Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.
Notice: Whoa! In just a few chapters this story has gained several hundreds views, resulting in a total of over 4000! Never did I expect this story to get so much attention, but I am grateful to all of you nonetheless! I mean to repay you all in full, and by that I mean posting this next chapter! Thank you, and enjoy!
Ch.29 Under the Sea
Once the four of us had learned how to properly swim, Sebastian said "Good. Now let's move on to self-defense." Just then Ariel called his name in alarm, and e all turned to see a pack of Heartless swim forward. His eyes bulged and he said "Class is over. Good luck!" Before swimming and hiding inside a clam shell with Flounder. I sighed and summoned my Stormfell, while Sora and the others readied their weapons. Surprisingly, Ariel stood fast as well. "You're not running?" I asked in surprise. She shook her head in determination, and I smiled and nodded. Many hands meant for light work. The pack was of three Sea Neons and a Sheltering Zone, which stopped in surprise at the appearance of its prey not fleeing.
However got over it though, as the Neons swam forward and spun around, whipping its tentacles at us. I simply caught and threw it into another, destroying them both with Blizzaga. Sora cast Aero to create a shield around himself before moving in and slashing at the third Neon. While they were ding that Donald cast Blizzara and hit the Sheltering Zone, Goofy helping with his shield. Ariel cast Thunder and shot it with a bolt of lighting, scorching it on the side. The massive Heartless spun forward and hit Ariel and Goofy, sending them back before it rammed into Donald. Before Sora and I needed to help though they recovered, and Ariel spun forward in a corkscrew, hitting the Sheltering Zone heard enough to destroy it.
But rather than being destroyed, the Sheltering Zone shuddered before bursting into three Sea Neons. "Aw, for crying out loud!" Donald complained, casting Gravity and flattening all of them for a second. "It's time to put an end to this!" Sora said, and he swam forward bringing his Three Wishes around from the side. But the fact we were in water took a lot of force out of the blow, and only one of them was finished. Luckily, Goofy and I were still there, and he hit the other with his shield while I used Zantetsuken to instantly kill the last one. "And good night," I concluded. Ariel giggled at this, before saying "Oh! We should tell Sebastian and Flounder they're gone." Sora nodded and swam over to the shell, tapping it with his Keyblade.
Instantly it opened, but Sebastian grabbed the top and pulled it back down. "Are they gone?" he asked, looking through the small slit he kept open. "Yup. We got rid of them all," Donald said, puffing his chest proudly. Slowly the shell reopened, and Sebastian and Flounder emerged. "So, you mind telling me why the Heartless were on your trail?" I asked. "They had been chasing us, and that's when we ran into you," Ariel explained. I thought about this, but then Sebastian gasped and said "Oh no! Those monsters might be heading for the palace too!" Ariel gasped as well, not having seen this. "We'd better head back right away!" he said. "But, wh-what is we run into more on our way back?" Flounder asked fearfully.
Ariel frowned and turned to us. "I'm sorry, but we need your help? Could you come to the palace with us?" she asked. I smiled and bowed formally, or at least as much as I could with fish tail. "It would be our humble pleasure, milady," I said. Sora simply nodded and said "Sure. Which way is it?" Ariel smiled and nodded her thanks, before pointing at a carving of a trident in the wall. "The trident markers act as signposts to the palace. We won't get lost as long as we follow them," she told us. "Then let's go!" Goofy said, and we all nodded. We swam through the waters, following the Trident marks as our guide. However, as we got near I felt something tugging on me, something my senses were picking up. I stopped, and looked down and back in the direction of it.
I saw a large rock lying against a wall, and I sensed that whatever was drawing my attention was beyond it. "Hey, Ariel. What's down there?" I asked, pointing. She looked back, but her eyes widened in shock when she saw where I was pointing. "Oh, nothing! Nothing at all!" she said, her voice just a little too high-pitched. I raised an eyebrow, but then she turned back and said "Come one, we'd better hurry," before I could say anything. I frowned and took one last look, before shrugging and following. We had reached the palace courtyard, and it looked like none of the Heartless had made it this far. "It looks like the coast is clear!" Flounder said, wiping his forehead in relief. Just then an Aquatank with three Screwdrivers, four Search Ghosts and two Sheltering Zones all appeared in a ring around us, poised and ready to fight.
While Flounder was gulping from the half-lidded gaze I gave him, Sora and the others moved into battle positions again. "Come and get some!" Donald taunted, before he cast Aero on himself and swam forward. The Heartless charged as well, and Ariel cast Aero on herself before flipping over and hitting a Screwdriver in the face with the end of her tail, the wind around her dealing extra damage. The other two broke off from the Aquatank, paddling towards Ariel and jabbing with her spears. One got her in the arm and she shouted, before Sora cast Stop and froze the Heartless in place. Ariel thanked him before pulling herself off and casting Cure, healing herself and hitting the Screwdriver with Thunder before swimming away.
Sora pointed his Keyblade at the unmoving Heartless and cast Fira four times in succession, me adding on a Triple Firaga just as the Stop spell wore off. The effects of all the spells culminated in one massive explosion, one that sent the Screwdriver through the air as a hunk of smoldering flesh while knocking all of the other Heartless back, including the Aquatank. It glared at us and swam forward, ramming into me and knocking me back before doing the same to Sora. Two of the Search Ghosts vanished and reappeared behind Ariel and Donald, grabbing them and draining them other their strength. "Hey!" Donald said, elbowing him and shaking free. Once he was he turned and cast Thunder, zapping it before doing the same to the one holding Ariel. She cast Cura again to heal herself, before swimming towards the Aquatank and hitting it with Spiral Wave.
I cast Zero Graviga and captured one Ghost and two Screwdrivers in the range of the spell, a long cut across their chests spelling the end of them. The Aquatank recovered from Ariel's attack and moved towards me, but Goofy hit it from behind and knocked it off balance long enough for Sora to finish it off with a massive overhead blow. The Sheltering Zones spun around and hit him with their tentacles, causing him to double over as the wind was knocked out of him. Another Search Ghost vanished and reappeared behind him, draining his strength. "Hold on!" Ariel said, and she cast Thunder on it before casting Aero on Sora. Both the shock and the gust of wind knocked the Heartless away, and I saw their to finish it with Strike Raid.
Donald cast Stop on both of the Sheltering Zones, but they were able to move just out of range, and suddenly they turned and slammed into each other. I was confused, until they burst apart into a total of six Sea Neons. My eyes widened, and I also realized that in an open space like this the numbers might just overwhelm us. "Everyone, head for the palace. Once we're inside they won't have room to maneuver!" I said. Sora and the other nodded, and with that we turned and swam for the palace. As expected, the Heartless gave chase, and I swam that much faster. We reached the palace but were still in too large a room; we needed somewhere small. "Are their any smaller rooms in here?" I asked Ariel, looking back at her. She grimaced and shook her head, and I briefly considered fighting the swarm of Heartless despite being at a disadvantage.
But it turns out I didn't need to, because at that moment a wave of lightning shot forth from in front of us, and all of the Heartless were instantly blasted into nothingness. A voice said "That was too close. As long as I have this trident, I will tolerate those creatures inside this palace." I looked at the voice's owner, and was surprised at what I saw. It was another merman, one who was indeed holding a golden trident, and had a dark blue tail, a long white beard, bushy eyebrows and hair all of the same color. What surprise though, was his size despite his age. He was easily taller than me or possibly even Terra, and his torso and arms were covered in muscles. He wore studded gold gauntlets on each wrist, their was a what appeared to be a crown on his head, and his eyes were a blue that spoke of both wisdom and strength.
"Daddy!" Ariel exclaimed, smiling in relief. The merman sighed and rubbed his eyebrows, saying "Oh, Ariel. When will you listen? It's dangerous out there!" She looked like she was about to respond, but then he added "Strange creatures lurk outside," and looked at us. Sebastian cleared his throat and swam in front of us, saying "Behold. You swim before the ruler of the seas: His Majesty, King Triton." I blinked at the realization that we were standing in royalty, although I suppose the crown should have given it away. Then something clicked, and I looked back at Ariel. "Wait a minute. If your father's the king, then that makes you a princess!" She nodded, and I was about to ask her why she had said nothing when Triton asked "And who are all of you?" "They helped us fight off those creatures," Ariel told him. "They don't look familiar," he noted, eying.
I scratched the back of my head, trying to think of an explanation, when Sora said "We're from an ocean very far away." "Yup. We came to find the Keyhole," Goofy said. At that Triton's eyes widened, and he said "The what?" "What's that?' Ariel asked curiously. "Well, it's a-" Goofy began, before Triton interrupted. "There's no such thing. Certainly not here!" he said loudly. "But Daddy..." Ariel began. "Ariel, not another word! You are not to leave this palace, understood?" he told her. Ariel frowned and turned away, swimming out of the room with Flounder. I looked at King Triton. "Pardon me, Your Majesty. But from the looks of it you do know something about the Keyhole. Can you tell us what you know?" I asked.
Triton glared at me, saying "All you need to know is that there's no such thing here in this kingdom!" I frowned as well, but gave it up and left with Sora and others. Or at least, I acted like I was. But once we were out of sight and earshot, I said "Hold on guys; I forgot something. You go on ahead. I'll just be a second." Sora didn't question this and nodded, allowing me to swim back. Just before I did I cast Vanish, turning myself invisible and entering the throne room. Triton was sitting with his arm on the throne, his hand curled into a fist with his head propped up on it. "Perhaps I'm being too strict... I'm just concerned for her safety," he said. "Of course, Your Majesty. But I must admit, now I'm quite curious about this Keyhole," Sebastian said.
"That need not concern you, Sebastian," the king quickly said, before changing the subject. "Have you anything to report?" he asked. The sea crab nodded. "Just as you suspected, Your Majesty, they seem to be coming from Ursula's grotto," he informed. It only to a second for me to realize that "they" were the Heartless. "I knew it. That sea witch is up to no good again. I see exile from the palace has taught her nothing," Triton said angrily. "Yes, she poses serious danger," Sebastian said. "And I told you to keep Ariel away from such danger, did I not?" Triton reminded him. "Your Majesty, please. I, uh..." Sebastian said nervously, but whatever else he said I didn't hear, as I swam away before the Vanish spell could wear off.
"Interesting..." I muttered. King Triton indeed to know about the Keyhole, but he wasn't willing to admit anything about it even in private. If he knew about the Keyhole, then he had to also know about the Keyblade, and he had seen me and Sora holding them when we arrived. But if so, then why had he not trusted us with this information. I could find no answer, and so the only thing I could so was return to Sora and the others. "Did you find what you were looking for?" Donald asked, and I nodded. "Indeed I had, Donald. Indeed I had..." I said quietly, such that they couldn't hear.
Our heroes continue looking for the Keyhole, but now they have more questions than answers. Perhaps they can find something that will help them? Or will King Triton continue to obstruct them?
Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)
