The party then made their way towards the entrance of Emperor Sharga's palace. It was a cave in the shape of a large shark with its mouth wide open. They entered inside the mouth and came to a door at the bottom of the floor with only some light peeking out from the cracks of the door. Sebastian was still feeling dreadfully nervous hesitating to knock on the door, but Ariel, Garret, and Flounder stood by him giving their support.
"Come on, Sebastian," encouraged Ariel. "Let the Sharkanians know that et them know the ambassador is here."
"Yeah. You got this Crabby," spoke Garret giving him a thumbs up.
Sebastian took a deep and shaky breath and then gave three loud knocks on the door instinctively flinching with fear upon doing so.
Nothing happened.
"Oh well, nobody home, including us," spoke the red crab. "So let's go home den somebody will be home."
He then started to crawl away wanting to leave as soon as possible when Flounder blocked his way.
"Come on Sebastian, don't be so scared," he spoke. "Even I'm brave enough to ring the bell."
He then took notice of an actual doorbell hanging just in front of them. He swam over and gave it a bump with his nose. The bell let out a loud chime causing the tropical fish to jump in surprise and immediately hide in Ariel's hair.
"What was that about you being brave?" asked Garret.
Then a small door opened and the three saw a pair of pink and menacing eyes belonging to a gatekeeper from the other side of the door causing all of them to jump a little.
"Who goes there?!" demanded the gatekeeper.
Sebastian gulped. "We got ta go dere!" he squeaked. "In fact we got ta go dere right now!"
He once again tried to crawl not wanting anything more to do with his mission, but he was stopped by Ariel who gently pushed him to the opening.
"This is the royal peace ambassador from King Triton of Atlantica," she spoke importantly as she also unrolled the parchment. "And he's got one of these, a decree of safe passage."
At that moment, the small door shut with a slam and the actual door opened and the gatekeeper swam out of the door. He looked just like the picture of Emperor Sharga that King Triton had made back at the palace, only he was leaner. He was a sharkanian with a green chest plate, bronze bracelets and held a sharp spear in his hands. The gatekeeper growled as he glared at the three causing the three to feel uneasy, but Ariel bravely swam forward showing the Sharkanian the parchment in her hands.
"You wouldn't want the powerful Triton to come here personally, would you?" she asked in a challenging tone.
"Yeah. He'd probably bring his trident and-pazow!" added Flounder. "Fry a few tails around here."
"Now, now Flounder. You're exaggerating," joined in Garret. "He'd probably fry a dozen tails at least if he's in a bad mood."
The Sharkanian growled again glaring at the three looking at them first and then back at the parchment. He took a quick read making sure that the peace of passage was real, then he snatched the parchment out of Ariel's hands and went through the door. Ariel and the others then followed the Sharkanian inside with Sebastian still trying to make an attempt to crawl away.
"Maybe I'll just stay outside," he said. "You know wait out here until-"
Ariel immediately scooped him up cutting him off. Flounder who was also feeling a bit scared hid in Ariel's hair again as they swam along.
"Don't worry Flounder," she reassured. "The ambassador will protect us."
Sebastian let out a sigh of relief. "Oh t'ank goodness," he said. "He can take over for me when he gets here."
"Um... Crabby. I don't know if you've forgotten or anything," spoke Garret. "But you're the ambassador."
Sebastian's eyes widened in realization as his crab legs began to chatter and shake. "Dat's right! I'm the ambassador!" he gulped.
The gatekeeper Sharkanian then returned. "Emperor Sharga will see you now," he spoke gruffly.
Sebastian was so frightened by the sharkanian's appearance, that he jumped right on top of Ariel's head. Garret then placed him back on the ground.
"Come on Crabby, pull it together," spoke Garret. "You're gonna make King Triton look bad if you back out now. Show a little backbone."
Sebastian was still feeling frightened, but he plucked up courage. He took a deep breath, puffed out his chest, and swam to the throne room with Ariel, Garret, and Flounder following suit.
The throne room was mostly comprised of an abandoned beak part of a ship. In front of that beak was five sharkanians. Four of them were guards each one holding a spear and the one in the middle was Emperor Sharga himself. He looked just like that other Sharkanians, only he wore black and red garb and was a little bigger than the others. He also had his back turned seeming to be munching on something. Sebastian then ventured towards them his courage slowly ebbing away with every step he took. Then one of the guard sharkanian took notice of the red crab.
"Who dares trespass on Sharkanian territory?!" he barked.
Sebastian let out a startled yelp and little frightened, but he didn't run away this time. He just smiled widely trying to be as friendly as he could. Emperor Sharga then turned looking down at the small crab and held out something that he was munching on which was a rectangular piece of food with a picture of a crab on it.
"Crab candy?" he asked.
Sebastian gulped as he shook his head feeling a cold sweat run down his back. "N-no tank you Emperor Sh-shaga," he spoke nervously. "I-I'm on a diet."
"Me too," Emperor Sharga spoke now giving Sebastian a hungry look. "A seafood diet. And I'm hungry."
This was the final straw for Sebastian. He was so terrified that he immediately fainted falling flat on his back. The other Sharkanians sniggered as Ariel and the others went over to check on Sebastian.
"Sebastian, are you alright?" asked Ariel.
"No Ariel, I'm all wrong," spoke Sebastian miserably having to have regained conscious. "All wrong for dis job."
"That's not true, Crabby," spoke Garret. "They're just trying to scare you."
"Well, it's working," spoke Sebastian defeatedly.
It seemed that Sebastian had given up all hope, but Ariel, Garret, and even Flounder wanted to help the poor crustacean. Ariel then bravely swam up to the Sharkanians standing to no more nonsense.
" Hear me, Sharga. Sebastian is an important official of King Triton's court!" she spoke. "He's come to arrange a peace conference and he's not leaving till he gets what he wants!"
"Yeah! And he doesn't care if you chew off his head and crack every bone in his body!" added Flounder.
"Dat's right," mumbled Sebastian. "But... chewing off de head would be sufficient."
Emperor Sharga then grabbed one of the guards by the collar and the two spoke to each other privately whispering to each other. Garret then went over to Ariel feeling a bit uneasy.
"Ariel, what are you doing?" he whispered. "Don't you think you and Flounder are laying it a bit thick here?"
"Just play along, Garret," Ariel whispered back. "Everything is under control." She then spoke to Sebastian. "Listen! Now's your chance!" she spoke.
"Ta run?" squeaked Sebastian timidly.
"No! To seize the moment, Sebastian!" said Ariel pounding her fist. "To speak from your heart! You are the king's ambassador of peace!"
"Yeah! You can do it, Crabby!" encouraged Garret joining in. "You got this! You're the king's number one ambassador and he's counting on you to see this mission of peace through to the end! If you do this, you'll be Triton's number one advisor like he said before!"
Sebastian's eyes widened. Then he felt himself brimming with confidence and growing brave.
"You're right, kids," he murmured.
He then swam importantly towards Emperor Sharga. Two Sharkanian guards blocked his way with their spears, but Sebastian didn't back down.
"Shaga! If you don't agree ta peace, you shall never live in harmony with the rest of de sea!" he spoke.
Emperor Sharga pinched his nose seeming to be annoyed. "We'll do it..." he mumbled.
But Sebastian not hearing the Sharkanian continued. "No, no, no, no! Now! We must make peace for de sake of de children who live all over under de sea!" he continued.
"We'll do it," Emperor Sharga spoke again growing more irritated by the second.
But Sebastian continued talking still not hearing what Emperor Sharga said. "Peace don't wait for nobody!" he said. "As Ariel said, I'm not leaving until I get what I-"
"ENOUGH!" yelled Emperor Sharga.
Sebastian wasn't talking anymore. Then Emperor Sharga spoke again, so Sebastian could hear him this time.
"We'll do it," he said once again.
"Y-you will?" wondered Sebastian. "Well, I'll be a sea monkey's uncle."
He was a bit taken aback from Emperor Sharga's response, but he was pleased. So was Ariel, Flounder, and Garret. Emperor Sharga then turned around and flashed a toothy smile.
"And because of your king sending you to make peace with us, Sebastian," he said. "From this moment on, you will be known as 'The Great Sebastian.' "
Sebastian puffed his chest with pride. Flounder felt happy for the red crab. Ariel and Garret both looked at each other feeling a bit suspicious.
After that, the four left the throne room and were swimming back to the carriage shell.
"The Sharkanians sure did agreed to peace quickly," spoke Ariel.
"Yeah. No kidding," agreed Garret. "I wonder why?"
"Well, dey was up against the king's right-hand crab and I gave dem de hard shell," said Sebastian."De Sharkanians are even sending a great treasure to de king to tank him for sending me to dem. I also like the nickname they gave me. "The Great Sebastian." It has a nice ring to it."
Ariel and Garret rolled their eyes while Flounder was filled with admiration. Then suddenly, the doorbell that was hanging fell right on top of Sebastian with a mighty clang. Sebastian wasn't hurt, but he was a bit punch drunk as he lifted the bell that was on top of him and crawled unsteadily out.
"Well, I better get back to de party," he spoke dizzily. "Everybody dere want ta shake me claw."
"Well, don't keep them waiting, Sebastian," smiled Ariel. "Flounder and I are going to do a little exploring. Garret? Would you mind going with Sebastian back to Atlantica?"to?
"Um... sure. Sure I can," spoke Garret doubtfully. Then he spoke low so only Ariel could hear him. "Ariel, what are you up to?"
"Flounder and I are gonna explore a bit," Ariel spoke. "I'm feeling a bit suspicious about the sharkanians, so I want you to stay with Sebastian to keep him safe."
"But... don't you think you're being too suspicious, Ariel?" asked Garret. "Maybe the Sharkanians really want peace. And why do I have to watch, Crabby? I mean, he can handle himself... right?"
Garret then looked back at Sebastian who was still feeling a bit dazed due to being hit by the bell. He staggered as he walked until he hit the side of the shell carriage making the crab fall flat on his back.
Garret then sighed understanding. "Alright. I'll keep an eye on Crabby," he said. "But you and Flounder had better be careful."
"Don't worry. We will," smiled Ariel. "Come on Flounder."
The two then swam out of the cave disappearing into a crevice in front of it.
As Ariel and Flounder swam deeper and deeper into the crack, they swam past strange vine-like seaweed that had thorns.
"Great, we can't possibly find anyplace scarier than this," muttered Flounder.
Then a scary looking eel snaked its way past the tropical fish making him shudder with fear.
"I was wrong, as usual," he squeaked.
"Come on Flounder!" called Ariel. "There's a light just up ahead."
The two ventured deeper and deeper until they made it out of the crevice and into the light. In front of them was a graveyard of sunken ships who once sailed the waters long ago. Flounder was more frightened than before, but Ariel was amazed. Then in the distance at one of the sunken ships, the two saw a bright light. The two then swam towards the ship wondering where the light was coming from. When they were close enough to the ship, they peered through an hole on the hull of the ship. Inside, they saw three sharkanians inside with an open trunk with one of them holding an eel which was the source of the glowing light.
"Now listen up! The light of this eel will be the signal for our army to attack," said the first sharkanian. "Once that idiot crab delivers our gift to Triton's palace, one of you steal Triton's trident, and the other signal our army from the highest tower. Wait until everyone is asleep.
The sharkanian then stuffed the glowing eel inside a sack and gave it to one of the other sharkanians who was appearing to having his doubts.
"But Commander," said the second Sharkanian. "If you are asleep, you won't be able to see our signal. How are you gonna-"
The sharkanian whom the second identified as his commander growled and grabbed the second sharkanian by the cuff of his chest plate and pulled to his face their noses touching.
"We won't be asleep, you minnow-brain!" the commander barked. "Triton will!"
"Oh. I knew that," said the second sharkanian.
Then the commander sharkanian grabbed the third sharkanian and then stuffed him along with the second sharkanian in the trunk. Then he placed a cover on top of the trunk hiding the sharkanians inside making the trunk seem to be one filled with treasure. The commander sharkanian smirked evilly as he slammed the trunk shut with a slam.
Ariel and Flounder having to have heard and seen everything were horrified.
"I knew it! Sharkanians don't want peace at all!" gasped Ariel. "They're using Sebastian to destroy Atlantica!"
The two were about to swim off hoping to warn Sebastian, but suddenly two other sharkanian swooped down with nets and trapped Ariel and Flounder with them. The struggled trying to escape, but it was no use. The two were as good as caught.
Ariel and Flounder soon found themselves inside the wreck of the ship in chains, now both the Sharkanian's prisoners.
"Well, well. Lookie what we got here," smirked the commander sharkanian. "If it isn't Princess Ariel and her little guppy friend. Thought you could snoop around eh? Well think again!" He then got out a piece of paper and a quill pen. "Since you both know our little plan, here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna write a note to that little crab and telling him along with the merman to go on without you two."
"Never!" cried Ariel defiantly. "You'll never force me to do what you say!"
"Oh, but you will princess," spoke the commander sharkanian. "Otherwise, my lieutenant here will fillet your little friend!"
And just to prove it, the lieutenant pointed his weapon dangerously at Flounder threatening to use it to spear the poor guppy making him squeak with fright. Not wanting any harm to come to Flounder, Ariel stood in front of them shielding her friend.
"Wait...! I'll... I'll do it," she said bitterly.
The commander sharkanian smirked evilly in triumph and turned towards the another sharkanian.
"Release her," he commanded. "But just long enough to play pen pals with that cockle-brained crab!"
The sharkanian then uncuffed Ariel's hands as the sharkanian commander handed her the paper and the quill pen. Ariel reluctantly took them and she began writing on the paper with the quill.
Meanwhile back with Sebastian and Garret, they along with Emperor Sharag were watching two of the sharkanians load up the trunk containing the two other sharkanians inside of it into the shell carriage unaware of the trap that Emperor Sharga was setting in motion.
"Great Sebastian," spoke Emperor Sharga. "This gift of treasure will prove just how sincere we are about... peace."
"Oh, yes. De king will be very surprised," agreed Sebastian.
"Oh, I know he will," smirked Emperor Sharga ominously.
Garret glanced back at the sharkanians still having his doubts about them. He also feeling a little worried about Ariel and Flounder who haven't returned to them yet.
"I hope those two are OK," he thought. "They've been gone for quite a while."
He wasn't the only one who noticed their disappearance. Sebastian noticed as well.
"Now where's dat Ariel and Flounder?" he wondered. "I haven't seen dose two for a while now."
"Last time I checked, they told me that they were exploring," said Garret.
The commander sharkanian then came up to them with a note. The note of which that Ariel was forced to write.
"Oh, Great Sebastian, your friend said to give you this," said the commander sharkanian.
He then placed the note in front of Sebastian and the red crab gave the note a quick read.
" "Dear Sebastian, We've decided to stay a while. Tell father I'll be home late.' " he read. "Dat girl! Head always in the clouds. And for a mermaid, that's way out there man."
"What do you expect? She's just an inquisitive young mermaid," shrugged Emperor Sharga. "Not a shrewd, diplomatic, forward-thinking crab like yourself."
Sebastian's face gushed with pride. "I tink forward, dough I do walk sideways," he said. "But I don't know, maybe we should wait."
"I agree," said Garret. "Regardless of what Ariel says, I think we should wait for her and Flounder to get back just to be safe."
"Ah you don't want to wait," insisted the commander sharkanian. "Remember your famous slogan? 'Peace don't wait for nobody.' " He then swam up to the two and spoke low, so only the two of them could hear. "And take it from someone who knows, Emperor Sharga doesn't like to wait."
Garret and Sebastian happened to look back at Emperor Sharga. He appeared to look impatient as he gave Sebastian and Garret a growling glare as he ground his teeth making the two immediately gulp.
"Um W-we see your points... er, point," agreed Sebastian. "Right, Garret me boy?"
"I suppose so," said Garret looking back at Emperor Sharga still before getting in the shell carriage.
Sebastian took a hold of the reigns and was about to set off when they heard Emperor Sharga again.
"You do know the way, right Great Sebastian?" he asked.
"Well, of course I do, Emperor Sharga," laughed Sebastian. "Don't be silly. Do I look like some kind of fool?"
"You sure are acting like one," muttered Garret.
Sebastian took no notice as he gave the reigns a quick whip. "Now, off to Atlantica!"
The dolphins were on the move and Garret and Sebastian were on their way heading back home. The red crab was still feeling very pleased with himself.
" I'm certain ta get a big medal for this," he spoke to himself. "Of course, dey can't pin it on my handsome crustacean body. But maybe dey'll use glue or something."
"I wish I could glue your mouth shut," spoke Garret.
"No need to be jealous, my boy," smiled Sebastian. "It's only natural to feel jealous on someone who is soon going to be de king's number one advisor."
Garret could only sigh pinching the bridge of his nose as the carriage went on. As they drove along, the two sharkanians hiding inside of the trunk peeked out from two tiny doors snickering quietly.