Underwater Tale

by Penguin_3Moons

Chapter 1

Notes:

I know this was a trend a few months ago, but no one really made a fanfic about them, so I had to make one myself. So trust! 🙏

Ariel’s story is the same. For Prince Eric, he doesn't exist. Instead it’s Megumi with his sister Tsumiki and Gojo who is kind of replacing Grimsby the butler guy. Megumi's demon dogs are here but as normal dogs replacing Eric's dog. This chapter includes Ariel singing Part of Your World to Eric aka Megumi.

Below the depths of the Atlantic Ocean lies a kingdom. In the Kingdom of Atlantica. King Triton rules over the merpeople along with his daughters. Ariel, 16, the youngest of seven daughters. Is in her trove, full of artifacts. Her best friend Flounder and her are trying to convince Sebastian not to tell her father about her collection.

“Ariel, what are you… How could you… What is all this?” Sebastian asks frustrated as he untangles himself out of the pieces of jewelry he got himself stuck in.

“It's, uh… It’s just my collection.” Ariel tells Sebastian, raking her hands through her hair while smiling nervously.

“Oh, I see. Your collection, hmm.” He replies in a calm tone while holding and looking at a hook. “If your father knew about this place!” Sebastian yells out angrily, throwing the jewelry off him.

 

 

“You’re not going to tell him, are you?” Flounder asks, swimming towards Sebastian.

“Oh, please, Sebastian, he would never understand!” Ariel says pleading to him. 

“Ariel, you’re under a lot of pressure down here.” Sebastian grabs Ariel's hand and then starts heading towards the entrance of the trove. “Come with me, I'll take you home and get you something warm to drink.

Suddenly a figure shadows over the hole at the top of the trove. Ariel looks up and sees something from above the water. Curiosity, she lets go of Sebastian’s hand and swims out of her trove and towards the surface.

“Ariel? Ariel!” Sebastian calls out to her, wondering where she's headed.

Ariel reaches the surface of the ocean and spots a ship shooting out colorful explosions in the sky. Flounder and Sebastian follow right behind her reaching the surface after her.

“Ariel, what are you?” Sebastian asks while turning around before seeing the ship jumping back in shock. “Jumpin’ jellyfish!” Ariel smiles in excitement and starts swimming towards the ship. Sebastian then starts yelling out for her to come back.

She gets up on the side of the ship and peeks through an opening. Ariel sees lots of land folks dancing on board. Two dogs are on board, running around the ship, playing with each other before they smell something. Both dogs smell their way towards the source of the scent. As they start walking towards where Ariel is she hides. She turns to peek through the opening again but gets her face licked and covered in saliva by the two dogs. 

“Kuro! Shiro! Here boy!” A young man calls out, getting the attention of both dogs. They both go running to the man and circle around him, barking. The man smiles softly as he pets and plays with both dogs.

Ariel stares at the young man with a fawn attraction in her eyes, until Scuttle flies over towards her. “Hey there, sweetie! Quite a show, eh?”

“Scuttle, be quiet. They’ll hear you.” Ariel tells Scuttle whispering and flapping her arm at him before looking back into the ship. Scuttle flies down next to Ariel and starts to yell out. Ariel puts her hand on his beak, shutting him up.

“I’ve never seen a human this close before.” She lets go of Scuttle’s beak. She crosses her arms putting them on the edge of the deck, resting her head on them as she goes back to looking back at the young man. “He’s very handsome, isn’t he?”

“Uhh… I don’t know, they look kinda hairy to me.” Scuttle says tilting his head to the side, looking towards the two dogs.

Ariel chuckles, “Not them silly, the one whose hair looks like a sea urchin.” She says grabbing Scuttle, pointing him to the young man. 

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“Attention everyone! I have an announcement to make! For Prince Megumi’s birthday, I have gotten him a special gift.” Gojo yells out to all the people aboard, pointing towards a large object that is being covered. “Happy birthday Megumi!” Gojo says smiling, putting one arm over Megumi’s shoulder.

Megumi, annoyed by Gojo, pushes his arm off his shoulder. The large object then gets uncovered, revealing a statue of Prince Megumi.  “It’s- umm… it’s something, Gojo.” Prince Megumi tells Gojo, staring at it. However, both dogs Kuro and Shiro growl towards it.

“Yeah, even your sister Tsumiki had chimed in commissioning it!” Says Gojo.

“I’m glad you like it, Megumi!” Tsumiki says, smiling happily. “I was kind of hoping for it to be a wedding present.” Tsumiki teases him, poking at his arm.

“Come on, Tsumiki. The Princess of Glowerhaven just wasn't the one.” Megumi walks over to the side of the ship, leaning on it, resting his head on the palm of his hand.

“I get that, just… I’m wondering when you're going to find that girl and get to finally settle down happily.” Tsumiki tells him a bit worried.

“The time will come, don't worry too much about it.” Megumi says to her. 

Suddenly, the sky starts showering itself with lighting and rain, with the ocean's waves also getting angrier. Everyone on board starts acting quickly securing all ropes on the ship, as some try steering the ship. Large waves start hitting the sides of the ship, getting water all over the deck. Until a bolt of lightning hits one of the sails causing it to set on fire. The ship gets kicked around making it crash into a couple of rocky cliffs, piercing a hole into it. The whole ship shakes from the crash, knocking Megumi, Tsumiki, Gojo, and everyone else off board. 

All three get on a boat before Megumi hears Kuro and Shiro barking on board. Megumi jumps back off the boat without a second thought, swimming to the ship and getting on deck. Megumi makes his way through the fire and grabs both dogs. He runs through the fire to get off the ship, until the wood underneath his foot snaps in half, causing his foot to get stuck, and loses his footing, dropping both dogs in the ocean. Gojo gets both dogs safely on the boat as Tsumiki yells out to Megumi until the ship blows up.

_____________________

When the ship blows up, Ariel swims around seeing the young man, Megumi, unconscious, starting to drown. She swims up to him, grabbing and carrying him back to shore.

Ariel sits next to Megumi on shore as he lies there still unconscious. Scuttle joins her and stands next to him. “Is he dead?” She asks.

 

“It's hard to say.” Scuttle goes to Megumi’s feet and puts his ear up to Megumi’s foot. “Oh… I- I can’t make out a heartbeat…”

“No, look! He’s breathing.” Ariel tells Scuttle, relieved. She puts her hand against Megumi’s face, tilting it to face her.

“What would I give to live where you are?”  

 

“What would I pay to stay here beside you?”

 

“What would I do to see you smiling at me?”

 

“Where would we walk?”

 

“Where would we run?”

Megumi starts to wake up from being unconscious and tries to see towards where he hears a woman singing, as he slowly opens up his eyes. 

“If we could stay all day in the sun, just you and me?”

 

“And I could be, part of your world.”

Ariel stops singing at the sound of voices being heard and jumps into the water. Megumi’s dogs run up to him, hovering over him and licking his face.

“Megumi!” Gojo and Tsumiki yell out seeing him lying on the sand. Gojo goes to Megumi helping him back on his feet.

“Oh, Megumi!” Tsumiki cries out hugging him tightly. “You're alive! Thank goodness! Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No I’m fine, but I think there was a girl here just now, next to me, and she was singing.” Megumi says, looking around.

“There's no one else here besides us and the dogs.” Tsumiki tells Megumi. Gojo puts Megumi’s arm around his shoulder helping him to walk back to the castle. “Let's get you back home. You might’ve drank too much seawater.”

_____________________

“We’re going to forget this whole thing ever happened. The sea king will never know. You won’t tell him. I won’t tell him. I stay in one piece.” Sebastian says to Flounder.

“I don't know when, I don't know how.”

 

“But I know something’s starting right now.”

 

“Watch and you’ll see.”

 

“Some day I’ll be.”

 

“Part of your world.”

_____________________

Down in the depths of the ocean, the outskirts of the Kingdom of Atlantica lies a witch. Secretly watching Ariel from a distance.

“Oh no, no, no. I can’t stand it. It's too easy!” Says Ursula, looking through her crystal ball. “The child is in love with a human! And not just any other human, but a prince!” Ursula chuckles.

“King Triton’s headstrong, lovesick daughter would make such a great addition to my garden.” She says grinning, looking over to her collection of imprisoned merpeople, laughing menacingly.

Chapter 2

Notes:

This chapter includes Under the Sea and Poor Unfortunate Souls, I recommend listening to them while your reading, one, to get a feel of whats happening and two, the songs are just fire.

“Ariel! It's time to come out. You’ve been in there all morning.” One of the sisters calls out to Ariel. Ariel comes out of their room and hums as she gets ready. “What is with her lately?”

 

Ariel finishes getting ready and swims out to leave but bumps into her dad. “Oh, morning daddy.” She says giving her dad, King Triton, a flower before swimming off.

 

“Oh, she’s got it bad.” Another one of the sisters says.

 

“What? What does she got?” King Triton asks his daughters.

 

“Isn't it obvious Daddy? Ariels in love.” One of his daughters answers him.

 

“Ariel? In love?”

 

_____________________

 

Ariel lays down on a rock while picking the leaves off a flower. “He loves me, he loves me not.” She picks off the last leaf. “He loves me!” Ariels smiles, giggling, holding the leaf close to her.

 

“Ariel, stop blabbing out nonsense!” Sebastian tells Ariel.

 

“I gotta see him again! Tonight!” Ariel gets up and swims back and forth in circles. “Scuttle knows where he lives. I’ll go up to his castle, then Flounder will splash around to get his attention, and then we’ll-”

 

“Down here is your home!” Sebastian yells, cutting Ariel off. “Ariel, listen, life under the sea is better than anything they got up there.” He says, sitting her back down.

 

“In the seaweed is always greener, in somebody else's lake.”

“You dream about going up there. But that is a big mistake.”

“Just look at the world around you.”

“Right here on the ocean floor.”

“Such wonderful things surround you.”

“What more are you looking for?”

“Under the sea. Under the sea.”

“Darlin’ it's better down where it's wetter.”

“Take it from me!”

“Up on the shore, they work all day. Out in the sun, they slave away.”

“While we devotin’ full time to floatin’! Under the sea!”

 

The other fish and sea creatures start playing instruments and singing along with Sebastian.

 

“Down here all the fish is happy.”

“As off through the waves they roll, yeah.”

“The fish on the land ain't happy. They’re sad ‘cause they in their bowl.”

“But the fish in the bowl is lucky. They in for a worser fate.”

“One day when the boss gets hungry.”

“Guess who’s gon’ be on the plate?”

“Oh, no! Under the sea. Under the sea.”

“Nobody beat us. Fry us and eat us. In fricassee.”

“We what the land folks loves to cook.”

“Under the sea, we off the hook.”

“We got no troubles. Life is the bubbles!”

“Under the sea. Under the sea.”

“Since life is sweet here. We got the beat here naturally.”

“Even the sturgeon and the ray. They get the urge and start to play.”

“We got the spirit! You got to hear it!”

“Under the sea!”

“The newt play the flute. The carp play the harp.”

“The plaice play the bass. And they’re soundin’ sharp.”

“The bass play the brass. The chub play the tub.”

“The fluke is the duke of the soul. Yeah”

“The ray, he can play. The ling on the strings. The trout rockin’ out. The blackfish, she sings. The smelt and the sprat they know where it's at.”

“And oh that blowfish blow!”

 

While all the fish and other sea creatures dance, Flounder swims up to Ariel and whispers in her ear. Ariel nods back to him before they both swim away. Sebastian, not knowing this still vibing with the music, keeps conducting all the sea creatures.

 

“Yeah! Under the sea! Under the sea!”

“When the sardine begin the beguine. It’s music to me!”

“What do they got? A lot of sand!”

“We got a hot crustacean band!”

“Each little clam here know how to jam here under the sea!”

“Each little slug here cutting a rug here under the sea!”

“Each little snail here know how to wail here! That’s why it’s hotter under the water!”

“Yeah, we in luck here down in the muck here! Under the sea!”

 

All the fish and the others including Sebastian go do the last pose pointing toward Ariel, just to find that she had left before they could finish their performance. “Ariel? Oh… somebody’s got to nail that girl’s fins to the floor.” Sebastian says with disappointment in his voice.

 

“Sebastian!” A voice echoes from a distance. “Sebastian!” The source of the voice then appears, it’s the seahorse that also works alongside the Sea King, King Triton, like Sebastian. “Oh Sebastian, I’ve been looking all over for you. It’s an urgent message from the Sea King.” The seahorse panting between each sentence.

 

“The Sea King?” Sebastian questions.

 

“He wants to see you right away. It’s uh… it’s something about Ariel.”

 

Sebastian's eyes widen in fear, as his first thoughts are that the Sea King has found out about what happened.

 

_____________________

 

“Come in Sebastian.” King Triton says allowing Sebastian to come forth.

 

Sebastian takes a deep breath calming himself down, fixing his posture before walking forth King Triton. “Yes, your Majesty?

 

“I’m worried about Ariel. Have you noticed any change in her behavior lately?” King Triton asks

 

“Umm, change in her behavior?” Sebastian says, scratching the back of his neck acting clueless about what he’s talking about.

 

“You know, like daydreaming, singing to herself?” King Triton asks, raising an eyebrow towards Sebastian. “You haven’t noticed?”

 

Sebastian tries to respond but fumbles on his words. King Triton signals him to come close and he does as told. “I know you’ve been keeping something from me, Sebastian.” King Triton tells him.

 

Sebastian swallows the lump in his throat and puts a smile on his face out of nervousness before replying. “Keeping something?”

 

“About Ariel?”

 

“Ariel?” Sebastian’s legs start to tremble from all the nervousness he’s getting.

 

“In love?” King Triton says grinning, in his mind wondering which mermen Ariel could have fallen in love with.

 

Sebastian, thinking that the king knows about the incident, starts yelling out in panic. “I tried! I tried to stop her, your Majesty, but she just wouldn’t listen! I told her to stay away from the humans! That they are bad and they are trouble!”

 

When King Triton hears him mention humans, the grinning and happy expression on his face turns into a frown and furious expression. “Humans? What about humans!” He yells out angrily getting up from his throne, making his triton light up from his anger.

 

Realizing that he messed up, Sebastian slowly swims backward, chuckling nervously. “H- Humans? Who said anything about humans?”

 

_____________________

 

“Flounder, what is it that you want to show me?” Ariel asks as she follows him into her trove.

 

“I can’t tell you it’s a surprise,” Flounder tells her as he leads her to her surprise. “See! Surprise!”

 

Ariel gasps in surprise when she sees what Flounder has brought her, it’s the statue of Prince Megumi that was on the ship. “Oh Flounder, you’re the best!” She smiles while hugging him. She swims up to it taking a closer look. “It looks just like him! It even has his eyes!”

 

Ariel giggles in glee. “Why Megumi, run away with you?” She rests her head on the statue's shoulder. “Why this is- this is all so sudden.” She says laughing and spinning around being delusional and goofing off. Until, a figure lurking in the shadows steps forth, stopping her in her place. “Daddy?!”

 

“Ariel. I’ve set certain rules and I expect those rules to be obeyed! Is it true you saved a human from drowning?” King Triton asks Ariel furious.

 

“Daddy I had to-”

 

King Triton cuts her off. “You know that contact between the human world and the merworld is strictly forbidden! Come on Ariel, everybody knows that! You know that!”

 

“He would have died!”

 

King Triton turns his back to her. “Then that’s one less lowly human to worry about!”

 

“You don’t even know him!” Ariel says, talking back at him.

 

“Know him? I don’t need to know him to know that he’s just like the others! They're all the same! Savages, fish eaters, incapable of any feeling-”

 

“Daddy, I love him!” Ariel blurts out without thinking, before she hides behind the statute.

 

“No…” King Triton’s eyes widened with shock. “Are you out of your mind?! He’s a human and you’re a mermaid!”

 

“I don’t care...” Ariel mumbles.

 

“Ariel, I’m going to get through to you, and if this is the only way,” King Triton’s, triton starts lighting up with sparks of lightning coming out of it. “so be it.”

 

King Triton takes his triton and creates beams of lightning shooting them towards various artifacts Ariel had collected destroying them. She yells at him, begging him to stop but he doesn’t listen. King Triton aims his triton in the direction of the statue. Ariel swims up to him grabbing his arm trying to stop him, but all the fury in him at that moment pushes her pleading aside, and shoots a bolt of lightning destroying the statue, shattering it into pieces.

 

King Triton turns towards the exit of the trove and takes one last look at her before he leaves. Ariel lays on the ground sobbing. Sebastian walks up to her with Flounder swimming behind him, both feeling sympathy for her.

 

“Ariel… I-”

 

“Just go away…” Ariel interrupts Sebastian and continues to cry.

 

Sebastian understands and leaves her be. He swims out of the trove with Flounder beside him giving her space.

 

“Poor child, poor poor child.” An unknown voice says, creeping up to her. “She has a problem. A very serious problem. If only there was something you could do to fix it. But wait, there is something.” The two creatures say, circling around Ariel.

 

Ariel sits up and looks at the two. “Who- who are you?”

 

“Don’t fear sweet child. We represent someone who could help you. Someone who could make all your dreams come true.” The eels swim next to each other, wrapping their tails around one another. “Think about it… You and your prince… Together forever.”

 

“I don't understand.”

 

“Ursula has great powers.”

 

“The sea witch? I- I couldn’t possibly. No! Get out! Leave me alone!” She waves her arm at them making them back up a bit, before she lays back on the ground.

 

“Suit yourself. It was only a suggestion.” They start swimming away while one kicks a piece of the broken statue at her.

 

She looks down at the piece thrown at her, the broken piece was the part of his face. She picks it up and starts rethinking her decision before she calls out to them. “Wait..!”

 

The two eel creatures turn around with all attention on her thrilled to hear what she has to say. “Yes?”

 

_____________________

 

“Poor Ariel…” Flounder says feeling absolutely terrible for her.

 

“I didn't mean to tell. It was an accident!” Sebastian looks up and sees Ariel. “Ariel? Where are you going?” He asks, swimming up to her. “Ariel, what are you doing here with this rubbish?” He whispers to her referring to the two eels next to her.

 

“I'm going to Ursula.”

 

Sebastian's eyes widen. He grabs the end of her tail trying to pull her back. “No Ariel! No! She's a monster! A demon!”

 

“How about you go and tell my father? You’re good at that.” She shakes him off her tail then swims away with the two eels.

 

_____________________

 

Ariel arrives at Ursula's lair following the eels into the entrance. When she enters, she’s welcomed by some strange creatures that are all little, wrinkled, and that look abnormal.

 

“Come in my child, come in. You shouldn't lurk in doorways, it's rude.” Ursula informs her, as she walks and sits at her vanity. “Now, you're here because you have a thing for this human, this prince.” Ursula says, as she puts product in her hair and fixes up her makeup before turning her head to head towards Ariel. “Not that I can blame you. He’s quite a catch, isn't he?” She chuckles. “Now, the solution to your problem is simple. The only way to get what you want is to become human yourself.”

 

“Can you do that?” Ariel asks.

 

“My dear sweet child. That's what I do. It’s what I live for.” Ursula swims up to Ariel “To help unfortunate merfolk, like yourself. Poor souls with no one else to turn to.” Ursula tells Ariel circling around her.

 

“I admit that in the past I’ve been a nasty. They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a witch. But you’ll find nowadays I’ve mended all my ways. Repented, seen the light and made a switch. True? yes.”

 

Ursula swims towards her cauldron, with her eels swimming beside her. “And I fortunately know a little magic.” She opens up her cauldron and lights it up. “It’s a talent that I always have possessed. And dear lady, please don’t laugh, I use it on behalf. Of the miserable, lonely, and depressed.”

 

“Pathetic.” She whispers to her eels. “Poor unfortunate souls. In pain, in need.”

 

She makes a hologram appear over her cauldron showing two people, a man and a woman. “This one longing to be thinner. That one wants to get the girl. Do I help them?” Ursula snaps her fingers and the man and woman hologram change into what they wanted. “Yes, indeed.” Ursula grins.

 

“Those poor unfortunate souls. So sad, so true. They come flocking to my cauldron. Crying, “Spells, Ursula, please!” And I help them. Yes, I do.” As Ursula sings, Sebastian and Flounder make their way inside her lair.

 

“Now it’s happened once or twice. Someone couldn’t pay the paid. And I’m afraid I had to rake ‘em across the coals.” She turns the people in the hologram into the same weird creature she had in her doorway. “Yes, I had the odd complaint. But on the whole I’ve been a saint. To those poor unfortunate souls!”

 

Ursula brings Ariel over to her cauldron. “Now, here's the deal. I’ll make you a potion that will turn you into a human for three days. Got it? Three days. No more than that. Now listen closely, this is important.” She makes a different hologram showing the sun. “Before the sun sets on the third day, you got to get little old princey to fall in love with you.” She switches the hologram into a heart. “But that’s is, he’s gotta kiss you. Not just any old kiss, but a kiss of true love.”

 

“If he does kiss you before the sun sets on the third day, you’ll stay as a human permanently. If he doesn’t, you’ll turn back into a mermaid and you’ll belong to me.” She says getting rid of the hologram and leaning towards Ariel.

 

“Ariel no-!” Sebastian yells out before the two eels wrap their tails over him and Flounder silencing them.

 

“Do we have a deal?” Ursula asks.

 

“If I become human, I’ll never be with my father or sisters again.” Ariel says, frowning her eyebrows at the thought.

 

“That’s right. But… you’ll have your man.” Ursula says, then chuckling. “Life’s full of tough choices, isn't it?” She tells Ariel with a bit of sarcasm in her voice. “Oh! And one more thing. We haven’t discussed the subject of payment. You can’t get something for nothing you know.”

 

“But I don’t have any-” Ariel tries to say before Ursula interrupts her.

 

“I’m not asking much. Just a token really, a trifle. What I want from you is your voice.”

 

“My voice?” Ariel asks.

 

“You’ve got it, sweetcakes. No more talking, singing, zip!”

 

“But without my voice, how can I-”

 

“You’ll have your looks, your pretty face. And don’t underestimate the importance of body language!” Ursula laughs. “The man up there don’t like a lot of blabber. They think a girl who gossips is a bore.” Ursula swims up to her cabinet and starts throwing potion ingredients into the cauldron. “Yes on land it’s much preferred for ladies not to say a word, and after all dear, what is idle prattle for?”

 

“Come on, they’re not all that impressed with conversation. True gentlemen avoid it when they can. But they dote and swoon and fawn on a lady who’s withdrawn.” She walks back to her cauldron putting more ingredients in. “It’s she who holds her tongue who gets her man. Come on, you poor unfortunate soul! Go ahead! make your choice! I’m a very busy woman and I haven't got all day. It won't cost much. Just your voice!”

 

“You poor unfortunate soul. It’s sad, but true. If you want to cross the bridge, my sweet you’ve got to pay the toll.” Ursula hands Ariel a scroll with the agreement of her turning into a human. “Take a gulp and take a breath, and go ahead and sign the scroll!”

 

“Flotsam, Jetsam, now I’ve got her, boys.” Ursula whispers to her eels. “The boss on a roll!” Ariel takes the pen and signs the scroll. “This poor unfortunate soul!”

 

Ursula goes to her cauldron and starts chanting her spell. “Beluga, sevruga. Come winds of the Caspian Sea. Larengix glaucitis Et man laryngitis. La voce to me! Now, sing!”

 

Ariel starts singing. “Keep singing!” Ursula tells her. Ariel keeps on singing until Ursula takes away her voice making her unable to speak anymore temporarily. She then stores away Ariel’s voice in her shell necklace. Now that Ursula has Ariel’s voice, Ariel starts transforming into a human. Her mermaid tail splits into legs, and her scales and fins disappear.

 

Unable to breathe, Sebastian and Flounder help Ariel, swimming her up to the surface.