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The crumbling of the koi fish threw Lilie off guard, and it was only then that she remembered the other part of the riddle that she had neglected to focus on: all that glittered was not gold. But it was too late to do anything about it, the girl letting out a yelp as the shark suddenly weighed a ton. She winced as her hand was pinned, but whatever cry of pain she had was covered by the [i]grinding[/i]--what the heck was up with the loud grounding?!--and the pillar started to sink.

[color=00BFFF]"Oh no no no no--"[/color] Lilie knew exactly was what about to happen, trying to pry her hand away from the shark and pillar, but she was stuck. Okay, fine, she couldn't physically free herself, so magic was the answer. Except instead of a surging wave coming to her aid, instead a small wave moved. Oh she was really in trouble now.

Taking in a deep breath, Lilie squeezed her eyes shut as she was pulled into the water. As she opened her eyes, she froze at the sight of her loved ones all around her. They were just there, lifeless, like they had drowned, and she felt her heart sink as she saw Aaron floating in front of her. She nearly gasped, instinctively reaching out to Aaron, but a sign drifted past her, and she felt her stomach drop. It read Bainbridge River Dam, taunting her, and she realized that she was surrounded by various debris that had given her night terrors for months. Combined with the floating bodies, she immediately knew that the scene was set around her Awakening. How did anyone know about this?! Was this some kind of sick joke?! She looked elsewhere in an attempt to keep herself calm, but whatever composure she had left her as she spotted Ren. Ren, her only brother, [i]drowning[/i] in front of her eyes! Lilie felt her lungs constrict as she watched her brother, nearly bursting into tears at the horrible sight and unable to help him no matter how much she tried to free herself.

No, no, it was a trick, none of this was real, nothing around her was there! Wait, no, was [i]this[/i] what the riddle meant by water having memory? These weren't memories, these were her deepest fears, her biggest failure, her worst nightmare come to life! She tried not to focus on her surroundings, though it came a little too easily as she felt her chest tighten. Whatever breath she held escaped her, her body screaming at her for air. Was she going to die here? Was she going to end up like Cassandra, her death erased from the public and leaving her family helpless with the truth?

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[sub][right]Taking on the challenge with [@Bert Macklin].[/right][/sub]