The three Neopets began to smack the bit of flesh, grimacing as they made contact with its slimy surface. Eventually they stumbled; hitched grunts began to rack the monster's body, causing their footing to become uneven.

"It's working!" Donna exclaimed. "Just a little more!"

A few more solid thwaps and suddenly a rush of water swept the Neopets and Babyca out of the jaw of the creature. None of them gave the creature a second glance before swimming away as fast as possible. Fortunately, the creature either had not noticed them or had decided they were not worth eating.

When their breathing became labored, the three Neopets slowed to a halt.

"Well, that was fun," Mitchell said. "Let's never do it again."

Donna and Ciara did not answer. Mitchell noticed that they were focused on something behind him. He turned around and gulped. Perhaps almost being eaten by a sea monster would not be the worst thing to happen to them that day...

"Babyca, no!" Donna Screamed, "Don't go near there."

But Donna's words were not heard. The three watched in terror as Donna's babyca disappeared right into the pit.

"What are we going to do?" said Ciara with a look of fear on her face.

"There is only one thing to do," replied Donna in a brave voice. "We must go into the pit and find her."

"Are you crazy?" Questioned Mitchell, "We do not know what is in there, its not safe."

"We were inside of a sea monster," said Donna smoothly. "It can't be any worse then that can it?"

Before Mitchell or Ciara had a chance to respond Donna quickly swam away and disappeared into the bubbling pit...

Everything went dark for a moment, but after the chaotic torrent subsided and the dizziness calmed, Mitchell awoke to find himself in yet another cave! But this one was much different, as it had been decorated with ancient inscriptions lining the walls to the left and right illuminating the interior - and he quickly spotted Ciara gazing at those inscriptions.

"Where's Donna?" Mitchell asked.

"Behind you," Ciara said, smirking a little. "This is probably the last place I'd expect to end up - I've never seen anything so beautiful!"

Mitchell spun around to find Donna admiring the transcendent beauty that graced the walls of the cavern; it was evident that very few, if any, explorers had discovered this place. For now, it seemed to be a mystery to unravel.

"And here I was thinking that Babyca of yours was always getting us into trouble," Mitchell said to Donna.

Donna held her cherished Babyca safely in her grasp and glanced up at Mitchell.

"Do you know where we are, Mitchell...?"

How will the story end?

The Maraquan Babyca held in Donna’s fins gurgled, bubbles floating from the petpet’s mouth and popping at the ceiling of the cave.

“Our origin,” Mitchell finally murmured, and the words felt just right. “It’s the very root of Maraqua."

There was a rare silence of unanimous agreement, as the three just examined the sight of the cave, the ancient inscriptions suddenly not as indecipherable as it seemed.

“Guys, look! There's a soft glow further into the cave.” Ciara pointed out. “Let’s go and check it out."

Before long, the three were standing before an ancient-looking altar carved into the innermost wall of the cave, and on top of it, sat a single object, responsible for the emitting of light.

“What’s this?” With one quick flick of her tail, Donna covered the distance to the object, and snatched it up with curiosity. “Looks like a necklace?”

“It looks more than a necklace,” Ciara noted, eyeing it critically.

“That’s an amulet,” Mitchell decided. “The words carved upon the cave walls… And these symbols—” he gestured to the altar, “—That’s the language and symbol of old Maraqua."

As soon as the last word was spoken, the engravings of the cave lit up in luminous light.

“The amulet! It-It’s pulsing!” Donna exclaimed, letting go of the said object. But the amulet did not drop to the floor of the cave, but rather, its luminescence only continued to grow, and the bright light engulfed the three…

And when they came to once again, they were in the familiar waters of Maraqua, their previous adventures completely forgotten.

Or, as it would have been, if not for the symbols of old Maraqua tattooed on the pincers of the Ruki, the amulet wore around the Hissi’s neck, and the constant sense of foreboding that the Cybunny got.

It would not be long until the world would seek their help, not with the threat that was brewing.

In an empty cave, there were tiny inscriptions on the edge of the altar:

Until a day the world is being put to the test, The Amulet of Maraqua will not wake from its rest

The End.