Making New Friends
(The Crossed Realms of Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid)
(The Crossed Realms of Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid)
The lengthy swim that Nemo and Marlin took to the
sparkling golden light had led them straight into the underwater kingdom of
Atlantica (and – by Marlin’s standards – straight into trouble). Atlantica was
filled with a mix of “regular fish” like Marlin and Nemo and more of the
“mutant fish” (“merpeople”) that they encountered earlier. The merpeople were a
fascination to Nemo, who was always open to new discoveries, especially “half
fish/half human” creatures. Marlin, on the other hand, was appalled, terrified,
and even disgusted just from the sight of the creatures.
(Disney Note: The character dynamic of Marlin and Nemo is practically equivalent to that of Sebastian/Triton and Ariel - one character, the parental figure, is overly worrisome and protective while the other, the child, is incredibly adventurous and easygoing. This dynamic is another example of why the Nemo and Mermaid worlds suit each other so well.)
“They’ve got to be some type of freaks!” Marlin
cautiously whispered as he and his son passed by a number of merpeople,
swimming through Atlantica.
“They are a little freaky,” Nemo admitted, “but I can’t
stop looking at them.”
“Of course you can’t.” Marlin reacted. “It’s common for
someone to resist temptation to look at something so ugly and disfigured! Take
the one we saw earlier – the one with all that red on her head!”
“I don’t think that one was ugly or disfigured, Dad.” Nemo said. “I thought she was beautiful. I
hope I see her again.”
Marlin was shocked by his son’s words. “Please tell me
you’re joking. You’re joking. Right? Right! You’ve gone delusional, Nemo! This
place has made you delusional! We need
to get you back home while we still can!” Unbeknownst to Marlin, he was
creating quite a scene, attracting the attention of nearly two dozen Atlantica
residents.
As usual, Nemo did not listen to any of his father’s
panicked ranting and kept his focus on the wonders and sights of the underwater
kingdom. One particular sight that attracted his attention the most was the
majestic palace that stood tall and proud in the middle of the kingdom. The
small clownfish swam directly to it, and his father followed, still begging him
into going back. While the two clownfish headed for the palace, one mermaid
with long, flowing blond hair, blue eyes, a gold seashell bra, and a glittering
light blue tail had taken notice of them from nearby and followed them into the
palace.
-------------------------
King Triton paced/floated back and forth around his
throne; he worried greatly about Ariel, who had gone missing for days, along
with Sebastian and Flounder. He could not stop thinking about the way he and
Ariel fought before her disappearance, blaming it all on himself. He hoped for
news to come soon on her whereabouts, and it appeared that it did with the
arrival of his seahorse herald. “Any sign of them?” He questioned.
“No, Your Majesty.” His herald sadly informed. “We
searched everywhere. We’ve found no trace of your daughter or Sebastian.”
The update made Triton’s heart even heavier – he could no
longer bear the fearful thought that something horrible happened to his
daughter. “Keep looking. Leave no shell unturned, no coral unexplored. Let no
one in this kingdom sleep until she’s safe at home.”
Knowing full-well how hopeless the situation was turning,
the herald accepted his orders. “Yes, sire,” he despairingly said before
swimming out of the throne room and carry out the king’s wishes.
Alone, a quailed Triton sat upon his throne, his head in
his hand. “Oh, what have I done? What have I done?”
(Disney Note: In The Little Mermaid film, this scene occurs much later while Ariel has spent some time living on land as a human. Her disappearance was brought on by the second argument between Triton and Ariel, leading to Triton taking his frustrations out on the treasures in Ariel's grotto.)
It was then Triton began hearing voices – ones that were
coming into the throne room, echoing between the mighty walls. He had wished to
be left alone in his misery, which he snapped out of to search for the
unexpected visitors. Finally, he caught sight of the unannounced guests – two
small, strange-looking fish (one smaller and younger than the other that was
slightly bigger and older). The older fish made an attempt to get the younger
one to turn back.
Triton’s hand instinctively went to his trident.
-----------------------
“Nemo! Listen to your father!” Marlin exclaimed, his
frustration with his disobedient son turning into anger. “We are leaving this
place now!”
The promptings of his father fell on deaf ears with Nemo.
What did not fall on deaf ears was
the booming voice that filled the room, belonging to the large, muscled,
white-haired, white-bearded half-man/half-fish creature that Nemo and Marlin
quickly spotted before them. “Who dares
enter my throne room unannounced?”
Nemo was alarmed by the immensely intimidating figure he
recognized as the king of the underwater kingdom he and his father found themselves
in. But while this king’s immense half-man/half-fish stature was imposing to
Nemo, the large “glowing fork” gripped in the king’s right hand looked
absolutely cool to him.
Meanwhile, an extremely petrified Marlin took his son
into his shaky fins and pleaded to the king. “Oh, please, oh, please, Your
Highness! Don’t destroy us with your glowy-fork-thing! We mean no disrespect!”
(Authorial Note: Marlin's reference to the trident as a "glowy-fork-thing" was Livingston's favorite line of dialogue to write for this scene.)
“What are you
doing here without permission?”
Marlin was too terrified to say anything less of a
stammer, unknowingly pushing Triton even further into fury.
“ANSWER ME!”
The trident was pointed directly at the two clownfish –
its tip sparking with electrical energy that waited to evaporate them. But it
was the intervention of a young blond mermaid with a glittering light blue tail
that spared the clownfish of whatever punishment the trident would unleash. She
swam right in between it and them, leaving her tight, lightly tanned abdominals
in the trident’s aim.
“Forgive them, King Triton.” The young mermaid calmly
said. “They’re friends of mine from out of town…er, I mean, outside the
kingdom…and they just didn’t know where they were going – that’s all.”
It had taken quite a long moment for Triton to consider
the young mermaid’s words until he finally trusted her reasoning and slowly
lowered his trident. “Just…leave me…leave at once. I…I need to be alone.” He
gave this order with much depression and sorrow, reflecting his growing concern
for his lost daughter.
(Character Note: It is possible for Triton to have looked at this young mermaid who saved Marlin and Nemo, reminded of Ariel by her, explaining his automatic trust of her judgment.)
Marlin, Nemo, and their mermaid savior did as Triton
wished and swam out of the throne room. As soon as they emerged within the
outside hallway, they heard King Triton crying – his weeping echoing from the
throne room and into the hall. Listening to it made Marlin feel even more
uneasy. “That fella’s got some serious
issues.”
“Hey, cut him some slack,” said the defensive mermaid.
“The guy’s daughter just went missing. Surely you would know how it feels to have someone you love up and vanish.”
“Actually, I wouldn’t.” Marlin retracted. “I always watch over my son and would never let him out of my sight…not even
for a second.”
The mermaid seemed a bit quizzical over his statement.
“Hmm…your story’s still early on before the rift came up. You haven’t lost Nemo
yet.”
“L-Lost?” Marlin exclaimed in confused apprehension,
which got him shushed by the mermaid – not wanting Triton to hear them, as they
still floated near the throne room entrance. “Who are you? Why did you stick up for us back there?”
The mermaid snickered. “I’ll take that as a ‘thank you,’
Marlin,” she wittingly remarked.
“How do you know my name?” A stunned Marlin questioned.
“Do you know who I
am, too?” Nemo asked her.
The mermaid smiled at Nemo, tickling his chin with her
finger – a gesture that made the tiny clownfish giggle. “I certainly do, you
lil’ cutie. I’m not really a mermaid.
I’m known as a ‘Guardian.’ My name’s Mindy.”
(Narrative Note: This is Mindy's second appearance in the World of Disney series and the first to fully establish her role as Guardian of the Disneyverse, a surprising twist for readers who read The Marvelous World: World of Disney 2. Her appearance in this series differs dramatically from the one she bore in WOD2, carrying blonde and blue-eyed features rather than her usual brown-eyed brunette look in the Marvel Universe.)
“You’re a guardian angelfish?” Nemo inquired.
Mindy chuckled. “You are so sweet, Nemo. But, no, I’m not
that type of guardian. I’m the
guardian of a universe you two are a part of. But it’s beginning to merge
because of a rift that’s opened recently.”
“A reef?” Nemo misinterpreted. “Like the Great Barrier
Reef?”
“No, sweetheart. I mean ‘rift,’ as in a tear.” Mindy
said.
Marlin floated his way into their exchange. “Look, I
don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. I just want to go back home with
my son, so he can go to his first day of school – if it’s still in session, that
is.”
“There won’t be
a home or school for you to go back to if I don’t take care of this rift,
Marlin.” Mindy warned, trying her best not to scare Nemo in her intense
cautionary tone.
“What do these ‘rifts’ or ‘tears’ or whatever you call
them have to do with us?” Marlin asked.
(UP NEXT: How a real-life friendship inspired the chemistry of two new characters.)
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