"My...what?" I stuttered out. She wanted my voice. I had never thought about what it would be like not being able to speak. She wanted what was important to me. I swallowed hard, a sudden wave of heat washing over me.

"No!" Zeke said. "No, she will not be giving you her voice."

"Then you will get no information from me," Ursula warned softly. "Easy as that." She had her eyes set on me, a smile on her face. She knew what my answer would probably be. But do I...?

Zeke only had to lock eyes with me before knowing what I was going to say. "No! Gianna, this is crazy. You can't give up your voice."

"We need this information," I said. "How else can we end this all? This is a step towards solving it."

"I agree with Zeke on this," Ben admitted, shaking his head. "This is absurd. You and I both know this is only playing into her hands."

I inhaled deeply before turning to Ursula. She watched with an amused expression. "Why do you want my voice?"

She chuckled softly, her tentacles moving rhythmically around her. "That's for me to know. Not you."

She wouldn't answer but a queasy feeling was settling inside of me. In the movie, she used Ariel's voice to spell and use Prince Eric. What if her intentions were to use it against somebody I loved? Besides my sister and mom, my first thought was Zeke. I didn't love him but we were becoming good friends. Ursula could use my voice to hurt those I loved and myself, or she could just want it as a souvenir. But for how long?

"Would this be permanently?" I asked her, avoiding Zeke's worried face as he shook his head at me.

"I'm afraid so," the sea witch sighed sympathetically, although the dark gleam in her eyes gave away her mock.

"Can we give you something else instead?" Zeke asked. "Is there anything else you want?"

Ursula laughed again, moving closer to the glass. "What would be more helpful for me than a beautiful voice? No. Nothing else suits my needs."

I subconsciously rubbed my throat, my eyes cast to the ground. It was getting late. At this rate, we would be up all night. The thought of learning more about what was going on excited me, but with the price being my voice, I felt a little nauseated at what she expected me to just give up. My voice was important. How else can I laugh with my family, talk to my friends, and hold a job?

"I'll give you something else," I pleaded. "Anything else! Isn't there something you want more than my voice?"

Ursula's dark eyes locked with mine. I forced myself not to look away as she seemed to read my soul. Moments of silence followed before she finally moved to look at her wounded shoulder. "There may be something else. Two things, actually."

"What?" I asked, almost too eagerly.

"One is Ariel," she hissed. "I want the puny princess."

I blinked. There's no way we can give her Ariel. Zeke knew this, too, because he shook his head again. "We can't do that."

"That's what I thought," Ursula darkly muttered. "Well, the second thing is my freedom."

"Your...freedom?" I questioned. "What do you mean?"

"A sea witch does not like being held captive," Ursula snapped. "I want to be back in my lair with my potions, wrecking havoc on the ocean and mermaid kingdom. I do not wish to be here."

For the first time tonight, I actually cracked a genuine smile. "That's what the information you have can help with. We're trying to send you all home but we need to figure out how you got here in the first place."

Ursula's face went blank for a moment before she scowled. "You're trying to help me? A wicked sea witch?"

"Well, not just you," Ben pitched in, "but everybody here. None of you belong in this world."

She gave a sudden smile, her face lighting up. I was almost taken aback by how cheerful a villain could look. Is she really that bad of a person? It seemed as if, in this situation, all these characters were equal. They just wanted to go home. "Then I'll give you the information."

"So, you don't want my voice anymore?" I nervously asked.

"Well, there are many things I can do with it," she cooed, causing me to shudder. "But no. Not this time."

I exhaled in relief, a sudden rush of calmness coursing through my veins "Okay, great! You said you know a bit about who is behind all of this? And you also said you know where the child that was kidnapped is. So can you tell us?"

Ursula closed her eyes, seeming to be in thought. I looked over at Ben who gave me a thumbs up with a grin. Zeke just smiled, seeming as relieved as I was that my voice would remain intact.

"I don't know much about who is causing all of this," Ursula finally spoke, opening her eyes to look between us. "I only saw an outline of something in the night. It was carrying a child from one location to another."

"What was it?" I asked, my heart beginning to beat anxiously.

"I don't know. It was circular and towered over everything. It had long legs. I don't know what exactly it was."

"How did you see it?"

"I was hiding and happened to see it pass by," she replied with irritation. "The child was unconscious on top of it."

I pursed my lips. Is she okay? "And...And where did it take her?"

"So demanding." She rolled her eyes. "Not even a thank you for the information?"

"Thank you," I sighed. "But where did it take her?"

"To this large castle. It left her at the door and a figure came out and took her inside."

"Wait! So...she's inside the castle?" Zeke repeated gravely.

"How was she taken into their underneath the founders noses?" Ben asked.

"Well, they aren't exactly smart," I snorted. "They may be rich and in-charge but there's not a lot of there, there."

Ben laughed slightly. "Did you just quote Descendants?"

I stared at him before frowning. "I did. What is this place doing to me?"

"Guys," Zeke said, "this is serious. Not only is whoever doing this stealthy if they can harbor a child inside the work place where those in-charge work, but this means that the people doing this work here at ComplexDisney."

I frowned, understanding what he meant. "So any of our coworkers could be doing this?"

Zeke nodded. "Which means we can't trust anybody."

•~•~•~•

I wore another Disney shirt when writing this chapter. At the theme park my family and I went to, lots of people liked it. What do you think? It's one of my mom's old shirts