And so, here you are... in the wonderous world of the Little Mermaid... and as a courtesy of being in the ocean, Yen Sid was kind enough to give you a merman transformation. Your clothes were gone, but that's alright... since he actually gave you a cool lower body.

Looking down, you noticed that you had the lower half... of an orca, or a killer whale as they'd put it in simpler terms.

Y/N: "Huh... now this, I can get used to."

Of course, it felt kinda weird having to move around with your orca tail, but hey... you gotta practice to get good at it. The last thing you want is to raise suspicions this early on. If any of the merpeople of Atlantica, or even King Triton, for that matter, saw you swimming with your arms, he'd definitely find out very... sussy.

So, for the moment, you spent the next few minutes learning to adjust to your new orca tail. It took a mere half an hour before you finally found your rhythm and could now swim fluently and fast, just like all the other sea creatures under the sea.

Y/N: "Well... now that I've got that settled, where am I supposed to find Ariel in this vast ocean?"

You keep looking around, but couldn't find anything except for the vast ocean around you. With no other choice, you swam to the surface... just in time to hear this.

???: "Mermaid off the port bow!"

Y/N: *Turns to the noise* "Gotcha!" *swims off towards them*

???: *yelling* "Ariel, how you doin' kid?" *puts down telescope, talks in a normal voice* "Whoa, what a swim."

Ariel: "Scuttle, look what we found."

Flounder: "Yeah! We were in this sunken ship and it was really creepy--"

Scuttle: "Human stuff, huh? Hey, let me see." 

The silly seagull then grabs his anchor and drops it on his little land... but gets pulled down with it as the rope was tied to his flipper, crashing down hard comically. He gets back up and hops over Flounder, then checks Ariel's secret stash.

Scuttle: "Oh! Oh! Look at this." *pulls out fork* "Wow. This is special, this is very, very special."

Ariel: "What... what is it?"

Y/N: "I can answer that."

Hearing your voice startled everyone, even Scuttle the most, making the bird squawk comically.

Y/N: "Oop, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

Ariel: "Who are you?"

Flounder: "I've never seen you before."

Y/N: "I'm... I'm new here, I just arrived. The name's Y/N."

Ariel: "Oh, well, nice to meet you, Y/N. My name's Ariel and this little guy is my best friend and guppy, Flounder."

Flounder: "I'm not a guppy!"

Ariel: "And this is Scuttle. He's an expert on all things human."

Y/N: "Ah... so he's got human knowledge like I do."

Scuttle: "You... know about humans?"

Y/N: "Sure do. I've seen plenty in my time growing up. What are those things you got there?"

Ariel: "Oh, those are items we found in a sunken treasure. They belonged to the humans. Do you know what they are?"

Y/N: "Actually, yeah. Can I see?"

Scuttle: "Sure, knock yourself out." *hands you fork*

Y/N: *accepts it* "Hmm... oh yeah, these things are definitely common in the human world."

Ariel: "What is it?"

Y/N: "Humans call it... a fork. They use these as feeding tools to eat their food when it's time for breakfast, lunch or dinner."

Scuttle: "Really? I thought it was a dinglehopper. You know, things human use to straighten their hair out."

Y/N: "There's already two names for objects like that. For the women, it's a brush, but for the men, it's a comb."

Ariel: "Ooh, how interesting."

Flounder: "What about that one?" *points at smoke pipe*

Y/N: "Oh that? That's a smoke pipe. Mostly male humans use that for smoking in order to deal with stress or anxiety. It's kind of like a personal vice they develope as they mature into adulthood, but while it may seem relaxing to them, it's also hazardous."

Flounder: "How come?"

Y/N: "Well, Flounder, all that smoke they inhale might feel good to them at first, but it destroys your internal organs and can lead to breathing problems that could potentially kill you."

Flounder: "So, why would they use this if it's bad for them?"

Y/N: "Because sometimes they're willing to risk their health in order to drown out their frustrations and life's pressure. Smoking is a harsh practice to quit once you start."

Scuttle: "Interesting. After all these years, thought it was a banded, bulbous snarfblatt. An instrument to play fine music."

Y/N: "Hmm... actually, those would be saxophones. They're much bigger than this smoker, but they require lots of practice to play."

Ariel: "Music?" *grows frustrated*

Y/N: "Something wrong, Ariel?"

Ariel: "Oh, the concert! Oh, my gosh! My father's gonna kill me!"

Y/N: "A concert? Your father? Oh dear..."

Flounder: *shocked* "The concert was today?"

Y/N: "How about I go back with you? Why don't we just explain to your father what happened and I'll take the fall for you?"

Ariel: "Oh no, please, you can't do that!"

Y/N: "Why not?"

Ariel: "I... I'll tell you later, but if you'd like, you can still tag along with me if you want."

Y/N: "O-Okay, sure."

Ariel: "Sorry, to cut this short, Scuttle, but I gotta go. Thanks!"

Y/N: "Take care, big guy!"

Scuttle: "Anytime, sweetie! Anytime."

You then follow Ariel back underwater, where she leads you back down the underwater path to her home of Atlantica... unbeknownst to the both of you that Ursula's two poopsies are spying on you from a distance with their creepy gaze.

The trip was somewhat long, but you managed to make it to Atlantica and of course... upon entering this rich underwater world, you were being stared at by the locals. It was a bit uncomfortable, but you managed to ignore it... somehow.

Y/N: "I never knew you lived in such a massive kingdom, are you some kind of princess or something, Ariel?" *thinks* "She's a princess, alright... the youngest princess no less."

Ariel: "You could say that. And... I would recommend you don't mention the surface world to my father, he... he has a personal grudge against humans because of what happened years ago with my mother."

Y/N: "Lemme guess... he thinks humans are savages?"

Ariel: "Well... yes."

Y/N: "Well, he's not entirely right, but he's not wrong either. A lot of humans can turn into bad apples on the surface world."

Ariel: "I know, but please... don't mention anything about the surface when I talk to him."

Y/N: "I won't. If anything, I'll cover for you."

Ariel: "Thanks."

The two of you eventually make it to the castle and there he was... the ruler of the entire kingdom of Atlantica... his majesty and overprotective daddy... King Triton.

[A/N: Nope, he's FAR from happy.]

Ariel: "H-Hi, daddy."

King Triton: *disappointed* "Oh, Ariel, how could you miss this very important day, you know how important this concert was! And... *turns to look at you* ...and who are you?"

Y/N: *bows* "Your majesty... my name is Y/N. I'm new here and I apologize for the concert. I had no idea she was supposed to perform."

King Triton: "Care to explain, young man?"

Y/N: "Yes sir." *looks directly into his eyes, thinking* "Yikes... that glare's so cold, you could petrify someone." *aloud* "You see, your majesty, I just arrived in this area from my home in the Pacific Ocean and I had met Ariel when I was trying to find my way around."

Ariel: *thinks* "He sure has guts to look my daddy in the eye."

King Triton: "So, you've traveled all the way from the Pacific Ocean and bumped into my daughter on your way here?"

Y/N: "Yes, here in the Atlantic Ocean."

King Triton: "Hmm... I see. Where are your parents?"

Y/N: "They're... gone. I haven't seen my parents ever since... well... the... incident with the... ring of fire."

King Triton: "Ring of Fire? Don't tell me you were living close to the surface world, the humans are dangerous!"

Y/N: "No, the humans never came to the ring of fire because of the active volcanoes and the massive earthquakes. They told me to be free and keep living life to the fullest."

King Triton: *sympathetic* "I... understand. I can't hold it against you and... I thank you for at least bringing my daughter home. Still... *turns back to Ariel, disappointed* I just don't know what we're going to do with you, young lady."

Ariel: "Daddy, I'm sorry, I just forgot."

King Triton: "As a result of your careless behavior..."

Sebastian: "Careless and RECKLESS behavior!"

King Triton: "The entire celebration was, uh...

Sebastian: "Well, it was ruined! That's all! Completely destroyed! Dis concert was to be the pinnacle of my distinguished career. *crossed* Now, tanks to you, I am de laughingstock of de entire kingdom!"

Flounder: "But it wasn't her fault! First, uh... the shark chased us. Yeah, yeah, and we tried to... but we couldn't..."

Y/N: "Wait... you guys were attacked by a shark?! BLAST!!! If I had arrived sooner, I could've helped out!"

Ariel: "How?"

Y/N: "Well, where I come from, my family was known for warding off sharks from our territory. It's because we're part orca. Orcas are much more fiercer than sharks."

Sebastian: "Hmm, he does 'ave a point, sire."

Flounder: "Yup, then, there was this seagull and then there was "this is this and that is that..."

King Triton: *realizes* "Seagull?"

Y/N: *turns to the guppy* "Flounder!"

King Triton: *crossed* "You went up to the surface again, didn't you!" *in his daughter's face* "Didn't you?!"

Ariel: "Nothing... happened."

King Triton: "Ariel, how many times must we go through this? You could've been seen by one of those barbarians, by..."

Y/N: "The humans?"

King Triton: "Yes!"

Ariel: "Daddy, they're not barbarians."

Y/N: "Ariel, hold on. Your father's right, there ARE humans out there who are barbaric savages. The whole world is... probably filled with them from what I can tell."

King Triton: "And how do you know, young man?"

Y/N: "While humans have never invaded our territory... I've been to the surface world plenty of times in my life, mostly to find food. But I've encountered humans before. Most of the time... they capture fish for food or wage war against other humans. But I made sure to keep a distance and watch from behind large rocks or underwater. The screams and yells and clanking of their weapons and the cannons..."

King Triton: "And you see why I tell you to--"

Y/N: "However... there are some humans who aren't bad. A few times, I saw sea creatures washing up on shore and sometimes... humans would come and bring these beached sea creatures back into the water where they belong. Other times, I'd do it."

Ariel: "See, daddy, there's some good humans out there."

King Triton: *unmoved* "They are dangerous. Do you think I want to see my youngest daughter snared by some fish-eater's hook?"

Ariel: "I'm 18 years old, I'm not a child anymore."

Y/N: "Technically, Ariel..."

King Triton: *scolding harshly, waving finger* "Don't you take that tone of voice with me, young lady! As long as you live under MY ocean, you'll obey my rules!"

Ariel: "But if you would just listen..."

King Triton: *turns back on her* "Not another word! And I am never, never to hear of you going to the surface again! IS! THAT! CLEAR?!" *then turns to you* "As for you, young man... I seem to recall you reacted to Ariel's little fish friend after he mentioned the... "seagull." Does this mean you were up on the surface with her, too?"

Y/N: *sigh* "Yes, sir. But there weren't any humans around, just a small patch of dirt with that--"

King Triton: *yells* "NOT ANOTHER WORD!!! And I'd better not hear of you taking my daughter up to the surface world again... Do my make myself CLEAR?!"

Y/N: *thinks, flinching* "Okay, minus an eardrom loudmouth!" *aloud* "Transparently, sir." *swims away*

Ariel's heart, feeling like it's been stomped on, flees from her father, weeping in sadness with Flounder following pursuit.

Sebastian: "Hmph! Teenagers. Dey think dey know everyting. You give dem an inch, dey swim all over you."

King Triton: "Do you think I was too hard on her?"

Sebastian: *firm and proud* "Definitely not. Why, if Ariel was my daughter, I'd show her who was boss. None o' dis flitting to de surface and udda such nonsense. No, sir. I'd keep her unda tight control.

King Triton: "You're absolutely right, Sebastian."

Sebastian: "Of course."

King Triton: "Ariel needs constant supervision."

Sebastian: "Constant."

King Triton: "Someone to watch over her, to keep her out of trouble."

Sebastian: "All de time."

King Triton: "And YOU are just the crab to do it."

Now... the crustacean wished he never opened his mouth. He soon walks out of the throne room and heads off to find Ariel.

Sebastian: *complaining to himself, regretting it* "How do I get myself into deez situations? I should be writing symphonies, not tagging along after some headstrong teenager."

Speaking of which, the tiny crab sees you, Ariel and Flounder sneaking off somewhere and now it was up to Sebastian to find out.

Sebastian: "What is dat girl up to?"

For a while now, Sebastian tries his hardest to follow you three, though due to his small stature and lack of long distance traveling, he's quickly getting winded along the trail. But he still manages to find where Ariel has taken you and Flounder.

She moves this large boulder to the side and lets you and Flounder inside the secret passage. Sebastian acts quickly and follows you 3 in and just BARELY manages to get in. 

With you, Ariel and Flounder, you finally got to see... Ariel's secret grotto, filled with all kinds of knick-knacks she collected. And all of them had one thing in common... they were all made my the humans.

Y/N: "Wow... it's so beautiful."

Flounder: "Ariel, are you okay?"

You look over and... yeah, it looks like Ariel's still upset over what her father said to her.

Ariel: "If only I could make him understand. I just don't see things the way he does. I don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be bad."

Y/N: "Sometimes... fear makes people close-minded. While I agree with your father on the surface world being dangerous... you're also right as well, the surface world CAN be a beautiful place, too. Especially the creations humans make."

Ariel: "Thanks, Y/N..."

https://youtu.be/SXKlJuO07eM

(Start at 0:07)

Y/N: *thinks, sighing* "If only she knew... the world exists in the grey area, both good and bad."

Just then, there's a loud crash and you and Ariel spot the culprit who followed you two here.

Ariel: "Sebastian!"

Sebastian: "Ariel, what are you... how could you... What is all dis?"

Ariel: "It's uh... it's just my collection."

Sebastian: *calm, friendly* "Oh, I see. Your collection, hmm." *checking hook, then yells* "IF YOUR FADA KNEW 'BOUT DIS PLACE..."

Y/N: "Whoa, slow your roll, maestro! Look, this is Ariel's comfort zone, you can't tell her father about it."

Ariel: "Please, Sebastian, he would never understand."

Sebastian: "Ariel, you're under a lot of pressure down here. Come wit me, I'll take you home and get you someting warm to drink."

Suddenly, Ariel notices the surface growing dark, as do you and Flounder and you can probably guess why.

Ariel: "What do you suppose..."

Sebastian: "Ariel?"

Y/N: "Oop, there she goes," *points up*

You follow Ariel up to where the ship is. As the two of you reach the surface world, you both see a ship, launching fireworks. Ariel is astounded by the beautiful flashing colors and giggles. Sebastian, still dutybound to retrieve Ariel, swims up to the surface.

Sebastian: "Ariel, what are you... *sees large ship* Jumpin' jellyfish!"

Ariel decides to get a closer look at the ship, you follow her to make sure she doesn't get hurt.

Sebastian: "Ariel! ARIEL! Please, come back!"

But she doesn't listen and neither do you. The two of you then climb the ship and peek at the humans on board. Everyone was celebrating, playing music and dancing. Ariel even sees this furry animal with a big nose, making these happy yapping sounds. Just then... he catches a scent and follows it to where Ariel is.

She gasps and takes cover for a moment before looking to see if it's safe, only to see the dog looking at her. It licks her face, immediately showing he likes her.

Eric: *whistles* "Max, come here, boy!"

The one called max, barks out in happiness, rushing back to his best friend all giddy. Ariel looks over and spots the man who spoke. She's instantly impressed at how handsome he looks.

Eric: *playfully* "Hey, come on, mutt. What ya doin', huh, Max?"

Max jumps up and down happily, licking Eric's cheek. The more Ariel looks at him, the more she feels warm inside. You look to her, recognizing that look and thinking you've lost.

Y/N: *thinks, sighs* "Man up, Y/N, you've already got 3 wives, it's not like this one's gonna change her mind."

Scuttle: *shows up* "Hey there, sweetie! Quite a show, eh?"

Y/N: "Shhhh!!! Not so loud!"

Scuttle: *much more quieter tone of voice* "Oooh, I gotcha, I gotcha! We're bein' interpidaceous. *yells* We're out to discover."

Y/N: *covers beak* "SHHH!!! I said button the beak, or you'll give us away to the humans!"

Ariel: "I've never seen a human this close before." *dreamily* "He's very handsome, isn't he?"

Scuttle: *sees dog, looks skeptical* "I dunno, he looks kinda hairy and slobbery to me."

Ariel: *giggles* "Not that one, the one playing the... Y/N, what do you call that again?"

Y/N: "That was a flute."

Ariel: "I thought it was a... saxophone?"

Y/N: "No, saxophones are much bigger than flutes. Flutes play out a more... sweet and harmonic melody, so to speak."

???: "Silence, silence. It is now my honor and privilege to present our esteemed Prince Eric with a very special, very expensive, very large birthday present."

Eric: "Ah, Grimsby, ya old beanpole, you shouldn't have."

Grimsby: "I know. Happy birthday, Eric."

One of the ship crews grabs the cloth and removes it, revealing Eric's present... a large statue that looks like him, wearing a suit of armor while still looking like a prince. Eric was... a bit perplexed by the design and Max just growled at it. Knowing Eric, he's not the egotistical type and his birthday present seemed... a bit much.

Eric: "Uh, gee, Grim... ha! *clears throat, trying to be polite* "It's, uh... it's really something."

Grimsby: "Yes, I commissioned it myself. Of course, I had hoped it would be a wedding present."

Y/N: *thinks* "I will say this... even I share Eric's skepticism. If it were me, I'd rather just have a suit tailored for him."

Eric: "Come on, Grim, don't start. Look you're not still sore because I didn't fall for the princess of Glowerhaven, are you?" 

He then walks in your direction, which signals you and Ariel to take cover while he peeks out into the ocean with his telescope. Then, tosses the telescope back to Grimsby, who catches it.

Grimsby: "Oh my! Eric, it isn't me alone. The entire kingdom wants to see you happily settled down with the right girl."

Eric: *optimistic* "Oh, she's out there somewhere, I just... *slightly depressed* I just haven't found her yet."

Y/N: *thinks* "If it's Ariel... I'm gonna have to man up and find a way to get these two together."

Grimsby: "Perhaps you haven't been looking hard enough."

Eric: *confident* "Believe me, Grim, when I find her I'll know. Without a doubt, it'll just, BAM, hit me, like lightning."

As if right on cue... lightning can be seen in the distance and thunder can be heard rumbling. And as anyone knows... a storm out at sea could is a one-way ticket to an underwater grave.

Sailor: "HURRICANE A-COMIN'! Stand fas! Secure the riggin'!"

The storm quickly caught up, the waves rocked the ship like a toy, the rains came pouring down and everyone was on high alert, trying not to get swept away by the shifting tides.

Both you and Ariel lost your grip on the ship and fell into the ocean, but swam back up to the surface no problem. Just then, lightning struck from the storm clouds, igniting the sails on fire and to top it all off, they were heading straight for some boulders.

Eric: "LOOK OUT!"

But the ship crashed into the boulders and the whole crew fell overboard... but were all still in one piece. The only thing lost at sea was Eric's birthday present, which Grimsby tried to save. But Eric stopped him and brought him onto the life boat. But... just when they were about to leave, Max barked for his friend to help him. The shaggy pooch was still on the ship, trapped by the raging inferno.

Eric: "MAX!"

The prince dived in and swam back to the ship, climbing up the latter to retrieve his best friend. One of the masts soon broke off and fell onto the deck and Eric found his dog.

Eric: "Jump, Max! Come on, boy, jump! You can do it, Max!"

The dog quickly obeyed Eric and jumped down, landing in his arms. Eric was about to leap off the ship, but his foot broke through the floorboards of the deck, getting stuck. He lost his grip on Max and the pooch flew into the water before swimming to safety.

Eric was still trapped aboard the ship, trying to get unstuck.

Grimsby: "ERIC!"

There was nothing they could do and soon... the fires reached some of their flammable contents and the ship exploded.

Y/N: "NO!!! Come on, Ariel!"

You swam over to the ship and Ariel followed you. The two of you searched the wreckage for any sign of the prince. You spotted the man barely hanging on a piece of driftwood. You swam over and grabbed him with some help from Ariel, too.

Y/N: "Let's get him back to shore!"

Ariel: "Right."

The two of you carried the unconscious survivor back to land and stood by his side, even as the storm passed. But as you two were finally on land... your orca half transformed back into your normal human legs, which shocked Ariel and even Scuttle.

But before they could ask you more questions... the main priority was making sure that the prince was still alive.

Ariel: "Is he... dead?"

Scuttle opens one of his eyes.

Scuttle: "It's hard to say." 

Y/N: "Let me check." *puts ear to chest, hears heartbeat, smiles* "Good news, his heartbeat is steady, he'll live."

As expected, Eric's breathing.

Ariel: "You're right, he's breathing."

Y/N: "Told you so."

https://youtu.be/laXEtI31KX8

(Picture Sebastian also dropping his jaw when he finds out you're actually a human, too.)

After finishing her little song, you just lean against the rock, pondering the choices you're making and wondering...

Y/N: *thinks* "Am I making the right choice?"

[A/N: Aaaand THERE WE GO! Another chapter done and done right, courtesy of yours truly. Now, don't touch that dial, because there's still more far more to do. But in the meantime, enjoy this new chapter and stay tuned for more in the future.]