Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any materials used in this episode. The Little Mermaid from 1989 is a classic animated feature based loosely on the 1837 fairy tale by the late Hans Christian Andersen of the same name, and is owned by John Musker, Ron Clements, the late Howard Ashman, Mark Hester, Silver Screen Partners IV, Walt Disney Feature Animation, and Walt Disney Pictures. In 2022, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry for being the first Disney fairy tale adaptation since 1959's Sleeping Beauty. Please support the official release and streaming services.

Episode XXX (30): Light in the Fathoms Below

Frollo stated, "An unholy abomination is going to awaken one of the purest elements."

Maleficent rolled her eyes at the comment. "Will you stop that?" she asked.

"It's not as though I'm lying about those brats," he stated.

Ursula replied, "Just tell me who it is."

"This one is a descendant of Ariel and Eric," said Turbo.

"She happens to have the element of light dormant within her," Maleficent added.

Frollo muttered, "Unholy demon. She also bears an ironic name Samara."

Maleficent heard him and snapped, "I told you to stop."

"She is descended from the merpeople," the minister pointed out. "That makes her abominable."

Ursula placed her hands on her hips. "What's your problem?"

Frollo answered Ursula, "Those sea demons do not have a soul. You don't have one yourself."

Jafar getting tired of Frollo's behavior as he slammed his staff hard on Frollo's foot.

He warned, "Maleficent has already asked you to stop once! I suggest you cease and desist your insults, or I'll have that new fellow punish you however he would like to. He would have you strapped to a chair forced to wear a red-hot brand on your forehead."

The minister finished groaning in pain. "You wouldn't," he growled.

"I would," Jafar replied.

Maleficent ignored their fighting. She kept her attention on Ursula. "Now, Ursula, I'm sure you've heard us order those before you not to kill the children. Can we trust that you will comply?"

Ursula smiled. "It won't be a problem. Besides, I'm looking forward to testing the new potions I've been brewing while waiting for my time to come."

Jafar asked excited to hear that, "What kind of potions?"

She showed the Dark Masters a vial. "A sleeping draft made from the essence of poppy fog that the penguin had been hoarding."

Turbo was outraged. "Are you crazy?! That stuff from the Warner Domain is prohibited!"

Ursula asked, "Why is it prohibited?"

"It used to originate in the MGM Domain, but now it hails from the Warner Domain," Turbo said again. "If King Mickey finds out we have this stuff, he'll think we're having schemers smuggling it to us."

Ursula argued, "I converted it to Disney material to avoid any detection."

Turbo replied, "I hope that the drafts won't damage the environment around you."

Ursula replied, "It won't. The drafts have the ability to act like a heat seeker unless intervened by another person."

Ursula asked, "Do you want me to bring all those brats here?"

Frollo answered, "Yes."

"Very well," the sea witch replied, and began taking her leave.

Frollo looked to Maleficent and said, "Maleficent, I really-"

"Not another word," she snapped, not wanting to hear any more of his comments.

Jafar stated, "I mean it, Frollo. If I hear one more insult, you will be punished for it."

Seeing that his comrades were being serious, the minister decided it would be wise of him to keep his comments to himself. He didn't trust Ursula and he doubted she would succeed, but he kept silent.

Still, he thought about Samara and was disgusted by the thought of how someone descended from a mermaid could represent one of the purest of elements. To him, a mermaid was no different from a siren. They would put humans in a trance with their singing and would attack when the time was right.

Turbo asked Frollo, "What's your issue? If it's because you got defeated, then don't worry about it. Ursula will take care of it."

"You misunderstand," Frollo was saying. "Every villain we've dispatched has failed us in stopping those brats. Even we were no better."

"Cold, but true," Jafar replied.

"They only faced us once," Maleficent reminded him. "They have not defeated us."

"Still, how can we hope that things will be any different this time?" Frollo asked. "New elements are being discovered and new warriors are awakening."

Maleficent pointed out, "They haven't found their patient teacher."

Frollo asked, "Has that teacher submit to Judge Doom?"

"He's a hard one to break," said Turbo.

Jafar commented, "I have never heard of a man who would be as stubborn as a llama protecting his flock from a wolf."

"His will to endure is admirable," Maleficent admitted. "But I have a feeling he won't be able to hold on much longer."

"How can you be certain he'll yield to us eventually?" Frollo asked.

A wicked smile crossed Maleficent's face. "Simeon Virgil values the lives of his students. He would rather die than see the flame brat or any of the others suffer by his hands."

Frollo asked, "Should we do something about this?"

"There's nothing to worry about," Jafar assured him. "Judge Doom can control the man's body whether Simeon is dead or alive."

Turbo stated, "Hopefully Ursula will not fail."

Unbeknownst to the Dark Masters, Father Phobos was lurking in the shadows, listening in on their discussion. When he heard nothing further, he left to another part of the castle.

Turbo asked, "Did you guys notice something?"

Maleficent looked but didn't see anything. She turned to her crow. "Diaval, keep an eye out in case someone might be listening." The crow nodded and began flying off.

"That's the last thing we need," Turbo was saying, "people snooping where they shouldn't."

Unbeknownst to Diaval and the Dark Masters, Father Phobos returned to a chapel in the Forbidden Castle, and he was appalled to see a statue of Chernabog reveling in his undeserved freedom!

He wanted to hit something against the statue but thought twice. The castle was filled with dark enchantments, and he didn't want to do anything he thought would set any off. Besides, the Dark Masters would have his head.

Father Phobos took out a pendant depicting a crucified man with his arms positioned behind a crossbeam and he began muttering a prayer to himself to ensure that he wouldn't lash out.

He heard someone coming in and he used a secret passageway to hide himself as he saw Turbo.

He asked, "Why is that bastard son of the Mad Hatter going into the chapel?"

Turbo had a piece of black shard of incense and a small lighter.

Turbo placed the incense in a small bowl and lit the shard causing a green flame to coat the incense unleashing some smoke upwards to the statue's eyes.

Turbo prayed, "Honorable Chernabog, please help Ursula in getting those brats. I want them to suffer for what they did to me."

The young man rolled his eyes at the word "honorable" as he knew all too well that Chernabog was many things, but honorable wasn't one of them.

He stepped back but made a faint sound in the process.

"Who's there?" Turbo asked, looking around. He received no response and saw nothing. He then wondered if Jafar was playing a prank on him again.

"I swear, Jafar, if that's you, I'm going to be mad," he warned. He was silent for a moment, expecting a snarky remark like being called mad as a hatter. There was still nothing but silence. Turbo shrugged it off.

Father Phobos noticed a small white shrine that was in the outskirts of the Nightmare Forest.

To fuel his curiosity, Phobos entered the shrine as he opened a door and to his surprise, he saw a beautiful woman with golden hair and enchanting blue eyes dressed in green.

Phobos asked, "Oi. What are you doing here, lass? These forests are not safe."

The woman replied, "I am called Nimue in some cultures, I am referred to as the very same Enchantress that punished a selfish French prince in the 1740s. I must warn you, do not trust the Dark Masters for they are deceiving about the fate of your loved ones."

Father Phobos asked, "How can you be certain?"

Nimue remained silent for a moment, and she replied, "I am afraid I cannot answer that question."

"Then leave," Father Phobos ordered. "The Dark Masters do not suffer intruders lightly."

"I must warn you to be careful of them," the Enchantress warned. "They will murder you once they come to an agreement that they have no further use of you. Do not give them that opportunity."

Father Phobos stated, "Understood, but you must leave."

The light surrounding the Enchantress began to dim as she began disappearing. Father Phobos was aware of the villains the Dark Masters were. As such, in his mind, he began questioning them, wondering if they were just using him.

Meanwhile in the underwater kingdom of Atlantica, our heroes began to search for Ariel in hopes they would get her to perform at a concert.

It turned out she was just outside the kingdom and on a treasure hunt. She and her best friend Flounder came to a sunken ship, hoping to find trinkets from the surface. Ariel had a fascination for humans and would collect lost or abandoned items that belonged to humans.

Mana began to swim towards her, and she cried, "Hey! There's a concert you must attend to."

Danyal asked, "What are you doing?! We have to be careful around here. Given that it's home to countless species of sharks at this point."

The bespectacled mermaid began to remember some kids at her school would ask her if the ship had connections with another Disney movie, but her train of thought was interrupted upon noticing a great white shark and she muttered, "Good Lord. We have to hurry!"

The heroes began to search inside the sunken ship for Ariel.

"Careful as you move around," Mahad warned his friends. "The ship can still come apart."

Natius asked, "What do you mean by-?"

He unknowingly touched a piece of wood which slid down revealing an armored skeleton began to scream in terror.

Danyal smacked him in the face as she yelled, "Control yourself flame chicken. I can bet Mulan would be facepalming over the fact that you haven't learned anything about courage yet."

Natius was about to say something until he noticed something just outside the window.

"What is it, Natius?" Jeanette asked.

"Guys, I think we'd better get out of here," he said in a shaky voice.

Mahad commented, "For a warrior of courage, you're starting to sound like a chicken."

Natius cried as he noticed the great white shark behind the glass window, "Shark! Shark! Oh my God! We're going to die!"

His friends turned around and screamed of fright as they saw the shark chewing its way through the ship. Some of them even started calling themselves cowards in their minds.

"It's going to eat us!" Mana screamed.

Bianca tried tossing her shurikens, but they weren't moving very well due to being underwater. "My shurikens aren't working!" she shouted.

Danyal noticed a harpoon and she cried, "Zander, I found something to defeat this thing!"

"Tell me what to do and I'll help," he cried, trying to elude the shark.

Danyal answered, "We need to find something that can fire the harpoon like a slingshot or something."

"Danyal!" Bianca yelled. "We are about to be eaten alive! This is no time to be planning an attack!"

Danyal found a lightweight harpoon and she asked Zander to quickly dig it out, Zander with no hesitation removed the debris that would stop the harpoon in its tracks, and when Zander told her to go for the eye, Danyal threw the harpoon at the shark gouging its eye out!

As the shark thrashed around in pain, the heroes heard a voice calling out, "Over here! Hurry!"

The voice belonged to Ariel. She began leading everyone out of the ship. The shark continued its pursuit, but unfortunately ended up getting stuck in a small hoop connected to the ground.

Natius held his hand against his chest. "That was not fun."

"Tell me about it," Bianca panted, catching her breath. "I was about to have a heart attack."

Mahad looked at Natius. "Natius, what I said back there, calling you a chicken, I take it back," he apologized. Even the others admitted that they were just as scared. Who wouldn't be after what happened?

Nonetheless, Natius accepted everyone's apologies. "I forgive you guys."

Zander noticed the shark still bleeding from his eye where he and Danyal struck him.

Zander complimented, "That was a brutal shot."

Flounder was disturbed by the sight of the bleeding shark.

He turned to face Zander and asked, "Are you sure we can trust her?"

Mahad was outraged as he snapped, "How can you say that to someone who has just saved our lives!"

Mahad," Omar snapped. "We're safe now. That's what counts." He looked at Ariel. "However, she's in for a real reprimanding from her father." He looked back at the others. "Still, we should tell her she needs to go back to the palace."

Mahad swam up to the surface and he stumbled upon a mermaid with firing red hair and blue-green eyes.

He stated, "Listen. There's a concert that you're supposed to attend."

But she didn't listen to what he just said. "I know you. I saw you and your friends down there. Are you and your friends all right?"

Mahad couldn't believe her. Did she have a short attention span or what? He still answered her. "Uh, yeah, I guess so."

Ariel looked closely at Mahad. "I haven't seen you around before. Come to think of it, I haven't seen any of your friends before either."

"We're not from around here." Mahad told her.

"Are you from one of our neighboring kingdoms?" Ariel asked.

Mahad finally lost his patience. "Will you stop and listen to me for a few seconds?" he snapped.

Ariel became silent. Even Mahad was surprised with himself for his behavior. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. I just think you shouldn't be here."

Ariel knew she wasn't supposed to be coming to the surface, but she had been doing so many times before. She wasn't afraid of the surface world like her people were and she didn't believe all the horrible things her father said about it.

"The king will be furious once he hears you're here," Mahad warned. "Plus, I have a feeling you're supposed to be someplace important. Someplace involving music and singing. Ringing any bells?"

As Ariel listened, she finally remembered the concert she was supposed to perform with all of her elder sisters. She dived down and began swimming back to Atlantica with the heroes following her.

Bianca asked Danyal, "How are you connected to Dorothy Gale?"

Danyal answered, "My late father, David Troy Gale Parker."

Mana asked, "Will Triton catch us and tell us what he told Sora in Kingdom Hearts?"

"I doubt it," said Zander. "He's probably not going to notice us at this point."

Danyal stated, "Zander's right, Mana. I have a feeling that he would be too busy dealing with Ariel and her shenanigans."

"Good point." said Jeanette.

Everyone made it to the palace, but the heroes were denied access inside. They were blocked by the guards. As such, only Ariel was able to see her father.

Danyal stated, "It's best that we wait away from the palace."

Bianca replied, "Good idea."

She noticed the palace had a radiant light.

Bianca muttered, "I wish Mr. Virgil would be there to see this."

Danyal pointed out, "Mr. Virgil is human and would die before seeing this."

Natius felt uneasy when he heard what she said as memories of the nightmare from Notre Dame flashed in his mind!

Danyal noticed this.

She asked Natius, "Are you okay? Please, don't lie to us. This would make things more difficult."

Natius tried to avoid the subject. Instead, he said to the older teen "You know, Danyal, you never told us about your father. What happened to him?"

"From what my sister told me, he was shot in the back by a coward named Eliron Gulch. Eliron was arrested while hiding inside a movie theater that was ironically showing the 1939 classic, Wizard of Oz and by the time the Winged Monkeys scene started, he was led out yelling that he was innocent. However, he received a life sentence for murder." she answered.

Mahad stated to Mana, "You asked a very dumb question."

"You know King Triton is bitter when it comes to humans," he reminded her. "He sees humans as barbarians, savages. He'd rather see a human suffer than help one out. That means he would feel no different towards Mr. Virgil."

Mana sighed. "Okay, it was a dumb question," she admitted. "And I should've known better than to ask."

Natius stated, "My ancestor told me that I have to find Judge Doom in his own world."

"What?" Zander asked.

"Back in the prayer room at the Fa residence, I spoke to the ancestors," Natius explained. "They said in order to find Mr. Virgil, we must face Judge Doom in his own world."

Mahad asked, "There's one problem. How do we even get there?"

Natius shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to keep exploring new worlds until Oliver and Figaro decide we're ready."

Jeanette looked and saw Ariel swimming away from the palace. "Now where is she going?"

"Let's find out," Bianca said and began swimming.

The heroes began to follow Ariel in a secret grotto that contained many items that were dropped by humans.

Mahad muttered, "Now that's a hideout with an attitude."

Ariel noticed the heroes. "You again? Why are you following me? Did my father send you?"

"No, no," Natius assured her. "We've never even met him."

"Please, we're not spies or anything like that," Bianca said. "Honest, we're not."

Ariel had a feeling they were telling the truth and figured she could trust them. "Well, please, just don't tell my father about this place. He would never understand."

Danyal stated, "Understood."

"Why do you all keep following me around?" Ariel asked.

Mahad was about to say something, but Mana stated, "We weren't sent by Triton in any way, shape, or form."

"We already said that." Bianca scolded.

Ariel stated, "You haven't answered my question."

Bianca lied, "We're just tourists."

Mahad muttered, "Well that's stupid."

But Ariel didn't know the meaning of the word. "What's a tourist?"

"What we mean is we travel to different places for fun and adventure," Jeanette clarified.

Bianca lied, "We're tourists from the Pacific Ocean and we have been hearing of a light in the Atlantic Ocean."

Ariel was still confused. "What do you mean by a light? What kind of light?"

Danyal answered, "Your palace radiates a beautiful light despite being fathoms below."

Before anyone could answer, a shadow was cast overhead. Curious, Ariel went to investigate.

Natius looked at the sky to see fireworks.

Danyal joked, "Time Bandit's at it again."

Bianca cried, "We're not even in the Alaskan Wilderness."

Ariel swam to the ship and began climbing, trying to be careful to avoid detection. The crew was in a celebration, dancing and playing.

A dog named Max smelled something strange nearby. He followed the scent, leading him to Ariel. He saw her and gave her a friendly lick on the cheek.

"Max, here boy," a young man called. The voice belonged to Eric, the leader of the crew and prince of his kingdom. To Ariel, he was the most handsome human she had ever seen. She felt her heart beating rapidly as she looked at him.

Mahad asked, "What ship is it? RMS Time Thief?"

Natius snapped, "Shut up! They'll hear you."

"Guys, get down from there or we're all going to be in trouble!" Zander called out.

Mana asked as she heard thunder rumbling, "What was that?"

The wind started blowing hard and lightning flashed across the sky. "It's a storm!" Jeanette cried.

The winds began blowing hard and the ocean waves started becoming fierce, violently rocking the ship. Lightning flashed again, striking the ship's sails and setting it ablaze. The crew hurriedly escaped by jumping into the ocean.

Zander began thinking about the day that changed everything for his family on August 25, 2005. When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and damaged the original restaurant to the point that it was beyond repair and fatally injured both his great grandparents. Zander and his remaining relatives had to evacuate to safer states. His uncle Norman moved to northern Texas. Zander, his sister, and parents and grandparents moved southern California.

His train of thought was interrupted when Danyal asked if he was okay.

"Do I look okay?" he snapped. "We're dealing with a freak act of nature here and some innocent lives are still trapped on that ship!"

Danyal began to understand that he survived a similar storm, and she told him with sympathy, "I have a paternal great grandmother who survived something similar. So, I understand that you've been through something more intense than what Dorothy went through. Given that you moved to a different state like me."

Danyal noticed a large shadow of a dog being thrown into her direction in the sea water as she swore under her breath. She backed away and she saw the sheep dog struggling to swim. Danyal decided to help lift the dog above the water.

The bespectacled mermaid said in her thoughts, "Good Lord! People need to stop calling Prince Eric boring. He cares for his dog and as someone who had adopted rescued dogs in the past, that takes a lot of resilience and fortitude."

Danyal noticed a lifeboat full of men and she escorted the dog to its direction and Grimsby with the help of some of the men pulled the dog on the lifeboat.

Unfortunately, the ship blew up sending Prince Eric into the water.

Danyal's eyes widened at the sight of Ariel saving Eric as she knew from watching the story that King Triton would be furious!

Zander noticed the ship sinking and he cried, "Make way! Or you'll get pulled!"

The heroes moved away from the sinking ship, and they watched as the ship was sinking taking a statue with it.

Anakin muttered, "Holy Mary."

Natius asked, "Is everyone okay?"

Danyal stated, "We are, but Ariel may have committed an act of heroism by saving a man from drowning in darkness. However, in the eyes of King Triton, it's a sacrilege as contact between merfolk and humans is strictly forbidden."

Mana asked, "What makes you say that it's forbidden?"

Danyal replied, "You should read the Odyssey. It's one of the greatest pieces of literary work from Ancient Greece. There are creatures that look like mermaids known as sirens and they can enchant any man to their deaths in the rapid waters below them."

As Ariel brought Eric to shore, she laid beside him throughout the night, hoping he was all right.

Morning came and Ariel was still at Eric's side.

Mahad crawled over to him and felt his wrist to check his pulse. "He's going to be fine," Mahad assured her.

Ariel was amazed to hear the news and she sang to the man, "What would I give to be where you are? What could I pay to see you again soon? What would I do to see you smiling at me?"

Mana began to snicker as she began to remember the rant that she made about Ariel a few days before being kidnapped.

Mana stated, "I always thought that Ariel was selfish, but I take that back now."

Bianca asked, "What makes you say that?"

Mana answered, "She would later-"

Mahad scolded, "We can't spoil things. It will have devastating consequences."

He turned to Danyal, and he stated, "That spoiler rule also applies to you. You have a habit of spoiling plot points so I would suggest you keep yourself silent."

Danyal asked, "Says a boy who sneaks out to see horror movies during weekends."

Mahad countered, "At least it's not during school nights."

They all suddenly heard barking. It was Eric's dog Max running towards them. Eric also started coming to. At that instant, Ariel and the others hurried back into the sea.

Danyal stated to Ariel as she began to think of a mythological tale, "You know Ariel, there's a story that almost resembles yours, but it has a tragic ending. In Lithuanian mythology, there was a sea goddess that lived in a beautiful amber palace under the sea named Jūratė. She fell in love with a mortal man named Kastytis after rescuing him from drowning even though she repeatedly warned him not to fish near her domain. Unfortunately, her father Perkūnas the Lithuanian god of thunder found out and he destroyed the Amber Palace as well as killed Kastytis with a single bolt of lightning. As for Jūratė, she was entangled in heavy golden chains to the ruins of the amber palace, condemned to an eternity of despair and loneliness. Legends say that remnants of her amber palace would wash up on the shore of the Baltic coast along with tears for her lost love that were said to take on the form of amber tear like droplets."

But Ariel wasn't listening. All she was thinking about was Eric and she continued to sing to herself about her love for him.

Bianca groaned in frustration. "She doesn't listen to anything we say. She ignores us like she doesn't realize we're right next to her."

"Now I know how Sebastian feels," Zander grumbled.

Mana asked Danyal, "What does that story have to do with anything?"

Danyal answered, "That mythological tale is older than Ariel's situation. The major difference is that her father hadn't found out yet."

"At least we know to keep quiet about it," said Bianca. "But that crab is going to shoot his mouth off."

Mahad asked, "What should we do about that crab?"

Mana suggested, "We should talk with that crab."

Omar stated. "I doubt he'll listen to any of us."

Mana asked, "What makes you say that?"

Danyal answered, "That crab doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut."

"And all he does is whine and worry," Bianca added. "He gives in to the truth too easily."

"Can't we stop Sebastian from blabbing to Triton?" Mana suggested.

"We can't," Zander said, "It'll change the events."

"But Ariel will be heartbroken," Mana protested.

Danyal replied, "At times that's how life works."

Natius asked, "What? What are you saying?! Are you saying we should let her be heartbroken?"

"I thought you already came to accept what we've been saying constantly," Zander snapped. "When are you finally going to be willing and able to accept that there are things we cannot change? We have to let them play for Ariel's own good."

"How is it for her own good?" Mana asked.

"Because her heartbreak of her father's actions will lead to her to find a chance to see Eric again," Zander explained.

Danyal stated, "He's got a point Mana. Plus, she has to discover her element."

"Speaking of which, we're also supposed to be looking for Samara," Natius pointed out. "Ariel's not going to be of much help because she's constantly fantasizing about Eric to even pay any attention to us "

Mahad stated, "There's a possibility that she's waiting on the shore."

Danyal replied, "Problem: We don't have a way to change back."

Mana asked, "Do you think Figaro and Oliver are waiting for us on the surface?"

Bianca replied, "I don't think so at this point."

Zander began to hear a timid voice of a sea horse yell, "Sebastian!"

Natius felt something bumping behind his back and the Seahorse Herald was shocked to see a group of teenagers and the seahorse asked, "Are you the tourists from the Pacific Ocean?"

Natius was about to tell him no, but Bianca interrupted him as she lied, "Yes."

Jeanette recognized the voice. "It's King Triton's royal messenger."

"Come to let Sebastian know he's been summoned, I'm sure," Bianca assumed.

"We've got to go to the grotto and warn Ariel about her father," said Mana.

Natius swam ahead trying to find Ariel!

Mahad asked, "Should I find a way to reach out to Figaro?"

Danyal commented, "You have the lamp. Use it to ask the Genie for advice."

Bianca asked, "Do you think that will solve our problem?"

Mahad had a better idea. "How about one of us wishes to change back into humans at the right moment?"

"It's been so long since any of us last used the lamp," said Zander. "I can't remember who has how many wishes he or she has left."

Mana stated, "I volunteer to make the wish."

Omar commented, "Good idea."

Mana took the lamp from Mahad's hand, and she rubbed the lamp making her wish, "I wish that we turn into humans on shore."

The Genie emerged from the lamp, surprised to see the heroes after so long. He used his magic and granted Mana's wish. Now the heroes would turn back into humans once they would come to shore.

Mana asked the Genie, "Will Natius be able to turn back into a human himself?"

Genie answered, "Yes."

Mahad was relieved to hear that, and he asked, "What can we do now?"

"You know what we have to do," Jeanette snapped. "We have to go to the grotto."

The heroes got to the Grotto and Natius was trying to get Ariel's attention.

Natius cried, "Ariel. Can you please listen to me for one second?"

Without waiting, Mana warned her, "Your father is coming here!"

Ariel almost didn't believe them until she saw King Triton in the shadows of the grotto. "Daddy," she gasped. This was not good.

King Triton stated, "I consider myself a reasonable merman."

He came further into the grotto, and he stated in a tone of anger, "I set certain rules, and I expect those rules to be obeyed."

Mahad began thinking about the time Mr. Virgil caught him blasting Rob Zombie's Living Dead Girl on the speakers by using the latter's desktop computer to access a music video and because of that Mr. Virgil gave him one week of lunch detention.

King Triton noticed the heroes and he asked them, "What are you doing here?"

"We're friends of Ariel's," Mana answered.

"I haven't seen any of you in my kingdom before," the king said, looking at them.

"We're foreign travelers," said Mahad.

King Triton warned, "I would advise you to leave this place before it gets ugly."

Mahad placed his arms over his sister's shoulders. "It's not our concern, Mana. Let's leave before things get any worse."

Mana agreed, "You're right."

Natius asked, "What?!"

Zander grabbed his arm and yelled, "Let's leave. I'd rather you not lash out."

Natius protested, "Oh but-"

Danyal replied as she helped Zander to pull Natius away, "Buts are for ashtrays! Let's go!"

The heroes swam away from the grotto, it pained Natius to leave Ariel heartbroken.

He soon understood that his friends were right. As painful as it was about to be for Ariel, he accepted that this was essential for her to begin her journey to finding love.

Though they were outside, the heroes could hear the sound of objects shattering and Triton's trident activating. He was destroying Ariel's collection.

Bianca couldn't stand it. "We've got to stop this!"

Mahad held her back. "There's nothing we can do!"

"But he's only making the situation worse!" she protested.

Everything suddenly went silent. It was over and done. A second later, King Triton exited the grotto. At first, he was pleased with himself because he thought what he was doing was right, but his pleasure quickly turned into shame as he felt sorry for hurting his daughter this way. He returned to the palace, giving his daughter some time alone.

Danyal was appalled by what had happened and she saw Sebastian coming out and she swan over to the crab, and she asked the crab if he understood the consequences of revealing too much.

Sebastian countered, "Look, I didn't mean to tell, it was an accident!"

Mana began snickering as she watched Danyal pick him up!

Danyal reprimanded, "Accident?! You should be lucky. Ariel may not be chained to the ruins of her grotto as punishment for falling in love with a mortal man just like Jūratė was with her amber palace, but she still is grieving over the accumulated treasures that she discovered in the past."

Mahad had enough. "Stop it!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Everyone looked at him, surprised. He took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. "We have to try not to judge King Triton too harshly for what he did."

"Why not?" Natius asked.

Mahad sighed again. "I think sometimes his duties and responsibilities sometimes causes him to forget to be a parent. That's why I'm sure he felt awful in the end after what he did." He looked back and the grotto. "And you know, I'm actually envious of Ariel."

"How can you say that?" Natius asked, baffled.

"Because she's got a father who loves her very much and worries about her," he explained. "But my father is dead, and I can never see him again."

Mana nodded in understanding. "We'll never experience a father's love or anger ever again."

Bianca was stunned. "You know, what you guys are saying makes a lot of sense," she admitted. She didn't realize it, but she had the same feelings her friends did.

Danyal placed Sebastian on the sea floor, and she stated, "I'm letting this slide once. You still need to be more understanding of Ariel."

Danyal heard someone coming out and noticed two eels and Ariel was following them!

Danyal asked, "What the hell are you doing with these lowlifes?"

Ariel answered, "I'm going to see Ursula."

Danyal knew what she was talking about, and she cried, "Are you insane?! She's a demon! A monster in hiding! Not to mention a con artist!"

"Maybe you should tell my father," Ariel snapped.

"We're your friends, Ariel," Mana told her. "We didn't tell your father anything. And he didn't send us to spy on you either."

Natius cried, "She's telling the truth Ariel."

But Ariel continued to follow the eels to the sea witch's lair. As she came to the entrance, she began having second thoughts. But she continued on her way. At the entrance, she saw strange plant-like creatures making horrible cries.

Danyal felt a sense of fear as she began to hear voices begging her to turn away and leave.

Zander stated to the others, "Stay close. Do not run your mouths here. Got it?"

Danyal felt something crossing her mind and she asked Mahad, "Back at the grotto, why'd you feel something was on your mind?"

Zander asked, "Is it about that time you played that Rob Zombie song, Living Dead Girl last year in fall 2011 on full blast? Mr. Virgil was not amused. He may consider himself as a reasonable and patient man, but he had set certain rules in his classroom. He told the classes on their first day not to mess with the computer due to its age."

"Okay, I admit it was stupid and childish!" Mahad snapped.

Ursula noticed the heroes upon hearing Mahad's tone, and she beckoned, "Come in my children."

Ursula stated, "We mustn't lurk in doorways. It's rude."

Vandela looked at Ursula with fear of what the sea witch would do."

As much as Natius despised the sea witch, he knew he had to control himself. Besides, right now, Ursula wasn't much of a threat. Right now, she was just interested in helping Ariel so she could use her to get what she wanted.

"The solution to your problem is simple," Ursula was telling Ariel. "The only way to get what you want is to become a human yourself."

"Can you do that?" Ariel asked shyly.

Ursula smiled wickedly. "My sweet child, that's what I do. That's what I live for; to help poor unfortunate merfolk like yourself."

Natius knew Ursula was lying, but he refrained from making any comments. This was Ariel's only chance at meeting Eric again and whether he liked it or not, he had to let this progress.

It wouldn't be the first time the heroes were forced to put their trust in a villain. Mahad remembered how it was the same way when they needed to find the Cave of Wonders. He was forced to trust Jafar once because the sorcerer was the only one who knew the way.

Danyal was about to say something, but decided to keep her mouth shut in hopes Ursula wouldn't notice her.

Ursula offered Ariel that she would create a potion that would turn her human.

Mana asked, "Does the potion have three or seven days?"

Danyal answered, "Three days. I never understood why three days as opposed to seven days."

Ursula explained what she would do. She would brew a potion that would turn Ariel into a human for three days. During those days, Ariel would have to find a way to get Eric to give her true love's kiss. If Eric were to kiss Ariel before sunset on the third day, she would stay a human for the rest of her life. If not, she would be a mermaid again and in addition, be Ursula's prisoner.

To Ariel, becoming a human sounded grand, but it also meant giving up the home and life she had here in the sea with her father and older sisters.

In addition, there was another matter to consider, such as payment. Ursula wasn't going to turn Ariel into a human without first getting something in exchange. The price: Ariel's voice.

Vandela asked, "Why her voice?"

"That's like taking away her element," Mana protested.

"There's no choice," Jeanette said sadly. "Ariel doesn't have anything to persuade Ursula otherwise."

Ariel tried to ask, "Without my voice, how can I-?"

"You'll have your looks, your pretty face," Ursula interrupted. "And don't underestimate the importance of body language! Ha!" And she began to work on brewing the potion. Afterwards, she showed Ariel a contract inscribed with the deal. Ariel would give up her voice in exchange for the potion that would turn her into a human for three days. Reluctantly, Ariel took the pen and signed the contract, sealing the deal.

Mahad cried as he noticed an aura around Ariel, "My God!"

As Ariel was vocalizing, Ursula began to seize her voice, which was in the form of a sphere of light. Ursula sealed Ariel's voice in her seashell necklace. Afterwards, Ariel's tail was split into two and transformed into human legs. Ariel quickly found she could no longer breathe underwater, and she was having difficulty moving in the water. The heroes hurried to get her to the surface before she would drown.

Ariel ascended from the water, and she swam with the help of the heroes to the shore.

Once they all came to the shallows, Ariel finally stopped to take time to notice and admire her transformations. Jeanette cleared her throat.

"Um, Natius, guys?"

"Oh!" Natius gasped, looking away from Ariel. The rest of the boys did the same thing. They kept their eyes away from her because she was totally exposed.

"We've got to find something Ariel can use to cover herself with," Jeanette said to Bianca.

She nodded and looked around. She soon came back with some tattered fabric and pieces of rope. "This is one of the sails from Eric's ship. We can use this."

Mana remembered herself and her friends. "Once we step ashore, we'll be humans too. I hope when that happens, we'll be back in our clothes."

The moment Mana placed her hand on the sand, and she was transformed back into a human wearing the clothes she acquired from Agrabah.

She cried to the others, "Hey our clothes are restorable!"

As Bianca and Jeanette helped Ariel, Jeanette said to Bianca, "You know we'll have to tell her the truth about ourselves being humans."

Bianca nodded. "And hopefully she'll listen to us." Once they finished, Bianca told the boys, "Okay, guys. You can look now."

Danyal touched the sand and as she transformed back into a human, the clothes from Los Angeles were restored!

She walked up to Ariel and stated, "To tell you the truth, Ariel we're actually humans trying to find our way home and our history teacher."

A look of confusion crossed Ariel's face. She now had so many questions for the heroes but could not ask without her voice.

Danyal noticed this and she asked Jeanette, "Can you help with her confusion?"

Jeanette nodded. She explained to Ariel, "When we first met, you saw us as merpeople. Before that, we were really humans. A sorcerer named Yen Sid transformed us into merpeople so we could come to Atlantica in our search for a warrior of light. And right now, we used a different method so we could change back into humans. Does all of this make sense so far?"

Ariel was understanding a little of it so far. She shrugged in response as she nodded.

Natius placed his hand on the sand of the shore and the clothes from Los Angeles restored immediately.

He asked, "Is Samara supposed to be here?"

"Maybe we'll see her at Eric's castle," Zander said, touching the shore and turning back into a human.

Vandela turned back into a human, and she stated, "I need one of you to send a message to King Triton."

Zander protested, "Hell no!"

Danyal agreed, "He's right. Did you not listen to what happened to Kastytis in the story? Eric would suffer a similar fate and would get killed by Triton."

"It's not the right time," Mahad told her.

Author's Notes: Looks like Ariel has transformed into a human. Will her new friends help her? Tune in next episode.

Danyal's father, David Troy Gale Parker was named after my maternal uncle and my late maternal grandfather respectively. Gale is from Dorothy Gale's last name. Eliron Gulch was named for the biblical prophet who was killed by a lion for disobeying God, plus it almost sounded like Almira Gulch. Danyal's relationship with her father is supposed to be like Ian Lightfoot's from Onward.