Kingdom Hearts ~another side~ Ch. 10

[Hayate]

The waves roll low, and the waves roll high…
And so it goes, under a bright, blue, endless sky…

Kingdom Hearts ~another side~

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~ Report 10: Cacophony ~[/b][/u]

The solitude one experiences when traversing the Lanes Between alone can be a cruel mistress. The red-haired Marin is no exception. From behind the controls of the Gummi Ship Nautilus, she stares blankly into the violet blackness that stretched far outside the cockpit. Occupying her were thoughts of how Ciel and Roche were faring by themselves, how Claire, Snow, and Serah were doing back home, and how she was going to deal with Relena once she found her. Marin exhales a lonely sigh, longing for the warmth and comfort of home.

When a sporadic beeping noise drags her from her thoughts, Marin looks down at the console in front of her. “Coming up on another world…”, she says to herself. “Is three gonna be my lucky number?” Marin brings the Nautilus to a halt and rises from her seat to look down at the world she now orbited.

On the exterior, it resembled a large dome of rock. Through a gap in the dome, a great undersea realm is shown.

Marin blinks a couple of times. “Is that…?” Returning to the cockpit seat, she double-checks her instrument readings. The results of the analysis come to her as a bit of a surprise. “This world --it’s over 90% water! A world that’s almost completely underwater…?” Seemed like the kind of place one would only visit on vacation, Marin thought. Somehow, she couldn’t imagine Relena, Ciel, or Roche visiting such a world at this time. Well, maybe Relena, if only to roast some fish. “…Yeah, that sounds about right. But how am I supposed to find out? If I’m down there for longer than a few minutes, I’ll drown!” After a bit of deep thinking, Marin holds her hand out and draws the Deepest Blue. “Hmm… I wonder…”

…Cut to a moderately spacious valley of sand and rock. Walls of black stalagmite border it, and barnacle-covered rocks and small beds of seaweed line the ground within it. A school of rainbow fish swims through, but they disperse to the depths when a small portal of light appears at the valley’s south end. The portal initially expels a cluster of air bubbles, and just moments later, it opens wide for Marin to shoot through. The light fades away immediately afterward.

Marin enters the undersea world with a new form granted her: doing away with her shirt and tank top, she wears a brassiere of white seashells. Moreover, her long and slender legs had fused into a single cerulean fish tail (matching the color of her jeans) with dorsal and caudal fins of a lighter lucent sky-blue. Finally, like in Halloween Town, she let her long auburn hair down as opposed to having it up in a ponytail.

Marin finds herself in awe of her mermaid form; the limitless magical potential of the Keyblade truly amazed her. “Hah! I can’t believe that worked!”, she exclaims. “This is just so-- W-Whoa!”
Taking a pause from her awestruck state, Marin flails her arms about awkwardly as she attempts to adjust to her new form. “Hehehe… This may take some getting used to.” The mermaid Marin spends the next few minutes becoming accustomed to her half-fish form, learning how to kick, swim, and navigate using a mermaid’s tail.

After just over six minutes, Marin floats down to the center of the valley in a spiraling flourish, satisfied with her session of ‘Mermaids 101’. “Ahhh! Much better!”, she says to herself. “…?” Just then, something just barely inside her field of vision draws her interest: a glimmer of light toward the east, and the faint echo of musical notes from the same location. “What’s that…?”, Marin wondered. Before she realized it, her tail was carrying her in the direction of the glimmer.

Little by little the glimmer glows brighter, and past a wall of swaying kelp, Marin finds herself in a small grotto where the rocks shone like crystals. After several moments of looking at her own reflection, Marin approaches the back end of the grotto and happens upon a tiny crater in the ground. Inside, she discovers the source of the musical echo she heard earlier: a blue and gold music box. She picks it up and opens it to hear its lovely melody. As it plays, an image appears -- an image of a tall, well-built merman dancing with a beautiful, long-haired mermaid. The image seems to hypnotize, as Marin is momentarily enraptured by it and its accompanying song. “…!” The redhead is only brought out of her trance when a trio of Screwdivers closes in. With a sigh, she mutters, “Some things never change…” Marin tucks the box away, readies the Keyblade, and meets the Heartless halfway. “Okay then! Bring it!”

Elsewhere, in a shining underwater kingdom far west of Marin’s location, a place that serves as home to dozens of other mermen and mermaids, a despondent ruler sits atop his throne. He had deep blue eyes, long brown hair with traces of stress-induced gray, a thick beard and moustache, and wore a yellow five-pointed crown and golden studded gauntlets on his wrists. The man was also considerably well muscled, and his tail was a dark shade of blue.

In his presence stood a small red crab with large claws and three pairs of legs and a somewhat portly cecaelia (half-human woman, half-octopus) with lavender skin, stark white hair, and far too much makeup.

Raising his head to address the two before him, the king speaks aloud. “Ahem! …Good morning, Sebastian, Ursula.”

With a bow, the crab Sebastian and squid woman Ursula say in return, “Good morning, King Triton.”

“Anything to report?”, asks Triton.

“Nothing of particular note, your Highness.”, Ursula replies. “All sectors are currently operating at average efficiency. Productivity is 5% lower than projected, but I attribute that to the situation outside the palace.”

“Speaking of which…”, Sebastian interrupts, “…the Swordfish Patrol are keeping da creatures at bay, but dey be multiplying by the hour. We don’t know where dey all be coming from, mon. Da people have all been advised to stay indoors.”

King Triton brings up his hand and rubs his temple with a groan. “Those infernal monsters have been trying to penetrate Atlantica’s walls for nearly a year now. For each one we destroy, five more appear on our doorstep.”

“If I may, King Triton.”, Ursula starts again. “I’ve been researching the creatures for some time now, and I believe my spells hold the answer we--”

“Enough, Ursula. I’ll hear no more of your solutions involving black magic.”

“But, your Highness--”

“I said enough. Now please…you are dismissed.”

“…As you wish, my King.” With that, Ursula takes her leave of the throne room aside Sebastian with a sour look. “Is it just me, or is he even crankier than usual today?”

Lowering his head, Sebastian says, “Can ya blame him? After all, it is the anniversary…”

“…Out of my way!”

Heartless after Heartless fall by Marin’s blade as she makes her way through the western seas. Regardless of how many she destroys, more emerge from the darkness to meet her. Rather than meet their challenge individually, Marin refuses to stop moving, slicing through waves of Sea Neons and Screwdivers that hinder her path and swerving to avoid parties of Sheltering Zones and Aquatanks where necessary. “Jeez, what’s with all the Heartless in this place!?”, she gripes. “I bet a certain blonde psycho is behind this mess! …ARGH! GET LOST ALREADY!”

As her escape from the Heartless leads Marin further and further west, Triton’s kingdom of gold comes into view. For a moment, it reminded her of Princess Aurora’s castle, but with more of an aquatic beauty. The closer Marin gets, the fewer in number the Heartless became. This, however, spoke not for the few Heartless that remained on her tail in hot pursuit. “Tch! Don’t these guys ever give up!?”

“Hey! You there!”

“Huh?” Glancing ahead, Marin makes eye contact with a pair of sharp-billed swordfish. “More of them!?”, she grumbles, immediately assuming the worst.

Fortunately, the girl’s fears are laid to rest when one of them calls out, “Hurry inside! We’ll hold ‘em off!”

“No fooling…? Heh! First good thing to happen to me all day!” As she races into the city limits, Marin gives a grateful “Thanks!” to the swordfish kingdom watch as she swims by.

“…Hmph! Alright, you beady-eyed freaks!”, snaps the other swordfish to the invading Heartless. “Do yer worst!”

Once a reasonable distance within the city limits, Marin stops to catch her breath; she wasn’t yet completely used to her mermaid form, and that was perhaps the fastest she’d ever swam. In her fit of labored breathing, she glances to her rear to ensure she wasn’t followed. It would appear the swordfish guards she’d encountered earlier had the situation under control. Once it was clear the danger had passed, Marin turns to examine her surroundings in greater detail. The borders of this undersea domain reached far outward, and everything within those borders filled it with light and color. From the coral gardens to the bubble spouts to the near countless types of sea life that called this place their home, it was impossible for Marin not to be impressed. “…Hmm?” Just beyond a row of tall columns, a short, almost unnoticeable scene catches Marin’s eye: a young red-haired mermaid with an amethyst cloth top and sea-green tail swims by, followed quickly by a Screwdiver. “!!!” Again, Marin’s tail instinctively carries her forward.

Moments later, the little redhead finds herself backed into a corner, with the Screwdiver slowly closing in. As she pressed her back to the wall, the mermaid cowers away to the ground, exhaling soft frightened whimpers. Shutting her eyes tight, the little girl silently cries out, “Mommy…!”

The green humanoid Heartless raises its three-pronged spear…

“…Hey.”

…until a third’s voice halts its attack and directs its attention elsewhere. Almost as soon as it motions a 180, the Heartless is sliced into oblivion with a single slash of the Keyblade. The blurry image of another red-haired mermaid clings to its mind like an instant photograph…until the image evaporates.

With the Heartless’ departure and the subsequent storage of the Deepest Blue, Marin glides over and extends a helping hand to the terrified mermaid. “You okay, sweetie?”, she asks tenderly.

The little redhead opens her eyes and, as they adjust to the light, sees Marin’s silhouette hovering over her. All she could make out in the haziness was a head of auburn hair. “…Mommy…?” The image soon clears, and much to the child’s disappointment, it wasn’t her mother as she’d hoped. “…Oh. Never mind.”, mutters she, lowering her head in grief.

“You alright? That Heartless didn’t hurt you, did it?”

“Uh-uh…”

All of a sudden… “Princess Ariel!!!”

Looking back, Marin sees she and the child are joined by the red crab Sebastian and an escort of three swordfish guards. Admittedly unsure of how to proceed, she awkwardly greets, “…Hi?”

…A short while afterward, Marin and little Ariel are brought before the clearly displeased King Triton. Looking down from atop his throne, he addresses Ariel first. “Ariel, didn’t I tell you to stay in your room with your sisters? You know how dangerous it is outside the palace!”

“I-I know, Daddy, I was just…”

‘‘Daddy’?’, ponders Marin during this. ‘This cute little girl is that guy’s daughter? Come to think of it, where’ve I seen this guy before?’

“It just isn’t as safe in Atlantica as it used to be. What business could you have possibly had out there?”

“I was…picking flowers for Mommy…”

“…” Triton lowers his head in shame. How selfish it was him, he thought, to believe he was the only person in Atlantica who was suffering. He suddenly wasn’t as angry with Ariel as he was a moment ago; in truth, Triton wasn’t at all willing to pass discipline, especially this day. Picking his head up again, he faces Marin. “…And you are?”

As she’s addressed, Marin straightens her back and holds her arms rigidly at her sides, not used to being in the presence of such commanding royalty. “M-Marin.”, she stutters. “It’s…an honor to meet you, King Triton.”

“You have my profound thanks for saving my daughter, Marin. You appear to be from outlying seas, but you are welcome to stay in Atlantica for as long as you’d like. It’s the least I could do.”

“T-Thank you. That’s very gracious of you, your Majesty.”

“Guards!”, calls Triton to his sentry of swordfish. “Escort Ariel back to her room, and make sure she stays there.”

In compliance with their King’s orders, the aquatic soldiers guide Ariel to her room. Ariel shares brief eye contact with her savior Marin, lamenting their not being able to chat more.

The misery in Ariel’s eyes -- to Marin, the root of it felt deeper than just the loss of a loved one. It was a misery she’d sensed even before setting foot (or fin, as the case may be) inside Atlantica.

“With your permission, my King…”, Sebastian chimes in with, “…I’d like to give our guest here da grand tour.”

Rising from his throne, Triton submits, “Please do, Sebastian. If you’ll excuse me, I would retire to my quarters now.”

The three all take their respective leaves of the throne room -- Triton in one direction, and Marin and Sebastian toward the palace entrance. Turning to the little crab, Marin asks, “Hope you don’t mind me asking, but what’s with the gloomy atmosphere? Did someone pass away recently?”

“Not at all, child.”, replies Sebastian with his best smile. “Even for an outsider like you, the air in Atlantica is blatantly dark. Exactly one year ago today, Queen Athena -- King Triton’s beloved -- was lost to us.”

Marin’s heart sinks. “Ariel’s…mother?”

“Yes. She filled his Majesty’s life, and all of Atlantica, with joy and song. It was such a magical time. …But after her tragic passing, King Triton’s heart fell into darkness, and the joy of music only deepened his anguish. From that moment on, music was declared illegal in Atlantica.”

“Illegal…!?”

As their conversation went on, the two reach an outer garden on the east side of the city where a grand stone statue stood. The statue was of a tall, well-built merman and a… Wait. A powerful sense of déjà-vu hits Marin, and in that instant she remembered where she’d last seen Triton: the image in the music box she found. It was Triton in the music box, and it was Triton in the statue before her. “…So this is Athena?”, Marin suddenly asks Sebastian, referring to the woman in the stone Triton’s arms.

“Dat’s right.”, the crab answers. “The death of our dear Queen Athena’s taken a considerable toll on King Triton. He spends most of his days in his chambers, wallowing in despair. And when his Highness is sad, everyone in Atlantica is sad. And when everyone is sad…”

“…The Heartless swoop in…!” Thus the mystery of the overabundance of Heartless was solved: they were drawn by the darkness in everyone’s hearts. “This is terrible. As long as King Triton’s heart remains dark, the Heartless will never stop coming.” Marin was admittedly at a loss. She’d never before faced a scenario such as this. “…Sorry, Sebastian, but there’s something I need to take care of! Thanks for the tour!” With that, Marin swims away toward who-knows-where…

…while Sebastian is left to ponder her abrupt exit. “But…I wasn’t even finished…”

As the ‘Heartless-Atlantica War’ rages on outside, Marin retreats to the isolation of a grotto on the outskirts of the city where she could contemplate in silence. The melody of the music box in her hands brings calm to her turbulent mind. “What am I supposed to do?”, asks Marin to herself. “Pretty sure Ciel, Roche, and Relena aren’t here. If that’s the case, I have no business here, right? But…I can’t just leave Atlantica the way it is. As a Keyblade master, I have to do something, don’t I? But what!? Just go up to King Triton and say, ‘hey, stop being a crybaby and man up’!? That’s no plan! Argh! Why does this have to be so hard!?” The more Marin stressed over it, the more it gave her a headache. Heaving a sigh, she leans back against a wall and glances up to the surface of the water. Even now, the red-haired girl longed for home. She closes the music box’s lid, shuts her eyes for a spell, and lets the gentle sounds of the sea caress her ears. Unable to fight the urge, she starts to hum a mellow tune: not that of the music box, but rather a tune she herself knew for some time. Parting her lips ever so slightly, Marin puts lyrics to the melody. “Make my wish come true, let darkness fade to light… Show me there’s still hope, show me it’s not--”

“Miss Marin…?”

“!!!” With a gasp, Marin stops singing and quickly hides the music box. As she turns to face her addressor, she’s surprised to find little Ariel out and about. “Ariel! What’re you doing out here? Your father told you to stay inside; it’s dangerous to be outside on your own!”

“I know, I just… I wanted to see you again. I never got to thank you for saving me.”

The little girl’s blush melts away Marin’s demeanor and stress, and the young woman gives a kind smile. “Ohhh… You are just the cutest thing ever!”, she emotes. “C’mere. You can sit next to me if you want.”

With an eager smile, Ariel swims over and seats herself at Marin’s side, excitedly kicking her tail as she sits. “I liked that song you were singing just now.”

“Oh. Heh. You heard that, huh? My friend Serah taught it to me. What do you say we keep that between us? I wouldn’t want your daddy to get mad at me.”

“Sure. I won’t tell anyone. …You’re lucky. You don’t live in Atlantica, so you get to sing all you want.”

“You like singing too, Ariel?”

“I love singing! …Well…I used to. When Mommy was here, she’d sing to me and my sisters all the time. And Daddy loved to hear her sing. But after Mommy died, Daddy…changed. Now he says singing isn’t allowed in Atlantica.”

‘Illegal’. ‘Isn’t allowed’. The thought of such phrases being applied to music made Marin cringe. “Ariel, music isn’t something you can just forbid. Every now and then, there are moments when you feel something so strongly. And when those moments come, you have to express how you feel one way or another. Keeping those emotions bottled up just isn’t healthy. And your father is a fool for not realizing that. Music…is one of the most powerful forms of magic in the universe.”

“Wow… Hey! Hey! Can you teach it to me?”

“Hmm?”

“Your song! Teach it to me! Please?”

“Hahaha. I bet your mother couldn’t say ‘no’ to you either.” Marin puts an arm around Ariel’s shoulder and holds her close, occasionally stroking her long hair, as she begins her song anew.

[BGM: Serah’s Theme (Overseas Version)]

Make my wish come true, let darkness fade to light
Show me there’s still hope, show me it’s not over
Battles we can win, our struggle lies within
Will we live to greet the dawn?

Drawn in by Marin’s lovely voice and melody, various forms of undersea fauna approach to hear her up-close. Seahorses and angelfish arrive from the north, starfish and manta rays from the south. Clams and sea snails emerge from within their shells to have a listen. And right at Marin’s side, little Ariel leans in and closes her eyes, almost drifting to sleep.

Love will not leave you, hate will not heal you
Promise me one day that peace shall reign…

The grotto is blanketed in serenity as Marin finishes her song. Only the faint rippling of bubbles could be heard.

This serenity is soon shattered, however, by a nearby cry of, “It came from over here!”

At the sound of this, the many fish that had gathered together suddenly swim away in a panic to all directions. The clams and sea snails retreat into their shells, and Ariel clings to Marin tightly.

A group consisting of King Triton, Ursula, and a pair of swordfish enter to confront the two mermaids. Barks one swordfish at Marin, “You! You were saying just now, weren’t you!? That’s a violation of the Triton Acts!”

“All music is forbidden in the kingdom!”, the other swordfish adds.

“So I’ve heard…”, Marin sneers. But in the face of Triton’s livid glare, she quickly casts off her arrogance.

As his right hand clutches a golden trident, Triton looks down upon his daughter. “Ariel. Come here.”, he demands.

The timid 6-year-old leaves Marin’s side and floats over to her father’s side, saying nothing and keeping her head down while doing so.

The ruler of the seas looks to Marin then. “…Marin. According to Sebastian, you were informed that music was illegal in Atlantica. Correct?”

“…Yes.”

“Then you realize the mistake you’ve made here?”

“‘Mistake’? Since when is a love for music a ‘mistake’?”

“In Atlantica, my word is law. We are well-set in our ways in regards to Atlantica’s bylaws and customs, outlander, and I’ll thank you to respect that. Now, as I’ve said, you are welcome to stay in Atlantica for as long as you’d like, but during such time, you will adhere to our laws without question. Furthermore, you are not allowed inside the royal palace, and you are prohibited from communicating with any of my daughters.”

“That’s not fair!” Marin floats up to challenge this, but the bill of a swordfish cuts her off.

“And should you violate this arrangement…”, Triton adds, “…or in any way show disrespect to our ways, you will be forever banished from my kingdom! Do I make myself clear!?”

The auburn-haired mermaid grinds her teeth, but consents. “…Yes, your Majesty. I understand.”

“Good. Come along, Ariel. You are confined to the palace until further notice.”

“…Yes, Daddy.”

The group (plus one Ariel) departs for the palace. Ursula lingers for a moment to look at Marin, expressing her intrigue, before joining them.

“…” Marin gives a look of great displeasure. Triton may be a king, but she wasn’t fond of being talk down to in any capacity. Drawing the Deepest Blue, she slashes at the Sea Neon to her rear and screams in anger. “…That settles it. I’m not leaving Atlantica until I fix this.”, she resolves. “Time for King Triton’s wake-up call! …And I think I know just how to give it to him.”

The exterior of the palace is as dismal and teeming with Heartless as ever, with the Swordfish Patrol scrambling to keep the kingdom and its citizens safe. With the situation as bleak as it was, a certain Keyblade wielder finds she’s able to slip past the guards and into the palace with ease. Once inside, Marin exercises further stealth as she makes her way toward the northeastern tower. She ducks into a coral garden as the patrol swims by. As the guards fall out of earshot, Marin calls to the highest tower window in her loudest whisper. “Pssst! Ariel!”

A bundle of red-haired cuteness pokes her head out the window and spots Marin in the gardens below. “Marin!”, Ariel cries in earnest.

With a kick of her tail, Marin shoots up out of the garden and swims up to the Ariel’s bedroom window, upon which the girl gives her a vigorous hug. “It’s good to see you too.”, says Marin as she tousles Ariel’s hair. Looking straight ahead, Marin discovers several other faces in the room: six additional girls with differing hair colors, tail colors, and hairstyles, and ranging from one to six years older than Ariel. “Are these your sisters?”, she inquires.

“Uh-huh.”, young Ariel answers. “This is Attina, Alana, Aquata, Arista, Adella, and Andrina.”

“Wow. Heh. That’s a lot of A’s.”, Marin remarks. “Listen, I need help with something. Do you and your sisters wanna lend a hand?”

“Sure! What do you need?”

“Get all your fish friends together, grab as many musical instruments as you can carry, and meet me outside the city.”

“Instruments? Why?”

“I’ll explain later. Can you do it?”

“Hmm… Okay! You can count on us!”

…Some time later, a large group of marine animals, led by Ariel and with a number of musical instruments in tow, move stealthily through and out of the city and into a clearing some distance away from the palace where Marin awaited them. She holds up above her a beacon of light from the Keyblade to guide them to her location. “Over here, Ariel!”, she calls out. “Glad you could make it, guys. Just set the stuff down anywhere.”

“You gonna tell us why we hauled all this stuff out here?”, asks a cynical Arista.

“Gladly.”, Marin responds, picking up a flute and playing a short glissando of notes. “…We’re gonna bring music back to Atlantica!”

The redhead’s announcement causes the crowd of fish to grow anxious.

Before she would hear their ‘music-is-forbidden’ argument, Marin continues, “I know I’m asking a lot of you all to defy Atlantican law, but there’s something you -- and your King Triton -- need to understand: music isn’t something that can be controlled. It’s a living, breathing thing, and it yearns to be free. When King Triton took that away from you, he also took away your ability to feel, your ability to live and love life. He took away the very thing that made Atlantica worth living in. I know he’s your king, but his heart is clouded by sadness. He’s forgotten how to be happy, how to love. With this…we can remind him, and take Atlantica back from the darkness.”

The brewing anxiety subsides, and the crowd goes simply quiet…until a little red hermit crab steps forward. “Count me in, mon!”, says Sebastian.

“Sebastian?”, Marin utters disbelievingly. “You’re the last person I’d expect to--”

“It’s true what you say. Ever since her Highness Queen Athena’s death, it feels like the life had been sucked out of me. I don’t care what da law says -- I wanna sing and dance ‘til my shell falls off!”

Aquata stands alongside the tiny crab. “If Sebastian’s in, then so am I!”

“Me too!”, cries Adella.

“Same here!”, Andrina echoes.

Similar exclamations fill the crowd, and before long it was unanimous. Marin’s eyes light up with excitement at this spectacle. “Alright then! Everyone, grab an instrument and follow me!”

Each instrument on the ground, just as quickly as they were set down, is snatched up by the fish nearest to it, and the residents of Atlantica fill the field with discordant musical sounds, like an orchestra warming up before its concerto. As the scene plays out before them, a pair of slithery moray eels observes from within the shadows. The milky white of one’s left eye and the other’s right glow an ominous yellow, and the scene is somehow transmitted to a crystal ball in Ursula’s palace chambers, where the lavender-skinned squid woman watches with heavy disdain. “‘Bring music back to Atlantica’, eh? Hmph!”, she scoffs. “Not if I have anything to say about it. My research into those creatures isn’t complete yet. And if it’s King Triton that’s truly drawing them here, then whatever crackpot plan the little lady is planning, I can’t let it succeed!”

The level of Heartless activity in the palace recedes -- a rare occurrence in Atlantica -- allowing a well-needed respite for the swordfish kingdom watch. Three such guards assemble in the palace courtyard. “All clear up north!”, the first states.

“Same goes for the west!”, the second adds.

“Good work!”, the third swordfish commends. “A couple more patrols should do it for… Huh? Hey, you guys hear somethin’?”

The other two put their ears to the air and, to their surprise, hear a distant but slowly approaching sound. A sound not heard in Atlantica for a year. “Is that…music?”

All three look to the city entrance and discover a large group of mermaids and fish, with Marin at the forefront, marching to the beat of the music they were creating. The harmonious, energetic sounds of horns, strings, woodwinds, drums, and tambourines fill the air. Drawn by the big band music booming outside, mermen and mermaids emerge from their homes to have a listen. It had been a whole year since their ears were graced by such wondrous sound. It brought smiles to some and the urge to break into dance to others. Those obedient enough to King Triton’s rule to try and put a stop to this ‘unlawful madness’ would be subject to Marin’s magic and frozen in ice; she would not be stopped this early.

It wouldn’t take long for the music to reach the palace walls; King Triton and Ursula promptly emerge just as Marin’s jazz ensembles enter the palace courtyard. Through his clenched teeth, he bellows, “What is the meaning of this!?”

“This, King Triton…”, Marin exclaims, “…is an intervention!”

“You!”, the angered king snarls. “I might’ve known you were behind this, outlander! Are our ways so beneath you that you must continually flout them? Will you stop at nothing to ruin us!?”

“‘Ruin’ you!? I’m trying to help you! The people of Atlantica are miserable, your Majesty! You have the power to change that, yet you do nothing but grieve!”

“You dare tell me how to rule my kingdom…!?”

“Loving music is not a ‘mistake’, your Majesty! It’s not a crime!”

“You have no say in the matter!”

“…Oh, really…? What about Queen Athena?”

“!!!”

“What do you think she’d say if she saw Atlantica now? I may not have known her, but I know she wouldn’t have wanted this.”

“…How dare you…!”

“I love music, King Triton. No law will ever change that fact.”

“…Then you are no longer welcome in these waters, outlander. And despite what you say on the matter, I will not have music in MY kingdom!!! EVER!!!”

Coinciding with Triton’s roar, a rumbling wail shakes Atlantica to its core. An enormous shadow falls upon the city and palace, prompting all eyes in the kingdom to turn upward. The massive underbelly of a blue whale-shaped Heartless eclipses the sun. As its deep song echoes, the whale swings its giant tail down onto the palace, smashing the tower farthest northwest into rubble. The city erupts in panic.

As the whale passes overhead, Marin meets Triton’s eye again. “There! You see!? You see what the darkness in your heart is doing!? Your kingdom is so caked in it, it’s attracting the Heartless like flies to a bug zapper!”

“The…darkness in…? You’re not suggesting I’m the cause of this!?”

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting!” As their squabble continues, a second tremor shakes the kingdom and breaks away another tower. “Argh! I don’t have time for this!”, Marin grumbles. She draws the Deepest Blue and swims up.

“W-Wait! What are you going to do!?”

“What you refuse to do yourself!”

As the Keyblade wielder swims off, Ursula shows a sneering glare. “…Tch!”

“…” The speechless Triton watches as Marin goes to challenge the huge Heartless, but his gaze is shifted downward when something tugs at the tip of his tail.

“…Daddy?”, Ariel whimpers below.

“Ariel…” Widening his gaze, he notices his six other daughters gathering around him and giving similar expressions. “Girls…”

Far above the kingdom, Marin swims up to the Heartless whale’s eye as it doubles back around. “Buddy, I’m not having the best day, and you’ve got possibly the worst timing ever!”, she snaps. “So why don’t you do us both a favor and get lost!?”

In reply, the Heartless lets out another rumbling wail.

“Yeah… I had a feeling you’d say that…!”

[BGM: The Corrupted]

The Mermaid Eater brings its flipper up to smack Marin away, but Marin easily swims around the attack due to the whale’s weight and sluggishness. With the Keyblade, Marin circles around the whale’s body, zapping at its skin with a bombardment of lightning. This unfortunately does little more than annoy the whale. It retaliates by summoning a large horde of Aquatanks and Darkballs from the black bubbling wrinkles on its back. With a frustrated scowl, Marin swims up to dispose of these parasite-like Heartless, firing upon them with Ragnarok. She then redirects her attention to the Mermaid Eater below her and prepares to strike, but not before being sprayed upon by a blast of hot water from its blowhole. This puts some distance between the two – distance Marin couldn’t afford to cross, as the whale had been making its way back toward Atlantica for the duration of the battle. And no amount of Blizzard magic would slow it down. With a powerful kick of her fins, Marin lunges at the whale at high-speed, tearing into its skin as best she could. Marin then looks ahead and notices that the Mermaid Eater was a direct collision course with Atlantica. Thinking quickly, she swims up to the whale’s eye again and shoots at it with a sphere of Fire. The whale exhales a pained cry and veers sharply at the last second, taking only another of the palace towers down with its flipper. To deter Marin further, it summons a large cluster of Sea Neons and Sheltering Zones. Marin exterminates a small percentage of them with Gravity, then goes to confront the remainder head-on. As they gang up on her, she blasts them away with the light of a Faith spell. Looking to end this quickly, Marin circles around the Mermaid Eater’s body several more times in search of its Heartless emblem, but to no avail: the beast had no externally visible emblem to speak of. As Marin struggles to locate its weak spot, the whale turns back around and tries for three. What’s more, it summons even more Heartless to wear down Marin’s stamina. ‘If this keeps much longer, Atlantica will be nothing but rubble!’, the Keyblade-wielding girl mentally grumbles.

Even the people of Atlantica below were having a hard time of it: as Atlantica crumbles around them, the merpeople and fish scrambled for shelter from the falling tower debris. While most of the destruction was localized outside the city, King Triton protects those within the city walls by blasting the falling towers with his trident. However, the stress brought on by his year-long bout of grieving causes exhaustion to set in rather early. Perhaps it was old age; perhaps he was out of practice -- whatever the reason, Triton’s limit would soon be reached.

Back up above, Marin swims around to the Mermaid Eater’s front, firing upon its face and nose with whatever spells she had in her arsenal. The whale cries once again and opens its mouth to inhale. “W-What the…!?” Unable to fight against the Heartless’ breath, Marin is pulled into its great maw and swallowed. From here, she was unable to determine how far and how close the whale was from Atlantica; her time was therefore short. Rather than try to force the whale’s maw open again, she swims further into its body, perhaps to try and take it down from the inside. As expected, more swarms of Heartless would emerge to hinder her, but she would not be deterred. With an endless succession of magic projectiles, she blasts her way through and heads for where its heart was located. Once far enough in, she comes to a sort-of chamber housing a large core with a multitude of ‘veins’ reaching outward. Every few seconds, it throbs stagnantly. And at its center was a large Heartless emblem. Were Marin not on a timetable, she’d stop for a moment to laugh at the irony. As the Heartless move in from the rear, she seals them off from the core with a wall of ice and turns back to the emblem, taking aim at it with the Keyblade. “And just so you know…I did ask nicely!”, Marin snaps again, tossing her weapon at the emblem like throwing a javelin in track and field. The blade whizzes through the water and punctures the emblem clean through.

From the inside out, the Mermaid Eater begins to disintegrate into black dust. In the throes of death, it lets loose a final agonized cry, and just before vanishing into nothingness, it manages to take down one last palace tower.

As his arms fall limp to his sides, Triton exhales a breath of fatigue, believing his duty to be over at last. But his gaze shifts up as the collapsing tower’s shadow falls upon his form. “!!!”

Ariel and her sisters look on in dread. “DADDY!”, the seven mermaids scream out.

“Thundaga Shot!”

With a timely explosion of lightning, the tower is reduced to fragments that rain harmlessly upon the weary king.

As her own battle comes to an end, Marin floats down to confront Triton again. The Keyblade in her hand vanishes in a swirl of azure light. “…”

At first, Triton finds himself unable to look Marin in the eye. “Was… Was it as you said…? The arrival of those creatures -- the ‘Heartless’ -- was my doing…?”

“The Heartless feed on the darkness in peoples’ hearts.”, Marin explains. “They’re drawn by it. The death of Queen Athena brought out your darkness, and the more time you spent grieving, the more it grew…until it couldn’t be contained.”

Triton hides his face in shame. “…I did this…”

“…” Reaching behind her, Marin takes out the music box and presents it to Triton.

“!!!” Triton’s eyes widen with disbelief at the sight of the trinket. He reaches out to take it into his hands and lets the melody play in its entirety. “W-Where… How did you…?”

“I know you miss Queen Athena, King Triton. But by pushing music away and embracing the darkness, you’re only tarnishing her memory. Music holds a power unlike that of your trident or my Keyblade. It reaches deep within, finds what troubles you, and drives it out, replacing it with only positive feelings. It’s a magic that isn’t to be taken lightly. And I know it’s somewhere inside you, your Majesty. You may have disregarded it this whole time, but it’s there, waiting for you to let it out. So let it out already. It’s the best way to keep Athena’s memory alive.”

“…Athena…”, Triton somberly whispers, holding the music box close to his chest. Turning to his rear, he faces the stone statue of himself and Athena, setting the music box down at its base.

As its melody plays, a most spectacular miracle occurs: from out of the music box rises a swirl of golden bubbles that surround the statue and turns the stone that composed it into a glinting solid gold. Following this, a rain of gold glitter falls upon the ground around the statue and works a form of restoration magic that not only covers the entire city with colorful flowers and light but also returns the palace to the beauty and glory it beheld prior to the Mermaid Eater’s attack; the fallen towers are instantaneously repaired, and the palace shone brighter than ever.

And for the first time in a year…King Triton smiled.


“…Attention, all!”

Soon afterward, Triton would address everyone in Atlantica in the palace assembly hall. To each of Triton’s sides stand three of his loving daughters; Ariel is seen perched on Triton’s shoulder. Marin too was in attendance. “To my daughters…”, he starts, “…and to all citizens of Atlantica, I hereby decree that music shall once again ring clear from one end of my kingdom to the other!”

This news brings long-awaited delight to the people of Atlantica, and Triton eagerly accepts their joyful cheers.

As his people jump for joy and dance to the music that followed, Triton turns to Marin, placing a hand on her shoulder. “…Thank you.”, he says to her.

Marin warmly replies. “…My pleasure.” Just then, she’s taken by the hand. “Whoa!”

“Hee-hee! C’mon, Marin!”, shouts Ariel excitedly, pulling at Marin’s arm. “Dance with me!”

“Hahaha! Okay, okay, settle down!”

The scene brings a short chuckle out of King Triton, as he was simply glad that life had returned to his kingdom. And as his large hands stroked the music box, he would mentally vow it would never again leave.

~ Next Report: Vanishing Radiance ~