CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
POOR UNFORTUNATE SOULS
Marinette had never gone anywhere near the Deeps before.
Everyone back home said it was the deepest, darkest place in the ocean. Well, they weren't wrong.
The lower she went, the more difficult it was for Marinette to see. No moonlight could be seen from above, so the water was as black as squid ink. But it was surprisingly warmer down here. Stuffier was the better way to put it.
Chloe and Sabrina didn't seem to mind the dark at all. They knew every obsidian rock like their tail fins. Marinette was slightly relieved, but the environment still spooked her.
What kind of wizard would want to live in a place with no sunlight? she wondered.
Soon into the trip, Marinette saw glowing, red cracks in the rocks; sizzling vents that stretched along the seafloor and sent up towers of scalding bubbles. There were also tubes of rock that spewed bits of liquid lava. The fiery fumes didn't go very far before they cooled and dissipated into black flakes.
Marinette tried not to shudder as she followed Chloe and Sabrina through the volcanic maze.
The group swam deeper until finally, they reached the edge of a dark field of razor-sharp rocks. Emitting from the centre was a giant, glowing skeleton of a monstrous beast Marinette only heard about in the spooky stories Bridgette used to tell her when they were children.
"The leviathan," Marinette said breathlessly, and this time, she couldn't stop herself from trembling.
Chloe smirked. "Welcome to the Cavern of Lost Souls, Princess," she said.
Sabrina offered a kinder smile. "It's not so bad once you get used to it. And the service is quite lovely."
Marinette couldn't take her eyes off the skeleton: the open jaws with long, sharp pincers, the jagged spine, the enormous rib cage, and the webbed claws embedded into the seafloor.
"Hawkmoth... lives in that thing?" Marinette asked.
"Well, what were you expecting?" Chloe grumbled. "A shiny, comfy castle with bed and breakfast?"
"Chloe..." Sabrina whispered through her teeth.
Her companion snorted. "You make do with what you get – something I'm sure you'll learn soon enough, Your Highness." Chloe grinned again. "Unless you don't love your prince and want to scurry back home to Daddy."
Marinette was glad that she wouldn't have to listen to Chloe's obnoxious nagging and snide comments any longer. "I'm not going back," she said without an inch of regret.
"Then, right this way!" Sabrina said cheerfully.
"And don't touch anything," Chloe added sharply, waving a pointy finger at Marinette.
The little mermaid frowned. "Noted," she shot back with just as much bite.
Chloe shrugged like it was nothing and led the way into the leviathan's mouth.
Marinette breathed steadily to calm her nerves. You can do this, she told herself. For Adrien.
The glowing interior was purple. The entrance led to a series of tunnels with walls made entirely of bone. Marinette did her best to stay away from the sides as she swam through.
Then, she heard tiny, dull voices singing sour notes.
Wait... that sounding like moaning.
Marinette's twin guides led her into a small chamber. The floor was littered with nasty-looking, brown plants that reminded the mermaid of dead seaweed.
Until one of them moved... and looked up at her with big, pleading, yellow eyes.
Marinette gasped and reeled back.
These things were alive! They all turned to her with ugly, melted jaws that let out low, inaudible moans. They were nothing but heads on long, stringy bodies – each one different in size and appearance. But they all had one thing in common: they were afraid.
Marinette shivered and moved very slowly over the gangly garden towards the other end of the chamber.
She had almost reached it when... WHISH!
Marinette screamed as one of the plant-like things lashed out like a sea snake and wrapped around her wrist. It was too weak to pull her down, but its grip was tight.
Another one snatched her up by the end of her tail. More and more lifted their heads, stretching towards the distraught mermaid.
But Marinette pulled hard against the living restraints, swimming up to the ceiling. "Let. Me. Go!" she shouted, gritting her teeth as she struggled.
Thankfully, the creatures didn't put up much of an effort to hang onto her. The more Marinette pulled, the more it hurt them, so they had no choice but to unwind and release her.
Marinette wasted no time and zipped towards the exit, emerging in a much larger chamber with a strange, jagged rock in the centre, a carved shell of bone in the corner, and several closed clams hanging up along the walls.
When Marinette came to a stop, tiny, fluttering, blue creatures littering the floor scattered away from her, swimming off to another peaceful perch somewhere in the room. They were just like the strange fish from the black seashell, but prettier. They were certainly a more welcoming sight than those nasty plants.
Chloe was cackling at Marinette while Sabrina hung back with a nervous expression.
"I told you not to touch anything," the vain eel jeered.
Marinette gaped at her before her eyes narrowed. "They grabbed me!" she croaked. "What are those things?"
"Polyps," Sabrina replied, though she did so with a twinge of pity. "They belong to our master. They were once..."
Chloe shot her companion a hard glance.
Sabrina's head sank into her shoulders. "Never mind."
Marinette looked between the two eel-like mermaids. It was clear to her now that their relationship was not built on friendship. Chloe treated Sabrina like her personal maid, and Sabrina did as she was bid like a well-trained dogfish. Marinette couldn't help but feel empathetic towards the shorter, shy eel.
Her thoughts about Sabrina were broken when a familiar voice called from within the bone hovel in the corner, "Is that you, my dear?"
Marinette's spine stiffened again.
A silvery face emerged from the dark bone shell. He was bald and old enough to be her father, but undeniably handsome with sharp cheekbones and alluring, light-blue eyes. But when he smiled, he reminded Marinette of the human skeleton back at the Shipwreck Graveyard – a face forever frozen in a toothy grin.
The merman slowly slid out of his hovel, revealing a strong, lean, silver body, and... black tentacles?!
Marinette cringed at the sight of those eight, slithering, purple-tipped appendages protruding down from the man's waist.
He was definitely not a merman. But then... what was he?
"Allow me to introduce myself," the Sea Wizard said with a low bow and a haunting smirk to Marinette. "I am Hawkmoth. Welcome, my child, to my humble abode."
Bridgette lay flopped on her favourite rock in the royal gardens.
She held the Ruby Earrings in each hand, twisting the buds between her thumb and forefinger so that the moonlight danced off them.
Bridgette had assumed the jewels would glow at her touch once her father gave them to her. But they didn't. They remained lifeless and ordinary, dark red amidst the backdrop of night. And they were still cold.
It only added more pressure to the tight knot in Bridgette's gut. She sighed and placed the earrings back into her palm before staring up blankly at the distant surface above, which was nothing more than a flat, sparkling blanket.
But even that didn't lift Bridgette's spirits.
"Oh... Marinette's right," she moaned, rubbing her face with her free hand. "I got what I wanted, and now both of us are miserable." She sighed again, her brow creasing with worry. "How am I ever going to make this right with her?"
She knew there was only one way... but her father would never allow it. And besides, if Bridgette's suspicions about Hawkmoth were true...
"... Bridgette...!"
The princess sat up at the sound of that squeaky voice. She scanned the water for movement, and found a tiny, dark dot shooting towards her.
"Bridgette!"
The dot got bigger, and redder.
"Tikki?" Bridgette asked.
Sure enough, the kwami came to a full stop in front of the mermaid, wheezing and swaying.
Bridgette slipped off the rock. "Where did you come from? I thought the guards..."
Tikki shook her head, gasping, "Mara... Net... Gone... Eels..." She let out an exhausted sigh and started to sink.
Bridgette caught her with both hands, but the kwami's words made her worry-levels hit the roof. "Gone?" she repeated. "Marinette's gone? Where? How did she escape? Tikki, where did she go?"
Tikki put a fin to her chest, took a few deep breaths, and then looked up at the princess with frightened, pleading eyes. "Hawkmoth..." she said. "She's going... to see Hawkmoth!"
It was Bridgette's worst fear come true, and she looked out towards the darkened blue in the distance. "No..." she whispered, her cheeks going pale and her insides turning into chowder.
She didn't prevent the Sea Wizard from getting to her sister... she gave her sister incentive to go to him! Marinette's heartbreak over losing Adrien, and the betrayal of her big sister, was the perfect opportunity for Hawkmoth to lure his prey out willingly into the open.
Oh, Poseidon have mercy... "What have I done?" Bridgette breathed with a shudder. "What am I going to do?"
Tikki rose out of her hands, her own breathing returning to normal. Judging from the scrutinizing sharpness in her gaze, Bridgette knew that the kwami knew the truth of what she did.
The princess looked away, ashamed and shattered. "This is all my fault," she said, almost choking on her words. "If I hadn't been jealous of her... If had just trusted her..."
Just then, her palm filled with sudden, non-clammy warmth.
Bridgette glanced down at the Miraculous, and was surprised to see the rubies showing off a steady hue of bright pink. The light pulsing from them felt soothing and enlightening, like when Bridgette had gotten her first taste of fresh air on the surface.
"What do you think you should do, Bridgette?" Tikki asked gently.
The princess's eyes turned purple from the light of the jewels... and she knew.
Telling her parents or gathering a squadron of soldiers would take time, and time was not on Bridgette's side right now. And moping about it wasn't going to make things better either. There was only one thing Bridgette could do.
For the love she bore for her sister, if nothing else.
Bridgette attached the Miraculous to her earlobes. Though they didn't glow as brightly as they had when Marinette had put them on, they were still warm.
The crown princess of Atlantica turned to Tikki with the face of a hardened warrior. "Take me to her."
Marinette stood still as a statue while Hawkmoth treaded towards her on those twisted tentacles.
They were so big and thick, probably strong enough to crush bone. And there were eight of them! Imagining two legs was one thing, but the thought of having more than one of those squirmy tentacles make Marinette shudder.
"Now, now..." Hawkmoth said kindly, though his mouth was curled into a sneer. "It's rude to stare, princess. Didn't your parents teach you any manners up at that big palace of yours?"
Marinette's eyes snapped back up, and her cheeks burned with embarrassment.
"Well, I suppose they told you all about me, didn't they?" the Sea Wizard sighed, patting the small, purple pendant hanging around his neck. "Though what do I know of what goes on out there? I was banished here to this dark, dreary pit for all eternity... by your beloved father."
Marinette frowned at him. "You tried to overthrow my father," she stated flatly.
Hawkmoth shrugged. "I was young and ambitious," he insisted. "Can I be blamed for wanting to use my magical talent so selfishly, especially when no one else had it?" He lifted a pale finger. "But here's the interesting thing about exile and solitude: you have a perpetually long number of years to ponder over your mistakes."
"So you've changed now," Marinette said with clear skepticism in her tone.
"Everyone changes, Princess Marinette," Hawkmoth said. "The sad truth is that we both live in a world that refuses change. Take the merpeople, for instance. They're so driven by their wishy-washy laws that they absolutely abhor anything and anyone that disrupts the natural order of things." He gave Marinette a sad smile. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"
The little mermaid looked away, but the pain was already written all her over face. She pinched her lips shut, trying not to cry again.
"Oh, sweetheart," Hawkmoth cooed. "Of course you knew that. Forgive me."
Marinette felt something slimy and heavy curl over her shoulder. She cringed, but then Hawkmoth quickly removed the tentacle and placed his hand on her shoulder instead. Marinette looked back to stare up into the Sea Wizard's face.
"I understand," he said, his icy-blue eyes softening. "I know how it feels to be cast aside by the people you once trusted. To be denied the thing you love the most." His voice deepened. "To be deemed unworthy of something simply because you went above and beyond everyone's expectations." Hawkmoth smiled down at Marinette. "But I assure you, my little princess, I bear no ill will to you or your family," he said. "All I want now is to help you; to give you the chance to fulfill your dream. And with my magic, I can make it possible."
Marinette wasn't sure if it was his words or his calm, collected demeanour, but she relaxed a little.
Hawkmoth removed his hand and began pacing around the little mermaid, his hands clasped behind him. "So, tell me more about your little problem," he said. "I understand you've met someone very special. A prince, I believe?"
Marinette guessed that Chloe and Sabrina had told their master about her being in love, so she didn't bother to hide anything. "Yes, I have," she said, twiddling with her fingers. "And... he's a human."
"Is he now?" Hawkmoth's eyebrows shot up. "Quite a catch indeed. However did you meet him?"
"I saved him, from a shipwreck," Marinette explained. Her face warmed at the memory of looking into her prince's beautiful eyes on the beach. "And when I sang to him... he remembered me."
Offside, Sabrina sighed, "Aww..."
Chloe just rolled her eyes. "Charming."
The Sea Wizard chuckled. "Don't mind Chloe. She's not one for romantics. But to be in love with a human!" He grinned. "I'm guessing your parents were thrilled when they found out."
Marinette's smile dropped, and she folded her arms. "They just don't understand," she complained. "They don't believe that humans can be good people. But I know they're wrong. I know our kingdoms can live together in peace."
"A visionary! I like it," Hawkmoth said. "Well, then, the solution is simple for you, my child. You must go to the human world to be with your darling prince."
Simple? Marinette's face fell. "But... I'm a mermaid," she said, "and mermaids can't live on land."
"Ah..." All of Hawkmoth's tentacles lifted up as he gave Marinette a mischievous look. "But I said nothing about going as a mermaid, now did I?"
Marinette had wondered, had even hoped, but she never thought it'd be possible.
Now, her face lit up with awe. "You... can make me a human?" she breathed. "You can really do that?"
Hawkmoth dipped into another bow with his hand on his chest. "Would you have come to me if you believed that I couldn't?" he asked before straightening up. "My magic is capable of many feats, the most notable of which is transformation. Whatever you ask for, I shall grant it."
Marinette almost couldn't believe it, and she looked down at her shimmering, pink tail. She could have legs – her very own human legs! She could walk on land beside Adrien, or dance with him under the stars like she once sang about doing not too long ago. The very thought of it brought a smile of joy to Marinette's face.
She looked up and saw Hawkmoth extending his hand to her. "Come, my dear," he said. "We have much to discuss."
Without even thinking, Marinette took it.
Bridgette stared into the sunken eyes of the leviathan.
She swore the beast was staring back at her, waiting to snatch her up and devour her. The only thing keeping her courage from faltering was the knowledge that Marinette was inside that pile of bones somewhere.
Poor Tikki, however, looked as pale as pink coral. She rattled on top of Bridgette's shoulder so hard, she shook the mermaid as well.
"And I thought sharks were terrifying," the kwami whimpered.
Bridgette patted her gently with a finger. "It's going to be okay, Tikki. I'll protect you."
"I'm more worried about Marinette right now," Tikki said, grasping one of the princess's long hair-tails for support. "Ohhh... I hope she's not in any trouble."
Bridgette almost snorted at that. "She'll be in trouble once I find her," she said, pushing herself off the glossy, obsidian rocks. "Now, hang on tight – I'm going in."
As she dove down into the field and swam up to the leviathan's jaws, Bridgette heard a low growling sound from somewhere among the rocks. It sounded like the beast had indigestion, even though it was dead now.
Tikki gulped. "Yep. I think I'll stick with the shark."
Bridgette giggled weakly. "Me too," she said before she entered the Sea Wizard's lair.
Hawkmoth led Marinette to the jagged rock in the centre of the chamber.
But it wasn't a rock at all. It was a pair of black-bone jaws, crushed together and pointing upward. Hawkmoth waved his hand, and the jaws opened wide. A plume of purple steam burst from within.
Marinette reeled back, more so when she saw the bubbling, purple concoction inside the bony mouth. Was it a potion of some kind?
She unconsciously pulled away from Hawkmoth, until one of his tentacles pushed against her back and moved her closer to the cauldron.
"Now then," the Sea Wizard began as he leaned upon the jagged edge, "here's my plan. I know the spell that will turn you into a human, but there is a little squid-pro-quo that comes with it." He beckoned to the potion, and the surface changed to resemble an image of a bright, yellow sun amongst a sky-blue field.
"First and foremost," Hawkmoth continued, "the magic will only last for three days. No more, no less."
Marinette glanced up at him with surprise. "Three days?" she asked. "But that's –"
"Shh-shh-shh," Hawkmoth interrupted, putting a finger to the mermaid's lips. "That's the best my magic can accomplish, but there is a way to make the transformation permanent. Listen carefully."
He waved both of his hands again, and the sun rose out of the cauldron as a tiny ball of golden light.
Marinette watched the whole thing open-mouthed.
"If you wish to remain a human," the Sea Wizard explained, "you must win the prince's heart before sunset on the third day."
The ball of light sank back into the pool, turning the potion sandy-pink. Then, a bright-red heart emerged, orbited by a golden crown.
"Specifically, you have to get him to kiss you," Hawkmoth said. "But if he does, it has to be because he wants to, not because you want him to. That is why they call it a Kiss of True Love."
The crowned heart ignited with pulsing, fiery light. Marinette hoped the red light would hide the blush creeping into her face.
"A Kiss of True Love..." she whispered with a smile.
Hawkmoth nodded. "Precisely. And if he does kiss you before the third day is over, you will stay in your human form forever."
The heart image vanished, and the potion resumed its natural, purple form.
Marinette's surge of excitement was squandered by an eerie thought. "And... if he doesn't?" she asked.
Dark shadows fell over the Sea Wizard's face, making that grin of his look more ominous. "Then you will turn back into a mermaid... and your soul will belong to me."
Marinette inhaled sharply.
At the same time, the polyps in the adjacent chamber let out a unified moan of terror.
Hawkmoth only shrugged. "This kind of magic is very powerful, so it requires collateral. Should you fail in your attempts to earn the prince's love, you must pay the price... and join the rest of my children."
Marinette stiffened as she looked towards the garden of polyps. They all peered over at her with horrific expressions, but the moment they caught the Sea Wizard's eyes, they shrank back into the ground.
Suddenly, Marinette imagined herself with gaping, toothless jaws, and a body as thin and shrivelled as seaweed. She tried not to shudder as she looked away.
Had she escaped from one cage, only to be led into another?
"Marinette, no!"
"Don't do it!"
Marinette gasped and snapped around to see a mermaid and a red kwami emerging from their hiding spot in one of the tunnel entrances.
Bridgette and Tikki tried to swim to Marinette. Suddenly, several gooey veins shot out of the walls and wrapped themselves around the two intruders. Within seconds, they got stuck in the web-like barricade.
"Ack! I can't move!" Tikki cried, pulling against the web only to bounce right back.
Bridgette gritted her teeth as she thrashed, but not even she could tear through the sticky-stuff.
Marinette whirled on Hawkmoth, whose hand was raised towards Bridgette and Tikki.
"Well, well... If it isn't the new Guardian of the Miraculous," the Sea Wizard spoke with a greedy note in his tone. "How quaint."
"Don't hurt them," Marinette said firmly.
Hawkmoth retained his assuring smile. "Oh, don't worry, my dear," he said. "They will wait patiently until we've sealed our little deal. Then they can go on their merry way."
Bridgette looked at her little sister pleadingly. "Marinette, don't listen to him! He'll –!"
A living tendril of webbing reached over and covered Bridgette's mouth, muffling every other word she was going to say. Another one did the same to Tikki for good measure.
Hawkmoth rubbed his fingers against each other before turning his attention back to Marinette. "I suspected that your sister would come here, no doubt to bring you back and make sure you never escape again." He gave Bridgette a grim sneer. "Dutiful to a fault, just like her father."
Bridgette squirmed and shot Hawkmoth a nasty glare worthy of Glub the shark. The Ruby Earrings on her ears gleamed from the cauldron's light.
Marinette stared at her sister for a long time, unsure how to react. Did her sister come to take her back to Atlantica, or had she come here to apologize? Marinette didn't really want to hear any apology from Bridgette. She'd probably just tell me I'm wasting my efforts on a "lost cause" again, the younger princess thought bitterly.
This was her choice. Her life. If this was the only way Marinette could fulfill her dream, she would accept the risks.
"Now then, before we were so rudely interrupted," Hawkmoth said, swimming around the cauldron and over to Marinette, "there is one final detail we need to straighten out: my payment."
Marinette looked at him confusedly. "Well, I have lots of gems and pearls back home," she offered. "Or human treasures, in case you want –"
"No, no, no, keep your baubles and knickknacks," Hawkmoth broke in, waving his hand dismissively. "I have no need for any of that. No..." He lifted Marinette's chin with his finger. "What I want from you is something much more precious, and far more valuable."
Marinette froze more from his icy-blue stare than his touch. "You don't mean..." She craned her eyes over at Bridgette.
The corners of Hawkmoth's mouth curled up as he said with a rumbling slur: "Your voice."
Marinette blinked at him. "My... Wait... What?" she stammered.
Hawkmoth grinned and pulled away. "You thought I was going to say I wanted the Ruby Miraculous, didn't you?" He let out a low laugh. "You merpeople assume too much. That kind of ambition is a thing of the past. Those little jewels are useless to me now anyway."
Bridgette muffled two heated but inaudible words beneath her webbed gag.
"Besides," Hawkmoth added, clearly ignoring the older princess, "wouldn't you want your prince to love you for who you are, and not because you can hit a few lovely notes?"
Marinette raised a hand to her throat, and she swallowed nervously. "But... if I can't sing to Adrien, or talk to him," she said, "then how can I get him to fall in love with me?"
"Puh-leez!" Chloe blurted out haughtily, startling Sabrina. "You ever heard of body language?" The vain eel emphasized those two words with a sassy shake of her hips. "Wins the boys over every time," she said, finishing off with a giggle.
"And what human searching for love could ever resist that beautiful face of yours?" Hawkmoth asked Marinette, stroking her cheek with a tentacle until she flinched away. "All you have to do is smile for him, and that boy will be grovelling at your feet. Not to mention you'll have the loveliest pair of legs that will allow you to dance as if you were walking on air."
Marinette stared off blankly. Would Adrien recognize her without her song? It was a long shot. But if she could dance just as amazingly as she could sing, would that make the prince like her?
It had to be a Kiss of True Love, and she had to win Adrien's heart without her voice. Can I accomplish all that in only three days? Marinette wondered.
If she accepted the Sea Wizard's deal and failed to kiss Adrien, she would end up as Hawkmoth's houseplant forever.
But if she refused, where else could she go? Atlantica was no longer her home. And as long as she was a mermaid, she could never truly be with Adrien. Even if they professed their love for each other, the sea would always divide them. How long would Adrien remain true to Marinette if she stayed a mermaid? The fate of his kingdom depended on him finding a bride to carry out his family line.
At least, if Marinette became human, she'd have a better chance of obtaining happiness and love.
She looked up at Hawkmoth, who (for once) waited patiently for her to say something, his face calm and expressionless.
But the moment the little mermaid met his gaze, Hawkmoth grinned and snapped his fingers.
A golden light flashed before Marinette's eyes, nearly blinding her.
She blinked repeated and gaped at the glowing, golden scroll floating in front of her.
Words were scribbled along it in black squid ink: "I hereby grant unto Hawkmoth, the Wizard of the Sea, one voice in exchange for human legs, for the duration of three days..." The rest shrank into tiny script, and it was all written in a language Marinette couldn't understand.
At the end, the final words were displayed in bolder letters: "... for all eternity." There was also a blank space at the bottom.
A pale fish bone appeared beside the scroll. The nose was pointed and tipped with the same black ink.
Marinette glanced over at Hawkmoth.
"Take a deep breath, my sweet," the Sea Wizard encouraged softly. "You have nothing to fear. Sign, and we have a deal. Or don't sign. Choose quickly, and choose wisely. Once a decision is made, there are no take-backs." He smiled again. "What will it be, Princess Marinette?"
Behind her, the little mermaid heard the muffled cries of Bridgette and Tikki, begging her to stop.
But Marinette ignored them. She was not some little girl who needed to be rescued or protected. She would write her own destiny, one way or another.
With a trembling hand, Marinette grabbed the fish bone.
As she brought it down onto the blank part of the scroll, she closed her eyes and thought of Adrien; imagined him smiling at her with such joy and carelessness.
Marinette signed the deal, leaving a neat, hot-white signature on the bottom.
Suddenly, the bone vanished in Marinette's fingers, and the scroll rolled up and zoomed straight into Hawkmoth's outstretched hand.
As soon as the Sea Wizard enclosed his fingers around it, the scroll disappeared into sparkling dust.
Hawkmoth grinned triumphantly at Marinette and said, "Done!"
And with that, he waved both his hands, and all eight of his tentacles fanned out around him.
As one, the clams along the walls opened up, and several of their contents came soaring out towards the Sea Wizard: bottles, jars, sea urchins... even bug-eyed creatures trapped in bubbles.
One by one, they filed down into Hawkmoth's cauldron, causing the potion to churn and change colour with each new ingredient. It bubbled and steamed violently, until at last Hawkmoth grabbed a jellyfish and flung it into the concoction.
Marinette shielded her eyes from the exploding burst of green, red, and orange.
When it faded, the potion was bright and warmth as a sunrise, and a coiling mist danced upon the surface.
Grinning maniacally, Hawkmoth pulled his amethyst pendant over his head and held it out in front of him. He waved his free hand over the dark, round jewel and began to chant in an otherworldly voice:
"Beluga sevruga,
Come winds of the Caspian Sea!
Larengix glaucitis, et max laryngitis!
La voce to me!"
Suddenly, the chamber filled with purple light, and twin tendrils of the same colour shot out of the glowing pendant.
Marinette gasped. They looked like hands – twisted, steamy hands with thin, crone-like fingers.
Hawkmoth looked back at her, his blue eyes now a majestic shade of purple. "Sing," he commanded lowly.
Marinette gulped. She didn't know if she had the courage to do it, but she would try.
With a long, soothing breath, the little mermaid sang her song; the one she had sung for Adrien:
"Ah-ah-ahhh, Ah-ah-ahhh...
Ah-ah-ahh, Ah-ah-ah-ah-ahhh..."
Little by little, her resolve returned, and Marinette sang louder and louder. Even as the glowing hands drew closer, she didn't flinch or back away. She clenched her fists and kept singing.
Suddenly, one of the hands wrapped around the mermaid's waist, securing her in place.
"Ah-ah-ahhh, Ah-ah-ahhh..."
The other hand flexed its fingers before shooting straight into Marinette's mouth.
The little mermaid's eyes rolled to the back of her head. It was like she was breathing in liquid ice, or the coldest draft of wind in the world.
It was over in a second, and the tendril pulled itself out.
Marinette felt a strange, warm lump leave her throat, and she gasped sharply, covering her neck with both hands.
She heard it before she saw it:
"Ah-ah-ahh, Ah-ah-ahh..."
Marinette looked up, and her pupils shrank at the sight of the glowing, golden ball secured in the purple tendril.
That was her voice, coming from the light...
Marinette tried to speak. But when her mouth moved, no sound came out. Not even the barest whisper.
She watched aghast as her voice was dragged towards Hawkmoth's pendant.
"Ah-ah-ahh, Ah-ah-ah-ah-ahhh...
Ah-ah...!"
The amethyst sucked the golden light into its stony surface, and the song ended abruptly.
The jewel pulsed with gold before inking out into purple again. Then, there was nothing.
Hawkmoth grasped the pendant firmly in his fist, and he hummed with approval. "Thank you, my dear," he said. "Now, if I were you... I'd take that deep breath right about now."
Before Marinette could react, a pillar of amber light and steam erupted out of the cauldron and curled towards her.
The next thing she knew, Marinette was encased in a bubbly cocoon – one devoid completely of water – and it lifted her upward.
She heard Hawkmoth's maniacal laughter before the bubble filled with light.
Then, her tail exploded with hot, blinding pain unlike anything the little mermaid ever felt before.
Marinette would have screamed, but she had no voice left to scream. All she could do was squirm and thrash and pound her fists against the bubble, begging to be let out.
She felt a horrible tear running down her tail... then... then...
She didn't remember what happened next. It felt like it had happened hours ago.
But when Marinette opened her eyes, the pain was gone.
And so was the bubble of air.
Bridgette had never felt so helpless and distraught in all her eighteen years.
There was her little sister, trapped and alone in that flashing bubble, her face contorting with pain as the Sea Wizard's magic twisted her and tore her apart.
The sight was too much for Tikki to bear, and the kwami closed her eyes ashamedly.
Bridgette, however, shrieked through her gag and struggled against her bonds. But the only words she could speak were the ones in her thoughts:
No! Merciful Poseidon, please no! Take me instead! Just let her go! I'm begging you! LET HER GO!
All the while, Hawkmoth wouldn't stop laughing. His arms were open at his sides, and his head was raised to the ceiling of the hollow leviathan.
For a brief moment, Bridgette thought she had lost her sister forever.
Then... the light within the bubble faded, revealing an unconscious Marinette.
Bridgette's eyes grew wider than sand-dollars.
Her sister's beautiful, iridescent, rose-pink tail was gone. In its place was a pair of long, sleek, graceful, human legs. Complete with small human feet.
Bridgette couldn't believe it. It worked? It actually worked?!
But she didn't have time to ponder that.
First, Bridgette and Tikki's webbed restraints retracted from them, and they both collapsed to the floor, stiff and sore all over.
Next, the bubble entrapping Marinette popped open, and the little mermaid – who was actually not a mermaid anyone – opened her eyes.
As soon as she realized she was suspended in water, Marinette let out a strangled gasp and tried to swim. But while her arms worked, she was not used to her new legs just yet, and she started to sink.
Bridgette's heart skipped several beats, and she surged forward. "Hurry!" she cried to Tikki. "To the surface!"
The kwami shook herself awake and zoomed over to the drowning Marinette, grabbing her by one hand.
Bridgette scooped her sister up, hooked her arm around her shoulder, and then swam for one of the openings in the ceiling.
Hawkmoth's laughter carried on, long after the three friends exited the leviathan.
As soon as they were in open ocean, Bridgette shot straight for the surface, kicking with all her might. Mermaids were pretty fast swimmers, but it was harder when they were holding something heavy.
Marinette grasped her throat, and her eyelids fluttered.
"Hold on, Marinette!" Bridgette shouted as the sea changed from black to sapphire-blue. "We're almost there! Just stay with me, do you hear me?! Stay with me!"
They swam up, and up, and up...
Then, Bridgette saw streaks of pinkish light dancing on a blue certain above her head. She kicked her pale-blue tail harder.
The two sisters burst out of the water and were hit by the piercing chill of dawn.
Marinette lifted her head to the sky, inhaling a good, long breath, before she slipped back into the water.
Bridgette held her sister tight and treaded on the surface with her, panting heavily. Once again, the air was alien to her mermaid lungs, but she decided not to be picky.
Tikki popped out of the water and shook off tiny droplets while she shredded her purple fins and sprouted arms and legs.
Bridgette rolled her eyes. That seems to be going around lately, she thought halfheartedly.
Tikki hovered over to the sisters, her blue eyes laced with worry. "Is she okay?"
Bridgette craned her neck at Marinette, who had slipped back into unconsciousness and was resting her head on the older princess's shoulder. Her breathing came out in deep intervals, so that was a good sign.
"She's all right," Bridgette said, more to convince herself than the kwami.
She took this time to observe her surroundings. They were floating in the middle of nowhere, and the sky was beginning to crack open and spill out blots of pink, purple, and orange. A tiny sliver of gold poked out of the horizon.
Sunrise. The first day had begun.
Bridgette sighed with defeat. There was no going back now.
She looked up at Tikki. Not with the eyes of a crown princess doing her duty to her kingdom, but with the eyes of a girl trying to help her sister. "Marinette mentioned that you know the way to Adrien's kingdom," she said.
The kwami nodded, her antennae rising. "Yes! It's not far from here – that way!" She pointed westward, away from the sun.
"Good," Bridgette said. "Then that's where we're taking her."
And as she and Tikki started wading through the water, making sure to keep Marinette afloat, Bridgette felt the Ruby Miraculous on her earlobes warming up.
She smiled, knowing they were off in the right direction now.
She just hoped it would stay that way.
LXP: I had a lot of fun with this chapter. Now we get to go to the human world! Whoo-hoo!
Some of the singing, dialogue and prose were inspired by the titular Disney song "Poor Unfortunate Souls" (which I don't own).