Here we go with the tenth chapter, and I want to thank everyone for the support. My friend appreciates the support for his old story and is glad it's getting better than the last two times he tried this. It's a slow progress, but I told him more people will like it. In time.
I hope everyone is ready, especially as we get to the part of the story my friend has been working on, before remaking this. I am sorry for taking so long, but work and personal stuff has kept me from working on this. Still, I'm glad I was able to work on this again, especially to help get to this part of the story. I hope you'll enjoy this and will like how the fights will go.
Also, for those who don't know who Titus is, he's mentioned in the first chapter. So, you can get an idea of who he is.
Now, last time, we saw the pirates appear. They came in to attack the castle and ruin Melody's party. How are things going to go with this fight? And think Gabriella's secret will be uncovered.
Tune in today to find out everyone. Now, time for the disclaimer. I don't own anything owned by Disney except the OCs of my friend. Also, again I'm doing this for my friend who can no longer work on my projects.
Enjoy the chapter everyone.
Chapter X
Tirulia
The people of Tirulia had never encountered any sort of threats or any sort of conflict since the kingdom had been built. Yes, they had saw the evil Sea Witch, Ursula, battling against their king and queen, but their home was never in any danger. With the fight occurring more out at sea. Despite that, there's never been any problems that the people couldn't handle and never had to deal with any attacks from pirates.
Their home would be the ideal place for pirates to attack, especially since it's in an area where they would likely get attacked. With no other major kingdoms around and no navy to combat against their enemies. But pirates never tried to make a move to attack the small kingdom. Maybe it's because the mermaid king, Triton, was ever vigilant and the pirates feared him.
In any case, the people lived a nice, quiet, and peaceful time in their home. Never worrying about pirates attacking them…until now.
The sounds of cannon fire, echoed across the town. Cannon balls being fired across the town. Hitting the buildings, causing debris to come tumbling down, and the sounds of people screaming can be heard echoing around the town along with the cannon fire. The attack though lasted only for a few minutes, as a large group of pirates can be seen making their way towards the town.
All being brought to dry land on their boats and all charging towards the town. There were a few guards and civilians that joined together to fight the pirate threat, but their numbers were too much. The pirates slay down every armed man that got in their way, stealing anything they could get their hands on, and setting fire to a few buildings. However, the attack, much like the cannon fire, only lasted a few minutes.
The pirates began making their way towards the palace, where they went after the rich nobles and royal families, who had fled the castle. The pirates captured them and began taking their valuables from them but spared them all.
It appears the goal wasn't on the town or the rich. But rather, it seems their goal is heading towards the castle, where the real fight is occurring.
Inside, King Eric and his guards battled against the pirates that had arrived to attack their home. But they weren't alone. They had arrived with their leader. A man who appeared to be in his late 50s, with long silver hair, blue eyes, and tan skin. This figure, whoever he is, knew Eric's father-in-law, King Triton.
Not only did he know who he is but appeared shocked to see him.
King Eric saw the two fights in the ballroom, before they made their way outside. Eric knew he had to focus his attention on taking down these pirates first, before he can assist his father-in-law, and his family. Despite never being in a fight with a pirate, he was skilled in sword fighting. So, he managed to take down three pirates, before taking down the fourth and goes to assist his men.
He pushes down one of the pirates, before his guard shoots the pirate down and kills him. Eric saw the pirates splitting up and begin heading around the palace.
"Captain Bryan!" Eric called the captain of his royal guards, who began recovering from his fight with some of the pirates he fought against. "I want you to lead half of your men to protect the guests and take down those pirates. I'll take the rest of the men and go take down the ones who went upstairs."
"Yes sir," said Captain Bryan before ordering half of his men to join him. "What about the ship, sir? Shouldn't we have our ships engage the enemy ship?"
Eric knew they have to try taking down the pirate ship, but he knew his ships would be unable to get out of the harbor. "Not as long as the ships of the nobles are in the way."
Eric knew though if the enemy send this many of their men to shore, then chances are they won't have the fire power to defend their ship.
"Then sir, may I suggest we start working on the pirates that are still in the building," Captain Bryan suggested.
"He's right, sir. We need to deal with them now, before the people get hurt or are taken hostage,' said another one of the guards.
Eric nods in agreement and knew they must hunt the remaining pirates down. "The good thing is there doesn't appear to be that many left," said Eric who judging from the number of bodies on the ground and the ones he saw running off, they should be able to finish this soon. "Captain Bryan, gather your men and hunt down these pirate scum. If they surrender, have them arrested."
"Yes sir," said Captain Bryan as he begins getting his men together.
"Sir!" one of his guards shouted as he ran into the room. "There's more of them heading this way!"
"Are you sure?" Eric asked as he gets a nod from the guard.
Eric rushes towards where the guard spotted the pirate reinforcements and could see the large group of pirates heading their way.
Captain Bryan sees the number of pirates and knew this isn't good. "There's got to be at least four dozen men. All armed. We don't have enough musket rifles and ammo to fight them off, your majesty."
Eric knew this is true and in the condition his men were in, they wouldn't stand a chance in another frontal attack. He knew they're going to have to cut their numbers down as much as possible in order to force them to retreat.
"Barricade the entrance and let's try setting up a defensive position here," said Eric who knew they're going to need to try taking these forces down first before they can get to the rest of the pirates. "Captain Bryan, I believe I saw a few of our cannons down below being cleaned, right?"
Captain Bryan knew what his king has in mind and begins ordering his men to follow him. As he left, Eric begins ordering his men to begin gathering whatever they can find to use as a barrier for them to hide behind.
"Your majesty," one of the guards began speaking up. "What about King Triton's merguards? Shouldn't we seek their help?"
Eric nods in response knowing they could use their help but didn't see them anywhere. "Go find them and get them to help with the pirate problem in here. And if you find my family, get them to the water."
The young guard nods in response before he took off to find the guards of the mermaid king. Once he was gone, Eric turned his attention to helping his men. He could hear the pirates heading their way to the palace. The sound of their yells, howls, and laughter could be heard echoing across the ballroom.
Eric knew he has to work fast and stop the pirates, before they can get in here and finish them off.
Meanwhile
Grimsby and Carlotta could be seen running down the hallway in the upper level of the palace, carrying a wounded Chef Louis. They had earlier helped some of the castle employees find shelter but were soon spotted by the pirates. Chef Louis appeared out of nowhere to help them, but was soon shot by one of the pirates, but not before Carlotta used a frying pan, the chef on him, to take out the pirate. Thankfully, the wounds of the chef was not fatal, but he needed medical attention.
The trio ran to find shelter, while hoping the king, queen, and princess found shelter as well. They knew these pirates would seek out the royal family to use as a hostage and to get their gold.
"We must keep moving," said Grimsby as he helps carry the wounded chef with one arm, while Carlotta held Louis' other arm. "What about this room?"
Grimsby tries to open the door but found it to be locked. He knocks on the door, but no one answered. Carlotta recognized the door and let out a small groan.
"This room is the one that was being refurnished," Carlotta as she remembers what this room is. "We lost the key and couldn't find it to open the door."
Grimsby's grim facial expression told him this wasn't good for them at all. He tries another door, but it was no use.
Soon, they heard the call of the pirates coming towards them. Carlotta grabs hold of the frying pan, while Grimsby, who despite never been in a fight before, picks up one of the knives the chef had. Louis, despite being wounded, pulled out his knife as well. Prepared to fight as the pirates approached them.
All three of them were shaking. They held the weapon with their shaking hands, but it was clear they were scared. Scared because they knew the pirates won't show them any mercy. And will likely take their lives.
As the five pirates charged in, the door that Grimsby was trying to open, soon swung open. Out from the room was Gabriella, still in her dress, she took out a bottle and begins spraying it at the pirates. Stopping them in their track, but not for long as the men before laughing.
"What did you think was going to happen, girlie?" one of the pirates asked in a mocking tone. "You think you were going to stop us with water?"
"Water?" one of the pirates begins tasting the liquid that covered their bodies and realized what it is. "It's rum."
"Rum?" the first pirate asked.
"Rum," said Gabriella as she pulls out a torch and sets it on fire.
The pirates soon realized what she's going to do and try to shoot her, but she tossed the lit torch at them. Setting the men on fire as they begin yelling in pain. They dropped their weapons and began trying to put themselves out. Gabriella grabs one of their swords and thrusts her sword into one of the pirates, killing him.
One of the pirates saw this and tried to stab her, but she slices his hand off and grabs hold of his sword, before cutting his head off. The two other pirates charged at her, but she slides between then and slashes at them, cutting them down. However, her dress did get caught on fire, but she managed to tear off her dress to remove the flames.
She ripped off the bottom part, exposing her legs, but still kept the waist part of the dress. While removing the sleeves and shoulder part of the dress.
She looks over to see the pirate who mocked her earlier managed to put himself out but was burned. He stared at the girl angrily, before he pulls out his sword and charges at her. However, Gabriella brings both swords down and kicks up one of the guns into her hand, before opening fire. Shooting the pirate straight in the face, killing him.
Gabriella wipes away some of the blood off her face and hands, before dropping the weapon. She looks around her dress and sighed as she examines how much of it is ruined.
"And to think, I was starting to like it," said Gabriella before she turns to Grimsby, Carlotta, and Chef Louis. "You three, okay? You're not hurt, right?" she asked as she approached the trio, before noticing their shocked expressions. "Um, are you okay?"
"A-Are we okay? Young lady, what was that?" Grimsby asked as he snapped out of being shocked.
Gabriella looked confused at first, before turning to the dead bodies and then understood why they're shocked. "Ooooh! That. Well…being a girl who sails a lot around the world, you tend to learn a few tricks to survive, especially against pirates."
"Y-You never mention-ed that to the young Melody before," said Carlotta who just stunned at what this young girl, who she thought was innocent, could turn out to be a capable fighter.
"I just didn't want to scare her," said Gabriella as she goes to check on the chef's injuries. "Well, the good news for him is the weapon passed through him. But he did lose some blood. So…"
She tears some more of her dress to help wrap around the wound of the chef. "There we go. Now, go in this room and stay there," said Gabriella as she picks up another one of the pistols of the pirates. "I'm going to go find Melody and her family to make sure they're safe."
"Hold on, young lady," said Grimsby as he begins speaking with a stern tone. "It's too dangerous for you to go out there on your own. You need to stay with us and wait till our guards handle this situation. And then…"
Grimsby is soon interrupted when another pirate appeared and begins yelling loudly. He begins charging at them, while his body appeared to be smoking. It's soon revealed he's strapped with explosives and was going to try blowing them up. Gabriella sighed softly before she walks over and kicks a door that was a couple rooms down where they're at.
She then shoots the pirate right in the gut, causing him to fall and yell in pain. She then grabs him and pushes him into the room, before closing the door and walks back towards the others. Just as the pirate's bombs blew up, blowing up the room. This left the trio once more, in complete shocked at what happened.
Gabriella begins grabbing the equipment of the dead pirates before she turns to the trio. "I'm sorry about that. I couldn't hear what you said over that idiota's screaming. What were you saying?"
Grimsby was in such a complete shock, that he couldn't say what he was trying to say earlier. Carlotta though managed to shake off being shocked and knew the girl could handle her own.
"Um w-we'll um just leave you to this then," said Carlotta as she hands off the wounded chef to Grimsby and moves them towards the room. "I believe the king is in the ballroom, holding off the pirates. That would mean Queen Ariel and her family would be taken to the other side of the castle."
"Other side of the castle huh?" Gabriella turns towards the direction of where they'd be at and nods. "Thanks, and I promise I'll keep them safe."
"Thank you, my dear. And please, be careful," said Carlotta before she heads into the room and locks the door behind her.
Once that was taken care of, Gabriella begins making her way down the hallway and towards where she hopes the others are at. As she made her way over, she looks down to the dead bodies of the pirates and knew this doesn't make any sense at all.
"Grandpa told me they would never attack this place," said Gabriella as she seems so confused by this. "Grandpa said, they wouldn't risk attacking a place like this, which is a safe haven for pirates. So, why do this now?"
She figures it might be some hotshot rookie pirate, who wanted to establish their name. Well, this as a really dumb move and one that ruined her own plans. Because of this attack, she couldn't get to the ship she planned to 'commandeer' and leave. Hell, she didn't even get a chance to go see Melody, before all this broke out.
"I'll need to improvise," said Gabriella who knew she's going to need to find another way to get the ship. "Maybe if I can help them take out the pirate threat, then they can reward me with my own ship."
She knew this will work a lot better than her original plan, especially now that she got some witnesses to see her fight the pirates. She just needs to hurry up and finish this fight. She knew if the pirates escape, they'll come back again. So, she'll need to finish them off and make sure Melody is safe.
"And who knows. Maybe if I can find the ship the pirates are using, I can take it for myself," Gabriella knew it would have to be the type of ship she can sail on her own.
"Gabby!" Gabriella turns to see friend, Lara, flying towards her. "There you are! Where have you been?"
"Me? Just here, fighting against the pirates," said Gabriella as she keeps on walking down the hallway. "Just glad to see you're okay. I also assume you didn't drug the guards, right?"
"No, because they were killed," Lara explained.
This caused Gabriella to halt in her walk, before asking her friend for more details. Lara explained when she flew down to drug the guards and crew of the docks, she found them dead. Most likely from the pirates that snuck in to attack the palace. She even flew over to find the group attacking them are just a small party.
"I spotted the rest of the party heading this way and they're going to be too much for everyone here to stop them," said Lara who knew with how many pirates there are, they'll be overrun.
"Well, shit, where's Melody's grandpa? The pirate killer, I'd figured he'd handle this whole mess by now," said Gabriella who seems a little angry that Melody's grandfather, who she knew despises pirates, hasn't taken care of them by now.
"Gabby, the leader of pirate, its him," said Lara as she tells her friend who's behind this, as if she knows who it is. "The one you told me that attacked your ship. The one who killed your friend. And the one who left you marooned. It's Titus."
Gabriella's expressions changes to one of shocked, to one of anger. She felt her body being filled with so much rage. Her hands begin gripping the handles of the sword tightly. While nearly gritting her teeth, as the sound of gunfire, cannon fire, and an elderly man screaming Gabriella's name echoing in her head.
She remembers that day. The day she lost her ship, the day she was betrayed, the day she was marooned, and the day she lost her friend. She closed her eyes and began taking a deep breath. She began to exhale and turn towards her friend as she opens her eyes.
Revealing a burning desire to hunt down the one who wronged her. "Where's the bastardo?" Gabriella asked in a tone that told Lara, she was pissed.
"Downstairs, fighting King Triton," said Lara before she flies up to her friend's face. "But I advise you going after him."
"Give me…one…good…fucking reason, I shouldn't go after him," said Gabriella as she narrowed her eyes to her friend.
"Because the mermaid king has the fight covered. If the stories I heard about him are true, he'll take care of this Titus guy with no problem," said Lara who also didn't want to have her friend go after the pirate, especially with how she's feeling. "I think for the time being we should focus our attention on taking down these pirates and then get out of here."
"Yeah, not going to happen," said Gabriella as she begins heading towards the staircase, but her friend flew up in front of her. "Lara, move. Now."
"No," said Lara as she refused to budge. "Gabby, listen to me. You're not thinking straight. If you try fighting him, again, he will kill you. You know that."
"I know that I've been saving my shot to kill the bastard for three years. I'm not going to miss my chance to make him pay," said Gabriella as she tries to fly past her friend but feels her pulling on her hair. "Ow! Lara! Stop it!"
"No! You need to stop and let this go!" Lara begs her friend as she kept a tight grip on her hair.
"And give me one good reason why I should?" Gabriella shouted as she tries to pull her friend off of her.
Before Lara could reply, she heard Melody's scream echoing down the hallway. This caused Gabriella's anger to soon disappear and replaced with one of concerns.
"Melody," Gabriella soon begins running towards the source of the scream, while her friend hangs on. "Hold on! I'm coming!"
Earlier
Ariel led her daughter and sisters towards where she knew was a safe place for them to hide out at. After what happened earlier in the ballroom, Eric told his family to get to safety. They had prepared for such an event like this to ever happen but had hope it never would happen. Ariel though had to remain calm, not just in front of her sisters, but also her daughter, who was frightened.
"Mom? What's going on? Who's attacking us?" Melody asked as she felt fear surging through her body.
"What does it look like? Pirates! Pirates are attacking us!" Arista, the fourth oldest of the six mermaid sisters, was in the middle of panicking as she was scared of what was happening. "Daddy told us how dangerous they were, how they would try harming us, and now here they are to try harming us, what are we going to…"
Attina walks over and begins trying to calm her sister down. "Arista, enough!" she shouted, raising her voice and quieting her sister down. She soon began to speak to her in a calm tone, while wiping her tears. "It's okay. We're going to be okay. We just need to get to a safe place and let daddy handle the pirates."
"She's right," said Ariel as she speaks up too, to help calm everyone down. "Eric and I have prepared for something like this to happen. Let Eric and daddy handle this, while we wait for this to be over."
"O-Okay," said Arista as she tries to calm herself down.
"So, um where are we going?" Alana asked as she hugs her sister, Arista. "Wouldn't it be better if we go to the water and swim away till this is over?"
"We can't risk it, especially if the pirates open fire with their cannons," Ariel knew the sea would make sense, but if the pirates are attacking them, then they must know about who she is and her family. "It would also be bad if they end up prepared to capture us and use us as hostages."
"So, we just go run and hide somewhere then," said Andrina who figures that must be better than going in the water. "And what if the pirates find us?"
"Let them come," said Attina as she pulls out what looks like a small pole, before pressing a button and soon it extends into a trident weapon.
"Whoa!" said the five sisters and young niece.
"When did you get this?" Aquata asked as she examines the weapon.
"Daddy gave it to me. He wasn't just teaching me how to rule over a kingdom. He also taught me how to defend myself," said Attina as she held the weapon proudly. "It doesn't have any magic like daddy's trident, but I know how to use it to defend us."
"Great," said Adella who feels a little safer now. "I just wish you would have trained us too."
"I tried, but some of you were busy with dating and…" Attina clears her throat and realizes this isn't important. "Anyways, Ariel. Lead the way, okay? This is your home, so please lead us to safety and I'll cover our flanks."
Ariel nods now feeling more confident that her sister is watching their backs, but also has complete trust in them. She turns to her daughter and grasps her hand to reassure her.
"See? We're going to be okay," said Ariel towards her daughter.
Melody nods in response and believes her mom. "Still, I just hope Gabriella and Lapis are okay."
"Ahhhh!" the women soon heard the sound of someone screaming and look over to see who it is. "PIRATES!"
It was Lapis, she's seen running down the hallway towards the others. While behind her, were at least six pirates, hot on her trail.
"Run! Now!" Attina ordered as she has her family begin running before she runs forward to pick Lapis up and runs to catch up to the others.
Once she caught up to the others, she places Lapis down and has her run with them. Looking back, she saw the pirates were catching up to them. So, Attina begins charging back at them. The pirates pulled out their swords, but Attina swings her weapon and shatters their blades.
This caught the pirates off-guard, allowing Attina to punch one of them square in the face. She dodges a punch from another before kicking out his knee and then hits him with an uppercut. One grabs her from behind and the other two try to disarm her. But she jumps up and kicks both of the pirates away.
She then uses her own momentum to fall forward and flip the pirate off of her. She then grabs her weapon and stabs him in the chest, killing him. She pulls her weapon off and hits the two pirates with her weapon, across the face. Once they were taken down, she got up, and begins to walk back to the others, who looked on shocked.
"You weren't kidding when you said daddy was training you," said Ariel who was shocked to see what her older sister did.
"Well, like I said. Daddy wanted to prepare me for everything," said Attina as she checks on Lapis. "Are you okay, sweetie?"
Lapis nods in response, before Melody rushes over to hug her friend. Lapis hugs her back, grateful that her friend is okay too.
"Lapis, where's the others?" Ariel asked since she could have sworn, she saw Lapis escaping with another group.
"I slipped away when I saw you guys running up the stairs," Lapis explained. "I wanted to make sure Melody was okay, but then I ran into those pirates and well, the rest you can figure out."
While Ariel understands why Lapis did what she did, which is very sweet of her to look after her friend, she knew it was still too dangerous. Still, she's glad to see the young girl is okay and safe with them.
"Lapis, did you see another girl? Her name is Gabriella. The one I told you about," Melody asked hoping her friend saw where Gabby is at.
"I'm sorry, but I didn't see another girl," Lapis replied knowing she didn't see the girl her friend had mentioned. "Maybe she's somewhere in hiding?"
"It's possible," said Ariel as she turns to her sister, Attina. "We should try looking for her."
Attina though hears more pirates heading their way, so she knew they couldn't go look for the girl. "Later. Right now, we need to go. Now!"
They begin running again and head towards where they hope will be safety. Ariel knew they'll have to look for Gabriella later. For now? She needs to help get her family to safety.
She knew they were close though. Close to where they needed to go and be safe. They just need to run a little bit more and they'll be golden. As long as they stay ahead of the pirates that are chasing them.
They turn the corner and run down the hallway. They saw it was a dead end, but Ariel reassured them it was where they needed to go. But with the pirates close behind them, she's worried they won't make it through. So, Attina decided to try finding a way to slow them down.
Grabbing hold of some of the drapes, she drops them behind the group, and grabs one of the lanterns. She then smashes it on the drape, setting it on fire. This will help delay the pirates, at least long enough for them to escape. The fire appears to be working as the pirates couldn't get through.
Ariel rushes to the painting and asks her sisters for help. They set it down and Ariel presses her hand in the middle, causing the wall to break apart. Revealing a secret door, which surprised even Melody, who didn't know about this.
"This will lead us to a safe place outside the castle. Go," said Ariel as she motions for her sisters to go through.
They begin going through, one at a time, due to how narrow the path is. Leaving only Ariel, Attina, Lapis, and Melody left.
"Girls, go through, now," said Ariel as she motions for Melody and Lapis to go through.
"But mom, what about Gabriella? We can't leave her," said Melody who didn't want to leave her friend behind.
"I'm sure she's okay, but we need to go, now," said Ariel as she reassures her daughter her friend will be okay.
"No," said Melody who didn't want to abandon Gabby. "We have to look for her. What if she's captured or what if she's hurt? I can't leave her behind."
"I'm worry about her too, but we need to get everyone out first before we can go look for her," said Ariel who didn't want to leave Gabriella behind, but she has to get her family to safety first. "Please, let's go before…"
Attina suddenly grabs her sister, niece, and Lapis before tackling them forward. Just as she did, something crashed through the window and lands right in front of the secret door. Looking over, they saw an eight-foot-tall anthropomorphic dark gray with black stripes shark. He stood tall with his fin on his neck, his gills on his neck, long muscular arms with sharp claws, and no tail.
Ariel and Melody felt their faces nearly go pale as they recognized the creature. And the creature, when he saw the two women, began smiling. Showing his rows of razor-sharp teeth. While speaking in the same voice that the two women recognized, but it was deeper, and more menacing.
"Hello, ladies. It's been a long time," said the anthropomorphic shark man.
"U-Under-tow?" Melody whispered, while shocked to see who it is.
"In the flesh," said the now revealed Undertow, as he begins flexing his arms. "And in charge. I bet you both missed me."
Ariel and Melody were both shocked to see the actual shark minion of Morgana is not only here, but alive. They had thought he perished during the fight against Morgana. They didn't know he was alive since Triton kept it a secret from them. He didn't want Ariel to worry about it and focus on spending time with her family.
So, to see he's alive and in this form, well it was something neither one had expected.
"Back off, shark!" said Attina as she threatened the shark man. "You will not harm my sisters or my niece."
"I'd like to see you try to stop me," said Undertow as he sees the pirates behind the women, putting out the fire. "Back away! They're mine," he shouted towards the pirates, before turning back towards where the rest of the sisters are at. "Them on the other hand, you can have them."
Attina knew this was bad. The pirates were something she could handle, but this anthropomorphic shark monster was something she wouldn't be able to handle.
Ariel knew this isn't good. They're blocked off from the rest of their sisters, while also having the pirates right behind them. She turns towards one of the rooms and knew there might be a way for them to get out of this. She grasps her daughter's hand and grabs her sister's shoulder.
"We have to close the entrance and get to the next room," Ariel whispered to her sister's ear.
Attina looks over to see it and agrees. "I assume you have another secret entrance we can sneak towards?"
"Sort of," said Ariel who explains it leads them to another hallway, which she knew will lead them to her bedroom. "There we do have a secret room, which will keep us safe."
Attina knew though that even if they do close the door, there's no way she can get them past Undertow and the pirates.
"Ariel, the only way this would work is if one of us gets past Undertow, get to our sisters, and close up the entrance while the rest of us get to the next room," all of that and without getting killed or captured by Undertow. "And I sure as heck am not going to leave you with the girls alone."
"Actually, you are," said Ariel who knew that was the plan. "I know this castle inside and out. I know where to go and how to get there. I'll keep the girls safe. You need to keep our sisters safe, please."
Attina didn't want to leave them behind. She knew she had to find another way to get them to the entrance. But she knew that wasn't likely going to happen. Undertow won't allow all four to get past him.
Only one or two, but she knew Lapis and Melody won't ever leave one another behind. And they'll need Ariel to be with them to get them to safety.
"Fine," said Attina as she gives in. "But we need to find a way around the shark first."
Melody overheard her mother's plan and knew they needed to do something soon, before the pirates attack them. She then got an idea and begins pointing behind the shark.
Melody turns to her mom and aunt before she pulls on their dresses. "I got an idea. Follow my lead," she then steps in front of them and points behind Undertow. "Grandpa Triton! Thank goodness you're here!"
Undertow's eyes widened when he heard what the girl said. A cold shiver running up his spine, as the memory of being turned into a small little fish by the king himself caused him to feel fear.
When he turns around though, he didn't see the king was there. Before he knew it, Attina rushes past him and enters the tunnel before she closes the entrance. While Ariel grabs her daughter and Lapis towards the next room. Locking the door behind them.
Undertow lets out an angered roar before he charges at the door. He crashes through it and breaks in, only to find the women trying to escape through another secret tunnel. He charges in, but Ariel pulls on the lever to close the entrance. Undertow hits the wall, but he didn't let this stop him.
He begins punching at the wall, causing it to crack. Showing he intends to break open the secret entrance.
Ariel held the hands of her daughter and Lapis as she pulls on them to follow her. The girls tried to keep up, but they had to run, while in their dresses. Along with wearing these heel shoes, which were uncomfortable enough as it is, but to run in them, well it just made things worse. Thankfully, they didn't need to run for too long.
Ariel saw the door that will lead them out of the tunnel. Pulling on a lever, the door opened, revealing they're in another hallway, but one that's close to where Ariel and Eric's bedroom is at.
"Come on," said Ariel as she leads her daughter and Lapis out. "We're almost to the bedroom."
"Do you think Aunt Attina and the others will be okay?" Melody asked who's worried for the rest of her family.
"They'll be safe. The tunnels they're taking them will lead them to a secret entrance on the other side of the palace," Ariel had explained they were placed there by Eric's family, just in case pirates attacked. "The one we're going to will keep us safe until your grandfather and father stop the pirates."
"I just hope they're doing okay," said Lapis who knew while they're being chased by pirates, the two kings are busy fighting against the rest of the pirates. "I still don't get it. How did Undertow get so big? You think Morgana escaped? Or maybe there's a third sister out there we don't know about?"
Ariel never recalled Ursula having two other sisters, but she knew even if there was one, why didn't they make their move?
"I doubt it," said Ariel as she answers Lapis' question. "There's only two sea witches and I doubt Morgana would have escaped daddy's ice prison."
"But, if it's not here, then who?" Melody asked who knew someone who is good at magic but be helping the pirates. "Unless maybe whoever is attacking us is a powerful magician?"
"All possibilities, but ones I don't know are entirely true," said Ariel who knew they won't know the truth about this until after it's over. "Now, let's get moving. We just need to get to the bedroom and…"
Suddenly Undertow emerged from the tunnel they had used. Melody lets out a loud scream, before Ariel grabs both girls and begins running. Undertow though isn't planning on letting them escape a second time. He spots a nearby table and picks it up, before tossing it towards the girls.
"Look out!" Lapis pushes her friend into her mother, causing them to fall, before she got hit by the table.
"Lapis!" Melody ran towards her friend to see if she's okay.
Melody found her to be unconscious but was still breathing. The young princess sighed in relief that her friend is alive, but she needs medical attention. However, Undertow didn't seem like he was going to let them get away. He begins approaching them, while bringing his clawed hands along the wall on both sides, then begins slashing at them with his nails.
Ariel grabs a nearby nightlamp and goes to toss it at Undertow, but the shark caught it and crushes the lantern with both his hands.
"It's over, your majesty," said Undertow in a mocking tone. "You and your little brat are coming with me. You two have a date with the guy running this whole…"
Suddenly a knife is thrown over the women and hits the right shoulder of Undertow, causing him to roar in pain. Ariel and Melody look behind to see Gabriella running towards them. She runs past them and pulls out two short swords. Undertow sees this and tries to slash at the girl, but Gabriella slides and ducks under him, before jabbing her right sword into his side, causing Undertow to let out a much louder roar.
Gabriella kicks up and pulls the weapon, before blocking his sharp claws with her left sword. Undertow lunges at her, but she leaps over him and pushes off against his back. She lands on a near another lantern and grabs it. Undertow turns to attack her, but she ducks again, and swings the lantern across his face.
The oil mixed with the flames caused Undertow to get lit on fire. He yells out in pain as he begins trying to put out the flames. Gabriella runs over towards the window and begins looking behind her. She needs to time this just right, otherwise it will end badly for her.
She throws both of her swords up to the ceiling and sees it sticking. She begins to whistle to the shark and even mock him.
"Here fishy, fishy, fishy. I'm waiting for you," said Gabriella in a mocking tone.
Undertow managed to get the flames out, before he turns towards the girl, who dared to not only burn him, but has made him bleed.
"I…will…KILL YOU!" Undertow begins charging at her, while Melody and Ariel call for Gabriella to run, but the girl didn't budge.
Undertow kept on getting closer and closer, until Gabriella pulls out a ball then tosses it to his face. The ball explodes and covers Undertow's eyes in red powder, causing him to let out a loud painful roar. Gabriella runs up to the wall and pushes off against it before grabbing her swords. She held on just as Undertow crashes through the window and falls towards the sea.
Gabriella gets her swords loosened and falls on the ground before putting them away. "Well, I can safely say fighting an anthropomorphic shark man was not on my list, but I'll take it."
Gabriella turns towards the others and takes notice of their surprises. None more so than Melody, who never knew her friend could be capable of doing this.
"Gabriella?" Melody asked almost as if she's seeing a completely different person.
Gabriella gave a small sigh, figuring this was going to happen eventually. She just had hope it wasn't like this.
"Hey, Mel. Good to see you're all okay," said Gabriella who's happy she made it in time.
Melody didn't say anything else and simply ran up to her friend. Giving her a big hug, while thankful her friend is safe. Gabriella was taken aback by the hug but didn't seem to fight it. She wraps her arms around the princess and sighs happily.
"I'm glad I made it to you guys in time. I was really worried about you," said Gabriella as she breaks the hug and placed her hands on her friend's shoulders.
"I-I'm glad you're okay too," said Melody who wiped away some tears from her eyes. "But how did you do all of that?"
"I'd like to know that too," said Ariel as she approached the two girls, while holding Lapis. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"
"I um learned how to fight with a sword from my mother, but the rest from an old friend," said Gabriella as she took notice of the unconscious Lapis and checks on her. "She'll be okay, but we need to get her to a doctor as soon as this is over just to be sure."
Ariel nods in agreement, before they hear more pirates coming. "We need to go, now."
Gabriella knew from the sound of how many pirates there are, they won't be able to outrun them. "You got a safe place to hide out, right?"
"Y-Yes. Why?" Ariel asked as she picks up the girl in her arms.
"You get to where you need to go and hide out until this is over," said Gabriella as she walks past the women, while taking out her swords. "Don't stop, until you get to your destination, understand?"
"What?! No!" said Melody who refused to let her friend fight the pirates. "It's too dangerous. I won't let you fight the pirates alone."
"She's right," said Ariel who didn't want to leave Gabriella behind. "These pirates are too dangerous for you to fight and you're…"
"What? A girl?" Gabriella asked as she turns to the women, while swinging her sword. "You two did just witness me beating that shark man that was chasing you, right? I'm pretty sure I can handle these pirates too. Now please, go," said Gabriella as she hears the pirates getting closer. "And don't look back."
"No," said Melody who didn't want to leave her friend.
Gabriella turns to Melody and places her right hand on her shoulder. "I'll be okay, Melody. These pirates have no chance against me. Just get your friend and mom to where you need to go. I'll see you all after this is over, I promise."
Melody didn't want to leave her friend. She wanted to stay with her, but if she did stay, she might get in the way. Gabriella did take down Undertow without much trouble. So, maybe she might stand a chance against the pirates.
"A-All right. Just, please be careful," said Melody who's hoping she'll see her friend again.
Gabriella nods before she turns towards Ariel. "Please, get to safety, Ms. Ariel. I promise I'll be okay, but you have to get somewhere safe."
Ariel knew Gabriella is right. They don't have a lot of time and they have t go. She didn't want to leave Gabriella behind, but the way she spoke and the way she looked, she didn't know why but she believed in what she was saying. How she's capable of holding her own against the pirates and they'll see her again after this.
Maybe even get some questions answered on how she's doing this.
Ariel took hold of her daughter's arm and begins dragging her away as she takes them down the hallway. Heading towards her bed chamber, while Gabriella twirls her sword as more pirates appeared.
"This is going to be fun," said Gabriella as she charges at the pirates.
Meanwhile
Outside of the palace, out at the docks, where the ships of the royal families and nobles, there were bodies everywhere. Dead bodies of the royal guards and dock workers, who were posted in the area. The guests who managed to escape from the pirate attack ran towards their ships. When they found the bodies, panic struck the guests, and they began running away.
All running away from the palace and go somewhere where they feel safe. As they ran, a woman is seen walking past the guests. A woman who appears to be in her early 20s. With long black hair, blue eyes, and light tan skin. She also appeared to be wearing an outfit that looked a lot like the one the pirates wore, but the guests paid her no attention.
Mainly because she was alone, she wasn't with any other pirates, and they were scared. So, they didn't pay attention to this lone woman, walking towards the palace, where the pirates were attacking.
As the woman walked towards the palace, she could be heard humming and singing a tune. One that was drowned out by the guests, until only a few were left. The ones who remained, instead of running away from the palace, ran towards their ship. They saw the sailors, who worked on their ship are dead, so they tried to find a way to sail their ship.
"Darling, why don't we just run away with the others?" one of the women asked her husband as she and the other members of their party made their way to the ship.
"Are you crazy? I'm not going to let those pirates steal my ship and our belongings," said the husband as he tries to find a way to get the ship out of port. "Besides, I've sailed ships before, so I can sail this one too."
"But father," spoke up a young man as he helped his mother and sisters on to the ship. "The ship you sailed was smaller than this one."
"Hush now, boy! We need to get out of here before those pirate scum finds us and take everything from us," said the father as he tries to get the knots loose.
"Oh, you poor unfortunate soul. In fear of losing everything you have," said the woman who walked over towards the ship. "Afraid of losing your life and your things, so you come here risking it all. Even risking your family for such meaningless belongings."
The husband took out a pistol and aims it at the woman. "Back away, pirate scum!" he threatened. "I'm warning you; you won't be taking our belongings!"
The woman simply laughed as she begins removing her hat, revealing her appearance to the noble family. "First off, you should remember to load your weapon before threatening someone."
The husband pulled the trigger, but soon saw it was indeed, not loaded. The woman then pulls out her weapon and fires it, shooting the husband in the gut. He falls to the ground, yelling in pain, as the mother, daughter, and son rush to his side. All while yelling for help.
The woman puts her weapon away, before she made her way up the ramp to the ship. The son took out a knife and aims it at the woman, but his hand was shaking as he did this.
"Relax, boy. I didn't come here for you and your family. In fact, I can help your father and your family, if you do as I say," said the woman before she points to the palace. "The queen and her daughter, are they inside? If so, where are they?"
"Y-You just want the queen and princess? Why?" the young man asked while his hand is still shaking.
"I have some business with them. So, if you have any information, tell me now. If not, then I can't help," said the woman as she prepares to leave, to show she means what she's saying.
"They're inside!" the sister shouted. "I don't know where exactly, but I know they're inside."
"Upstairs!" said the mother as she spoke up next. "I saw them going upstairs. Them and the rest of her fish family."
"Is that so?" the woman asked as she looks back towards the palace. "Thank you so much for your help," said the woman as she prepares to leave, but the boy stood up.
"Wait! You said you would help save my father if we told you where the queen and princess are," said the son as he grips the knife without shaking.
"I did, didn't I?" the woman replied before she took out a vial and hands it to them. "Pour this on your father's wound and count to ten."
The woman tosses the vial to the son, before she begins making her way down. Humming to herself as she left. The son wasted no time and began pouring the substance on his father's wound and the family begin counting to ten. All the while ignoring the stench that came from the vial, which began rolling off the ship and falls into the water.
The vial can be seen sinking beneath the water, with a large shadowy figure passing by the vial.
As the woman walks towards the palace, she stops in her walk and begins removing her hat, while looking confused. "Hmm was that vial I gave them the one to help heal from injuries or the one I used to call my pet?"
Before she knew it, a large sea creature emerged from the water and brought its huge jaws down on the ship. Devouring the noble family whole, while crushing the ship in half.
When the creature disappeared into the water, the woman gave a small 'meh' response before putting her hat down. "I mean, I did say I would help him. I just didn't say I would save him or not."
With that, the woman walked inside the palace to begin her search of the queen and her daughter.
That's the end of the chapter and yep Undertow has returned in humanoid form. I mean, yeah, he returned earlier, but in his regular shark form. Not in this form. Something my friend has been wanting to bring in for some time.
Also, yeah Gabriella and Attina showing off their fighting skills. Considering who her parents and grandfather are, Gabriella would have a lot of experience in fighting. Attina going to become a ruler of a kingdom, she does need to learn how to fight. In order to prepare to defend herself, especially when she's going in a big fight.
It also seems like this woman working with Titus has a pretty large pet. Who is this woman exactly? I did give some hints on who she is. So, for those who figure it out, then I hope you'll like the role she has in the story.
It also looks like Undertow now has another enemy for him to go after. Think Gabriella will be able to keep the others safe long enough until they can get away? Will Eric and his guards stop the pirates? Or will the pirates end up overrunning them all?
Tune in next time to find out & thank you all for the support for my friend. He appreciates all the support for his story and if you like how this chapter went, then please leave some reviews. Just nothing negative please. See you all next time, take good care, and have a good day.