There was a somber mood among all the members of a tribe that lived on an island; tomorrow, the biggest storm they'd have ever seen was coming, predicted by a shaman and confirmed by several others. Everyone had prepared as well as they could, but they knew it was going to be devastating regardless. All they could really do now was hope, and pray to the sea god the tribe worshipped...
A certain chameleon wasn't satisfied with that. For much of his life, he'd been an integral part of keeping the tribe safe from just about any sort of threat, from disasters like this to invaders. Indeed, for the upcoming storm, he'd prepared more defenses than anyone else had. But, seeing how sad so many people were, how scared they were, how a handful had abandoned hope entirely... He couldn't stand it, but there was only so much even someone like him could do.
But, there was one thing. An underwater cave some distance away, according to a legend, contained a shrine with a gem that held a blessing of the tribe's god, one that could transform its receiver into a divine being of immense power. It'd only been claimed once before, and the chameleon had met the resulting creature when he was very young. They'd been a huge aquatic reptile, with four flippers and a long neck, and wielded unbelievably powerful water magic, but he couldn't remember much else, and they'd disappeared one day. Allegedly they'd received an offer to join the sea god at their side, and taken it, but nothing was known for sure. Any who attempted to get the gem after that always ended up drowning, but despite the danger, the chameleon knew it'd be the tribe's best chance.
"Chief, I've decided. I'm going after the blessing."
The chief, a snake, shook his head at that. "I need you here, ready to help for tomorrow. I know how important protecting this island is to you, but trying to get our god's blessing is going too far, you know that."
"Look around! Nobody's sure they're going to make it through the storm, even after everything we've all done!"
"We WILL. We haven't needed a divine guardian in decades, and we shouldn't need one now. But we need people like YOU, and all of them we can get. If you go to that cave, you're going to die, and you'll just end up bringing down the odds of everyone else."
"I'm probably going to be dying in the storm if I don't try! THAT would be the real waste! If there's any chance of saving this tribe, I'm going to take it, even if I might end up giving my life for it."
The chief sighed. "You've put some thought into this already, haven't you? This isn't just some spur-of-the-moment thing. It's why you've been putting so much effort into practicing holding your breath lately."
The chameleon nodded. "Whatever it takes. I can't let everyone down."
After a few seconds of thought, the chief nodded back. "I'll get a boat ready for you to go out there. Don't make me regret this."
Over the next while, the chameleon mentally prepared himself. He was more than likely not going to be coming back from this. Saying his goodbyes to everyone, setting up a tiny bit more in the way of defenses that hopefully weren't going to be needed, reviewing the plans of what to do during the storm... And soon, it was time. With little in the way of conversation, he and the chief rowed out into the water. As was custom, it was only the two of them, nobody around to potentially distract the challenger. About 10 minutes passed before the boat came to a stop.
"This is the place.", the chief said. "The cave is directly below us. I suppose this is going to be the last time I see you..."
"At least as I am now." The chameleon stood up, looking into the water. "I guess if 20 minutes or so pass, and there's no divine guardian..."
"I'll know what happened."
The chameleon nodded, and started deeply breathing to prepare himself. A minute passed... And with one more breath that he hoped wouldn't be his last, he dove into the water, beginning to swim down.
The chief remained for a few seconds, before starting to row back. He already knew they were going to fail, and he had more things to take care of in remaining preparations.
Deeply determined, the chameleon swam deeper and deeper without hesitation. He could already see his target some 200 feet below him, a cave entrance with some impressive decorations around it to honor the sea god. Paying them little mind - he'd put some there himself in the past - he reached the bottom and entered the cave. The interior was about what he remembered from when he'd safely visited in the past; more decorations, but as he went deeper in there were gradually fewer, marking the breath holding abilities of those that had come in the past. And eventually, he was past all of them, at a depth that few people were brave and tough enough to reach without passing the point of no return.
For a couple more minutes, his swim was uneventful, though his confidence waned just a little. Was he really going to be able to get to the end of the cave? Nobody truly knew how long it was but the single person that had reached it before, and they apparently hadn't been allowed to say... A current pushing against him brought him out of his thoughts. At first it was no issue, but as the chameleon swam onward it became stronger, slowing his progress until it eventually stopped him in place. He tried harder to swim, but he barely made any ground, and the current just got even stronger and stopped him again. Swimming wasn't going to work, but he'd anticipated finding problems like this, and he quickly got an idea.
Instead of swimming, he grabbed onto rocky outcroppings on the walls, and began pulling himself along as if he were climbing. He tried to hurry along a little, as he was feeling an urge to breathe, but he had to make sure he didn't lose his grip. That was becoming harder, as the current continued to grow more intense as he went farther; even the strongest swimmer of the tribe - which was not him - wouldn't have been able to overcome it through brute force. Progress was infuriatingly slow despite his efforts, cutting into how long he could keep holding his breath.
Eventually, finally, the current was beginning to lessen. It was a very good thing it was, as the chameleon was getting tired, having a little trouble keeping his grip. A couple times he still slipped despite the change, but just barely managed to recover each time, even using his long tongue to try to anchor himself just a little more. After a while more climbing, he was able to safely swim again, and soon after that he'd finally left the current behind entirely. His arms were tired, his hands and feet a bit sore... And his lungs were straining. By this point, if he weren't able to ride the current back, there'd be no way he'd escape before he'd drown. Even then, it wouldn't be a pleasant ride, with the water rushing so fast and there being so many rocks he might run into. But he wasn't giving up no matter what. He HAD to keep going.
Swimming onward for another couple minutes as his need for air grew, the chameleon paused in both confusion and a bit of fear. He'd entered a large chamber, with a couple dozen different tunnels leading from it... How could he possibly figure out which would be right!? He covered his mouth and whined a little as he looked around, trying to see if there was any sort of sign... There didn't seem to be anything. He had to just pick one and hope it'd be right. Deciding at random, he swam for one of the tunnels and went in.
His nervousness was becoming more intense alongside the demands of his lungs as the tunnel went on and on. A full minute passed... There still wasn't any sign he'd gotten it right or wrong. He couldn't take that for granted, maybe if he kept going there'd finally be some kind of-
A dead end. He'd guessed wrong, there was nothing there. A slightly bubbly whimper was let out as the chameleon covered his mouth again, the beginning of a burning forming in his chest. It was going to take so long to get back... He couldn't give up, not while he still had breath left. Doubling back while keeping a hand on his mouth this time, he started swimming back the way he came. It gradually got harder to focus on anything but his need to breathe, as the burn became more intense and his heaving chest started forcing out bubbles despite his efforts.
Another minute passed, and the chameleon was shivering in desperation for air upon returning to the large chamber. This was it; he wasn't going to be able to get back outside anywhere near soon enough, and if he picked the wrong tunnel again, he was going to drown. He couldn't even tell which tunnel led back out any more, they all looked the same... With a purple blush on his face, he tried again to find any hints of where to go, but still, there was nothing. Not wanting to waste any more of the very little time he had left, he picked another random tunnel and darted inside.
His dire need to breathe was all the chameleon could focus on now. Bubbles constantly trickled behind him, he put his other free hand over his mouth as well, his swimming was frantic... His vision started to fade a little as his blush turned blue... He stopped in place, curling up in one last fight to keep in his air. He was already losing, as bubbles streamed away and he desperately kicked in place, whining and whimpering... Then, a cloud of bubbles erupted away as he finally exhaled, and seawater rushed straight back in. The sounds of his struggle abruptly changed from whines to gurgles as he tightly gripped his neck, and he coughed hard before taking a second gasp, then a third, a fourth...
He couldn't waste time. Despite the intense pain of his failing attempts to breathe water, he HAD to keep swimming. Keeping one hand on his neck, the chameleon resumed desperately swimming with all the strength he had left, choking down gasp after watery gasp even after his coughs stopped bringing out any bubbles. His body was weakening, and quick, though that at least was cutting down on the pain he was in. Over almost a minute, his swimming slowed, his coughs and gasps calmed, and he started feeling a little bit sleepy as the pain faded to nothing...
Something different up ahead caught the attention of his groggy mind. Not a dead end this time, but worked stone, and glowing lights of some kind set in the walls. Was this it? Or was he just hallucinating? It didn't really matter at this point. The waterlogged chameleon sluggishly swam into the area, finding it to be... A shrine of some kind? And ahead of him, up some stairs and on a pedestal, was a huge sapphire, likely as big as his head. That had to be the one, he'd reached the end! He weakly smiled and tried his best to go toward it. Everything felt distant, and his vision was fading as it became hard to move...
Too soon, he didn't have enough strength to keep going. The chameleon hiccupped as he sank to the bottom, staring up at the gem. While he could barely think, he knew he'd failed. If he'd just gotten luckier with the multitude of tunnels, or had more time to train his lungs... But there was nothing more he could do. His consciousness began to fade as he thought about his tribe once more. He'd have let them all down, after coming so far, and every single one was going to be in horrible danger...
He wouldn't accept it. Willpower he didn't know he had left surged through him; one last chance. Forcing himself off the bottom despite his whole body having heavily tinted blue, he rushed toward the sapphire once more. Spots danced in his vision, and it felt like he was swimming through honey, but he forced himself along even as his strength rapidly drained again. A few feet away from his goal, he slowed back down, desperately reaching out but unable to touch the sapphire... He shot out his tongue in a last-ditch effort, impacting it. Did that do it? Maybe he was hallucinating, but he thought he saw it shine a little... It had to be enough. With the last of his energy well and truly spent, his eyes closed again as he accepted whatever fate would come.
...But, unconsciousness didn't come, and neither did the floor of the cave. In fact, the chameleon felt his strength having returned... He opened his eyes, and jumped in surprise as he found himself in some kind of starry void. Somehow, he knew it was underwater, and yet he was able to breathe as if he were on the surface. Had he died, and this was what that was like?
A collection of the stars in front of him began to change. They clustered together, rapidly becoming brighter until they were almost blinding, then their light faded. As it did, it revealed a creature that hadn't been there before: Whale-like in appearance, with a beautiful collection of colors that made them almost look like an entire coral reef had come to life as a few spectral fish swam around them. The chameleon gasped in awe, instantly recognizing them as the sea god his tribe worshipped!
"That was certainly close." The god's voice was unspoken, forming directly in the chameleon's mind. "But, at last, there is somebody worthy of my blessing. Tell me, for what reason have you sought it?"
The chameleon had to take a moment to steady himself - still starstruck - before he could say anything. "U-um... There's a huge storm coming tomorrow. A-and, I'm worried we wouldn't survive it, so I need that power to hold it off."
"A selfless goal indeed. Yes, my blessing can make such a task trivial. I'll not waste our time asking whether you're certain - you wouldn't be here if you weren't. But I will tell you this: There is no going back. You will retain your mind and your speech, but your body will be lost forever, beyond even my reach. If that makes you reconsider, I can return you outside the cave unchanged."
After a moment to think, the chameleon spoke up again. "I already knew that, one way or another, I wasn't going to leave that cave as I am. I was ready to give even more than my body if I had to."
The god smiled. "I appreciate your dedication, both to me and your tribe. We shall begin." They held their flippers together, and when they moved them apart, a large ball of deep blue water appeared. It moved toward the chameleon, and he didn't resist or even hold his breath as it enveloped him.
Drawing the odd water into his lungs felt perfectly natural to the chameleon, sliding down his throat without pain or resistance. The oddly blissful feeling momentarily distracted him, as each breath brought changes: His fingers fused, as did his toes, and he felt himself begin to grow larger while his limbs widened. Trusting his god, and feeling no fear whatsoever, the chameleon breathed deeply to allow his transformation to go smoothly. While his tail lost its signature curl and straightened out, his neck lengthened, and a few little clicks were audible as even his bones altered in a way that surprisingly wasn't uncomfortable. The coloration of his scales changed, as was usually typical for him, becoming a dark blue on his back and a lighter blue on his front, before he felt an absence of something that usually accompanied them; he'd just lost his ability to change color. He was going to miss doing that.
Soon, with one last willing gasp, the changes were done, and the ex-chameleon found he was unrecognizable when the enchanted water that had transformed him dissipated. He looked himself over, awkwardly craning his newly long neck around. "I look great... But, what am I?" As the god had promised, his mind and voice had remained exactly as they were.
"You are a plesiosaur, a previously extinct aquatic reptile. And you have exactly what you need to save your tribe. One moment, I'll imbue you with the knowledge of how to move and use your new power in this form." The god held out a flipper to the plesiosaur, and a light shone from it to him. Instantly, the plesiosaur fully understood everything he'd become capable of, as if he'd been that species his whole life. "Now, I believe you have somewhere to be."
"Right, I have to be ready to help my tribe! Oh, and, um... Does it matter to you how I use my powers?"
The god smiled. "Simply don't use them for evil. You will know if I disapprove. And I also must request that you do not aid anyone in reaching my shrine."
"Okay... Send me back, I'm ready to go." As much as the plesiosaur wanted to stay with the god, he didn't want to outstay his welcome.
"Farewell for now, champion. When the time comes that you have swam the seas for the last time, we will meet again." There was another flash as the god dispersed back into stars. This time, every star around grew brighter, and the plesiosaur closed his eyes, finding himself instinctively holding his breath...
His surroundings felt different, and he opened his eyes. He was back just outside the cave that'd led to the shrine, though now he was certainly too big to fit inside. To test out his new powers, he focused on making the water around him breathable, beginning to glow a little... Then he slowly took a breath. It was heavy, taking some effort, but it was MUCH more comfortable to breathe than it'd been earlier, and was finally actually giving him oxygen as well. Smiling, the plesiosaur swam up to the distant surface, easily getting there and filling his new lungs with air for the first time. He spat up the water and turned off his power, then looked over to the island he used to call home. He'd probably be pretty uncomfortable going onto it now... But there was no shortage of places he could look in on from the ocean, and he remembered there was a lake that connected to the ocean through a tunnel he'd likely still fit through. He began his swim to get there, thinking about what sort of reactions he'd be seeing from his friends...
It was about what he'd expected. The moment the first person saw him, they just stared at him in stunned silence for a few seconds. The plesiosaur waved a flipper at them. "Hi, can you go get... Well, everyone, I guess."
"...R-right, yeah!" They bolted off. A few minutes later, sure enough, everyone in the tribe had gathered at the shore, and were clearly excited to see him.
"A-a new divine guardian!?"
"We're actually going to be okay!"
"The legend's actually true!?"
The chief stepped forward, and the plesiosaur lowered their head down to his level. "...Wait, you have to be..."
The plesiosaur nodded. "I told you I'd do it. I've gotten word directly from our god that I'll be able to keep everyone safe when the time comes."
The chief sighed in relief. "I'd kind of already written you off, honestly... But I suppose I'm glad I wasn't able to convince you not to go."
After the initial surprise and greetings were done, the tribe celebrated together in the lake the plesiosaur had been thinking of - sure enough, he could easily make his way there. Plenty of people swam on him, or rode on his back or head - it was mostly the children that rode him - while he tried out his powers some more. Making water float around, spreading the breathable water throughout the lake... He already knew how to use his powers, of course, but it helped to see them in action. Plus, he certainly needed some time to relax after everything he'd been through that day.
Eventually, as night fell, the celebrations had to end as everyone returned to their homes... Except for the plesiosaur and the chief, the latter sitting on the shore of the lake.
"I'm... Honestly still in awe. The last divine guardian disappeared before I was born, so I've never seen one before. You're living proof that we're right to be following our god."
"We're lucky I even made it, I was drowning when I finally got that gem. But, it was worth it, I haven't regretted this for a second."
There was silence for a moment, before the chief remembered something. "You don't really have a home at this point, do you? You can't really go to your old one..."
"I've been thinking about that... Maybe this lake could be my home? We could spruce the place up a bit, set up a bed for me..."
The chief nodded, smiling. "That's what we'll do, then. I'm sure everyone will be willing to help out with it."
"Heh, and I thought I was really appreciated back when I was a chameleon..."
"Believe me, people are going to be even bigger fans of you when you stop that storm, or whatever it is you're going to do."
"...I'm actually not sure WHAT I'm going to do. But I'm certain I'll figure it out when it's time."
"Let's hope so..."
Soon, the plesiosaur was left alone in the lake, the chief having gone home. He took an instinctual deep breath - before remembering he didn't need to - and dove under, making the water around him breathable again. Swimming down to the bottom, he lay down to try to get comfortable... It was easier than he thought it'd be. He bubbled out all his air, watching it float above him, then inhaled, the feeling of water in his lungs starting to become a bit more natural - ironic, given the day's events. Without much trouble, he fell asleep...
"It'll be here in a few minutes." A lizard shaman looked up at the dark sky, then the plesiosaur in the lake. "You're our only hope, divine guardian."
Somehow, the plesiosaur knew exactly how much longer it'd be before the storm got dangerous, and when to do something about it. "I can do it. I still don't know how, but I know I can."
The chief was visibly nervous. "You better figure it out soon..."
As time passed, rain started to fall, the wind started to pick up... And as the time came that the plesiosaur needed to do something, knowledge of what to do entered his mind. "Okay, I got it!" This was going to take some effort. His front flippers began glowing, and he pressed them together as he closed his eyes, building up power... Then, quickly moving his flippers apart, a wave of blue energy shot out, rapidly expanding and settling around the island. In an instant, the rain and wind stopped. High above, the rainwater was harmlessly running along the energy as if it were an enormous umbrella!
Everyone that had come - including the plesiosaur himself - was impressed and very much relieved at the sight of it. The chief happily sighed. "I suppose we're safe, then... I can't believe you can just DO that!"
The plesiosaur was looking up at the energy umbrella in awe. "I didn't know I could do that either!"
Over about an hour, the shield held back the storm, as the plesiosaur occasionally fired up more energy to recharge it... And eventually, the sky above began to clear.
There was another jolt to the plesiosaur's mind, telling him the shield wasn't needed any more. "Okay, we're good." It soon dissipated, the storm having safely moved past without doing any harm whatsoever.
The shaman smiled. "Send our god our thanks, if you can."
"I'm not sure if I can, but I'll try at some point."
With that, everyone returned to the day that they previously hadn't been sure they'd even get. The plesiosaur helped out around the island's shore, gathering food and materials from the ocean while playing with his powers to get a better understanding of them. Eventually, the construction of a proper home for him in the lake started, which he made sure to make vastly easier for everyone involved by letting them breathe underwater. Even now, the ex-chameleon didn't have an ounce of regret; protecting his tribe had always felt like his purpose in life, and now that it truly was, he was eager to give everyone the easiest lives he could.
