It was late evening, and the setting sun left gleaming streaks of orange on the surface of the ocean. As time passed, each gleam would wink out one by one, soon to leave the ocean in a state of utter blackness only rivaled by the depths of space. To Sebastian, the coming night was like a shadow stretching over the beautiful kingdom of Atlantica, choking out all light. Even the beautiful palace, whose halls he traversed hundreds of times, seemed more sinister than before. There were shadows that lurked in places where they didn't before, and an overwhelming feeling that he was being watched. Possibly it was the palace's ancient magic at work; magic that protected the royal family for many millennia, but now followed the will of a new master.
He was trapped inside a small cage, which was being carried by a large cecaelian guard who made certain to keep his hands on the handle, lest Sebastian give him a piece of his claws. He was being taken to the throne room, to see the usurper. It was now Sebastian's turn for his sentence for the part he played instigating the rebellion a while back.
That demon Ursula though; she couldn't just get it over with the moment she caught him. Sebastian was King Triton's closest friend, and she wanted him to suffer. Sebastian had to watch one by one, from his cell, as his comrades were taken away. For several weeks it was the same until Sebastian was the only one left. Now it was his turn.
But Sebastian wasn't angry about that; he knew Ursula would make him suffer as much as she could. No; what he was angry about was how the rebellion failed in the first place. His soft crab heart couldn't take it when he saw her that day; the sight of Ariel, bruised, beaten, and missing a fin. She was being chased by traitorous palace guards, and was brutalized by their spears. Each jab made him want to scream, despite the desperate urgings of his comrades. When Ariel seemed to finally lose the guards, Sebastian could not hesitate anymore, and charged in to rescue her.
Alas; he couldn't see the face behind the mask. Sebastian was too absorbed by the guilt he felt for losing Ariel to Ursula. His heart was too heavy to see the lies she spoke to the others, or the sweet poison she used to encourage him to act rashly. Ursula knew his greatest weakness, and she took full advantage of it. The fact she was able to use Ariel's voice without the need of her locket made it an even more convincing disguise.
If he could only have another chance, he would take it and reject her; but it was too late for that. The guards raided the rebel base, and captured most of their leadership and scattered those they didn't kill. Thankfully, even in his darkest hour, Sebastian was able to save a few, like Flounder and Urchin. Even if he had failed, he had hope left for them; they would continue the fight.
In the meantime he could only watch from his lonely cell as the kingdom twisted around him. Disgusting Eels, and ink squirting riff-raff began to pop out from nowhere as more merfolk disappeared. The purity of Atlantican race was slowly being corrupted by low-breeds who had no business being in Atlantica in the first place. Sebastian even noticed that some traitorous guards were disappearing from the palace to be replaced by ink-squirters. Ursula seemed to be a firm believer in the "traitor's reward", and that was the one thing Sebastian couldn't complain about; it served those two-timers right.
Sebastian snapped out of his thoughts when he finally realized he was approaching the throne room. Soon enough, he was before Ursula in all her hideousness. He gave a solemn glance towards the floor, to behold the sad sight of the king's daughters bare naked staring at absolutely nothing. It made him sick to see what Ursula had done to them, but even more than that, it made him ready to gag knowing Ariel wasn't with them.
No; Ariel's fate was far worse. Sebastian looked up in the direction of the sea witch, but paid her no mind. His attention was drawn to the polyp in her hair. It was a pathetic figure; the husk of a merperson who fell under the power of Ursula and became a twisted form of itself, yet so much more. The creature stared at him with a solemn gaze, until it seemed to realize he was staring back at it. As if too ashamed to even look at him, it buried its head into the confines of Ursula's tuft of hair. If Sebastian could cry; he would have broken into tears right there.
His concentration was then broken by the sounds of his name being called, "This is the trial of Horatio Felonious Ignacious Crustaceous Sebastian." It was the eel Flotsam. He took a moment to pause after reciting Sebastian's name; he then muttered something that Sebastian swore sounded like, "good god…"
He then heard a high pitched whistle come from Ursula. He turned to her and listened to her speak, "I never thought an ego could get that big."
"Like you can talk, demon witch," Sebastian shouted, clawing at the bars of his cage. "My family has a history to be proud of; unlike ink-squirters, who use treachery to steal power from others!"
"Hmph, whatever," Ursula shrugged his words and let her head rest on her welcoming arm. "So then crabby; how do you plead?"
Sebastian raised himself up as much as his cage would allow, and placed his claws behind his back. He would keep his dignity to the end. He spoke quick and blunt, "Guilty of protecting the kingdom I love from terrorists."
"How charming of you to keep your ground crab-cakes," Ursula spoke cooly. "Especially when I could turn you into tonight's dinner at any second." She raised the king's trident and pointed it at Sebastian. It began to close with an ominous gold light, but Sebastian kept his head high. He wasn't afraid.
But the ray of death never came. The light of the trident slowly died off, and the tension from before eased.
"But I won't do that," spoke Ursula in a cool tone that sent a chill down Sebastian's spine.
"I'm tired of it," Ursula sighed and placed one of her hands to her face and pressed. "Day after day of slaughtering ever traitor who swims into this room has become an absolute chore. And you are not any ordinary traitor. You, my delectable entre, were Triton's friend and personal musician. No; I've had something special planned for you, smart mouth."
"What; worse than having to see your face? I'm trembling." Sebastian didn't hold back. If this would be the last he saw of life, he swore to go down fighting.
After a moment of silence, the witch raised a finger in Sebastian's direction and spoke, "I hereby strip you of your position as court composer. From now on you will tend to the palace stables as my new stable-crab. Your new quarters will be in the stables as well.
Without a moment for silence, one of Ursula's other eels spoke out, "Myleigethatsoundslikeadangerousideathatcouldeasilybackfire!" He seemed completely unnerved by Ursula's announcement, and trembled in place.
"Jetsam," hissed Ursula. "Collect your thoughts before you speak again."
The eel nodded, and took a moment to breathe in before speaking in a calmer voice, "Your majesty; he is the leader of the most dangerous rebellion your kingdom has ever faced. He has cunning behind him, and will continuously plot your downfall. It is too dangerous to keep him alive."
Ursula then gave a smirk to her pet eel and spoke in a frighteningly lighthearted tone. "Your concern is appreciated Jetsam, but unnecessary. My magic shall make certain he never escapes, or even breaths a word of rebellion to the outside world."
Jetsam looked to speak again, but Ursula then raised a hand to stop him. "That is my final word on the matter," she proclaimed loudly. "Guardsman, take him to his previous cell to wait until his new quarters are made ready for him."
The guard bowed and turned away from the throne room. Sebastian had been quiet the whole time Ursula and her eels had spoke, but now he couldn't help but let loose anger that was bubbling inside him.
As the guard swam off from the throne Sebastian pressed his face to the bars and began to scream as loudly as he could muster, "YOU'LL PAY FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE, YOU WHORE! YOUR ARROGANCE WILL BE YOUR END! I SWEAR IT, IF MY NAME ISN'T HORATIO FELONIOUS IGNACIOUS CRUSTACEOUS SEBASTIAN!"
Hold on to the waterworks everyone. I've got several more heartbreakers in store for you.
I think this bonus was pretty ok, even if the heat has worn me down here. I want to focus on characters from the movies for the bonuses before really ending this story. So wait for more to show up when you least expect it.