Chapter 6: A New Enemy

Morgana's earlier wrath was gone as she swam down the polished stone corridor. The walls were lined with white glow shells, giving the hall a haunting ambiance. It was like something out of a ghost story, this seemingly endless corridor of white lights stretching out before her.

She glanced to her left, noticing her reflection in the mirror smooth stone. She bore little resemblance to the witch from seven years ago. Her hair and skin where white as snow. Her eyes had an icy blue tint to them, as cold and deadly as she had become. The spots on her arm were gone, and her features had been softened. Her angular chin had become more rounded, and her nose smaller and more feminine. Her lips were blood red, and the large mole that had once marred her face was little more than a beauty mark. You could call her attractive, although the black tentacles and cruel, treacherous personality detracted more than enough to make her as repulsive as before.

She also saw a tremor in her hands, and not because of the chill in the water. The cold had little effect on her anymore. She was trembling for another reason.

The Master had summoned her.

This was far beyond bad. Bad was when Ariel foiled her plan to trade her newborn daughter for the trident. Bad was when she spent twelve years hiding away in the frigid Southern Sea. If the Master had learned about her secret assassination plot, she would need to invent a new word to describe how much trouble she was in.

But how could he know? She was meticulous in covering her tracks. She shielded her chambers with every concealment spell she could think of. Even her own viewing spells had been unable to see into there. The sharkanians she sent were handpicked for the task, specifically for their hatred of Triton and the humans. And she had not taken any of the materials for the transformations from their stocks here at their fortress, save for that pistol contraption she lifted out of the armory.

"Late as usual, sissy."

Morgana frowned. Just when her day could get no worse. "And you're annoying as usual, Ursula."

The infamous sea witch removed herself from the wall, her skin losing its camouflage. Ursula had undergone changes as well since her resurrection, although hers was not as drastic a transformation. Her figure was now as lean as Morgana's. Her face was closer to what she looked like as the human Vanessa, but her gray eyes were even crueler than before. Her six black tentacles snaked lazily over the floor. A large scar marked her midriff where the ship's prow had impaled her. That lavender tinged skin and white hair were the same, though. As was that haughty attitude Morgana despised so much.

"I thought I sensed something foul," said Morgana. "What are you doing here?"

"Same as you if I had to guess. One of the sharks stuck his head in with a message from the Master." Ursula pushed off the wall, crawling upwards till she hung upside down in front of her sister's face. "If I had to guess, it's because screwed up."

"I screwed up!?" snapped Morgana.

"Yes, you!" snapped back Ursula. "I was watching the whole thing as it happened! You failed again, as usual!"

"It was your little ornament that tipped them off!" hissed Morgana. "Did it not occur to you that humans have a thing called memory? It's a miracle they didn't recognize Vanessa sooner!"

"Did it not occur to you that you should have checked? It's simple witchcraft to change a face around!" Ursula released herself from the ceiling, righting in midwater. "Or is that another spell you can't do?"

Morgana clenched her fist, ice crystals growing over her skin. "Shut up, you sun-bleached kabob!"

Ursula narrowed her eyes dangerously. She looked as though she was about to say something, but instead turned away. Another large scar adorned her back where the prow had exited her body.

"Get moving," she said as she started swimming. "We'll be late if we lurk around here any longer."

Grudgingly Morgana followed after her sister, muttering ill wishes under her breath.

The corridor began to open as they swam. Then it suddenly flared out into a massive dark chamber. It was so large they could not see the other side. Enormous black columns were spaced evenly throughout. White flames burned from torches set on them above the water, providing only the barest of light. Morgana glanced up past them to see darkness above the glass smooth surface. If there was a ceiling up there it was beyond her sight. The sheer size of this place always drew some amazement from her.

It was just as imposing as him.

The gloom stretched out into an infinite nothingness as they swam on. Column after column passed them as they went. Morgana was beginning to wonder if they had gotten lost when a large set of stairs appeared in the gloom. They rose abruptly out of the water towards a pale flickering light.

She clasped her hands behind her back to stop the growing tremble in her arms as she and Ursula ascended the steps. She had no way of knowing what awaited them above the water, but she knew it would depend on her playing the part of an obedient subordinate. No sense alerting him to their actions if he did not know. Steeling her nerves, Morgana followed her sister above the water's surface.

The stairs led to the black marble floor of a large square platform. It was wide as the room was huge, stretching more than a hundred feet to a side. White flames in copper basins burned at the corners, yet the light failed to penetrate into the darkness. A circular pool twenty feet across lay in the middle, the fluid inside black as the shadows around them.

It was not the pool that had Morgana's attention though. It was who was standing in front of it.

A figure in a hooded robe stood with his back to them. His arms hung loose at his sides, hands clothed in cracked black leather gloves. His robe was a shifting array of blacks, dark blues, and inky purples that melded into the marble. He stood a full foot taller than her. He was completely motionless, devoid even of the rise and fall of the shoulders that accompanied breathing.

Morgana glanced at Ursula. The tips of her tentacles were twitching, something she only did when she was scared. Morgana was fighting to keep her own nervous tics from showing. She had every reason to be scared of this person. He was the one who brought them back from the dead, and he could return them there with ease.

This was the sorcerer known only as the Master.

Morgana bowed low, giving her most innocent smile. "We have arrived as you request–."

Invisible hands clamped around Morgana's throat like a vice, cutting off her airway. She clutched her neck but felt nothing, gagging as she tried to breathe. She saw Ursula grabbing at her own neck, struggling to draw even a sip of air.

Suddenly the two were being dragged towards the Master. Their suckered tentacles latched onto the floor in resistance. They were pulled along all the same. Morgana's neck stretched so painfully she thought her head would pop off. She quickly released the floor before her spine came apart.

"I should kill you both right now," growled the Master. The male voice was menacing, hollow, and definitely angry.

With a flick of his hand Morgana and Ursula were launched over him to the other side of the pool, landing hard on the stone floor. Before they could get up more invisible hands grabbed them and forced them onto their stomachs. Morgana tried to rise again. The force became a crushing weight, pinning her to the floor. It felt like one of the columns had been set on top of her. Her bones were compacted painfully under the strain. Yet when she turned her head to look, she saw nothing to account for the pressure.

Something grabbed her hair and jerked her head up, forcing her to look at the Master. He had no face. All she saw was a black emptiness inside his hood with a pair of electric blue luminous eyes glaring back at her. She could feel the rage and hatred radiating from them.

He knew. She had been caught and she knew it. However, she was not about to admit it. Like all cowards and liars, she thought there was still a chance for her to weasel her way out. "What…are you talking about?" gasped Morgana.

The Master's eyes narrowed. He flicked his wrist and Morgana and Ursula were hauled into midair, their arms pinned against their sides so tight it was hard to breathe. "Do you take me for a blind imbecile, Morgana?"

"No, sir," she wheezed.

The Master waved his hand at the pool. "Your attempt on the princess says otherwise."

The darkness receded from the center of the black water to reveal an image. Morgana watched in horror as it revealed all her actions leading up to her failed assassination. There she was casting spells to secure her chamber from prying eyes. There she was talking the sharkanian soldiers into aiding her. There she was giving them her potion and her sister's necklace and explaining how the pistol worked.

"You took it!" shouted Ursula, a look of fake surprise on her features. "I should have known it was you! You couldn't figure out the spell on your own, so you hijacked mine!" She turned to the Master, her face becoming as pleading as inhumanly possible. "Please believe me, sir, I had no part in this! I'd never go against your orders! It's the truth!"

Morgana shot a lethal glare at her sister. She should have known Ursula would turn traitor at the first sign of trouble. She would have strangled her herself if she could move. Suddenly Ursula cried out as the pressure increased on her.

"I did not say you could talk," said the Master coldly. "Or lie to me."

The images faded to black, and then a new one appeared. Ursula and Morgana appeared in the latter's icy chamber. Ursula was wearing her golden nautilus necklace. The two chatted for a moment, and then Ursula took her necklace off and handed it to Morgana.

Ursula's face turned three shades whiter. Morgana would have done the same in her position. The Master had caught her lying straight to his face. Whatever punishment he originally planned for her would be ten times worse now. He did not tolerate disobedience or dishonesty.

The Master waved his hand over the pool. The image disappeared and the water returned to its blackened state. Morgana and Ursula were dropped to the floor, where they collapsed gasping for air.

"Did I order either of you to kill the princess?" demanded the Master.

"No," answered Morgana.

"Did I permit you to send assassins?"

"No," said Ursula.

"Did I permit you to make any plans of your own?"

Morgana's hands were quivering as she stammered, "N-no."

The Master raised his hands towards them and clenched his fists.

Instantly a terrible stabbing pain erupted in Morgana's chest. She cried out, clutching at her heart as though it were eating her from the inside out. The pain was indescribable. It felt like thousands of knives cutting at her insides while her bones were twisted with vices. Ice spread out below her as she screamed, flailing about on the floor. Beside her Ursula did the same, lost in her own blinding pain as her skin rapidly shifted colors and patterns.

The Master kept up their torture for a full minute before he released them, but to Morgana it felt like hours had passed. She lay gasping and contorted, her mind stitching itself back together.

"Then why did I watch two sharkanians disguised as humans try to kill Princess Melody and Queen Ariel?" asked the Master, his voice remaining forcefully calm and flat amidst the screams. "And why did I see Prince William come back to life and speak to them with your voice, Morgana?"

"I-I can explain," stammered Morgana.

The Master clenched his hands again and the torture resumed.

"I don't want your explanations or reasons," he said as he floated over the pool to Morgana. He leaned over her as she and Ursula continued to scream, blue eyes staring down from the bottomless black pit of his hood. He released them once more, wanting their minds uncluttered by pain to hear him. "My orders were clear, Morgana. Torture the princess in her sleep until I tell you otherwise. That was it. No attacks, no thievery, no other spells. Instead you made your own plans behind my back."

His hand slowly started to clench again, making the pain in Morgana's heart slowly return. "And because of you the merfolk and humans will start scouring the seas for us!"

"They don't…know anything!" wheezed Morgana, trying to put her thoughts back in order while she still had them. "They'll never… be able…to find us!"

The Master's eyes flashed as he clenched his hand. The pain returned to Morgana in full as she was bent backwards, torqueing her spine with bone crushing force. She cried out, afraid he was going to snap her in two.

"They did not know about us before!" the Master shouted. "They didn't know anything until you ran your mouth to Triton! Thanks to your vain blabbering he'll have every available merfolk out looking for us, and you can be sure the humans will follow his example! On top of that…!"

He grabbed Morgana's hair and dragged her over to the pool, ignoring her cries of pain as he shoved her face to the water. "How do you explain this?!"

The pool showed the entire pavilion. Morgana could just make out William and Triton in the center as she ranted into his face. Suddenly the lanterns and candles exploded into fire, encasing the entire pavilion in fire. Then the image shifted to her chambers, showing the burning eye promising fire and ruin.

"You've drawn the attention of someone else!" said the Master. "And not just anyone!"

He thrust his hand towards the pool. The image disappeared as a new one started to form. But as it did the image became distorted. The water started rippling as though wind were blowing, and then fires burst over the water. They licked at Morgana's face, threatening to burn her.

"This is the result when I invade her mind!" shouted the Master, dismissing the flames with a wave. "Whoever this sorcerer is, he's completely blocked off Melody to us! To me! You've made another enemy for us! One that I must contend with!"

He threw Morgana aside, sending her skidding over the marble. Then he turned on Ursula, who was still screaming on the floor. He released her from her torment and grabbed her throat, lifting her off the ground like a doll. "And you! I expected more obedience from you, Ursula, if only just! You're supposed to be preparing an army for me! Instead you took part in your sister's meddling! Small wonder the best you've presented me with are piles of corpses and defects! All as worthless as you are!"

"They aren't all worthless, sir," said a female voice.

Morgana's blood ran colder than her heart as a woman emerged from the water. She rose without the slightest ripple, gliding onto the platform with the faintest of barefooted steps. She wore a hooded robe such a shade of dark blue it was practically black, golden tribal designs embroidered into the hems. The lower half billowed out like a cloak, tight fitting black pants ripped off below the knee visible underneath. The top fitted tight to her like a corset with gold lacing up the front and flowing sleeves. The hood covered her head, a long blonde braid draped down her front almost to the floor. Like the Master, her face was obscured in shadow.

"Riptide's one of those so-called defects," she continued. The water seemed to vanish from her clothes without a single drop falling to the floor. "He might've been a mistake, but he's an improvement over those half-cooked eels Triton killed. What were their names again? Flotsam and…oh wait, that's right. They're dead!"

The Master dropped Ursula to the floor, pinning her again with a wave of his hand. "You've returned, Remora. Did things go as planned?"

Remora pulled back her hood with fair female hands. There was no face for Morgana to see because it was hidden behind a gold mask. It was almost featureless except for two black eye holes and a crescent for a smiling mouth. She could hear the woman's breaths and words tinged with a metallic resonance.

"As you ordered, Master," she answered, giving a genuinely respectful bow. "The last pirates of the western shores are yours to command."

"And those who refused?" asked the Master.

The sound of something very large breaching the water echoed through the chamber. A shadow was visible moving in the darkness, just far enough in the black that its form could not be distinguished. Then a pair of massive yellow eyes appeared behind Remora. They rose out of the water, towering hundreds of feet in the air.

"They came to their senses," said a raspy serpentine voice. "Right after we made examples of their captains."

Morgana's trembling was beyond her control now. If there was anyone she feared as much as she feared the Master, it was these two. Remora was second only to the Master in authority and power, and possibly superior in her cruelty and barbarism. If there was anyone who could make men as violent and treacherous as pirates surrender their freedom, it was Remora.

The monster behind her was Riptide. He was second only to her, which made him Maelstrom's third strongest. In terms of size he was in a league all of his own. His jaws could take ships and whales with a single bite. No creature in the sea was as powerful as he.

And neither of them was remotely civil towards Morgana nor Ursula.

"As expected of my left and right hands," said the Master.

"Don't flatter too much. I might get used to it." Remora glanced between Morgana and Ursula. "Looks like you're having fun. And you didn't invite me?"

"Your craft would be amusing if not for the circumstances," said the Master. He waved at Morgana and she was dragged into his grip, hand clamping around her neck. "These two went against my orders. They concocted a scheme to assassinate the princess behind my back."

"Did they now?" Remora walked over to Ursula and grabbed her hair, dragging her upright by it. "And did they succeed? Because I'm guessing no."

"You guess correctly. Because of them Atlantica and Seahaven have been alerted to our existence. They've also drawn the attention of a sorcerer who seems intent on meddling with us. And a powerful one at that."

Remora turned to the Master. "Then may I?"

Ursula's eyes widened as she realized what Remora was asking. "No! Please!"

The Master nodded. "Proceed."

Before Morgana could blink Remora drew her hand back and punched Ursula's gut with incredible force. Ursula lost her stomach and her wind with how hard she hit. Remora dropped her and then raised her heel up before stomping it down hard on Ursula's back, cracking ribs and the floor beneath her. Then Remora grabbed Ursula's neck and lifted her off the floor.

Red lightning raced down Remora's free hand as she thrust her palm into Ursula's back. Immediately the witch was covered in arcs of red electricity. She screamed as loud as Morgana had ever heard, her skin smoking as electrical magic coursed through her body. Remora drew her hand back and struck again, then again and again. Each time Ursula was blasted with electricity, making her spasm and scream under her assault.

"Since she's being disciplined…" The Master turned his attention back to Morgana. "That leaves me to decide what should be done with you."

Morgana swallowed hard as the Master leaned close to her face. "Clear the seawater out of your ears and listen, you shipworm riddled excuse for a sea witch. You are not my partner, my comrade, or even my servant. You are my slave. You and your sister. I own you. I own your powers. And I will do with them as I see fit. I decide when you attack and when you retreat. When you eat and when you starve. When you live and when you die."

The Master snapped his fingers. A red paper with black cursive writing flew out from the sleeve of his robe, unfurling next to him. Morgana could see her signature at the bottom of the page.

"You will both serve me until I am victorious, and will be granted power till the terms are fulfilled," said the Master coldly as the paper returned to his robe. "That is our arrangement. I brought you both back from the dead because I felt your skills could be of use to me. If they cease to be, I will cast you back into the darkness I dragged you from."

The Master tossed Morgana aside and turned away from her. "Return to your chambers and stay there. You are to do nothing unless I permit it. If you so much as make a snack without my orders I'll cut off your tentacles, cook them over a spit, and feed them back to you before I make your remains Riptide's next meal. Is that clear?"

"Under…stood..." croaked Morgana. She glanced up to see Remora still pounding away at Ursula. Her screams had stopped when she lost consciousness. Flecks of black blood stained Remora's hands, the witch laughing as she continued to beat the senseless Ursula.

"Understood, what?" said the Master threateningly.

Morgana glared up at the Master. She would have loved to snap back at him or throw a spell at his head right then, but she knew better. He was far more powerful that either she or Ursula had ever been. She stood no chance against him. This was not a fight she could win. If she wanted to leave this place in better shape than her sister, she needed to bite back her pride.

"Understood...my Master," she said through clenched teeth, bowing low to him. She said the last word dripping with venom.

The Master raised his hand. "Remora, that's enough."

Remora stopped mid strike. "Already?"

"Put her down," commanded the Master.

Instead of dropping the sea witch, Remora threw her across the platform. She hit the stone and went tumbling past Morgana, rolling into the water with a splash. Her burned skin hissed and smoked as it was quenched.

"Get out of my sight, Morgana," said the Master. "Before I change my mind. And take your sister with you."

Morgana avoided looking back until she was in the water, grabbing hold of Ursula with her tentacles. She cast one hateful glance at the Master's back, and then slipped below the surface.

She would do as he said. She was not foolish enough to spite him in his current wrathful state. But she would not be idle in her isolation. She did not care what the Master's plans were. There was only one thing she was after, and that was Melody's life. There was no price she would not pay and no one she would not cross in order to claim it.


The Master listened as Morgana slipped into the water. He could feel her eyes on his back. He was tempted to pull them out of her skull, but he allowed her to retreat intact.

"Tch! Why you resurrected those slugs still escapes me," said Remora as crimson lightning coursed over her hand, searing Ursula's blood off.

"They have their uses," said the Master. A multitude of bones from humans, merfolk, and strange creatures of the sea rolled out of the water and began to converge in front of him. The bones arranged themselves with skeletal clacking sounds until they became what was unmistakably a throne.

"Ursula's talent for potions and transformations has yielded some results," the Master said as he sat. "As Riptide can attest to."

The beast's eyes blinked in acknowledgement, a low hiss filling the cavern.

"Her newfound powers will make her a sufficient killer as well," the Master continued. "As for Morgana, she makes for an interesting piece in our game. She and her sister know how to manipulate desires to their designs. That is what makes them useful to me. Not their magic."

"And what about their insubordination?" asked Remora. She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a sinister gray knife, spinning it through her fingers so fast it was a blur. "How does that factor into their usefulness?"

"They lack the spine and the strength to stand against me." The Master waved his hand. Two red papers appeared in front of him, one of which bore Ursula's mark. "Those two cannot raise a finger against me so long as I possess these. Not that they were ever a match for me in the first place." He waved his hand again and the papers disappeared back into his sleeve.

"There is no one who can match you, Master," said Riptide.

The Master secretly smirked beneath his hood. "Flattery does not suit you, Riptide. But I'll allow you freedom to feed tonight for it."

The monster hissed, eyes glowing in anticipation of the hunt.

Remora walked to the edge of the pool and took a knee, head bowed in deference. "What are your orders, sir?"

The Master clasped his hands in thought. "The Alliance will begin looking for us. We've been able to move freely because of their ignorance, but those days are over. We'll need to move with more caution now. Cease all hostilities within the Alliance. Have our agents blend in until I say otherwise. Focus our efforts on information control. I want those fools to know as little about us as possible."

"And if any of our spies get caught?" asked Remora.

"Dispose of them as you see fit," said the Master. "And I mean any way you see fit."

An arc of lightning danced across Remora's mask as she spun her knife into the air and then snatched it. The Master knew she was smiling.

"What about this sorcerer?" asked Riptide. "If he's powerful enough to block one of your spells…"

"Leave him to me." The Master rose from his throne and walked over to the pool. "I may not know who he is, but if he hasn't interfered with us until now then I doubt he will try to hinder us further. He is hiding for a reason. I will find out why."

"As you wish," said Remora and Riptide together. The masked witch bowed while Riptide nodded.

The Master held up his hand. A ball of shadow formed in it, causing the light in the enormous chamber to dim. "This sorcerer will learn firsthand the wrath of Maelstrom. No one can stand against us, and no one can escape."


A/N: Thanks to all of you who read, favorite, and/or follow my story. Knowing that you enjoy it so much encourages me to keep writing. As always, your comments/thoughts are appreciated and welcome. If you like the story then please follow and/or favorite!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own "The Little Mermaid," Disney, or any of its associated characters and intellectual property. Everything else, however, is mine =)