Yay! Next stop; Atlantica!
Yes, this is slightly based off "The Little Mermaid 2", however, there probably won't be a lot of appearances made here, because it would be difficult to explain the 12(?) year time gap to when Melody actually discovers her merfolk heritage.
In addition, some of the discussions are taken from the movie, so it's safe to place a SPOILER WARNING!!!! on here. so yeah. :D
Anyway... enough of that. Please enjoy!
PLEASE R&R!
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts (c) Tetsuya Normura
Disney (The Little Mermaid 2, etc...) (c) Disney
Claimer: everything else (c) me
Chapter Seven: Atlantica, the Return to the Sea
As the sun began to rise and it was only the bare break of dawn, Sora stirred awake, yawning tiredly as he found himself lying on the side of Simba's cave near the king and queen, as well as their daughter.
Hmmm… I wonder where Yuki and Riku are, he thought in question as he stood up on all four paws, stretching with a feline yawn before shaking out his fur.
Quietly stalking out of the cave with soft steps, he saw Yuki and Riku curled up together, laying side-by-side, and then he noticed that Kovu was sleeping with them. Anger bristled through his dark fur as he recalled the conversation he and Yuki had overheard from Zira.
However, a single thought and question suppressed his anger. But… why would Yuki still remain relaxed near him, even though she knows he's been sent here to kill Simba?! He wondered.
As Sora neared, Yuki's tail twitched with the approaching presence. Her eyes fluttered open with awareness and she slipped her head from under Riku's and turned her head around to look at the cub.
"Good morning, Sora," she greeted quietly.
"Morning, Yuki," he greeted gently in reply as he padded over to her.
Yuki yawned tiredly before looking at Sora. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Much better than what happened yesterday," he answered softly. "How about you; are you feeling okay?"
She yawned again. "Well… yeah, but I'd prefer to sleep in. But then I know we don't really have that sort of time, considering we've got places to go."
Sora's eyes were warily set on Kovu's still-sleeping form. He didn't have to say anything and she could already tell what was wrong.
"I know what you must be thinking about Kovu," she told him quietly. "But just trust my judgement. In any case… we've over-welcomed our stay here, Sora. For now… we must allow things to unfold, in the meantime, we will move on to the next world. When its time, then we will return to finish what we've started."
"B-But Simba-" Sora broke off.
"I trust his judgement will be the right one," she said. "We shouldn't interfere."
Sora's face look strained, his expression a mix of emotions; pain, confusion, and conflict.
The lioness could only smile. "It's alright," she assured, "things will turn out all right in the end. It's time we move on. I'll wake Riku." Leaning down to give her boyfriend a gentle lick on the cheek, she whispered gently to him.
"Come on, Riku, wake up," she chided, and the young lion stirred, aqua eyes fluttering open.
"Mmm?" he moaned.
She smiled, very gently nosing him. "We've got to get going, so come on," she told him quietly.
Looking at her, he smiled, letting out a quiet yawn as he rose to all fours, stretching out every muscle in his body before shaking out his mane.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"According to Yuki, we're leaving this world for the time being," Sora answered.
She dipped her head in agreement. "We need to move on," she said softly, "we'll come back at some time when it is most needed."
"What will we tell the others?" Riku inquired.
"Simba will know that we've left," Sora assured."So we don't have to worry about that."
Yuki flicked her tail, signalling to them to follow her as she made her way down Pride Rock, the two boys following after her. Closing her eyes, a portal to the Gummi Ship appeared in front of them.
"Whoa!" the younger cub gasped. "Did you do that?"
"Nah," she replied, "I just contacted Chip and Dale. It's a lot easier that way, you know?"
As they were teleported back onto the Gummi Ship, they had transformed back into their normal selves. Yuki swayed sideways momentarily before steadying herself at the same time Riku placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Are you really okay, Yuki?" he asked worriedly, "Are you still weak from the blood loss last night?"
She shook her head. "I'll be fine," she reasoned. "All I really need is to find a more Heartless-free place. That will help me heal a little better." And perhaps faster too, she added mentally.
"Hmmm… let's head to Atlantica!" Sora exclaimed suddenly. "The last time we went there weren't any Heartless there at all!"
Yuki and Riku exchanged a glance.
"We could give it a try," Yuki suggested. "After all, if there are Heartless there, we could take them out at the same time."
"Sounds good to me," he agreed. "Let's do it."
As both 16-year-old's walked off to talk to Chip and Dale, Donald leaned closer to Sora so his voice wouldn't carry over to the others.
"Sora, are you sure there aren't going to be any Heartless there?" the court magician inquired, "After all, for all we know, there could be hundreds of Heartless and Nobodies just waiting for us there."
"We have to take that chance," Sora responded. "Yuki's life relies on the light in the worlds. The least we could do is take her to one where there isn't any Heartless or Nobodies. Plus, we've got to check up on how Ariel and the others are doing anyway."
Donald looked worried. "But Sora… haven't you noticed that each world we go to, Yuki weakens every day?" he asked quietly. "I'm not quite sure whether Riku has noticed it yet, but if he hasn't, we need to let him know."
"But… she'll be fine, right?" the 15-year-old asked optimistically.
The magician didn't look convinced. "We can't just let it go, Sora. Even if we don't want it to be true, we've got to acknowledge that it's still possible," he explained. "Her life is at stake here. If we mess up and bring her to darkness-flooded world's, Yuki's going to die."
- - -
"Ah, we're here," Chip announced.
"Then let's go," Sora said as he and the rest of them teleported down to the watery world, almost instantly being transformed into aquatic creatures.
Sora was a half-dolphin-boy, his lower half of his body being transformed into a dolphin's tail and fins. Donald was a half-octopus, and Riku and Yuki had become a merman and mermaid respectively.
Hmmm… we're like this once more, huh? Yuki thought as she looked over herself and swished her azure blue tail. Looking over at Riku, she could only guess that he was thinking something along similar lines as he experimented some swimming with his dark blue tail. She looked down at the crystal pendant floating against her breastbone and saw that it glowed a light pink, a sign that showed little Heartless and Nobody activity in that world.
Yuki couldn't help but breathe out a sigh in relief, her body relaxing from tension and stress. The darkness wasn't trying to pry into her mind and heart as much as it did before, therefore it was a huge relief to her.
"You okay?" Riku asked, placing a hand on her bare shoulder and squeezing it reassuringly. The scars from their last encounter with an underwater Nobody still remained, and his fingers ran over the magic-stitched wounds.
She offered him a soft smile. "Yeah, I'm feeling a little better now," she answered calmly.
Love radiated from his eyes, and he leaned over to kiss her, his arms winding around her waist as hers slid around his neck, their lips locked in passion.
"Hmmm… the lovers are at it again," Sora commented with a grin.
Both Riku and Yuki pulled back, looking at the 15-year-old.
"You know we can hear you, Sora," Yuki informed teasingly, causing him to blush in embarrassment.
"Now… let's go find Ariel and the others," Donald said, trying to help Sora.
Riku let his fingers run through Yuki's floating black hair before grabbing her hand and tugging her towards the large underwater castle.
"There's the palace, so let's go," Sora urged as the four of them swam towards Atlantica's palace.
"Mmm…" Yuki groaned tiredly, as she wrapped her arms around Riku's neck, his back pressing against her stomach.
His hand rested over hers as he swam for the both of them. "Don't worry, Yuki," he assured. "I'll take care of you."
Closing her eyes, she rested against Riku as he swam them to the castle.
- - - -
"King Triton," Sora greeted when they saw the king of Atlantica sitting upon his chair, his trident in hand.
"Oh… hello there, Sora, Donald," the king replied. "And who are these merpeople with you?"
Yuki released her hold on Riku and gave a gracious bow, and he followed suit. "My name is Yuki, Your Majesty. I'm a friend of theirs."
"And I'm Riku," Riku continued, "Sora's best friend."
"Well hello there, and welcome to Atlantica," King Triton announced proudly.
Donald noticed that something was wrong. "Your Majesty, is something the matter?"
"Well… yes, and no," he answered honestly, "time has passed by just astoundingly. Ariel and Eric are coming by on ship to present their new baby daughter."
"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed. "Ariel has a daughter now?!"
He nodded.
"But… what's the problem with that?" Yuki inquired curiously. "Shouldn't that be a joyous time to celebrate?"
"Yes," he responded, "however, I'm just worried that there may be some possible unwanted guests, such as those Heartless that popped up last time."
"Don't worry, we'll be here to make sure that doesn't happen!" Donald determined.
"He's right," Sora agreed. "In addition, we have to congratulate Ariel and Prince Eric too!"
Yuki closed her eyes and her right hand, a bright light erupting from her clenched-up palm. As the light faded and she opened up her hand, a six-point star pendant necklace now in her hand. "And we also have to deliver a special present for the new princess. This star will always show her the way home with a stream of golden light."
"Wait, but would her 'home' mean Atlantica or Prince Eric's castle on land?" Sora inquired.
The 16-year-old smiled at him. "Her home is where her heart is," she answered mystically, flashing a wider smile at Riku, who grinned back at her in understanding.
Riku returned his attention to King Triton. "Your Majesty, when are they coming?" he asked.
"They should be arriving soon," he replied. "Sebastian and Flounder will come back to alert us when they see the ship coming."
Without warning, a tiny crab and blue and yellow striped fish hurriedly swam towards them.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Sebastian exclaimed. "They're almost here! Princess Ariel and Prince Eric are almost here! And they have Melody!"
The aquatic king instantly left his throne and began to swim in a hurry with his guards following after him, Sebastian and Flounder swimming towards Sora and the group.
"Hey! Sebastian! Flounder!" Sora called, waving his hand in greeting.
"Hello there," Yuki greeted, chuckling as Flounder swam around her. "I'm Yuki, it's nice to meet you both."
"I'm Flounder!" the fish exclaimed. "And this is Sebastian."
"Hey, I'm Riku," Riku introduced, smiling.
The tiny red crab took Yuki's hand in his claw. "It's very nice to meet you, milady," he greeted. "How have you been, Sora, Donald?"
"Just great!" Donald replied. "Except for the fact that Heartless are turning up all over the place again. How about you guys?"
Flounder looked proud. "I'm no longer a guppy anymore!" he declared boldly. "It's like time just flew by while nobody was looking."
"Let's go!" Sora cheered before they swam off, all except Yuki and Riku.
"Hey, come on. Is something wrong?" he inquired.
She tensed suddenly, a flash of red sparking in her eyes as a powerful dark aura flashed around her, burning around her for moments before she reverted back to her old self, the darkness fading. The single word 'nobody' burned itself into her memory, as if it was a huge part of her past.
"Yuki!" Riku gasped quietly, reaching out for her as the red soon faded away from her golden orbs.
"Ugh…" she groaned, closing her eyes as she slipped backwards against Riku as he held her against his chest, one arm wrapped around her stomach.
"Are you okay?" he asked, brushing her hair down with his hand.
She shook her head, leaning her head back against his shoulder. "I-I saw something…" she murmured. "Words… Memories…"
His aqua eyes looked worried. "Yuki…" he whispered gently.
"I-I'm losing myself, Riku," she choked out, mentally breaking down. "W-With these… visions I'm seeing; these memories, I-I don't know who I am anymore." I'm losing the fight… she thought, recalling the voice that had pulled her from consciousness back on Destiny Islands. I really won't make it through this war… I-I'm losing heart… my heart…. But I can't give up my light… not yet.
The merman turned her around, crashing his lips against hers as he pulled her close, her heart beating furiously against his before pulling her against him, her cheek pressed against his shoulder.
"I will always be here for you," he promised. "I will know who you truly are, because that is the girl I fell in love."
She smiled weakly as she felt her body begin to grow numb and limp in his arms.
Hurriedly, she shook off the sleep tugging at her consciousness, and pulled back, forcing a wider smile.
"Thanks, Riku," she said quietly.
Riku knew his girlfriend was weakening and running out of time. They needed to heal the worlds fast, or else he was going to lose her, and that was the last thing he wanted. He had given into the darkness once, and for that, he had lost the ability to become the Master of the Keyblade, of who is was truly supposed to be. But now, as Sora had that title and ability, he didn't want to make the same mistake of letting the one he loved losing to the darkness. If he did, he would lose the most important person in his life.
"Now come on…" Yuki chided gently, pulling on his hand up with her as she broke him out of his reverie. "We don't want to miss the ship and Princess Ariel's daughter."
He followed along, wrapping his arm around her waist as they both swam to the surface.
A beautiful red-haired woman with bright blue eyes stood on deck of the huge ship, a black-haired bundle in her arms. She waved at Sora and Donald happily.
"Sora! Donald! It's good to see the both of you again!" she called.
"Us too, Ariel!" Sora exclaimed as he leaped into the air. "Congratulations!"
As King Triton presented Melody with a beautiful golden seashell locket with her name engraved on it, the cute little baby giggled as the locket opened, and a special hologram-like display of Atlantica appeared, a sweet melody filling the air.
"Thank you, Daddy," Ariel thanked quietly.
Yuki and Riku popped up from the water, Yuki using her magic to let a pair of shimmering transparent wings of a fairy appear on her back, lifting her from the water and towards the happy human couple. She bowed from the waist to them.
"Hello, my name is Yuki, I'm a friend of Sora's," she greeted.
"Hey! I am too!" Riku added, leaping into the air into their sights. "I'm Riku!"
His girlfriend chuckled. "On behalf of the both of us, congratulations."
"Hi, I'm Ariel, my husband Eric, and this is Melody," she said. "Thank you."
"This special gift is from us," she continued. The winged mermaid made the necklace appear, placing it around Melody's neck, where it now could recognized who it's bearer was and shone a bright golden light.
"Now wherever you are, wherever you may be, just believe in yourself, and the light from this pendant will take you home," she told the little baby girl, even though she very well knew that Melody didn't understand her.
"Thank you," Ariel thanked gratefully, hugging her daughter tightly as Yuki's wings shimmered away before she did a back-flip and dive back into the water next to Riku. As she loosened her hold so her father could place the locket around her neck, a dark tentacle suddenly shot out from the water and wrapped around the young baby, snatching her from her parents.
"Melody!" Ariel gasped.
The tentacle retuned to a dark, octopus old woman with long grey hair and an old but slim figure.
"AHHH!!!! Ursula's crazy sister!" Sebastian exclaimed in horror.
"I didn't miss the cake and ice cream , did I?" the sea witch teased, tickling under Melody's chin with a finger before cackling.
"Morgana!" Triton hissed, his trident glowing with power.
Sora, Donald, Yuki and Riku could see the unnaturally powerful dark aura glowing around the octopus-woman. She was obviously allied with Maleficent, or else there was no other way she could have gotten that power.
"Surrender the baby or else-" Triton threatened before Morgana cut him off.
"Ah, ah, ah," she warned with a smile, giving Melody a kiss on the cheek, and the king instantly knew the advantage she had. "My sister would have loved to come, but something came up." She began to climb up the side of the ship as she continued. "Now, now, now what was it? Oh yes… you all shish-kabobbed her!"
Eric pulled Ariel tighter against him as they watched as Morgana tossed the baby in the air with her tentacle as she kept on talking.
"One minute you're on top, the next you're sushi. Now is that fair, I ask you," Morgana continued. "But then, whoever said we have to play fair?" She chuckled, calling in a sweet tone. "Oh undertow!"
As she called, a dark fin rose from the waters, followed by piercing yellow eyes and the full body of a black and purple shark.
"Make way, little Mershrimp!" he growled, pushing away various merfolk with his powerful snout, "I'm coming through!" Reaching the edge of the boat, he smiled, revealing rows of sharp teeth as he opened up, where Morgana dangled Melody over the jaws.
"We've got to stop her," Sora said as he looked at his friends.
"Right," they agreed.
He looked at them. "Okay, Riku, Yuki, rescue Melody. Donald and I will take that shark." The four of them disappeared under the water where they split up into their two teams.
"Now hand over the trident or your precious granddaughter will be shark chow," Morgana threatened King Triton.
The king of Atlantica look pained. "You can have anything you want," he gave in, "just don't harm little Melody."
"Well, well," Morgana declared proudly, "I get the trident, avenge poor unfortunate Ursula, and gain all the powers of the ocean, and it's not even ten o'clock."
"Well it is on our watch!" Sora exclaimed, leaping out of the water and tackling the shark underwater with his Keyblade.
Both Riku and Yuki instantly leaped from the water following Morgana's angry cry, Riku smacking Morgana's tentacle holding Melody with his Keyblade. Melody flew from her grip, and as Morgana's shark friend leaped out of the water, jaws opened wide to catch the baby, Yuki leaped towards her at the same time. With perfect aim, King Triton shot the shark with a ray of light at the same time Sora shot it with his Keyblade, where it transformed into a tiny piranha-looking fish. Yuki grabbed Melody, holding her against her chest as shimmering wings appearing on her back before she fluttered over to Ariel and Eric, who took back their daughter gratefully.
"Melody!" Ariel gasped with joy. "Thank you!"
In the water, the now-tiny fish exclaimed, "What have you done to me?! Look at me! I'm an anchovy!"
Yuki's Keyblade flashed into her hand as she dived through the air towards Morgana, knocking her off the ship as both collided into the water. Suddenly, Morgana popped up and shouted as she swam away, "This isn't the end, Triton! This is only the beginning!"
"After her!" King Triton declared, his guards immediately swimming towards the witch as a black whirlpool formed underwater.
Riku, Sora and Donald dived under to swim towards the whirlpool, looking for their comrade at the same time. Yuki was swimming in the midst of the whirlpool, her face twisted into slight pain as the darkness was all around her, trying to infiltrate her heart. She held her Keyblade held in front of her defensively as a kind of shield.
"Yuki!" Riku called, but it appeared that she couldn't move.
Morgana snickered as she appeared in front of the mermaid. "So you're the Yuki Maleficent was telling me about," she cackled, a dark swirling orb appearing in her hand. "This is a gift from her." She pushed the dark black and purple orb into Yuki's chest, causing her to gasp as darkness began to consume her from the inside out.
"Yuki!" Sora cried out, but they could not reach nor breach the whirlpool.
The Keyblade vanished from her grasp, both hands fluttering against her chest. Another item appeared in Morgana's hand; it was a short curved dagger. The sea witch grinned evilly.
"This is another gift from Maleficent," she said, stabbing her in the gut, twisting the blade as blood flowed out and mixed with the sea water.
"NO!" Riku cried, but it was too late. The wounded mermaid plummeted from the whirlpool before it swirled faster and became smaller, the shark-now-anchovy and two dark stingrays swam into it before the dark whirlpool vanished, Morgana's voice cackling through the air.
"You'll never find me!" she cackled, "But I'll find you! And your precious granddaughter! A ha, ha!"
"We shall not rest until that mad woman is vanquished!" King Triton declared, "Find her! Find her!" A stroke of lightning flashed from the trident into the cloud, a sign of order to all in the ocean.
"Yuki! Yuki!" Riku shouted, hurriedly swimming down after the fallen mermaid. Sweeping under the limp mermaid, he caught her, pressing a hand around the wound where the knife rested, noticing that the crystal pendant around her neck was a dark, dark purple, swirling with black smoke.
Hurriedly, he swam to Sora and Donald, who flanked him as they hurried to seek help, holding Yuki tightly against him, feeling the warmth of her skin begin to fade.
Yuki… please… hold on… he thought desperately. Please, you can't leave me. I still need you.
- - - -
"I'm sorry," King Triton apologized after Ariel, Eric and Melody had returned to land on the shores. "there is no sign of her. She's vanished. We will keep trying, we will-"
"Sweetie, no," Ariel chided as she picked up Melody as she reached the water. "Oh, we've got to keep Melody away from her. Until Morgana is found, Melody can't go in the sea." She sighed sadly, "and neither will I."
"But Ariel!" Flounder protested.
She looked at her best friend. "I'm sorry, Flounder," she apologized, looking at Melody in her arms who was chewing on the edge of her Atlantica locket "But if Morgana is anything like Ursula, she'll never give up. This is the only way." She began to remove the locket from her neck. "Melody can't know about merpeople, or Atlantica, or even you, Daddy," she explained quietly, handing the locket to her father.
He sighed in understanding. "Very well, Ariel, you're right," he agreed, beginning to turn away.
"Please, thank Sora and the others for saving Melody, and tell them I'm sorry," Ariel added, her words filled with sadness, pain and regret.
The king met his daughter's eyes. "I will," he promised.
Ariel turned into Eric's chest and he hugged his wife as the Merking swam away from the castle shores in despair, holding the locket against his chest. Looking at his loyal subject, he said, "Sebastian, you will watch over her."
"Me?!" the tiny crab squeaked in fear, shrinking back in horror. "Ugh!" he pretty much passed out into the water.
Taking one last look back at his now all-grown-up daughter, King Triton began to leave back towards his kingdom, Flounder following. Ariel, Eric and Melody began to head back towards the steps of their own kingdom with heavy hearts, and King Triton stared sadly into the sunset before dropping the locket down into the water, where it sank to the bottom where it was lost.
With that, the divide between the land and the sea kingdoms began.
Ah... just if you want to know, Yuki will be FINE. I only included that because it's part of Maleficent's plan... BUT I'm not saying what the plan is. ahahaha.
Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading this chapter. Hope you'll like the next when it comes out!
PLEASE REVIEW!