Chapter 14

Scuttle flew to the dock frantically, almost crashing into it when he landed.

"Ariel! Ariel," Scuttle said as he landed, sounding flustered, "I was flying, I wa- Of course I was flying, an-" Sebastion was tapping his legs when Scuttle was talking, "I s-I saw that the watch, the witch was watchin' a mirror, and she was singin' with a stolen set o' pipes!"

"What?" Jewel asked. Scuttle grabbed Sebastion and looked the crab in the eyes.

"Do you hear what I'm tellin' you? THE PRINCE IS MARRYING THE SEA WITCH IN DISGUISE!" He said loudly while banging Sebastion on the dock.

"WHAT?" Jewel and Flounder yelled

"Are you sure about this?" Sebastion groaned, pushing himself up.

"Have I ever been wrong?" Jewel seemed to ponder the question. "I mean when it's important!" Ariel got up and looked out at the sun. It was starting to set.

"What are we gonna do!" Flounder asked

"We don't have much time." Jewel said. Ariel jumped into the water, determined to swim to the far off ship. Sadly, Ariel couldn't swim too well as a human. Sebastion cut a rope that released a bunch of barrels into the water.

"Ariel, grab on to that. Flounder, Jewel, get her to dat boat as fast as your fins can carry you!" the crab told them. Jewel and Flounder saw a rope attached to a barrel and grabbed onto it.

"We'll try." Flounder said putting himself through the loop.

"Aye Sebastion!" Jewel said, swimming too fast for Flounder to keep up.

"I've gotta get to the sea king. He must know about dis." Sebastian called after them.

"What, what about me? What about ME?" Scuttle asked as Sebastian jumped into the water.

"You. Find a way to STALL THAT WEDDING!" the crab yelled before diving under the waves.

"Stall the wedding. Wh-what am I, what, that's it!" And with that, Scuttle flew off to do his duties. Flounder and Jewel were not to far from the ship.

"Don't worry Ariel, ugh, we-we're gonna make it. We're almost there." Flounder said, struggling to keep up.

"Hurry up Flounder! At this pace the sun will set and... Wait. Ursula WANTS Ariel to fail!" Jewel said, still pulling and swimming.

"What do you mean?" Flounder asked confused.

"Honestly, men on land don't mind if a woman talks to them. Ariel and Eric were about to kiss last night, but the boat tipped over! And now, when we were so close to joining them together, Vanessa steps in and Eric has eyes only for her! Ursula planned this all along!" Jewel said

"Are you sure?" Flounder asked

"This is all too coincidental to not be planned out." Jewel said

"Right. We're here!" Flounder said. They swam the barrel over to to the anchor rope. They heard birds cawing, sea lions barking, and many things being broken on deck.

"Sounds like a fun party. Ariel, climb up the rope to the deck. I'll follow you." Jewel said

"Be careful!" Flounder said. Ariel kissed Flounder on his forehead and began climbing, with Jewel right behind her.

Wow. Mermaids have great strength. Jewel thought, surprised she was able to climb with only her two arms, and a fish-tail to boot. They reached the deck, just when the sound of something shattering filled the air. But then a beautiful voice began to sing, Ariel's voice! Jewel looked over the railing to see a shattered shell necklace that had a gold stream flowing from it towards Ariel. Eric was shaking and holding his head, and Vanessa was a mess. The voice then went up to Ariel's throat, and Eric smiled and went over to her.

"Ariel?" Eric asked

"Eric." Ariel said, with her voice.

"You-you can talk. You're the one." Eric said

"Ariel, you might want to hurry this touching moment." Jewel said, looking back at the setting sun.

"Eric, get away from her!" Vanessa said with Ursula's voice.

"I knew it!" Jewel yelled, pointing at Vanessa, but almost slipping off the ship in the process.

"It was you, all the time." Eric said

"Oh, Eric, I wanted to tell you." Ariel said. They closed in for the kiss.

"ERIC, NO!" Vanessa yelled. Ariel then fell back to the floor, her fish-tail appearing from under her skirt.

"We're too late." Jewel said as she looked at Ariel's tail in shock.

"You're too late!" Vanessa yelled as she turned back to Ursula. She made her way back to the rail, grabbing Ariel with her arm, and Jewel with one of her tentacles. "So long, lover boy."

"Ariel!" Eric yelled. Ursula jumped into the water, Ariel's dress flying off to reveal the shells she was still wearing underneath.

"It was you!" Jewel said as she struggled to get free. "It was all your plan from the beginning, wasn't it?"

"You got that right, sweet cheeks." Ursula said. She turned to face Ariel, who was struggling as much as Jewel.

"Poor little princess. It's not you I'm after." she said. "I've a much bigger fish to-"

"Ursula, stop!" commanded a voice. Ursula was surprised to see King Triton, with his trident glowing and pointed right at her.

"Yes!" Jewel said silently

"Why, King Triton!" Ursula said, as she gave Ariel to her two eels to hold onto her, "Ha ha ha. How ARE you?"

"Let her go." Triton growled, raising the trident.

"Not a chance, Triton!" Ursula said, pushing it aside. "She's mine now. We made a deal." Ursula brought out the contract Ariel signed, it all it's glowing glory.

"Daddy, I'm sorry!" Ariel yelled. "I- I didn't mean to. I didn't know!" Triton blasted the contract. Ursula laughed because the contract remained in tact.

"You see? The contract's legal, binding and completely unbreakable, even for YOU. Of course, I always was a girl with an eye for a bargain. The daughter of the great sea king is a very precious commodity." The contract floated out of Ursula's hand and began spinning around Ariel, like the whirlpool that made her lose her voice in the first place. "But I might be willing to make an exchange for someone even better..."

"What do you mean?" Triton asked.

"What I mean is that you can exchange your life, for your precious daughter, or else she would be part of my little garden." Jewel watched as Ariel began shrinking down like the things she saw in Ursula's lair.

Wait... If King Triton agrees... He won't... Jewel thought, realizing what Ursula's full plan was.

"No! Don't! She'll only-HMPPH!" Ursula's tentacle wrapped around Jewel's mouth before she could make Triton stop. Ursula pulled out another contract from thin air and held it up for Triton to see.

"Now! Do we have a deal?" Ursula asked. Triton blasted the contract, but instead of trying to destroy it, he signed his name on the bottom.

"Ha! It's done then." Ursula said before she let go of Jewel as the whirlpool began spinning around Triton. Jewel reached out with her left hand and swam towards Triton, but then withdrew when something sharp hit her palm.

"Don't get a paper cut." she said mockingly. Jewel looked at her palm to see blood streaming out. She clenched it shut and watched King Triton's crown float down to a scrawny green thing with a little beard.

"Oh, your majesty." Sebastion said as he looked at the sea king.

"Daddy?" Ariel said as she swam towards him.

"Oh my god." Jewel said

"At last, it's mine." Ursula said as she placed the crown on her head and grabbed the glowing trident, chuckling, "Ho, Ho..." Ariel clenched her fist and swam after Ursula.

"You, you monster!" she yelled. Ursula grabbed her and pinned her to the ground with her tentacles, aiming the trident at her.

"Don't fool with me you little brat! Contract or no- AAAAHH!" Ursula was cut short when a harpoon came down and cut her arm. Jewel and everybody else looked up to see Eric floating above them.

"Why you little troll!" Ursula yelled as she turned towards Eric, while still holding Ariel to the ground.

"Eric! Eric look out!" Ariel yelled

"After him!" The two eels attacked and wrapped themselves around Eric.

"Come on!" Sebastion said swimming up to Eric. Flounder and Jewel followed right behind him. Sebastion squeezed one of the eels tail with his claw. Flounder smacked the other in the face while Jewel bit his tail. The eels retreated, Eric swimming up to the surface with Jewel and the others helping him.

"Say goodbye to your sweetheart and friends." Ursula said as she aimed the trident at them all. Ariel managed to get free and pull Ursula's hair to make her miss and fire at the eels.

"Babies! My poor, little poopsies!" Ursula went over to grab the eel's remains as they floated down. She growled angrily as she watched everybody swimming to the surface, inky black smoke surrounding her. And with her anger, Ursula herself began to grow.