"Namaari," Raya said nervously, "I think she can hear our thoughts."

"I think so, too."

"What do you think she meant by 'that's what I'm counting on'? I was thinking about how the dragons will be here soon."

"She means you have to warn the dragons while I keep her distracted," Namaari said.

"What good would that do you?" Ariel asked. "I'm a little too much for you to handle without the dragons. And for all you know, I could be in way over my head, waiting for them to come."

"She's trying to stall us! Just go!" Namaari said before attacking Ariel while Raya reluctantly made a break for the exit.

As her trident clashed with Namaari's swords, Ariel said, "I told you I wouldn't use any explosions. I didn't say that was my only magic trick."

Ariel stepped away from Namaari and tapped her trident on the floor a few times. Everyone in the room was astonished to see Ariel growing in size, quickly reaching the ceiling.

Raya was halfway down a flight of stairs, but she stopped and turned around when the roof of the palace was obliterated by the still growing Ariel. Bits and pieces of the roof fell off of Ariel's back and Namaari squirmed, trying to escape from Ariel's palm.

Raya was horrified. She thought she was prepared for anything after what she'd been through, but Ariel was something she'd never seen.

"Are you sure you want to warn the dragons, Raya?" Ariel asked tauntingly. "You wouldn't rather come back and save Namaari?"

Raya didn't try running; she couldn't leave Namaari like this. And she knew couldn't defeat Ariel; she had enough trouble before Ariel was a giant. All that was left was to reason with her. "Why are you doing this?!" Raya asked.

"To unite Kumandra, of course," Ariel answered.

"That's what we have been trying to do! You aren't going to help us this way!"

"Oh, Raya," Ariel said, shaking her head. "You think people are going to make a positive difference because you asked them to? The only way for your world to get better is to control people; control their actions and control the way they think." Ariel's eyes caught something that put her in a good mood. "Speaking of control."

Raya turned her head to see a multitude of dragons running through the air, stepping on the rain that accompanied them. Raya's heart skipped a beat. She could only hope that Ariel actually was in over her head.

Ariel gently put Namaari down and prepared herself as the dragons came closer. Red water poured from Ariel's hand and swirled around her trident. The Kahn's power of thought combined with the trident's mastery over water creatures. And then she sang.

The dragons landed on various places on the outside of the palace, listening to her sing. They were hopelessly mesmerized.

Raya screamed, "SNAP OUT OF IT!" But none of them responded to her. The dragons' eyes each ignited with red light. By the time Ariel stopped singing, they were all under her control.

Raya looked around with horror at the many dragons whose freewill had been taken from them.

"She who controls the dragons, controls the people of this world," Ariel said. "And I control all the dragons." Ariel changed back into her normal size as two dragons came close to provide all the protection she would need. Raya couldn't warn anyone anymore and she didn't think the dragons would let her leave anyway, so she ran back to the others even if only to know what was going on in there.

Ariel turned to the chiefs and said, "You came here, wanting the dragons to solve all your problems. And they still can. Chief Virana, your guards cower in my presence, your finest warrior is rendered helpless, everything you hold dear is at my mercy, and everything you desire is mine to give. . . . Knee before me."

"Don't do it!" Namaari urged.

Chief Virana was frightened to be singled out and the idea of submitting to an outside force made her skin crawl. She knew her pride would never forgive her, but what else could she do? Virana looked around at the dragons who showed no sign of resistance to Ariel. Beside the fact that she had nothing powerful enough to match her, Ariel was right; she did have everything Virana was trying to get. Virana wished she at least wouldn't have been the first, but there she was, kneeling before Queen Ariel. Namaari turned her head, not wanting to look at her any longer.

Ariel continued, "Chiefs of Spine and Tail, your lands were hit so hard by the druun. Your people don't need another war to bring them despair; they need dragons to bring them hope."

Ashamed of themselves, two more chiefs kneeled before her.

Ariel continued, "Talon was the safest from the druun thanks to it being built on the water. How safe do you think it will be from the Queen of the Sea and an army of water dragons? Your people aren't warriors, they're survivors. Make the survivor's choice." A few of the dragons started growled like wolves. And with that, the chief of Talon kneeled before her.

Chief Benja of Heart stood tall with his head held high. "I will never knee! Your ways of fear and force are not what Kumandra needs and I refuse to help you enforce them!"

Raya's heart leapt with worry for her father's life. Why couldn't he have just been a coward?

Ariel took a moment to consider him.

"You are stronger than the others, I think. But once you see the Kumandra I create, you will help me preserve it."

Ariel turned around. "Raya." The dragons started snarling at Raya and slowly stalking toward her. Ariel said, "Most of the chiefs are cowards, Benja just wants everyone to be friends, Virana would sell her daughter for a few dragons, and Namaari will do whatever her authoritarian mother tells her to. Everyone here can be controlled . . . expect for you."

The dragons got closer, murder in their eyes, waiting for the order to rip her to shreds.

Ariel continued in an annoyingly happy tone, "Sorry, Raya, but you're just too much of a freethinker and the new world isn't going to have a place for people like you."

"Wait!" Namaari cried, stepping in front of Raya. "She wants Kumandra to be untied! She wants what you want! Raya will help you!"

Raya thought, "No, I won't."

Ariel said, "Mmmm. No, she won't. I'm gonna need you to step aside now."

Namaari didn't move.

"Don't do what you're thinking about doing, Namaari," Ariel warned gravely. "I'm giving you a chance to be on the right side of history."

Author's Note: Hey this is MVP from the future. The original part of this author's note is outdated. I kind of went on about how miserable I was at the time when I first posted this chapter. But I'm all better now. That being said, here's the original author's note.

(Original Author's Note.)

I know, that was a very short chapter. Why is that, you might ask. Well, it's really hard to write a fanfiction about Disney Princesses while I'm falling apart. I've been in a really dark place this week. Seriously, I'm not okay right now. Before you ask, no, it's not because of a negative review on my stories. It's not because of low readership either. There's something personal outside of fanfiction and it's keeping me from focusing on being productive. And let me be clear; this is not an April fools joke. This chapter is being uploaded on April 2nd. I really am miserable. I keep praying for God to show me signs that things are going to be okay and when I get them, I can't be sure that my mind isn't playing tricks on me. Every time I get a reason worry, I can't let it go and every time I tell myself I'm just being paranoid, it wares off in a few hours. I'm losing my motivation, I'm losing my passion and if I can't get them back, I won't know what the point of anything I do is.

But I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Hopefully there should be another one next week.

(End Original Author's Note.)

Yeah, that . . . stuff is over now. I'm doing much better. Oh, and no, it really, really, was not an April fools joke. I really was miserable, but I'm better now.