Our story begins with a battle scarred mermaid sharing her story with Hans Christian Anderson by candlelight. He had promised to share in its entirety until he realized the graphic nature and opted for a more family friendly version.
Having missed her opportunity to marry the prince and become full human, the little mermaid began the process of dissolving into sea foam...
That was not to be her end, as she was rescued by the "Daughters of the Air" (the original title of Han's story) and granted passage into the Kingdom of the Air. This is where Han's retelling drops off because everything that follows receives an MPAA "R" rating.
Here is where the little mermaid is enlightened to the truth of the 4 realms: The kingdom of the sea, the kingdom of the air, the kingdom of earth, and the kingdom of the grave.
Her disappearance had caused such anguish to her father that he neglected his watch over the gateway to the underworld and out poured the horde of sea demons. The little mermaid was returned to her home only to find the devastation and death in the aftermath of the great battle, including the murder of her entire family.
The little mermaid geared up for battle, followed by the remaining merfolk and sea creatures, sharks, whales, etc and waged a holy war on the forces of death.
As the battle rages on the little mermaid loses an eye and tracks it to the forehead of the one and only sea witch, who had been pulling the strings all along. An epic final battle climaxes with a one on one showdown to the death; the mermaid triumphant and the sea witch without her head.
The Little Mermaid lived out her remaining 279 years keeping a vigilant watch on the doorway to death. She passed the responsibility to her offspring who are keeping watch to this day.
The end.
