AN: Hi readers! Thanks for clicking into my story, and so please R&R! Criticism is welcome too, otherwise if I got no feedback my story would probably suck... I decided to write this because the Ingo FanFic community is fairly small in comparison to others, so let's help each other out by writing more amazing stories! (All the Ingo FanFics I've read are really good) Anyway stop listening to me ramble and on to the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ingo or any of it's themes or characters.

Chapter 1

The Pull of Ingo

I reluctantly lower myself into the icy water where my best friend Ella is waiting patiently, her black as night hair floating and gleaming in the afternoon sun. I feel the freezing water creeping up my legs as I slowly move downwards and I quickly stand up again on the ledge I am currently on. I let out a screech of laughter; Ella flicks some of the cold water on me.

Ella giggles like a child as I wipe the water out of my eyes. She smiles cheekily at me and I feel bubbles of mock annoyance rising up inside of me.

I glance over to where the others are grinning at me and I bend my legs, glaring at Ella. She laughs and then screams happily as I do a purposely bad dive into the water so that she gets splashed.

Ella is still laughing when I resurface and I beam at her triumphantly. "Well well well Saph," she tuts. "I think we can all agree-" she glances back at where Millie and James are treading water, with Will lazily drooped on his surfboard and they nod, "That you can do much better than that." She silently giggles, like the little girl she is.

"That was a horrible dive!" James chimes in, trying to get on my nerves, but not really at the same time. "Ooh you're in for it now!" I give them an evil smile and I- try to- mysteriously disappear underwater. I open my eyes once I get under, and brush my hair out of my eyes. I am a pretty strong swimmer, so I get to them fairly quickly.

I hide under Will's board so that they don't see me. When they are all focused on Ella and whatever she is saying, I pounce. I push myself down to the sand, and bend my legs to spring up. I burst out of the water and bring my arms down with a splash; the icy and clear water raining down on all four of them. Will gets sprayed the most and he laughs. I take a deep breath as I feel his hands press down on my back, pushing me into the water, but I swim back under his surfboard and pop up on the other side and poke out my tongue. We're all laughing now.

Again I feel Will's strong hands on me, around my waist this time, lifting me out of the water and flinging me down onto his board. He lets out a yelp of surprise when I push him backwards off the surfboard and quickly kick away from him. Millie duck dives under the water and hoists Will up out of the sea.

"Oh, my saviour!" Will cries dramatically. "You rescued me from that evil witch over there!" He points and kicks over to me, pulling Millie along with him. Millie plays along as well, and pushes me gently off the board. Will throws himself on top of it, and confidently stands up on it. He places his hands on his hips and shouts, "I vow to destroy every inch of her!" Millie smiles cheekily and swims over to him, perching delicately on the edge of the large surface. "And I vow to help you!" She cries. Ella points at me with a piece of seaweed. "Oh we'll get her alright!" James snatches the seaweed from her grasp and claims "Not if I get her first!"

At that remark I speedily dive back under the water and begin to kick away from them, my four friends not far behind. For some reason I dive deeper and deeper, till I reach the sand. I notice that the tide has been gently pulling us further out to sea; it's quite deep already. Instead of continuing to swim towards the shore, I decide to stay on the bottom of the ocean and swim further out. Come Sapphire... Ingo seems to be calling. Come back, Sapphire...

Ingo wants me, I know. I can't resist. I have to let her take me. But it's been so long... what if I forget? Forget to let go of Air? Ingo wants me, but my friends do too. I can faintly hear them calling my name, each time sounding more desperate. "Saph!" I hear Ella call. "Saph!" Will continues. James and Millie call louder. "Saph! Saph! Sapphire!"

I close my eyes and pull as hard as I can out of Ingo's grasp. She is strong, but I have grown stronger.

Since we completed the crossing three years ago, I haven't seen Faro once, and I haven't come to Ingo once. My trips to the cove have also become less frequent.

Conor has left for University with Rainbow. He is 19 now. All my friends and I are 17, though I guess we still act like little kids. I've changed lots. Last time Connor and I were in Ingo, I was 14 and he was 16. Ever since then I have become more Earth than Mer, so I don't know why Ingo longs for me so much now.

My hair used to dangle below my waist in thick curls, but now I have cut it much shorter. It now hangs a little below my ears and I think I like it better this way. I regularly straighten it. I have been starting to wear a bit of light makeup sometimes too, and Ella always tells me I look great in it. Maybe I should wear it more often...

I'm growing up fast, and it surprises me how normal it feels. When I was younger, it felt like I could play in currents with Faro forever, and I would never grow out of it. That all seems boring and pointless now. My main point is simply this- I've moved on. Conor has too, and I think we could both agree that life is better this way. We are basically adults, and everything feels so great without the sneaking out, tempers and lying.

It feels amazing to just hang out with my friends at the beach, without any... Ingo... confusion.

I reopen my eyes and release Ingo. My lungs immediately start burning and I know I can't hold my breath much longer. I push as hard as I can upwards, and I feel like a messy explosion when I burst back up through the surface, away from Ingo, and back home into the comforting Air.

I cough and splutter and choke up water. I paddle blindly forward until I reach the place where I can stand. With my feet planted firmly in the sand, I wipe the water off my eyes and open them to see four people frantically waving to me on the shore. I can see Millie, who hasn't come out of the water yet, swim over to me.

"Are you okay?" She holds my shoulders worriedly. "I'm-m-m f-fine," I stammer, my teeth chattering. So embarrassing. I tell myself, feeling slightly paranoid. But my friends don't seem to care. They just wrap towels around me and ask if I'm ok. I don't really listen to them, but I just nod in response to their rapid concerned questions.

They are good friends, and I am truly grateful for that. Without them, Ingo would have succeeded in luring me to her uncertain depths. I want to move on, and now I can. I can put my confusing past behind me and carry on with life. Just like I should.

Thanks for reading!

OceanCat

xxx