A/N: Once again, I apologize for how long it took me to get this up. With how fast I write chapters, UI myself don't understand why I don't write them more often. I am really sorry uu;;;

School's out for me now, so I'll definitely be getting chapters up quicker. It won't take months at a time anymore hehe.

I'm taking the romance category out of the three main genres. There will definitely still be romance in the story, but right now with all the weird supernatural stuff I've been putting in this story, I think action/adventure/fantasy fits a little better.

I think Celestia's one of my better made-up characters. I think I'll draw her Read and review pweeze!

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

Chapter 9 – "Celestia's Riddle"

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Marlin was in a huff the second he woke up. He could have rammed his head into a rock for his stupidity.

He had woken up only a few minutes ago, and it was already dark out. And since it was summer, it had to be pretty late in the night. He didn't want to believe that he had let a full day pass him by just because he was tired.

His own energy didn't matter to him! If being tired the rest of the day meant the only way he was going to get up early enough in the day, then so be it! He couldn't waste any time, but he did anyway.

Dory's life was slowly ticking away and out of his grasp, and he couldn't control it. "I'm such an idiot!" he scolded himself, swimming back and forth. "Dory is more important then my own comfort, and I just let a day of getting her medicine pass me by!"

After a few minutes, Marlin calmed down. Pulling out the rock harshly, he looked at what he had to retrieve next. In gold letters, it shone, 'Celestia's magic coral.'

He touched the rock, hoping to himself that it wouldn't take much time to get this item. Because he had slept away the majority of the day already, he would now have to retrieve two items, which meant staying up all night once again.

But as long as Dory gets better, Marlin though to himself as everything around began to spin. I don't care if I stay up forever…

Marlin sighed, and the spinning stopped, signaling that he had reached his destination. But this time, it was different from all the other places – he was at the water's surface!

He looked around for a moment. The moon shone down on the water, and there wasn't anything around for miles. But when he looked up, he could only gasp…

The night sky was filled with more stars than he had seen in his life. Stars like glitter lined the blue-ish black sky, with visible swirls of white and silver among them. It was truly a sight to see, and Marlin wished that Dory could have been with him to see it. He smiled at the thought of her big red eyes lighting up with awe, and her exclaiming how pretty it was.

Marlin shook his head, reminding himself of his time limit. But as he looked around once again, he realized that he didn't know what to do. All the other times, there had been something to symbolize where he should go, or what he should do, but this time, there was nothing around.

He waited for a few minutes more, wondering if he was in the right place. But… he wouldn't have been taken to the surface if there weren't anything up there. So he remained, awaiting something he wasn't sure was even going to come.

After a good seven or eight minutes, Marlin was just about to head back underwater, at that moment, a bright blue light blinded his vision. For a few seconds, all he could see was blue. The finally, the light faded, and all that was left of it was a glowing orb floating right in front of him.

When the light around the orb completely vanished, Marlin saw what looked like a human girl floating in place of the orb. Except, she was tinted blue, with a white aura of light outlining her. She had four eyes (all of which were closed), pointed ears, and wore a long dress of deep blue, which flowed about her, even though there was no wind to carry it. Her long white hair also fluttered about her by itself.

Marlin froze, unable to think of something to do. He simple waited for the… girl to do something.

Suddenly, her eyes opened, revealing them to be a deep, glowing red. Marlin jumped. She stared ahead for a little while before looking down at the shaking clownfish. With a still, straight face, she leaned down closer to Marlin, and looked at him.

He winced, waiting for her to zap him, or put a curse on him, or something, but nothing happened. Marlin stopped shaking, suddenly getting the feeling that she wasn't gonna hurt him. And somehow, he felt that… she was giving him this feeling, even though she wasn't saying a word.

Then, very unexpectedly, her straight expression disappeared; she smiled widely, and let out an enthusiastic, "HI!"

Caught off guard, Marlin jumped back into the water. He slowly made his way back out of the water, and saw the girl was still leaning down to his level. She now had a curious look on her face, as if wondering why she had scared him.

"Awww, don't be scared, little fish," she said, Marlin now noticing the slight echo in her voice. The feeling of security came back to him, and he allowed himself to fully face her. She smiled again, obviously feeling god with having his trust now.

"So what are you here for?" she asked pleasantly. Marlin raised an eyebrow at her, not knowing what to do. Could she understand him? He knew he could understand humans, but they couldn't understand him. But then again, she obviously wasn't human.

Might as well try, she definitely thinks she's getting a response from me, he though before opening his mouth to speak.

"Well, see my friend, Dory was poisoned by an anemone a few days ago," he began. Looking up at the girl, she nodded, understanding every word. Marlin felt a little strange talking to someone other than another fish, but he knew he should stop acting surprised with everything that had been going on during this journey.

He continued explaining. "And, uh… I'm going around collecting stuff needed to make her medicine. I'm not sure if you're the one I need to see, though." He paused. "Well I'm Celestia, if that's who you're looking for," she informed him, pointing proudly to herself.

Marlin smiled. "Yes! You're exactly who I need to see!" he exclaimed happily. He took out his rock and looked at it for the item he needed to get from her. "I need to get a piece of your magic coral," he told her, putting the rock away again.

Celestia smiled again, and in an eager tone, she said, "Well, to get it, you have to answer my riddle correctly." Then giggling, she straightened herself back up, and closed her eyes. For a few moments, she was still and silent.

Then, she reopened her eyes, her serious look back on her face. She took a small breath and began the riddle.

"Only one color, but not one size. Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies. Present in the sun, but not in the rain. Doing no harm and feeling no pain."

She was quiet once again for a few seconds, then looked down at Marlin and smiled. And in her perky tone, she finished, "Who am I?"

Marlin looked down, thinking over what she said. He recited the poem to himself over and over again, trying to find something that fit all those description. Though he tried his best to take it step by step.

What has only one color, but different sizes? Marlin wondered silently. Tapping his bottom lip with his fin, he continued to ponder. And what could fly when stuck on the bottom?

Well… in riddles, words are used to vaguely hint something else. So… maybe when they say 'fly' then mean move swiftly, or quickly. Also, if the thing is present in the sun, but not in the rain… sun means light, and rain means dark, so this thing is able to be seen in the light, but not the darkness. And if it feels no pain, then it's definitely inanimate…

Marlin thought over all the clues careful, and for quite some time. He knew he had to be very careful in answering, since Dory's life depended on it. So he had to take his time, no matter how long it would take.

After a little more than a half hour, Marlin finally heard a light bulb click on in his head. His eyes snapped wide open, and he smiled in self-satisfaction. He had his answer.

"Have you figured it out yet?" Celestia asked, noticing his sudden change in mood. He looked up at her and nodded.

"It's a shadow!" he exclaimed. "Shadows can be all different sizes, but are always black. They're only seen against an object, which could be considered the bottom, but move right along with you. They're only caused by light, and obviously can't do anything, or feel anything," he explained his answer.

Celestia was quit for a little while, and Marlin almost wondered if he had gotten it wrong. He prayed that wasn't it…

She then looked down at the fish and smiled. "You got it!" she squeaked. Marlin let out the breath he was holding, and felt relieved.

"Just a second now," she said, now digging through her dress. "I need to find it… aha!" she pulled out a tiny leather pouch and handed it to him. Marlin eagerly took it and put it in the bag with all the other items he had collected.

"Thank you," he said in sincerity. He was pleased to have finally met a nice person. Celestia smiled cheerfully and told him, "No problem. You're definitely the smartest sea creature I've met."

Marlin smiled at her. "Good luck with getting to your friend on time," she said, waving goodbye to him. He waved back and watched as she turned back into the glowing orb, and drifted back up into the sky.

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A/N:It didn't take long for me to write this at all. And since school is done, I should be able to finish this soon. Wish me luck, and please leave a review!