Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, the Characters, or any Game, Movie, or TV Show content that are mentioned in this FanFiction story. They belong to their respective owners, and I honor and respect their great works.
It was a sunny day on the surface as the white castle of Eric's kingdom stood tall on the cliff face. Down below, the human prince leaned back against a rock, playing a few notes on his flute with the same melodic tune of Ariel's song. He soon stopped and walked down along the beach with his Old English Sheepdog, Max.
"That voice. I can't get it out of my head." Eric says
Eric stops and kneels down to his canine companion, rubbing the dog's back with his left-hand.
"I've looked everywhere, Max. Where could she be?" Eric says
The young prince was desperate to search for his true love, having sent out search parties to locate her, but was disappointed to find nothing. But little did Prince Eric know that the girl he was searching for was closer than he thought.
Further down the beach, Ariel, the mermaid princess now turned human, sat in the water near the shore as she recovered from nearly drowning in the sea with Devon, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Luna, Spyro, Cynder, Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Snotlout, Hookfang, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Barf and Belch floating nearby. Sebastian stood on a rock, while Flounder floated above the water on his right. Once she had recovered, Ariel looks down at her lower body, lifted up her right-leg, and stared at her human foot, wiggling her toes with a big smile on her face.
"Well, look at what the catfish dragged in!" A male voice says
Scuttle flies in and lands on Ariel's leg, meeting up with the group.
"Ha ha ha! Look at ya. Look at ya! There's somethin' different. Don't tell me. I got it. It's your hairdo, right? You've been using the dinglehopper, right?" Scuttle says
Ariel shook her head.
"No? No, huh? Hmm... Let me see... New seashells?" Scuttle says leaning against Ariel's foot with his right-wing and tapping his feathered fingers
The human mermaid shook her head again and kicked her leg that Scuttle was standing on up and down to give him a hint.
"No new seashells." Scuttle says
Sebastian rested his head on his right-claw as he watched the seagull with a deadpanned expression. His patience was wearing thin.
"I gotta admit I can't quite put my foot on it right now. But if I just stand here long enough..." Scuttle says
"She's got legs, you idiot!" Sebastian says
Scuttle flies off Ariel's leg and lands on the same rock Sebastian was on, touching down beside the red crab on his right.
"She traded her voice to the Sea Witch and got legs. Geez, mon!" Sebastian says
"I knew that." Scuttle says
"Pfft! Sure you did." Snotlout says rolling his eyes with his arms crossed
Ariel slowly rises up on her legs to stand. However, since this was her first time being human, her legs wobbled as she constantly tried to maintain her balance.
"Ariel's been turned into a human. She's gotta make the prince fall in love with her, and he's gotta k-he's gotta kiss her." Flounder says
"And she's only got three days!" Sebastian says
It wasn't long before Ariel lost her balance and she fell backwards, splashing water all over Flounder, Sebastian, and Scuttle.
"Just look at her! On legs! On human legs!" Sebastian says gesturing to the mermaid princess with his claws.
Sebastian gasps deeply and covers his face with his crab claws.
"My nerves are shot! This is a catastrophe! What would her father say? I'd tell you what her father'd say. He say he's gonna kill himself a crab! That's what her father'd say!" Sebastian says pointing at Flounder and grabbing the cheeks of his face with his claws
The small crustacean began to trot down into the water, determined to inform King Triton about Ariel's deal with Ursula.
"I'm gonna march meself straight home right now and tell him just like I should have done the minute..." Sebastian says
Ariel heard this and quickly scoops the red crab up in her hands before he submerged into the water and shook her head, silently begging him not to tell her father.
"And don't you shake your head at me, young lady. Maybe there's still time. If we could get that witch to give you back your voice, you could go home with all the normal fish and just be..." Sebastian says pointing his right-claw at Ariel before putting the same claw to his chin in thought and spreading his claws in gesture to her
Sebastian looks up at the human mermaid and saw the most pleading look on her face.
"Just be... Just be miserable for the rest of your life." Sebastian says
Sebastian rested his head on his right-claw and shook his head with a soft, sad grunt before he agreed to help Ariel hook up with Eric.
"All right, all right. I'll try to help ya find that prince." Sebastian says
Ariel smiled and kissed the right-cheek of Sebastian's face, then sets him back down on the rock as he let out a soft sigh.
"Boy, what a soft shell I'm turning out to be." Sebastian says shaking his head as he rested it on his right-claw
Scuttle flies over to the remnants of a nearby shipwreck and grabs the loose sail cloth, wrapping it around his neck.
"Now, Ariel, I'm telling you. If you wanna be human, the first thing you gotta do is dress like one." Scuttle says
"Here. Let me help." Devon says
A bright blue light envelopes Devon's body in a glowing outline for a few seconds before it fades away, and the Keyblade Wielder emerges from the water in his original, human form, rising up on his legs. He walks over to Scuttle and kneels down before the shipwreck.
"Rule #1, Ariel, you wanna make a proper first impression with someone like Eric, always wear some clothes. Not many people want to see a nude, naked woman. Now, let's see what we can work with this stuff." Devon says grabbing the sail cloth with his left-hand and some rigging rope in his other hand
Back up along the beach, Max continued walking with his human until a peculiar scent caught his nose. The dog raised his right-eyebrow in a questioning manner, but he soon perked his head up, recognizing the familiar smell. Max pants and barks excitingly, running ahead past Eric, much to his confusion.
"Max? Wha?" Eric says
The Old English Sheepdog ran back to Eric and jumped around to get his attention, then ran back down the beach, while the human prince chased after him.
"Max!" Eric calls
Returning to the group, Scuttle gives out a wolf whistle and holds his wings out like a movie director, trying to get a good picture of Ariel as he looked at her.
"You look great, kid. You look sensational." Scuttle says
Thanks to Devon and Scuttle, Ariel was now wearing a sail cloth dress with the rigging rope tied around her waist to keep it closed. The human mermaid placed her hands behind her head as she posed for the group to make herself look attractive. Devon placed his right-hand on his chin and held his right-elbow with his other hand as he looked her over.
"Mmm... It may not be much, but it'll have to do for now." Devon says
"At least she's decent." Sora says
The group soon heard Max's barking, and the gray-white dog appears around the corner from the right, running towards Devon and Ariel. Flounder gasps and dives into the water along with Sora, Donald, Goofy, Luna, Spyro, Cynder, and the others, while Scuttle flies away. Sebastian runs and leaps into the pocket of Ariel's sail cloth, hiding out of view.
"Whoa!" Devon exclaims
Max runs up to the young teen and rises up on his hind legs to give the Keyblade Wielder some playful affection. Devon catches the Sheepdog with his hands, but the large dog's weight brings him down, causing him to fall onto his rear.
"Unh!" Devon grunts
Frightened by the dog, Ariel runs and climbs up onto a rock behind her. But when she looks back, her expression lightened up as she watched Max licking Devon's face with multiple doggy kisses while he laughed.
"Heh heh heh! Okay! Alright! It's nice to meet you too! Ha ha ha!" Devon laughs
Seeing the friendly nature of this strange, furry creature, Ariel smiled. Then, Eric's voice is heard as he called for his dog.
"Max!" Eric calls
The human prince soon came around the corner, and the Old English Sheepdog ran up to him, jumping around in excitement.
"Quiet, Max. What's gotten into you, fella?" Eric asks
Eric looks up and saw Devon and Ariel infront of him.
"Oh... Oh, I see." Eric says
Ariel straightens out her hair as her human prince approached them. Eric went over to Devon as he pushes himself up on his right-knee to his feet.
"Are you okay? Sorry if this knucklehead scared ya. He's harmless, really." Eric says rubbing his hands on Max's head
The Keyblade Wielder smiled and shook his head, waving his hands in dismissal.
"Oh, no, no. It's quite alright. No harm, no foul." Devon says
Devon extends his right-hand out to the prince, who gladly took his hand and shook it.
"I'm Devon by the way."
"Pleased to meet you, Devon. I'm Eric."
Eric kneels down to Max on his right and rubs the back of his head with his hand, introducing him to the Keyblade Wielder.
"And this is..." Eric says
"Oh, I know. Max, right? Heard you call his name. He's real friendly, your dog." Devon says kneeling down and rubbing the dog's head with his hands
"Yeah." Eric says
Eric looks up and turns his attention to Ariel, who was still on the rock behind Devon. He rises up to his feet and walks over to her.
"And who's this lovely lady? She... seems very familiar. Have we met?" Eric asks
The human mermaid nods her head with a big smile.
"We have met. I knew it! You're the one, the one I've been looking for! What's your name?" Eric says excitingly
Ariel says her name to Eric, but no sound came out from her mouth. She looks down and frowns as she remembered trading her voice to the Sea Witch, rendering her silent.
"What's wrong? What is it?" Eric asks concerned
Ariel taps her throat with her right-hand.
"You can't speak?" Eric says
The human mermaid nods her head yes sadly.
"Oh..." Eric says
Devon stepped up and spoke for Ariel as he introduced her.
"This is Ariel. She's a good friend of mine." Devon says placing his right-hand on her shoulder
"Ariel... That's a lovely name." Eric says smiling
Ariel smiled with her cheeks blushing red.
"So... where did you both come from?" Eric asks
Devon wasn't sure how Eric would react if he told the true reason for their sudden appearance, or the fact that Ariel was a mermaid, so he quickly thought up a story to tell the prince.
"Uh... We're really not from around here. Me and Ariel, we were traveling through the sea on our boat, visiting other lands when we got caught up in this horrible storm. Our ship was lost, and we got separated from our friends. Next thing we know, Ariel and I ended up washed on this beach. After the storm, Ariel lost her voice, so only I can talk for her." Devon says
"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. I know very well what that's like. Then, you couldn't be who I thought." Eric says looking down to the right
Max sighs, blowing his hair away from his eyes. Ariel mimics him as she sighed too, blowing her hair up in annoyance. Eric offers his left-hand to the human mermaid, catching her attention.
"Here. Let's get you down from there." Eric says
Ariel smiles and takes hold of his hand. She climbs down from the rock on her legs but loses her balance again and falls over. Fortunately, Eric catches her in his arms.
"Whoa, whoa! Careful! Easy there!" Eric exclaims
Ariel and Eric stare at each other for a moment, gazing into each other's eyes before the human prince spoke again.
"Gee, you really must've been through something. Don't worry. Don't worry, I'll help you. Both of you. You're welcome to stay at my castle for as long as you need." Eric says
"Thank you, Eric. That's very kind of you. We really appreciate it." Devon says
"Don't mention it. Now, let's get you both fixed up." Eric says
Eric places his left-arm around Ariel and began leading her up the beach with Devon following them. The Keyblade Wielder and mermaid princess glanced back over their shoulders and saw their friends watching them from the waters with Scuttle giving them a thumbs up with his right-wing. Then, they looked toward each other, and Devon gave Ariel a smile and a nod as they continued up along the shore, following Eric back to his castle.
Eric's castle was cramped. The courtyard was deep within its walls, and the castle keep stood right in the center with its red flag blowing in the gentle breeze atop the tower. The castle had many plated glass windows and tall ceilings, a design popularity of the late 17th century.
In the castle, Ariel was given a bath as she sat in a marble bathtub filled with water and bubbles from a fish fountain in an elegant bathhouse that had a spectacular, scenic view of the sea all around the sides through the large, multi-paned glass windows. She held up a large bubble in her hands until it popped, then she scoops up a handful of bubbles and sends them flying with a gentle blow from her mouth. Tending to the human mermaid was a servant named Carlotta.
Carlotta was a kind, gentle, sweet, helpful, hardworking woman who served as Prince Eric's maid. She had a stout body with fair skin, brown eyes, and black hair tied in a bun, wearing a maid outfit that was maroon with a white apron and a light blue long-sleeved shirt underneath, which was form-fitting and had cuffs at the ends.
Carlotta takes a bucket full of water and pours it over Ariel's head, washing out her hair.
"Washed up from a shipwreck. Oh, you poor thing. We'll have you and your friend feeling better in no time." Carlotta says
The maid hums to herself as she tends to Ariel. Nearby the tub on the left, Ariel's sail cloth hung over the side of a towel rack. Sebastian peeked out from the pocket to get a look around, but then he saw Carlotta walking over and he immediately ducked back down inside as the maid picked up the sail cloth.
"I'll just... I'll just get this washed for you." Carlotta says
The sail cloth was dropped into a large wooden washer pool in one of the castle's many courtyards with Sebastian still inside its pocket. The red crab emerges from the bubbly, soapy water, gasping and sputtering for breath, but was immediately dunked back down by one of the many washer women that worked in the courtyard.
"Well, you must've at least heard about this girl." Washerwoman #1 says
"No!" Washerwoman #2 says
"Gertrude says..." Washerwoman #1 says
Caught in the pocket of the sail cloth, Sebastian was squeezed and rubbed up and down against the rigid surface of the metal washboard.
"When has Gertrude gotten anything right?" Washerwoman #1 says
Lifted up from the water, the small crustacean was left dazed and he belched out some soap bubbles from his mouth.
"I mean, really. She shows up in rags and doesn't speak. Not my idea for a princess." Washerwoman #1 says
Next, the red crab was placed onto a mangle, where the laundry was squeezed of water. Sebastian tried to crawl away as he was dragged across the moving conveyor but was caught up in the sail cloth and was pulled through between the two wooden rollers. He was flattened out, becoming thin as paper. Two seconds later, he was back to his regular shape, and he fell into a basket full of clothes.
"If Eric's looking for a girl, I know a couple of highly available ones right here." Washerwoman #1 says
Then, Sebastian was lifted up onto a clothesline with the sail cloth held by wooden pegs and was moved up along with the rest of the hanging laundry. He saw an open window to his left and saw his chance to escape.
Sebastian jumps from the sail cloth pocket and falls through the window, landing on a wooden table within another room back inside the castle. The red crab rubbed his head with his claws as he recovered. But when he looked, Sebastian gasped in shock. Around him were all kinds of horrifying sights. A green fish laid next to a cleaver on a cutting board with its head chopped off on one side of the room, while another fish was being cooked on a frying pan over a fiery, fireplace stove. There was also an octopus being cooked in a pot over the grill with its tentacles hanging out the sides of the pot. It was then that Sebastian realized where he was. He was in the castle's kitchen! But what shocked him most of all was the three stuffed crabs served on a silver platter. Seeing that, the small crustacean fell over onto his back and passed out from shock.
Outside the kitchen, Eric was with Grimsby inside a large, spacious dining hall in the eastern area of the castle that had tall, large windows on one side of the room that offered a grand view of the eastern shorefront. In the middle of the room was a long table with four chairs that had green cushions on each side, with a fireplace to the western side of the room. A red carpet decorated the black and white checked tile floor, while large paintings hung on the wall above the fireplace.
Grimsby sat down at the table on the north side of the hall, while Eric stood at the windows, gazing out at the sea, his mind fixed on finding the girl who rescued him.
"Oh, Eric, be reasonable. Nice young ladies just don't swim around rescuing people in the middle of the ocean, and then flitter off into oblivion like some..." Grimsby says
"I'm tellin' ya, Grim. She was real. I'm gonna find that girl, and I'm gonna marry her." Eric says glancing back at Grimsby over his right-shoulder before looking back out at the sea
Eric's attention was soon drawn to the doorway in the south side of the dining hall as Devon and Ariel arrive with Carlotta.
"Come on, honey. Don't be shy." Carlotta laughs
Ariel steps forward into the dining room, looking quite pretty in her new clothing. She wore a pink-and-white gown, silver barrettes in her hair, and pearl white earrings.
Devon walked alongside Ariel on her left, wearing a new outfit provided to him by Prince Eric while his clothes were being washed. He wore a tan collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up above his elbows, navy blue trousers with white lining on the sides and rolled up legs, a dark brown belt with a silver square buckle, and black boots. His shirt was left unbuttoned, exposing his chest.
Eric stared at Ariel in amazement, almost taken away by her newfound beauty.
"Oh. Eric, isn't she a vision?" Grimsby says walking over to Eric's right-side
The human prince was almost speechless, looking over the mermaid princess in her new dress.
"Uh... Y-You look wonderful." Eric says
Ariel smiled and blushed slightly. Devon steps up, joining her side.
"Yeah, she does, doesn't she? By the way, Eric, thanks for the clothes." Devon says
"No problem. You look great too." Eric says
"Oh, yes. I must say, Devon looks very dashing." Carlotta says
Ariel looks at Devon and nods her head in agreement, while the Keyblade Wielder smiled.
"Come, come, come. You both must be famished. Let me help." Grimsby says stepping up and escorting Devon and Ariel to the table from behind
Everyone walks over to the table and take their seats, while Carlotta stood off to the side. Eric sat down in his chair north of the table, watching Grimsby as he pulls the chair out for Ariel to sit down next to him.
"There we go. That's better. Now, quite comfy?" Grimsby says
After helping Ariel into her seat, Grimsby pulls out the chair for the Keyblade Wielder, which had been rearranged from the south side of the table for him to sit alongside her on the left.
"Thanks, Grimsby." Devon says
"My pleasure, sir." Grimsby says
Once he was finished, Grimsby walked around and took his seat on the western side of the room.
"Yes. It's not often that we have such wonderful dinner guests, eh, Eric?" Grimsby says
As they sat together, Ariel looked down and saw a four-tined fork, which reminded her of the dinglehopper. She picks it up with both hands with a happy smile on her face and began running it through her hair like a brush. However, she stopped and looked around at Eric and Grimsby, who raised their eyebrows and stared at her with dumbfounded expressions. She then glanced over at Devon on her left, who shook his head and ran his right-hand across his neck. Realizing the awkwardness of the moment, Ariel quickly puts the fork back down on the table, looking down with embarrassment. Then, the human mermaid looked up at Grimsby and her face brightened up when she saw him lighting the pipe in his hands with a match. Grimsby saw her interest in his pipe and offers it to her.
"Uh, do you like it? It is a rather fine one." Grimsby says
Reminded of Scuttle's poetic description of the snarfblatt, Ariel blows into the pipe's mouthpiece to play it like a musical instrument, covering Grimsby's face with black soot. Eric and Carlotta both laughed.
"Oh, my." Carlotta laughs
"Ahem! Sorry, Grim." Eric apologizes clearing his throat with his left-hand
"Why, Eric, that's the first time I've seen you smile in weeks." Carlotta says
Ariel smiled with delight, happy that Eric was amused by her antics. Grimsby wipes the soot off his face and his nose with a tablecloth.
"Ah, very amusing. Carlotta, my dear, what's for dinner?" Grimsby says
"Oh, you're gonna love it! Chef's been fixing his specialty: Stuffed Crab." Carlotta says
Devon's eyes glance off to the left towards the western door that led into the kitchen with slight worry. He wondered where Sebastian was, and prayed that he was nowhere near the kitchen.
"Sure hope Sebastian ain't around to see that." Devon says in his thoughts
In the kitchen, Sebastian was hiding away behind some bottles of spices when he encounters a seafood-obsessed chef, humming and singing to himself with a bowl of fish in his hands. His name: Chef Louis.
Louis was an eccentric chef with a French accent, who took great pleasure and pride with his cooking and culinary skills. He wore a large chef's hat, a yellow long-sleeved collared shirt with a large red bowtie around his neck, black pants with a white apron around his waist, high white socks, and black shoes.
(Les Poissons - Starts)
Louis:
Nouvelle cuisine,
Les Champs-Élysées,
Maurice Chevalier!
Louis sets the bowl of fish down on the table where Sebastian was hiding infront of him and adjusts his bowtie as he starts to sing of his love for cooking seafood.
Louis:
Les poissons, les poissons,
How I love les poissons!
Love to chop,
And to serve little fish.
The chef grabs a fish from the bowl and dances with it in his hands for a moment, then sets it down a cutting board, grabs a cleaver and cuts off its head with a strong downward chop using both hands. He follows up with three more chops to the fish, cutting it up into pieces Sebastian ducks his head into his shell with each chop as he observes the grizzly scene. Next, Louis takes another fish, chops off its head with the cleaver in his right-hand, then pulls out its bony skeleton.
Louis:
First I cut off their heads,
Then I pull out their bones.
Ah mais oui, ça c'est toujours délice.
Sebastian gags, covering his mouth with his right-claw.
Louis:
Les poissons, les poissons,
Hee-hee-hee, hon-hon-hon!
With a cleaver I hack them in two.
The red crab quickly crawls across the table to get away as the human chef chops up another fish with its head landing infront of Sebastian.
Louis:
I pull out what's inside,
And I serve it up fried.
'Cause, I love little fishes, don't you?
Louis pulls out the meat from the fish into a frying pan on the stove and stirs it around before tossing the cooked fish to a platter behind him, each single piece landing downward in a perfect, vertical line one after the other. Sebastian was hiding away in a turned over pot as he watched Chef Louis, then quickly hides underneath a lettuce leaf. Using it for cover, the small crustacean slowly crawls across the table.
Louis:
Here's something for tempting the palate.
Prepared in the classic technique.
First you pound the fish flat with a mallet.
Louis pounds the fish on the table hard with a wooden mallet, sending Sebastian flying up into the air, though he lands back on the table under the leaf. Afterwards, he slices up the fish with a cutting knife, then takes some salt and rubs it onto the fish's body to enhance the taste.
Louis:
Then you slash through the skin.
Give the belly a slice.
Then you rub some salt in,
'Cause that makes it taste nice.
Louis removes the lettuce leaf from the counter and discovers Sebastian hiding underneath.
"Zut alors! I have missed one!" Louis says
The chef picks up the red crab with his right index finger and thumb and continues with his song.
Louis:
Sacrebleu! What is this?
How on earth could I miss,
Such a sweet little succulent crab?
Quel dommage, what a loss!
Here we go in the sauce.
Louis tosses Sebastian into a bowl full of sauce, then grabs a handful of white flour and throws it onto the small crustacean.
Louis:
Now some flour, I think, just a dab.
Sebastian sneezes from the flour. Next, Chef Louis takes some leafy stuffing and shoves it down into Sebastian's mouth.
Louis:
Now I stuff you with bread.
It don't hurt, 'cause you're dead,
And you're certainly lucky you are.
Sebastian spits out the stuffed crab filling with a cough.
Louis:
'Cause it's gonna be hot,
In my big silver pot,
Tootle-loo, mon poisson, au revoir!
(Les Poissons - Ends)
Louis tosses Sebastian towards a pot of boiling water behind him on the stove, but the red crab saves himself from falling by grabbing the inner edge of the pot with his right-claw. A bubble bursts underneath Sebastian, splashing up hot water and causing him to fly back out onto the table with a thud. The sound attracted the chef's attention as he glances back over his left-shoulder.
"Hmm?" Louis says
Sebastian gasps and hides away in his shell as Louis comes over to investigate. The human chef picks up the red crustacean with a crab fork, lifts him up, and leans in for a closer look with his right-eye as Sebastian was nestled in-between the two-tined fork.
"What is this?" Louis asks
Being too close for comfort, Sebastian makes his move and pinches Louis' nose with his claws, causing him to drop the red crab.
"Ow!" Louis exclaims
(Jacques Offenbach's "Can-Can" - Starts)
Sebastian lands on the handle of a large pot on the stove and looks back up at an angry Chef Louis, who reaches out to grab him with his right-hand. He immediately moves out of the way, and the human chef burns his hand on the stove instead.
"Yeow!" Louis exclaims
The pot falls off the stove and drops down onto Louis' right-foot with a loud clang.
"Oh, ow, ow, oh!" Louis exclaims holding his foot and hopping around on his other leg
The chef turns around, grabs a bundle of knives in his left-hand, and throws them at the small crab, who runs for cover underneath a drawer. Louis chases after Sebastian as he crawled for cover, getting down on the floor with a cleaver in his right-hand, but then the red crab appears at the top and drops the sauce bowl onto the chef's head, which infuriated him even more. Louis raises the cleaver over his head with both hands and chops down on the furniture, slicing it all the way in half. He looks around for the red crab and saw him on his right making a run for it. Sebastian tries to escape the kitchen, but the cleaver drops down infront of him, blocking his path. He turns around and quickly crawls down the other end of the kitchen, running between Louis' legs. The small crustacean hides away in a tall cupboard, which had an assortment of plates, bowls, glasses, and teapots stacked across on its multiple shelves, and Louis ran straight toward him with a mallet in his right-hand and a crazed look in his face. As he neared the cupboard, the human chef leaps forward and dives for the crab, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Yeeeaaaarrrggghhh!" Louis screams in rage
(Jacques Offenbach's "Can-Can" - Ends)
A loud crashing sound erupts from the kitchen and the commotion was heard by everyone in the dining hall. Immediately, Devon knew that whatever was going on inside, Sebastian must've been involved.
"Uh oh..." Devon says quietly
Carlotta looks over toward the kitchen door, also concerned.
"I think I'd better go see what Louis is up to." Carlotta says
Leaving Eric, Grimsby, Ariel, and Devon in the dining hall, Carlotta quickly runs toward the western door to investigate.
The castle's kitchen was now a complete mess with broken dishes, collapsed shelves, turned over barrels, spilled pots, and cooking utensils everywhere. Louis was digging through the kitchen, tossing dishes, pots, and buckets behind him as he searched for Sebastian. His clothes were in tatters from the scuffle and his left shoe and sock were missing.
"Come out, you little pipsqueak, and fight like a man!" Louis says
"Louis!" Carlotta yells
The chef bangs his head against the table upon hearing the maid's voice, destroying more dishes that were above him. Louis backs up and his head nearly misses the cleaver, which fell from the table onto the cobblestone floor.
"What on earth are you doing?" Carlotta asks placing her hands at her waist
"Well, I was just, uh... eh... ah... um... I'm sorry, madame." Louis apologizes
Louis pinches out a small flame that burned on the left-side of his long mustache and he smiled with a sheepish expression, smiling with an embarrassed chuckle. Carlotta takes the platter of stuffed crabs that somehow survived the destruction and leaves the kitchen.
"Oomph!" Carlotta huffs
Returning to the dining hall, as Carlotta brings out the seafood for dinner, setting down the covered platters around the table, Grimsby offers an idea for his prince.
"You know, Eric, perhaps our young guests might enjoy seeing the sights of the kingdom. Something in the way of a tour." Grimsby says
Eric was too busy staring at Ariel with a dreamy expression to even listen to his manservant.
"I'm sorry, Grim. What was that?" Eric asks
"You can't spend all your time moping about. You need to get out. Do something. Have a life." Grimsby says
As he talked with Eric, Grimsby lifts up the round cover of his platter, revealing Sebastian hiding on the plate, which Devon and Ariel notice.
"Shh!" Sebastian says putting his left-claw to his lips
"Get your mind off..." Grimsby says
"Easy, Grim, easy. It's not a bad idea, if they're interested." Eric says
Ariel lifts up the cover with her left-hand and subtly calls Sebastian over with her other hand to hide away on her plate. The small crustacean quickly and quietly crawls across the table and Ariel closes the cover down as Eric looks in her direction.
"Well, what do you say? Would you and Devon like to join me on a tour of my kingdom tomorrow?" Eric asks
Ariel nods her head and Devon smiled as they happily accepted the offer.
"We'd love to." Devon says
"Wonderful! Now, let's eat before this crab wanders off my plate." Grimsby says
Grimsby proceeds to bring his fork down on his plate but was surprised to find that it was empty with no crab in sight.
Later that night, Ariel and Devon were both given their own rooms inside the castle on the western area. Ariel's room was decorated with assortments of paintings, plants, and pottery. The wooden floor was carpeted in two area: one outlines the bed area, while the other outlines the door. In the northern side of the room is Ariel's bed, elevated by an extra layer of flooring, and has curled up curtains to the sides of it, as well as a wall of leaves decorating the above area. And to the right side of the room was a fireplace with a mirror over it.
Here, the human mermaid stood out on the balcony of her room, wearing a pink night gown. She watched Eric play with Max in a garden of the outer barbican down below, which had trees, a gazebo, and a long row of beam-columns ringing around the edge. Eric kneeled down to the Old English Sheepdog and rubs his head with his hands, then looks up and waves his right-hand at her. Ariel waves back with her left-hand with a smile and retreats into her bedroom, brushing her hair with the dinglehopper. Sebastian was also in the room with her, standing on a dresser.
"This has got to be, without a doubt, the single most humiliating day of my life." Sebastian says
Ariel walks by and puts down the dinglehopper next to an actual hairbrush on the dresser, patting the red crab's head with her right-hand.
"I hope that you appreciate what I go through for you, young lady." Sebastian says pointing at her with the lettuce leaf in his right-claw
The red-haired human girl sits down and sinks into the soft bed, surprised by how comfortable it was.
"Now, we got to make a plan to get that boy to kiss you. Tomorrow, when he takes you for that ride, you got to look your best." Sebastian says
Ariel was too enamored by the splendors of the human world to listen to Sebastian as she bounces around on the bed.
"You got to bat your eyes, like this. You got to pucker up your lips, like this." Sebastian says fluttering his eyes and puckering his lips
Sebastian looks over and saw that Ariel had fallen asleep, cuddling up on the bed with the large, soft pillow in her arms as she rested her head against it. He shrugs with a smile and blows out the candle illuminating the room before crawling up onto the pillow to look down at the sleeping human mermaid.
"You are hopeless, child. You know that?" Sebastian says brushing Ariel's hair aside with his right-claw
The small crab crawls further up on the pillow and he drifts off to sleep himself.
"Completely hopeless." Sebastian yawns
A few moments later, the door to the bedroom opens up slightly and Devon peeks half his body inside to check in on Ariel. He saw that she was already asleep and looks on with a smile on his face. Quietly, he slowly closes the door and walks down the castle corridor, leaving Ariel to sleep in peace.
Outside the castle, Devon met with Sora, Donald, Goofy, Luna, Spyro, Cynder, and the others on the beach below the barbican. The Keyblade Wielder stood up to his boots in the water, while his friends floated close as they could near the shore.
"So, how'd it go?" Sora asks
Devon glances back up at the castle on his right and places his hands at his waist.
"So far, we're off to a pretty great start. Eric's definitely head over heels with Ariel. He fell in love with her the moment he laid eyes on her, and tomorrow he's taking her on a tour of his kingdom." Devon says
Afterwards, he turns back to face his friends.
"I'll be traveling with them to see how it goes along." Devon says
"That's great! Ariel's bound to get that kiss for sure!" Hiccup says
"Yep. I'd say she's got this in the bag." Devon says nodding his head
Devon soon stretches his arms, bends his body backwards, and lets out a yawn.
"Ahhh... Alright. I'd better get some shuteye. I'll catch up with you guys tomorrow." Devon says waving his right-hand
"Alright. See you then." Sora says nodding his head
Turning around to his left, Devon began making his way off the beach.
"Sleep well, Devon." Luna says
The Keyblade Wielder stops and looks back at his female Night Fury on his left for a moment with a smile.
"Thanks, Luna. You too." Devon says
And so, the young hero continues his way up the white stone stairs towards the castle to prepare himself for tomorrow.
In the underwater kingdom of Atlantica, the situation was grim. A massive search was underway as King Triton dispatched several search parties to locate Ariel, Sebastian, Devon, Sora, and their friends upon noticing their disappearance. He paces around in his throne room with his hands behind his back, waiting for news. Soon, the seahorse herald swims into the throne room to deliver his report on the situation.
"Any sign of them?" Triton asks
"No, Your Majesty. We've searched everywhere. We've found no trace of your daughter, Sebastian, Devon, Sora, or the others." The Seahorse Herald says
"Well, keep looking. Leave no shell unturned, no coral unexplored. Let no one in this kingdom sleep until they are safe at home." Triton says
"Yes, sire." The Seahorse Herald says bowing before the Sea King
The Seahorse Herald leaves to his task, while Triton sits on his throne in deep, extreme remorse over his actions, blaming himself for his daughter's disappearance.
"Oh... what have I done? What have I done?" Triton sighs
The golden sun rises on a new day, and both Devon and Ariel were in the gate area, ready for their tour of Eric's kingdom. Now, Ariel was wearing a multi-shade-of-blue dress consisting of a powder-blue blouse with long sleeves, a midnight-blue bodice, and a cobalt-blue foot-length skirt. She also wore a big royal blue bow in her hair behind her head and black heels.
The human prince and mermaid princess rode together in an open, four-wheel carriage pulled by a white horse, while the Keyblade Wielder rode alongside them on their left on another white horse. They wave good-bye to Grimsby and Carlotta, who waved back at them from the barbicans behind them, and turn to the two guards, who were stood stationed at their posts infront of them. The guards push open the central wooden gate, one of three in the area, and the trio ride out of the castle across the stone bridge and past the docks. Flounder, Luna, and Toothless followed them as they swam along the left-side and underneath the archway of the bridge.
"Has he kissed her yet?" Flounder asks
"Not yet." Sebastian whispers
"Ohh..." Flounder groans looking down
Luna and Toothless groaned as well, mimicking Flounder as they glanced down.
Soon, Devon, Ariel, and Eric arrive in the castle town, which was bustling with activity. Women carried baskets of laundry to the local bathhouse, children played with their dogs while their parents watched, a shepherd tended to his small flock of sheep with the help of his dog, and two men carried crates full of chickens as they passed by. The Keyblade Wielder, human prince and mermaid dismount and take a stroll through the town, allowing their horses to drink from the large fountain that was in the town plaza.
Ariel was enamored by every single thing she sees, taking in the atmosphere of the human world around her. She looks over to her right, watching a puppet show with a red jester whacking a purple jester on the head with a club. Afterwards, Ariel dances with Eric alongside other couples in a corner of the plaza, spinning around in his arms. Devon leaned against the side of a building with his arms crossed as he watches them with a smile. The two were definitely made for each other.
After spending much time in town, Ariel and Eric were back on the road again, riding their horse-drawn carriage with Devon following them on his horse. Scuttle lands on the right-side of the bridge as they pass by and looks down at Flounder, Luna, and Toothless, anxious for some news on their outing.
"Yo, Flounder! Any kissing?" Scuttle asks
"No, not yet." Flounder says shaking his head
"Hmm... Well, they-they'd better get crackin'!" Scuttle says
Leaving the town, Devon, Ariel and Eric ride out across green rolling hills. During the ride, Eric gives the reins to Ariel, teaching her how to handle a horse. The human mermaid whips the reins, and the horse took off running. Devon watched as they sped off down the road, then spurred his horse to catch up.
"Hyah!" Devon says
Devon's horse whinnies and speeds off down the road, easily catching up with Ariel and Eric in four seconds. As they traveled onwards, they were quickly approaching a gap in the road. Devon and his horse sprint ahead at top speed and clear the jump, landing on the other side with Ariel, Eric, and their horse following shortly. Then, the horses slowed down and they continued further on the road, traveling across the rolling hills as they enjoyed each other's company.
Later that evening, the sun sets and the sky turns to a bluish-purple as Ariel and Eric go for a boat cruise in a large lagoon. Devon settled down at the edge of the lagoon, resting his right-arm on his bent right-knee and his other leg stretched as he sat on the soft grass with the horses as they grazed. He also met up with Sora, Donald, Goofy, Luna, Spyro, Cynder, Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Snotlout, Hookfang, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Barf and Belch, Flounder and Scuttle near the lagoon as they all watched Ariel and Eric float around in their boat with the human prince working the oars.
"Move over. Move your big feathers. I can't see a thing." Flounder whispers
"Nothing is happening. Only one day left, and that boy ain't puckered up once." Scuttle says
"Ariel's running out of time. She's gotta get that kiss from Eric, or else she's gonna fall right into Ursula's clutches." Fishlegs says
"We can't let that happen." Spyro says
"What's Eric waiting for? He's got the perfect moment with Ariel. Why won't he kiss her?" Cynder asks
"Because Eric's still too shy to kiss Ariel. We need to do something to help move things along." Devon says
"So, what do we do?" Astrid asks
"I got it! This calls for a little vocal, romantic stimulation." Scuttle says
The seagull flies up to a tree where three bluebirds sighed over the romantic evening.
"Stand back!" Scuttle says
Scuttle clumsily lands on the branch, scaring off the birds, and clears his throat as he starts to sing with a hoarse voice.
"Wa, wa, wa, wa-wa!" Scuttle sings
Ariel and Eric float underneath Scuttle as he sings, and both were embarrassed.
"Wow. Heh. Somebody should find that poor animal and put it out of its misery." Eric chuckles
The mermaid princess looks up at the singing seagull, who winks his left-eye and gives her an 'OK' sign with his right-wing, but she covers her face with her right-hand in embarrassment. Sebastian covered his ears with his claws as he looked up at Scuttle, appalled by his horrible singing.
"Geez, mon. I'm surrounded by amateurs." Sebastian says shaking his head
The red crab jumps off the boat and into the lagoon. He swims down to the bottom and picks off a stick, then heads back up.
"You want something done, you gotta do it yourself." Sebastian says
The red crab emerges to the surface and three ducks and turtles swim towards him.
"First, we've got to create... the mood." Sebastian says smiling
Using his stick as a baton, Sebastian points at the lagoon animals.
"Percussion." Sebastian says
The turtles roll over onto their backs and the ducks play their shells like bongo drums. Next, the small crab points to a bunch of crickets that stood on leaves around him.
"Strings." Sebastian says
The crickets rub their hind legs together, creating music like violins.
"Winds." Sebastian says
Sebastian rides on a cattail as a gentle breeze sweeps through, causing grass pipes to blow with musical sounds like flutes.
"Words." Sebastian says
Still riding on the cattail, the red crab leans over towards Eric as he and Ariel floated close by, singing into the cattail like a microphone.
(Kiss the Girl - Starts)
Sebastian:
There you see her,
Sitting there across the way.
She don't got a lot to say,
But there's something about her.
The small crustacean lowers down to the human prince, singing close to his left-ear.
Sebastian:
And you don't know why,
But you're dying to try,
You wanna kiss the girl.
Eric looks up behind him as he heard Sebastian's voice but misses the small crustacean as the cattail pulls away.
"Did you hear something?" Eric asks looking behind his left-shoulder
Ariel shrugs her shoulders with a smile, pretending ignorance.
Sebastian/Flamingos/Turtles:
Yes, you want her,
Look at her, you know you do,
Possible she want you too,
There is one way to ask her.
It don't take a word,
Not a single word,
Go on and kiss the girl.
The red crab dunks his head under the water and calls on the lagoon residents.
"Sing with me, now." Sebastian says beckoning with his left-claw
Five frogs join in on the song, riding on the oars of the boat as Eric lifts them up.
Sebastian/Frogs:
Sha-la-la-la-la-la!
My, oh, my!
Look like the boy too shy,
He ain't gonna kiss the girl.
Sha-la-la-la-la-la!
Ain't that sad?
Ain't it a shame?
Too bad.
He gonna miss the girl.
As he continued rowing the boat, Eric looks over at Devon as he sat in his spot, and the Keyblade Wielder waves his right-hand. The human prince nods his head in response, then looks back at Ariel.
"You know, Ariel, you're lucky to have such a good friend like Devon. He's a great guy. It seems he really cares about you. I'm actually glad he introduced you. And you know something Ariel..." Eric says
The human prince grabs hold of the mermaid's left-hand with his right-hand and looks her in the eyes.
"I care about you too." Eric says
Two flamingos pull away the long, hanging leaves of a tree like curtains, and Ariel and Eric enter a secluded area of the lagoon as the romantic song progressed. Sebastian emerges from the water inside and tadpoles leap over him, singing along.
Sebastian/(Tadpoles):
Now's your moment,
(Ya, ya, ya)
Floating in a blue lagoon,
(Ya, ya, ya)
Boy, you better do it soon,
No time will be better.
Tadpoles:
Ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya!
Sebastian:
She don't say a word,
And she won't say a word,
Until ya kiss the girl.
Sebastian swims down with the tadpoles and gathers all of the lagoon residents to help enhance the romantic evening. Dozens of fish swim around Ariel and Eric, causing their boat to slowly spin counterclockwise.
Sebastian/Lagoon Residents:
Sha-la-la-la-la-la!
Don't be scared,
(Ya, ya, ya, ya, ya)
You got the mood prepared,
Go on and kiss the girl.
(Whoa, whoa)
Next, fireflies surround the two lovers, making the moment more magical with their golden, glowing light.
Sebastian/Lagoon Residents:
Sha-la-la-la-la-la!
Don't stop now,
Don't try to hide it how,
You wanna kiss the girl.
(Whoa, whoa)
Three flamingos dance to the song. As they do, Scuttle drops down infront of them and tries to join in with his horrible singing.
Scuttle:
Wa, wa, wa, wa, laaaa!
The flamingos behind the seagull grab him and hold him down, silencing his squawking to prevent him from ruining the moment, then went back to the song.
Sebastian/Lagoon Residents:
Sha-la-la-la-la-la!
Float along,
And listen to the song,
The song say kiss the girl.
(Whoa, whoa)
Flounder and five other fish swim clockwise around the boat, squirting water upwards into the air and creating a spectacular water show.
Sebastian/Lagoon Residents:
Sha-la-la-la-la!
The music play,
Do what the music say,
You gotta kiss the girl.
Soon, Ariel and Eric slowly began to lean closer to each other for a kiss with all the lagoon residents encouraging them. Devon, Sora, and the world-travelers could see it as well, and they leaned forward with excited anticipation.
"Here we go! This is it!" Devon says
Lagoon Residents:
Kiss the girl.
"Come on, Ariel." Luna says
"You've got it!" Sora says
Lagoon Residents:
Why don't you,
Kiss the girl.
"It's working!" Spyro says
"You can do it!" Cynder says
Lagoon Residents:
Go on and,
Kiss the girl.
"Just a little more..." Hiccup says
"Come on, Eric." Astrid says
"You're almost there!" Fishlegs says
Snotlout hugged Hookfang's head tightly with his arms as the anticipation was killing him. Sebastian held Scuttle's neck with his claws and shook it with a happy smile as he watched as his plan was working.
"Go on and...!" Sebastian says
Lagoon Residents:
Kiss the girl.
By this point, Ariel and Eric were only inches away from sealing their romantic union with a kiss. But just as their lips were about to make contact, the boat unexpectedly shifts and tips over, causing the two humans to fall into the lagoon.
(Kiss the Girl - Ends)
"Whoa! Hang on, I've got ya." Eric says
Sebastian smacked himself in the head with his right-claw as he saw the moment ruined. Even Devon, Sora, and Co. were shocked by the unfortunate event.
"Ohhh..." Everyone groans
"Man... They were so close." Sora groans
Devon looked over at Sora on his left as he said this, then looks back at the couple as Eric helps Ariel up onto her feet. He narrowed his eyes with a look of suspicion, feeling that somehow a certain Sea Witch was behind this. Out in the lagoon, Floatsam and Jetsam floated right beside the boat, responsible for tipping it over and ruining the kiss. The two eels wrapped their tails around each other and quietly cackled on their successful sabotage.
Inside her lair, Ursula observed the events up on the surface through her magic bubble as she laid out flat on her conch shell, relieved that the kiss of true love had been foiled.
"Nice work, boys. That was a close one. Too close. The little tramp! She's better than I thought. I also forgot about Devon and Sora, and their friends helping her." Ursula says running her right-hand through her hair
Swimming out of her shell throne, the Sea Witch heads over to her potion cabinet, looking inside for specific ingredients.
"Well, at this rate, he'll be kissing her by sunset for sure!" Ursula says
Ursula sweeps her left-arm across the shelf and knocks several bottles aside, causing them to shatter loudly on the floor. She takes a handful of vials in her right-hand and a round orb with a butterfly inside in her other hand, then swims back to her cauldron.
"Well, it's time Ursula took matters into her own tentacles!" Ursula says
The Sea Witch throws the vials into the cauldron first, creating a loud, magical explosion, then adds the butterfly orb to the cauldron, throwing it down with both hands.
"Triton's daughter will be mine! And then, I'll make him writhe. I'll see him wriggle like a worm on a hook!" Ursula says looking down at her glowing seashell necklace with a sinister smile
An orange light envelopes Ursula's entire body and the villainous witch cackles with maniacal laughter as she undergoes a transformation, turning into a young, beautiful, black-haired human maiden with her voice changing to match Ariel's voice.
"Mwah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha... Ahh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Ursula cackles
That night, up on the surface, Devon, Sora, and the world-travelers held a meeting with Sebastian and Flounder on the beach below the barbican of Eric's castle with the small red crab perched on Devon's left-shoulder as he glanced down in thought with his arms crossed, while their friends floated close to the shoreline.
"She almost had it." Hiccup groans
"It was the perfect moment too." Sebastian groans
"But what happened? How could their boat tip over like that?" Astrid asks
"Maybe they hit a rock?" Tuffnut says
"A large one?" Ruffnut says
"Come on, guys. Everything was running so smoothly. There's no way a rock could've ruined that." Astrid says
"Astrid's right." Devon says
Everyone looks over at Devon as he spoke, lifting his head up to face them.
"What happened back there was no accident. This has Ursula written all over it, and I betcha that Sea Witch is determined to make sure Ariel doesn't receive that kiss in time." Devon says
"Then, we should go find Ursula and make her fix all this." Sora says
"Good idea." Donald says
"Hah! She ain't gonna bother wid all of you." Sebastian says
"Hey, you never know unless you try." Sora says
"Sora's right, Sebastian. It was Ursula's fault for ruining that kiss, and she's gotta pay for going back on her deal. Besides, Ariel's deadline is tomorrow. We need to do everything we can to keep her from falling into Ursula's grip." Devon says glancing over at the red crab on his shoulder
"Hmm... I suppose you're right." Sebastian says
"Then, it's settled. Sora, you and the others head down and find Ursula. Me, Sebastian and Flounder will keep watch over Ariel. If we're lucky, she'll get that kiss tomorrow before sunset." Devon says
"Got it!" Sora says nodding his head
Sora, Donald, Goofy, Luna, Spyro, Cynder, and the Vikings and Dragons of Berk swim out and dive down into sea to begin their search for Ursula, while Devon, Sebastian and Flounder watched them go.
"Alright. Time to call it a night. Let's get back to the castle." Devon says
With their meeting concluded, Devon and Sebastian leave the beach and head back up to the castle to get some rest.
As the Keyblade Wielder and red crab went inside, Eric stood out on the barbican with his left-leg up on the railing, playing Ariel's song with his flute. The human prince was deep in conflict between his determination to find the mystery girl who rescued him and his feelings for Ariel. Grimsby arrives on the barbican behind him, watching Eric as he played his flute. Eventually, Eric stops and rests his arms on his bent leg as he gazes out into the open sea. Grimsby approaches his prince and offers him some advice.
"Eric? If I may say, far better than any dream girl is one of flesh and blood, one warm and caring, and right before your eyes." Grimsby says placing his right-hand on Eric's right-shoulder before gesturing up to Ariel's bedroom with the same hand
After saying that, Grimsby takes his leave and heads back into the castle. Eric looks up towards the where the human mermaid as she happily brushes her hair with an actual hairbrush. He watches her with a smile on his face, which quickly disappears as he lowered his head, breathing a sigh. Eric gazes down at the flute in his right-hand for a moment, then makes his decision. He realizes that his true love was Ariel, not some mysterious girl who probably didn't exist. And so, the young prince throws his flute far out into the sea, giving up his foolish pursuit. Then, he turns to his right and looks up at Ariel's bedroom, ready to declare his love.
Suddenly, just as he started walking back to the castle, Eric hears an angelic voice vocalizing in the night, causing him to stop in his tracks. The sound was coming from the sea behind him. Going back to the railing, the human prince looks down and saw that the voice belonged to a lovely young maiden of striking beauty named Vanessa, who was walking along the beach near the water.
Vanessa had a slim figure, long, wavy dark brown hair, and violet eyes accented by high arched eyebrows, wearing a blue, sleeveless dress under a deeper blue corset, black shoes, and a long black cloak, which blew around in the gentle ocean breeze. But the most interesting thing about Vanessa: the glowing nautilus seashell around her neck.
Eric gazes down at Vanessa and for some odd reason, he felt entranced, taken away by her beauty. The golden light of Vanessa's seashell necklace reflected in his eyes, and in an instant, he fell under the hypnotic trance of her voice. He was now a slave to Vanessa's enchanting spell!
Author's Note: Ariel is now human and the mermaid princess spends two wonderful days with Prince Eric up on the surface, while Devon, Sora, and their friends stick close by to help along. Everything runs smoothly until Floatsam and Jetsam intervene, ruining a lovely, romantic evening, courtesy of Ursula. Now, the stage is set for the underwater climax between our heroes and the villainous Sea Witch. Up next: Ursula's Revenge. Let me know what you guys think. No flames please. Hope you guys like and don't forget to review!
