Chapter Thirteen
The Return to Atlantica
Melody plunged below the surface and found Tracy waiting for her. "Let's go."
They swam away from their ship towards Atlantica. "If we swim fast, we could probably reach in about an hour," Melody said, thinking about the fastest route they could take to the kingdom. "Hopefully that would give us enough time to prepare for the invasion."
Tracy remained silent, deep in thought.
"Hey, you alright?" Melody asked, concerned for her friend.
"Peachy." Tracy replied, avoiding eye contact with her. Silence reigned for a couple of minutes.
"Tracy," Melody began again cautiously, as the duo swam past the Major's vessel. "Can I ask you something?"
Tracy tore herself away from her thoughts, and looked over at Melody. "Yeah?"
"Moana said that when the Major hit you with black magic, you actually enjoyed it," Melody continued, afraid of where the conversation was headed. "Was she telling the truth?"
"Maybe," Tracy replied elusively. "Why d'you wanna know?"
"Because I'm worried about you. You haven't exactly been the same since your encounter with Kane."
"Okay, so maybe I basked in its power," Tracy admitted. "But I can control it, alright?"
"Well…" Melody paused, knowing that she was treading on thin ice. "It didn't really seem that way when you exploded with black magic."
"What are you saying?"
"I guess what I'm trying to say is," Melody continued, before pausing again. Maybe she should have approached this a different way, but it was too late to turn back now. "I need to know that I can count on you when we face the Major again."
"No, what you're saying is," Tracy stopped swimming. "You don't trust me either,"
"Now wait a minute," Melody halted and swam back to where Tracy had stopped. "I didn't say that at all."
"Aww come on, Princess." Tracy retorted sardonically, her tentacles tensed. "I have black magic too, remember? Not as powerful as the Major's, but I can still sense things," she narrowed her eyes. "Things like mistrust."
Melody sighed. This wasn't going to end well for either of them. "Look, if I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have pulled you out of the Dark Zone and offered you a chance to break free from your family's cycle of violence."
"Oh, so now I'm the victim?" Tracy folded her arms. "I thought I was the villain here."
"Stop putting words in my mouth," Melody was getting exasperated. "All I'm saying is, I know you're better than this. I wouldn't have brought you on our quest otherwise."
"No," Tracy replied sharply. "You brought me out of the Dark Zone because you thought you could redeem yourself if you helped a poor unfortunate soul like me,"
Melody paused, taken aback by the octopid's perceptiveness. Tracy wasn't wrong.
"I know, coz you did the same thing with Elsa," Tracy continued. "We're both just sob stories to you, aren't we? Your very own stepping stones to redemption?"
"Okay I admit, I was doing it partially for myself," Melody admitted. "But I really did see something in you, and I wanted to help you get away from all the violence in the Dark Zone!"
Tracy scoffed. "And look where we ended up."
Melody exhaled sharply, and put her hands on her hips. There was an awkward silence between the two girls that spanned a minute or so. "Look, I promise we'll sort this out later. But right now, we have to go. We're running out of time."
Tracy nodded reluctantly. Melody swam forward quickly and Tracy followed behind at a distance. They had quite a distance to go before they were going to reach Atlantica, and they were in a race against time.
###
Up on the surface of the waters, Moana was carving up the fruit that Tracy had left behind with her tribal knife, still boiling over her argument with the antagonistic sea witch.
"Moana," Maui walked towards her.
"Not now, Maui," She got up and tossed the fruit overboard. "I need some space." Moana kept her knife in the pocket of her shorts and walked down to the quarters.
"Right." Maui sighed, and turned his attention to Elsa, who was gazing out into the cold mist, deep in thought as usual. "You know, she wasn't always like this." he said, trying to defend the girl whom he had known for years. Moana was kind, brave and optimistic, but then he had no way of proving that to anyone. "It's only recently that she's changed so drastically."
"I guess we all have our origin stories." Elsa replied absentmindedly, still gazing out into the cold mist.
"Yeah…I know you hate talking about yours," Maui leaned on the beam, facing her. "But I think you deserve to know the truth."
Elsa looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean? What truth?"
"The truth about my origin," Maui continued, sitting down on the deck beside Elsa.
"Why are you telling me this? Why now?" She was perplexed as to why Maui was suddenly telling her the truth about himself.
"Because I might not have another chance later," Maui explained. "I get it. Believe me, I know what you meant when you said you felt like a monster. An outcast."
Elsa looked uncomfortable.
"I told you I was born a human and was taken by the gods as a child, to be brought up as a demigod." Maui began. "But that's not entirely true. I was… abandoned by my parents, and left to starve and die. The gods took pity on me and raised me as their own, granting me special abilities as a demigod."
For the first time, Elsa looked at Maui with sympathy. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know." She whispered softly, placing her hand gently on Maui's. As she was feeling sympathetic towards Maui, her emotions were stirred within her, and she didn't notice ice forming on her hands. Maui's hand began to freeze but he didn't flinch. Elsa suddenly noticed, and she pulled back quickly. "I didn't mean to-"
"That's okay. I'm a demigod remember?" Maui smiled. "Look, I never told this to anyone other than Moana, because this is actually a rather touchy subject for me too," He continued. "But I chose to tell you because you deserve to know that you're not the only one out there who's an outcast."
Elsa looked at him and for the first time, she felt something other than annoyance at Maui. She felt empathetic towards him.
"You shouldn't be ashamed of being different. Embrace who you are, Elsa," Maui got up from the beam. "Melody and I sought you out because you were different, so be proud of that." He smiled comfortingly at her, and walked away to give her some space.
"Wait!" Elsa called out, and Maui turned around. "Thank you for telling me. I feel like we've a lot more in common now, you know," she said shyly. "I'm sorry if I kept pushing you away, I swear it wasn't personal. It's just that… I'm afraid of hurting people with my powers when I get emotional." Elsa explained.
"Don't worry, I don't get hurt easily." He winked, and walked down the stairs leading down to the lower decks. "Oh, and you're not a monster to me," his voice rung out from the stairwell. "You're a queen."
Elsa laughed at Maui's playful comment. She was beginning to understand who Maui really was underneath that loud and boisterous exterior. Sure, he was noisy, bouncy and annoying on the outside, but deep down on the inside, he was sweet and gentle, and surprisingly had a lot in common with her. He wasn't so bad after all.
###
After what seemed like an eternity of awkward silence while swimming across the ocean, Melody and Tracy swam past the reef that marked the beginning of Atlantica's territory. Tracy looked around, taking in the sights of Atlantica for the first time. There were plenty more fishes in Atlantica than the other territories that they had passed by on the way. It was hands down definitely more colourful and vibrant in Atlantica. The other places they had passed by were quiet and dull, somewhat like the Dark Zone where Tracy had lived all her life.
Atlantica was every bit the dream world that Tracy had fantasised about back when she was stuck in the Dark Zone, wishing for a way out. There was a huge variety of sea creatures that swam freely throughout the kingdom, and the plants were a vibrant shade of green and bountiful. Even the reefs and rocks in the kingdom were beautifully decorated, a welcome sign to all creatures in the ocean. It even seemed that Atlantica, though it was a mystical place of old, had technology far superior to that on land! The various infrastructures that had been built by the mer-people were beautifully constructed, laced with bright neon lights. Merfolk swam through the kingdom freely, some bargaining in the marketplace, while young children played on the seabed with the marine life.
Tracy looked up at the palace. It was made of solid gold, tall and magnificent, and was built against a large rocky wall that towered far above the kingdom. Atlantica was truly beautiful. As the duo swam through the kingdom towards the palace, Tracy had a chill down her spine. It felt as though people were watching her, and she looked around. True enough, merfolk were staring and whispering to one another, and some children pointed at her, tugging at their parents' tails. It was then that Tracy realized, to her horror, that there were no octopids in Atlantica at all other than herself. Suddenly, she remembered that her mother, Morgana, was a war criminal who had almost succeeded in overthrowing the king! Octopids must have been forbidden from entering Atlantica after that incident six years ago. It all made sense to her, and she felt extremely self-conscious and nervous. What if someone discovered that she was the daughter of Morgana? She would be thrown into prison without a second thought! Anxiety crept over Tracy, and she swam closer to Melody, not really caring that they weren't on the best terms. They arrived at the gates of the palace, where huge mermen decked out in armour stood guard.
The guards noticed the octopid swimming alongside the Princess, and immediately they sprung into action. "The Princess! Get her to safety!" Two guards hurriedly separated Melody from Tracy, and the rest aimed their spears at the forbidden creature. "Halt! How dare you enter the kingdom? Do you not know that this crime is punishable by lifetime imprisonment?" one of the guards bellowed.
"Guys! Lower your weapons!" Melody frantically swam over to one of the guards and pushed the spear away from Tracy. "Stand down, she's with me!" Melody exclaimed firmly.
"Apologies, your Highness!" the commander of the guards bowed, motioning to the rest to lower their weapons. "How may we be of service?"
"I have urgent matters that I need to take to my mother," Melody said. "Is she in?"
"Yes, Your Highness. May we escort you into the Royal Court?" the commander offered.
"That won't be necessary. Thanks!" Melody called out as she swam into the palace, with an awkward Tracy following behind closely.
The duo swam into the Royal Court, to find Ariel talking with some dignitaries. "Mom!" Melody shouted, swimming across the purple carpet towards her mother.
"Melody? What are you doing here?" Ariel asked, stunned to suddenly see her daughter hurtling towards her. "Can't this wait? I'm kind of in an important meeting right now."
"No Mom, this can't wait. Atlantica is in danger!" Melody pleaded, swimming to a stop in front of her mother.
"I'm sorry, we'll have to continue this another time. Please give us the room."
Melody was shocked to hear Sebastian the crab's voice, and looked to her right. There the crab was, ushering the muttering dignitaries out of the court. Sebastian must have returned not long after she had visited Atlantica. The doors of the court were shut tight, and Sebastian turned to Melody.
"Young lady, what's going on? And why did you bring an octopid here?" he demanded, looking at Tracy, who stood a distance away from Melody. "Have you forgotten what these monsters are capable of?" he swam back towards Melody, wildly gesturing at the octopid. "Need I remind you of a certain sea witch?"
Tracy rolled her eyes and folded her arms. She was getting tired of being ostracized by everyone.
"Don't worry, she's not evil." Melody quickly reassured her former guardian and her mother. "This is Tracy. She's been helping me in…" Melody paused, not knowing how to break the news that she had embarked on a dangerous quest to save the world. "…uncovering an evil scheme." She finished. That was the truth, after all. She turned to Ariel, her face wrought with urgency. "A war is coming to Atlantica."
Ariel sighed. "Melody, I know."
"Wait, what?" Melody was confused. How could her mother possibly know of the Major's quest?
"Merfolk from Atlantica and other kingdoms throughout the ocean have been disappearing for months," Ariel began. "Your aunts confirmed that they have been having the same problem as us. We couldn't prove it at first, but then a few days ago, Sebastian came back to us with proof."
"I saw your grandfather being taken!" Sebastian added, his voice filled with anguish. "We were exploring one of the villages in Eidenburg, when suddenly a human vessel overshadowed us and nets descended from the surface! They caught many merfolk, including King Triton," Sebastian bowed his head. "I couldn't save him. His final words to me were 'Return to Atlantica and warn everyone'."
"The kingdom officials and I were discussing the disappearances when you first returned to Atlantica," Ariel continued, looking at Melody with a grave look on her face. "When Sebastian proved our suspicions to be true, there was only one logical explanation. Since most of the disappearances came from Atlantica, that meant that our enemies wanted to weaken our forces so that it would be easier to attack us."
Melody took a while to absorb all this new information. Her grandfather captured? Merfolk disappearing across the ocean? This was sick. "I know who's behind all this," Melody said boldly.
Ariel and Sebastian looked at her.
"The mercenaries call him Major Kane. We fought him in Agrabah, where he told us his entire plan," she looked back at Tracy, who nodded. "He's coming here for the trident." Melody finished, holding her breath in anticipation for a lecture on staying out of danger.
"Hold on, you went to Agrabah and faced this Major Kane?" Ariel couldn't believe what she had just heard. "And you managed to escape unharmed?"
"Yes, I-"
"Young lady, what were you thinking? You could have gotten seriously hurt!" Sebastian shouted in concern.
"I'm fine!" Melody insisted. "I wasn't alone. I was with a… team of warriors." She felt like she was exaggerating. They were more like a bunch of amateurs who couldn't get along with each other for three minutes without arguing, but her mother needn't know that. Not now at least. "I'm not twelve anymore, you know. I can take care of myself." She continued indignantly. "If I couldn't, I wouldn't have made it here, would I?"
"Even if you could hold your own against him, there's still one problem. We don't know when this Major Kane will strike," Sebastian reminded them.
"That's why I came back to Atlantica in a hurry," Melody looked at Sebastian and her mother. "He's on his way here now, and could be here at any moment!"
"Then it's time," Ariel looked at Sebastian. "Initiate the Invasion Protocol."
Sebastian nodded gravely and without another word, he swam swiftly out of the Royal Court.
"Invasion Protocol?" Melody asked in confusion.
"Your grandfather prepared for a time like this. If this Major is coming here for a war, we'll show him that Atlantica isn't a kingdom to be messed with," Ariel told the two girls with confidence.
"There's just one more problem," Melody said. "He's a wielder of black magic."
"Major Kane uses a snake totem to channel his black magic," Tracy explained. "So your little invasion protocol might not work too well against him."
Ariel put her hand to her forehead, and her eyebrows were knitted together in concentration. "Let's go." Ariel swam to the doors of the Royal Court and opened them.
"Where are we going?" Melody asked as she and Tracy followed Ariel out of the Royal Court.
"Your grandfather's library," Ariel replied as they swam through the corridors of the palace. "He made it his business to know about all magical and mystical items, both on the land and sea. He stored all sorts of books about them in his personal library, and never allowed any of us to enter the library."
Ariel, Melody and Tracy arrived outside a wooden door that looked like it had not been opened for years. "But now, with this war approaching and this snake totem involved, it's time to crack open my father's sea of knowledge." Ariel reached out to open the door, only to find it locked. "Of course!" Ariel exclaimed in exasperation. "Of course it would be locked. What was I thinking?"
"Here, let me try." Tracy stood in front of the door, and squinted. Muttering a spell under her breath, a cloud of purple ink emitted from her hands. She forcefully thrusted her hands towards the door, and the entire door came off its hinges.
"Thanks, but that was a little excessive," Ariel said, walking through the gap where the door used to stand.
"I was just trying to blow the knob off," Tracy shrugged, and Melody raised an eyebrow.
They followed Ariel into the library, and she swam up to pull back a flap covering a high ceiling. Sunlight flooded into the library lit up, revealing a cave with an extremely high ceiling, shelves of books surrounding the walls of the cave. "Snake totem, snake totem," Ariel swam up, glancing around at the shelves, hoping that her father had arranged the books in alphabetical order. She pulled out a book about totems, and swam back down to where Melody and Tracy were waiting for her. Ariel opened the book, and flipped through it page by page, with the two girls glancing over her shoulder.
"There," Melody stopped her mother, pointing to a page in the book. "That looks like the one he was wearing,"
Ariel placed the book down on a table made out of rock. "Let's see what we can find."
Writer's Commentary:
This was actually kind of hard to write, since it's technically filler between the fight scene in the marketplace, and the Major's war against Atlantica. I had a pretty hard time coming up with interesting content, and decided to use this time to further the characters' relationships with each other.
First between Tracy and Melody, I wanted to slowly disintegrate the bond that Tracy has with her. After all, Melody is the one who brought Tracy out of the black Zone, so it's only fitting that she starts to lose her only friend. That's the one thing that's going to send Tracy scurrying back to her old habits.
And there's Elsa and Maui. At some point in time, their relationship had to pick up. It was kinda hard to find a good place to pay off the animosity that Elsa harboured towards Maui, and I hoped that I eased their tension successfully. Maybe this will open more opportunities to write more chemistry scenes for these two characters.
Then there's the twist. Queen Ariel knew about the invasion that's impending. That was a fun bit to write. And the return of Sebastian! I'm glad I got to slip him in somewhere. And of course, things are going to get wild when the war picks up a while later.