Glowworm56: LOL it is like a horror movie with the Jaws theme in the background. Well, I think you might like how this chapter will turn out then since this is going to have a long awaited moment involved. (Though if were me, I'd of had my sword out and ready). Uh, hmm... he knows they have the bracelets now... and him turning human would backfire on him at this point since he'd be out of practice and it would be hard to pull the boys out of the kingdom while on land due to all the friends they made. The cow being the queen does seem ridiculous, but I thought 'that would totally be something Pilkey would do for the heck of it' and did it just because I could. Funny how we discussed the ocean being a shipper in the PM considering... ah, you will see.
Trimaxion: I think you will be doing more than being unable to be torn away from the phone this time. ;) I tried to make sure the ocs had enough screen time and good representation since they were made by the readers and I couldn't resist her saying that.
Yeah... lot of heavy stuff, and the boys getting to be heroes for as long as they can. I didn't like doing THAT to CU, but the 'what if he found out' has been done before and there is a sad comic on tumblr about it. (I'm not 100% sure who drew it, I think it was invaderasia102 on tumblr but there is a link to it in the tearjerker page for the Captain Underpants movie tv tropes if it makes it easier to find. Funny enough, one of my observations about a scene from the film (as written under my tumblr name tornrose24) made it into the crowning moment of funny section).
Anyway, the boys are forced to confront Krupp, now that he knows–and I promise that everyone is in for a struggle to get what they want. (and no nudeness involved–I still find that scenario hilarious... actually he technically is if you think about it *giggles like an idiot*).
Well, here we go. I'm guessing this was the most long awaited chapter for many of you and I promise it won't disappoint because this one is going to be one heck of a ride.
Chapter 14- Inevitable Reunion
Edith reached the entrance of the boardwalk, where many residents and visitors were scrambling to get as far from the waves and and dangerous debris as possible. Edith turned to see that there were now very few people left in the boardwalk, but they were all hurrying to get out of there–it would probably be empty by now, but she couldn't leave until she could find four children and know that they were safe.
She frantically looked around and tried to stand on a crate to spot the children, but there was no sign of them. "BILLY?! LISA?!"
"Edith!" Edith turned to see Beatrice–one of the maids–still standing near the entrance with a terrified look. "I lost the prince and princess and those boys went after them!"
Edith's eyes widened in horror before turning back to the boardwalk. "You go on ahead, I'll look for them!" She yelled. "Let others know, in case they already made it out!" She ran back in.
"Don't go in there, it's dangerous!" Beatrice pleaded, but Edith did not listen.
George and Harold were frozen with fear at a face they had not seen for a long time. It was true they had seen a similar face recently, but that one had been filled with nothing but kindness and friendliness–this face was filled with pure anger. George and Harold had been so sure that this encounter would never happen and yet somehow it did and to make matters worse, there was no way to get out of it this time–they could not be able to jump the gap to the safer side of the pier and they could not jump into the ocean for their opponent could easily send them back to him. The sky was dark, thunder was crashing, and the waves were wild with no clear direction as if to signify that this point of no return was going to be a nasty affair.
So here they were, face to face with a more than enraged Krupp who, despite being partly in the water, had managed to loom over them and made them feel small in comparison to him.
Krupp had never wanted to lay his eyes upon these two ever again and yet for once in his life he was glad to see them–just not for the right reasons. There was once a time where he would have hated the idea of being looked at with dread and fear, but this time he enjoyed seeing just how utterly scared the two were upon realizing he had not only found them, but also cornered them without any of their pranks, parental excuses, or anything else to help them get out of this tight spot they got themselves into. He had sworn never to come up here again and yet it had to be these two who would make him break that vow and it angered him more than anything else. He finally had them in his grasp and he was willing to unleash everything on them and savor it as long as he could.
"So you thought it would be really funny to break my number one rule, turn yourselves into humans, and interact with the world above?" Krupp growled at George and Harold as they slowly backed away from him. "You honestly think you can make friends with them and not expect them to ruin your lives?" He then glared at Lisa and Billy–both flinched away from what they thought was some sort of monster with only very few human qualities.
It was an action that did not escape George and Harold's notice and they were quick enough to regain their bravery to wordlessly step in front of Lisa and Billy with identical determined scowls in their faces. For one moment Krupp was taken by surprise by this act of defense–for one moment he was taken back to a time when he was ready to fight to protect her–then he growled and his eyes narrowed as they burned at the two. It wasn't the first time they tried to protect another child, so why would this be any different?
"I set that rule up for a reason." He continued. "I've had to put up with you two for far longer than I needed to and now you think its funny that you decided to pull this stunt, make your parents worry to the point I had to lift the ban for a day, and then force me to go after you?!" He snapped.
Both the boys stood their ground as they heard words that they were not surprised to hear. Then it fully hit them–the pure irony of what Krupp had just said.
"Wait did you seriously just break your own rule to get us?!" George realized.
"Oh my gosh, he did!" Harold giggled despite himself and this encouraged George to laugh–both forgetting about the seriousness of the situation at hand. Meanwhile Billy and Lisa were growing confused as to what exactly was going on and what this exchange meant. And why were the boys suddenly laughing at the one who caused them to panic not that long ago?
On the other hand, the laughing only enraged Krupp. This kind of stuff–the not taking things seriously–was one of the reasons why he had grown to hate hearing the sound of laughing and why he had grown to hate the boys to no end. And for them to point out his own mistake only made him–and the stormy water around them–much worse.
In response, a wave crashed up next one side of the ruined pier and caused the children to flinch or cry out in alarm–as well as making the boys cease their laughing as they remembered what was now at stake–as they backed away from that side of the pier and lost their attention on the mershark. That was when Krupp took his chance and lunged after the nearest of the two boys–making half of his body over the pier in the process–and grabbed his wrist.
"HAROLD!" George screamed as he felt Krupp effortlessly pull him towards him and Harold was quick to scream and grab George's other hand.
"DON'T MAKE THIS MORE DIFFICULT THAN IT NEEDS TO BE!" Krupp roared at the boys as George tried to desperately pull away from the grasp that was as tight as it was cold and wet to the touch (so unlike the secure warmth that Krupp's counterpart was somehow able to provide). With every intention to destroy the last of the bracelets and drag the two back into the ocean where they belonged, Krupp grabbed the bracelet around George's wrist and pulled as hard as he could–only for it to not budge or snap in half from the full force.
"What the–?!" He looked in surprise at it–how could such a fragile looking thing not yield to his strength? Just as someone came to the boys' aid, he then remembered–the magic infused within the bracelets made it so that they couldn't break apart, no matter how much force they had to endure.
"LET GO OF GEORGE!" Lisa shrieked as she kicked Krupp in the side as hard as she could, but it didn't work. A very nasty idea came to her and she reached out to grab a handful of flesh from his side, dug her nails into it as deeply as she could, and twisted it as hard as she could. Krupp definitely felt this and he let out a yell as he was forced to let go of George and ended up slamming most of his upper body upon the pier as his young attacker hurried away from him.
"What are you doing?!" George yelled at Lisa as Harold pulled him away from Krupp while the princess darted away from the mershark. "You don't want him to take you too!"
"Well we don't want him to take you guys!" Lisa gestured to Krupp as he winced and groaned.
"You're the last two human children who should be anywhere near him!" Harold frantically warned her. If one or both of the siblings were taken away, then there really would be a war amongst the kingdoms.
At this point, Krupp forced himself to get up and made to lunge after the boys again–except he ended up falling back onto the surface of the wooden pier and really wasn't able to do much else except to try to crawl after the boys in his current state. Most of his body was now on the dead end side of the pier, which let out warning creaks of protest from having to support his full weight and it gave the siblings a good idea of how large he actually was, which was almost twice the length of an average adult man.
"Pft–HA! HA! HA!" George couldn't help but laugh upon seeing that Krupp was now pretty much trapped on the pier and couldn't do much except crawl or thrash about like–what else?–a fish that was out of water. Even Harold quickly recovered and couldn't help but snicker at Krupp's predicament. Yet it never occurred to either boy that they should have taken advantage of this and jump into the ocean with the siblings while he was still stuck up there, as this was the earliest and best chance of escape from him.
Understandably, Krupp felt incredibly humiliated for this predicament and it only made him more angry. "I am so going to enjoy punishing you two when I get my hands on you." Krupp snarled at George and Harold as they tried to stay away and keep the siblings away from him. "You think I wanted to be up here?!"
"Then stay down there if you hate this place!" George snapped back. "Why do you have to hate everything so much?! Why do you have to hate them?!" He gestured to Lisa and Billy. "This is all wrong!" He gestured out to the storm and the destruction it caused–the beach had vanished under the water that had risen so far up, many trees had been knocked over, and the boardwalk was in a very bad state as a lot of stalls had been knocked over and more than just the decorations had been torn up. "You're ruining this kingdom–!"
"Humans don't understand order or respect it!" Krupp roared as he slammed his hand against the wooden boards of the pier, upon which he slowly inched backwards towards the water. "Much like you two delinquents!" He pointed an accusing finger at the boys. "They get your hopes up, toy with your feelings, and give you pain! They create things that'll only get destroyed by time! Neither world can be the same or co-exist like nothing bad could happen, so why do you insist on trying to be any part of one that you don't belong in?!"
At this point Harold had enough. He was so tired of being afraid, so tired of Krupp being just so mean and disagreeable, and–now that he knew Krupp for who he really was under all this rage and stubbornness–took a huge risk and stepped in with "And you would know because you did the same thing we did yourself ten years ago?!" and held up his wrist with the bracelet for emphasis.
There was a moment of silence as George stood beside his friend and also shot an equally angry look at Krupp, who was not expecting to hear that and they could see him flinch at this reveal. He had no clue how the boys knew about that, but his determination to get the boys made him push that aside as well as himself backwards with all his might and crash back into the water.
And to the boys' horror, they didn't see him rise back up.
"Oh no, no, no, where did he go?!" George frantically looked around.
And before any of them could react, Krupp rose up on the other side and tried to grab Harold by the back of his shirt. When he felt the shirt collar pull against his neck, Harold let out a gasp and tried to reach out to George as it was almost like he was getting chocked.
"DON'T HURT HIM!" George lunged after Krupp and tried to pull his best friend away from the adult, but because Krupp was stronger, he was able to also pull George along with Harold.
"We aren't going back with you!" Harold tried to growl at Krupp as he tried to use his free hand to keep the collar from his shirt so that he could breathe. "Not like this!"
"HEY!" Lisa yelled as she grabbed both boys before Krupp could pull Harold off the pier completely and she pulled back as hard as she could.
"What the–?! LET GO!" Krupp snapped at Lisa as he shook the boys in an almost comical attempt to shake the girl off of them–all three only tightened their hold on each other despite that they seemed to make some sort of wiggly looking line from being shaken by the much stronger adult. "I only want these two!"
"Their our friends, no matter what you say or who you are, gramps!" Lisa snapped back at Krupp as Billy quickly made to take one of his shoes off.
"Gramps?!" Flabbergasted at what the young princess just called him, Krupp snapped back "I'M OLD ENOUGH TO BE YOUR DAD'S AGE, YOU MOUTHY LITTLE–!"
At that point, Billy threw his shoe at Krupp as hard as he could and it made perfect contact against the side of Krupp's face.
"AGH!" Krupp's grip tightened on Harold, but he still reeled back and grabbed the side of his face. "DID YOU JUST THROW A SHOE AT ME?!" Krupp yelled in disbelief at the young prince, who only gave Krupp a determined glare and took off his other shoe to prove he would do it again. George took his chance and grabbed Harold's shoulder, as well as the hand that held onto the back of Harold's shirt before biting down upon the latter as hard as he could.
"GAH!" Krupp pulled back and almost knocked George over, but he and Harold were pulled back by Lisa in the nick of time and the kids got away from Krupp. The adult shook his hand for a second (because he was not expecting the boy to bite down on him so hard to the point that he almost drew blood) before seeing that the boys were backing away from him yet again. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS FOREVER!" He yelled–angry that he was getting bested by four children. "I TOLD YOU I WOULD SEPARATE YOU TWO IF YOU EVER DID SOMETHING LIKE THIS AND I'M KEEPING THAT PROMISE!"
"We know you went up here, you hypocrite!" Harold yelled back at Krupp. "You liked this place as much as the others did–as much as we do–and you shut us away because you were too scared to take a risk for your happiness!"
"I'M STILL YOUR KING AND MY WORD IS LAW, BUBS!" An almost red faced Krupp snarled at them, while ignoring what Harold had just said. "AND IF I HAVE TO DRAG YOU BACK AS YOU ARE NOW, THEN SO BE IT!"
At this, both Lisa and Billy stared in shock at Krupp as everything suddenly came together for them and they realized who this scary monster really was, as well as recognizing a very specific word that he used. "No way." Billy barely whispered as Lisa's eyes widened–this was the king under the ocean?!
But then without warning, Krupp had taken advantage of the area yet again and another wave splashed up on one side of the pier–this time right against the royal siblings, who were almost knocked back into the dead end side of the pier. George yelled as he and Harold made to go after the siblings, but he then remembered too late that the wave was not an accident.
Right as he and Harold reached the two, Krupp had somehow got to the dead end side in record time and this time he grabbed both boys by their arms.
"GEORGE!" Harold screamed as he felt himself get pulled away from the pier and quickly grabbed onto George's hand and and wrist. George did the same and both boys held on tight to each other with the full knowledge that this moment could be their last moment of freedom or ever seeing each other again.
Krupp ceased moving backwards and his fury grew when he saw that the boys were yet again trying to hold onto each other. Their friendship still infuriated him for all that it meant and he wanted to see it get destroyed until there was nothing left of it. He growled as he tried to pull the boys apart from each other, but neither one let go.
"NO!" Lisa screamed as she and Billy ran to grab the boys by their legs and they both began to pull with all of their might–both of them were now freezing cold from the touch of the ocean having soaked them to the bone, but it did not stop either one from trying to save their friends. "LET THEM GO!"
"HELP!" Billy screamed. "SOMEONE HELP!"
There was no one else that could see or hear the children in distress. The boardwalk was now practically empty as everyone had hurried away to safety–all except one woman.
"LISA?!" Edith yelled as she dashed through the now abandoned boardwalk. "BILLY?!" Her terror rose as she tried to find the missing children. "GEORGE?! HAROLD?!" She cried with all of her might but it was as if the wind was drowning out her voice and it succeeded in pulling the rose out of her hair. Her hair now got in her face as it blew around her head from the wind and she was forced to use one hand to keep it out so that it wouldn't get in her way.
The once lively area was now a dangerous zone where debris of all sorts were scattered upon the ground and decorations had been torn off by the strong gusts of wind. A part of her mind felt like she was in one of those cartoons at the theater, where the wind could easily blow her away with the loose remains upon the ground (and Cab Calloway would be singing a surreal song in the background about an inappropriate topic, just to add insult to injury). She was forced to keep her eyes on a constant move for either any of the four children or something that could knock into her at any second.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a sign come tumbling at her from the side and with a yelp she jumped out of the way and shielded her face with her arms as a precaution. She barely avoided it in time before she continued to run ahead, even as her sides were protesting with pain.
Edith had so little to lose, she reflected as she ran and looked around. She never got the life she had dreamed of–she had found success and a good career, but she never got a significant other to share her life with, nor did she have any children of her own. Everyone she knew and loved had scattered elsewhere or else had died. She was a coward who didn't know what to say (or couldn't say it) when it mattered–she was no hero and she was no fairy tale princess or movie starlet.
But Lisa and Billy–those two were practically her family, like the younger siblings she never had. And those two boys who went into the destruction to find them–they deserved better than whatever life they escaped from. She would give her life away if it meant they all could be spared from this storm and grow up to become wonderful adults. She wanted to prove herself worthy of the times she had been there for them and for all that they had given back to her.
If I can't find them–if something happens–I'll never forgive myself!
She already lost someone important to her once because of her own cowardice and stupidity. This time she would fight for them with all she had.
"NO! LET THEM GO!"
"HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"
Edith stopped in her tracks to see something on the pier near the ferris wheel. The moment she saw an orange dress, she recognized Lisa and then realized that all the children were on the pier–and there was something with them that was large and hard to make out. Something in the water that was trying to get at them while it was in the chaotic ocean as alarmingly large waves crashed around them, yet that thing was unaffected and remained in perfect place. It was something that the children were trying to escape from, but couldn't because of the huge gap in the now destroyed pier.
Some day soon, in a place that neither land, sea, or air can claim as their own, he will come to take away all who you hold most dear. He will drag them down with him to his world where they shall be doomed to suffer for his wrath and foolishness.
That thing out there was trying to take the children into the ocean, she realized as she felt her heart stop. That thing was the monster from the fortune teller's prophecy and it was today that it was all about to come true, whether she liked it or not.
"No!" Edith now doubled her pace as her heart began to furiously pound in her chest. No, she could not afford to let this happen! She had to do something! She didn't care about whatever that thing was or how dangerous he would be–he was going to pay!
Then she saw something as she approached the abandoned displays of the weapons from earlier–in one glass case was a familiar looking weapon that her aunt once taught her to use.
Adrenaline kicked in as Edith quickly diverted her attention to the harpoon gun. With a yell, she forced herself against the glass case as hard as she could with all of her strength and it crashed and shattered into shards upon hitting the ground.
It was time for her to quit being a coward.
Both boys tried to desperately struggle away from Krupp and keep a tight hold on each other as they both felt Krupp's hands side down their arms, towards their joined hands. "YOUR STUPID FRIENDSHIP IS GOING TO BE YOUR UNDOING!" Krupp yelled at them as they felt their hands slowly tugging away from each other. "NOW LET GO!"
George looked up at Krupp in frustration–there was no way this awful person could have ever been that once happy child from the memories he and Harold saw, the same man that Edith had fallen in love with, or even–
"GEORGE!" Harold desperately cried out again as he felt himself about ready to cry–was there no end to any of this?! It was a miracle that Krupp wasn't able to immediately tear them apart, but their luck was running out!
The sight of Harold in distress made George furious, but then he noticed a hint of bright red poking out of Harold's shirt–the red ring that once gave him hope that they could have escaped up here was inspiring him once more. Reacting on pure desperation and not knowing what to expect, George snapped his fingers as hard as he could.
"AH–!" Captain Underpants realized he wasn't falling and then froze when he saw that both George and Harold were seemingly being pulled apart by a terrifying looking individual who barred an awful set of teeth and had his eyes shut tight as he tried with all his strength to accomplish his goal. If it wasn't this that made Captain Underpants realize what was going on, it was the desperate plea for help in George's eyes as his and Harold's fingers were slipping to the backs of their hands.
"HELP US!" George was close to being in tears as he felt his grip on his best friend slipping away.
And for one of the very few times in Captain Underpants' short existence, he felt a certain emotion, but not to the extreme it was about to get to.
His eyes narrowed at the one who was harming the boys–a determined scowl was on his face before he lunged forward over the boys and grabbed onto the other man's wrists as tightly as he could. "LET GO!" He commanded with all his fury in the other one's face.
At the moment Krupp felt someone grab his wrists, he felt a sharp burning sensation that made him yell out in pain and he let go of George and Harold. Both boys were pulled away from Krupp by Lisa and Billy, as well as through Captain Underpants, yet before they could hurry to get away, George and Harold realized something that made them stop and turn back to look at the two adults.
Captain Underpants did not pass through Krupp like he would have with anyone else. He was actually grabbing him as if he were solid.
"THOSE TWO ARE UNDER MY PROTECTION!" Captain Underpants yelled at Krupp as the latter tried to pull away from the former, but it was if the other one was as equally strong as him. He opened his eyes to see who had grabbed onto him, just as a flash of lightning broke through to give the area a few seconds of illumination.
Both Krupp and Captain Underpants ceased what they were doing for one moment when they saw each other's faces, thanks to the flash of light–it was the only thing they could see at that point, but it was all they needed to see.
Captain Underpants' anger died and he could only gap in confusion when he saw that the one who was harming the boys also wore his face. "What?"
A more than terrified Krupp cried out in alarm when he realized the one who came to the aid of the boys had both his face and his voice and he flinched away from Captain Underpants' now loose grasp as the boys took the cue to grab the siblings by the hands and hurry to the edge of the pier. Yet as Krupp flinched away from his duplicate, the waves crashed up on both ends of the pier and one stopped the children in their tracks while the other crashed over Captain Underpants, who was then sent back into the ring before he could process what was going on.
Scared by what had happened–what had just happened and why did he see a human version of himself protecting the boys?–Krupp had little time to dwell on it before he saw that the boys had tried to get away while he was distracted.
"No," Harold could only moan in dismay as Krupp's eyes began to burn at them. It seemed like nothing they did could keep them out of Krupp's clutches. And to make matters worse, the front of Harold's shirt had gotten wet, which meant they couldn't summon their protector any time soon, and there was no time to switch owners or dry the ring off.
Krupp let out a terrible growling sound and a wave crashed into all four children. "I'VE HAD IT WITH YOUR STUBBORNNESS AND PRANKS!" Both George and Harold were now wet and had been knocked far back enough for them to be within Krupp's grasp. The adult gritted his teeth as he looked down on the two, who could do nothing but try to hold onto each other as tightly as they could, which only raised his anger and caused the already chaotic waves to get larger. They wanted to go down together? Fine. The human brats who kept trying to attack him? Fine, they could come on down with those two and learn what it would really mean to get on his bad side since they were just as bad.
Ready to finally just unleash it all, Krupp made to grab for the boys–as the siblings tried one last time to get up and go to their aid and as Billy yelled out a protesting "NO!"–and in an furious roar that was more animalistic than human, yelled "YOU TWO ARE COMING WITH ME, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR–!"
"LEAVE THEM ALONE OR I'LL SHOOT, YOU MONSTER!"
The new voice made Krupp flinch away from the boys and looked up to see who would try to aid the boys this time.
All eyes turned to see a woman in a rose colored dress that was flapping wildly around her legs in the strong wind and her dark hair blowing wildly across her barely visible face as she aimed a harpoon gun at Krupp from the other end of the gap. It looked like the wind was going to blow her away, but she was able to firmly stand her ground and hold herself as if she were a soldier or a warrior.
Upon recognizing Edith, the siblings felt relief and a little awe–they did not expect someone to still be out on the boardwalk after all that had happened, yet this woman had been brave enough to risk a lot just to get to them and even had a weapon to use against the other adult.
However, the boys felt an increasing dread as they realized who was before them and what could likely happen in mere moments–this was not going to end well. "Oh no," George quietly let out in dismay as Krupp looked at the strange new comer with slight curiosity and much greater annoyance.
"I MEAN IT!" Edith yelled at the monster who was before the children. She could barely make out his features–no thanks to the faint darkness and her hair blowing into her face–and while there was something oddly humanlike about him she could also tell that he really wasn't. "I'M GOING TO SHOOT!" She was scared, but she would do it if she had to.
In fact her finger was shaking as it inched closer to the trigger–one press and one good shot like her aunt once told her and the children would be safe from whatever raging monster this was. She already moved her aim to a spot where she knew for a fact that the shot would be likely fatal for whatever this thing was before her.
Surprised by the woman's courage, Krupp was almost impressed–then he began to let out a laughter of disbelief and threw his head into the air and arched his back. Really? This dumb human thought she could hurt him while he was in his element and the wind would more than likely throw off her aim if a wave didn't get to her first?
The effect almost made Edith lose her confidence–especially when she saw a set of jagged shark-like teeth in the creature's mouth. Yet at the same time she instantly hated that nasty, villainous, and almost over the top sounding laugh. It was awful and full of mockery–the kind of laugh that made you feel like you were being picked on by someone who enjoyed being cruel, and made you feel that you had no chance of anything in life whatsoever, no matter what you did.
And it only made her more determined to just shoot him and shut him up.
"Is this the best help you two have now?!" Krupp laughed and scoffed at George and Harold who were growing worried for what could possibly happen. "One mere woman with a harpoon gun?!" He resumed his laughing while the boys looked from Krupp to Edith, who was trying to move her hair out of her face and her fear was replaced with a bravery and determination none of the children had ever seen before. If it wasn't seen on her face, then it was in her stance.
Stupid wind! Stupid hair! Edith mentally growled as she tried and finally brushed her hair completely out of her face. "STOP PICKING ON THOSE CHILDREN AND FACE ME INSTEAD, YOU COWARD!" She was almost screaming as she looked at the still-laughing antagonist right in the eyes with as much determination and anger as she could summon.
And in the moment that the woman pointing the gun at him had moved her hair out of the way, Krupp's laughing abruptly ceased as he was granted a proper look at her face–a fair skinned face with freckles and eyes so blue that they would have made the sea itself jealous.
A face that he remembered all too well.
Her eyes were so blue, in a face that was illuminated by the strings of lights above and around them, and he wanted to know what it would be like to caress that soft face that was adorned with a sprinkle of freckles.
The world came to a stop as the last of his amusement died away to be replaced with a stunned silence. No, it couldn't be.
It was her–of everything he had expected to happen upon returning up here, he didn't expect to see her to appear and come to the aid of these–he almost thought he was dreaming yet again, but when looking at her face...
Ten years had passed since he had seen that face–which had matured since then, yet was still beautiful to him (as a traitorous part of the back of his mind had observed)–but those eyes that were once so full of kindness and fun were staring at him with an intense anger and determination as their owner aimed her weapon at him as if he were a...
A...
As if looking into a mirror, he was able to see exactly what he looked like–what he really was and what he had become–through her eyes. He had been terrified of the idea of her ever seeing him like this and he thought he avoided that painful possibility, but it was now too late and some part of him realized that what he was doing only worsened the image he had invoked for her.
Edith took a deep breath as she tried to keep her aim on the monster who stared at her in surprised recognition as he still loomed over George and Harold. She could still barely make out his features from the distance and the darkness of the sky didn't help, but she could see him slowly pulling back away from the boys–who were looking at their tormenter–as the siblings waited for her to save them as they shivered from the cold–the drenched clothing and flower crown that barely hung onto Lisa's head told her what had happened. Her eyes went back to the monster–his body language–the awkward slouch, the moving the hands away from his would-be prey, the slowly inching away from the pier as if the violent waters were nothing to him–it was like he was a child who had been caught doing something awful and was guilty about it while also dreading certain punishment. It was as if he realized what he almost did would offend her. It was as if he was afraid of her and was trying to get away from her.
Grunting in determination, Edith resumed her aim–she was not going to let him get away after what he almost did! It was unforgivable and if she had to do this properly, then so be it!
"WAIT, STOP!" George quickly got up as he realized what was going to happen.
"EDITH WAIT, DON'T SHOOT HIM!" Harold yelled–almost pleaded–as he held a protesting hand out, causing the being behind him to stop and turn his head towards him and his friend in shock as if it were the last thing he expected either boy to say.
Edith hesitated in confusion–why did the boys suddenly jump to that thing's defense–then another streak of lighting erupted to illuminate the area and it was long enough for her to see the face of the monster.
Edith had not assumed the monster of the prophecy to have anything human-like about him, so when she saw that a good part of him looked like the upper half of an incredibly large-bodied human man upon coming to the pier, she was a bit surprised. Yet she still could see the obvious signs that he was not human and she did catch a glimpse of the shark like teeth in his mouth, which seemed to be one of the few things she could clearly see from where she had stood. She had recalled the warning–you must not lose courage and not back down when you glance upon his face–so she had fully expected to see something hideous beyond any nightmare when the lightning granted her the clear view that she had been anticipating and dreading.
What she had not expected was to see the face of someone she had known ten years ago–the face of the man she had lost her heart to and had wanted to confess her true feelings to on this very same pier before she had to leave. A face that had changed (as if it were a slightly twisted version of the one she had known), yet was still easy to recognize, and those dark eyes were filled with helpless despair as he realized that she could clearly see him now.
And he could easily watch her as her eyes widened, her mouth opened in surprise, and her arms dropped numbly to her sides–the weapon that she was going to use on him slipped out of her grasp and fell into the dangerous waters below.
"Benjamin?" Edith half asked, half realized in a lost sounding voice as she just stared at the person she never got the chance to confess her love to all those years ago.
And in turn, the one who had been known to her as Benjamin in the world above could only helplessly stare back, unable to move away–unable to think of anything to do–as he now knew for sure that she recognized him.
Both were so ignorant to anything but each other that they completely forgot about the four young onlookers. Both Lisa and Billy had no idea why Edith wasn't attacking or why she was looking at the mershark as if she knew him, but both George and Harold knew and they both could almost feel what both adults were going through–and they genuinely wished that it didn't have to come to this because they knew it could only get worse.
Something caught George's eyes and he realized that they all had completely forgotten about the storm. One of the many waves that kept crashing against the pier had grown to be colossal as it progressed in its pathway–and Edith just happened to be standing in the middle of said pathway, with no railings to prevent her from going into the chaotic ocean.
Edith was too lost in thought to realize what was going to happen.The monster who she had been warned about and who had threatened the children was–
"LOOK OUT!" George yelled and pointed to the wave. This snapped both Edith and Krupp awake and the woman only had enough time to glance around and see what was about to happen to her.
It was right when she made to run away that Edith felt the wave crash against her–knocking her off the pier and into the wave as it sucked her in–before she was tossed into the ocean without a chance to scream before everyone else's eyes.
In that moment, both George and Harold were ready to go after the woman, despite the consequences, as it fully hit Krupp as to what had just happened and instantly something within him turned ten years worth of indifference, prejudice, and bitterness into a moment of full on horrified panic and desperation.
And before either boy could get to the side of the pier where the woman had gone, they heard an unfamiliar, panicked cry–almost a scream that shook them to their core–and they turned in time to see a great splash of water in place of where Krupp had just been–that was all they needed to know that someone else was going to try to save Edith and do a far better job than they ever could.
"We got to do something!" Lisa panicked as she and her brother looked at the boys. "She's going to drown!" Without even hesitating, both boys went back to the specific child that they were going to try to save and wrapped their arms around them.
"Don't scream!" George yelled as he pulled the bracelet off his wrist before jumping into the ocean with Lisa in his grasp.
"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?!" Billy frantically asked Harold, but the blonde also took his bracelet off and jumped off the pier to join the other two.
Neither sibling knew what was going on as they held on tight and both felt the arms and bodies of the boys tense up as if they were in pain. George had been forced to put his bracelet in his mouth, while Harold quickly stuffed his own into the shirt pocket of Billy–both struggled to stay up above the water as they felt the currents threaten to suck them into the depths.
"Don't lose my bracelet, I just put it in your pocket!" Harold yelled to Billy as he tried to swim as fast as he could. The prince was shocked that the boy was having little struggle in the water, but he also kept trying to swim alongside him.
"BILLY!" Harold and Billy glanced over to see Lisa waving for them as George tried to swim as hard as he could towards a place where they could crawl back up near the boardwalk. "We need to save Edith!" She pleaded to George. "That guy went after her!"
"She'll be fine and he won't hurt her!" George grunted as he kept the bracelet in his mouth.
A wave then crashed into the merorca and princess and knocked them into the water.
"GEORGE!" Harold yelled as he tried to swim, but all of the sudden it was as if the waves began to get frantic without any clear sense of direction and he was forced backwards away from the two.
Underneath, Lisa held her breath as best as she could as she felt George tighten his hold on her before trying to remerge back up while also forcing his bracelet onto her wrist to keep it safe. She then saw a flash of white and for one moment she was terrified that the king under the ocean was close by until she then saw that George's legs seemed to be replaced with the tail of some sort of black and white sea creature. She almost gasped, but managed to hold her breath even as it finally hit her as to why the king under the ocean would have been after George and his friend to begin with.
How could she had been so stupid? It all made sense now.
Billy held on as Harold frantically cried out for his best friend. A wave then shoved them from the boardwalk and took them farther out into the ocean, before another one sent them upward into the air before crashing back down into the water. As the two sank into the water, Billy could see Harold's lower half, but unlike his sister, the realization as to what the boys really were came to him a bit quicker, since be began to suspect it back on the pier.
Well, it looked like he and his sister had one of their wishes granted–they had befriended a couple of merchildren this whole time.
"HAROLD!" George screamed as Lisa took in a breath of air. "WHERE ARE YOU?!" He frantically looked around for the merdolphin, but he and the princess then noticed a wave coming and while he was able to swim out of the way in time, it also swept him further away from the boardwalk.
"GEORGE!" George then turned to see Harold crying out as he was taken farther away from the mainland as well as from his best friend.
"HAROLD, WAIT!" George tried to swim with Lisa in tow, but the waves, currents, and the holding onto someone of equal size made it hard to keep up as he and Harold continued to get attacked and forced down into the ocean, no matter how many times they tried to stay up. Meanwhile Harold was growing frustrated because they had been so sure that they could have overcome this together, yet to have to constantly stay on alert and keep swimming was making him doubt that any of them could so much as make it out of this alive.
Harold then heard a familiar cry and to his great surprise, a familiar looking dolphin swam up and he grabbed onto her dorsal fin.
"Serenity!" Harold cried in delight as Billy glanced at the dolphin in surprise. "How did you find us?!" He asked as the dolphin cut through the waves and carried him away.
"Wait, why aren't we heading back?!" Billy asked Harold, who then realized what was happening and turned his head to see that Serenity was trying to get away from the mainland as fast as possible as if she were terrified of something.
"What are you doing?!" Harold freaked out as he tried to look for George and Lisa. "George is still back there!" He tried to find the other two, but no such luck. "Go back!" He pleaded to the dolphin who–for whatever reason–was heading right towards the sea stacks in the distance. "Why are we going there?!"
"BILLY!" Lisa screamed when she and George remerged back up, but at this point the waves and the roaring wind were mixed with the sound of her voice and now only a flash of lightning could help the two locate the others in the darkened waves.
George felt something bite onto the bag he wore and was being pulled to who knew where. One glance told him that it was a large dolphin that looked very familiar.
Isn't that Harold's mom's dolphin? He realized as Haruka took him and Lisa away from the mainland. "Wait a minute, where are you going?!" He panicked as Lisa looked at the creature in awe. "We need to go back to the town!" The larger dolphin ignored him as she took them towards the sea stacks as fast as she could.
Neither boy knew about the circumstances that forced both dolphins to find them and get them as far from the king under the ocean as they could on the orders of their parents. And even with two human children in tow, the animals could not afford to turn back, for they knew who was behind the storms and who was still lurking near the boardwalk.
"You guys are going to owe us one heck of an explanation when this is all over!" Lisa demanded to George, not knowing that her brother was making a similar demand.
"And you better try to get us back before our dad freaks out!" Billy warned Harold.
"Yeah, I know!" Harold couldn't help but retort before desperately trying one last time to call for George. "GEORGE?! GEORGE!"
"HAROLD!" George tried one last time to scream for his friend, even if neither one could hear each other over the chaos of the storm.
So this was what it was like to be trapped in the ocean within the storm and feel its cold wrath beat down upon you and toss you about like you were a ball or a toy.
There was so little to think about other than the need to stay above the surface and the fact that the water was cold to the point that Edith was shaking and it threatened her ability to stay calm. But then again how could you when you were being tossed this way and that way and felt the pressure of the water against you? What could you do when you could barely hear anything under the water and you were trying so hard to keep air within you and the pressure was threatening to make you open your mouth? The few moments she could break her head through the water, she had little time to take in air before she was sent back down. Edith couldn't even register where earth met water and where she could try to swim to for safety, and she had no clue where the waves were taking her. Her arms flailed about her, her hair would occasionally block her view, and her legs would get tangled up in the skirt part of her dress as it flapped in the forceful flow of the water. At some point she lost her flats and was now barefoot, but it was the least of her concerns.
It was so cold!
Some small part of her mind realized that she was trapped in the storm of the king under the ocean–his rage was going to consume her before she would know it. Another part of her mind was pleading to a divine power that whatever would happen to her now would at least be a fair exchange–the safety of the children for her own life.
If she wouldn't die by drowning, then the cold would eventually claim her.
Yet despite that promise she had made, her desire to survive was strong and she had no idea where the storm was taking her. She had another chance to take in a quick breath of air before a wave pounded down upon her and sent her to somewhere unknown.
Somehow in all of the confusion, something latched onto her left leg and she had to fight the urge to scream in pain as if something was crushing into the area above her ankle. One frantic glance told her that a huge wooden beam (from either the boardwalk, one of the docks–who knew) somehow pinned the lower part of her left leg against one of the many larger rocks that lined the beach and the particular indent in the stone would make it impossible to pull herself free.
Panic settled in and Edith tried to swim down to free her leg and push the beam away from it, but the fierce pounding of the waves knocking against her and the tight hold of the rock and beam kept her firmly trapped without yielding–her possible fate would be prolonged at this point. She tried to pull free when she grabbed her leg and swam up, but the hold was too strong and when she tried to push the beam back once more, it still wouldn't budge because it was lodged tightly against more rocks down below. She glanced upward to see that even if she could be able to pull herself free, she was so far down from the surface that it would be too late–and she was close to bursting from inside for her need for air.
And this was the state she was in when Krupp finally caught up to her and by now he was acting on adrenaline and a desperation that he didn't even stop once to think about.
And the closer he got to her as fast as he could–despite the storm slowing him down to a point that he was more than frustrated–the more that he could see her struggling to free herself and he could tell that there was no way she could get herself free in time–he would not be able to get her free in time.
No, no, no, no, no, no! His mind begged and screamed when he saw her let go of her leg to try one last, desperate time to swim upward. PLEASE NO!
He had so much denied or taken away from him–a lot of things that he had done or tried to do didn't work out well or backfired horribly on him–but he would never forgive himself he couldn't save Edith.
Edith knew that it was too late as she tried to swim, but couldn't get upward–she was trapped underwater, in the cruel grasp of the storm. This was how her life was going to end and her body was seconds away from forcing her to take a breath.
Even before he finally reached her, Krupp knew what had to be done–the version of himself that he had become across ten years was more than willing to forsake all the rules and bans he had set up, and the very small (almost ghost-like) part of him that was left of the lovesick, optimistic fool he was once screamed at him to do it to save Edith.
And just before Edith could finally give in and surrender to her final fate, Krupp wrapped a huge arm around her–nearly crushing her against his chest and massive stomach–lunged forward while taking a huge breath, and crashed his mouth against hers while keeping a careful hold of her head with his free hand to make sure that she couldn't be pulled away from him.
Edith jolted when she felt as if someone were kissing her right on the mouth and the action forced her mouth open. It felt as if something was trying to breathe into her at the moment her body automatically made the action to take in air–and then something happened that made her feel strange. It was like her whole head was undergoing some sort of weird tingling sensation–especially around her nose and mouth–and her chest felt an odd warmth. Before she knew it, the slightly muted sounds of the ocean around her became more defined and clear as if she were above water. The cold of the ocean was fading until it felt only pleasantly cool and even the large hand that was cradling the side of her face and the back of her head–with thick fingers almost woven within her hair–ceased feeling cold and she could feel a faint warmth from it.
That's when she realized what was happening and saw who was doing this when she opened her eyes.
The one who was kissing her was Benjamin.
Benjamin was kissing her.
For that one moment she forgot everything that had happened. A part of her had desired this once and she momentarily surrendered to that part of her and she shut her eyes as she was able to return the kiss back and force him to close his mouth shut–forcing to do whatever he was doing to make it more relaxed and natural. Without meaning to, she moved her arms back down until her fingers were brushing against the back of his head and until her hands slowly made their way to lightly touching his cheeks. As she did this, she felt all the tension in his body melt away–she could feel it in his hold on her, how his chest and stomach seemed to slightly deflate, and his face relaxed–as if she had some sort of calming effect on him. Even this one area of the storm seemed to calm down as if it never happened at all.
There was a time when he wanted to know what this would be like, the back of his mind remembered. The touch of her fingers on him–from the back of his head to his face–was not an illusion, but a reality. The hollowness within could only grow smaller as it ached for something more from this contact and he could almost feel the last of that angry haze fade as he was beginning to forget everything–as if the past ten years could be wiped away.
That was when it occurred to her–how was she breathing underwater while kissing him?
They say that if a member of the merfolk kisses you, you can be able to breath underwater for a certain amount of time. She remembered hearing that since she was a child.
And Benjamin was–
Edith let out a gasp of shock and pushed away, forcing Krupp to let go of her. He could see her fully taking in his true self–even with most of his physical flaws on full display–as her eyes looked him over, and he felt himself nervous as to what she was thinking.
While Edith was thankful that he managed to save her in time (in a way that she was not expecting), she still had too many questions and this didn't make her forget about what had happened out on the pier as if it didn't happen. She honestly didn't know what to think anymore because she didn't know who this was before her or if she even knew him at all. Yet she looked and she could see that he had aged a bit since she had last seen him, but it was still him, no matter how much had drastically changed before her eyes, both externally or internally.
He was a lot larger than she remembered, and currently almost (maybe even more than) twice her size in length now that she could see him in the water–
Then Edith realized she could breathe underwater and placed a hand to her chest and stared at it in surprise. Krupp watched her react to this and then it hit him as to why that was possible in the first place–what he had to do for that to happen–and Edith watched as he avoided her gaze as his body went back to being a little tensed up while awkwardly rubbing the back of his head and blushing a slight shade of pinkish-red as he became aware of the fact that he had kissed her.
She turned him from being one of the most feared, foul tempered individuals in both kingdoms into an awkward, blushing mess without having to do anything. And seeing her under the water with her hair flowing around her head and her dress flowing around her legs was an almost hauntingly beautiful sight...
As Krupp felt his face getting warm, he then saw that Edith was still pinned between the beam and the rock and remembered that he couldn't afford to care about being seen as he was or the whole kissing her thing right now. Forcing himself to snap out of it, Krupp quickly forced himself to resume what he needed to do and swam down to carefully hold Edith's leg with one hand while grabbing onto the wooden beam with the other. He pressed most of his whole body against the rock and then–with very little effort–began to force the beam away from Edith while using most of his lower body to keep himself pressed against the rock with all of his might.
Meanwhile, Edith could only stare in amazement–no one could have been able to do that–then she realized that her dress was still flowing around her in the currents and if he looked up, he would get a good glimpse of her under–she quickly pulled a chunk of her dress downward and felt her face grow warm with embarrassment. She went from wanting to shoot him to not wanting him to look up her dress, which was yet another thing to add to all of this confusion.
Finally Krupp was able to push the beam completely away from Edith's leg and let the currents take it away before turning to see that the skin it had pressed against was badly bruised and had darkened to shades of ugly purples and blues. He was so startled by this discovery that he accidentally let go of her.
Without something or someone to hold her in place, Edith felt the currents of the storm sweep her away towards the ocean.
Horrified at the mistake he just made, Krupp looked up to see Edith pulled into the strong currents once more, with her trying to reach for him as the skirt flapped around her. "EDITH!" He screamed–finally saying her name after so many years of not daring to say it–as he quickly went after her.
This time he was able to swim with the current when he lunged after her and once he finally caught up, he grabbed her and used one arm to hold and keep her secure against his body and his hand carefully held her side as she quickly wrapped her arms around that same arm for dear life. This time he was not going to make the same mistake twice–he was not going to let her go.
Yet the storm was still active and dangerous and Krupp wrapped his other arm around Edith–his free hand was now balled up into a tightly clenched fist (because he refused to let himself do something stupid while he was now the only security and protection she had until she could be on dry land again). For once in a long time, he tried to mentally will himself to calm down–to try to stop the storm if it had to be so connected to his emotional state. Over and over again in a pattern he tried to tell himself to relax as he felt Edith in his arms as the currents of the ocean pushed them to who-knew-where.
Calm down, calm down! If you don't calm down–!
But Krupp was never good at diffusing his infamous anger in a small amount of time and right now his anger at himself for putting her in danger was being added to the panicked state he was in. It was all too easy for him to get angry and cause these storms to happen–stopping them was an entirely different matter.
He caused this disaster to happen–he might as well have almost directly harmed her or even taken her life away. He somehow got to a point where she would have ended his life before she knew who he was. He knew she was going to hate him for what he did–honestly, he was hating himself more than he ever had before.
He was not her hero, no matter how hard he could try and he sure as heck didn't look the part. What he had seen in her eyes–in the way she looked at him–on the pier was the complete opposite of a hero. He knew he shouldn't have to care about this if he gutted out his ability to love her, so why was this all upsetting him? Why would her judgement of him hurt him like this when he stopped caring about how others saw him? Why did he still care when he was so sure his heart couldn't break once again?
He could feel those emotions take on a physical form as the waves he was responsible for repeatedly attacked him as he tried his hardest to shield Edith from them. He could have sworn it was like the waves were specifically targeting him as they sent him to somewhere and he honestly didn't care where anymore as long as he could get Edith to safety. Heck he could easily take her somewhere much safer down here than up above–she had three days of being able to breath down here, thanks to him.
Yet fate was not finished with Krupp as the currents of the storm forced him towards the sea stacks, where he would still need to face the results of his numerous actions.
So I knew I wanted the confrontation between the boys and Krupp to be spectacular, considering how much their rivalry thrives across the books and the film. But then it became something closer to how it could have played out in the books, with Krupp getting humiliated and the boys making a dumb choice or two.
Now funny thing is, there are two nods to the Disney version of the Little Mermaid. I never liked the scene where Ursula dragged Ariel back into the ocean and Eric was STANDING RIGHT THERE DOING NOTHING! So having the siblings come to the boys aid (and the idea of Krupp getting hit in the face by the shoe was too hilariously awesome to pass up) was my way of fixing that. Also the whole 'I'm still the king here' is a nod to a line from 'The world above reprise' from the LM musical (the song in question helped influence what kind of conflict and atmosphere I needed).
I had this mental image of Krupp trying to tear the boys from each other's grasp for this chapter for a long time and I knew I had to bring CU into this chapter because I'm a sucker for symbolism (example: one side wants to break the boys apart, the other will keep them together). This choice was a gamble for storytelling purposes and was the only earliest possible moment I needed him and Krupp to see each other–and that felt SO weird writing that moment out since they aren't sharing the same body like they usually do.
Also... well, I didn't want to be mean to Edith, but I've promised that Krupp was not going to get away with the things he's done, so karma is a delightfully nasty lady (and she's not done with him just yet).
Now then...
OH MY GOD! (screams and cries in joy) I'm finally free of this chapter and finally free of repeating the reunion scene over and over again in my head! Also I'm finally happy to confirm what I think most of you were anticipating since chapter 2 or even longer than that! From the start I knew I was going to have that moment between Krupp and Edith and my shipper heart was so happy to finally get to that kiss! (and I drew it, which I will post on my tumblr account between now and the next chapter) Seriously, he's been one of the last characters I would ever expect to get excited over when it comes to romance and–AGH! I'M SO HAPPY! Why did I have to get so obsessed with the pairing and so obsessed with this fan fic?!
*Coughs* Of course we aren't done yet and that rescue won't excuse what Krupp did before that. He still has to face the consequences of his actions... and the REAL climax will be coming very soon...
Shoot, I keep forgetting this: Trimaxion did a continuation of the aau where Krupp DID succeed in dragging them all back into his domain and there is a four parter that you can find on my tumblr account that she posted to me in October 2017 (look for the post with the word merEdith blurb to find the first part).