Entering Act 2. I do not own The Little Mermaid or any of their characters. Just wanted to see how a group of mutant toddlers would react to one of the greatest Disney movies of all time :)

Act 2

"Ariel's been turned into a human. She's gotta make the prince fall in love with her, and he's gotta ki- he's gotta kiss her!" The little yellow fish stumbled over his words.

Mikey scrunched his face in confusion. "What's the big deal with getting Eric to kiss Ariel? Pop kisses us goodnight all the time."

April tapped her chin, about to drop some almost-five-years-old wisdom. "Kisses from parents are different, Mikey. But a True Love's Kiss between two people who were meant for each other," She clasped her hands together. "That's something extra special!"

"Shush, Red! Eric just found Ariel!" Raph crowed.

Everyone groaned in disappointment as Eric dismissed Ariel as his dream girl for her lack of voice. The scene and tone shifted, as the group laughed at Sebastian's predicament in the kitchen with Chef Louis. April sighed as Ariel sank into her overly plush bed. That would be an amazing bed…

"You gotta bat your eyes – like this. You gotta pucker up your lips – like this…"

April leaned her head on Donnie's shoulder. It's something she would do with her dad whenever they watched this scene, so she thought nothing of it. Donnie, however, stiffened before leaning into it.

He realized that there was something special about this girl. She'd only been in their lives for less than a day, yet he didn't know what he would do without her. Donnie resolved then and there to always look out for April, no matter what. She was his best friend first and foremost; maybe one day, the boy could work out what this particular feeling churning in his gut was.

The girl began to sway , humming along to Kiss the Girl. Donnie smiled to himself. Maybe one day… He was startled out of his thought process by Ariel and Eric's boat being tipped over.

Mikey hid behind Leo as Ursula prepared to concoct another spell. Donnie had an uneasy feeling of where this was heading. His gut was validated as all of the turtles began yelling at the screen.

"No, Eric!"

"It's a trick!"

"Fight it, man!"

"Anndd… yep. He's under a spell." Raph griped.

It surprised April when she was suddenly staring at the backsides of four turtle shells. They had gently pushed their way past her to get as close to the action as possible. No one could tear their eyes from the screen.

"Come on, Scuttle." Leo murmured. "Stall the wedding…"

"Yes!" Donnie cheered along with the others as Ursula's shell smashed on the deck, returning the stolen voice to its proper owner. His joy turned to anxiety as the sun sank steadily lower behind them. "Oh no. Shut up and kiss her before you run out of… time." The sun had set; Ursula now had Ariel as her bargaining chip against Triton.

"Okay… I've got another question." Mikey raised his hand, further blocking April's view of the screen. "Why did Ariel's dad trade places with her?"

Realizing that he was blocking April's vision, Donnie skootched back to sit next to him. It took him a moment to notice the single tear snaking its way down her cheek. He nudged her with his elbow. "You okay?"

She sniffed. "Yeah. Mikey, King Triton traded places with Ariel because that's what daddies do – they protect their kids." More tears found their way down April's face. Her eyes glazed over for a moment, taking her somewhere far away. Donnie frowned until April shook her head, returning to the present.

Turning back to the screen, Donnie yelped. All four turtles dove behind April as Ursula used her new power to grow within a menacing black cloud of ink.

"I know I didn't like her before, but now she's downright scary…" Donnie wheezed. Mikey had fallen on Donnie in everyone's mad scramble to hide from the sea witch, driving all of the air out.

The brothers gripped each other as Eric used the old shipwreck to impale Ursula. They cheered, pulling April into their group hug. A hush fell over the group as April kept an eye on the water-logged Eric lying on the beach.

"Will Eric be okay?" Mikey whispered.

"He will be," April smiled. "Look!"

The screen filled with shimmering light as Ariel emerged from the water on her own two legs to kiss her prince. Leo whirled on Raph, hearing a sniffle from his direction.

"Are you crying?" He cackled.

Raph angrily swiped at the tears that betrayed him. "No! Mikey's feet just smell bad!"

"Hey!" The youngest protested.

"I love you, daddy."

Fresh tears appeared on April's face as well. "It's okay to cry, you guys. Tears can be sad and happy."

"Now we can walk,

Now we can run,

Now we can stay all day in the sun.

Just you and me…

And I can be…

Part of your world!"

Applause rang out in the common room. Leo began to fold the blankets while Mikey read the end credits, humming to Under the Sea again.

"Well, not as bad as I thought! Good choice, April."

"The funny parts were my favorite!"

Leo gestured to the kitchen. "Raph, Mikey. Let's go see if we can help Mai and Splinter with lunch." Donnie and April took their time in front of the scrolling credits. Their quiet moment was disturbed when Donnie voiced his concern.

"You watched this movie with your dad a lot, didn't you?"

April was surprised by how perceptive the young turtle was. "Uh, yeah. We started watching it more when the mean men wanted to stick more things in my arm." She rolled up her sleeve to reveal the multitude of tiny scars nestled in the crook of her elbow. "He thought it would cheer me up." Glancing up from her arm, April noticed the dark look on Donnie's face as stared at her scars. She rolled the sleeve back down and changed the subject. "So… did you like the movie?"

The boy blink at the sudden change. "Oh, yeah! I loved it!" He smirked, checking to see if the room was empty. "Wanna watch it again?" April squealed, tackling Donnie. He gasped as the air was driven from his body – again.

"Really? You want to watch it again?"

"How else will I learn all the songs to sing along with you?"

xXx

Not only did they re-watch The Little Mermaid that day, April and Donnie re-watched it 16 times that week. Donnie was belting out the songs before long and dancing right next to April through every sequence. It wasn't a surprise to find the pair reenacting scenes throughout the maze of tunnels. The other boys had liked it just fine; they just couldn't understand April and Donnie's immense fascination with the movie.

It didn't matter. They had each other, part of each other's worlds down in the fathoms below.

This chapter marks the end of our time in 2001. Can't wait to dive into a new time and see what mischief our turtle family gets into!