Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.
Ch.31 Ursula
When we swam back to Ariel's grotto with the crystal trident, we found out that my theory was right. On the wall was a shape with a slot for the crystal trident we had. "Let's put it in and see what happens!" Donald said. Ariel nodded and took the trident, fitting it in the slot. All was silent for a moment, until suddenly it began to glow slightly. Just as it did though I felt someone approached and turned to see that it was King Triton. "You Majesty!" I said. The others turned around, and Triton glared at Ariel. "Ariel, you've disobeyed me again! I told you not to leave the palace!" he said strictly. Before Ariel could respond though, he noticed the crystal trident and its glow.
I watched as a range of emotion flashed across the sea king's face. First there was shock, then panic, followed by determination and then fury. Quickly he swung his arm back before pointing his own trident at the crystal one, and a bolt of lighting fired forward. "Daddy, no!" Ariel called, but it was too late. The bolt hit the trident and it shattered, the glow it had fading away. "How could you..." Ariel began, before giving up and swimming out, crushed. I began to go after her, but then Triton turned on the four of us. "Young man, you're not from another ocean. You're from another world, aren't you?" he asked. I made a sound of awkwardness, before rubbing the back of my head. "How did you know," Sora said, surprised that Triton knew.
Triton sniffed. "Then the two of you must be the key bearers. You may be able to fool Ariel, but not me. You don't know your dorsal fin from your tail. As the key bearers, you must already know: One must not meddle in the affairs of other worlds," he said. I frowned. "We know that already, but-" I said. "You have violated this principle. The key bearer shatters piece and brings ruin," he said firmly. I stopped, his words hitting deep within me. I felt the darkness within me stir, and I didn't say anything. Goofy noticed my lack of response and said "Aw, Sora and Dexal aren't like that." "I thank you for saving my daughter. But there is no room in my ocean for you or your keys," Triton said, before turning and swimming out.
Sora and the others looked at each other, while I was trying to not think. Despite the fact that not all Keyblade wielders were evil, I couldn't help but be hurt by those words. I had striven my whole life- before, during and after being an apprentice- to not fall to darkness, and yet it still existed and lived within me. The times I had fallen to it in Agrabah and Wonderland were proof enough. But it wasn't just that; it was always my own failure. Try as I might had, I hadn't been able to save Terra, Aqua or Ventus. For ten years I had lived with this fact, knowing that I has failed to bring them back. And to be reminded of that hurt. Badly. "Aw, I bet you he was just mad," Donald said, crossing his arms. I chose to believe that, and nodded. "Come on, let's go find Ariel and try to cheer her up," Goofy suggested.
While we tried to look for her, Ariel cried miserably at having her dreams shattered. As she cried though, two eels by the names of Flotsam and Jetsam appeared. "My, my, the poor child suffers such deep sorrow," Jetsam said. "What a pity. If only there was something we could do..." Flotsam remarked. "Wait. Maybe she can be of some help," Jetsam said. Flotsam nodded. "Yes. Maybe she can be of some help to you," he added. Ariel stopped crying, looking up. "Who are you talking about?" she asked. "Oh, she;d surely help you. She's make all of your dreams come true," Jetsam said. The two of them spun around each other, combining in a burst of black smoke. From it a woman appeared.
The lower half of her body was that of a black octopus with purple on the lower part of her tentacles. The upper half was that of a heavy-set woman with purple skin, ice-white hair, red lips, a seashell necklace and fingers that ended in red claws. "You called, my dear?" she asked. Ariel's eyes widened. "You;re Ursula? I was just wondering if-" she began, before Ursula interrupted her. "It's all right. Helping others is what I live for. Let me guess: You want to see other worlds. That shouldn't be too hard. After all, you're new friends came from another world," she informed her. Ariel gasped. "What?" she said. "But they had help- that mysterious key," the sea witch added. Ariel looked at her, confused.
"Now, now. Cheer up, sweetie. You have something special too," Ursula told her. "Huh?" Ariel said. "Now listen carefully. I think that the Keyhole they seek is somewhere in the palace. If you can get me there without your daddy knowing, I can help you get to those worlds you long for," she offered. Ariel look away, unsure.
"She's not here, either," Sora said, looking around the inside of the sunken ship. I frowned; we had looked in almost every possible place for Ariel. We had guessed that she might have gone to look for another crystal trident to replace the first one, but after dealing with the shark again we found that she wasn't here. We checked the grotto, backtracked along the path to where we first arrived in the world, and even checked the palace courtyard. And still she was nowhere to be found. "Where else could she be?" Donald asked. "Well, there's always the palace. Ariel might have gone back to talk to her dad," Goofy said. I winced. "Somehow, I don;t see that conversation going very well," I said.
Sora snorted. "No kidding," he said. "Well there aren't a lot of places left to look. We might as well check there," Donald pointed out. I shrugged, indicating that he had a point, and we began swimming in that direction. The Heartless tried to interfere, but after a few Meteor spells and the rest of the gang attacking with great efficiency, they decided to back off. But when we reached the throne room, we saw that we had an even bigger problem on hand. In there Ursula laughed triumphantly as she held Triton's trident, while its true owner sat weakly on the throne. "The trident is mine at last! And I couldn't have it without your help, my dear," she said. "Ursula, no! I didn't want this!" Ariel called.
The sea witch looked at her. "Why not? Aren't you tired of following your daddy's orders? Oh, yes. We had a deal, didn't we? Time for a little journey- to the dark world of the Heartless!" she said, pulling back to strike. Ariel looked away, but just then Flotsam said "We cannot find the Keyhole." "The Keyhole is not here," Jetsam added. Ursula's eyes widened, and she looked at them. "What?" she said. Just then we arrived, and I summoned Stormfell. "Ariel!" I said. "Why, we have company. I'm afraid you're a little late, handsome!" Ursula said, before vanishing in a blast of smoke. I ignored it and swam towards Ariel and her father, saying "Are you alright?" Ariel nodded. "Yes, I'm fine, but..." she said, trailing off as she looked at her father.
I looked at him, taking in the weakened expression on his face. "That was Ursula, wasn't it?" I asked. Triton nodded, and said "The trident... we must get it back." "We will. Come on, let's go!" Sora said, beginning to turn around. As he did though, Ariel called "Wait!" We stopped and looked back, and she said "I'm going with. My father is hurt and its all my fault, I have to stop Ursula!" I smiled and nodded. "Certainly," I said. "Ursula draws power from her cauldron. To defeat her, you must strike her cauldron with magic," Triton informed us. We nodded, and made our way out of the palace. Once outside the palace though, we encountered a serious problem: We had no idea where Ursula was.
"You wouldn't happen to have any ideas, would You, Sebastian?" I asked. He nodded. "She must be in her own grotto. I'll show you the way!" he said, moving ahead of us. We followed him to the Sunken Ship area, and he pointed at a large boulder that was separate from the pile I had made to collapse on the shark. "Ursula must have moved that rock to block the path. We need to move it," he said. I smiled and said "Say no more," before I swam next to the rock. Taking my Keyblade in both hands, I called "Brutal Blast!" before swinging it like a club. The length of my Stormfell glowed with orange energy, and when it hit the rock shuddered before rolling out of the way, the part where I had hit it partially cracked.
With the way open Sebastian guided us to the Den of Tides, an area full of rocky crags that unleashed scalding hot blasts of steam. Along the way though, I could see countless small creatures along he floor, each looking up with human eyes that showed sadness and regret. "What are these?" I asked. Sebastian looked back, and frowned. "Those must be all of the people who struck a deal with Ursula... and the deal went bad," he said. I looked back down at the creatures, taking this in. If this is what Ursula did to people she made deals with, I shudder to think of what she'll do with the trident to the people who she hadn't. "Let's hurry and find her before she can do it again!" Sora said.
We all nodded, and swam through the Den of Tides to reach Ursula's grotto. Inside was a large shell for a seat and a cauldron, and from the shell Ursula emerged. "Come out! You can't run!" Donald called. "Your time has come!" Sebastian added. Ursula frowned and glared at them, causing them to shout and move back. I wasn't frightened though, and neither was Sora. We summoned our Keyblades, and as one we all swam forward.
Sorry this chapter was a little shorter, but I figured you guys wouldn't want me to end it halfway through the battle. Therefore, the next one will contain the battle against Ursula in full.
Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)