Season 3, Episode 12: "Under The Sea"

Ever since I met Lal last year, I've gotta say that I've wanted to learn a lot more about them. There's so much lore surrounding them, and every culture seems to have their own take on them: from the sirens of ancient Greece to the selkies of Ireland. Regardless of what variety you're talking about, the one common thing they share is that they hide many secrets, like the sea. And if they are, what are they? And what would happen if their secrets fell into the wrong hands?

The secret to love

The secret to love

The secret to love is not

Origami

The crowd inside the Seaside Club burst into cheers and applause as the band finished playing, and Molly took a bow.

"Thank you, Venice Beach!" The crowd went back to talking and drinking, and Fi ran out onstage and wrapped her arms around Molly.

"Mom! That was great! I can't believe you sold out for two nights in a row!"

"I know! And we still have another show to play tomorrow!" As they walked offstage, Fi glanced out in the crowd, and she paused when someone in the back of the club caught her eye. Brushing it off, she went behind the curtain and backstage.

"Hey, Fi!" She turned around to see Jack holding out an envelope. "This is for you. It was on Mom's dressing room table, though." His brow furrowed as he handed it to her, but he shrugged. She took it and opened it; immediately, her nostrils were assaulted by the scent of saltwater. She read the note, but immediately folded it up and put it back in the envelope.

"What was in the envelope?" Molly turned to look at her daughter.

"Oh, it was a note from Ned. I have a geography quiz coming up next week."

"But why wouldn't he just tell you himself?" Fi put the envelope behind her back and looked at the ground for a moment.

"It's a pop quiz?" Before her mother could say anything else, Fi darted past her to the club's back door. Molly looked back to her son.

"Don't ask me, Mom." Molly let out a sigh, and went to find Irene.

Outside, Fi went around back to the boardwalk in front of the club, feeling a chill as the evening seawater-laden air washed over her. She looked past the other side of the boardwalk and saw someone standing by a lifeguard tower. Taking a deep breath, she started walking toward them.

When she got there, she saw the back of a taller man looking out at the ocean.

"Excuse me, are you Lal Nereus?" He turned around, and she saw a man with chiseled features, dressed in a tank top and cargo pants.

"Are you Fiona Phillips?"

"Why did you send me this?" She produced the envelope from her back pocket.

"It's...complicated. But I know who you are. I know your mother." Fi scoffed.

"If my mom met a guy with a name like yours, she would have said something."

"I know your brother as well." Fi's head tilted.

"Wait, how do you know them?"

"Back in Vancouver, I met your mother in a club because I...well, I fell in love with her. I wanted her to live forever with me."

"Wait, wait, wait, back up. What are you?" He looked back at the ocean.

"I'm a merman." She stared at him for a second. "Do you not believe me?"

"Normally, I wouldn't, but if you know me, you know that I believe in stuff like that."

"Very well. I need your help, Fiona."

"Help with what?"

"My sons and daughters are in danger. A-"

"FI!" The voice came from the boardwalk behind her, and she turned to see Jack jogging up to her. "Okay, what's all this about a pop quiz and-" He stopped talking as soon as he saw the man standing behind his sister. "Lal? What are you doing here?" Fi's mouth fell open.

"You know him?" Jack's teeth grit behind his lips.

"Let's get out of here." He grabbed her arm and started walking, but he felt a yank backward as she stood still. He shot her a look and she let out a sigh, finally joining her brother on the walk back to the club. As soon as they were inside, it was her turn to grab his arm.

"Okay, what's going on?" Jack closed his eyes, sighing as his shoulders dropped. She let go of him.

"Do you remember back in Vancouver when you thought I was wigging out about this creepy guy that was really interested in mom?"

"Yeah. I remember he talked to her."

"Yeah, well that wasn't all that happened. He almost killed me."

"What do you mean?"

"He wanted mom to go away with him forever and leave us behind. He threw me against the pier and I fell into the ocean." Fi's jaw dropped to the floor. "I never told you because...well, he saved my life. And I never told you his name: Lal Nereus." Fi took the note from her back pocket and handed it to him, and the signature immediately drew his gaze.

Lal Nereus

"What did he want from you?" She shrugged.

"He said he needed my help."

"Fi, whatever you do, promise me that you won't get involved with Lal. He's dangerous."

"Do you think that dad would have helped him?" Her lip trembled.

"Lal wouldn't have come around if dad was here." Fi nodded.

"You're right. I'm going to go back to the bus and go to sleep." He stepped toward her and gave her a hug.

Fi could only hear the distant sound of waves as she got back to the bus, and she jumped when she felt someone behind her. When she turned around, she saw Lal.

"Fiona, I-" She put up a hand.

"Look, my brother told me about what happened in Vancouver. I don't want anything to do with you."

"I see. Yes, that was unfortunate. Molly cares very deeply for both of you." She turned to open the bus door. "It's just that...your father helped me once." Her foot froze as it hit the second step, and she turned around.

"What do you mean, my father helped you?"

"20 years ago, there was a terrible flood in a mountain village in Vancouver. Most left, but one person's spirit called to me. Before the water could claim him, I turned him into one of us. His spirit called to me again when new settlers began to hunt him. Your father was the one who found out what was going on and convinced the people to leave him alone."

"So you think that means I'm going to help you?"

"No. I may have saved your brother's life, but I was the one who put it in danger. However, I, and my entire family, would be eternally in your debt if you were to help us."

"What makes you think I can even help you?"

"A powerful magic threatens us, and you were the most powerful source of magic nearby. We could all feel it." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper; she paused for a moment before she took it and went inside the bus.

As soon as she was in her room, she opened her laptop and signed into *.*. She frowned when she read the word on the note:

Ursula

As soon as the browser loaded, she entered the word into the search bar and waited. Finally, a few links came up, the first one to a page about Hans Christian Andersen.

"Okay, seriously, The Little Mermaid?" She bit her lip as she clicked on the search bar again.

Flood Vancouver

The first article was about how the flood had wiped out a bunch of inhabited land after the residents moved away, but the second link caught her attention: COLORADO MAN LEADS VANCOUVER CONSERVATION EFFORT. She clicked it.

AUG 1985

Local Colorado man Rick Phillips spearheaded a conservation effort to preserve the wildlife in a lake in the remote town of Glacier Lake, formerly Glacier Peak. Residents of the town say that before Phillips' arrival, resident Samuel Hardy was hunting what he believed to be a monster; however, this was later disproved.

"I think that we should protect the life in this lake. All of it," said Phillips.

Fi's eyes went wide when she saw a picture of her dad standing with a bunch of townspeople out by the lake. Just past them, she saw the tops of two heads poking out of the water.

The next day, sunrise found Fi on the beach, looking out at the horizon. As her eyes followed the water's ebb and flow, they stopped when they landed on Lal, standing in the water about 20 feet out. She took her sandals off and walked toward him, accompanied by the tide's rush, but she only went halfway out into the water before she stopped. Lal took a couple of steps toward her, but she held up a hand to stop him in his tracks.

"Have you reconsidered my request?"

Fi bit her lip before she responded. "I have. My dad helped you out all those years ago, and I think I owe it to him to help you now."

A smile flitted across Lal's mouth. "Are you sure you want to do this? Have you read anything about Ursula yet?"

"Yeah. I found an article about the Hans Christian Andersen story."

Lal let out a sigh. "It's a pretty accurate portrayal of her, but she's an Octopid. I've heard of a movie that portrays her as such."

"You mean The Little Mermaid movie?"

"I'm not sure, but since it has the same title as the original story, I'd imagine that the Sea Witch Hans Christian Andersen spoke of in his story and the Ursula in that movie are one and the same."

"So she has magic powers and all that?"

"Very much so, Fiona. She's the most powerful of us who dwell in the sea, even me. She has the power to bind people to deals and collect their souls if they fail to meet her terms."

"Okay, so how am I supposed to beat a powerful Sea Witch?"

"Your family's magic is well known and respected in the sea. Even I recognize the power within your bloodline as extremely powerful, and you may just have the power to defeat her."

"Wait a second, I only started being a witch about 3 months ago. How can I possibly know enough to defeat her?"

"Our Selkie cousins in the north Atlantic ocean have told me of another being with very powerful magic that crossed the ocean. They followed it when it moved to a different country, but they lost track of it after that."

"The North Atlantic? Where exactly?"

"In an area known today as Boston."

Fi's jaw dropped. "I think they're talking about my cousin."

"Very possibly. The same magic exists in Ireland and here in Venice Beach, where you are."

"That's my cousin Tristan. He's really good with magic; I think he could help you."

Lal looked down at the water around his ankles. "Our cousins have asked him to help. He was the one who asked that we come to you. He told them that he believed you were ready to face something of this magnitude."

She froze for a moment. "Um, okay. Let's do it."

Lal stepped forward and held out his hand, palm up, and she jumped when a wrist cuff appeared in his hand. "This is an ancient artifact that allows the wearer to temporarily become one of us." Fi took it from him and set her forearm in it; it fit perfectly when she clamped it shut. A golden glow flickered across it and she looked down, expecting to see a tail and fins.

"I don't think it's working."

Lal chuckled. "It won't change you unless your entire body enters the water." She nodded and took a few steps forward. As Lal started running, so did she; the cold from the water started to reach her stomach before they both dove forward to let the water swallow them.

Bubbles, streaks of blue, green, and silver raced around her as she felt her legs fuse into a tail. Scales covered most of her body, and she breathed water as easily as air. When she stopped and surfaced, the beach looked tiny from where she was. Lal surfaced next to her.

Fi slicked her hair back. "How did we get all the way over here?"

Lal chuckled. "Mermaids travel fast underwater, as do others like us. The Selkies I mentioned earlier were able to keep up with your cousin as he crossed the ocean at tremendous speed."

"Okay, so where do we need to go? Where's Ursula?"

"Follow me." Lal went under, and Fi went after him. The ocean looked beautiful as she rocketed through it, aided by a current. Their path twisted and turned through the water, and she surfaced as soon as she saw Lal do so. Rather than the Sea Witch's lair, it was a cavern; damp with humidity, moss and mildew growing everywhere, and rocks that didn't look incredibly inviting to sit on. Lal tapped her on the shoulder.

"Look." He pointed to one of the cave walls, and the carved lines on it were visible now that she was looking. They depicted two mermaids, one a boy, one a girl, and a larger male mermaid behind them holding a trident.

"That's Neptune. He rules the sea from the heavens, and he appointed me to rule the sea from Earth." The next carving depicted the boy, now a man, wielding a trident of his own. The girl had grown into a woman, but she was visibly displeased. "I was chosen over my sister to do so, and she became envious. She felt that she should rule the kingdom."

Fi saw the woman with a trident of her own, but it was marked over with black. "She studied dark magic and made a weapon she thought was capable of defeating me so she could take the throne. There was an epic clash between brother and sister." The wall showed the man and woman locked in battle, tridents ablaze.

"I defeated her, though, and used the trident to inflict the punishment of looking on the outside as she did on the inside, and I ended up turning her into an Octopid." The carvings depicted the woman's transformation. "After that, she vowed to destroy me and take over the kingdom, and now, she has the power to do that."

Fi took a deep breath before she spoke. "Okay, so how do you expect me to defeat her if she has enough power to take over your kingdom?"

"Ursula stole my trident after she cast a sleeping spell on me and my guards. Now that she wields mine, it augments her power. Without it, I can't hope to win. You, however, have power in your ancestry to do what I cannot: create your own trident."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"In Neptune's Cauldron in the Arctic Sea. It's a magical pool that can create weapons like the one he gave me, so infusing your power into it should work."

"Are you saying I have as much power as the God of the Sea?"

"Not exactly. Your magic is more than capable of creating a trident, just like Ursula did."

"Okay, so where is it?"

"In her cave."

While the two mermaids were talking, a shadowy figure watched them, their images suspended inside a bubble floating over what looked like a cauldron carved out of stone, wicked points adorning the basin.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here." A low, dulcet woman's chuckle pierced the silence, and a wave of her hand popped the bubble. "I suppose there's a new mermaid in town, and in league with Nereus, no less. Ha!" Her white hair swayed in the water, and a smile crossed rouged lips set in a pale purple, rotund face. She gestured again, and her trident appeared over the cauldron; it floated toward her, and she snatched the cold, black metal with one of her equally dark tentacles. She pointed the trident at the wall and let loose a dark energy against one of the cavern's walls. The stone it made contact with shimmered and vanished, revealing another, golden trident.

"Let's see how you protect your little mermaid without your trident...brother."

As the two mermaids blazed a trail through the sea, Fi was in a different world as the water rushed past her. Different creatures flashed past, and she felt at home under the waves. She felt the pull of the current they'd created, and the vast ocean around her gave her a feeling she didn't recognize at the time: freedom. She felt a touch on her arm and stopped; a black pit in the ground materialized from the rising bubbles around her.

"It feels colder here." She squinted at the opening, and she shuddered as she could swear she felt it watching back.

"Be careful. Ursula doesn't have guards. She's more than capable of dealing with intruders herself." Lal took the lead and swam toward the cave, and Fi wasn't too far behind. The darkness inside seemed to weigh on both of them, but small clusters of phosphorescent algae clinging to the cave walls provided just enough light for them to see. As they wound through its twisting passages, Lal stopped.

"What is it?" Fi asked quietly.

"My trident. It's calling to me. This way." She followed him and soon found him stopped just inside a large cavern. In its center, Neptune's Cauldron stood silent, but Lal's gaze traveled past it to his trident leaning against the wall.

"Wait. It could be a trap."

"I know it is." He held out his hand, and the trident started to resonate. It lifted off of the wall and started to float toward him, and just as it was within arm's reach, a black tentacle snaked down from the ceiling and snatched it away. They both turned around just as Ursula descended from above, one trident in each hand.

"So, you knew it was a trap, yet you came anyway. Why would the ruler of the oceans do such a stupid thing?" Ursula leveled both tridents at him.

"You know why, Ursula."

She laughed. "Honestly, Nereus, if this is about your trident again, I've told you-"

"No. It's not about my trident. I want to know why."

Any trace of a smile on her face vanished. "You know good and well why, Lal. Betrayal is wonderful motivation for revenge." She swam until the Cauldron stood between her and her brother.

"If after all this time, you can't accept the truth, then it's not revenge. It's bitterness."

Ursula's hands clenched around the tridents. "Call it what you must, but now, we're going to up the ante." She dropped the talismans into the Cauldron, and smoke and lightning erupted from its brim. "Now, you'll face all the power of the seas!" They watched in horror as the tridents rose from the depths, fusing into one: a wicked looking weapon streaked with gold and black. Ursula grasped it and pointed it at Fi, firing a bolt of black lightning at her. At the last second, Lal pushed her out of the way and took the brunt of the landed on the seafloor as Ursula cackled, and Fi swam to his side. His body was limp, and she turned to the Octopid with fire in her eyes.

"You killed him! You monster!"

"I'll show you a monster, you little brat!" Ursula aimed the trident again and nearly missed Fi, but the force of the blast threw the mermaid into the Cauldron. She felt her bracelet shatter as she went beneath the surface just before everything faded to black.

When her eyes opened again, she found herself surrounded by swirling, shimmering water, but she felt as light as air. The water in front of her swam around itself until it coalesced into a form: a mermaid. She had the same ashy blond hair as Lal, but her eyes were purple, like Ursula's. Without a word, she held out her hand, and Fi took it. She felt a jolt as the mermaid started to speak; she started illustrating her words in Fi's head.

"There's more to the story than you know."

Fi saw a mermaid with white hair talking to another who had his back turned.

"Nereus, please. She's not like Father, she can't-" Lal turned around.

"I know. You're asking the impossible, Ursula. I can't."

"It's not fair!" She started crying, swimming into her brother's arms. He embraced her as sobs wracked her body. The scene faded.

When things came into focus, she saw the siblings again, and again, Lal had his back to his sister.

"I miss her so much, Lal. I don't know what to do."

"I do too. Father knows how much we hurt."

"I would give anything to have her back."

"You know we can't."

"What if there was a way?" She held out a thin slab of rock. Lal's eyes went wide when he saw what was carved upon it.

"Ursula, the risk is too great. We could die casting that spell."

"You told me there was no way! I found one!" Anger brewed in her eyes. Lal snatched the rock from her and tossed it across the room. Before she could stop him, he fired lightning from his trident; it exploded into a million pieces that settled on the seafloor. "NO!" This scene, too, faded. Fi found herself in front of the mermaid again, and everything made sense when she looked into her purple eyes again. She watched as the bracelet reassembled itself around her wrist, and the mermaid's smile was the last thing she saw before a current rushed her upward.

"What's this?" Ursula's eyes went wide as she saw Fi rise from the Cauldron, once again a mermaid.

"Ursula." Fi held out her hand and a trident appeared in her hand; its green and gold streaked surface glinted in the cavern's light. "This has to end. Now."

"Fat chance!" Ursula fired a bolt of lightning at Fi, but Fi's trident absorbed it. Time seemed to stop as Fi leveled her trident at Ursula, and the roar of the lightning from Fi's talisman ripped through the water and hit the Octopid. An explosion rocked the cave, and Fi slipped into blackness as she hit the wall.

When the smoke cleared, Fi lifted herself off the ground and took a look around. Rocks littered the cave floor, but the Cauldron stood amongst the rubble, silent as ever. She swam past it and found the unconscious form of a mermaid, but her long, white hair covered her face. Fi put a hand on her shoulder and shook her, and the mermaid began to stir. When she came to, she sat up and Fi gasped; the mermaid was the spitting image of the one she'd seen in the Cauldron.

"What happened?" Ursula's eyes darted around the cave until they settled on Lal. "Lal!" She swam over to him, then looked back at Fi. "What happened?!" She tried to wake her brother, but to no avail.

"Ursula...he's gone." Fi let out a sigh as she dropped her trident.

"What do you mean he-" Ursula caught sight of the trident lying next to Fi's. "Did I?" The other mermaid's silence told her all she needed to know. Ursula let out an anguished cry. "We have to bring him back!" She snatched her trident from the cave floor and pointed it at her brother.

"Ursula, wait!" Fi put a hand on the mermaid's shoulder, and she stopped. "There might be another way." Fi thought back to her conversation with Lal when he told her about his family.

"Your magic is more than capable of creating a trident, just like Ursula did."

"Come on." Fi swam over to the Cauldron and Ursula followed. "Do you trust me?" Ursula nodded, not saying a word. Fi held her trident over the basin, and she closed her eyes, focusing on the talisman she held in her hand. The magical waters below it started to swirl, and Ursula took a deep breath and did the same. They both let go when the tridents started resonating, and with a flash of bright light, they descended into the Cauldron. The two mermaids held their breath until, at last, one trident arose; one that emanated vibrations they could feel deep in their chests.

"Here goes." Fi reached out and grasped the trident, and she slowly swung it to point at the fallen Nereus. She felt a surge as power poured out of it and enveloped Lal; it swirled around him and vanished almost as quick as it appeared. Both mermaids' hearts soared when he stirred, and he propped himself up against the wall.

"Fi?"

"It's me." Fi smiled as she swam over to him.

"Ursula?" Lal almost dismissed it as a hallucination from his recovery, but her form became more solid as she swam over to him. "What happened?"

"I'll explain on the way back to California."

The trip across two oceans seemed to take but a few minutes, and before they knew it, they were back at the beach in front of the Seaside Club.

"Fi, I can't thank you enough for your help. I-" Lal turned to look at his sister for a second. "We are forever in your debt." Ursula put a hand on Fi's shoulder.

"Thank you. Without you, I never would have known forgiveness."

"So what's going to happen now?" Fi glanced over at the club.

"I'm going back to the seas. With a new advisor." He smiled, and so did Ursula. "Here." He held out a trident-sized talisman the size of his palm out to Fi, and she took it.

"What does this do?" Fi held it up and the sun glinted off of its golden surface.

"Use it if you ever need anything of the sea."

"Thank you!" Fi smiled.

"Goodbye!" Lal and Ursula's heads dipped underwater and in a split-second, they were gone. Fi looked down at the cuff around her wrist; she could only wonder if Lal had left that with her on purpose...