Chapter Sixteen
(Brief song lyrics in this chapter is from "Secret" by The Pierces.)
It was the day after I found out Grandpa had my memories erased, and Danny had been bugging me for the past twenty-four hours to talk to him.
"Leave me alone, Danny!" I snapped leaving the Benbow Inn with Excalibur strapped to my back. No way I was going out there again without some sort of weapon.
"Aralyne, please talk to me."
"No! You lied to me, Danny, and I can't forgive that!"
"They burn in our brains, become a living hell," he muttered, sweat pouring down his sickly pale face.
A part of me felt bad, especially since he was sick, but I was hurt and angry that he would lie to me, especially about my memories being erased. Since I now knew everyone kept this secret from me, I didn't want to be near anyone. I wanted to be alone, so I quickened my pace, leaving him behind and went towards the beach. Once there, I rented out a rowboat so I could go out to sea without being disturbed.
As soon as I was far enough away from land, I sat in the boat and listened to the waves as the boat gently rocked back and forth. It was so calm and peaceful out here. Running my fingers through the water, I wished to get away from Nesidy and all the liars.
"Oh, this is delicious. This is divine!" said Morgana gleefully as she watched Aralyne row out to sea through her magic bubble.
"Let's go, flatsos," said Undertow to the two manta rays, Cloak and Dagger.
The three fish swam out of the lair and Morgana called out to them, "Hurry, Undertow. There's a little girl out there who needs our help."
I didn't know how long I was just lounging about in the boat, but suddenly, it began moving on its own. Panicking, I tried rowing back to shore, but made no progress and tried screaming for help until my voice gave out. No one was able to hear me! What if I drifted for days before anyone realized I was gone and died of starvation and dehydration?! I couldn't swim back to shore either! If any of the sea creatures saw me, they would report me to King Triton and he swore he would kill me if I returned! Yes, I had excalibur, but I could never use it on anyone good! What was I to do?!
Under the ocean, Sebastian was swimming towards King Triton's palace when he heard someone screaming above the water. Curious, he looked up to see two manta rays and a tiny shark pulling a boat. Swimming upward and making sure the three others didn't see him, the crab snuck his way onto the boat to see Aralyne.
Realizing what was happening, he snuck back off and swam towards Nesidy. Despite Triton's orders of not associating with those on land - especially Aralyne - he couldn't leave her in trouble! He was trying not to panic, speaking to himself, "All right, Sebastian, you must remain calm. This is not your fault. All you have to do is go in there and calmly explain that Aralyne is being kidnapped. No reason to lose your head. Whatever you do... you absitively, positutely... must not panic."
Right as he got onto the beach, he saw Tulio and heard him call out, "Aralyne?" He gasped and ran towards him, yelling.
When Tulio got up the next morning, he went over to the Benbow Inn to see Aralyne, knowing how angry she was. When he arrived, he found Danny standing just outside the building looking distraught.
"She's not here," Danny said before coughing. He gained composure and added, "She just left and won't talk to me."
Tulio shot him an angry look, and walked off. She's not the only one furious with you. He finally came across Baloo the bear who told him he saw Aralyne going towards the beach. Thanking him for the info, Tulio sprinted towards the beach and got there in a manner of minutes.
He had only called out Aralyne's name once when he heard a voice shouting, "Aralyne's gone! Aralyne's gone! Aralyne's gone!" Then felt a tug on his pant leg.
Glancing down he said in mild surprise, "Sebastian? Well, what are you doing here?"
"All my fault!" he wailed, sobbing into Tulio's pants, "I didn't rescue her! I don't deserve to live!"
"Gone? Gone where?" Tulio asked in concern, feeling his heart sink with dread.
"Out. Out to the sea," the crab explained, "She's being kidnapped!" He then blew his nose on Tulio's pants, and the man had to hide his disgust.
Tulio suddenly realized what Sebastian said. "What do you mean? Who could be kidnapping her? Where would they take her?"
"To Morgana's," said Undertow with a wicked smile. Getting tired of my constant shouts for help, he finally revealed himself to me along with Cloack and Dagger.
"And she can tell me the truth, everything my friends have been keeping from me?" I asked in disbelief. The last time I had met Morgana, she was trying to turn me over to the Evil One.
"Oh, sure, kid. Morgana's the best. She'll help ya," Undertow agreed.
I bit my lip in thought for a moment before nodding. "Okay. Then let's go." What an odd twist. I am now trusting villains than I am my own friends.
Cloak and Dagger pulled me even further across the ocean right as fog descended upon the water, hiding us from view. After a while in silence, it became supremely cold, and I shivered, partially glad I decided to wear Tulio's black jacket over the outfit modeled after Kim Possible's. We entered an icy cavern where Morgana sat on a strip of ice, waiting.
"Angel face, meet the one and only... Morgana," said Undertow.
"Oh, welcome, my precious," Morgana gushed as she helped me out of the boat and onto the ice, "Oh, don't be shy. Come in. Come in out of the cold. Sit, sit. Put your – feet – up. Hungry?" She pulled out a tray filled with an assortment of disgusting-looking seafood. "Afraid all I have is a cold plate. Smelt-cicle? Kelp chip? Hush guppy?"
"Uh, no, thank you," I said politely trying not to show how much I wanted to vomit, "I was hoping you could tell me about my missing memories... My friends wouldn't tell me. They just doesn't understand."
"Oh, you're not the only one with people who don't understand you," Morgana said sympathetically, "Believe me, I know just how you feel. Dear child, did you ever consider your memories were erased because your destiny is waiting for you? Oh, deep down... you know you weren't meant to be a lowly normal human. What you are is something... far more enchanting."
Using her magic, she conjured up a magical bubble and inside was an image of me dressed as a queen standing beside the ocean. When I jumped into the water, my dress disappeared and my legs transformed into a green tail.
"A mermaid?" I said incredulously, but then shook my head, my tone becoming more somber, "But it's not possible. Only magic can turn me into a mermaid, you know that. And besides, I'm not allowed to be near or in the ocean. King Triton will have me killed if he found out I'm even out this far."
Morgana laughed and replied, "Darling, anything's possible. And Triton doesn't have spies out this far. You can relax and enjoy yourself here."
"You're going to turn me into a mermaid, again?" I asked.
"Piece of fish cake, honey," said Morgana making the bubble vanish.
"Lots of luck," Undertow muttered, rolling his eyes as he watched Morgana move over to a shelf of potions. When the witch pulled out a glowing magenta bottle, he gasped out, "Ursula's magic? Where'd you get that?"
"I've been saving it for a special occasion," Morgana explained returning to my side, "One drop of this and, bada-bing, bada-boom! You're in fin city! Whee!"
"Really?" I asked, barely able to contain my excitement. I did enjoy being a mermaid the last time I was one.
"Come, my darling. Your destiny awaits you," said Morgana pouring a drop of the potion onto my leg. A green light surrounded the lower half of my body, and when the light faded, I had a purple tail again.
"I don't believe it! I'm a mermaid!" I squealed out in glee fingering my fins.
"Say it loud, say it proud!" crowed Morgana.
"I'm a mermaid!" I shouted diving into the ocean.
Once she was out of sight, Undertow growled to Morgana, "You had this all along. You coulda changed me back. Why, I oughta..."
"Keep your scales on, small fry," said the sea witch slipping into the water after the teenager, "I'm still reeling her in."
Tulio had managed to borrow Captain Amelia's boat and sailed out for a bit, searching for Aralyne. Flynn Rider was there to help.
"I'm so worried," Tulio muttered as he gazed out over the foggy ocean.
"Everything's going to be all right, Tulio. We have search parties scouring the ocean. We'll find her," Flynn reassured him.
"It's great to be a mermaid again!" I exclaimed as I swam throughout the ocean interacting with other sea creatures.
I swam by a school of fish watching them stick close together, and felt a pang, wishing I my friends hadn't lied to off, I watched as a couple of baby seals dove into the water to swim, excitement bubbling within me. Swimming to a rock I plucked a yellow flower from it tucked it into my hair. As the sun set, I rode on the back of a whale, enjoying the view.
"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!" I exclaimed swimming right up to Morgana and giving the sea witch a big hug.
"Oh!" Morgana began to cry.
"What's the matter?" I inquired with concern pulling away.
"Oh, I knew this would happen," Morgana sobbed, "One taste, and you're hooked. Oh, Undertow, I'm such a failure, such a..." Undertow was crying as well and handed Morgana a handkerchief which she used to blow her nose. "Oh, my precious... there wasn't enough potion for this to be a forever spell."
I felt my heart drop and begged, "Please. I-I don't want to go back to Nesidy to be pawn. Isn't there some way I can stay a mermaid?"
"Oh, I'm afraid there's absolutely no possible way," said Morgana then suddenly added, "Well, there is one way. No. What am I thinking? It's far too dangerous."
"What? Wh... What's too dangerous?" I demanded.
Morgana replied, "Well, I could make the spell last longer... if I had all of the ingredients for the potion. All I'm missing is a special charm." Using the ink from her tentacles, she created a picture of the charm; it was some sort of necklace made of pearls and a seashell with a crescent moon carved in the front.
"Maybe I could get it for you," I suggested.
"You would do that for me?" Morgana asked in surprise.
"If I did, would you make me a mermaid forever?" I begged.
"Even longer, if you like," said Morgana with a smile. Using her magic, she then created a map out of ice and handed it to me. "Now, this map will show you where to find the charm."
Gazing at the map, my eyes widened when I saw a little dot labeled, Atlantica. "Atlantica?" I gasped in horror, looking up at the sea witch, "You mean I'll have to sneak into the city to get the charm?" Do you want to be a mermaid or not?! Shaking my head, I added, "Okay, I'll bring the charm. You can count on me!"
As I swam off with the map, Morgana called out, "Be careful, dear. Enjoy those fins!"
Siren had been watching Aralyne again through the crystal ball and quickly realized what Morgana was up to. With an evil smile, she decided to create a little bit more chaos. Of course, she would have loved to see Aralyne's face when she caught a glimpse of the zombie creatures, but c'est la vie.
Now, it wouldn't be much fun if she kept using Belle over and over again until she was eventually destroyed. It was time to test out her powers and see how far they could extend.
The villainess transported herself back to Nesidy, hiding again in an alleyway. Everyone went about their day as usual, but looked a bit worried. It seemed their precious savior just kept getting kidnapped again.
With an evil smirk, Siren pointed the palm of her hands down and focused on her power. The ground shook, and she heard yelps of surprise at what the heroes thought was an earthquake. The ground beside Siren suddenly split open issuing an eerie glowing green light. Out of the abyss came a decrepit hand with maggots poking out of the skin, and pretty soon Pocahontas's dead body had completely emerged with glowing red eyes, and carrying a bow, quiver full of arrows, and a hatchet was tied at her hip.
"Go out and kill, my little pet," Siren sneered evilly. Zombie Pocahontas nodded once and walked off into Nesidy. It didn't take very long for her to start firing arrows at random citizens, and for the screaming to start. In all honesty, how often did you come across a zombie in Nesidy other than that goody-goody corpse bride, Emily?
Remaining hidden, Siren followed the path of destruction. Zombie Pocahontas had already killed George Darling, Prince Thomas (from Cinderella), and Bolt with her arrows. Once she had run out of those, she tossed aside her bow and empty quiver, and pulled out her hatchet. John Rolfe rushed forward with a sword to kill her, but the zombie threw the hatchet and it sliced off his head. Rolfe's head rolled to a halt at her feet, and she picked it up, tying it to her waist by the hair. She slowly made her way to her hatchet and picked it up.
For a second, Siren was worried when Proteus snuck up behind Pocahontas with his own sword, but she automatically swivelled around and chopped off his head as well. Just like she had done with Rolfe, she tied Proteus's head to her waist. Siren laughed out loud, no longer worried if anyone saw her.
"Siren?!" Mushu cried seeing the villainess, "This is your doing?! Man, I gotta stop this!" He ran over to Pocahontas and bit the zombie's leg, hoping to slow her down, but to no avail. The mini dragon spat out black blood. "That is nasty!"
Sobering up, Siren said, "That's enough destruction for today. Ta-ta, tiny dragon. I'll be playing with you next time!" With a puff of red smoke, she disappeared and sent Pocahontas to the dungeon with Belle.