Donald and Goofy stood together at the end of the pier on Salineas, looking out towards the ocean in disgruntlement. The spellcaster stomped his webbed foot in frustration, ready to complain once more, "I don't believe it, I still don't believe it! That stupid jerk would be the only person in the universe to do something as stupid as this!"
Goofy let out a tired and depressed sigh, "What are we gonna do now, Donald?"
"...I'll tell you what we're gonna do, Goofy. We're gonna quit and hope to never see that big palooka ever again" Donald decided before turning around and started stomping towards town.
"Wait, Donald, aren't we at least gonna let the Captain know?"
"That's too good for him"
"We should at least do something."
"Fine!" Donald looked around before he got an idea. Walking onto the sandy beach, he used his foot to etch into the sand 'WE QUIT!' Dusting his hands, Donald continued, "There, and I think that's still more than he deserves. Now let's go." Goofy nodded before the two left the docks for town.
The reason for the duo's unfortunate and sudden departure from Captain Sea Hawk's crew is because he finally managed to follow through with one of his crazy stunts, fully knowing that his only two crewmates wouldn't be able to stop him in time. While at sea, returning to Salineas, the Dragon's Daughter III came in sight of a familiar rival ship from the past, and while Donald and Goofy's heads were turned, the sea captain had successfully set the ship ablaze and rammed the other ship at full speed. It was only after both ships had sunk and everyone from both sides were safely on lifeboats did Sea Hawk learnt that his competitor had sold his boat and retired, and that he had ultimately sunk a ship filled with travelers trying to make a new life on the mainland.
To make matters worse, aside from losing the Dragon's Daughter III, most of Sea Hawk money, including what was due for Donald and Goofy, had gone to the captain of the other ship and his passengers as raperation. What's left of Sea Hawk's money would now all go into buying a new ship to sail, but the two would have no part of it any more.
"Gawrsh, this is our first time going in Salineas, right? Why does it look so familiar?" Goofy asked while looking around the oddly empty town.
"It sort of reminds me of Atlantica." Indeed the shell and oceanic city did give the same vibe as the underwater kingdom where the trio adventured to before. "But I wonder where all the people are?"
"Hmm, it'll be awfully hard to get some paying jobs if there aren't any people, a-hyuck" Goofy tried to lighten the mood, but did little to alleviate the spooky feeling the city was giving. They've yet to see a single person since leaving the docks.
"HALT! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" a voice called out to them. The two looked around for the source before they found a man running down an elaborate stairway. He came to a stop right in front of them, hands on his knees as he huffed and tried to catch his breath. "State *pant* *pant* your *pant* *pant* *pant*..."
"Gawrsh, are you okay, sir?" Goofy gave a comforting pat on the back. The dark skinned man was tall with dark blue hair that spilled neatly passed his shoulders, and wore a teal, aquatic style uniform.
"Fine *pant*, thank you for asking." The man took a deep breath, "Please state your name and business here in Salineas."
"Well, my name is Goofy, and this here is my good pal Donald."
Donald waddled up to him, "We were hoping to find some work so we can hire a ship with a crane so we can fish out our own ship out of the water. Do you think you can point us in the right direction?"
The man raised an eyebrow at them, "You're looking for work? Here in Salineas? You odd looking strangers must be from somewhere very far away to not hear about our dire situation. The Horde is at our doorsteps and our great and mystical Sea Gate is failing. For well over a thousand years the gate has stood, but now with its barriers fading, everyone has fled our kingdom. The last of the ships had left today, there isn't anyone left here but myself and my charge, Princess Mermista. You've come to our once fair kingdom in its final days, I'm saddened to say."
"Ooooooh" Donald let out a sad whine at his plight.
"Gawrsh! How terrible! I wonder if the Captain knows."
The duck crossed his arms, "Ha! I'm pretty sure he never asked what was in the crates we were moving all this time. Probably everyone's belongings."
Goofy paused in thought, "Wait, I know! Donald here is the Royal Court Magician of our kingdom. Maybe he can take a look at your Sea Gate and fix it with his magic?"
The man looked down at the duck, "Truly, you are a wizard?"
Donald pulled out his staff and showed it off. "I'll do my best to help. My magic is top notch, but this sounds like ancient magic. Those are always the trickiest to work with, so don't get too hopeful yet" he explained.
The man got on his knees to be at eye level with him, "Yes! Of course good wizard! Thank you! Thank you so much! Any help at all is beyond appreciated. My name is Samuel. Please, let me take you to the Princess. She'll have more to say before being able to take you to the Sea Gate herself. This way, please."
"So, like, who and what are these two you brought in here, and why should I, like, care?" An attractive young woman with braided aqua hair and dark skin looked to be in a bad mood as she sat on her throne with her silver trident.
"Princess, please, these benevolent two are Donald and Goofy. They are travelers looking for work that came here unknowingly of our dilemma. The duck claims to be a wizard that could repair the Sea Gate" Samuel explained.
"I said try to fix! Ancient magic is hard to work with" Donald reiterated.
Mermista raised an eyebrow at him. "So this weird duck thing is a wizard. Sooooooo weird, but whatever. Not like we can lose anything else by letting him try, I guess. We can get to the Sea Gate through here." She stood up and led the way just past a doorway.
"That's rude!" Donald squawked out, but went unacknowledged. Goofy put a hand on his shoulder to help calm him. It helped a little, and the two followed while Samuel returned to his post. After a short walk and climbing up platforms, the three stood in front of a large archway that produced a huge, magical barrier.
"Like, look down over there. You can totally see where holes being made. See where the water is pouring through?" Indeed, down below, water can be seen squirting in as each wave crashed against the barrier.
"Gawrsh, and those holes are all over the place!"
"Yeah, if this keeps up, it'll be totally gone by the end of the week or something. *Sigh* So lame."
"Don't you worry, if anyone can fix it in time, Donald sure can!"
Donald had had enough. Whipping out his staff, he turned around and swung at Goofy's shin. He watched satisfied as the knight yelped and hopped around on one leg. "For the last time, ancient magic is hard to work with, so stop guaranteeing things like that."
With that, he walked up to the barrier and placed his hand on it. He stayed where he was while moving his hand a bit for a good while.
Mermista eventually let out a long sigh, "Like, how looooong is he gonna be at this. It's taking foreveeeeer."
Goofy decided he had enough of her attitude, he turned around and wagged his finger at her, "Come now, is that anyway for a Princess to be talking? Surely your parents taught you better than that."
"Guuuuuuh, come on. It's not as though I ever see either of them. I'd be lucky to be caught in the same room with either one of my parents, let alone them teaching me anything. It was always meet the tutor for lessons this or meet your instructor for that. Mom and dad never cared, like, why should I?"
"Gawrsh, I'm sorry to hear that, but you're a Princess. You have to be above all that."
"My dad was the King, and he dumped this crumbling kingdom on me the first chance he had at the first sign of danger,and ran off. And my mom? I can't even remember the last time I saw my mom without a drink in her hand and too 'tipsy' to talk or walk straight. So yeah, don't really have much to live up to."
Goofy really bristled at that, "Now that's no way for any parents to treat or act around their child like that." The Princess didn't really seem to care about what he has to say, he could tell. "Tell you what, why don't you try to be better than they ever were, not just as the ruler, but as a better person as well. Then one day they'll look at you and think to themselves that they wished they could be half the person that you are. That'll show 'em!"
"Gawwh, how did this turn into a therapy session anyway. It's not as if any of this would matter anyway. If this duck guy can't fix the Sea Gate, the kingdom is doomed anyway." She blew at her hair, "Maybe I should just let it anyway, then I wouldn't have anything to worry about anymore." She watch Goofy put disapproving hands on his hips, "Or not. Whatever! Responsibility is so lame!" She crossed her arms before turning around and sat down on the ledge that overlooked the sea, just past the gate.
The knight walked up to Donald who had all his focus on the gate. "Anything Donald?"
His hand against the pink barrier glowed, "I think so...maybe? How does the gate look now?"
"Lemme' check." He poked his head passed the platform and looked down. "There are still plenty of holes all over, but you know what? I think there are less than before. Think you can keep going?"
The magician wiped at his forehead. "I think so. That much took up a good amount of magic. I think I'm going to need a break soon if I keep going."
Goofy hopped up and down in excitement, "Hot diggity! If we can repair this Sea Gate, think the Princess will help us get the Gummi Ship out of the water as a reward?"
Donald smiled at that, "Oh boy! That'll be perfect!"
"Lemme tell the Princess the good news." Before Goofy could even turn around, Mermista let out a loud whine.
"Oh coooooooome on! I just totally repelled a wave two days ago! All I wanted to do today is relax and do nothing. Is that so much to ask for?!" Across the distance, Donald and Goofy could see a trio of dark ships billowing smoke as they made their approach. On the side, a red, angular symbol marked them as the Horde.
"Gawrsh, is that the Horde we heard so much about?!"
"Those ships look nothing like the ones we've seen before."
Princess Mermista rubbed her eyes roughly. "Yeah. They, like, build their ships out of heavy, thick metal or something. It makes it, like, waaaay tougher to smash into. It is so annoying! Almost as annoying as him." She rolled her arms around and stretched her neck and shoulders. "You guys stay her while I take care of them. Hopefully they would kill me and gut me like a fish, cause that would be sooooo ironic. So ironic and sad that I'll be glad that I'm dead so I won't have to listen to people make fun of me for the fact."
"That's a terrible thing to say!" Goofy complained.
"Yeah, well, that's war or whatever. Guuhh, I just want this day to be over with!"
The knight turned to the wizard, "Donald, we can't just let her go out there and fight by herself!"
He nodded, "Right! The Princess might be rude, but she's still trying to do the right thing!" The two went up to her just as she was about to give herself a running start to perform a clean dive into the water. "Princess, let us come with you and help!"
She stood up straight and gave the two an odd look, "You two things fight?"
Goofy ignored her 'things' comment, and answered "We may not look like it to you, but we've gone into battle hundreds of times and almost always came out on top." He pulled out his shield and showed it off.
Donald brandished his staff, "And I can easily zap them away with my magic, no problem! We'll make sure that you're taken care of."
The Princess let out another whine, "Fine, like, as though I'm going to say no to help, but if anything bad happens to you guys, it's, like, not my fault. 'Kay?"
Goofy gave her a thumbs up, "Don't ya worry 'bout us!"
Mermista crossed her arms and looked out at the enemy ships. "So my dominion and magic is water, so what we're gonna do is dive into the sea and I'll push us towards those ships. I can get us on one of the decks and we can start knocking jerkwad heads around. And before you ask, no, I can't just sink the boats. I've tried that, but they have some sort of mechanical pump that turns them right-side-up again and spits out all the water. It is such a drag."
"Right" Donald spoke for himself and Goofy.
"Then get in the water. I have to come in after you guys."
Donald and Goofy both turned and dove into the water, making a sizable splash. When they emerged, they caught Mermista execute a perfect swan dive, barely causing a ripple or splash. When she emerged, she leapt over them before taking the lead in front of them, revealing that she magically transformed herself into a mermaid.
"Wow! You turned into a mermaid!" Goofy got excited, thinking of the last undersea concert he was a part of.
"Yeah, it's a royal lineage thing. It's pretty cool." That was probably the only positive thing Donald and Goofy had ever heard leave her lips. "Hang on, I'm gonna take us to either one on the sides before we hit the rest. They'll totally have us surrounded if we hit the middle ship!" she called out as the three were jetted through the water, moving as fast as a sailfish.
"Sounds like you learned that lesson the hard way!" Donald replied.
"Yeah, I swear I couldn't sit on my damn ass for over a week!"
"Language!" Goofy shouted.
Mermista was about to retort, but they were now near enough to the Horde that they were spotted and now being fired upon by cannons. She began bending the water, twisting and turning themselves to avoid all the artillery, she almost ended up ramming the three right into the middle one. Remembering her hard earned lesson, she pushed them away from the ship and shot towards the right, successfully landing them on the top deck.
All three were on their feet and ready to fight, they took in their surroundings and the enemies. There were nine soldiers fitted head to toe in armor, and four odd looking robots that looked like a large metal ball with legs and a gun attached, all of them aiming their weapons at them.
"It's the Princess!"
"Shoot her!"
Readying their blaster batons, they aimed at them and started blasting away at them, forcing the trio to start moving. Princess Mermista was the first one to land an attack, she swung her trident through the empty air to hit nothing, but a torrent of water launched from the sea and knocked two of the soldiers painfully into the guard rails.
A soldier on the upper deck aimed at her and fired repeatedly, making her backpedal out of the way. She avoided most of the barrage, but Goofy came to her aid and blocked some of the shots with his shield before continuing forward and clashed with one of the droids. It took a couple of bashes before the machine retreated to a more advantageous firing position before taking some shots at him.
Three of the soldiers had come into close range with Donald with their batons raised, thinking that the short statured duck was easy pickings, but boy did Donald prove that idea wrong. The first soldier took a swing, but missed as the magician ducked and painfully swung his staff into the man's side. He then dove away to put some distance from the three before casting "Blizzard!" An icy blue bolt of magic collided before exploding into jagged icicles, knocking the three soldiers out. Donald turned his head to see Goofy in trouble as a soldier and a robot were firing as him, his shield just barely being able to protect himself. He raised his staff and cast "Thunder!" Two bolts of lightning shot out from the sky and struck the two. It seemed to be enough to knock the armored man out, but the machine still stood, though it did seem to go haywire as it stumbled about and shot randomly in the air.
Mermista was fighting off another war machine as it tried to smash down on her with its two front legs, but each time they came down, the Princess would hold out her trident to block each strike. She would eventually find an opening to snake her way around and climb on top of it. Free from the range of its legs and gun, she readied her trident and stabbed down as hard as she could to penetrate the metal shell and dig into its circuits. When it went down, she leapt off before swinging her leg in a roundhouse kick and knocked the helmet off a nearby soldier. Staring down at a rough looking lizardman, she followed with a left hook and got him under the jaw, scraping her hand on his tough skin. She gasped in pain before the Horde soldier sent his baton into exposed navel and shocked her painfully. She took four painful steps back, "Aargh! You, DICK!" She swung her trident, catching him on the face and knocking him out.
"Language!" Goofy called out as he performed his signature Goofy Bash by throwing his shield at a robot's eye before catching it as it rebounded and followed up with his spinning Tornado Strike. The machine was damaged, but still stood strong as it tried to smash the knight with one of its legs. Goofy caught it with his shield and held it off without too much difficulty.
The Mermaid Princess scoffed, "You are, like, so not my dad!" She launched another torrent of water at the droid, sending it over the edge and into the sea where it sunk. "You can't tell me what I can or can't say!"
"Fire!" A small ball of fire shot just past her, making her spin around in time to see another soldier get knocked down in the water below. "Is this really the time to be doing this?!" Donald looked at the battle and saw there were only a lone soldier and 1 fully functioning robot left. There was another robot, but it was current stuck in a doorway, trying to enter the hull. "We might be almost done here, but still have two more ships to go!"
Mermista let out a frustrated shout before throwing her trident like a javelin and impaled the last robot through the eye. The machine stood still for a moment as it sparked before dropping. The Princess walked over to her weapon before yanking it out with a grunt before looking at the last nearby Horde Soldier with her arms crossed and glared. The man underneath that armor threw his weapon down before he raised his arms up. "I surrender!"
The Mermaid Princess smirked before grabbing him by the arm, "Good idea." She then dragged him over and threw him over the edge of the ship. She looked over at the other two ships trying to turn around for them before shaking her fist at them and yelled "I am totally coming after all of you next! You hear me?! Making me do all this work?!" She turned around to meet with Donald and Goofy, but before she realized it, her side exploded with pain and felt her feet leave the ground. She instinctively clutched her side before looking down to see blood spilling out. "God damn it, no…" She was barely able to breathe out.
"Princess!" Donald and Goofy called out. The robot that Donald had sent haywire with lightning before had come back to its senses and fired at Mermista with her guard down. Donald took aim and sent a large ball of fire at the machine where it exploded and was sent over the rails.
Goofy stood over the bleeding Mermaid Princess and looked her over. It was a terrible wound. He helped raise her head a little bit so she could be a little bit more comfortable. "Princess Mermista!"
She clutched at her injury while her eyes watered up. She was doing her best not to cry, but this was easily the worst pain she's ever experienced. "This-this isn't how I saw today going."
"Don't worry Mermista, Donald will patch you up. What did we say before we left? We'll make sure you're taken care of."
"I'm here!" Donald waddled up to them with his staff ready, "Curaga!" A bell-shaped flower blossomed above her before showering her with green magic. This was his strongest healing spell, and as expected, it was working its literal magic. Though to prove just how grievous the wound was, it was just barely able to close up the injury. Mermista was pale looking and felt weak. "Are you okay, Princess?"
"Yeah *COUGH* Sure! I only had a giant hole blasted into me!" She clutched painfully at her side in response. Donald and Goofy didn't say anything about it. After experiencing something like that, she was very much entitled to complain however she liked. "And we still have two more stupid ships to go!"
Goofy held a hand out for her and he carefully helped her back to her feet where she stood hunched over. "I'm sure we'll think of something, right Donald?" he asked confidently.
"Right!" he turned and looked up at the control room. "And I think I have an idea. Remember what Uncle Scrooge always says?"
"Um, tougher than the toughies, and smarter than the smarties?"
"No, not that! Always work smarter, not harder. Come on!" Donald ran into the ship, Goofy followed while he half carried Mermista with her arm over his shoulder. The three arrived into the control room where they saw two unarmed men, one of them at the radio desperately talking to the other ships. They turned around in fright as they entered the room and had their arms raised in surrender.
"That's right, you better surrender!" Mermista glared at them. If looks could kill, the two would have exploded into pieces by now.
Donald waddled to the helm before trying to jump up and reach the controls. "Goofy, get over here. I can't reach the controls or see the window."
The knight settled the Princess down carefully on the captain's seat before following Donald's order. "What you have in mind, Don?"
"If we can figure out the controls, we can either blast them or ram their ships."
"Hmmm, let's see here" Goofy looked the controls over, but none of it seemed familiar or understandable. He turned to the two Horde Soldiers, "Do either of you two fellas think you can lend us a hand with this?"
"Like we'd help the enemy like you!"
Donald got his attention, "Do something before the other ships start firing at us!"
Goofy covered his eyes with one hand before blindly using the other to press a button. Nothing seemed to have come from it though. "That do anything for us?"
"Umm, no" Mermista crossed her arms before trying to stand up, only to weakly fall back down in her seat. "Uggh, come on! *Cough* *Cough* Try the dumb lever by the even dumber wheel!"
"Gawrsh, here goes everything." Pushing the lever, the ship jolted forward and surprised everyone.
"Okay, if we can't shoot, we have to ram it into the nearest ship. Then we'll be more than halfway done. Let's do it Goofy!"
"Sorry about this" Goofy tried to apologize to the Horde as he grabbed hold of the round wheel, turning it to face the next ship. "Brace for impact!"
Mermista looked like she was about to cry, "Oh god, I'm having flashbacks!"
BOOOOOM! The two large ships colliding made a deafening explosion. Screeching metal and crashing water was the only thing anyone could hear for almost a whole minute as the two behemoths endured their head-on collision.
Everyone in the control room was painfully flung forward, with Mermista suffering the worst of it. She groggily tried to push herself up on all fours, but she couldn't even muster a real effort. Donald and Goofy were able to shake away the shock before they were at the Princess's side.
"Gawrsh, Princess, are you okay?!"
"Do I look okay to you?!" She snapped as she clung to her side and stomach. She let out a pathetic whimper as the pain pulsated even worse. "I-I don't know how much more of this I can take."
Donald realized that he could suddenly see out of the windows, "Wait a moment...WE'RE SINKING!"
Goofy turned around and looked as well, both their ship and the next were both beginning to tip forward. Already he could see the Horde Soldiers beginning to abandon ship and the third and undamaged vessel trying to fish out their comrades. "Lookie there, Princess, we did it! We sunk their battleships! We've only got one more to go!"
The mermaid let out a pained cough, "Great."
Donald looked at her hold herself in pain. "...I think we should head back now. You aren't in any condition to be anywhere near a fight."
Goofy nodded his head in agreement. "Yup, and I don't think those Horde fellers are in any shape to do anymore fighting either, at least for today."
"Gaaaaaaaah! So laaaaaaaaame! It figures that right before we win we have to retreat." She looked up and stared at them for a moment before her cheeks began to blush. "Donald. Goofy. Thank you guys for, like, helping me...Okay, there! I said it! Can we, like, please go now?!"
The wizard and knight looked at each other before smiling and laughing, making the Princess turn further red from embarrassment. Donald waddled up to the two recovering Horde soldiers. "Scram, you two! Grab your friends and get to your other ship!"
Goofy stomped his way to them, "Yeah! And if you show your no-good faces here again, we'll just do to you again what we did today!"
Mermista coughed from where she sat, "And by that, he means we'll kick your asses and break even more of your expensive looking stuff. So, like, beat it already!"
The two soldiers looked to each other before scrambling to their feet and high tailing it out of there. They could see out the window the two waking up some of their comrades before jumping ship.
Donald and Goofy returned to the Mermaid Princess. "I think it's time we get going, too."
She tried to get up, but stumbled and fell into Goofy's arms. "Argh, like, problem...I don't think I can swim on my own, let alone get us out of here." She pushed herself to her feet, using her trident as a crutch.
"Leave that to me!" Donald boasted.
He led the way back to the deck with Goofy following and completely carrying the Princess, much to her indignation. They didn't see anyone left on board. "Coast is clear. Back into the water!"
"Uh, still can't swim on my own."
"Don't you worry, Princess" Goofy assured her, "I think I know what Don's planning, and I think you'll get a dolphin kick out of it! A-hyuck!"
With that, the three jumped into the water before the wizard pulled his staff out. "Watch this!" With a flash of light, Mermista was forced to let go as she felt Goofy's grip disappeared. She blinked the spots out of her eyes and looked at the two. They were now replaced by aquatic creatures; Donald being a scylla, half humanoid half squid, and Goofy now a large sea turtle, but still retaining his head and face. "Oh. My. God."
"Hold on tight, Princess, I can swim us back to shore."
Donald offered his hand to take her trident from her. "I can take that for you."
She quietly handed it over. "Wait, ummm, like, uhhhh...You can use my family's magic and turn yourself into seafolk?"
Donald looked smug, "What part of top notch spell caster did you not get?"
"Umm, what?"
"A-huck, I don't think she was there for that part, Donald."
"Ah phooey!"
A/N: Hello everyone, and thank you for your patience. I know It's been a bit of a while and I'm sorry for that. Life is chaotic, biggest truth there is, and am I just exhausted from just trying to hang in there. Not gonna bother to try and make excuses, we've all seen them dozens of times already. So yeah, awesome with the new She-Ra seasons and all. Definitely thought up of some good material and amazing lore to tie some big things together with!
Also a little bit of good news, I have the next chapter ready to go, and almost done with the one after! I'm gonna do some more proofreading and get it posted up by the weekend. Enjoy the take I took on with trying to keep most of everyone relevant, and there is still some more work to be done in Salineas for Sora and the gang. Leave a review and some feedback, would love to hear what you guys think of this!
A/N: Hello everyone, and thank you for your patience. I know It's been a bit of a while and I'm sorry for that. Life is chaotic, biggest truth there is, and am I just exhausted from just trying to hang in there. Not gonna bother to try and make excuses, we've all seen them dozens of times already. So yeah, awesome with the new She-Ra seasons and all. Definitely thought up of some good material and amazing lore to tie some big things together with!
Also a little bit of good news, I have the next chapter ready to go, and almost done with the one after! I'm gonna do some more proofreading and get it posted up by the weekend. Enjoy the take I took on with trying to keep most of everyone relevant, and there is still some more work to be done in Salineas for Sora and the gang. Leave a review and some feedback, would love to hear what you guys think of this!
(Edited and cleaned, thanks to Cyclon One)