Disclaimer: I certainly don't own Naruto, Disney or any of its affiliated properties. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this now would I?
"The connection of our hearts…" : Speech (Bold for yelling ,Bijuu, or massive creatures)
'The connection of our hearts…' : Thought
The Depths, half an hour after Triton's furious outburst…
"Ariel, please reconsider this! Ursula was banished from your father's court for a reason-she is a foul witch!" Sebastian said, frantically trying to convince Ariel to re-think her plan to visit Ursula's lair. He remembered how cruel and vindictive that woman was – she experimented on the citizens of Atlantica and used her dark magic to steal their souls and vitality (he didn't know why – she was a very vain woman, convinced that she was a beautiful and desirable woman when she really wasn't who deserved more than what she got). Not satisfied with her position as King Triton's chief sorcerer, she tried to stage a coup to overthrow him (she was distantly related to him after all – she was a mermaid of some kind…) but was summarily defeated by the King and his magical trident before being banished from the kingdom. She swore revenge as she left and it didn't take a genius to guess that 'helping' the King's youngest daughter wasn't going to end well for the mermaid in question.
Unfortunately, Ariel's anguish from seeing her precious possessions get obliterated was still fresh in her mind and as such, paid no mind to the fretting lapdog of her father swimming after her. Flounder was a loyal friend and she didn't mind him following her to Ursula's lair (sure, he looked like he was scared out of his mind but she chalked that up to Flotsam and Jetsam, who looked at the plump fish like he was a fine snack). But when Sebastian tried to try and give her a sermon on what she should or shouldn't do, she exploded in anger at him – she trusted him to at least let her enjoy her fantasies of human life but he squealed to her father!
"Sebastian, shut up! I knew I shouldn't have trusted a lackey of my father to follow me around…I don't care what you say about Ursula! Besides, you're just the court composer – you don't get to lecture a princess. Leave me alone!" She said, smiling when the eels got closer to her and hissed amusedly at the crab, who looked extremely disturbed at how badly the whole situation in general was going.
"Yes, don't worry – I know I can't trust Daddy anymore. He seems to have a grudge against humans for some reason so I won't tell him about Ursula's lair." Ariel said, tucking Flounder under her arm as the trio was guided to a foreboding looking cliff face, where a gaping maw of a cave entrance awaited them. The group entered the cave, slowly looking around the place (Flounder was scared out of his mind, Sebastian was also afraid, but for a different reason – he wondered if Ursula still remembered him while Ariel looked around the place curiously). It was a dark and dank place, with sickly purple hues lighting up the room. Upon closer inspection, a huge bed of polyps covered the cave floor (which was a weird décor choice but Ariel was open-minded if anything else) but before she could inspect them, the eels were busy summoning their mistress, who appeared before the group in a burst of light and smoke.
"Welcome Ariel, to my humble lair. My faithful pets have told me that you need my help with something…something related to the surface dwellers above~…" Ursula said, a poorly veiled malicious smirk pulling at her rubbery lips when she noticed the girl before her perk up before swimming to her with a fervent glint in her eyes.
"Oh yes! Your assistants said that you could help me become human! Is that true?" Ariel said, almost unsure if she was dreaming or not (she had wanted to become human for so long and had nearly given up on that dream a long time ago). Flounder and Sebastian decided to keep quiet – their instincts told them that if they spoke up now, their lives were forfeit (Ursula was a cruel mistress and their animal instincts were very explicit about that).
"Oh yes darling~ my magic is powerful enough to give you a temporary human form. Why do you wish for this though? You are a princess of the ocean-what could you wish for?" Ursula asked, pretending to be unaware of Ariel's crush on Eric. She had to hide a smug smile when Ariel blushed prettily before squeaking out that she was in love with a human and that she needed to meet him as quickly as possible.
"Oh my! You are in love~ I understand what I need to do. I can grant you a human form but only for three days – my magic isn't as strong as I would like it to be after your father banished me. However, if you give your prince a kiss of true love in that time, you can stay human forever! If you fail though, your body and soul will belong to me. Are these terms to your liking Princess?" Ursula said, pulling out a rolled up contract, which quickly expanded to reach Ariel's lap as a quill appeared in the girl's hand.
"That's great! I am sure I can manage that – so do I just sign the contract here then?" Ariel said, unaware that Flotsam and Jetsam were keeping Flounder and Sebastian away from the two women.
"Yes…just remember that I am a businesswoman. As payment for the human legs I shall grant you, you must also give me something of equal value. I desire your dulcet tones darling – give me your voice and I will turn you human!" Ursula said, sidling over to the princess and waving her hand before her, conjuring illusions of Ariel as a human and marrying Eric.
Faced with the prospect of losing her voice, Ariel didn't falter – she was sure that she loved Eric and so, was quick to sign the contract. Once the magical accord was complete, Ursula floated up in the cave, her magic bursting around her before snaking around Ariel in a plume of dark purple smoke that wrapped around her waist and entered her mouth. The eels ignored Flounder and Sebastian now that their mistress had sealed the deal and the mermaid's friends were quick to swim to the girl, who was now a human, her tail replaced with a pair of legs and her voice now securely stored in a necklace around Ursula's neck. Ariel was ecstatic at her transformation for a second before coming to a chilling realization – she couldn't breathe underwater and she didn't know how to swim with legs!
Thankfully, her friends were quick to act – taking the girl with them to the surface as quickly as they could (with Flounder directing the group to the last known location of Naruto, who was still fishing at the time). Ursula let them leave unmolested as she had what she really wanted and once she was sure that the trio was gone, she burst into maniacal laughter, her pudgy hands fingering the necklace she was wearing.
"Hahaha! What a gullible girl! She never realized how much power she wielded – with her voice and soul soon to be in my possession, I will soon rule over all!" She cackled, using her magic and a harnessed version of Ariel's voice (particularly the siren like qualities) to craft herself a human persona(suspiciously resembling a certain princess) before travelling to the surface herself. Her visions of Maleficent had made her a more conniving villain – Ariel had the most magical power out of her siblings, having inherited a truly incredible talent for siren magic. Her voice was truly bewitching and could ensnare the hearts of all that heard it (which was also the main reason why a man like Eric fell head over heels for a girl he had barely seen). Combine that with her own magic and the contract she had over the mermaid's soul, she was sure she could wheedle her way to obtaining Triton's magical trident (thereby securing nigh divine power)!
Meanwhile, back with Naruto and Scuttle…
"Damn Scuttle, slow down! I can catch you more fish so you don't have to eat like that!" Naruto said, as the two were relaxing on the beach near the royal castle (well Naruto was relaxing – Scuttle was busy eating some of the fish Naruto caught earlier that day). The seagull ignored him in favor of stuffing his face some more though and it was a bemused Naruto that Ariel, Sebastian and Flounder came upon when they finally surfaced.
"Oh, hello everyone! It's been a while hasn't it? I thought at least Ariel would come visit but I had to settle for little Flounder instead…" Naruto said, walking over to the group (Ariel was still half submerged, which was why he didn't notice her new limbs). Meanwhile, Ariel had managed to convince Sebastian to not tell on her to her father (being a composer meant that he could understand Ariel's frantic gestures and combined with a sense of guilt over the whole affair, he was reluctantly recruited to her group to try and get her together with Eric). As such, it was up to Flounder and Sebastian were left with the task of trying to act as Ariel's mouthpieces.
"N-Naruto, Ariel can't talk anymore. We'll try to translate what she's saying for you!" Flounder said, watching as Naruto's eyes bugged out when he saw a half nude Ariel crawl onto the beach.
"Whoa whoa! First off, let me get Ariel here some clothes! I can't believe she'd flash her naked bum to a married man!" Naruto said, rushing off to his boat's footlocker to pull out a pair of spare trousers that he passed over to Ariel, who was all too happy to try out the new article of clothing (it was surprisingly soft and pliant, despite its rough outer appearance – perks of having a magical wife).
"Now, tell me everything – who cursed Ariel to be a mute and where can I find them? I think they need to schedule an appointment with my fists!" Naruto muttered, quietly looking over Ariel, whose face warmed at his concern before Flounder recounted the entire story to Naruto, whose expression grew graver with every word.
Once the situation was explained, Naruto was annoyed – while the curse wasn't too harsh and easily circumvented, he wished that Ariel came to him first since Grimhilde could have done the same with no bargains involved.
"Oh Ariel…I understand that your dad was way out of line but you should have realized something suspicious was going on when those eels decided to show up just when you were at your lowest. Besides, I don't mean to brag but Grimhilde is a master of dark magic –she could have used her magic to help you turn human without literally selling yourself like you did…" Naruto said, tiredly rubbing his face as Ariel looked slightly embarrassed before gesturing at him(Flounder translating).
*You wouldn't understand – I am in love and I can't take it anymore! It must have been too long since you were a young man if you forgot how it feels to be this way…*
"Oi! That's unfair – you know this isn't my real form – yeah, yeah, don't roll your eyes at me young lady…anyway, let's get going. If you really only have three days to snog the Prince, we better get moving!" Naruto said, reaching over to help Ariel get to her feet before the group left to visit the castle (Flounder remained in the ocean but Sebastian was hidden in a pocket of a shirt that Naruto also loaned Ariel).
When the group got to the castle though, they were met with a shocking sight – Eric was already with a woman! And what was more surprising, this woman looked like a twin of Ariel (Naruto had to do a double take – if not for his ability to sense life forces, he wouldn't be able to distinguish the fakery of the Ariel clone) and could talk as well – a skill she was taking full advantage of, seeing as how Eric was besotted with the lady.
"Ariel…I think you've been duped. Ursula is playing you for a fool…" Naruto said, only to be ignored by Ariel, who rushed over to Eric before pulling at the prince's lapel in joy, trying to convince him that she was the genuine article. When he turned to regard her though, she was at a loss – how could she convince him that she was the real mermaid when her voice was gone? Desperate to fix this, she then tried to kiss him, only to be pushed away by Eric, who now looked quite cross.
"Hold on there miss. While I don't think a kiss is a bad thing, it is bad manners to kiss a stranger, especially a man who is already engaged!" Eric said, noting that Naruto walked over to the group before pulling Ariel close to him, sensing something was amiss with Eric.
"Naruto! Do you know this girl?" Eric said, his mien softening when he recognized the tearful expression on Ariel, mistaking it to be repentance for her social gaffe when it in fact was heart wrenching loss at seeing her love not recognize her in favor of a facsimile of her instead.
"Eric…yes, she's a close friend that I was showing the castle to. Who's your new friend there? I thought you were resolute in waiting for Miss Right?" Naruto said, watching as the new woman sauntered over before leaning on Eric's shoulder and kissing his cheek, luxuriating in Ariel's anguished expression as she buried her face in Naruto's shoulder.
"Oh yes, I suppose you should know. Naruto, I would like you to meet Vanessa, my fiancé. We are to wed in two days time. You are invited of course and I am looking forward to meeting your wives as well." Eric said, unaware that he was in an illusion, a dream crafted by the very voice that ensnared his heart in the first place…
And that was chapter 67! Ursula has used Ariel's voice to charm Eric and with Maleficent's advice, changed her human form to look like Ariel as well. Poor Eric can't tell the real Ariel from the fake and his perception has been altered. How will this affect Ariel, who has three days to kiss a man who already has a lover? Stay tuned to find out!
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