The rock face opened up into a grotto. Somehow, as she passed through the blue light, all the water was lifted from her shoulders. She felt lighter, somehow, in the open space. Her movements were quicker and everything was sharper and clearer. She stepped forward into the grotto, awe at its beauty overwhelming her. The ceiling was arched and stalactites hung from it, some algae-covered. The floor was a crystal-clear pool. Its waters covered the entire ground and instead of stones under it, there were massive crystalline stalagmites. The crystals were colored lavender, and light green, and blue, and magenta. They were beautiful. 

The air smelled fresher than anything Sheena had smelled before. Its scent reminded her of leaves, and freshwater, and moss, and home. Oh, what she would give to be home right now. 

A stone path led across the water to a giant clamshell, opened wide. And she could not tell the shell's color for the blue glow emanating from inside it. The Essence of Aqua. At last. Sheena ran forward across the narrow stone walk, catching up to Narwhal. His eyes were fastened on the Essence, and he didn't notice Sheena as she approached behind him. He was mumbling under his breath, walking slowly forward, as if in a trance. He stopped before it. "After all this time... I am finally here," he murmured. 

"Don't do it, Narwhal!" Sheena begged. "Don't touch it!" 

He didn't seem to hear. He unsheathed his claws and she noticed that they were black. He reached his paw toward the Essence, claws spreading wide, as if he were about to grab it. But Sheena grasped his scruff between her teeth, staggering backwards as his weight unbalanced her. 

"No!" he cried. "Don't take it away! I can almost feel it!" 

Sheena ignored his desperate pleas, moving forward to get a good look at the Essence of Aqua. It was a small stone, about the half the size of her paw, and it had a slightly jagged swirl etched into it. It seemed almost ordinary, save for the royal blue energy shifting and flowing around it. She stared, entranced, for a moment, losing herself in its mesmerizing aura, but was violently thrust backward. 

Narwhal tossed her aside, reaching toward the Essence. "No one can stop me now," he growled, eyes wild. "I will do it! I will reform the Aqua!" 

Sheena dragged herself to her paws, head spinning. She staggered towards Narwhal. She had no idea what he meant, but it didn't sound good. Reform? What does he mean? Does he want to kill out magic? "Stop!" she cried weakly. "You can't do this!"

"Yes, I can," he answered. And then he touched the Essence. 

Whoops it's on Inkwell

He held the blue stone in his paw. Its aura coated his foreleg, and his eyes turned a glowing white. Sheena watched as all the color seemed to drain from his fur, leaving his gaze blank. A surge of white energy blasted from the Essence, ans she screwed her eyes against its force. She gritted her teeth, digging her claws into the stone pathway, but she slipped back. Narwhal stood still, blue and white energy colliding around him in a whirling miasma. 

"I have done it!" His voice rose above the roar of the Essence. He laughed, cold and clear. "Aqua is mine!" 

Sheena tried to speak, but the air was sucked out of her and she couldn't breathe. Suddenly, everything stopped. Sheena gasped for breath, laying on her side, almost falling off the narrow path. Narwhal lay motionless on the ground in front of the clamshell. Had the exposure to so much raw power killed him? She heaved herself to her paws, padding over to get a closer look. She knelt beside Narwhal. His flank stirred, but only slightly. His fur was still bleached white. The Essence lay at his paws, all energy gone. It was just a gray stone. Sheena lay beside him. She felt exhausted and depleted, like part of her was missing. She closed her eyes and buried her nose into Narwhal's fur. "What have you done, narwhal?" she whispered. "What have you done?" 

He didn't answer. He didn't make any sound at all. 

"Oh, Narwhal..." Sheena murmured again. "Why did you do that?"

A tear rolled off her cheek and splashed his fur. Soon she was sobbing openly, tears soaking his pelt. "No. No.... Oh, Narwhal." Her voice broke. "Oh, Narwhal...."

But through her tears, she saw something. A bright blue, spreading from where her tears had fallen. Frost-blue, with darker blue spots. It slowly spread farther and farther, soon encompassing Narwhal's entire body. Sheena sat up, confused. How was this happening? 

Narhwal's body was encased inside a light blue, glowing film. His fur had regained all of its color now. His flank shuddered and he coughed, gasping in a huge breath. He opened his eyes, now reverted to their original color. He stood up, facing Sheena. "I did it," he rasped, voice hoarse. "I did it. I absorbed the Essence of Aqua." 

Sheena was too stunned to speak. 

"Sheena... Look at your fur," he said suddenly. "It looks different. I thought you were Aqua. I thought your magic would be decimated by my absorption of it. But you just look normal. You're not Aqua."

Sheena looked down. Her midnight-blue fur, silvery blue-green spots, and white chest fur remained unchanged. She half-smiled, looking up at Narwhal. "I think you'll find there's a lot of things you don't know about me."

His sea-green eyes were glowing unnaturally. As she watched, his fur's color shifted from ice-blue to turquoise. His spots became bright green. 

"Wh-what just happened?" she stammered. His fur shifted again, this time to a royal blue. 

"I am the Essence of Aqua," he answered. "And soon, I will be the Essence of Elementi."

Sheena suddenly gained confidence. "No, you won't," she stated calmly. "I will stop you. You will not succeed." 

"How can you, Sheena, an ordinary leopard, stop me? I have the essence of an entire species inside me and soon I will have five. I could rule the world with that much power." 

"I'm obviously not ordinary if I was immune to your corruption of Aqua," she retorted. "I'm stronger than you think." 

"You will fall as everyone else will at my paws." 

"You're not there yet. You will never be there. You are too arrogant. There will be no leopard to fall if they are all ashen husks."

"And that would be my doing," he insisted. "I will destroy the Elementi!"

"And for what?" Sheena challenged. "What will that accomplish?" 

"Are you really asking me that question?" he growled. 

"Yes. You can't see past your own nose, Narwhal. You will never, ever succeed."

"This is--you are--a waste of time. Get out of my sight." Narwhal spun on his heels and stalked away behind the clamshell. Sheena followed, despite her misgivings. As she passed the clamshell, she gently picked up the drained Essence and places it inside the shell. Then she walked on by. 

Behind the clamshell, there was a stone platform. A stone path led up, through the ceiling of the cave, out of sight. Sheena leaped onto it and began the climb. Longing to get out of this hallowed place drove her onward. She traveled up, and up, and up, but it was not forever. Her paws ached from the cold of the stone but yet she climbed on. Her surroundings were featureless and she kept her gaze trained on a point in the distance. And soon she saw a light shining up ahead. It was normal light, not blue or aquamarine or strange. It was beautiful, beautiful daylight. Sheena's steps quickened to a trot, and then to a gallop as she ran toward that sunlight. She wanted to be rid of the deep water of the Black Hole, of the sluggishness, of the silence. She wanted to be free.