Being a Ninja

Under the Sea

Mara's POV

Two weeks passed by since my explosion. I think it's incredible how I’m being able to forget about everything. Last time it happened I needed at least two years to get rid of such memories. Now they just seem to flow outta my mind. Maybe it's because I'm already used to it, or maybe it's because I've been having lots of fun with Miclair lately. We still fight a lot, but we also lay pranks on Cain and make him furious; drag Luc to play videogames with us; make Soren tell us one of his awesome stories about ancient Japan, and stuff like that.

I'm glad he forgave me for lying to him. It's really great to have a friend like Miclair, but today I'm gonna get outta the sewers again. I need to go look for the origins of the "key", like Master Itsuki told me to. Luc is always saying I can search on the Internet, but I know I won’t find anything there, at least not what I'm looking for.

Tonight, I'm going out to the port. I know the guys are making a plan to follow me, but I will be able to trick them and they will lose me in a second. The day passes by quickly and it's finally getting dark. I get ready to go out.

"You sure you have to go alone?" He asks.

"Yes, Miclair" I say, for the 104th time.

"But I'm gonna get bored without you here" He says, making puppy dog eyes. I smile.

"Well, you can always make Cain kill you while I don't come back" I say, walking through the lair's door.

Soren's POV

"Is she gone?" I ask.

"Yup!" Miclair says.

"You sure you want to do this, guys?" Luc asks, getting his suit.

"Of course we're sure! Mara can get hurt or tha ninjas may go afta her and catch her outta guard! Or maybe she'll even try an' explode again!" Cain says.

"Calm down, Cain! That's why we're going after her. To make sure she'll be ok" I say.

Once we're all well disguised, we get out of the island and into the city. We have no difficulty in finding Mara. She's walking very slowly, but she's not walking towards the port, where she said she’d go.

"Where tha hell is she goin'?" Cain asks.

Mara's POV

I continue walking very slowly and I can see the guys are following me. I smirk as I'm about to make them lose the sight of me. I suddenly start running really fast and I can hear the guys running after me. I smirk again and I run to an alley. The guys get there some seconds later. I continue running to the end of the alley.

I jump to the back wall and take an impulse with my foot, flying back towards the turtles. Miclair screams like a girl when he sees me.

I land on them and continue to run laughing, while they stay on the ground thinking of what hit them.

I run for a while more until I get to the port. It seems like I lost track of them.

A soft wind flows in the air. I look at the sea. It's so peaceful.

I take a deep breath and get my hands on my pockets, walking near the sea, where the boats are placed. I look around, looking for something unusual.

Nothing.

Not a sound, just the whispering sea. Not a move, just the waves getting to the shore. I sigh and start leaving, when I hear a weird sound from behind me. I turn around and nearly scream in surprise.

A huge light strikes me and I fall to the water. I swim back to the surface. The light that hit me is engulfing me, so I can't see a thing.

"Wha-?" I murmur

The light starts vanishing and I can see again, but I feel that something's wrong, as I try to hit my legs to keep on the surface, but I feel no legs. Instead, I feel my legs strike together, when I try to shake them. I try to put my feet to the surface and what I see gets me shocked.

What I see aren't my feet, it's a tail. A fish tail!

"This is unusual!" I say

I start understanding what happened. I became a mermaid!!

HOW IN THE WORLD DID I BECOME A MERMAID?!?!?!

The only thing I remember is that huge light... The light! Someone must have sent it!

I just have to find that someone! Great! Now where is that someone?! Oh hell!

I look around and no one seems to be around. I sigh.

"Great! Now how the hell am I getting outta here?!" I think out loud.

Suddenly, something bites my tail and pulls me underwater. I barely have time to scream.

Once underwater, I open my eyes again, but boy I wish I kept them closed! A huge fish monster is dragging me to the bottom of the sea! And worse, I think I'm getting out of air! I start struggling to break free, but that huge ugly thing doesn't want to release me!

I get my hands on the place where he is biting me. A huge light spreads from my hands and the beast roars, releasing me. I swim as fast as I can to the surface and take a deep breath for air, but the beast didn't give up just yet. It comes after me again, and jumps from the water, heading straight to me. Fortunately, I can dive and escape it for an inch.

It comes after me again. I swim and try to lose him, but it simply doesn't give up! I start to feel I need air again.

*Wait a minute! I'm a mermaid! I can breathe underwater!* I realize and take a huge gulp of water, feeling my oxygen levels go up again.

"That's more like it!" I say underwater and continue to evade the huge fish monster, but he is really pushy and I start to get a little tired of him.

Cain's POV

Damn it! Ever since we lost Mara, we just can't find her again! I must admit, that girl is good! She got us all by surprise when she did that jump, even Soren!

We are now running through the city, looking for her, on separate. We check the port, for this is where she wanted to come, after all. Yet, she doesn't seem to be here either!

There's no sign of her! We get together again at the dock, where the boats are tracked.

"Any sign of her?" Soren asks

"Nop! She disappeared into thin air" Luc says

"But this is where she wanted to come!" Miclair says

"We know! But she doesn't seem ta be here!" I say, getting angry.

"She doesn't seem to be anywhere!" Miclair says

"Let's just keep looking for a while more. If we don't find her, we'll go back home tell Master Itsuki" Soren says

"Ya always want ta ask dear Masta Itsuki what ta do next! An’ ya call yerself a leader! What if Mara got captured by the ninjas? Do ya think they'll wait for ya to tell Itsuki ‘bout this before they kill her?! Heh, Soren?!" I spill at Soren.

"I'm just doing what I think is best! You just have to respect your elders and do as you’re told!" Soren says

"Guys! Guys! This is no time to fight!" Luc says

"Yeah! We have to find Mara!" Miclair says and me and Soren look at him.

He is with a worried face. It even makes us feel pity for him.

"Ya, yer right, Miclair. Let's go an' find her" I say, calming down.

We all turn, ready to start our search again, but what we see next shocks us.

Mara, with a yellow fish tail, comes jumping out of water with a huge monster following her.

"HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screams, before she hits the water again, followed by the monster.

We all look at each other.

"Did ya see what I saw?" I ask.

"I think we did" Soren says, still shocked

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Miclair says and jumps to the water.

"B-But, what about that huge monster? And how did Mara become a mermaid!? Mermaids aren't even supposed to exist!" Luc says

"Ya! An’ invanding aliens neither!" I say and jump to the water

Luc and Soren follow, after a while.

Mara's POV

I'm seriously getting tired of this stupid monster! I can even fight him! I have no weapons and no legs! And he is just too big! I tried to call for help on the surface, but I don't think anyone listened to me.

I'm really starting to regret I made the guys lose me!

I swim as fast as I can to evade that beast, but it seems to be closer and closer to me. Suddenly, someone seams to appear and stop that monster. I look back and my jaw drops.

The guys are in there, fighting the monster, but they don't seem to be able to hold their breath for much longer. They are forced to go to the surface again and get some air. I follow them, and so does the beast.

"What tha hell is happenin'?!" Cain asks

"I wish I could know!" I say

The monster comes jumping up our heads and we all dive in again. I see someone or something in the depths of the water.

"Quickly! Come here!" A male voice says.

I look back at the guys. They are reading themselves to fight the beast, that's not far away from them.

"Quick, guys! Follow me!" I say, even though it's underwater.

They are able to listen and start swimming after me. I swim to where the voice came. A cave appears in my point of view. We all enter fast, before the beast bumps against the entrance.

It is too big to enter the underwater cave. It's dark inside and we can't see a thing, but by what I can hear, I can understand the guys are running out of air! I panic.

What can I do to help them!?

A familiar light comes racing towards us and it passes right through me, hitting the guys right next. I hear deep breaths coming from them, as if they are able to breathe again.

"Whoa!! We're breathing underwater!" I hear Miclair say.

"Don't tell me it turned you into mermaids too!" I say.

"Not exactly" The male voice says.

Another light appears, but this one illuminates the whole cave, so we can see again. The one standing in front of us is a merman and he seems to be younger than us, maybe 14 years old.

"It's an honor to meet you, Pure One. My name is Garu, and I'm here to guide you to my village, so you can fulfill the ancient prophecy" He says to me

We all look at him, still shocked of what is happening. Wait... Did he call me Pure One?...

"Ok! What's goin' on 'round here?! What tha hell is that thing?!" Cain asks, pointing to the cave entrance.

The guys are floating next to me and Garu seams to, finally, notice them.

"Wow! And you even brought 4 warriors to help you! You are definitely the Pure One!" Garu says, cheerfully

"Wait, wait, wait! They're my friends! And why do you call me Pure One and what is this prophecy? And how did I become a mermaid?!" I ask

"I can't explain everything now, but I promise I'll explain it all once we're safe. Now, we need to find a way to get out of here" Garu says

"Aren't we safe here?" Miclair asks

Suddenly, the beast starts to charge against the cave entrance, making some rocks start to fall.

"That answers your question? Follow me! There's another way out of this cave!" Garu says, and swims deeper into the cave.

We follow him, avoiding the collapsing rocks. We approach another way out, being able to track some light from outside. The light that was illuminating us disappears and I notice that it was coming from a necklace Garu is wearing. We get out of the cave and the beast doesn’t seem to notice it, being too busy tearing down the cave. Once we're far away from the beast, our swimming slows down.

"Where are we going?" Luc asks

"To my village. It is hidden from the Beast so it won't hurt our people. My two sisters are there" Garu says

"You have two sisters?" I ask

"Yes, one older and one younger. It's my duty to protect them, being the only male in our family"

"What happened to your parents?" Luc asks

"They were taken by the Beast" Garu says, with a sad face

I put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know what you mean" I say, with a comforting smile.

He smiles too and I look to his necklace.

"What is that light coming from your necklace? It was the one that turned me into a mermaid!" I say

"Oh, this! It is from my ancestor. It has mystical powers that can give you the characteristics of a water creature. It didn't transform your friends into mermaids, because they're already part sea creatures. This necklace passes through generations. Once a person has it, has the duty to go to the surface and try to find the Pure One to bring them to the village, and I found you, bringing you here to realize the Prophecy" Garu says

"Wait a minute! Why do you call me Pure One?" I ask

"Because you have the "key" inside you" Garu says

I am about to ask him how he knows about the "key" inside me, but Luc speaks first.

"Look! We're almost there!"

An underwater village comes to our view. It's beautiful! I've never seen nothing like it! The houses are made of sea plants. There are a few mermaids and mermen swimming through the houses, and little mermaids and mermen are playing with some fishes. A little girl swims to us. She "jumps" to Garu's arms and hugs him.

"Big brother! You're back!" She says, smiling brightly

"Yes, Lara. I'm back" Garu says, smiling to his sister.

"Did you finish that big monster off?" The little girl asks her brother

"Not yet, but I brought some friends that might just help us doing it" Garu says

Lara looks at us, with her big blue eyes. She smiles at me and I get down to look at her, smiling.

"Hello, Lara. I'm Mara! Nice to meet you" I say to her

She laughs and swims around me. She's really adorable.

"Let's go back home, Lara. I want to show Claire the Pure One" Garu says and starts swimming towards the sea village, holding Lara’s hand.

We all swim after him. I can't stop feeling uncomfortable, because mermaids and mermen, from the whole village start looking at us, amazed, while we pass through them. We finally get to Garu's house. By the time, there are already lots of persons and sea creatures after us, murmuring to each other. Garu opens the main door and enters. We all follow, quickly, relieved to get rid of all those people.

"Garu! How many times do I have to tell you not to go out alone?" A mermaid says, from behind us

"Claire! I went out to get the Pure One! And I made it!" Garu says, proud.

"I don't care if you were gonna get the Pu-Wait. Did you say Pure one?" Claire says and looks automatically at me. She then cheers with joy.

"YAHOO!" She says

"This is my older sister, Claire. Don't worry. She's like this ever since she was born!" Garu jokes

"Oh Shut up, Garu! I'm Claire! It's nice to meet you, Pure One!" Claire says to me.

"My name is Mara!! And I think you owe me some explanations!" I say, getting impatient.

"Right! Sit down so I can start explaining the whole story. You see, this was all predicted to happen in a very ancient Prophecy..." Garu starts telling.

I sit up on one sea shell and start listening to Garu's story.

"For you to understand the Ancient Prophecy, I have to tell you the story of Goddess Oryna" Garu says

The other guys sit down on their own sea shells and Lara goes get some sea plant cookies, starting to eat them as she sits down on the ground.

"Goddess Oryna?" I ask

"Yes. Her story is very sad but I think it will give you the answers you are looking for. You see..." Garu starts telling the story.

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Long, long ago...

A beautiful woman wandered under the sea. She wasn’t a mermaid and neither was she human: she was a Goddess, the Goddess of Purity, but people called her Goddess Oryna.

She wandered underwater like a lost soul, with nowhere to go, but then, she spotted a little mermaid village and smiled. Her smile was the most beautiful thing a person could ever see.

She floated to the little village. As soon as she got there, everyone looked at her in surprise, but they recognized her as the Goddess of Purity and bow.

"Please, do not bow to me. You owe me no respect. I just want a place to stay and to be loved. I was wondering if that place could be this humble village" Oryna said

"It will be a pleasure to take you as our own, Goddess Oryna. Please make yourself at home. You can come and live with me; if you want" The leader of the village said

He was a very beautiful merman, and an honorable leader. His name was Yuka.

"Oh thank you! It will be a pleasure to live with you, but please just call me Oryna" Oryna said, smiling lovingly.

She stayed living with Yuka for a long time. As the time passed by, she found that the village was being constantly attacked by terrifying beasts, which were able to destroy the entire village and kill many innocents.

As her soul was so pure, Oryna couldn't let this happen, so she started helping and protecting the village with her amazing powers. The village couldn't be happier for having Oryna with them and to see her so happy, day after day.

As the time went on, Oryna also found love. Yes, she started creating feelings for Yuka, and Yuka for her.

Soon they gave in to their feelings and decided to get married, but on their wedding day, a huge beast, bigger than all the others they had defeated, attacked the village and shred it apart.

"Yuka, get the villagers out of this place and try to find a new and safer place to build a new village" Oryna said

Yuka sent all the villagers to the north grounds and then looked back at Oryna, who was still staring at the destroyed village, apparently not waiting to leave.

"But what about you, my love?" Yuka asked, worried.

"I will have to sacrifice myself to destroy this beast" Oryna said, with a peaceful voice.

"No..."

"It is the only way. Please, my love, understand. Once I finish this beast, my heart will be scattered from me. I want you to take it and keep it safe. As soon as you find possible, go to the surface and give it to anyone who passes by. That someone, no matter who, will give my heart to a little girl as Pure as I am. That girl will come back here with powers similar to mine and she will finally free you from these terrible beasts" Oryna said

"But you don't have to sacrifice yourself!" Yuka said

"Please, my love, understand. It's the only way" Oryna said

Yuka started crying, for the first time in his life, but still, he nodded.

"Oh… One more thing" She said and created a necklace.

"This necklace has the power to give the characteristics of a sea creature to anyone, human or animal. Once the Pure One gets here, use the necklace. Pass it through the generations if she doesn't appear in your moment of life" She said

Yuka nods again, trying to keep calm and strong for his love. Oryna smiled for the last time and the couple leaned in for their last kiss.

As they parted, Yuka took cover behind a rock and Oryna placed herself in front of the big beast. She started sparkling and her eyes went white.

There was a sudden blow of light and Yuka got blind for a moment.

When he looked back, both the beast and Oryna were gone, but he noticed something: a lighting marble slowly fell to the ground.

Yuka caught it, while it was still floating on the water. That was the heart of Goddess Oryna.

He sadly swam to where the villagers were, knowing he had lost his loved one forever.

Years passed by and Yuka accomplishes with what Oryna wanted him to do. He rebuilt the village in a whole new place, safer and more protected against beasts. Yes, because beasts came back, in a lot more quantity then what they used too, but still, the village was hidden well enough for the beasts never to find it.

Yuka noticed Oryna's heart had the power to unlock things that were never supposed to be open. For that reason, he named her heart as the "key".

Even though he wanted to keep his loved one’s heart, he knew he had to accomplish with Oryna’s last wish, so one day he went up to the surface to fulfill it.

It was hard to decide he had to get rid of it, since it was the very last thing he had from Oryna, but he earned enough strength to give it away like she wanted him to do. He avoided the beasts and emerged.

A man was passing by and Yuka called for him. The man seemed surprised for seeing such creature, even though he was himself an alien. He reached to the merman to hear what he had to say.

"Please, take this" Yuka said and delivered the "key" to the man, who examinees it for while.

"It is called the "key". Please give it to a pure person. It has beautiful powers. The Prophecy of Goddess Oryna must come true!" Yuka said

"I will do what I can" The man said

"Thank you" Yuka said and dived back into the water without another word, leaving the man with the "key" in his hands.

Years fly by and the Pure One didn’t appear. Yuka raised a family and died without the appearance of the girl, but he did as he was told and left the necklace to pass by through the generations, giving the necklace to his nephew, who was the only one who could follow the prophecy after him. For you see, Yuka was never able to love again after Oryna… His nephew’s son gave it to his son, and once again he gave it to his son and so on...

But still the Pure One never showed up and most of the Beasts died, leaving only one.

“But now, The Pure One has arrived and she will fulfill the Ancient Prophecy, told by Goddess Oryna herself, and, you see, I am the very own descendent of Yuka’s nephew" Garu says to finish the story.

I am still stunned with such a sad story.

"I bet tha guy Yuka gave the "key" was that Morrison guy!" Cain says

"Yeah, and then he delivered the "key" to Mara. Just like Oryna said it would happen" Soren says

"So... All this was predicted… My whole life!" I say, getting a bit mad

"Well, not everything, no one knows what happened after you were given the “key”"Garu says

"I tell you what happened! That thing ruined my life and it wasn't very pleasant back there either! But still, it only got it worse! I never asked for any of this and that Goddess Oryna doesn't have the right to decide my future!" I say and swim quickly through the door.

I swim as fast as I can to God knows where, but once I think I'm far enough from the village, I sit down on a rock and cry my eyes out.

*Why is this happening to me? Why me?*