Time passes much more quickly in Rohandor and many long and happy years have gone by since the characters retired to enjoy their respective 'happily ever afters,' their greatest foes were imprisoned in the Forever Stone, bound in an eternal sleep. Until Now.
Happily Ever Afters takes place in Rohandor, a mystical realm on another plane of existence from our own. Here our favorite Disney heroes and villains live in a world all their own; Alive, but far from well. Heroes and heroines fight to keep peace while newly freed villains seek their revenge. Come join us in an epic adventure as the characters you love clash in a struggle that will determine the fate of Rohandor!
HEA is an AU canon-only animated crossover Disney Play-By-Post Role Play with minimal word count.
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4/24/21: We've been on hiatus for a number of years now. I don't know that I'm entirely ready to return BUT I have been cleaning up the site and working to update everything since a number of movies have released. There is still A LOT of work to do but if you see this update and were an active member of the site prior to the hiatus, please send the Yen Sid account a DM to let me know you're still interested in playing and if you wish to retain your current roster. I hope you've all been doing well and staying safe!
Happily Ever Afters is a play-by-post forum role playing game based on the movies and television series of Disney and Pixar. It was created for recreational and entertainment purposes only and not intended to step on any toes, offend, or infringe. We did not create nor do we own the content from the Disney and Pixar stories and movies. None of the threads and writing on this forum is associated or affiliated with Disney/Pixar in any way. We do not make any money off of this site or its content. The icons used in the Forum Information & Statistics and those like it throughout the board as well as the BBC buttons and smileys were taken from a layout called Absolute Madness made by PookyTart from Userbar Depot. All of the other graphics used on this board were found, created, or otherwise edited by Yen Sid or Te Fiti. Please don't steal or use any graphic from this board without explicit permission. All storylines and plots used in the threads/topics were created by the staff and members of HEA and should not be copied or used on another board without permission.
The ocean rippled gently as far as the eye could see, near-noon sunlight glinting and glimmering off of its surface. Beneath the waves, the warm rays danced in an incredible display of illumination which- to any undersea dweller- was simply business as usual...
However, this particular place on this particular day was not without its share of 'clouds'.
Beneath the ocean surface, a truly massive shadow glided among the local flora and fauna- which, thankfully for them, were beneath its notice. Monstro the Whale was going about his daily business, which was more or less exactly that; consuming all he did notice, and ignoring all he did not.
Going along his 'merry' way, the immense whale stopped as those dancing rays of sunlight were suddenly extinguished. Blinking, he looked upward and began to ascend. He'd been quite enjoying the sunlight, and took some amount of offense at whatever had impeded them in their relaxing course.
From above, it was like a grand azure and gray mountain bursting up from the water as Monstro surfaced, a geyser of air bursting from the blowhole of the beast... the mist collecting on the underside of another great shadow that hung in the air just above him.
-
"Ahhh, and there you are, my little friend... although my use of the term is quite figurative." Within the larger 'shadow'- the helicarrier belonging to Señor Senior, Senior- its owner and pilot looked down upon the breaking waves with a broad smile on his face. "I must apologize for my intrusion; I know full well through my son the frustration of having one's tanning lights blocked. However, it is for a higher cause... an evil cause!" With a grin, he reached down and pushed a large button on the helicarrier's control console. Beneath the carrier, a massive door opened up to reveal several robotic arms, each of which carried one corner of an enormous net. Immediately, as though the very notion of this was offensive to him, Monstro kicked up his tail, barely missing the helicarrier. At the same time, the articulated mechanical arms swiftly swept themselves down and beneath the mighty whale. As the net began to lift Monstro toward an opening hatch on the ship's undercarriage, the ship began a labored weaving this way and that, finding predictable difficulty in hauling the whale especially once he started to thrash. Senior let out a soft 'harrumph', briefly considering giving the whale an electric shock, but thought better of it. If he was going to 'tame' this creature, best not to antagonize it... any further, anyway.
It was probably for the best he decided not to send an electric pulse through the large net anyway:
It had taken on an unintended stowaway...
[Tag @ariel]
Last Edit: Sept 24, 2014 19:01:57 GMT -5 by Deleted
Reports had come in that morning of a strange object hovering in the skies far out to sea. Ariel didn't recall exactly who had spied the thing. Likely it had been a fishing vessel, or one of the myriad merchants who used the Pearl Kingdom's iconic port to ferry their goods and coin their trade. The moment that Ariel had heard this, she had been anxious. Anxious for two different reasons that were distinctly at odds with one another.
The first mode was a kind of excitement. Not even that, really, rather a cautious hope. Perhaps, even if this object were some mechanism of evil, it would have something to do with Atlantica's quiet?Days had by now stretched into weeks since Ariel had had any contact whatsoever with her family. There had to be a reason. Maybe this news would lead to answers? Answers that had so far been denied her?
The second styling of her anxiousness was more wary and practical. Were this spotted object something from one of the other kingdoms - something lawful and good - she would have been warned of it beforehand. The mystery draped around it leaned toward the theory that it was quite the opposite. Ariel was no fool. Ever since the failure of the Forever Stone things had been too quiet throughout Rohandor. The calm before the storm, is what it felt like. All of the noble hearts of the various kingdoms waited with baited breath for when their loosed adversaries would show themselves.
Could this be the first bold stroke against the realm?
No matter the variables, Ariel knew that further investigation was required. Thankfully the Pearl Kingdom of the Shell boasted some of, if not the most formidable vessels in Rohandor. Captains and crewmen that matched the strength of the ships, as well. Eric was at an important council meeting with a neighboring kingdom and Ariel wondered if he would ever be at home when one of these noteworthy events were taking place. She felt as though she were standing against trials all on her own lately.
The princess ordered their swiftest vessel be sent to the general whereabouts of this strange phenomenon. That should have been it. Ariel should have attended to her other duties in Eric's absence and awaited the return of the ship and the news that it would carry with it. Directly after commanding this be done, however, Ariel was possessed by a great restlessness. She paused as the messenger made to exit the room to carry out her will and stared out at the rolling sea, biting her bottom lip. At the last moment, she called for the royal courier to make an addition to his message; she would be accompanying this excursion.
So it was that, despite the protests of a fair few people (the captain of the ship included), she was above deck when that very ship came into sight of the thing from the reports. Ariel squinted at the speck on the horizon. She screened her eyes with one hand against the sunlight that baked the rippling surf. The princess was not at as much a loss as she otherwise may have been. Technology from the more futuristic realms of Rohandor still perplexed her, but they did not astound her anymore. Generally speaking. What was fast approaching before her would test that theory.
Ariel likened it to a ship in its own way when more details could be garnered as they neared it. Only instead of mastering the waves it straddled the clouds. There was a knot in the pit of her stomach. Something wasn't sitting right with the princess. She asked for a spyglass and was given it. Through the device she discerned more details of the sky-ship. They were hovering in place for some reason. Out of curiosity Ariel turned the spyglass down toward the surface of the sea beneath the machine. There came a shadow beneath the waves that was not cast by the thing above.
She lowered the spyglass, blue eyes fierce and confused. Her own ship was almost upon the flying vessel; its speed still astounded her. With awesome fury the shadow beneath the surface deepened and then surfaced. Foam and mist sprayed a hundred feet into the air. Ariel watched as the bottom of the sky-ship opened and her lips parted, letting loose a gasp as wretched epiphany struck. Her eyes darted from the descending net to the largest whale she had ever seen. Ariel did not hesitate after that.
The princess looked around, in the thralls of desperation. She spotted the handle of a dagger strapped to the captain's belt, who she stood beside. Ariel snatched the blade from its sheath and ran toward the nearest railing. She jumped up, used the banister as a stepping stone to further her leap, and dove headfirst into the ocean. Ariel did not know if cries rang out on the deck of the ship she'd just left toward her, or if the crew was still too fascinated with the sky-ship and its doings to notice her departure. All Ariel knew was that she had to get to the whale. She had to cut him free of the net that as even now closing the distance between itself and the mighty creature faster than Ariel was.
Even without fins, Ariel was an impressive swimmer. Not just considering speed, but power and agility in kind. It almost should not have been possible; specifically given how constricting her soaked skirts were. Yet, she made it to the side of the gray sea creature just as the net broke through the surface above. Ariel turned in time to see the woven thing surge down behind her, preventing her retreat. Fear gave way to stubborn resolve.
She lifted the dagger, intending on slashing at the netting, but just then the entire thing constricted more tightly against the whale. Ariel was caught in front by the tightening net. Her arm went through it. What little air still remained in her already burning lungs was knocked into a stream of bubbles as the net caught her and pinned her to the creature. Ariel's fingers fumbled. The dagger slipped from her grasp. She caught one last fleeting glance of her and the whale's salvation; a glimmer of silver light, dropping into darkness.
Then she was being borne up, up, up. Through the surface of the sea and into dazzling sunlight.
(OOC: I assure you none of my other posts in this thread will be half as long as this one.)
A short while later, Senior entered the bridge of the ship, a cane in one hand, and a juice box in the other.
Sipping at it a bit, he finally placed it down on the control panel (Juice boxes were convenient as they tended to prevent unsightly spills) and pushed a few buttons on its surface.
Immediately, the view of the oceanic scenery passing by disappeared from the windshield, replaced by a display of the dimly lit cargo hold of the helicarrier.
Inside, Monstro the Whale- now bound tightly in high-density netting- was held aloft by robotic arms. The mighty whale had seemingly given up his struggles for the moment, content (in a manner of speaking) to hang there and glare around him. It was unlikely he had even taken notice of the girl who now hung there with him.
"I must say, you will make a drastic improvement over the old koi pond." He proclaimed with a smile. "Perhaps you are not as pleasant to watch- you make an awful ruckus and a dreadful mess, but there are certain things you can do that smaller fish cannot do; swallow cruise liners that I might hold hostage, delivering me priceless treasures from the ocean floor... perhaps it would be impolite of me to threaten offshore oil rigs, as it would certainly have environmental repercussions... but on the other hand it would certainly allow me my revenge against those in the Billionaires' Club whose enormous wealth comes from such things... oh well."
He smirked a bit in spite of himself, leaning his cane against the control panel to take up the juice box again, his free hand zooming the camera in a bit.
"Let us see how Kim Possible reckons with the colossal power of-...!?" His villainous monologue was cut off by a gasp as he caught a flash of red hair from inside Monstro's netting.
"This is... unanticipated." He said, somewhat in awe as he beheld the mess of red hair in the net. "How is it that my high school nemesis has predicted my latest caper this far in advance? Perhaps I am growing slow with age." He said, looking down at the now-empty juice box.
With a harrumph, he crinkled it up in one hand and threw it aside (for a cleaning robot to deal with later), took up his cane and made his way toward the storage bay.
-
The door to the storage bay opened with a soft 'woosh', admitting the silhouette of Señor Senior, Senior.
"Kim Possible. Welcome aboard, as the saying goes... Although I must say I am at a bit of a loss." As he spoke, stepping further into the room, the lights in the hold flickered to life. Monstro let out a grunt as the lights momentarily blinded him, the squirming causing no small amount of discomfort to the inadvertently captured princess trapped in the net with him. "It takes away from our usual spirited game of cat-and-mouse when you choose to capture yourself."
Ariel was too disconcerted to mark much. The cold force of the ocean gave way to fair winds and harsh sunlight, then semidarkness. Somewhere below her there came a deafening sound that she supposed was the bottom of the sky-ship resealing itself. With her on the inside.
The whale that she was bound to was not pleased with his incarceration. His thrashing may have killed her. Fortunately Ariel was against his side, which could move the least and even in his tantrum did not contort overmuch. The worst that she had to deal with in those moments was how very tightly the weave of the net was pressing against her. The whale's weight was not upon her, or she would have been cut into diamond pieces by it. Yet another small fortune in a very dark situation.
Several moments after the sky-ship closed beneath them, Ariel overcame her discomfort enough to think rationally. The whale couldn't continue his jostling. For her sake. There was no one else that she could see in the chamber that they were locked in. Then again, she could see very little to start. Gray shapes at a fair distance and a deep hum that ran through seemingly the entire sky-ship. Struggling at first through her pain, Ariel finally tried to speak. To soothe the behemoth that she was bound against.
The instant the first words fell from Ariel's lips, the whale stilled. She was not able to interact civilly to all sea creatures. Just the vast majority. Denizens of the deep that were truly malicious, or could not care less, were just as lost to her as surface-dwellers. Even then, after a handful of syllables on her part, Ariel did not think that she would be able to befriend this whale. His stillness appeared to her to be spawned of an acidic curiosity. Ariel continued to try to give consolation and reassurance, gasping as she was from the constricting cords about her.
The whale's attention turned onto her - that little voice coming from its side. Ariel shivered in a way unrelated to her sopping wet hair or drenched gown. The weight of that focus was almost unbearable. She had suffered the glare of King Triton at the height of his wrath and that paled in comparison. Ariel forced her way through this focus that nearly stuffed her voice in her throat in its cold spite. She continued her try at soothing the beast. At least he wasn't thrashing anymore. Although that was likely from frigid intrigue or boredom.
Whoosh.
Ariel looked around as, with the sound a chink of light was cast over the room, displaying a strange silhouette. Next there came a voice. One that was old, but cultured and had the strange power to cut through the din of the sky-ship's depths. Finally lights flickered to life and shed the entire chamber in harsh clarity. The room was large; but it had to be, to fit the whale that Ariel was attached to. To start, Ariel was distantly curious. "Kim Possible" sounded like a very strange name for a whale.
She struggled against her bonds in a renewed effort. The weave was so wide - given the size of the prey that it was meant to catch - that Ariel sincerely believed, were she to position herself just the right way, she could fall between the strands. That was almost impossible in itself because of how very firmly she was being held against the whale; Kim Possible. Slowly while the old man who was speaking expounded she strove to negotiate into the right position.
Not until he said his final words did Ariel comprehend. The whale had not "caught" himself. No, she had done that. And accidentally. Kim Possible was her. Or, rather, who she was being mistaken for. Ariel had thought, until that point, that her presence hadn't been noticed. Now that she understood she had, the possibilities of escaping from the net were less promising. Ariel stopped struggling. She couldn't see the speaker very well. Just a little blur at the peripheral of her view thanks to where she was on the whale.
"What are you planning to do with him?" Ariel demanded. Pointing out that she was not, in fact, this "Kim Possible" may have been wise. But Ariel was suddenly swept up in a great fury now that the person obviously responsible for the whale's capture was before her.
"Why, my teenage nemesis, I am disappointed at your lack of imagination!" Senior replied with a haughty smile. He continued to approach the captured whale- who let out a strange, rumbling growl. "I would put it to you that there is very little one cannot do when I have the power of this at my command." He reached out, patting Monstro's gargantuan flank- eliciting another slightly louder growl from the beast.
"To add to my most useful acquisition, it would seem I have captured you as well, Miss Possib-..." At last, he came to stand before the captured girl... and it was only then he noticed.
With wet hair, it was easy to mistake Ariel's deeper red locks for Kim Possible's fiery red-orange head of hair. However, now that he was closer, his experience with Kim made the difference all too obvious.
"... You are not Kim Possible." He said at last in a very curious voice. "Why did you not say something before? You have my sincerest apologies; I will have this matter sorted out immediately." He turned on his heel, making his way back toward the door to the cargo hold before hesitating.
"... Who are you? And what is it that you were doing out in the middle of the ocean?" He asked, approaching Ariel once again. "The likelihood of trapping tourists alongside the great Monstro the Whale is... poor at best."
Ariel's brow furrowed momentarily in confusion, not entirely vanquishing the stubborn rage that had mastered her features. Then she remembered that this man was mistaking her for someone else; this "Kim Possible". Beings that she hadn't said otherwise and he hadn't discovered the truth so far, he was naturally going to continue speaking to her under that assumption. Speaking to her as someone that he knew for a long while, apparently. Someone who was his "nemesis".
The princess continued to hang there in quiet indignation. Until, that is, the stranger spoke of the whale at his mercy like a utensil or object. Ariel's hear hammered. Her veins flooded with fire anew. She needed to get out of the net's snare. Needed to get the whale back into the ocean. Somehow. Somehow.
Ariel remembered that before the man had entered she'd been trying to negotiate herself through one of the overlarge, whale-sized diamonds of the netting. She couldn't risk continuing the task because of how close the man was paying attention. For some reason Ariel did not even think for a moment that he would listen to reason. That her protests, or even the brandishing of her royal title (against her nature though it was to use it as a token of power or influence) would convince him to undo this awful deed.
Finally the man stepped in front of the princess. He was curled by age but his eyes were still sharp. Ariel's blue gaze shone defiantly when it was obvious that her captor finally realized she was not who he thought she was. "No. I'm not," she replied coldly. Ariel tried, but it was hard to appear prideful and resolute when bound to a gargantuan whale.
Surprisingly, to Ariel, when her mistaken identity was sorted the elderly man appeared apologetic. Even polite. Confusion injected itself into her exterior, only serving to warp her look of cold anger into mildly disgusted. The man turned and began shuffling toward the door from whence he'd come. Ariel did not think that this was an individual with a sense of morality that she could depend on. His actions thus far disagreed with that possibility.
Even if he let her go of the net, how would she convince him to let go of the whale that he appeared intent on keeping under his control? Ariel doubted that declaring her status as Princess of the Pearl Kingdom of the Shell would amount to anything. In fact, part of her wondered if revealing that would only earn her further imprisonment. The man before her had captured a creature from the depths to suit his desires; how would a hostage royal prove helpful to him?
Thoughts passed through Ariel's mind in a moment. She made her decision. When the man turned back to the door she renewed her efforts in trying to shimmy out of the net on her own. Ariel could see what must be some form of control unit near the door that the man had entered through. Maybe if she could get to them before she could be stopped, she could open the sky-ship's hull and let the whale go back into the ocean?
Briefly Ariel considered what success would mean: she'd still be stuck on the flying craft. The man could probably easily recapture the whale, too, if he didn't escape quickly enough. There was no guarantee that those controls near the door would even do what she desired. Or that she could make it to them in time. Or that she could even wrest herself from her corded prison.
None of those mattered. Ariel had to try.
Ariel had made an actual fair amount of progress in the few moments when her captor turned around. She was forced to stop her attempt when he addressed her again, asking for her name, and the reason she'd been ensnared along with the whale. Ariel took a breath. Righteous fury welled up in her again and with it, as always, a reckless mulishness. "I am Princess Ariel," she said proudly. Ariel made one last push, shifted against the net and fell through the bindings. Her skirts caught as the net snapped against the whale, rending them to tatters in an instant.
She landed roughly on the metallic floor. The hum that permeated the air now radiated through her bones from the surface she'd landed on. Her knee had been scraped through her stockings. Ariel pushed with her palms against the floor and surged to her feet. Her eyes flicked to the controls by the door and before she could lose the element of (likely already lost) surprise, she began running as quickly as she could to them, intent on throwing every switch, pushing every button until she got what she wanted. "And I'm saving this creature!"
The lights of the Cargo Hold began to flash and dim wildly as she struggled with the control panel. Senior, for his part, staggered a little as the massive door beneath the whale began to open with a low rumble.
Immediately, the elderly man rushed toward where Ariel stood with speed uncharacteristic of a man his age. (Then again, Triton was fairly old, and he was no pushover himself).
Lashing out with his cane, attempted to knock Ariel's hands away from the controls. Taking another step forward, he flipped the door switch of the control panel back into place, the panel sliding back into it's proper position with a heavy 'clunk'.
The tip of his cane came to point threateningly at Ariel's face.
"That was most impolite." Senior said, his voice far colder than it had been upon first addressing her. "You may not be Kim Possible, but it would seem you are every bit as impetuous as she is. I would have hoped a princess would have better manners."
In the background, Monstro had renewed his struggles to break free of the net, especially after seeing that Ariel had freed herself. Of course he would be hard-pressed to squeeze through the diamonds of netting himself (in one piece, at least).
"It was always my intent to use this magnificent specimen to capture things to ransom... and it would appear I have found my first commodity of value. You say you are royalty... of what Kingdom do you claim this title?" He asked.
Miraculously Ariel made it to the panel of controls unmolested. No guards rushed in, no weapon was turned upon her. She reached the terminal and began throwing switches, pressing buttons and spinning nobs at random. Lights flashed. Distant electronic hums started and stopped. Still no one burst through the doors to descend on Ariel. Her continued success made her that much more earnest and finally she stumbled upon the switch that animated the door beneath the massive ship.
Ariel had just set it to open and was trying to find a way to disengage the net that ensnared the massive whale when she realized for the first time that the elderly man was the one trying to stop her. Ariel whirled on her heel when she heard the switch thrown again, only to find herself looking down the length of her captor's cane. For a moment Ariel wondered at pushing against the old man. He shouldn't be that hard to uproot. To evade and subdue.
No matter those logical thoughts Ariel simply could not bring herself to attempt them. He was, after all, wizened. It wouldn't be too outrageous to think that, were they to tussle, he could get hurt. What more Ariel had hardly any fighting skills under her belt. Meanwhile the way that the old man handled a cane told the princess that he wouldn't be as easy to overcome as his age-curled frame hinted.
The elderly man lectured her on manners, which caused anger to spiral up in her chest. Her cheeks felt hot beneath the drying flecks of salt from her dip in the sea. When asked for her title, Ariel obliged on reflex. "Atlantica," she said, dark but proud. Ariel was actually more chiefly the Princess of the Pearl Kingdom of the Shell since her marriage to Eric. Yes, she still toted the title of a Princess of Atlantica, but that was hardly what the man had been meaning by her question. She'd even come there on the Pearl Kingdom's behalf. Not Atlantica's.
This was definitely an issue that more directly involved her heritage than her current title. Ariel felt more an ambassador of Atlantica in her attempts to wrest the whale from this villain's grasp than the wife of Prince Eric.
"Atlantica..." Senior nodded, raising his free hand to stroke his chin. "I cannot say I am familiar with this kingdom from which you hail. Nevertheless, I shall have its riches, if they wish to see you again!" With that he stepped away, lending credence to Ariel's surmise that he was in fact more skilled than he appeared as he twirled and brandished his cane in a threatening fashion.
"I shall need you to join me upon the bridge." He said firmly, stepping nodding toward the door through which he'd entered. "I cannot convey a proper ultimatum without my bargaining chip in plain view. Of course it is normally customary to have you tied to a death device, but I am saving that particular pleasure for when Kim Possible does see fit to arrive. I must admit I am rather disappointed." He said, bowing his head for a moment before snapping back to attention. "Now, if you will join me, your majesty, I have a ransom to collect."
---
"... I said it was Princess Ariel of Atlantica. The kingdom of-"
"I'm sorry, sir; I cannot find anyplace by that name."
"It is- It is at the bottom of the ocean. Who is in charge of the ocean, then? I will speak to them."
"Sir, there isn't anyone who is in charge of-"
"Do not trifle with Señor Senior, Senior! I have a hostage, and if you do not wish for great harm to befall her, you will surrender the ocean's riches to me!"
"Let me transfer you to my supervisor."
Senior let out a grunt of aggravation as he stared up at the screen that normally served as the ship's windshield. He sighed, looking sidelong at Ariel whom he kept at cane's reach should she try to make for the cargo hold again.
"I sometimes wonder why it is that people find it necessary to make something as simple as a kidnapping and ransom so complicated." Senior shook his head.
"Hello?"
"Yes, you, sir! I have the Princess of Atlantica in my clutches, and if you wish to see her alive again-"
"And I'm the Queen of England. Look, the operator service isn't for pranks. Get a job!"
There was a harsh 'click' from the other end of the line before Senior could vocalize his outrage, but his shoulders slumped in defeat.
"This is... not the outcome I had hoped for." Senior sighed heavily and looked back to Ariel. "Can I interest you in a juice box before I let you off?"
[Tag @ariel]
Last Edit: Oct 23, 2014 15:33:19 GMT -5 by Deleted
Ariel felt that she was going entirely against her nature. When the elderly man instructed that they would be moving to the bridge, the princess could barely find the strength to uproot her feet. Or was it the weakness to do so? Ariel looked up at the crimson eye leering at her from the whale - who was too vast for both of them to be directed at her, when she was so close. She was no fool. She understood that there was a kind of malice and power that emanated from this creature. The whale strung up before her was not innocent. Not in ways that other sea animals may have been.
Yet, it was still a living being that had been plucked from her father's realm without consent. Abducted for whatever cruel purposes the man gesturing with his cane at Ariel could dream up. She looked for a long moment into the single red pupil glaring at her, not even breathing. Then Ariel dropped her head in defeat and followed her criminal host. Quietly Ariel assuaged her feeling of betrayal and cowardice by rationalizing that she may be able to do more to help the whale on the bridge than here in this cavernous room.
---
Unfortunately there was no opportunity to slip away from the old man while they moved to their new destination. His attention never fully removed itself from Ariel, and there wasn't any opening presented to her. Soon enough the princess found herself standing in the middle of a technological hub. She had been around the more futuristic devices that found their way into Rohandor before, but Ariel still much preferred the "rustic" era that she came from to fancy, metal gadgets.
Were she not so angry - at herself and at this man - Ariel might have found the proceedings funny. Certainly she started to feel cruelly smug as things carried on. Not overly so, because as Ariel watched her captor try to contact Atlantica it just brought to the surface the sad truth that she could not reach her homeland, either. Even through the proper avenues. Ariel was slightly taken aback when, after his ransom attempt fell flat, the man seemed content to release her. Disappointed, but resigned to do so.
Ariel blinked. She had known true evil. She and Eric had cast true evil to the bottom of the sea in the form of Ursula. This? This man, with his cane and his flying vessel? He, well, he did not strike Ariel as truly "bad". Ariel's brow creased. No, it was almost as if he was doing criminal things to amuse himself. The same way other older men might find a pastime or hobby in tinkering, this one abducted sea creatures. Flummoxed, caught in a frothing pool of mixed emotions and more than a little dizzy, Ariel heard herself decline his offer of a juice box.
Though it sounded more like a question than an answer.
"Truly, this is a dark day the annals of villainy." Senor said somberly as he himself tended to a juice box himself... really, it did add an oddly humorous air to the whole situation. "Perhaps it is some portent that this plan- fiendish as it is- is... ahead of its time." He switched the view on the bridge's windshield to that of the interior of the cargo hold, where automated arms were busy 'misting' Monstro to keep him moist while outside of the water. "Perhaps I might put it off for the moment. Who knows? In the future I may allow Junior to see if he might improve upon it. He has been making leaps and bounds of late." He turned fully to face his until-recently captive with a broad smile on his face. "Yes, I believe that may be for the best."
As he concluded his remarks, the carrier vessel came down toward water level, and on the monitor Ariel could see the cargo bay doors beginning to open, and the ropes holding the net beginning to slacken.
He was actually releasing Monstro...
"I shall release you here; I presume the... Atlanticans? I presume they will be able to find you, or would you prefer I send a distress signal so that the Coast Guard may find you?"
Ariel felt as though she had just been hit in the stomach. Oddly enough, in the best way. She couldn't believe it at first, then refused to do so, clinging to skepticism and pessimism instead. Until, that is, she watched the ocean rise up to meet the flying ship and understood that the man was not lying. He was going to release not only Ariel, but the poor sea creature he had captured as well. Indignation and boiling rage had been filling her chest for so long, and now of a sudden they fled away.
The princess thought that she should still remain cool and steely on her exterior. Really, she did try to maintain a glare about her. The magnitude of this unforeseen turn of events overwhelmed that intent, for the most part. Ariel pressed her lips together firmly to keep them from smiling. She clenched her fists at her sides again, this time to try to stave off the urge to- and then Ariel found she was doing so, regardless. The princess had crossed the distance and had wrapped her former captor in a quick, instinctive hug.
"Thank you," she whispered. Then she broke their contact. Ariel did not feel that she had betrayed herself in the show of gratitude. In these last few actions, the man reaffirmed in Ariel the suspicion that had continually grown in her since their first meeting, those minutes before. He was not evil in the way that Ursula was. Not in the genuine way. Again, Ariel thought that villainy was almost like a pastime to the older fellow. Comical, in a way.
"My people will fetch me," she assured him.
Minutes later, Ariel was in the ocean again. The waves lapped against her and even with a dress weighing her down and feet instead of fins, the princess cut through the water like a fish. She reached a hand and waved as the flying ship set off again, and smiled as she felt the dense presence of the whale sink deep into the depths. Not a moment after the sky ship was out of sight, Ariel could see white sails from the vessel she'd abandoned on the horizon, coming with the wind and closing the distance between them at a startling speed.
Senor stared at the display window as the ship pulled away from Ariel and the now-released Monstro (the whale giving the princess a simple huff of... thanks?... before disappearing into the oceanic distance.
As he looked up at the rippling waves, he raised his juice box to his lips and took a very long sip of it until the familiar sound of its running low hit his ears. Dropping the box to the handy receptacle, he let out another sigh. All things considered, he would have liked for this to be a far greater success than it had been, but he could accept what he had accomplished.
"Computer, please report the status on the package?" He said in his ever-polite tone.
"The nano-machines were successfully implanted within subject- Monstro-The-Whale- and are currently online. They are available for activation at your leisure."
"Ahh, thank you, computer." He said with a jovial smile, raising his now free hand and curling its fingers into a fist. "Excellent. Now, when Junior returns from... whatever it is he is doing at present, the evil scheme will be ready for him to take the reigns... or perhaps I may sell this opportunity off to another interested party..."
With that, he left the bridge, thinking that- perhaps- he needed had not had enough caviar to make it through the day.
Shoutbox Rules
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Shoutbox
Welcome to Happily Ever Afters!
Tony Dracon: Responded to your PM, Kat/Ratigan, incidentally.
Jun 27, 2018 20:25:02 GMT -5
David Xanatos: Kat's back. Hope the vacation was fun.
Jul 21, 2018 21:00:05 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: 'Twas a good trip! I'm sad it's over, but at the same time I'm glad to be back home so I can finish up my cosplays for a con next month and hang out with my cats
Jul 26, 2018 12:34:56 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Hope the cosplay goes well. I'm putting away a little extra for a con in a few weeks. and yay cats, they're always good company. Except for that one who slaps me unprovoked XD. So what cosplays do you have in mind unless they're secret?
Jul 26, 2018 17:07:41 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: I'm cosplaying Pearl from Steven Universe and Joseph Joestar from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure!
Jul 26, 2018 23:16:41 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: I'm almost done both of them, I just have to finish styling Pearl's wig and fix up Joseph's gloves and wristbands
Jul 26, 2018 23:17:31 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Awesome. Had to look up Jojo because I'm not hip with the modern pop culture but I hope they turn out well.
Jul 30, 2018 15:33:15 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: I only just started watching the anime last year and I haven't even touched the manga, so I'm barely hip with it lol. fortunately I have my cosplay buddy guiding me through the whole experience
Jul 30, 2018 22:29:38 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: also I finally finished the gloves! They were more of a pain to work with than I expected, but they'll hold together... I hope...
Jul 30, 2018 22:30:13 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Niceness. Hoping they hold also. Got the Dublin comic con next Saturday here. Hoping to meet Karl Urban.
Aug 1, 2018 19:05:32 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: Cool! I think he's coming to my city in the fall, if I remember correctly. Hope you enjoy the con, Daryl!
Aug 2, 2018 19:10:23 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: I spoke too soon. Karl Urban had to cancel for schedule conflicts. They got Nick Frost though, I'm gonna ask him if he'll sign my Hot Fuzz.
Aug 3, 2018 18:08:47 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: Dang! Nick Frost is great though, I love his character in Into the Badlands
Aug 4, 2018 22:54:36 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Enjoy your weekend Kat, hope the costumes came out as you wanted.
Aug 10, 2018 16:49:31 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Met Nick Frost and Michael Dorn at the weekend. Both very nice blokes.
Aug 13, 2018 15:22:59 GMT -5
Dodger: Happy 2019 everyone
Jan 1, 2019 10:54:04 GMT -5
Yen Sid: If anyone is passing by I posted a Hiatus update. Hope everyone is doing well!
Apr 18, 2021 11:31:09 GMT -5
Yen Sid: I've temporarily disabled account creation while I update the site. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your patience!
May 9, 2021 18:31:45 GMT -5
Owen Burnett/Puck: Checked the site again and saw the update! Here's hoping to a revitalized 2022.
Dec 15, 2021 14:41:27 GMT -5