Chapter 3: Conflicted Decisions

I've decided to get closer on track with the original movie, but not without altering some of its scenes and changing up the dialogue a little bit, so expect something closely related to the original storyline now.

I own nothing. The Little Mermaid and all its content belong to Disney. I don't own the cover image either.

Enjoy the chapter!


The atmosphere in the remains of the grotto held an aura of despair and lost hope. Items lay shattered, broken, cracked and disintegrated into ash all about the shelves and floor. Rock crumbled, revealing areas where marks held the remains of powerful energy blasting across the surface. And in the midst of it all, buried and curled up on the rocks between the broken pieces of the statue was a weeping mermaid.

She felt her heart break and a shudder passed through her sobbing form as the voice echoed back in her mind. The memories were still as vivid as they were a just few minutes ago. They replayed in her mind like a empty din, only bringing forth more emotional pain.

"He's a human, you're a mermaid!"

"I don't care!"

Like their sea-dwelling brethren, merpeople are incapable of shedding tears of any kind. None the less when one or such has experienced great sorrow or grief they weep and cry out nonetheless. It is said that the mourning cries of a mermaid stir the pity in even the most stone cold of hearts. As of this moment a mermaid wept as she felt immense sorrow, as well as some loss and anger for the destruction of her grotto and collection.

"So help me Ariel, I am going to get through to you. And if this is the only way, so be it."

The blaring light of the magic beams blasting through and destroying things on content. The swift explosions sending her precious items into nothingness. The apathetic expression her father bore as he ignored her pleas and destroyed all the sentimental things that held value to her.

"Daddy! No... No please! Daddy, stop! Daddy! Nooo!"

The merman had left as quickly he arrived, swimming silently away. Leaving her to mourn for her broken refuge without any form of comfort at all. From the deepest parts inside of her she felt a deep resentment for her sire form through all the sadness. Resentment for his lack of empathy. Anger for his one-track mind that painted him in a stubborn, insensitive light. Hatred for him dismissing her as a child and for not seeing past that as a much more mature adult.

Brushing past her bangs and seeing through the murky water, she could faintly see the remains of the statue around her. She felt more grief swell up in her soul and her form became racked with more sobs.

The statue was not real. It had no life. It had no heart. It did not breath. It could not feel any emotions or think any thoughts. It was as lifeless as the stone it had been carved out of. It even paled to the real, living thing.

But in there held the sentimental value. The statue served not as a replacement for the real thing, but as a reminder of the first time they ever met. A memorial to the first night she had seen him and then later the time she saved his life, the time they met formally and the start of all their times following together. It was a testament to her admiration to the human world and the wonderful person who had shown her just a slice of it all.

Now it was reduced to dust and rubble. Just more sand and rocks on the ocean floor.

As the rock particles began to settle back down to the seabed, her eyes caught on to a part of the statue that had still remained intact. The empty eyes and the chiseled face stared back at her, cracked around the rims but nary a visible crack or niche on the surface. Shakily she reached out her arm and grasped onto the statue's face, pulling in back and hugging it tightly to her chest as a fresh set of sobs and shudders came forth. Her tail curled up close to her head, tightening the ball she had made herself into.

She clenched onto the rims of the face, wishing now more then ever that everything would go back the way it was. Shards of glass and crockery turning back into vases, pottery and figurines. Bits of metal melded back and twisted into their original states. Chard papers stitching back into the covers of books. Pieces of stone reverted back into the statue. Her heart gone of the broken cracks that spread out all over.

As she let her emotions cloud her senses in her grief-filled state, she did not notice the two yellow-eyed figures that slunk quietly out of a hole in the stone wall and into the destroyed remains of the grotto. Not the two that Ariel had sent off so that she may mourn alone, but two identical bodies with ribbon-like shapes that swam in fluid, curling motions, eventually coming down to the seabed to her level.

Though their shadows gracefully flowed over her in an eerie way and their presence felt unwanted and frightfully unexpected, they spoke words on silver tongues, edged by the poisons of false comfort and deceptive concern. In her sorrow-filled state, she could not discern their words from the truth or not. They slithered around her, speaking highly praised words of someone who could help her out of her state and help her achieve her dream. Her dream of being with Eric as a human in his world.

Only if she would follow them to meet with Ursula, the seawitch. The name sent her reeling back in shock and her mind became clear again with the stories and rumors told of her.

Far-fetched and exaggerated as her father's tales of and few experiences with humans may be, the many stories he had told of Ursula the seawitch were far from false. Once a renowned mermaid, a mage in her day, she had been highly regarded as a master of the mystic arts, especially in healing arts. Unfortunately, her career had ended when she had taken a sharp turn downwards as her desire for power and her hunger for control over everything lead her astray into the path of dark magic. She had tried to storm Atlantica and seize control over the city and over the ocean itself. She had ultimately been defeated by her father wielding his triton and was banished to the very edges of the sea, isolated in the desolate, barren and dark waters of the trenches.

Many foolish mermaids and mermen who looked to her for help or boastful, arrogant ones who tried to seek her out were never seen again. It wasn't just from her father's words, many close friends and family members described the many lost to the sea witch out there, perhaps someone close or dear to them. Many told tales of how she lured them before devouring them, others say she transformed them and made them into her slaves or ingredients in her experiments. But whatever the story, the main thing that stood out was too avoid Ursula at all costs.

She suddenly lashed back at the two, demanding that they go and leave her alone. As much as her heart desired to be with Eric, the fear surrounding the thought of visiting her was enough to make her deny the suggestion. Yet as she continued to think about the offer, the more her heart ached for the comfort she felt with Eric. Here, under the surface, she felt alone, more then ever now that her father had attacked her precious collection without taking any thought of care or sensitivity to her. He was wrong about the humans. He was wrong about her. Yet, despite all the warning tales, could it be that he could also be wrong about...

"Wait," she called out. The two eels stopped in their tracks and their single gold and white eyes on their faces focused on her as their heads flicked back. Their mouths curled up their lips as they asked, revealing a set full of sharp, pointed teeth as they stared at her inquisitively.

"Yeeeeeeeeeess?"


Just outside the city limits the environment changed rapidly. If you went far enough the bright coral and seaweed retreated, revealing the barren, pale white sandy floor. Even farther out lay several cliffs and trenches where shadows lurked and so did many creatures of darkness. The sunlight was not as strong here as it was back home and as the night came alive she could feel fear rising over her at the thought of many night-dwellers coming out to attack.

Yet her resolve did not waver. Her emotions were strengthened by her love for Eric, even if he did not reciprocate the feelings as strong as she did. She wanted nothing more then to be with him as a part of his world, sharing it with him with two legs just like him. Even if it meant striking a deal with a witch of strong dark powers she was willing to pay the price to stay with him.

The water grew bitterly cold as she swam, forcing her to cover her arms with her hands and rub them to keep warm. Behind her called out Flounder and the crab-who-will-not-be-named to try and pull her back from going out here, but she ignored them both. They could never understand the feelings she felt for her true friend that had been her mentor, teacher, explainer, cook, musician and even pair of legs all through the years.

Jagged rocks soon connected and grew smooth as they formed caves that made the ideal hiding spot for the fearsome monsters they held. She tried to swim closer to the twin eels following her in order to prevent herself from getting lost. Hot water and large columns of ash squirted up from underwater geysers, providing warmth from afar but painful heat if any closer then that.

The eels soon led her towards a great cavern surrounded by trenches all around that appeared to look like the stone skeleton of an ancient sea monster that had come straight out of the stories told of the past. Though she had long since stopped believing in such exaggerated creatures, the design of the cave seemed to resembled her early ideas of what they look like. As the eels motioned her to keep following them towards the entrance of the cave that resembled the mouth of a large, toothed creature, she hesitated and halted very briefly, taking in the menacing appearance of the cave. Her mind started to double back on her decision, before the eels stopped and looked back at her.

"This way," they said.

She took in a deep breath before swimming into after them. Uncertainty or not, she was getting this done.

All at once she gasped at the horror before her. Surrounding the entire bottom of the tunnel and along the sides were several animate objects. Polyps of all dirty color and long tentacled bodies stared up at her with wide eyes and sorrowful mouths. They quaked and wailed constantly as she swam over them. She felt fear enter her heart and her thoughts recalled every story she had been told of disappearing merpeople. She let out a sudden gasp and her eyes turned towards her wrist where one had latched on with their tentacle arms, pulling her back and shaking their head fearfully as she attempted to pull free from their slimy, tightening grasp. She finally succeeded in pulling free and quickly hurried on her way, but not without sparing the creatures one last glance as they howled mournfully at her and kept pleading at her to go back.

She finally passed the garden of moaning creatures and rounded a bend where it was free from them. Long pink and wavy vines fell down from the ceiling as she went deeper into the cave. All at once she could hear the voice that she had without a doubt belonged to Ursula.

She froze in place as a black octopus tentacled, light blue skinned, white haired and... slightly bulgy women slinked out a shell resembling loft and onto the floor. After a quick lecture for lurking in doorway being an impolite way to visit, the cecaelia slunk across towards a vanity where she began applying cosmetics to her form, all while getting right to the point of her predicament. And she had the solution right on the tip of her tongue and she spoke it as calmly and smoothly as she had rehearsed it many times.

Becoming human was the answer to her problems.

Her interest was instantly gained by the smooth words of the cecaelia. Hardly any time had gone by since the start of their conversation and she had already found the solution that, despite the risks, was what her heart and soul longed for then anything else. She asked if it was possible for her to do the transformation on her.

In a melody that both haunting yet alluring in it's detailed lyrics, she sought the answer and what came with it. Gaining two legs and humanity could be achieved through the use of the sea witch's magic, but at a price.

To become human at the minimum of three days time, she would have to give up her voice. She would then have two charming legs like every human and in the time she spent up on land she would have to make the prince fall in love with her and give her the kiss of true love in order to keep the spell permanent. If she failed to do so in the time limit, she would turn back into a mermaid and become Ursula's property to do so what she pleased.

Deal and limit tensions aside, giving up her mermaid tail and facing all this, even if she succeeded, meant she be leaving her home, her sisters and, albeit willingly now her father. She would never be, see or even speak to them ever again if she signed the deal with the provided contract and quill made of the skeleton of a fish.

As the tension mounted on her decision, she felt conflicted between her feelings. Giving up ever being with her family ever again and becoming mute for the rest of her life in order to be human and spend her life with Eric, or giving up ever having the opportunity to be part of his worlds and living unhappily for the rest of her days as a mermaid. Ursula singing grew more urgent to choose with each passing moment and the option had already been completed. All that was left was her consent and the chant that would complete the transformation spell.

Taking a deep breath, closing her eyes and turning her head over her shoulder while she felt a wave of betrayal and guilt sweep over her, she snatched up the quill and signed her name at the bottom of the glowing, golden scroll.

The quill disappeared and the contract magically rolled up and moved into Ursula's grasp before disappearing as she clenched it. The sea witch turned and grinned maniacally with widen, ecstatic eyes before moving over her cauldron to complete the spell. As the chant rose up from her lips and a vortex of light and smoke rose up from her arms rising higher and higher in the cave, Ariel sent out a silent prayer, asking for her sisters and father's forgiveness for her decision.

Suddenly, the blue light turned green and out from the cauldron came two, ghostly hands, following the witch's own. She turned towards her, eyes maddened with power as she issued forth the payment of the spell.

"Now sing!"

A little, white light glowed on her throat as her lips opened and she let a melody usher forth, ringing through the swirling vortex and into the otherwise silent cavern.

"Keep singing," Ursula ordered as the hands bent their clawed fingers menacingly towards her throat. One swiped over her neck, letting the light in her throat grow brighter. Ariel could feel her vocal cords begin to loosen before locking, yet the song coming forth as loud and true as always. The remaining hand flowed into her mouth. Her head bent backwards and then forward again as the light was pulled out from her throat and glowed gold, still letting the melody play. Her hands clutched her neck as she watched the golden, light-filled sphere get taken away by the pair of gruesome hands and pulled over to Ursula's grasp.

The voice flowed into the shell necklace around her neck, held tightly and possessively in Ursula's hands as she watched with a maniacal expression. Her tongue ran across her teeth as the light glowed one last time before silencing as the last bit of the melody disappeared.

The smoke light spewing from the cauldron flashed one last time, now turning the light a bright, menacing gold. Ursula laughed as the smoke exploded and Ariel found herself trapped in a yellow sack that bubbled inside. Her body arched as a sudden unimaginable pain shoot through her body. Every cell felt like it had been ignited like the geysers outside the fortress. Her mouth opened and let out silent screams as a lightning bolt suddenly shot up her tail, splitting it in two. Scales retreated and revealed human flesh. Her bones changed from that of a fish into thighs, knees, feet and toes at the end.

The transformation had completed. The bubble around her popped and the light went out. Ariel suddenly felt the pressure of the ocean's water crushing down on her from all sides. Her mouth opened and she realized as the bubbles left her throat that she could no longer breath in the seawater. Her new appendages where her tail used to be kicked, but they were useless against her tail's flexibility. She could feel her lungs start to implode from lack of breath and a throbbing pain in her heart and brain.

Her eyes began to roll up in her head as she began to lose energy, but suddenly Flounder and Sebastian, having slunk along with her unknowingly, each swam underneath her arms and began yanking her up towards a hole in Ursula's cave. Ariel could feel her remaining breath and energy waning, yet she strained to keep conscious when she got to the surface.

It was early morning once she broke through, sucking in the sweet air into her lungs like it was honey. The water on the surface sparkled with the light of the rising sun and the sky was pastel colored that reflected on the water's surface as well. She soon realized as she began sinking back down under that she could no longer swim as we'll as she could, but Flounder and Sebastian each came under her armpits, supporting her up in the water and began setting a course to shore.


I'm out of school! Whoo hoo! More time for this story! I wasn't planning on copy-pasting the entire scenes of what happened here, so I tried to do the original script with some added things such as Ariel clutching the statue of Eric's face, Ursula's origin story, the tearless crying and the feeling of pain as her tail was split in two, the last two both reference to the original story if you didn't catch it. I really feel as though the transformation scene has to be the most horrifying scene ever made by Disney. Coming from a hardcore Lion King fan who's watched Mufasa's death and Scar and Zira's villain songs, that's saying something, but I really mean it. Years after my childhood and this still gives me the creeps.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Except for faster chapters coming out now that I have more free time and we have officially entered the original film's storyline. See ya then. Sincerely, v.t.7