Rising Tides

From the depths of the ocean, far from the surface, rises a challenging, newfound enemy. Taking Pop Cat hostage and convincing the Water Ninjas to join his cause, Falco and the rest of the ninja team must reunite to find this villain, rescue their fellow friend, and put a stop the their new adversary's big plans, before the continent succumbs to the **Rising Tides**.

## Prologue

It was a rather cool, quiet night on the island of Club Penguin. A single penguin, Pop Cat, crossed the hanging wooden bridge that led to Water Dojo while the waterfall roared beside him.

The sound of dripping water echoed across the dojo as he entered. The place was completely empty. Even the green cushion the Water Sensei sat on was vacant. Pop Cat waddled across the waterlogged floor, looking around the dojo. He then stopped and waddled over to the box filled with water balloons and picked up a small object - his prized shell necklace, the only thing that provided any connection to his past, having washed up on beach around his neck while he was a chick.

Just as he put the object around his neck, he sensed the water around him rippling and turned around.

Pop Cat: Is someone there? Water Sensei? Is that you...?

The rippling subsequently stopped, and the water became calm and still. Pop Cat turned back and began waddling towards the exit.

Suddenly, the water rippled and bubbled, as if it were boiling. Pop Cat turned around to see the water converge at the center of the room, forming a growing lump. The mass of water then contracted and extended, materializing into the translucent form of a penguin.

Upon forming, the penguin looked directly at Pop Cat and gave him a watery smile. He raised his liquid flipper, and water swirled around it.

Pop Cat: Who are you? What do you want?

Water Penguin: Aquaticus! Master of the oceans. And as the tides rise, Antarctica itself.

Pop Cat summoned a ball of water in his flippers, ready to fight just as Aquaticus' watery flipper rushed like a waterfall towards him.

## Chapter 1: Missing in Action

The sky was a clear blue, almost entirely devoid of clouds above the island of CLub Penguin. Two penguins and a puffle passed by the Club Penguin University, heading for the Skate Park. A path stretched ahead of them, leading to a very long staircase.

One of the penguins, a fully-suited ninja with blonde hair was pointing out a building atop a mountain in the distance to the other penguin, who had red hair and lime green feathers. The puffle, which was bronze in colour, hopped along happily beside them.

Falco: ...that building over there is the Dojo. The waterfall is the dojo of the Water Ninjas, and the volcano is the Fire dojo.

Denise: Wait, the fire dojo *is* the volcano?

Falco: Yeah, that's it. It's literally built into the volcano.

Denise: Cool...

Falco: We should go there right now. In fact, it's right up these stairs.

Denise: Allow me. Aero!

The bronze puffle next to them happily bounded over towards them. Suddenly, the wind picked up and a tornado of clouds formed around them, lifting the three off the ground.

Falco: Or yeah, we could just fly.

The three began ascending higher and faster, moving forwards through the air.

Falco directed Aero to land them at the top of the stairs, in the middle of the Dojo Courtyard.

A familiar penguin stood in the yard with his back turned to them, talking to a penguin in a water ninja suit, and a blue female penguin in an ice suit.

Denise: ...Ninja O'Dark?

The penguin turned around, surprised.

Ninja O'Dark: Oh! Hey, Denise. Didn't know you were visiting. Perfect timing too. You too, Hochstadt. By the way, this over here is Shoko, one of the snow ninjas.

The snow ninja, Shoko, waved at them in welcome.

Ninja O'Dark: And this over here is my brother, Frederick Box.

Frederick: Nice to meet you both.

Falco: What's going on? What did you mean by "perfect timing"?

Ninja O'Dark: Well, here.

Frederick passed his brother a small object. Ninja O'Dark held it up.

Ninja O'Dark: Recognize this?

Dangling from his flipper was a shiny purple and blue necklace, with a single blue clam shell attached to it.

Denise: Doesn't that belong to Pop Cat?

Ninja O'Dark: *Exactly*.

Frederick: Some of our Water Ninjas found it early in the morning on the floor of the water dojo. Nobody has seen Pop Cat since yesterday. And it's very unlike him to disappear without notice.

Falco: What if maybe he's just gone out for some fresh air? I mean, it can't be that bad, can it?

Ninja O'Dark: Psh, yeah, well that's what we all thought.

Shoko: Wait until you see the water dojo itself.

Falco: Oh no. Don't tell me something bad has happened.

The three followed the two brothers through the dojo, across the hanging bridge to the roaring waterfall. As soon as they entered, they were met with a scene of complete disorder.

The whole water dojo had been turned upside down. The box of water balloons had been overturned, its contents strewn over the floor. The Card Jitsu mats were displaced, and the statues of Water Ninjas were covered in balloon scraps.

Denise: What...? Who did this?

Falco: Maybe Pop Cat threw a fit of some sort?

Ninja O'Dark: That's what some of us thought but I mean, that doesn't exactly seem like him, does it?

Frederick: Sensei's rather worried. We're looking all around the island for him as we speak.

Denise: Well whatever happened to him, its probably not good.

## Chapter 2: Undersea Menace

Pop Cat opened his eyes, and to his surprise found himself completely submerged underwater. As his eyes adjusted to his surroundings, he saw that he was in a small, dark underwater cave. He was facing what appeared to be the cave entrance, which revealed what must have been the ocean. If he had been someone else, he likely would've drowned long ago.

Pop Cat attempted to use his powers to propel himself towards the opening, but felt that something was pushing back his movements, like the current was somehow restraining him from controlling it. He tried to extend one of his flippers forwards, and found that there was some sort of bubble-like shield preventing his escape.

?????: Don't even bother trying!

A voice echoed through Pop Cat's head, like someone was talking to him over a phone. Suddenly, thousands of tiny bubbles coalesced together from all directions, forming the smiling face of a penguin, the same one Pop Cat had seen at the dojo.

Pop Cat tried to talk, but his words only came out in the form of bubbles. The penguin had spoken to Pop Cat using telepathy, something that Pop Cat heard the citizens of his old underwater home town were able to do while submerged, though this was an ability limited to those who were of the Marinian penguin species.

Being a Marinian himself, Pop Cat tried sending a mind message.

Pop Cat: Where have you taken me, Auqaticus?

Aquaticus: Well it should be obvious to you by now, shouldn't it. You are a Marinian, are you not?

Pop Cat was suddenly pulled forwards by the bubble shield, closer to the cave opening. Through it, he could see the ruins of numerous ancient pillars, columns, and buildings. They were all overgrown with coral, and seemed to have been incorporated into a reef of its own.

He then noticed a broken statue of a penguin to his right, but was still able to distinguish a very familiar shell necklace around the penguin's neck.

Pop Cat: No... this isn't...?

Auqaticus: As you may have noticed, this is Bubbleopia, Pop Cat. Or at least... what's left of the place.

Pop Cat: How... how did you find this place...?

Aquaticus: If I hadn't been trapped in the Pectopshere for so long I would've been able to return sooner and stop the ones who destroyed this place. But none of that happened! All thanks to those accursed Senseis.

Pop Cat: You're saying you used to live here?

Aquaticus: I *did*. But I knew very well that our home was vulnerable! That it would eventually fall to anyone who was strong enough to take it. Which is why when I learned about Card-Jitsu, I trained as much as possible to become stronger. When I tried to convince the ruling Sensei at the time that he should help us, he denied my offer!

Pop Cat: Well why would he just agree to help *you* out of all people?

Aquaticus: Our entire kingdom needed help! I confronted him about his stubbornness and he turned me permanently into a puddle of water! I was trapped, seemingly forever, by the Pectosphere's power. It was only until that recent escapade of yours that I was freed. The Pectosphere briefly shifted control, allowing me to return to try and find home. But of course, I was not only *right*, but also too late. Bubbleopia had long since fallen.

Pop Cat: ...and then what?

Aquaticus: I then I learned that *you*, the last surviving Marinian *and* the prince of Bubbleopia had survived. But you had given yourself up to the care of the Sensei!

Pop Cat: He had nothing to do with any of this.

Aquaticus: But his predecessors did! And in any case, he'll still pay for what they did. By the time I'm done, the continent will be underwater, completely decimated to make way for a *New* Bubbleopia. One that'll be strong enough to survive!

Pop Cat: And what exactly is my place in the plan?

Aquaticus: Oh, you'll be my personal battery.

Suddenly, the bubbles around Pop Cat swirled into a spiral-like formation. Small groups of bubbles circled Pop Cat's arms, creating ring-like formations. Suddenly, Pop Cat's arms began to feel cold.

Aquaticus: Being transformed into a Pectospheric being meant I was able to pick up a few water abilities, including stealing the strength of other water ninjas for myself. Once I conquer the continent, all water ninjas will have succumbed!

Pop Cat tried to wrestle with the bubbles, but they wouldn't let him budge. He began to feel weak, tired, and increasingly helpless.

Aquaticus: And don't worry about your wise old master. I'll have a special surprise headed his way. You know, as a thanks for what he did to me.

As Pop Cat floated there in the water, alone and far from anyone that could help him, he concentrated on extending his telepathic reach as far as he possibly could, and attempted to get a message across.

## Chapter 3: A Sentient Ocean

Having failed to locate or figure out Pop Cat's location, Falco had returned home for the night to rest. That night Falco had weird and rather unusual dreams, which was considered perfectly normal for him.

As he began experiencing nightmares of being chased in a row boat by a ghost ship of ghastly pirates, his boat suddenly capsized, and he sunk at an alarming speed towards the ocean floor.

His dream suddenly warped and shifted, and Falco found himself standing in front of none other than Pop Cat.

Pop Cat: Falco!

Falco tried to speak, but he couldn't seem to articulate any words.

Pop Cat: This isn't just a dream. This is real!

Again, Falco attempted to talk, only to have his ability to speak constricted.

Pop Cat looked around frantically.

Pop Cat: I can't keep up this mind message for long from this far away... He might be able to hear me, but I don't know for sure...

Falco tried to ask who, but Pop Cat couldn't seem to hear him.

Pop Cat: I'm trapped deep under the ocean, in the ruins of Bubbleopia. You need to wake up and tell the others. Tell them to come find me. You have to stop Aquaticus! He's already sent something headed Sensei's way—

Suddenly, Pop Cat's image began to rapidly fade and his voice turned echoey as Falco desperately tried to interact with him.

Pop Cat: There's not much time! Find me!

Falco suddenly awoke abruptly in his bed, confused and left with a minor headache.

Falco stood on top of the Dojo's roof, scanning his surroundings. As soon as he saw three figures climbing up the stairs to the dojo, he leapt down silently and ignited his flipper, bathing the courtyard in an orange glow.

The three figures were a confused Denise, her puffle Aero, and a tired Ninja O'Dark.

Ninja O'Dark: Hey, what's the deal? Why did you call us up here at this time of the night—?

Falco: It was Pop Cat! I saw him... in my dreams... he was talking to me!

Ninja O'Dark: In your *dreams*? You cannot be serious...

Falco: But it wasn't just a normal dream! He said it was some sort of mind message that he was sending.

Denise: Well, did he say anything else to you?

Falco: Yeah, he said there's this guys called "Aquaticus" who caused all of this. And that he's being held captive underwater at this place called Bubbleopia and getting his powers drained out.

Ninja O'Dark: This all seems a little hard to believe. What if it's *just* a dream?

Falco: Not only that, but he said Aquaticus already sent something in our direction right now, this very minute. He said that he was specifically targeting Sensei.

Denise: And what exactly is it?

Falco: He didn't say. He said he couldn't hold the connection of the mind message for long or something like that.

Aero suddenly started jumping around next to Denise. The ninjas turned to him and noticed a stream of water climbing up the stairs.

Ninja O'Dark: Hey, when did that get there?

Denise: Don't know. It hasn't rained recently has it?

Falco: No, it hasn't. I was here for the entire past hour, I would've seen if someone went past here. And I don't think water is supposed to *move* like that, either.