~ Chapter 9 : At Least Some Progress ~

In the room of the Atlantican palace that was now affectionately being called the Antidote Workshop, Princess Aquata knocked her head a few times on the hard coral table, making a soft thump-thump sound.

"Err... Lady Aquata?" It was Flounder.

Without raising her head, Aquata murmured, "Yes, Flounder?"

"Doesn't it hurt if you keep doing that?"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

"Then why do you keep doing it?"

"Because one, Melody is still missing; two, my father is so upset he's just about ready to zap the next person that so much as looks at him wrongly; and three, I have all the ingredients for the antidote except one."

"Which one?"

Aquata mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"A fragment of Ariel's hair."

"Oh, is that all?"

"It has to be plucked by Ariel's offspring. Namely, Melody."

"Oh... Oh!"

"Yes." Aquata knocked her head on the table again. "I shouldn't have sent Melody out there. I shouldn't have sent Melody out there. I shouldn't have sent Melody out there. What kind of Queen can I be if I keep making stupid mistakes like these?"

"Aquata!"

Aquata jumped in her seat and quickly rushed to the new arrival, who happened to be her sister Attina. "You're back! What happened? Have you found Melody? Where's Tip?"

Attina sat down on a chair in the room. "Just give me a moment, I'm exhausted. All this swimming is just not me."

"Attina!"

"Melody has found the tunnels, and she's on her way back up," Attina said. "Miasma and Tip have gone to fetch her from the other side. Which just happens to be in Sharkania."

"Sharkania?!" Flounder shrieked.

"Ah yes, I seem to recall you've visited that place a few times, Flounder," said Aquata, nodding with a faint smile. "But Miasma and Tip... entering Sharkania alone. We can't have that."

"Are you going to tell daddy?" Attina asked.

Aquata paused, her face going into the deadly serious I-am-the-oldest-and-must-take-responsibility expression. "Yes. I'll go tell daddy I'm going to pick Melody up personally."

"Without telling him where you're picking her up from?" Attina asked wryly.

"Attina, do you know what's been going on lately?" Aquata asked softly. "Why there are so many meetings? Why daddy has been so busy? And most importantly, why we haven't been able to spare any of the guards to find Melody?"

Attina fell quiet.

"There's problems, Attina. A lot of them," Aquata told her. "Daddy doesn't tell the people because he doesn't want them to worry. He doesn't even tell his daughters, except me because I'm the eldest. Picking up Melody in Sharkania will be... difficult. We've had peaceful ties as of late, peaceful meaning that there's no actual physical fighting, and something like this needs diplomacy, which is one of the few things I'm actually good at."

Attina tried to read between the lines, succeeding somewhat. "The Sharkanians might capture Melody."

"It would be to their advantage," said Aquata, nodding. "We can't have that. Not now. Not when the Manta's out there, and Ariel's sick, and everyone in Atlantica is already so worried about both Ariel and Melody."

Flounder shuddered. "Sharkania..."

"You don't have to go, Flounder, of course," Aquata told him. "I'll need you and Urchin to guard the workshop while I'm gone."

Attina squealed. "You're going alone?! Aquata!"

"I'm the Atlantican ambassador, Attina. I have safe passage," Aquata told her matter-of-factly. "They won't dare harm me."

"Oh, so you're saying they'll harm the granddaughter of King Triton but not his eldest daughter?"

"Ocean Politics, Attina," Aquata said. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Mostly. And besides, Miasma and Tip will need help."

*****

Still in the tunnels, the small Atlantican-aiming-but-actually-heading-into-Sharkania troupe were having a break and munching what could be lunch. Or tea. Or dinner. They weren't really sure anymore.

"Pass me the green wriggly stuff," Dash said.

Melody complied as she swallowed down something orange and soft that felt a lot like burnt rubber. "How long do you think we've been swimming?"

"Weeks, feels like it," Jeremy said.

"Realistically, Jeremy."

"A day. Maybe more."

"That's not too bad," said Melody, leaning back against a wall of the tunnel. "And at least we still have our supply of food, and the torch is still working, and we know the tunnels definitely head upward. And not to mention..." She touched the bracelet softly, and sighed.

"You know, the water feels lighter here," said Jeremy.

Dash flapped his flippers a bit. "Yes, now you mention it... That must mean we're near the end of the tunnel!"

Melody's eyes widened and she clasped her hands together happily. "At last! Come on guys, eat up and then let's get out of here!"

*****

Still in the royal bedroom, but now propped up against cushions for her back and wrapped up in one too many blankets, Ariel coughed a bit.

Eric, who had been spoonfeeding her soup, looked at her in alarm. "Are you okay, Ariel?"

Ariel looked at him, and despite her ailing condition, managed a weak laugh. "Oh, Eric, you really should relax. Everytime I move you look like you're about to have a seizure."

Eric smiled and brushed his fingers against her chin, noting quietly how Ariel's temperature had risen even more, if it were possible. "Who can blame me?"

Ariel sighed a bit. "Has anyone been sent from Atlantica to update us on what's going on?"

"Not since this morning," said Eric.

Ariel made a sceptic sound. "You can't really trust my sister or even daddy for this. Not only that, they sent Urchin to give us the news. You can be sure they helpfully adjusted the information somewhat just to make us less worried. Do you really believe what he said, that Melody was being a good girl and staying in the palace while everyone's gathering the ingredients for the antidote?" She smiled. "She wouldn't do that."

"How can you be sure?"

"She's my daughter, Eric."

"Point taken."

Eric was about to lift the soup-filled spoon to Ariel's lips, when the red-head inhaled sharply.

"Ariel?"

Ariel sighed again before leaning heavily back into the pillows. "She's in trouble again. I just know it."

*****

"There it is! The end of the tunnel! I can see it!" Melody exclaimed, pointing. "We just need to swim upward a bit and we're out! Come on, you slow turtles you!"

"Melody, wait!" Jeremy called out.

"We're almost there! Come on!" Melody felt the rush of blood in her veins, excitement causing her heart to pound loudly in her ribcage. They were finally out! The tunnels had finally ended, and they could go back to Atlantica and finish the antidote – and then everything came crashing down yet again when she reached the end of the tunnel and stopped swimming.

Dash and Jeremy caught up with her. "What? What is it?"

Melody pointed numbly.

Outside the tunnel lay the dank atmosphere of a kingdom that was most certainly not Atlantica. A sunken ship seemed to be the centre of all of the activity, and said activity was that of creatures that looked pretty much like... Melfody blinked, just to make sure that she was not seeing things. "Jeremy... Dash... Where are we?"

Dash and Jeremy looked at each other, then at Melody. Finally Jeremy was the one who spoke up. "This is Sharkania."

"Oh," said Melody, sounding a bit too calm. "You've told me about this place before. All these creatures, they're Sharkanians, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"And they don't like Atlanticans, right?"

"Right again."

Melody dropped her head into her hands and made a soft whining sound. "Why does this keep happening? Just when I think everything's settled down and things can't get any worse, they do!"

"At least we're out of the Chasm," Dash added helpfully.

"Off the hook and into the net," Jeremy murmured.

"On land we call it out of the frying pan and into the fire," Melody said. Jeremy draped his arm over her shoulder to give her a comforting half-hug. Melody looked at him, and managed to smile. She raised a hand to caress her locket, just to remind herself of what she was doing all of this for. Her mother needed her, that's right. Don't forget.

Dash suddenly poked his two friends.

"What is it, Dash?" Melody asked.

"Uh... Isn't that the Manta?"

Melody's head snapped around, just in time to see the Manta swim past the tunnel entrance. The three of them instinctively lowered themselves into the shadows of the tunnel, but kept their watchful eyes on the creature that was too graceful for something so evil, as he flapped his wings one powerful time to push him toward the sunken ship in the centre of the Sharkanian city.

"What's he doing in Sharkania?" Dash whispered.

"Do you think he's in cahoots with them? About your mother's poisoning?" Jeremy asked.

"The lady in the vision only mentioned the Sorceress, and she didn't say anything about the Sharkanians," Melody said. She drew her lips together and scowled momentarily. "Let's go check it out."

"WHAT?!" her friends chorused.

"We have to find out what he's doing here," said Melody. "It may have something to do with my mother, and I need to know! And the Sorceress could be here! What if they have a ready-made antidote? We could just take it and leave, and my mother would be safe! We're the only Atlanticans here and it's our responsibility to find out what the Manta is up to!"

"What would you know about responsibility, Princess Melody?" Jeremy asked, but he was smiling.

Melody flushed. "The Manta poisoned my mother. He's in Sharkania. I'm in Sharkania. I need to know what he's up to." She edged toward the entrance of the tunnel, and looked around to see if any of the Sharkanians were nearby. "There's no one around. I'm going after him, are you guys with me or not?"

"Of course we're with you, Melody," said Dash. "Even if you're crazy."

"But it's crazy in a good way," Jeremy added, even managing a bit of cheerfulness in his voice.

"Great!" Melody exclaimed, grinning. "Now we need a disguise to get into the city..." She swam out of the tunnel, which was safely just outside the edge of the main Sharkanian city and still relatively safe. As she looked around she spotted some gray clay on the floor. She scooped up a bit with her fingers, and then looked at Dash. "Hmm..."

"What?" Dash asked innocently.

It took the about ten minutes to change the brown-skinned walrus into a grey-skinned Sharkanian. They used a large discarded piece of cloth, that almost certainly used to be part of a sail, as a hood and cloak around Dash to cover his flippers and tail, while the grey clay was wiped over his face and head to give him the Sharkanian greyish hue. Of course there was still the matter of his teeth and eyes, but if he remained quiet and didn't draw any attention to himself, the Sharkanians wouldn't look twice at him.

"Then what about the two of you?" Dash asked.

Melody pointed at two large shells. "We'll hide in those. You'll be a merchant, sending deliveries."

"And the purpose of all of this is...?" Jeremy trailed off.

"The Manta's at that ship," Melody pointed. "It looks like the palace or whatever it is that is the headquarters of Sharkania, and we'll need a way in to spy on the Manta."

Jeremy sighed. "You're asking for trouble, Melody. As always."

"It'll work, Jeremy," said Melody. "Now come on, let's go!"

It was smooth sailing as they entered the Sharkanian city, even with the ever-nervous Dash trying to avoid the Sharkanians he had to blend in with. Melody and Jeremy, who were in their own individual shells that had been loaded on a discarded cart they had found, peered through thin cracks in the shell opening to watch the surroundings. Occasionally Melody would give Dash an instruction or try to calm him down when it seemed he would have a panic attack.

"We're here," Dash finally whispered, stopping the cart in front of the main gates of the Sharkanian palace.

"Who goes there?!" a Sharkanian guard snapped at them.

Dash's eyes bulged with panic.

The Sharkanian looked at the shells. "Deliveries?"

Dash nodded once.

"Use the back entrance," the guard said, jerking his thumb in a direction.

Dash nodded again before gingerly pulling the cart away from the main entrance toward the back entrance. Melody wanted to reassure the walrus that everything was okay, but they were too close to the Sharkanian guards and any noise from her or Jeremy would blow their cover wide open.

Melody swallowed nervously. Just to think, she and Jeremy and Dash could've just swam away to Atlantica, but she had decided to play the hero and go right into the shark's cave. Rather literally.

Well, it was too late to do anything now. The back entrance creaked open, and Dash was let in by a Sharkanian lady who looked like a cook or cleaner.

"Food deliveries go straight to the kitchen, that way," the lady said. "Then shove off."

Not trusting himself to speak without screaming in terror – he was completely surrounded by SHARKANIANS – Dash nodded again before dragging the cart through the dimly lit hallways of the servants area of the Sharkanian palace. There weren't that many Sharkanians around, luckily, and Dash found an empty storage room at the edge of hallway where he let Melody and Jeremy out of their shells.

"Now what do we do?" Dash asked. "We're in a Sharkanian palace, and you're King Triton's granddaughter. How do you expect to find the Manta in here?"

Just before Melody could answer, the storage door creaked open. Dash turned around, eyes wide in terror. Jeremy and Melody had the sense of mind to hide back in their individual shells and slam them shut.

"Hey, what are you doing in here?" a Sharkanian snapped. He spotted the shells. "Hey, you bring those straight to the throne room for Emperor Darga, the feast is about to start!"

"Yes, sir," Dash said quickly as the Sharkanian left the storage room.

Melody lifted the shell open slightly. "See? Let's go to the throne room, I'm sure the Manta is there."

"Plus a whole lot of other," gulp, "Sharkanians."

"Come on, Dash I know you can do it," said Melody. "As long as you hide in the shadows no one will know you're really a walrus."

"But what if—"

"Hey, I'm Melody, remember? I'll improvise." She winked at him, then shut the shell again. Jeremy grinned at him before shutting his own shell.

Dash sighed. "Oh, the things I do for you..."

Suffice to say that Dash was terrified beyond words as he entered the Sharkanian throne room, this time dragging a small delivery cart with the shells on it. There were not that many Sharkanians there, in fact, but those that were there were the meanest ones Dash had ever seen. At one end of the throne room was a heavy iron-wielded throne, where Emperor Darga sat. And talking to him was the Manta.

Dash manoeuvred the delivery cart close to one of the tables at the edge of the room. Melody and Jeremy carefully crept out of their shells to hide under the tables, which were conveniently lined all around the room and had old sails draped across them like tablecloths – ideal for hiding and spying.

Melody tapped Jeremy on the shoulder, urging him to follow her as she swam under the tables to get as close as she could to Emperor Darga and the Manta to hear their conversation. Dash remained behind with the cart, trying to look inconspicuous.

"You know I hold you in the utmost regard, Emperor," the Manta was saying, his voice oily as he spoke. "And we share the same sentiment for Atlantica."

"But our spies already know about the condition with Ariel and her daughter, Melody," Emperor Darga said. "As well as the fact that you were the one responsible for both Ariel's poisoning and Melody's disappearance." He chuckled. "It's amusing, really, the way King Triton's still telling his subjects that Melody is safely in the palace."

"Ah, of course, Your Highness," said the Manta. "But there is more I'm suggesting for you."

Emperor Darga raised a hand. "Cut with the poetry. Just tell me, what do I get?"

The Manta smiled. "You get to be sure of Triton's demise, as well as the complete destruction of Atlantica."

Melody clasped her hands over her mouth to stop herself from gasping aloud.

"Hah!" Emperor Darga said. "That would be the day, wouldn't it? But you forget, Triton still has that trident, the only thing that keeps Sharkania from widening our Empire."

The Manta's eyes seemed to glow brighter momentarily. "That little advantage will soon be... removed."

"Are you sure?"

"I do not joke when it comes to these matters," said the Manta seriously.

"And all I have to do is attack the day that you tell me to?" Emperor Darga asked carefully. "An easy trap for my army, Manta, don't think me a fool. What do you get out of this?"

The Manta grinned. "Satisfaction."

"Satisfaction doesn't get you very far."

"It does for a creature born of darkness and fire, such as myself," said the Manta. "It has always been my mission to see the destruction of Atlantica, in one way or the other."

"Of course, Ariel was always there to stop you," Emperor Darga chuckled.

The only sign that Emperor Darga had hit a nerve was that one of the Manta's eyes twitched briefly. Still, he recovered and bestowed another thin smile. "As she has you, but let's not reminisce failures in the past, as all we have is the now, and the future."

Emperor Darga held the Manta's gaze. "But who gets the trident? You?"

The Manta paused. "There will be no trident."

Emperor Darga, and several of his advisors, laughed. "You know as well as I do that the trident cannot be destroyed, Manta! I'm sure you want it for yourself, letting us do all the dirty work for you..."

The Manta's eyes glowed again. "You will destroy Atlantica the day I tell you to." This time his voice was low, and had a musical tinge to the edge of it.

Emperor Darga, and all the Sharkanians paused. Their eyes glazed momentarily. Melody and Jeremy looked at each other, remembering how they had been told that the Manta could use hypnosis in his voice to influence those who had the tendency to be proud. It certainly seemed to be working on the Sharkanians now.

"Yes," Emperor Darga said finally. "We shall attack Atlantica the day you tell us to. Of course you will make sure we will have little resistance?"

"Of course," said the Manta. He bowed. "Now if you forgive me, I need to be going. I have a number of other appointments to see to."

"Oh that's such a pity," said Emperor Darga. "We were hoping you'd join in our feast."

"There'll be plenty of feasting when Atlantica is destroyed," the Manta said softly. Then with another dramatic flash of his wings, he left the throne room.

Melody watched him leave, mind whirring crazily. So the Sharkanians are not in on the poisoning, but they're going to attack Atlantica! And what had the Manta meant about "removing" the trident? Is he going to take it for himself when the Sharkanians attack? And my mother... What has her poisoning got to do with all of this? Why...?

Her thoughts were cut off when one the Sharkanians approached the throne and said, "Your Esteemed Highness, the Atlantican ambassador Lady Aquata has arrived in Sharkania and wishes to address you."

Melody bit down another shriek. Aunt Aquata?!

Emperor Darga chuckled. "Oh this just gets better and better. Let her in."
 
 

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