Dark and fathomless, the Charonium trenches are a source of many legends among the Merfolk. They say it is a gate to the underworld where souls of the dead enter, they say people who go in never came out, they say monsters thrived in its shade. Well, today they were about to find out. Aquata led hundreds of abled bodied Mer to meet the sea witch and end her tyranny. Something in her broke when she saw her father so battered and a flood of hatred seeped from her heart. Rallying the survivors was easy, they too felt so much pain and they wanted revenge. She positioned two large squadrons above the trench as the remainder dived in to flush her out.
It got darker and darker the deeper they went. Battle mages charmed spheres of light to illuminate their path but they saw nothing, the trench kept going. Suddenly black ink blinded them, throwing them into confusion. From beneath, large tentacles whipped them back to the surface, a surge of Heartless and Nobodies emerged from the trench. The tentacles now gripped and glided towards the opening, Ursula's scarred face came into view as the ink dispersed. She lashed at them, her hands dripped with magical energy. Aquata gave the order to attack at will but it wasn't easy to get near her, the Heartless and Nobodies kept blocking them. She swung her weapons in anger, her blade thirsts for Ursula's blood.
"You hate me don't you princess?" Said Ursula slowly, her psychotic laugh echoed. Aquata didn't answer, she didn't want to give Ursula the pleasure to know she was right.
"It is so easy to trick you silly Merfolk. Your sister was so gullible and your father was nothing but a weakling."
Aquata shrieked in anger, she charged at the cecaelian but a tentacle bound tightly around her.
Ursula laughed dementedly, "Yes, hate me! After everything I've done to your family and home,"
Aquata struggled in her grasp, she felt heavy, she couldn't breathe and she could feel every horrible feeling enter her heart.
"No!" A voice, she knows that voice, Ariel. Rays of light radiated across the battlefield. The Heartless disintegrated, the Nobodies stumbled, Ursula shielded her good eye and dropped Aquata. As she fell, Sora caught her before she could hit the ground.
"She's ok! A little shaky but she's fine, her heart is intact." Sora shouted to his team as he swam behind some rocks a safe distance away. The colour in her cheeks are gone, she looked terrified. He gave her words of hope and encouragement, anything to dispel the darkness that invaded her heart. In the meantime, the fighting raged on.
Taking advantage of the Nobodies' confusion, the Mer and dolphins fought back. Ariel hacked her way through to get closer to Ursula. Every now and then, she flared light from the trident which gave them the upper hand in defeating the enemy. Arista had reorganized their battle formations with battle mages at the back and melee fighters at the front, lancers took positions at the center while swordsmen formed to the left and right. Attina took charge of healers, making them fall from the lines to focus on support of their comrades. Donald and the battle mages shot wave after wave of magic onto Ursula, she was shielding herself with her own magic but she's getting weaker. Finally breaking through the Nobody line, Ariel armed the trident to pierce her heart. In a panic, Ursula used a powerful spell that generated an underwater shockwave violently pushing everything away. The water was pushed up and out, briefly exposing the sea floor until the water came back down again.
The shock made her head spin and she felt like she fell a hundred leagues away. Her hands are empty, she must've lost her grip on the trident and her sword. She was about to sit up when something heavy crushed her tail. The pain was searing, she was sure she screamed but she could hardly hear herself when the sea witch's laughter filled her ears.
"I have you now!" her sharp nail pressed down on Ariel's torso, drawing blood, "And I will torture you for all the trouble you caused me."
Without warning, a bolt of light hit Ursula in the eye, blinding her for good. Her hands covered her eyes as she wailed in agony. Using her last shred of energy, Ariel casted ice spikes and speared the staggering witch. Why won't she die!? Exhausted and bleeding everywhere, she fell back to the ground but someone caught her before her head hit the floor. She couldn't really see, her sight was blurry but she heard the figure call her name.
The voice, so familiar, "Jim?" Ariel asked weakly.
"Ariel! I'm here, you're gonna be fine." Jim was shaking, she could feel it, but all her pain eased away knowing he came for her. He was rambling apologies and reassured her everything was fine and she had never felt happier.
Jim blasted away at anything that tried to hurt them. His crew had joined the action, shooting at Nobodies with shock guns that withstand water and pressure. The Mer were baffled by the sudden appearance of the strange creatures but Sora convinced them the spacers are friendlies. The Nobodies, although were also caught in the shockwave, didn't show any signs of slowing down.
In the distance, the trident is speared to the ground, King Triton picked it up, his powers and energy restored, this is going to end once and for all.
Ursula fought back with all her magic despite being blind, she could care less where she hit. She was in a frenzy, her tentacles flung everywhere. They didn't understand what was keeping her alive. Every wave of magic, every slice of the sword only angered her but they knew she was growing tired and kept attacking. Then they saw something shot through the water, it gleamed and glowed, heading straight for Ursula; it was the trident. It flew bold and true, piercing Ursula's heart. The witch howled, her blood turned from red to black. She melted away into nothingness, the trident slowly appeared in melting black. With high morale, they obliterated every remaining Nobody.
"Ariel we did it! The witch is dead!" Jim blurted excitedly, he never left Ariel's side.
"Ariel? Ariel?" Jim shook her gently, he was scared now. She wasn't responding and she had lost a lot of blood, "Oh no, Ariel..Ariel please, wake up. Your home is free." He was inconsolable. He cursed the suit and he cursed himself for being there too late, for even pushing her away in the first place. All across the battlefield, people shouted and cheered, others like Jim held their fallen in silence. Sora, Donald and Goofy stood staring at her still body, her sisters had gathered too, horrified to see her mangled tail. From the crowd, a tall, bearded Mer, trident in hand glided forward to see his daughter.
Tenderly taking her from the young man, his features twisted in sadness but in it, there is hope, "She's still alive," He said in quiet almost disbelievingly. The crowd whispered and murmured around them. Triton placed his trident on her body, it glowed weakly at first but the light shone stronger as it encircled her form in its warmth. Her tail was mended, although not fully, the gash across her torso sealed itself and her colour returned to her cheeks. Still in a state of unconsciousness, he carried her back home.
Ariel blinked. Her vision was hazy. She looked around her to find she's in a cave. Holes from the ceiling lit up the otherwise dark chamber. She tried to move but her tail convinced her otherwise. Trying to think back, her last memory was being pushed away by Ursula. Did they win? She shut her eyes, in the back of her mind, she heard Jim calling her name, telling her everything was fine. Opening her eyes, she felt the pang of heartbreak. Had that been a dream?
"Ariel! You're awake!" Donald had entered the chamber, he was thrilled to see her awake.
"Hi Donald, how long was I out?"
"A solid two days, I was worried you'd be stuck in comatose for a long time."
Sora and Goofy came in after hearing Donald scream. They dove to Ariel giving her a hug. Donald left the room to get her sisters.
"You gave us a scare that day! We thought you were a goner!" Said Goofy in relief as he sat next to her.
"Did we win?"
"Yes we did, King Triton speared Ursula through the heart with the trident and you wouldn't believe who came to help us," But before Sora could finish the sentence, her six sisters barged in squealing in happiness. They all spoke at the same time, after years of living with them, it was easy to discern who said what. Arista told of how awesome Ariel looked when she used the trident, Attina commended Sora for pulling Aquata back into the light, Adella spoke highly of Goofy who blocked all heavy attacks to allow their troops to move forward, everyone had a story but the most amazing was when the outlanders came. Ariel was befuddled, aren't Sora, Donald and Goofy the outlanders? Sora then told her sisters to say no more, he will bring an outlander to meet Ariel.
While she was asleep, the Mer began rebuilding Atlantica with the help of the outlanders. King Triton has resumed command of his people and he used the trident as a homing beacon to call back the scattered Mer and the animals. With her considerably powerful magic, Attina was tasked with clearing out the smog at the surface. Bringing forth rain, the choking air is slowly disappearing but the process could take days. Her warrior sisters, Adella, Aquata and Arista help protect their vulnerable city from any threat. Her gentlest sisters, Andrina and Alana had been caring for the sick and wounded. When Sora arrived at the doorway, the sisters, Donald and Goofy excused themselves. A person, at least she thinks it's a person, in extraordinary armour entered the room. Lifting its gaze to Ariel, she felt her heart stop beating. Smiling back at her is Jim. It hadn't been a dream!
"Ariel," He said as he moved closer. Her hands flew around his neck and she hugged him tight. He embraced her, not wanting to let go.
Sobbing into the crook of his neck, she babbled, "It was you! You're here! Don't let this be a dream."
"I'm here Ariel. It's not a dream. I was an idiot to push you away, do you forgive me?" He pulled back to look her in the eyes.
"Yes, I forgive you."
"Good, because I'm about to ask your dad to give his daughter away…That is, if you are still willing to come with me." Jim wanted her to be certain of her choice.
"Of course I'm willing. Going off to other worlds is a lifelong dream and it's even better to share it with someone I love." She shut her eyes and leaned her head on his helmet. She really wished she could kiss him now.
"I love you Ariel." Her eyes shot open, it was the first time he ever said that to her.
"I love you too Jim"