Hey, another chapter within a day! Sweet, huh? Consider it an early Christmas present. Hopefully, I could even write the next chapter before Christmas, too!
And for the record, I've just realized that Day 2 in the movie isn't given much dialogue. However, I've managed to put in some AkuRoku moments in here, so yay!
Enjoy!
What have I done?!
King Triton was slumped on his throne, trident firmly in hand as Aqua and Cloud stationed themselves close to him. It had been quite a long while since Ariel had been seen by anyone in the kingdom, and if that wasn't bas enough, Sora, Ventus, Roxas and even Sebastian hadn't been seen either.
"Where've they gone?" Triton groaned, dropping his face into his hands.
Aqua spoke up, "Surely they wouldn't have…run away…you think?"
Cloud gulped, and Triton grunted in sadness. Then, a seahorse – the messenger – came by, swimming up to the King. Triton raised himself and gathered himself as the seahorse cleared his throat.
"We're sorry, Your Highness," he said solemnly, "We've looked all night, but Ariel and the others are nowhere to be found."
"Well, keep looking," Triton ordered weakly, "Leave no part of the ocean unexplored!"
"Yes, Your Highness." The seashores hurried off to find the King's guard, allowing the King to slump back to how he was before.
Oh, what have I done…?
What a beautiful day…
Sora had woken up to the sun beaming through his window. He went over to the balcony to find Ventus and Roxas sleeping, but hidden from everyone else's view, just to be safe. It was nice to know that they were here for them.
He rested his elbows on the balcony, taking in the wondrous sight of the coast before him. It possibly looked better in the daytime than it did at night.
"Good morning!"
Holy crap!
Petrified, Sora turned around to find Riku sitting on the end of his bed, wearing similar sleepwear to Sora. He must have gotten in quietly, Sora thought, as he calmed down and smiled at the prince.
"Sorry," Riku got up, and put a hand up to Sora's cheek, "I didn't mean to scare you," He ruffled his hair as he continued, "I just had to see you before getting ready for your tour of the kingdom today."
Sora giggled bashfully. How sweet of him to come by!
The two stood there, just looking at each other, and Riku's hand still on Sora's cheek, though it did eventually make its way down to his chin.
He's teasing me.
"Riku!" a voice outside called from outside the room. It was Leon. "Riku?"
"In here, Leon," Riku's hand slipped away slowly as he turned to the door, through which Leon came in.
"I'm here to help you get dressed," Leon explained, "Didn't think you'd be with our new visitor."
"Well, let's get ready then!" Riku smiled as he left the room. But, before he did, he turned to Sora, "Hey, I look forward to seeing you later!"
Sora blushed, turning away slightly.
"Don't worry, sir, I'll be back to help you out just after I finish tending to Riku," Leon notified.
A while later, Ariel and Sora were escorted into a carriage, as Eric took the reigns of the horses pulling it with Riku next to him.
"Anything you plan on doing?" Riku asked as they started moving.
"Well, she seems like she's fascinated by everything around her," Eric began, "Her being in a village alone will probably excite her."
"He's a bit like that too," Riku observed, "I love his enthusiasm,"
"How about some dancing?" Eric suggested, "I know of a festival going on in the village, so there'll be lots for them to see there!"
"Great idea!"
Conveniently, Roxas, Ventus and Flounder had managed to find their way to get even closer to the castle, finding a moat with a bridge on which a carriage passed.
"Any kissing?" Roxas called out after seeing Sebastian, who had somehow snuck on the carriage.
"Not yet!" The crab yelled back as the carriage went off.
"Oh…" Flounder sighed, "They need to hurry it up."
"All in good time…" Ventus mused, "They're got the whole day to further convince them. Love takes its time to come about, you know?"
"Oh, I certainly do know, blondie!"
The twins and Flounder turned around to see Axel and Terra, both eyeing them (well, the twins, at least) creepily.
"What do you want?" Roxas sneered as Axel came close.
"What makes you think we're here to get something?" Axel asked, in a fake innocent tone, "Ariel and Sora still have time, and we won't mess with their deal."
"I wish we could believe you…" Ventus huffed.
"Oh, but you should, babe," Terra insisted, "We're honest gentlemen, really."
Ven scoffed, "Do not call me babe!"
"Oh, you liked it…" Terra smirked as he leaned in, taking notice of the warmth emitting from the blond's red face, "Says so on your face…"
"Gah!" Ventus exclaimed as he pushed away from the brunet, wrapping his arms around his chest, "T-that could mean anything…"
"Sure it could…" Axel said sarcastically, leaning in to Roxas' face, only to get slapped.
"Leave us alone," Roxas ordered coldly, to which both the mermen backed off the twins.
"So be it," Axel smirked, "But we'll be back."
As they swam back to Ursula, Flounder spoke up, "Hey, do you think they like you two?"
"It's creepy…" Ventus commented.
"I'll say…" Roxas agreed.
She was in paradise.
All of these wonderful things around her! Bright colors, strange but delicious food, and nice and friendly people to top it all off! It was like they'd ended up somewhere else entirely!
"Like what you see?" Eric asked her.
Teeth showing, she gave a wide smile as she twirled around in her blue peasant dress. Sora was talking to Riku, similarly nodding at the silver-haired prince.
"Why don't we go have some fun, then?" The raven-haired prince asked all three of his companions as he walked over to a stall.
Ariel looked at it closely. There were two things moving around that looked like people, one hitting the other with a club. Excited, she took a hold of the one holding the club, Sora taking the other one with glee. They were surprised to find them not moving anymore, but looking back at the box they saw two revealed hands, possibly being responsible for them moving in the first place.
"Hey!" Cried a voice in the stall, "My puppets!"
"Sorry!" Riku took the 'puppets' off of them and put them back on the man's hands.
Eric turned to them, "This is a puppet show. More specifically, this is Punch And Judy."
Sora and Ariel looked at him understandingly, taking in the new knowledge before looking over at a corner in which people were dancing. That looked like fun! Instantly, the two grabbed their respective prince's hand and dragged them over to the area.
"Y-you wanna dance?" Riku asked Sora, "I have to say, er, it's been a while since I've danced…"
"I bet we can dance better…" Eric dared his friend, as he got ready to dance.
"You're on!"
The four danced to the sounds of cheers and violins playing music nearby for them to dance to. Both newly-humans found it rather hard at first to keep in time, or at least follow through with what Eric and Riku were doing, but eventually they managed to get the hang of it and danced with ease for a good hour or so.
Later that evening, once everyone had returned to the castle, the two princes had decided to take Ariel and Sora out on a boat ride on the lagoon nearby. Happy to comply, they saw it as a chance to get them to kiss them, and so made their way happily to their boats, each one accompanied by their respective prince, who rowed the boat for them. Their boats were still close to one another as they rowed.
Scuttle, Flounder, Sebastian and the twins were watching everything behind a rock in the lagoon, having found a way in with the crab's guidance.
"Scuttle!" Flounder cried, trying to see past the bird's feather's by hopping upward, "Move! I can't-" Ventus took ahold of the fish gently and positioned him upward, "Thanks."
Roxas slumped over the rocks, "Are they actually gonna do something?"
"They've been talking about little things for a while now!" Ventus whined, "We've gotta do something!"
"Nonono!" Sebastian waved a claw at him, hissing, "And lower your voice! Those princes may hear us!"
"What they need is a little music!" Scuttle declared, as he flapped his wings, "Observe." And with that he perched himself on a tree branch above the boats and started singing.
The singing was…off-key…to say the least.
"Gee," Riku chuckled, "Wish I brought a shot gun…"
Eric nodded, "Someone should put it out of its misery soon, though."
Ariel and Sora exchanged nervous glances, with a hint of humiliation. Why would Scuttle start singing?
From where he was perched on the rock, Sebastian huffed, "Looks like I'll have to deal with things myself…" He jumped into the water and swam over to another part of the lagoon, seemingly conducting a few ducks as he began singing a calypso ballad, as Sebastian would be accustomed to doing.
"Looks like it's working…" Roxas noted a few seconds into the song, as the humans went into a more romantic part of the lagoon.
"Hey."
Roxas turned around to see Axel before him, and yet he was on his own, "What do you want?"
The redhead smirked, "Oh, just to see you again."
"And where's Terra?" Ventus asked.
"Oh, he didn't want to come," Axel explained before smirking to himself, "But I'll let him know that you expressed concern for his lack of attendance."
"Well, you got an eyeful of me, so you can leave us alone now." Roxas started swimming after the two boats in order to get a better view, with Ventus and Flounder joining him, but did not think Axel would follow him.
"Whoa, whoa, feisty-boy…" Axel cooed, "Can't you talk to me?"
"No, I don't want to." Roxas huffed, "You're here to ruin Ariel and Sora of their moment. I know it…"
"What?" Axel asked innocently, shrugging coolly, "Come on, why would I do that?" He glanced over to the two boats, a smile forming on his lips, "I honestly think they're kind of cute couples, now that I've seen 'em."
Roxas relaxed slightly, "Wait…so you only came here to see me?"
"Just like last time, yeah."
"Well, that time was still creepy, because you had your hands all over me," Roxas shivered at the memory, "So thank you for not being a creep."
"Yet." Axel smirked.
"Shut up," The blond punched the redhead in the arm lightly.
"Uh, Rox?" Ventus chimed in, "Look!"
To their surprise, the song was drawing to a close, and both Eric and Riku were leaning in quite close to Ariel and Sora respectively, their lips lingering only a few millimeters away from theirs. This could just be it! The spell would be broken! They'd be safe! They'd be-
Oh, no!
Much to everyone's dismay, both boats had somehow tipped over, sending all four humans into the water. That therefore meant that they had not kissed, and so there was still one more day.
And it had been just so perfect…
"Crap!" Ventus hissed under his breath.
While Eric and Riku were helping Sora and Ariel get to the castle, Axel noticed two eels by the boats, slapping each other's tails together, as if in victory.
"Damn!" he cursed, under his breath so that those eels wouldn't hear.
Roxas looked up, "What?"
"Flotsam and Jetsam," he explained, pointing to the eels, "They're Ursula's eels, remember? Yeah, she must've sent them to ruin the moment."
"I knew you were here to ruin the moment!" Roxas snapped, but making sure to keep his voice down, "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"
"OK, Roxy, look," Axel shrugged, "Yes, I work for Ursula, but her eels were not with me when I-"
"Likely story," Roxas interrupted him, "Just leave, now, and I won't say anything."
The redhead looked at him with sad green eyes, but shut them as we went back, "Fine…" he muttered, sounding a little hurt, "I'll go…"
Ventus watched the scene with a pang of guilt. There was no way he was feeling bad for Ursula's lackey, now, was he? No, surely he was in the…but, then, if the eels were with Axel, wouldn't they both be together and not separate.
That thought process would have to wait. Roxas was angry and therefore needed to be calmed down.
Everything would turn out fine tomorrow, for sure. It just had to!
Things were going way better for them than she expected. Curses!
"That was a close one!" Ursula cried as she looked at a bubble at her cauldron, projecting an image formed by her eel henchman, "Too close! And where is Axel?" She barked her question over to Terra, who was sitting at the vanity, looking bored.
"I don't know," he shrugged, "Probably just taking a break."
The sea witch huffed as she went over to her numerous bottles with different spells, "Well, I need to do something before tomorrow! The two will have their kisses before sunset for sure!" She dragged out a bottle with an animal from the surface world, one she remembered being called a 'butterfly', and one she found most beautiful.
Terra got up and got closer to the cauldron as Ursula threw the bottle in, "What do you plan on doing?"
"Here," Ursula conjured up a small shell locket similar to her own and put it on Terra.
The merman looked at the accessory with uncertainty, "What's this for-"
"You're going to help me by being that prince's new groom-to-be! I'll take care of the mermaid's prince!"
"What?" Terra cried as he made an effort to take off the necklace, "But I don't want-"
Ursula sighed. He was not going to do anything unless he had to.
Unless…
Remembering a bottle in the back of her cabinet, Ursula took it out and forced Terra to drink some of the contents. She grinned once the merman was far more silenced. He had not been knocked out, but rather he was less vocal with his objections, and well as slowed down a little bit.
Going back to the butterfly potion, Ursula watched it impatiently, "Triton's daughter will be mine! And after that, I'll make him writhe!"
Once she saw the potion was done, she cackled as she held onto her necklace. Ursula's voice became for feminine, her body slimming down (and of course, with human legs) and her hair becoming a youthful shade light brown. Her facial feature softened to appear more girly and feminine. She was now Vanessa (a name she gave this form, and felt rather suited her).
She glanced over to Terra, who had similarly transformed like her, but he had become a raven-haired human with a more boyish face.
She would call him Zack. Seemed like a nice name for someone like him.
She's gotta be somewhere. He just had to keep trying.
It was late at night, and Eric had escaped to the outer barbarican, staring off at the ocean as he playing that mesmerizing tune on his flute. He couldn't just give up on this girl. She had distinctly sung to him. He knew the tune. She was therefore real, regardless of what Riku and his castle staff said to him.
"Hey, buddy," Riku greeted as he made his way outside, "Are you still on this 'mystery girl' business?"
"Yes." Eric sighed, as he continued playing on his flute.
"Come now, Eric," Riku put his hand on his friend's arm, moving it downward, "Why fuss about this girl, who may not even be around anymore, when you could just go with the girl that cares about you. You know, the one you seem quite interested in…?" He looked over to her window, and Eric followed his glance and did the same.
She was brushing her hair with a brush, and the raven-haired prince chuckled as he remembered when she had used a fork at the dinner table that first evening she was here. He remembered her adorable face, especially when it lit up upon arriving at the village. He felt warm as fond memories of him dancing with her and nearly kissing her flooded his mind at an instant.
Riku was right. Eric was better off with her.
He looked at his flute and sighed. Proudly, he threw it as far as he could into the ocean, and Riku only watched him, feeling good for his friend.
"You know what, I might just marry her tomorrow!" Eric proclaimed, "I may never find a girl like her again."
"That's the spirit!" Riku cheered, "And hey, if you're serious about that wedding, can I join as well?"
"Why, are you planning on marrying her friend?"
His silver-haired friend shied away, "Maybe…" he blushed.
"Well of course, then!"
"So think about it!" Riku grinned, "Tomorrow we'll be…"
He silenced himself after hearing a familiar tune faintly in the background. Both men glanced over in the direction of the coast as two figures made their way along. As the figures became more visible to the princes, it was clear to see that the female figure was the one singing, followed in closely by the male singer.
What the two didn't know was that her voice was an enchantment. As the woman's voice got closer, the locket on her neck glowed, and so did the boy's. From them, a faint mist formed and made its way to each of the human princes, overtaking them as their eyes became a more eerie shade of green.
And that's day two! Day 3 comin' up!