Hi , everyone.

I know you wanted a continuation of "Out of the Dark" by xSummersx. She did a wonderful job with the story I had asked her to write years ago. She is a wonderful and talented writer and I thank her so much for writing it for me when I could not. And I know I will be compared to her, but I hope you give this version a fair shot. Our writing styles are very different and I have a plan in mind for the story (even though the first two chapters will cover the same material).

I own nothing, except the plot and an other future characters not seen in the Disney version. Everything else belongs to Disney. I have no BETAer for this so any mistakes are mine alone. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this version.

Sunlight danced upon the surface of the ocean. Its light once a mere curiously was now was a beacon of life. Her arms wrapped around her two companions, propelling her fragile body upward. Her lungs burned. Bright rays drew close and closer.

She broke the surface.

For a brief moment, she felt completely free. The sun's warm glow tickled her skin as she arched upward in triumph like a bird in flight. Fresh air filled her lungs with new life. Her dreams had become real.

Pain and gravity simultaneously harmonized as she sank back into the ocean.

"Ari-el, ye hav to move," Sebastian called from her right.

She tried, but her new legs only thrashed aimlessly in the water, unable to follow her commands. Their only wish was to rest. Her mind swam. Instinct and stories of death from her youth battled inside her. The ever-present current swept her and her companions along as if they were nothing, but drift wood. An empty horizon stretched out before them.

The three companions pushed forward until the sun had begun its descent. Fatigue bore on all three of them. Ariel stared to the empty horizon.

Did Eric move his castle? Ariel mused. The journey had not seemed to take this long when she had rescued him. But then her strong and graceful tail had aided her rather than the two limp legs.

Something hard brushed against her. Her hands reached out, but the strange marital seemed to stretch on both sides like a wall. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a dark silhouette its base like that of a ship. Panic shot through her, but her arms could only move her forward. She tried to push past, but the net wall only ensnared her. Moments later, the net began to lift her from the sea.

Her blue eyes sought frantically for an escape. She had heard Sebastian's pincers cut through the material, but a jolt of movement had dropped him back to the sea before he could aid her. The desperate cries of her friend and guardian were soon swallowed by distance as she was hosted further from the sea.

Ariel struggled against the ropes. The web held firm. Its thin netting sliced across her palms and back, like sharp coral.

Voices from overhead called out in surprise like a flock of seagulls.

Another jolt, then a swing, and she felt herself tumbling out of the net. The world blurred as her head struck against the sooth wooden deck. In that split second, her body treasured that moment of rest. And thenit shivered from a wash of cold that blew over her as the warmth of sea vanished.

She turned her head and looked up at the circle of sailors. Her blue gaze took in everything from their rounded fins and two dark tails and their striped or white tops. But where the men on the prince's ship had been cheerful, these men were solemn creatures.

Cold, exhaustion, and still mild curiosity kept her still. Who were these men?

Shrewd, harsh eyes fell upon her.

"Looky here, what's this?" a deep voice asked.

"Ye idiot, it's a girl." Another answered.

Confusion pulsed through her. What? Who?

One of the pirates stepped toward her.

Ariel tried to scramble away, but a large hand grasped her ankle and pulled her back. Again, her eyes darted around, but nothing lay in reach. One of the pirates crawled on top of her, straddling her.

"Where did ye dress go?" a third man asked.

Ariel shook her head. What were they saying?

Thick fingers grasped her chin, forcing their eyes to lock. The pirate leaned down, a cruel smile lit his face. "How bout a kiss, missy?"

Dark clouds rolled overhead. The scent of a storm caught on the breeze.

"All hands!" A voice bellowed.

The pirate upon her leapt up, following the others like a pod of school fish. Their rounded fins pounded across the deck in ordered chaos.

Ariel lay forgotten upon the deck. Confusion and fear pulsed her though her. Her new body wanted to curl in on itself. Those looks the men gave her made her cold skin crawl. Had her father been right after all? His words against humanity ran through her mind.

She tried to push herself up, but the wooden floor tipped and sent her slamming against the rail. Large waves crashed overboard. She tried grab the railing, but an unexpected tilt of the ship tossed her back into the ocean.

Flashes of lighting tore through the sky. The familiar waters lashed against her. Salt stung her torn back and palms. Her small, fragile body caught in an unforgiving tempest. In vain, she tried to keep herself afloat. But now she was no more than a speck of sea foam. Consciousness slipped in and out as the dark waves rocked her in their cool embrace like a mother and their child.

Somewhere in her dreams, she found herself upon a bank of sand. Each white grain a hot needle against her skin. Icy water lapped at her ankles. But the only thing she knew, instinctively, was at last a resting calm before she slipped back into blissful darkness once more.

XxX

Prince Eric sighed, staring out to the horizon. The same argument between himself and his adviser replaying in his mind. Only a week, on his birthday, he and his men had been in a ship wreck. His last sight had been stack of barrels and then nothing until he had awoken on shore to the sound of a haunting beautiful voice. No matter what Grimsby said he knew he had not dreamt the encounter up. A girl had saved his life. Her song like a lifeline drawing him up from shallow depths. Its soft, lilting melody stirred his soul. Sailors talked of siren songs luring men to their deaths, but this girl had been real…a true angel.

I am going to find her, he thought. She's out there some-

A loud, quick succession of barking roused him from his thoughts.

He looked around, but the white and gray mutt had wondered off again. He followed the coastline to the eastern part of the beach.

"Max?"

Another bark.

Eric turned and froze. What in heaven's name was he seeing?

Not five feet away a naked woman lay upon the sand. His eyes dropped to the sand and then out to the empty horizon. Sunlight sparkled upon the calm ocean. Only the faintest breeze, the rhythmic waves, and Max's panting broke the quiet morning. There had been no reports of another ship wreck since the one he had been on last week. How had this woman gotten here?

Slowly, he raised his head again. There was an eerie stillness to her.

"Miss?" He asked softly, stepping closer.

No answer.

He stepped even closer, unable to avoid taking in the scene. The woman lay on her stomach. Her head lay almost framed between her arms as if she had somehow managed to pull herself this far before she had collapsed. Chapped and torn lips fell naturally into a tiny smile. A mane of tangled, limp red hair fanned around her like a vial. Her entire back had been painted by the sun's harsh brush. Beneath the red sunburn, he noted a string of purple knotted close to her shoulder blades and then cuts crisscrossing her lower back. Her waist itself was small, but somehow not from being malnourished.

"Miss?" He tried again.

Still, she remained still.

He knelt beside her, averting his eyes, and went to check her pulse. His fingers touched her right cheek as he brushed away the red hair from her neck. It took a second, but the pulse was strong.

Eric sighed in relief. Carefully, he removed his own shirt and gingerly wrapped her in it and picked up her bridal style. In his arms, the girl felt like a doll. Her face laying against his chest was so peaceful it was almost possible to imagine the torment she must have gone through had not happened.

Max ran ahead and bounded up the stairs.

Eric heard a faint curse before his adviser, Grimsby, stumbled to the threshold. His thin hands fidgeted as he straightened his black jacket.

Grimsby huffed in impatience. "Prince Eric, the dog just…oh my."

"Call the physician and get Carlotta here," Eric said.

As if summoned by his voice alone, the plump housekeeper appeared. She made to curtsy and then crossed herself, her eyes wide. Eric could only speculate what the housekeeper thought of the scene before her. But at the moment, he didn't care.

"Please get her take good care of her, Carlotta."

"Of course, your highness."

Almost with reluctance, Eric placed the wounded girl in Carlotta's arms and charge. He watched silently as the older woman spirited herself and the girl upstairs.

Grimsby cleared his throat. "What…?"

"I don't know what happened. I just…well Max found her. I thought he might have found a crab or something to play with."

"I guess the old mutt is good for something after all. He helped me find you that day too."

Eric nodded, absentmindedly touching his cheek. After the strange girl had woken him, the next sensation he recalled was Max giving him a slobby kiss of relief. In his day dreams, he still felt another touch. The most tender of caresses upon his right cheek. But that he was knew he had imagined.

Focus, he told herself.

Eric turned to Grimsby. "Have there been any more reports of local ship wrecks?"

"No, at least none that I'm aware of. Do you think that's what happened to the poor girl?"

"Well with the weather has been strange lately."

Grimsby frowned. "Yes, yes. King Triton must be very upset. Now come on my boy, you yourself, could use a change of clothes and some food. You skipped breakfast."

Eric sighed and followed his adviser back to his own chambers. He ignored the sideways looks of the staff. They would have more gossip soon. The same question was already on his lips. Who was the girl?

So, there it is. I hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know what you think in a review.