Cleanse Atlantica

Ariel retrieved her purple seashell bra from the sandy floor of the grotto. She tied the strings behind her back, her movements sharp and decisive. She winced slightly as she settled the shells against her breasts, they were tender now, bruised from my grip, sensitive from the bite.

She touched the mark on her shoulder again. It was a dark, violet bruise in the shape of my jaw, the skin broken in a perfect arch.

"Does it hurt?" I asked, watching her from the entrance, my tail swaying lazily.

"It throbs," she said, looking up at me with a fierce, burning light in her eyes. "Like a heartbeat. It reminds me I'm not alone."

"You'll never be alone again, Princess. Now, let's go save your realm."

We burst out of the grotto. The ocean had changed while we were inside. The water was no longer clear blue; it was murky, stained with an inky, violet haze. The temperature had dropped significantly.

"The Palace," Ariel gasped, pointing toward the distant spires of gold and pearl.

The majestic home of King Triton was under siege. A swarm of Heartless, thousands of Jellyshade and armored Armored Shark Heartless, swirled around the central spire like a hurricane.

"They're trying to breach the Throne Room," I analyzed, my senses picking up the massive concentration of dark energy. "They want the Trident."

"Daddy!" Ariel cried out.

She didn't wait for me this time. She shot forward, her tail pumping furiously. But she wasn't swimming in panic; she was swimming with purpose.

I activated my thrusters, a burst of magical speed amplified by my shark physiology. I overtook her in seconds, positioning myself as the shield.

"Stay on my dorsal," I commanded. "We crash the line together."

We hit the swarm like a torpedo. I roared, a soundless shockwave of water pressure that stunned the smaller Jellyshades. I didn't bother biting the small ones; I smashed through them, my massive, armored body turning them into dissipating smoke.

An Armored Shark, a Heartless mimic of my own form, clad in purple metal, lunged at me. I met it head-on. We collided with the **** of two freight trains. My organic strength against its hollow metal. I grabbed its snout with my clawed hands, twisting violently. CRUNCH. I snapped its neck and tossed the carcass into the abyss.

"Ariel! Now!" I shouted.

Ariel raised her hands. She didn't cast a defensive bubble this time. She cast Thunder. "Get away from my home!" she screamed.

Bolts of yellow lightning crackled through the water, amplified by the conductivity of the ocean. The electricity fried a cluster of Heartless trying to flank me.

"Good girl," I grunted, spinning to slash a Sea Neon with my Keyblade.

We carved a path of destruction through the siege lines. My brutality coupled with her magical support was a devastating combination. We were a perfect symbiotic unit - the Tank and the Mage, the Shark and the Siren.

We reached the main gates of the Palace. They were buckled, groaning under the pressure of a massive Aquatank Heartless that was ramming against them.

"It's going to break the seal!" Ariel yelled.

"Not on my watch."

I swam up. I gained altitude above the Aquatank. I signaled Ariel. "Blizzard! Freeze its joints!"

Ariel unleashed a shard of ice magic. It struck the massive, lumbering Heartless, freezing the water around its fins. It slowed down, groaning.

I dove. Gravity and water pressure were my weapons. I descended like a depth charge. I drove The Solar Zenith straight down into the Aquatank's skull. The impact cracked the heavy shell. A shockwave blew the palace gates open, but outwards, knocking the Heartless back.

The Aquatank dissolved.

We swam through the debris, entering the Palace Courtyard. It was chaos. The royal guards were scattered, fighting losing battles.

But in the center of the courtyard, holding the line before the Throne Room, was King Triton.

He looked exhausted. His golden trident was flashing, blasting beams of pure light into the encroaching darkness, but he was old, and he was overwhelmed. A massive, shadowy tentacle, far too large to belong to a normal Heartless, swept out from the shadows, knocking the King backward.

He hit a pillar, the Trident clattering from his grasp.

"Daddy!" Ariel screamed.

She rushed to his side. I swam past her, positioning myself between the fallen King and the shadows.

From the darkness of the corridor, a laugh bubbled up. It was a low, throaty, feminine chuckle that made the water vibrate.

"Oh, look who decided to join the party," the voice oozed. "The prodigal daughter... and her new pet."

I bared my rows of serrated teeth, my dorsal fin raising.

"Ursula is gone," I growled at the shadows. "Who holds the leash now?"

The darkness parted. It wasn't Ursula. It was something... evolved. A massive Heartless that had absorbed the essence of the Sea Witch's malice. A Phantom Ursula, a being of pure shadow and ink, wearing the twisted crown of the sea.

King Triton groaned, sitting up, clutching his side. He looked at Ariel, then at me. His eyes widened when he saw my form, the grey skin, the predator build.

"Ariel," Triton gasped. "Get back. That is a Monster Shark."

"No, Daddy," Ariel said, standing her ground, placing a hand on my massive grey arm. She looked at the King with a defiance he had never seen before. "He's not a monster. He's my Master."

The Phantom laughed again.

"Master?" the shadow mocked. "Oh, honey. In the ocean, there are only those who eat, and those who get eaten. And you look delicious."

I raised my Keyblade, the coral-bone structure glowing with light.

"You're right," I told the Phantom. "She is delicious. But now it is feeding time."