A Second Chance

Chapter 23: Time, Water, and Sharks

Everyone walked towards the shores where the water is barely above their knee. They've all changed into their scuba suits, ready to dive into the water. They had to walk a long way from the coast to get to the deep part of the Endless Sea, it was around 350 yards. They could hear seagulls squawking around them, understandable, they were in their territory. PIXAL had also given them blasters. Harumi asked her how these would work underwater but Jay explained to her that these were designed for being used underwater. They were now almost at the drop, just a few more yards and all they had left to do is dive.

They managed to reach the Endless Sea before sundown, which was what they planned. But it was currently sometime around 2 and 3 in the afternoon, so they didn't have long before the sun goes down. They had to hurry if they wanted to retrieve the Pearl before it gets dark. They reached the drop, Lloyd was at the front so he held his hand out and everyone stopped at his gesture. He looked down, it was hard to see since it was really dark underwater. He turned his head around to look at Harumi.

"You said that the Pearl is located in a monument?" He asked, retracting his hand.

Harumi walked up beside him, making sure to not fall off the edge, "Yes. And not just some monument, the Pearl Monument." She crouched down and touched the sandy ground. The water was above their waist when this far from the shores, it was a miracle that they didn't get swept up by the ocean.

One by one, each of them started lining themselves beside Harumi and Lloyd carefully. PIXAL decided to speak up, "The Pearl Monument was specifically built to protect the Pearl. The traps that the sea dwellers set down there are unknown for no one has ever even heard of this artifact. We need to be careful." Harumi got up from her crouching position, nodding.

Skylor placed a hand on her hip, looking at Lloyd, "You think we should split up around the Monument? That way we'll cover more ground." She asked whilst suggesting an idea.

"Maybe we should check the place out before trying anything. That way we'll know what sort of traps there will be." Lloyd recommended. He clicked something on his blaster and made it ready for immediate use. The ones who knew how to use it did the same.

They all flipped their diving masks on and adjusted their oxygen tanks to make sure that they would operate properly so that they wouldn't drown when underwater. Once they were ready, they all jumped into the water, letting themselves fall down the drop. PIXAL designed their suits so that they were able to go past the crush depth since they had to dive pretty deep underwater. Everyone looked around for the Monument while they plunged deeper into the sea. It was a whole building constructed underwater so it should be somewhere around rocks and corals so that it wasn't too deep down the sea.

"Over there!" Vania pointed to something glowing in the distance, "Is that it? I can see something glowing." She asked, kicking her feet so that she would stop diving and start floating.

Everyone stopped themselves from diving any further by doing the same, stopping at somewhat different levels. Harumi narrowed her eyes and found the glow. It was faint but it glowed bright neon cyan blue. She gasped, "Yes, I think that's it." She smiled at the Queen of Shintaro, "Good eye, Vania."

Vania chuckled and thanked her before everyone swam towards the glow. They were very close and Zane scanned the Monument. It fits the description he found about the Pearl Monument, he nodded at his friends as if he was telepathically talking to them. They nodded back at him, telling him that they understood.

"Zane says this is the one. We found it." Lloyd translated it for the girls who had confused looks on their faces before Lloyd explained it to them.

Jay stopped for a brief moment to pump a fist, "Yes! Now, all we need to do is-" A wave coming from the Monument stopped him mid-sentence and everyone teleported a few yards back from where they were. They looked around and saw that some fishes that they had already seen were swimming through again.