Chapter 10 – Atlantica Part 1

The three appeared in the wide open ocean, completely surrounded by colorful plants, rocks, and fish, who swam away from them appearing. Ken looked around and saw that he had no shirt and instead of legs, he had a gray and white tail, kind of like a Great White Shark. Alex was the same way, but his tail was a dark blue, like a Dolphin. Sarah had a green sea shell bra, a flower in her hair, and had a sparkly green tail like a mermaid.

"Whoa!" shouted Ken. "Where are we?"

"We appear to be underwater." said Sarah as she looked at herself. "And we look like... Mermaids?!"

"Well, you are a mermaid." said Alex. "Me and Ken are Mermen."

"I can see that." chuckled Ken as he looked over at Sarah. "Hey, nice shell bra."

"Shut up Ken!" said Sarah.

She looked up and pointed to someone that was swimming toward them. It was a red headed Mermaid with a purple shell bra, green scaled, and a yellow and blue fish was following her. Alex took one look at her and dropped his jaw. He found this Mermaid very attractive.

"Oh, hello there." said the girl as the fish hid behind her. "Are you new?"

"Yeah," said Ken quickly. "We aren't used to these water."

"I can tell." she giggled. "Anyway, I'm Ariel."

"I'm Ken. These two are Alex and Sarah, my best friends."

"Pleasure to meet-" she looked at Alex, who was still drooling over her. "-you."

"Where are you going?" asked Sarah.

"I had a disagreement with my father. I'm going to... go cool down for a bit."

"Dads, huh? Can't live with them, can't live without them." chuckled Ken.

"That could be true... if my daddy wasn't Ruler of Atlantica."

"Y-Your dads a King?!"

"King Triton, ruler of the seas."

"Whoa," said Ken and Sarah.

"Anyway, this guppy here is Flounder, my best friend."

"Ariel..." whispered Flounder. "There is something weird about them."

"Don't be so rude! They seem nice. Wanna come along? I can show you my grotto."

"Sure!" said Ken.

Before Ariel could lead the way, they were quickly surrounded by giant Jellyfish Heartless and green mermen Heartless with spears. The trio drew their Keyblades and had Ariel and Flounder get back. In no time, suing their new bodies to the test, the Heartless were eliminated. Ariel and Flounder came to them, worried.

"What were those things?" asked Ariel.

"Heartless," said Alex. "They go after the Darkness in people's hearts."

"Sounds dangerous." said Flounder.

"You better stick close to us while we make our way to the grotto." said Sarah.

Ariel nodded and led the way as Flounder followed. The trio were still getting used to swimming, but eventually go the hang of it. Soon, they arrived to a giant rock that was concealing an entrance. Alex helped Ariel with it and she smiled at him, thanking him for his help. They all swam into the grotto and the trio were amazed by what they saw.

"Are these... human things?" asked Sarah.

"Yes," said Ariel cheerfully. "I'm a... collector of sorts."

Ariel swam down on her soft rock bed and played with one of her contraptions as the trio looked around, amazed by what she had uncovered. Flounder frowned and joined his friend.

"Ariel? You okay?"

"If only I could make him understand. Why doesn't he see things the way I do? I just don't see how a World that makes such wonderful thing could be bad." she then began to sing. "Look at this stuff, isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collections complete? Wouldn't you think I'm a girl... a girl that has everything. Look at this trove, treasure untold. How many wonders can one cavern hold? Looking around here you think, sure, she's got everything. I've got gizmos and gadgets of plenty, I got whozits and whatsits galore. You want thingamabobs? I got twenty. But who cares, no big deal, I want moooooooooooore."

As she continued to sing, she spoke of wanting to be a Part of the World. She swam around, playing with her collection as the trio spun a globe, tried on glasses, and more. When she made it to the hole high above, she continued.

"When's it my turn? Wouldn't I love, love to explore that shore up above? Out of the sea. Wish I... could be part of that world."

She ended by lying on the sand below. As the trio looked at her, they heard the sound of stuff falling. Ariel and the others looked over and saw a small red crab with human items on top of him.

"Sebastian!" shrieked Ariel.

"Ariel," said the crab in a Jamaican accent. "What are you- How could you- What is all this?! And who are they?!"

"These three are Alex, Sarah, and Ken. And this is just... my collection."

"Oh, I see. Your collection." Sebastian said calmly. "If your father knew about this place!-"

"You're not gonna tell him are you?!" asked Sarah.

"Oh, please Sebastian, he would never understand!" said Ariel.

"Ariel, you're under a lot of pressure. Come on and I will get you a warm cup of-" started Sebastian.

"Hey, what's that?" asked Alex, who looked up and saw something cruise over the hole.

"Ariel?" said Sebastian. "Ariel!"

Ariel was the first out of the grotto, followed by Sebastian, Flounder, and the trio. She swam fast and everyone followed pursuit. They soon came above the water and saw a massive wooden ship and fireworks coming from it. They looked at Ariel and saw her face light up with excitement.

"Jumping jellyfish!" said Sebastian. "Ariel, please come back!" he yelled as Ariel swam to the ship.

Ariel was already at the ship. When Ken made to move, the crab blocked the way.

"Oh no," he protested. "Now, I don't know where you three came from, but stay out of it!"

"Looks who's talking!" said Alex. "You were gonna tell her dad about her collection!"

"Oh, the sea king is gonna have me claws for this!" whined the crab.

The skies began to darken and the clouds looked gray. A lightning bolt hit the water from near a mile and winds began to pick up. Before retreating back into the ocean, they saw Ariel jump from the boat and a white seagull yelling her name as he was being blown away. Lightning hit the mast and set it on fire. Over time, it spread and the crew had to abandon ship. The handsome prince was the last one to jump, but was knocked unconscious by the explosion that destroyed the entire ship. Ariel dove under and saved him, carrying him to a wooden plank as his crew were swept away on their boat.

After the storm, the trio, Flounder, and Sebastian came near a shore line and were weary. They saw Ariel near the body of a handsome man and the seagull flew on down near them. After a thorough examination, Ariel felt the man's hair and they could hear her singing to him. Something in Alex made him gulp hard and jealous grew within him.

"What would I give to live where you are? What would I pay, to stand here beside you. What would I do to see you smiling at me? Where would we walk? Where would we run? If we could stay all day in the sun, just you and me, and I could be part of your world." Sebastian's jaw dropped.

A dogs barking was heard and Ariel quickly dove back into the water and joined her old and new friends. She went onto a rock and overlooked the handsome man and his elderly friend walk away with the dog still barking at them.

"The sea king will never know. You won't tell him," said Sebastian as he looked to Flounder and the trio. "I won't tell him. I will stay in one piece!"

"I don't know when." Ariel began to sing. "I don't know how. But I know something starting right now. Watch and you'll see. Someday I'll be part of your world!" A wave splashed behind her, adding to the drama.

"Say," started the seagull. "I have never seen you three before."

"Scuttle, these are Sarah, Ken, and Alex, my new friends."

"Anyone ever tell you that you have an amazing voice?" asked Alex.

"Thank you Alex." giggled Ariel. "And I have been told that."

Arriving at the palace, Ariel led the group to the throne room of her father: King Triton. Sebastian swam forward and cleared his throat.

"You stand before the Ruler of the Seas: King Triton!"

"Pleasure, your highness." said Ken as he and his friends bowed.

"Who are they?" asked King Triton, who was muscular, had a three pointed crown, and a long white beard.

"Sir, these three just arrived and they helped us against creatures called... Heartless."

"Heartless? Never heard of them. Why are they here?"

"Daddy," started Ariel. "They need a place to sleep. They've had a rough day."

"Well, as long as they mean no harm to Atlantica, I guess we can offer them a spare room." said King Triton. "Sebastian, show them the way."

"Yes, your highness." said Sebastian as he swam toward the entrance and the trio followed.

Before long, Sebastian showed them a room with three beds. When he left, Ken sat on the bed and looked around. As they started getting ready, King Triton stopped in and he did not look happy.

"You three." he addressed them. They quickly got up and stood at attention.

"Yes, your Majesty?" wondered Sarah.

"My daughter is young and gullible, but I surely am not! I lied earlier. I do know about these infernal Heartless."

"You do?" asked Ken.

"Yes. And it was not too long ago, a few years in fact, that I was approached by someone who told me the secrets of Worlds and strange weapons called Keyblades."

Ken held out his hand and his own Keyblade appeared.

"Yes... those weapons of destruction. Your arrival here is random yes, but I ask that you leave tomorrow morning."

"Why?" asked Alex.

"The Keyblade will bring wrath and destruction to any World it appears in. I will not let such a weapon destroy my kingdom!"

"Sir, we only use it to fight the Heartless and anyone evil. We don't use it on the innocent and helpless. We are Protectors of Light and King Mickey trusts us."

"Be that as it may, I will not risk the safety of the Merpeople in my Kingdom. Leave tomorrow or I will take dramatic actions."

"How do you know what the Keyblade is capable of?!" shouted Ken. "Has it destroyed this place before or something?!"

"Yes. It has brought death to a few of my people. I do not want the same to happen again."

"You can trust us, King Triton! We promise that we won't cause any harm to any of the Merpeople."

"Funny. The last three said the exact same thing." said King Triton as he left.

"What was that about?" asked Alex. "Who said the same thing?"

"I wish I knew." said Ken.

*Now, I know what you are all thinking "If he is doing new Worlds, why do an old World from the games?" Well, I wanted Alex to fall for a Disney Princess and as a kid, I found Ariel to be the hottest (redheads). So, this is going to impact Alex and the Darkness in his heart. Please Review, Follow, and Favorite :)