I wanted to start a new mini-project. Disney "what if?" one shots. Readers postulate a what-if question reguarding a Disney movie, and I write aone shot on my take on the answer. I only update when asked a question.

Rules:

1) PM me, or write a review requesting a what-if 2) I do not watch the Disney channel, so please no questions regarding shows, or Disney channel movies. Traditional Disney movies only, preferably animated/cgi only. The only live action one that i have watched is Enchanted. 3) If it a movie I have not seen in a long time, to answer your question I may need to locate a copy of the movie to watch so be patient with me 4) It's okay to ask a what if about a movie someone else has already asked about. 5) This is me taking my own interpretation of your question, and having some fun with it. I apologize if it is not the answer you were looking for, but I hope you can enjoy the story nonetheless! :)
6)I will give a rating to each chapter, so while this is an "M" as a whole, please look at the chapter listing for accurate ratings for each chapter.

Question 4 by Heather: What if Eric HAD kissed Ariel on that boat before the three days were up?

Ariel felt as if the river itself were singing, as if the world itself wanted Eric to lean in and kiss her as fervently as she was wishing he would. She had spent hours trying to look perfect for this date. Unable to talk, she wasn't able to explain to the girls assisting her as to what she wanted. They used a strange wooden device with a coarse hair to brush her hair when there was a perfectly good dinglehopper on the dresser table. She had wanted to impress Eric with her musical talents; she had no voice but Scuttle had taught her how to play a snarfbladt, and she had hoped she could rely on one to replace her missing voice. That however, was another unfortunate disappointment.

Eric's face drawing closer to hers drew her from her thoughts, and she closed her eyes to lean into him. Her heart pounded in her chest, the sound pulsing in her ears. She wondered if she would do it right, she had never done it before.

As soon as his lips touched hers she leaned in to him and was startled by a warm rush in her legs. She drew back, looking down and gasped as they briefly glowed a glittering yellow. The sharp stinging pain in her feet seemed to subside as if she had been gifted with feet all her life and they were not fresh infantile skin learning how to callous. Eric, however, seemed quite oblivious to the ominous glowing.

"Ariel…" He began, grasping her hands in hers. She looked down, noting how pale she was by comparison, her smooth complexion marred by a deep stinging rouge Eric called 'Sunburn'. She was used to life underwater, and had never spent enough time breached to be exposed to this 'Sunburn'. He had given her salves to help with the burn, and advised her to be more cautious about going out into the summer sun without proper protection. "I hope this isn't too forward, but… as Prince, it is my duty to take a wife… I have spent years searching for the right woman. I refused to marry any woman I was introduced to, passed the normal age for a man like me to get married. I never found her. Until now… Ariel… I know it's soon, but I think you're that woman I've been searching for. Will you be my wife?"

For a brief moment Ariel feared she would pass out from sheer ecstasy. The man she had loved and admired from afar, the man whose life she saved, the man for whom she was willing to sacrifice everything to be with, was asking her to be his wife. A broad smile tugged at her face as she nodded, squeezing Eric's hands that were still clasped with her own. He laughed at her enthusiasm and pulled her close for another kiss, promising they would be wed at once.

Flotsam and Jetsam looked up at the boat in horror, the various nefarious sea creatures having successfully kept them at bay. They had failed their mistress, and the little princess had managed to get her precious kiss from the human price. Ursula would not be pleased. They exchanged looks, the fear apparent in each other's eyes. The other creatures were distracted by their joyous success, and the eels were able to slip away without notice.

Usula's cavern was filling with blank ink as she screamed in frustration. "The little tramp wasn't supposed to get that Prince to kiss her in only three days! Now to get King Triton's Trident I'll have to take matters into my own hands!" She looked through her shelves, throwing an array of vials and beakers into her cauldron, a cacophony of colorful smoke pouring forth swirling with the still settling black inky clouds kicked up with each annoyed flick of Ursula's tentacles. "At once the Prince says! Well, I'll have to put a stop to that little fairy tale ending!" She turned back to her cauldron, singing to it in a dead language now only spoken by the members of the clan of witches. The sea had lost its control of the witches when they lost their knowledge of this dead language. None would stop her now, she would claim her rightful throne.

Ariel was wishing more than ever that she had not traded her voice. She joy that was filling her was one deserving of a song. As she twirled in her dress she closed her eyes and thought of the lyrics, the melody so vivid in her mind it was as if there were one of those spinning disks with a horn that bellowed music like the throat of a whale. She had already forgotten what Eric had told her they were called, Scuttle called it a whirlitwik. He had never steered her wrong before.

She stopped her nonsensical dancing as the serving girls came in with baskets full of lace, needles, threads, and jewelry that could put her mother's own collection to shame. She had never seen such smooth shiny rocks before. Diamonds, emeralds, gold, silver; such precious items were not even amongst her secret hiding place back home. They had already sewn her into her wedding gown, and were cooing over her as they sewed on the last of the decor, and adorned her with these precious rocks.

"You'll be the most beautiful bride France has ever seen!"

"No, that Europe has ever seen!"

"No! The world!" Ariel let them fuss, too overcome with glee to care. She could attend her wedding in nothing but the rags Scuttle had dressed her in the day she finally got to meet Eric on her two feet. Outside the window a tall ship was at harbor with fresh silky white sails, banners of white and gold adorned over the name of the ship. She couldn't read the texts of humans, the characters were different than those used by the seafolk even though the sounds were the same. But it was just another detail that failed to mar this most joyous day. Scuttle was sitting in the windowsill, the serving girls having stopped shooing him away after he returned for the fifth time. She looked at him in the window, waving her hands in front of her face in an excited gesture as Scuttle folded his feathers to give her an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Eric boarded the ship, loving the smell of the fresh paint. The new suit fitted him nicely, though it felt strange to board a seafaring vessel in something so formal. He never felt comfortable in such clothing, but it was his wedding day and he wanted to look perfect for Ariel. He wanted the wedding to take place at sea because he had first met Ariel on the shoreline, and every night since he met her she would return to the shore and look out at sea as if she was looking for something. When he had told her his idea for a wedding at sea she beamed with joy at the prospect and the decision was made.

The priest took him by the arm, the stout elderly man leading him to the alter as a score of men boarded the ship; the groomsmen, musicians, caterers, servers, sailors, and then finally were Ariel's bridesmaids. And Ariel was not far behind, her beautiful youthful face covered behind a sheer white veil.

He gasped when he saw her, standing at the end of the aisle as everyone prepared for the ceremony. It felt like he was told not a few minutes ago the ceremony would not be for several hours. The time was finally here. The captain gave a series of shouts and the freshly made sails unfurled as the men tied them down quickly, the ships anchor hurled aboard as the ropes were thrown from the docks. With one shuddering lurch the ship was tugged out to sea until the wind caught her sails and she floated on her own strength, the shoreline slowly becoming a thin line on the horizon.

Music flooded the ship as the caterers set up the food, the servers setting the tables, the groomsmen and bridesmaids taking their places as the priest pulled out an old leather-bound Bible, even from a few feet away Eric could make out its musty scent as a poof of dust lifted into the air as the man dropped it upon the podium.

The music changed abruptly, and the elderly man who was always by Eric's side took her arm, standing in for her father. They had believed that her father was killed in the nonexistent shipwreck that brought her to their shores. It was easier to have them believe that than to try to explain that he was the King of a race of beings humans thought were only imaginary. He led her to the alter, and when she was close enough to Eric to fully see him her heart once again began to beat wildly in her chest, her mouth felt dry as if she had stuffed linens into it. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, and the bouquet in her hand became slick as her palms soaked with a nervous sweat. Eric pulled back her veil and she felt her anxiety subside as she got to look into his eyes.

Infatuated with eachother, Eric and Ariel failed to notice the gurlgling waters around them until the ceremony was interrupted as the ship lurched violently to port, and the screams of the passengers as a large being emerged from the waters. Ariel recognized Ursula immediately, the golden shell necklace still around her neck as she towered over the waters. Ursula was using every ounce of power she had left, her shelves of ingredients exhausted and she knew the effects would be brief. She just needed it to last long enough to draw Ariel into another trap. If she could put Eric's life in danger, she could put Ariel under enough duress to sign a new contract. One that would cause Ariel to sell herself to Ursula in exchange for allowing the petty price into live.

Eric tried to pull Ariel away, but a large black tentacle dropped onto the ship shattering through the wood, splinters raining on the guests who were fighting over the lifeboats until another tentacle came down and shattered what boats remained on the starboard side of the ship. Those who were still standing after the attack wasted no time diving into the ocean, trusting in the currents to have a greater chance at survival than the ship itself. The clouds overhead gathered in a rumbling blackness, and lighting cracked across the sky until a bolt came crashing down causing the mast of the ship to explode into thousands of small wooden shards raining fire down upon the boat.

"Ariel!" she vaguely heard his voice, her ears were ringing from the great boom of the mast as it was struck down by the sky itself. The fury of the ocean was whirling around them, the broken ship rocking dangerously. She looked around for the source of the disembodied voice and saw her prince running for her. She stood up to run to him, and found the dress was snagged on the jagged boards of the ship, and the fire creeping closer. He finally reached her, pulling desperately to loose her dress from the boards. Before he could free her the ship lurched once more, groaning painfully as she keeled into her side, spilling the remaining survivors into the sea.

The cold water met Ariel with merciless brutality. She felt the salty brine fill her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. She opened her mouth to gasp for breath, desperate for the sea to fill her lungs with the oxygen they were screaming for. She tugged uselessly at the shattered wood, and clawed at the dress trying to tear it away from herself if she could not tear it away from the boat. The lack of air was screaming inside of her chest, the throbbing in her ears drowning out the other horrible sounds filling the waters. Her head suddenly began to feel as if thousands of fish were swimming inside of it, and thousands of crabs were snapping their claws in her lungs. Her muscles were screaming, her heart throbbing even faster. She didn't remember pulling the dress away, and didn't remember when the arms coiled around her. She just remembered coughing violently, wrenching up the contents of her stomach into the churning waters as someone threw her onto a floating piece of the wreckage.

"Ariel! Are you alright?!" She opened her eyes, her vision not having fully returned, her body still trembling as her oxygen starved body rebelled against her.

"Father?" She asked, squinting at the form before her. Father would save the day, he would use his trident and put Ursula back in her place! He would give her, her water lungs back. He would give her, her beloved fins again and she could find and rescue Eric. Eric! "Eric!" She shouted, or thought she shouted, nothing but silence pouring through her burning throat. Her eyes were burning now, and she couldn't clear them. She tried to rub at them but a pair of familiar hands pulled them away.

"It's me, Eric! Ariel you have to calm down! The captain managed to set off one flare before the ship went down. Help is coming, just hold on!" Before either could react, the long black tentacles slammed down once more, destroying the one lifeboat that managed to survive the chaos, as two more reached for Ariel and Eric, lurching them high into the air.

"What adorable little lovers. I think this fairy tale needs a proper ending! Happy endings are so overrated these days! Let's try something… fresh" Eric cried out in pain as Ursula curled her tentacle around him, Ariel letting out a mute scream as she reached for him. "Don't worry little princess, your prince will be fine, as long as you're willing to make another little bargain. Now lets see… might be hard to negotiate without your voice." Ursula looked at the necklace round her neck, and clasped it, "Such a pretty trinket…" she gave it a hard squeeze as a glowing yellow light flooded from it, flying towards Ariel and down her throat. A melodic note poured from her throat as her voice returned,

"Ursula!" She howled angrily, pushing uselessly with her aching arms against the great witches tentacles.

"No need for that now dear! You'll leave a mark! Now, if you listen closely, your little prince here will be just fine. I just want to make a little… deal with you."

"After what you just did! Why should I trust you!"

"You're a smart little child now, I am sure you can see the consequences if refusing my generous offer. You don't want to be selfish now, do you?" She gave Eric another tight squeeze, the gutwrenching scream that poured out of him tore at Ariel's heart,

"Stop it!,"

"Then let's be civilized adults here," Eric looked at the two of them, sure that he was hallucinating from smoke inhalation. A giant talking centaur-like octopus woman and his mute fiancé talking as if they knew each other? He wanted to ask what in blazes was going on, what sick fantasy had his oxygen deprived brain concocted? But the pressure around his chest was to great to choke out a single word, every ounce of strength was used just to draw breath,

"How can you call this civilized!"

"Now now sweet child, I think you don't realize the gravity of the situation. And here I thought you were such a smart young girl. So let me spell it out for you," Her tone changed from one of mocking sincerity, to one dark and threatening, "Either you sell me your soul, or I squeeze the life out of your precious little prince. Humans, such fragile little creatures. I could even do it just by dragging him underwater. Do your father a favor! So, make your choice!"

"Ursula no!"

"Three,"

"Don't do this!"

"Two…"

"I'm begging you!"

"One…"

"Yes!" Ariel shouted, black streams rushing down her cheeks as tears mixed with the ashes gathered on her face. Ursula held out a familiar set of items to her, and she reluctantly grabbed the pointed shell and scrawled her signature across the glowing roll of parchment. The grip around her loosened suddenly and she plummeted once more into the cold Atlantic waters, but as she hit the ocean the water that filled her lungs brought precious relief, she kicked her feet for a moment to reach the surface only to realize she now had fins. The tattered remains of her undergarments clung to her torso, ragged bits of her petticoat floating away as she lost her womanly hips to conform to a more natural merfolk shape more conductive to swimming. Eric! She kicked her fins, moving to the surface only to feel herself grabbed once more and dragged back under.

"I think it's time we paid your daddy a little visit…"

"You promised Eric would be okay!"

"Dear sweet child, I never break my promises. Eric wasn't lying, a flare went up and more ships are coming. They'll find him floating safely, alive and well, on the largest floating object I could find. " Ursula ignored the teen's protests as she dragged her through the waters, but had hardly made it a hundred meters when King Triton stood before her, an army of merfolk behind him and his faithful trident in hand.

"What is the meaning of this Ursula!"

"Why King Triton! It's been ages! How are you dear friend!" He pointed the trident at her, the ends glowing red belching out bubbles as the heat immediately evaporated the water around it.

"No time for games. Let her go now Ursula, or I'll be forced to end you."

"No no no, see, that's not how this goes. You see, she sold her soul to me! So, I have a better claim to her than you do. But, being an honest woman, I am willing to make you a deal. You hand over your trident, and I'll return your daughter!" King Triton raised the trident higher, his guard stepping forth and pointing their swords in her direction but laughed at the empty threat and held up the contract Ariel had signed, "Legal and binding by all laws of the sea. You have no choice Triton. Your trident, or your daughter,"

"Daddy no!" She shouted, watching helplessly as her father traded his trident for the glimmering contract. Ursula released her grip on Ariel, and suddenly began to laugh, feeling the throbbing warmth of the trident's power pulsing through her hands.

Ariel and Triton embraced, Ariel begging her father's forgiveness and in a flurry of rushed words tried to explain what was going on.

At the surface of the ocean Eric gazed at the devastation around him. The great beast was gone, but the storm above still raged. He knew his fleet would risk life or death to bring him back to his kingdom, the heir to the throne must not be lost. His father would have every single sailor executed if they were to ignore a flare from the royal family. He could see the sails, and was surprised how close they were already. Had he lost consciousness? How long was he out? Then he thought of Ariel. She had to have survived! The last he saw her she was alive in well in the great beast's tentacles. Or was that just a hallucination? Brought on by a blow to the head or smoke inhalation. It was a storm that brought the ship down, lightning that destroyed her. He last saw Ariel desperately tugging her wedding dress before the ship went down.

No. He knew what he saw was real, as wild as it may be. Ariel was alive. And she traded herself to save him. And what was that necklace that suddenly allowed her to speak? And in that voice… the voice he had heard on the beach the night he was saved from a shipwreck much like this one. He was interrupted in his thoughts as he was pulled roughly onto a ship. Here, already? Did I pass out again? The men were fussing about him, asking too many questions to ever answer. Someone was pushing a flask to his lips, and he took it gratefully. The warmth filled him, and he realized it was a strong wine. He took a long gulp, and tried to gather his senses. As he was given water and bread he felt he was able to collect his thoughts. Much to his delight there were other survivors on board. Not enough, but some. Perhaps Ariel was among them. He begged the crew to search for his bride, but they all told the same tale. They found bits of her dress, but never found the girl.

Before the horror of such news could settle in, the waters began to churn once more. The great beast returned, wearing a golden crown and a glowing trident. The ships lurched as the waves began to grow, the booming voice of the great beast so loud and deep they couldn't make out what words it was saying. The sky above turned black, the storm grew angrier. Eric knew the beast had been real! And he realized the beast had taken his Ariel. He would win her back. He would defeat this great beast at all costs. He ran up to the helm, men chasing him beckoning for him to return.

"Sir! Stop! We must get you home! We must run from that great monster!" He ignored their cries, and commanded the captain to step down. Eric looked up in horror to see the great beast swing its foul tentacles once more, destroying three ship with ease, and knocking the mast down on his ship. The force of the impact knocked him down, and threw several men overboard. Please, no more death! Today was supposed to be a day of great joy!

"Eric!" Ariel burst through the surface of the water, her father beside her. They looked at the horrors around them. Even Triton looked in disgust at the slaughter that was being committed by Ursula. He never felt the guilt of the deaths of humans, but that was always at the hands of the storms, or a misguided ship. This was unnatural. This was a massacre. The pair watched, utterly helpless without Triton's trident. Ariel spotted one ship with a shattered mast, the great pier of wood laying across the ship's bow like a great spear. As it lurched towards Ursula, she prayed that the power-mad witch would not notice, and her prayers were answered as a great thunderous cry erupted from the witches throat.

Eric groaned as he struggled to keep her on course, whatever God existed answered his prayer and flooded his sails with wind, pushing all the great ship's weight into the shattered spear that now lay across the ship's bow. Crimson blood poured across the mast and onto the bow of the ship, Eric held on for a few more moments until he was sure she dealt the fatal blow. The agonized cry of the great beast echoed through the swirling storm, its wrathful tentacles taking out two more ships in its death thralls. Eric dove from the ship, hoping the last of his strength would drag him just far enough away to survive the thrashing of the great beast. The currents churned suddenly, and he realized the ship and the beast were going down. He opened his eyes but everything was too black, he didn't know which way the surface was. He blew bubbles but couldn't tell which way they floated. He couldn't find up. His chest was screaming, and his muscles failed to obey his command to swim as they cried out for oxygen. His head grew light, and then he knew nothingness.

"Want…part….your…" He heard vague singing, the voice… it was that voice. The one from the first time he was saved. It was… Ariel's voice. Was he in the afterlife? Had they died? No… his aching body told him he was very much so alive. "Part of your, world." That voice ,it was the most beautiful sound he ever heard. His vision came in segments. First nothing but light and dark. Then fuzzy shapes, soon the fuzzy shapes had color, and finally everything came in clearly. His eyes still stung, his nose and throat were on fire from all the hot smoke. But he was alive, and Ariel was alive.

"Are you alright son?" He looked up and saw a large bearded figure with fins for legs sitting in the shallows of the water. Ariel was lying beside him, with fins in place of her legs. Merfolk? Merfolk are real? After what he just saw, he had no doubts such creatures could live.

"Who are you?" Eric croaked, finding it hard to speak. He was familiar with this injury, many sailors who survived shipwrecks returned home this way.

"I am King Triton, Lord of the Sea. I see you have taken to my daughter Ariel. For centuries I thought you humans were nothing but monsters, slaughtering the fishfolk with no heed for others. But your selflessness has shown me perhaps all humans are not bad." Triton did not trust humans as a whole, but he supposed he could trust just this one. During the hours he was unconscious, he and Ariel spoke at length. Many words, tears, and emotions were exchanged. And Triton gave Ariel his blessing to marry this human. "You have my blessing to marry my daughter, should that still be your wish." Eric was at a loss for words, still confused as to what was going on. He looked up at Ariel though, and knew, no matter what, she was still what mattered most.

"Ariel is the most important thing in my life. I'd do anything for her." Ariel beamed with delight, tackling Eric into the sand and burying her face into his chest. She drew back suddenly, as a warm filled her fins and felt the divide run up along her body and she looked down, finding her fins were now legs, the tattered remains of her clothing replaced with a glittering silver gown. She turned to her father, a sad smile on his face,

"Thank you daddy," Her father smiled at her, giving her a short nod, and she turned back to Eric. "I love you!"

"I love you, Ariel. My little mermaid,"

Yay cliche cheesy as #$% endings!

Also, remember, these are one-shots. I don't edit them a second time =P