Aquatic Kingdom Hearts

by Stone-Man85

3 Hearts of the Sea...a band of heroes....One Great Adventure. Story includes POTC, Atlantis, and the Little Mermaid.

5. Part of Your World pt2

Aquatic Kingdom Hearts

Chapter 4: Talking for the First Time; Part of Your World pt.2

Back at Port Royal Cove

A Few Minutes Later

The Fish pirates had secured the ship and were about ready to leave with it. Frey and Eric were on their knees, with three of the fishmen watching over them. Frey kept telling himself that it was all some kind of nightmare caused by the guacamole dip. Eric on the other hand, knew better to think this was all some dream. If the mermaid that had saved his life as a boy was real, then these guys were definitely not a hallucination.

Ariel looked from over to where she was, along with a too-terrified-to-move Sebastian. She saw the two boys being held prisoner as she silently told herself, while looking in worry for not just the two boys, but the one called Eric, "There has to be something I can…" but that's when she heard it. Thumping footsteps coming aboard the ship. It was then that Ariel, Sebastian, and the two boys saw to where the footsteps were coming form.

Walking aboard the ship, was a powerful figure, dressed in blue buccaneer pants, a belt with a sword and pistol to it, a captain's coat with only the right sleeve on, and a tricorne hat. Like all the others, his clothing was covered in barnacles and just a tiny bit of seaweed. His left leg appeared to be normal with a boot on the foot, while the right leg was nothing more than the right leg of a crab, resembling a peg leg. He also had in place of his left arm, a crustacean-style claw, and on his right hand, a long tentacle in place of the index finger. But the man's striking feature was his cephalopod-like head, with a beard composed of octopus-like tentacles, similar to the head of Cthulhu of legend, with a siphon located on the left side of his face. And a prominent sac bulge from under his barnacle-encrusted tricorne hat. And his eyes were human, but of that of an icy dark blue; if anyone had looked into those eyes, they would be afraid.

The horror that was this man, had the men chuckle at the boys as he walked near them. Sebastian and Ariel were just too terrified by this man; seeing as how they knew who this was. Sebastian's legs were shaking with fear as his teeth started chattering as he stuttered the name out of his mouth, "It's…it's…it's…"

But Ariel finished for him, as she spoke in a frightened whisper, "Davy Jones."

The man, Davy Jones, walked up to his first mate, Maccus, as the hammer-headed pirate reported, "The humans abandoned ship and are aback on shore, sir. The ship is secured, awaiting to be taken back to Sea Serpent Pass."

Then Jones turned towards the boys, and then back to Maccus as he spoke in a clearly distinguishable Scottish accent, "And who…might these whelps be?"

Maccus chuckled, "New blood."

That seemed to lighten up Davy Jones' day as he chuckled, "Are they, now? I'm sorely tempted to accept some new cabin boys." He then walked over to the boys, while flexing his crustacean claw. The two boys looked at the man; almost to the point in hoping to wake up and believe this whole thing to be nothing but a bad dream, but to no avail. Davy Jones looked at Frey, and even though he wasn't showing, Jones could tell the boy was afraid. He knelt down in front of him, took out a pipe, lit it, and puffed it a bit. He then blew a little in Frey's face, as the rest exited the siphon, and then he asked, "Do you fear death? Do you fear that dark abyss? All your deeds lay bare, all you sins punished?" He then smirked as he leaned in, "I can offer you and your friend…an escape."

"Don't listen to him, Frey!", Eric shouted, catching the attention Davy Jones.

Jones got up and walked towards the boy, much to Ariel's fear. She couldn't do anything, much less get caught herself; all she could do at this point was watch the whole thing. Jones towered over Eric and with a quick movement, grabbed Eric by the neck with his crustacean claw, and lifted him off the ground, causing Ariel to gasp in fear. One of the crew men, who had a conch for a head, had heard the gasp and turned to see where the gasp came from. Ariel hid before he saw her; the conch head looked, but then shrugged, thinking it was just the wind. Ariel sighed in relief as Sebastian fainted in the water; the whole suspenseful event was getting to him. Ariel turned back to the deck and looked in worry to see what would happen to the boy named Eric.

Jones took a drag from his pipe, and blew smoke at the boy's face, causing Eric to cough from it. Jones then had a satisfied smirk, in seeing this boy killed by his men, should his refuse, and asked with half a smirk, "Do you not…fear death?" And was about to take a drag from his pipe awaiting the boy's answer, until the smirk on Jones' face faded away. He looked at the boy with much question, and surprisingly, a little fear. Jones looked at him closely, and then with his slimy left hand, swiped the boy's hair, to make it look presentable like it was combed to the right side. Eric didn't know what this guy was trying to do, and frankly he didn't much care at all.

Jones took a careful look at the boy, and had a feeling of nostalgia about him. This boy was deeply familiar, if it weren't for the brown eyes. He then asked the boy, with no hint of fear in his voice, "Are you familiar to me, boy?" Eric didn't reply, and looked at him quite puzzled, "Have we met before? On some sinking ship or swashbuckling duel on the seas?"

All Eric could muster out from the grip this guy had on his throat, was one simple sentence as he struggled to talk, "You think I'd remember a face like that."

Jones smirked as he messed up Eric's hair once more, and dropped him back on the ground. As Eric coughed while trying to breathe, Jones quipped, "You think I would too." But then he got back to his proposal as he turned his back to them and stated, "But back to business: I'm offering you boys a choice…", and then turned around to face the boys once more, "Join my crew and postpone that final judgment of death. One hundred years before the mast. Will ye serve?

Without giving the choice much thought, Eric simply muttered with his head hanging low, "If serving on board your ship, means having to look like you and shoot at innocent and unsuspecting people, like you did tonight…", his head then shot up and gave Jones a daring glare, "…then I'd rather take my chances in death."

Frey looked at his buddy, and his courage came back up as he smirked at Jones, "Same here."

Ariel was quite frightened, seeing that the stories she heard was that Jones killed off anyone who refused to join. But she couldn't help but blush at the boy's bravery; in all the stories that she heard of the Flying Dutchman, no one ever showed much bravery to stand up against its captain, Davy Jones.

The crew looked to their captain, eagerly awaiting the joy that was to see their captain take out his anger at the boys.

Jones didn't batter an eye or get angry at this negative response. However, the captain merely shrugged as he seemed calm as he stated, "Very well…", and then turned his back away.

Ariel sighed in relief for the two boys as she held her hand over her heart. The boys sighed for a moment, as Frey stated, "Well…that wasn't so bad."

Then Jones politely said, "To the depths…", and turned away with a sadistic and satisfied smirk.

And that was when the pirates lunged at the boys. They held the boys up on their feet, for the creepy looking one named Ogilvey, walked up to the two boys. In his starfish shaped fingers, he held two deadly razor-sharp hooks in his hands, and held them at the freaked out boys. He then hissed out in a wraith-like voice and pointed the first hook at Eric, "I owe you for gutting me like that…", he then held the hook in his right hand high up, "…So I'll just start with you first!"

Ariel gasped in fear for the boy as she saw the hook heading down at the shocked Eric as he closed his eyes tightly to expect the worst. But he was saved at the last second, by Davy Jones who grabbed Ogilvey's hand as he stated, "Mr. Ogilvey! What are you doin'?" he then let go of his crewman as he pointed to the boys, "This is not what I meant by to the depths!"

The boys looked at each other confused a little, but Frey, deciding to be the suck up, stood up and stated with his hand on his hip and pointing to Davy Jones, "Well, yeah, exactly."

A Few Minutes Later

"This is what I meant by to the depths.", Jones stated pointing to the boys. The two were tied in a crucified manner, and both tied back-by-back on an anchor. They were being held in position by Maccus and the conch headed fellow named Hadras next to the edge of the boat. Davy Jones smirked at this as he stated, "Simply bleeding to death isn't a death that would be fair for them." He then pointed to the ocean as he cackled, "Now to be sentenced to the crushing black oblivion that is the Locker…now that is a death worth dying on."

Eric turned to see Frey, glaring at him like he was going to be the one to kill him. Eric sighed in defense as he stated, "Come on, Frey, don't blame me."

Frey shot out in a smooth voice, "I blame you."

Then Jones walked towards the boys as he simply smiled evilly at the two. If there was one part of this job that liked, it was watching others suffer. He lightly chuckled at this scene as he stated, "You know boys, in my heart, I have to say that this is wrong, and I shouldn't be doing something like this to a duo of such fine young men like yourselves…"

Frey then asked hopefully, "Then, you'll let us go?"

Davy Jones smirked never faded as he finished, "…that is if I wasn't such a heartless wretch." He then signaled his men to push them over the edge of the boat as he taunted them both, "Well, boys…hope you can swim, better than you can fight." And with that said and Davy Jones and his men laughing full-heartedly, as Maccus and Hadras pushed the anchored boys over the edge of the boat, and they sank into the water with a splash. The crew and captain of the Flying Dutchman had a good laugh, until Davy Jones shouted, "What are you all laughing about for? Back to work or it'll be the Locker for you all."

The crew did as they were told, and failed to notice another splash going into the water. As soon as the anchor sank into the water, Ariel could not stand by anymore. At the last second, she dived into the water and swam towards the boys who were in need of her help. She swam around the rocky and still-stirring waters, in hopes of finding them. She said to herself, "I know they dropped here somewhere. Where are they?"

It was then that she spotted some movement near close of the yacht's wreckage. She swam over to there saw Eric and Frey's bodies, still tied to the anchor. She feared the worst as she swam over there, but her hope was restored. She saw Eric struggling with the rope, but Frey was unconscious from going that far underwater. She was hoping both would be unconscious but she knew what she had to do. She swam as fast as she could over to them both.

Eric was still struggling with the ropes, in hopes that it would come loose. But he didn't know for how long it was going to take. The hard splash in the water didn't really help matters in this at all. It had left him a little disoriented, and it knocked half the wind out of his lungs. This was too much like Déjà vu all over again for him; the first time was when he was tossed out of a boat when he was six, and this time he was tossed out of a boat by blood-thirsty pirates who were part sea creature. Now he and his friend were sinking to the crushing blackness that was the bottom of the ocean. They struck the bottom as Eric continued to struggle, but like before, his muscles began to ache once more. And then finally, he couldn't hold his breath anymore as he opened his mouth, and let all the air out of his lungs. Eric struggled as he was getting weak and tired, only thinking of that girl he met long ago, 'It seems like I'm being claimed…by the sea again…This stinks…I never even…got to…see her…again…'

And at that moment, it was as if a silent prayer was answered to him. For swimming next to him, was the mermaid, now that had rescued him as a boy, to rescue him again. She pulled at the rope for a moment, until the knot suddenly became loose enough for Eric to free himself. He grabbed his unconscious friend and swam up to the surface with all he could, but then the same mermaid grabbed his friend's arm, and helped them both swim up to the surface. But as they swam to the surface, the mermaid and boy both stole a glance at each other. This had been the closest encounter for the two ever since six years ago. And now, questions kept going on inside their heads about one and the other.

They broke topside and the two saw that the ship known as the Flying Dutchman, and the yacht, had both disappeared. As Ariel looked around, making sure that the Dutchman was gone, she felt a little limpness coming from Frey's other end. She turned and saw Eric passing out from exhaustion and nearly fell back into the water. She swam over and grabbed Eric, while still holding on to Frey; she held him close, as she nearly blushed for a moment, looking at the unconscious boy in front of her. She shook it off as she remembered, it was still raining and she needed to get these two to shore. And so she did as she held on to the two and swam back to the beach.

Port Royal Cove Shore

A Few Minutes Later

The rain had stopped and the seas were once again calm near Port Royal, with no trace of the Flying Dutchman or the High School yacht. Ariel had found a place near the offshore beach that was close to the forest side of the beach. It was a large river that was feeding into the ocean, which was bridged by two sandy beach sides that stretched into the jungle woods and to the beach. The one near the jungle woods, acted as the resting place for the two boys as Frey lay at his side, stirring in his unconscious sleep. Eric, on the other hand, was lying flat on his back, taking relaxed breathing; even though he was out, in his mind he was still trying to wake up.

However, he was not alone, for sitting right next to him, looking concerned for him was Ariel. She had brought them back to shore and had found a spot that was not populated. It would make a great place to hide for them so she couldn't be seen by other humans. She knew the blonde was okay, but it was the dark-haired one she was deeply concerned about. She had stayed by his side ever since they got to shore; as she stayed with him, she got a good look at him.

It had only been six years since last she saw that human boy, but she had never seen a teenage human boy before. She looked at the black-haired one carefully, and saw that he was well built, due to the fact that his shirt was wet and clinged to his chest. His hair was messy but it seemed to give him a little bit of a rogue charm. She also even noticed the surfer's necklace as well as the two earrings on his left ear. She raised a curious eyebrow at this as she asked herself, "That's a little strange. I didn't know boys wore jewelry."

But it was then that in speaking of jewelry, she noticed another necklace around his neck. She looked at it very closely, and curiosity got the better of her. She reached for the string and pulled at it, pulling out the pendant that went with it. It was then that her eyes went wide with surprise as to what she saw. There was a yellow shell as the main jewel with a strange insignia on it. The insignia was that of a trident shape on it, pointing upward.

She gasped as she said to herself, "This is…this is the necklace my mother gave me." She was overjoyed to see it as she smiled, "I thought I lost it…", but then her look of happiness turned to that of surprise as she looked back at the boy, and she knew right then and there. She looked back at the boy and remembered the boy that she had saved six years ago, and then looked back at the boy in front of her as she saw he was stirring awake. It was then that she realized it when she whispered it out loud, "You…you are that boy…"

And then, by her surprise, she saw Eric slowly stir awake as he opened his eyes. Eric's vision was slightly blurry, so at the moment, all he could see were shapes and colors. When his vision cleared up, his eyes shot wide open as he saw who it was that caught his eye. Within his eyesight was the same mermaid that had saved his life; her face was that of surprise and a little fear for some reason as she dropped the pendant.

He shot up in a sitting position, saying, "You're…!" but then the mermaid jumped back a little, and headed right back for the water. Not wanting to see her leave again, he grabbed her by the wrist to stop her as he stated, "Wait, please! I'm not gonna hurt you." Ariel struggled a little, trying to break free of his grip, until he said, "I don't want to hurt you. I just wanted to thank you…for saving my life twice now."

Ariel stopped struggling, as she turned to look in Eric's direction. She looked at the boy's face, trying to find any hint of him lying. From his face, she saw no twitch of a smile that told her he was lying. She even looked into his eyes…his big pretty brown eyes…and saw nothing but the truth. She knew right then and there that the human boy in front of her meant no harm, but honesty.

Eric saw that he wasn't about to run away again, and gently let go of her wrist, and asked her, "I'm sorry…if I was a bit rough, but…"

She shook her head, and spoke to him for the first time, "No. you didn't hurt me, Eric."

He looked a little surprised at hearing his name. He was almost sure that she had forgotten it, or didn't hear him the first time he said it. He looked at her with surprise and uncertainty as he asked her, "You…you remember my name?"

Ariel nodded, "Of course. I thought about you for a long time. It wouldn't be a surprise if I didn't remember your name", she then felt a little awkward at this point; she fiddled her hair a little, not knowing what to say next. That was the most embarrassing thing she had just said and she slightly blushed at the realization. She even saw that Eric was a little quiet as well; probably not sure as to what to say next or slightly embarrassed as well. She looked a little closer at him and didn't realize how handsome he was. She had always remembered him as the ten year old boy she rescued, but now, she saw him as a young handsome man.

As she realized what she was thinking of, she shook her head, screaming in her head, 'Stay focused, Ariel. This is no time for boy-gazing!' but then she decided to break the ice, and do what she should have done a long time ago, "Ariel."

Eric raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Wha?"

Ariel smiled as she replied, "You told me your name, but I didn't give you mine. It's Ariel."

Eric let the name sink in as he smirked, "Ariel, eh? That sounds really pretty."

Ariel blushed at that as she smiled at Eric, "Well…thank you, Eric."

The two just sat there, not saying much of anything, but enjoying their company. One didn't know what to say to the other; this made them both feeling a little awkward at this. But then Eric looked at Ariel, who was looking back at the ocean, and looked at her eyes…her bright, warm, expressive eyes, that seemed to quiver with excitement and emotion…and at that moment, felt like he'd been slammed in the chest by a railroad hammer.

Then Ariel spoke up again as she said, "Eric….", Eric turned towards her direction, as she continued, "I wanted to thank you…", she then pointed at his neck as she stated, "…for holding on to my mother's necklace."

Eric didn't know what she was talking about, until it finally clicked in his head. The necklace he wore was proof that the mermaid, now he knew as Ariel, was in fact real and not a dream. He then reached around his neck and pulled it off, smiling, "Yeah, I figured that you'd want this back." He then held it out as he said, "Um, do you mind if I…"

Ariel looked at him confused for a moment, but then understood. He wanted to put the necklace back on around her neck. She blushed a little as she nodded, "Um, sure…okay." She pulled her hair over to the left side and leaned in towards Eric. He did the same, as he undid the necklace's clamp and brought his arms around her neck. The two were close to one another, almost blushing by being near one another. Eric did his best to do the task at hand, but then he took a whiff of the girl that was near her. His senses were going haywire at the strange aroma that was what had to have been some kind of sea perfume.

After a few seconds for what felt like an hour between them, they pulled apart. Eric then looked at Ariel and smiled, seeing the necklace was back to its rightful owner. It glistened in the moonlight, and felt a twinge in his heart as he saw Ariel with it on. He smiled, and complimented, "It really looks good on you."

Ariel slightly blushed at that, as she smiled, "Oh, thank you." But then the two teens ended up getting quiet again. It felt like a few minutes of silence washed on them, seeing as how they were too shy towards each other. They were in a tight pickle, not knowing what to say to each other. Near the beach and on the water rocks near it, the unconscious and water-logged Sebastian and Flounder swept on to them. Sebastian groggily looked towards Ariel and the human boy…who was awake…and talking to her. Sebastian nearly gasped as he shouted, "ARIEL! STO…!", but was muffled before the two teens could hear him, but Scuttle, who had miraculously come back after he had spotted Ariel from the sky.

Scuttle kept Sebastian muffed as he half-smirked, "Wait! Let's see where their conversation takes this."

Eric looked around, trying to find anything on to talk about. Right now anything would have been nice to break this awkward moment. He looked around in frustration as he berated himself, 'C'mon, Eric! Think! You've waited six years to see this girl and talk to her! Don't start getting cold feet on her now!' It was then that finally, he looked at the moonlit ocean, and stated, "Wow! The ocean looks great tonight with the moon out."

Ariel was a little taken back by that, and looked at it. From down below, all anyone could see were the lights lighting up the ocean floor. But now she saw the light lighting up the surface of the water. And she had to admit, it really looked beautiful as she nodded in agreement, "It really is. I mean, I've only seen it underwater, but not on land."

Eric then smirked, seeing that they finally got somewhere. He then looked at the ocean, and slightly blushed at what he was about to say next, "You know, it was because I first met you…that I started to grow fascinated by the sea."

Ariel turned towards him with his eyes kept at the ocean. Her face lit up as she blushed from that, 'He's fascinated by my world…like I'm fascinated by his…just by meeting me?' she then asked, a little surprised, "Really?"

He nodded, getting comfortable where he was sitting at, "Yeah, I mean I've read every book that I could about stories on Mermaids or Merpeople and the legends that talk about your world." He then sighed as he smiled, "I always wondered what it was like. The places you can go, the things you see, the stuff that you get to do that humans can't do without scuba gear or submarines…"

Ariel smiled at Eric's curiosity and enthusiastic love of the sea. But then she frowned, remembering her father's strict rules, and frowned as she pulled her tail close to her, like it was a pair of legs, and resting her head on where her knees should be. She then sulked a little as she sarcastically said, "Sure. The royal Sea King's guards telling you where to go, and where you can't go."

Eric raised an eyebrow at that, but then shook it off as he said, "It's better than being on land here, what with the Governor, Lord Cutler Beckett in charge of Port Royal. I mean with the East India Trading Company making new laws that make your life miserable in the Caribbean. Telling you that you have to work for them; play and live by their rules, instead of living your own life at sea…"

Ariel then nodded as she stated, "You're not free to make your own choices…."

Eric stated, "Sometimes you feel like you're…."

"Trapped.", the two said in unison.

Surprised by that, the two teens, human and mermaid, looked at each other. The two of them, after saying that, realized that they weren't so different after all. Even though they were both of land and sea separately, they saw two kids; both fascinated by one another and their world, and felt like they were trapped in their own world. They smiled at one another, in this common bond, and silently thanked someone for finding each other once more.

Eric smirked, but felt a little awkward as he scratched the back of his head, and asked Ariel, "So…why do you feel like you're trapped?"

Ariel sighed as she rested her head on her 'knees', "My father, King Triton, treats me like I'm still a child. My sisters aren't any help, seeing as how they're practically on his side." She then looked the other way as she moped, "Nobody understands me, except for my friends….", she then turned towards Eric and smiled a little, "…and you."

Eric looked at her, now with a sense of understanding of her little dilemma. He scratched the back of his head as he started to say, "I think I know how you feel. You see, when I told everyone that I was saved by a mysterious girl from the sea…", Ariel smiled at that compliment but listened as he continued, "…nobody actually believed me, not even my own uncle, but…"

But then he stopped for a moment as he shook his head, remembering something that Ariel had said to him, "Whoa, wait a minute! Wait a minute!", he then looked at Ariel, who was a little confused by his outburst, with a shocked and confused look, "Hold on for a moment. Your father is the King Triton, ruler of the Merpeople?"

Ariel nodded at that, "He's my father."

He then looked back at Ariel with a surprised look and stated, "Wait, if that's true…and if you're his daughter…then that would make you a…"

Ariel sighed at this as she answered with an embarrassed smile to Eric, "…A Princess."

Eric looked a little surprised at that, but then shook it off. Just because he now learned that Ariel was a princess, didn't make it any different to him who she was. He just smiled as he just shrugged, "Oh, well…I'm just a little surprised is all."

Ariel smirked at Eric's awkwardness as she teased him a little, "So me being a princess doesn't bother you at all?"

Eric shook his head as he gave her a smile, "Nah, not really. I mean, it doesn't…"

Ariel then felt a little nervous as she asked him, "So…would me being a mermaid bother you?"

Eric raised an eyebrow at that as he answered and asked, "No, not really. Why, what's wrong with being who or what you are?"

Ariel fidgeted with her fingers as she answered, "It's just that…I'm not…normal." She sighed as she replied, "My father always told me that humans and merfolk could never get along. So I…"

"Well, I'm a human, and I'm getting along with you.", Eric replied, getting her surprised attention as he continued, "So tell me, Ariel. Is me being a human bother you?"

Ariel, thinking that she had just insulted his company, shook her head furiously as she stated, "No! No, of course it doesn't, Eric. You're great to be with and…"

"And I'm human.", Eric stated as he smirked, "And maybe your father's wrong about humans and merfolk not being able to get along."

Meanwhile, near the rocks, Flounder, Scuttle, and Sebastian were listening in on the conversation. Scuttle had let Sebastian go as the crab swore he would not yell out, as they were listening to the conversation. They had been keeping track of the conversation, but couldn't hear what they were saying, so they were trying to keep up as they could. Flounder was the one to ask them, "What are they saying?"

Scuttle muttered, "He's saying, Davey Jones' nose is long, and he wears a thong."

Flounder just shivered at that mental thought as he went, "Eeeewww, gross."

Scuttled scoffed, "Ha! Pay up, crabmeat." Sebastian groaned and grumbled as he pulled out a shell, and gave it to Scuttle, with Scuttle only saying one word for his victory, "Chump."

Back with the Teens

Suddenly, he heard a beeping coming from his left wrist, as did Ariel as she was slightly curious. He looked at his wrist, to where his digital watch was, and saw what the time was.

Ariel leaned in towards Eric to see where the strange beeping came from. She looked at his wrist and saw a working wrist-mounted gizmo; it looked like one of the many she had in her collection. This time instead of finding one broken, she saw a real-live working one, but it didn't have any arrows on it, just moving and dancing numbers. She leaned in closer next to Eric to get a close look at it, as she spoke in amazement, "Wow! You have a real working gizmo. That's amazing."

Eric raised an eyebrow at that, and turned towards her direction, "A gizmo? What are you…" but then he stopped in mid sentence as he saw Ariel leaning near him so closely. Of course, this had Eric blushing, seeing as how she was leaning close to him, and aside from her tail and fin, she was only wearing a shell bikini. He shook his head, regaining his cool head, though confusing her with his odd behavior, and simply corrected Ariel's name for his watch as he pointed to it, "Um, actually, this is what we call a Watch."

Ariel raised an eyebrow as she asked, "A Watch? What do you watch?"

Eric shook his head as he corrected her, "No, no, no. that's its name; a watch."

Ariel seemed to understand that, and asked him, "So…what does a watch do?"

Eric, understanding that she didn't know much about the human world and its workings, decided to help her at it. He explained, "A watch is a device that let's you know what time it is. Almost any human has one with them; we even have clock towers that are like huge watches that keep track of time anywhere."

Ariel seemed to understand that, but then she wondered something else as she asked, "So then what time does it say?"

Eric half-smirked as he looked at the watch and answered, "Well, the time is…", he then stopped as his face went from happy to panic as he saw what time it was, "Oh Crud! It's 9:30 PM! I told my uncle that I'd be home by 8 PM!"

Even Ariel frowned as she realized she needed to go home too, "Oh my gosh! I've gotta go too! My father's gonna kill me, if he finds out I'm not back at the Palace before dark!" and with that, she scooted over to the shore, and jumped in to the water.

Eric saw that, and shot straight up, heading for the water as well. He didn't want her to leave just yet at least not right now; he had only seen her once, and this was the first time in six years he saw her again. He didn't want to lose her again now that he had gotten to know her better, as he jumped into the water. He swam to her, trying to keep up, as he shouted, "Ariel! Ariel, wait!"

Ariel turned around and saw that Eric had swum up to her. She stopped, allowing him to catch up to her as she asked him, "Eric, what's wrong?"

Eric stopped right in front of her as he floated next to her. Now that the two were in water, they both looked like they were standing up and at eye level now. Eric took a deep breath, not knowing if what he was about to say was something he would regret. But he mentally shouted to himself as he asked, "When can I see you again, Ariel?"

Ariel was a little startled and taken back by that question. She didn't know what to say at that point, but smiled at this. But unknown by her or Eric, Flounder had finally popped up behind her and was about to talk, until he saw Eric. He nearly screamed in fright for just being this close, but saw that the human was only talking to Ariel. Ariel only smirked at this as she teased Eric a little, "I don't know…I mean being a princess means huge responsibilities…."

Eric half-smirked as he joked, "What responsibilities? You're sixteen; you're still a teenager."

Ariel just chuckled a little as she replied, "Yeah, I guess you're right.", she then thought about it but then answered, "How about here tomorrow?"

Eric asked, "Around 7 PM?"

Ariel smiled as she replied, "Excellent."

Eric smirked, "Super."

There was a small silence between the two teens for a moment. All the two did was float in the water, looking at each other, not saying a word to to each other but smiling. However, Arile broke the silence as she said, "Thank you, Eric."

Eric raised an eyebrow as he asked, "For what?"

Ariel smiled as she answered, "For being my first human friend. For just talking to me like I was a human, and not some sort of….monster."

Eric shook his head as he stated, "Ariel, you're not a monster. You're a beautiful girl to me." However, after saying that, Eric berated himself for saying that out loud.

But whether Ariel thought he sounded stupid or not, the pinkish red glow on her cheeks only intensified. Apparently she wasn't accustomed to compliments, either. Especially when the boy she had saved said she was beautiful. She and Eric had been so comfortable with each other all night long. She'd never spent a day like this with a boy, whether merman or human before. They had laughed and talked, and now all of the sudden, she didn't know what to say.
Ariel couldn't help but blush at that comment that he had given her. "That's really sweet of you to say," she said with a smile as she looked at him deeply in his eyes.

The young teenagers stared deeply into each other's eyes, and the rest of the beach, ocean, and island blurred away into a featureless fog. The noise of the oceans beating against the shore, the chatter of the wood's life; all of it seemed to silence over as if someone pushed a mute button on a universal remote for the two. For a perfect instant in time, each of them was all that existed in the other's world at that moment.

Flounder, on the other hand, was getting a little impatient with this whole thing. He knew that Ariel had to be home and quick, considering he knew about her curfew. So he did the only thing he didn't think through. He swam back a little, and charged enough to push Ariel to Eric to get her attention. Little did he know was that when he pushed them, he pushed them into a kiss.

For a moment everything stopped, and nothing happened as the two teens went wide eyed by this. However, the two didn't resist one another; instead they seemed to just close their eyes and relax in the kiss. For the two teens, it felt like an eternity when their lips met. At last however, they broke away from the kiss, and opened their eyes to look at each other.

Sebastian, on the other had, was in total shock at this. A human and mermaid….together. His jaw drop in shock as he realized what he saw was going to be the death of him. Scuttle merely smirked at the scene in front of him as he put Sebastian's jaw back up.

Ariel pulled back, smiling and flustered, her eyes dancing with happiness, "Well…that was…unexpected."

Eric nodded dumbfound, but then snapped back to reality as he stammered, "Yeah…I mean, um…"

Ariel chuckled a little, but then waved, "Yeah, well…I've…gotta get…"

Eric nodded at that as he stammered, "Yeah, me too…so…"

"Yeah", Ariel said as she swam towards the ocean way, and dived into the water, but not before she waved back to Eric. And with that, she dived into the ocean, and was out of sight. Eric swam back to shore, and walked along the sandy beach, still looking back at the ocean. This was a night to remember; not only did he stare into the face of death, but he also saw the mermaid that saved his life once more, and actually got to know her name and talk to her.

And then, he remembered that kiss; that accidental kiss that they had. It all came back to him now, until he smiled, shot up his arms, and shouted, "Yes!" He fell down flat on his butt as he looked at the ocean with his face still in a smile, 'For the first time in my life…things are starting to go right.'

"WHA! WHO THERE!", Frey shouted, finally waking up and looking around, seeing a smiling Eric. Eric didn't twitch or move from his friend's outburst, but Frey looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He looked at the ocean and back at Eric as he asked, "What the heck are we looking at?"

Eric snapped out of his thoughts and smiled at Frey, knowing he was alright, "Well, you finally woke up, Frey."

He groggily moaned, "Argh! I feel like I was thrown in the water with an anchor attached…", it was just then, he remembered the horrible ordeal that he and his friend went through, "Eric! The pirate ship, the pirates, that squid guy! They were real!" He looked to his friend, with some indication that he was shocked at it. However, Frey noticed that there was something else on his friend's mind, seeing as how he was smiling like something great just happened to him. Frey ignored that as something else popped up in his head, and asked out loud, "Uh, by the way…how'd we get out of that situation?"

Eric got up, and walked towards where his home was. Frey, not wanting to give up this, shot up and ran after him, asking, "Eric! How'd we get out of that?"

Eric stopped for a moment, turned towards his friend while still smiling, and merely said, "My mystery girl saved us.", and then proceeded to walk back home. Frey just stood there, stupefied, but then ran after his friend, shouting at him to stop telling jokes.

Unknown to the two, they were being watched by friendly eyes. Ariel was watching Eric and his friend on a rock not too far from the beach; she kept out of sight by the shady part of it. And she wasn't alone as Sebastian was on top of a floating Flounder, watching them go too. Sebastian, on the other had, was already trying his best to keep this whole thing quiet. He spoke to Ariel, who paid no attention to the crab, as he babbled, "We just gonna forget this whole thing ever happened." He pointed out, "The Sea King will and shall not ever know of this night." He looked to Ariel and Flounder and pointed to himself, "You won't tell him, I won't tell him." He then clapped his claws together as he looked up at the sky in prayer, "I will stay in one piece."

Ignoring Sebastian, Ariel looked at Eric's retreating form as she sighed just by seeing him go. They had talked so much about anything they could. He even accepted her as a mermaid and told her she was beautiful to him. And… 'We even kissed…', she thought as she blushed at this memory. It was then that she felt her heart beating fast; she had never felt this way before about anyone. She knew what this feeling was all too well, seeing as how her mother had talked about it to her and her sisters before she passed away. Then Ariel gasped as she realized what it was as she whispered to herself, "I…I'm in love with Eric." She had realized it right then and there; she was in love with the human boy since she had saved him the first time, when she saw him again, and when they shared that kiss.

As she watched the boys disappear, she looked back at the land as she sang out, "I don't know when, I don't know how…but I know something's starting right now…", she then smiled as she remembered the feeling she felt for Eric, "Watch and you'll see…someday I'll be…" and then a huge wave crashed right behind her, creating a spectacular background, as she finished her song, "…Part of your world!"

All things seemed to be the best for Ariel. Unfortunately, unknown by the trio, they were being watched by Davy Jones' men, Maccus and Koleniko, as they surfaced from the water and out of sight. And by their glowing yellow eye, someone else was watching as well.

Back at Sea Serpent's Pass

Ursula's Lair

Ursula was sitting by her crystal ball, completely ecstatic over the last turn of events. She cackled to herself as she saw the whole thing, "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. I can't stand it. it's too easy." She had been watching the whole thing ever since Davy Jones secured the yacht for her scheme and brought it back to add to her collection. And in speaking of Davy Jones, he was waltzing in angrily, about to hsoot that anger at the Sea Witch. If there was one thing Jones hated more than someone else in his eternal life, it was being ordered around.

He stopped right behind Ursula, who obvisoulsy knew it was him, and barked, "Understand this, Sea Witch. I cannot be summoned like some mongrel pup!"

Ursula monotonely responded, "Apparently you can.", but then returned to her happy tone as she pointed at the bubble, "Look at this, Jones…"

Jones did as she said and looked, only to go from angry to furious. He saw the two boys that he had ordered sent to the depths, but they were back on land. He growled as his tentacle beard began to twitch with anger as he snarled, "Those filthy little sea urchins! How dare they escape the judgment of the Flying Dutchman!"

Ursula waved it off as she stated, "That's not important! What's important is who saved them and what happened next." Jones looked mighty confused by this, but then it all made clear as to what he saw next. He saw the young redhead mermaid on the rock, watching the humans walk away in safety.

Jones pointed to the Mermaid as he asked, "What? Her?"

Ursula shoo her head and pointed out, "She is the daughter of King Triton. His youngest daughter."

Jones' face lit up as he chuckled evilly, "Is she now?"

Ursula nodded, but then she chuckled as she pointed to the one that Ariel called Eric, "And get this: the child is in love with a human…and not just any human…", she then boomed out with laughter, "…A SURFER! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Her Daddy'll love that."

Jones seemed a little confused by this as he asked his 'unofficial' boss, "Alright. But how exactly does this little Romeo and Juliet fiasco fit into your plan to obtain the first heart?"

Ursula simply stated as she emphasized as she explained, "That's just it. Don't you see? Triton's headstrong daughter will want to spend more time with the boy. And once she realizes there's no one to help her with that…"

Jones smiled evilly as he got it, "…She'll come swimming to us." He pointed his claw at Ursula, "Oh, you are a wicked one."

"I know, aren't I?", Ursula then looked over to a section of her lair that was shrouded in darkness as she swam over to it. She grinned evilly as Jones accompanied her, "King Triton's headstrong, lovesick girl…would make an excellent addition to my wonderful garden." And in those shadows, lay a flowerbed full of strange howling and moaning seaweed creatures that looked tortured and miserable. Ursula towered over them as they shrank back in terror, fearing her as she cackled menacingly. But for now, Ursula and Jones had much to do, and less time to do it in, should they miss their window of opportunity.

Next Chapter: Ocean-Crossed Lovers; Under the Sea

BWT: the real reason why Eric in this story has brown eyes, is because this is my OC version of Eric. So if anyone points out the brown eyes, that's why. The concept for this Eric came from the main male lead from Mermaid Melody, Kaito.