Other Fan Fiction ❯ Reprise ❯ A Touch of Evil ( Chapter 23 )

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CHAPTER 23: A Touch of Evil

"I wonder if we should have brought armed guards?" Rapunzel asked for the third time since they started towards the lava vent.

"They wouldn't do any good," Ariel replied. "Trust me."

Their world had shifted from radiant blue with bubbly, electric colors to a noiseless crimson skyscape. Stalagmites and smoky vents stood out from the crumbled black rock and ash. No music, no fish, no signs of life.

"So he was locked away in a volcano? Then why is he still there?" Elsa asked.

Ariel shrugged. "He doesn't want anything, except to make others miserable. That's the only reason he ever wanted to rule Atlantica."

"How did you get him out?" Elsa asked.

"Why did you get him out?" Rapunzel asked.

"The same way he ever got anything--deceiving people who are young and idealistic." Ariel answered. "That's what's most evil about him--you never know that it's happening to you. He never actually lies. He persuades you into thinking things a certain way."

"Like illusions?" Elsa asked.

"No, more like a trick. I don't know if it's magic or hypnotism or maybe he's just that good. So like I said before, don't listen to him. He will flatter you, twist your mind. He'll make you jealous, arrogant, lose faith in your friends-"

"We know, we know," Rapunzel said. "You've told us eight times already."

"Well, I mean it. He almost brought down Atlantica just by talking to people, setting them against each other. He's a dark shadow you don't know is behind you. The only protection against it is your own willpower."

"Don't worry. I have experience dealing with manipulators," Rapunzel said.

"He's not like anyone you've ever seen or talked to."

Rapunzel smirked, keeping her thoughts to herself. I'll be the judge of that.

They angled their incline higher to head into the volcano. The smoky vents clouded the path ahead. Ariel made the trident shine like a lantern to pierce the fog. At the cavern door, they stopped.

"How's he going to know we're here?" Elsa asked.

"He knows." Ariel gripped the trident with both hands.

A murky deep-throated laughing echoed in the darkness. Elsa and Rapunzel searched for the source. Ariel's eyes remained on the cavern's opening.

"So you've returned..."

The voice was majestic, demanding to be heard. Two yellow eyes blinked open in the darkness. Elsa and Rapunzel gasped.

The yellow eyes glided forward, revealing what they were attached to--a giant manta-man with deep purple skin. Two black wings billowed out from his shoulders like a cape, tapering into a tail with a barbed point. With his thin mustache, or maybe two long whiskers, he looked like a catfish who swallowed the canary islands.

"I thought the only way I would see you again," Evil Manta boomed, "was falling, motionless, to the ocean floor." He laughed.

"That's enough," Ariel said. "We're not here to visit."

Evil Manta grinned. "Come now. The niceties must be observed. I have met so few royals from other kingdoms."

"Don't listen, guys," Ariel said.

"Princess, I'm hurt. What do you expect of me?"

"I expect you to twist their minds with your lies," Ariel said.

"Lies?" Evil Manta said. "Have you ever known me to lie? The truth is so much stronger." The Evil Manta curled around the three of them, stopping near Rapunzel.

"I know you're going to say something about my hair. Don't bother," she said.

"How could I not? And magic as well. I could smell its power all the way from inside my cave." He picked it up like a rope, before Rapunzel yanked it away. "The healing magic of the sun. It must be the envy of all your friends."

"We all have different talents," Rapunzel said confidently. "And we all work together."

"Yes..." Evil Manta hissed and turned his attention to Elsa, swimming so he never stayed in one place for long. "You have remarkable magic too. But it's your commanding leadership the others admire. Do the merpeople in your kingdom see you the same way?"

"We're not from the sea kingdom," Elsa said. "We're from the human world."

Then the Evil Manta did something Ariel thought she'd never see. He shuddered.

"You sully the waters by bringing down humans. The true queen of the mermaids would never do that."

"I'm not a queen. And I'm not a mermaid," Ariel said. "I'm a human. I live in a human world and have human problems."

The manta glanced at her tail, but said nothing.

"And it's something that could affect the entire world. Both yours and ours," Elsa said.

The Evil Manta grimaced. "Then by all means, ask your questions."

"How did you become the Evil Manta?" Ariel asked. "You weren't always like this, were you? No one is born evil."

The Evil Manta laughed, deep from his gut. "Of course not. It takes decades to amass this much power."

He turned his head to gaze at Elsa. From within her mind, the manta's voice spoke. *Do you really call them your friends? The little mermaid hates your bossiness. And your cousin did so much more for your kingdom than you ever did. Wouldn't she be a better queen than you?*

Elsa's head felt fuzzy. Had she thought that herself? She remembered councilors had asked Rapunzel to stay before they left Arendelle, but she didn't have time to ask why. "She wouldn't," Elsa whispered to herself.

The manta smirked. *How do you know that wasn't her plan all along?*

The Evil Manta turned back to Ariel, leaving Elsa glassy-eyed. "Whatever dark magics I used have long since washed away like so much sand. When the world was newer, enchantments and spells were commonplace. We should have destroyed ourselves ten times over. Why? Are you thinking of dabbling in the dark arts?"

"No. We're looking for answers. How did you learn them? Was there a spell book? Did you apprentice under someone?" Ariel asked.

"These sorts of conjurations come from many places. A knowledgeable sorcerer knows to separate the algae from the kelp. Find a man who can cultivate sorrow. Pluck an artifact from an engine of fear." Evil Manta grinned, his eyes floating toward Rapunzel. "It's a long process."

*Are your friends really better off with you here?* the Evil Manta thought at her. *Everything scares you. There's so much you don't know, so much you lack. The world is made to hurt you, steal from you, lie to you. And you're too passive and weak-willed to deal with it.*

Rapunzel set her jaw. These thoughts weren't her own, but she didn't know where they were coming from. And they made sense.

*Maybe you should have listened to Mother Gothel. You aren't a help, you're a hindrance. You have nothing to contribute. One can form ice out of air, the other has the instrument of a god. All you have is long hair.*

"Is there anything of that process left?" Ariel asked. "Does it have any weaknesses?"

Evil Manta barked a laugh. "You expect me to lay out all my soft spots for you?"

"No, no. But maybe there's some defect, some weak point."

"Princess, you are a fool. To come up and ask how to defeat one such as me. Especially when you have overcome my might more than once. Have you forgotten your past?"

*You must be the worst one of all. Your friends think you're immature and dumb. You make mistakes all the time. You have a weapon you don't know how to use. Everyone hates you. You're useless.*

Ariel blinked. Her friends were right. They were echoing everything she thought about herself. Of course, they would never say anything like that...

No, they wouldn't.

Ariel snapped out of the hypnotic trance. She turned to Elsa and Rapunzel. "Girls, don't listen."

But she was too late. Rapunzel and Elsa swayed back and forth like stunned jellyfish, dreamy-eyed and dazed.

"Oh, please. Remember everything we've gone through together?" She shook Rapunzel by the shoulders. "It's not you talking, it's him. Don't listen to what he's saying."

"Oh, is he saying something?" Rapunzel asked. "I didn't hear a thing."

Ariel stopped shaking. She smiled.

"I listened," Elsa said. "What I heard is that Ariel is adventurous and determined. Rapunzel is artistic and sweet. And curious and resourceful."

"And Elsa is strong and wise," Rapunzel finished. She grasped Ariel's hand. Ariel reached out for Elsa's and grabbed hers. They looked into each other's eyes.

"Eugh," Evil Manta said. "Make me sick."

"Enough games," Elsa said. She swam up to Evil Manta and held open the book. "What do you know about this?"

Evil Manta peered through his glowing amber eyes. "The sands of time. A fragment that fell to Earth. A myth."

"I used to think mermaids were a myth," Elsa said. "So try again."

"If it's not a myth, then it's long destroyed."

"Guess again," Rapunzel said.

He grimaced. "If it's not been destroyed then it is somewhere none could reach it. Except the most powerful sorcerer in this era or any eras after."

"I think we've met him. He said it gives him control over time, and he needed us to give it more power."

"If a sorcerer found it, he won't have it for long. The magic needed would corrupt anyone with a weak human soul."

"He seemed fine to us," Rapunzel said.

The Evil Manta scowled. "Then why have you come to me? The mere dream of it turned me into this, and left me trapped in a mountain for centuries."

"Then it's true. You did try to find the grain of time?" Elsa asked.

"Isn't there any way to stop it?" Ariel asked.

Evil Manta leaned in closer. "You are trifling with divine artifacts. The power of the trident is a mere ripple compared to the tidal wave of time. Whatever plans are in place will only sow disorder, chaos, entropy. Just a few of my favorite things." He laughed. "So begone. I have no reason to help you."

The manta-man flipped and swam back into his cave, vanishing into the darkness. A rumble of heavy rock followed, sliding into place, leaving them isolated on the lifeless landscape.

"Well, he was no fun," Rapunzel said.

"Ariel, are you all right?" Elsa touched her on the shoulder.

"I'm trying to think," Ariel said. "I don't know what to do now."

The best thing they came up with was to leave this wretched place. At least returning to the Atlantica would brighten their spirits.

It didn't take long for the gloominess to fade and the seascape return to bright azure. Happy merpeople and bright tangy fish passed by. But Ariel felt like she'd swam into a dead-end tunnel. They had achieved nothing. No solution, no new knowledge. All they could do was escape their problems.

"Maybe we'll just have to stay under the sea forever," Ariel said.

"We can't do that," Rapunzel said with a giggle. "We have kingdoms to look after. I have a husband. So do you."

"Yeah. I'm sorry, guys. I thought we'd be safe down here, but we're just leaving the humans on their own. We need to do something, but I... I don't have any idea."

"It's okay," Rapunzel said. "Sometimes the best thing to do is sit and think. When I was painting a new wall, I would lay in bed for hours, thinking of ideas."

Ariel nodded. "My grotto was like that. But... it's not so secret now, for one thing. And not all my memories of it are good. But it is a good place to-"

"Elsa?" a voiced called out.

A brown-haired merman was swimming towards them.

"Gil?" Elsa's eyes lit up.

"I saw your hair. You're the only mermaid I know with hair that... white."

"Oh... yeah. It is kind of... unusual. Around here, I guess." Elsa coughed. "Sorry I had to leave so suddenly. Me and my friends are working on something and we had to... go talk to someone. Time is of the essence."

"Oh... yeah. I understand," Gil nodded.

Ariel swam between them. "But she's free now, though." Ariel nudged her forward. "She's all done. But we've got someplace we need to be. See you, Elsa."

"Wait, what?" Elsa said.

Ariel swam off, Rapunzel following with an equally big grin. "We'll be at the grotto. Gil knows where it is."

"Yep," Gil said. Elsa hoped her cheeks weren't as red as they felt. Her pale skin was an automatic lie detector.

Gil kicked the end of his tail idly forward. "So, um, what would you like to do?"

"I don't know. I'm new here, so I'm not sure what there is."

"Well, you said you didn't know about seahorses. Would you like to ride one?"

Elsa swallowed. She nodded.