Ariel saw the shark first as it barreled toward them, letting out a shrill scream of terror as she dug her nails into Bastian's arm. He whirled and dove to the side with Ariel in tow just in time to get out of the way of the shark's gaping jaws. The great white wheeled about, turning around to charge them once again.
"Ariel, go!" Bastian's shoved the young princess out of harm's way to face the great white alone. Ariel swam away with her bag in tow, headed for Atlantica. She turned back to see Bastian's battling the monster, dodging the razor teeth by mere inches. She gasped in horror when he wasn't quick enough and the great white's fin clipped him on the side of the head. Momentarily dazed, he didn't notice that the great white was bearing down on him from behind.
"Bastian!" She screamed. He looked up to see her swimming hurriedly toward him. He blinked blearily, unable to focus. His head was pounding heavily; his eyes clouded over by the haze of pain.
Suddenly Ariel knocked into him, wrapping her skinny arms around his torso and shoving him aside just as the beast's teeth snapped shut in the exact spot that Bastian had been seconds before. Bastian was brought back to himself as his vision cleared to see Ariel's frightened expression. He took a quick glance around to see that they were hiding behind a large rock, the shark wheeling about above them as it sniffed them out.
"Okay, here's what we're going to do-"
Ariel wasn't listening, but was instead staring above them at the shark as it tracked them. She gripped at his arm frantically, her nails digging into his skin again. "Bastian, Bastian it's coming back-!"
Bastian turned her toward him, but she was still staring at the shark above. "Ariel look at me. Look at me, okay?" He gripped her chin gently and turned her to face him. Her blue eyes were wide in panic, but she was able to calm a bit as she looked into Bastian's smiling face. He had to be confident so that she wouldn't have to be. "I've got you. It's going to be all right, I promise. You just have to listen to me, okay? I won't let you get hurt. We're just going to get you back to the ship okay? You're going to hide there and I'll lead the shark away. Then I'll come back for you when it's safe, all right?"
She blinked and swallowed nervously, but she did not break his gaze to look for the shark. Bastian's took that as a good sign and smiled reassuringly at her, trying to portray confidence when he himself was a bit frightened if he was going to be honest. He looked up over the rock to locate the shark when Ariel wrapped herself around his middle in a tight embrace. She buried her face in his chest, her eyes shut tight. When Bastian returned her embrace he realized she was shaking. He cupped her chin in both of his hands and placed a tender kiss to her forehead.
"I will always protect you." He whispered, his forehead pressed to hers.
When he pulled back he gripped her hand in his and hastily pulling her along beside him towards the ship. Bastian kept a wary eye on the great white, still searching for them a ways away. They dodged behind large clumps of seaweed and craggy rocks, staying out of sight until they reached the hole in the ship. Bastian pushed Ariel inside and she turned around to watch him with wide eyes as he picked up a large piece of shiny hard stuff. It would serve as a crude spear, and it was about the same length as one of the spears the guards used at the palace. The end was sharp and lethal-looking, and Ariel flinched away from it.
"Bastian be careful." She whispered from inside a makeshift shelter that Bastian was making around her with the debris for the ship. He looked at her through a crevice in the barricade to see the light hitting her frightened blue eyes. Her hand extended toward him to grip his own through the hole, and he leaned down to give it a kiss.
"I'll be right back." He promised, then hefted his makeshift spear and headed out to face the shark. He squared his shoulders as he sped away from the ship so to not lead the shark to Ariel. Once he was a decent distance away, he let out a hoarse shout to call the shark's attention. It wheeled around immediately and with a mighty slash of its tail it was speeding toward him head on. Bastian gripped his spear tightly and gritted his teeth, thinking only of Ariel.
The shark was upon him, and as it was about to snap him up with its razor teeth Bastian's feinted to the left and lifted his spear. He closed his eyes, as he was sure that he had moved too late. There was a mighty tug on his makeshift spear as it was tugged out of his hands. He cried out as the unexpected movement sliced open a gash in the palm of his hand. Opening his eyes he looked down to see that he was bleeding heavily; a cloud of blood spilling out if his hand. Looking up he saw the shark, Bastian's spear lodged into its side. It seemingly gave him no hindrance however because at the smell of Bastian's blood the shark came at him with a renewed fervor, desperate for his flesh. Bastian wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time to avoid those gaping jaws. As his world slowed he thought he heard Ariel screaming his name.
