Derek cleared his throat, and tried to compose himself. "Ariana will you go on a date with me?" He asked.

I was taken aback by the request, but the moment the words left his mouth I was already nodding like a maniac. "Yes" I said over and over again with a giggle.

He couldn't help but laugh at my eagerness. "How does tomorrow afternoon sound?" He asked lacing his fingers through mine, causing an eruption of butterflies to be released in my tummy.

"Tomorrow afternoon?" I asked. As much as I liked Derek, my friends needed me right now. They had just lost their significant others. They were there for me, and now I need to be there for them. "Um.. how does the day after tomorrow sound? It's just that the girls are going through a tough time right now and I want to be there for them you know?"

Derek smiled at me warmly. "Of course. I understand. I don't want to rush you in any way. You are such a good friend, the girls are lucky to have you Ariana."

I knew he meant it. "Thank you for understanding." I placed a small kiss on his cheek."Well I guess I'll see you soon." I grabbed my bag from the back seat, and opened the car door. I got out and Derek lowered the window. I tucked my head in. "Thanks for the ride home."

"Any time." He backed out of my driveway. "I look forward to our date!" He yelled out as he drove out into the night.

I smiled and shook my head as I walked towards the door. I couldn't believe that Derek had asked me out on a date. Did that mean we were official? Oh man I have to tell the Girls and Sebastian.

"Hey mom! Hey Dad!" I said when I walked inside.

"Hey kiddo." My dad waved at me from the couch as he watched a movie. My mother's head on the crook of his shoulder, asleep.

"Cute" I chuckled as I lingered at the doorway of the living room. "I'm gonna go to my room. Call if you need me." and with that I walked up the stairs to my room.

I turned on the lights and dropped my bag. I looked around my room. I felt like I haven't been here in ages. The bed was untouched. I walked over to it and plopped down. I layed on my bed and put on some jazz. As the soft rhythm lingered around the room, I decided to unpack my things. I placed my clothes in the hamper and my toiletries in the bathroom. When I finished, I changed into my pajamas, and lowered down the music. I crawled into bed.

"Welcome home." I heard a familiar Jamaican accent.

I turned my head to voice. "Sebastian!" I jolted up from my sheets.

"I feel like we've been separated for so long" he said crawling over to me. I cupped my hand for him to climb up. When he did so I brought him closer to my face.

"I know! Where have you been anyways?" I asked him. If I recall correctly I haven't seen him since we arrived from the battle with Ursula.

"I was at the cave with the girls and their guardians last night. I made sure no funny business was going on." He said in an authoritative voice, which sort of reminded me of my parents. "Then in the morning when they left, Flounder and I were left to clean."

"They didn't trash the place did they?" I hoped they didn't break anything. The cave held some fragile findings. Like that teapot I found not far from the reef. Or the music box with the porcelain ballerina inside.

"No worries child. They didn't touch anything from your collection. I meant they left pizza boxes and their sleeping bags sprawled over the floor."

I sighed in relief. Good to know that everything is still in tact. "How are they?" I asked him with concern.

Sebastians shoulders hunched. "They aren't bad, but this whole situation seems surreal to them."

I know what they're going through, and let me tell you it is not easy. I placed Sebastian on my pillow and I grabbed my phone. I sent the girls a group message letting them know we should video chat. They all agreed. I grabbed my tablet and began to call them. One by one the girls appeared on the screen.

"Hey" I started.

"Hi Ariana!" Briar Rose waved enthusiastically into the camera.

"Sorry if I'm calling really late, but I just want you girls to know that I'm here for you. Always." I began to say, hoping I didn't sound too cheesy.

"We're alright, honest." Bella smiled. "Sure, it's a little overwhelming but I think we'll be ok. Right girls?"

"Yeah! We all mentally prepared ourselves when the guys told us they wouldn't be staying. So it wasn't entirely hard, but it still kinda sucks." Jade shrugged her shoulders.

"Ariana, thank you for checking up on us. It means a lot." Mags said with a caring tone.

"You girls mean the world to me. You were there when I needed you, and now its my turn." I looked at their faces on my screen. "How about we go for a picnic tomorrow? Get some girl time."

"Yeah, that would be great. I can bring some ice cream. Ben and Jerry's are the men we need in our life right now." Briar Rose commented.

I laughed at her silliness, and then went back to serious mode. "Hey, you do know that the guys really care about you right? I believe them when they said they will find a way back to you."

Bella blushed at the thought. "We know. We believe in them too." She paused for a second. "Anyway's for tomorrows picnic I can make some sandwiches, oh and some pasta salad."

"I'll bring the blanket, plates, and silverware." Mags commented. "Where should we have the picnic?"

"Actually the botanic gardens by my house have some beautiful blossom trees that are coming to bloom. How about we eat there?" Jade suggested.

"Perfect. Then it's settled. We'll meet there around noon?" I looked at the girls and they all nodded yes. "Cool, I'll bring some dessert."

"Then I'll bring lemonade and cups." said Jade.

After planning our picnic we spoke for another half an hour. The girls told me about the night at the cave. They mentioned how relaxing it was to have the ocean waves in the background. They also claimed that the sandy floor wasn't that uncomfortable either. They talked about how they reminisced about the past, and they recalled certain memories. Each of the girls faces lit up when they told their own story. It made me both happy and sad. I just wish there was more I could do. Hopefully tomorrow's picnic would be good for them.

After we said our goodbye's, I turned the light and music off and curled back into bed. I felt Sebastian trying to get comfortable on the pillow beside me. He would huff and puff in frustration. I quietly laughed, hoping he wouldn't hear me.

"Keep laughing Ariana, one day this is going to be you." he said in annoyance. "My shell is getting old."

"Oh Sebastian, you and your shell are not getting old." I turned over to look at him.

He finally found a spot on the pillow and closed his little eyes. "Yeah right." He mumbled quietly. Then one of his eyes opened, as if peeking. They laid on me. "I think what you're doing for the girls is really sweet of you."

"It's what friends do." I told him. He smiled, and fell asleep. I felt groggy myself, and decided it was time for a good nights rest.

The sunlight came through my window, and played around the room. I opened my eyes. I thought about how I should probably get up to make some cookies, but my bed was just so comfortable. I could just lay here forever because I deserved it. I mean come on, I saved the world for crying out loud! Of course, I did have my friends help.

"Ariana those cookies aren't going to bake themselves." Sebastian said from the pillow beside me, his shell facing my face.

"How did you know I was awake?" I sat up.

"Well for one thing the snoring stopped."

"Rude!" I dramatically got out of bed, and ran to the kitchen. I grabbed all the necessary materials I needed for my famous chocolate chip cookies.

Once the dough was made, I folded in the chocolate chips. Unfortunately since I did eat half of the bag of chocolate chips, the cookies didn't look like they had many chocolate chips. I put the cookies in the oven and ran to my room to get ready.

"Please don't tell me you ate chocolate chips as your breakfast." Sebastian mumbled as I walked in.

"Psh what? No." I said making my bed.

"Then why do you have chocolate on the corner of your mouth."

"I'm going to take a shower." I quickly grabbed my things and ran to the bathroom. I turned the shower head on jumped in. The warm water hit my back and caused goosebumps to cover my arms. Water always helped me relax, and now it was obvious why. In my last battle as a Sailor Scout, I had remembered that in my past life, I was a mermaid. How cool is that? I was also the princess of the kingdom of Atlantica. I smiled at the thought of how my past life and my current life have now merged as one.

When I was done rinsing off the conditioner from my hair, I turned off the shower and grabbed my towel. I quickly dried myself off, placed the towel on my head, and changed into a blue skater skirt and a white sleeveless button down shirt.

"Ariana, your cookies are done." Sebastian yelled from my room.

Oh no I hope they didn't burn. I ran to the kitchen as quickly as I could. I then turned off the oven, and grabbed the cookies. They weren't badly burned. I took one off the tray and took a small bite. Mmmm not bad. I smirked to myself.

I walked back to my room and got ready.I put my hair in a low ponytail and wrapped a purple ribbon around it. I puffed some body spray and walked out.

"Ok Sebastian lets go." I cupped my hands together for him to climb into. He crawled onto my palms, and I gently placed him on my shoulders.

"You smell like coconuts."

I wafted the fragrance towards my nose. "Thank you Bath and Body Works." We walked towards the kitchen and placed the cookies in a container. We then made our way to the botanic gardens.

Walking towards my destination my phone rang. I quickly grabbed it from my floral bag. Expecting it to be the girls, I was shocked when I realized it was a text message from Derek.

Good morning

I must have looked at the screen too long because Sebastian yelled something I didn't catch, but it was too late. I had walked into the pole.

"Ouch!" I cried out as I landed onto the concrete. I grabbed the container of cookies and my phone and stood up. I heard some laughter come from Sebastian, who was tightly holding onto my blouse. "Oh shush, you could have warned me."

"I did, but you were too busy admiring your phone." He looked at me suspiciously. "Who texted you?"

I felt my cheeks burn and I turned my head the opposite direction so Sebastian couldn't see. "No one."

"Ariana..." He began.

I pretended that I didn't hear him, so I began to walk towards the botanic gardens. Of course, Sebastian did not drop the matter. He said my name again. I knew he wouldn't stop until I told him. And honestly I really wanted to tell someone about Derek and I. I couldn't tell the girls just yet, they were going through something too.

I took a breath and said it. "Derek." There was a silence after that. I moved my eyes to see Sebastian. "Sebastian? Are you alright?"

He turned his little head towards me and just stared. After a few seconds he cracked a smile. "Are you two a thing?"

I couldn't help but laugh. I felt confident knowing that Sebastian was ok with Derek and I being an item. "Yeah, we have a date tomorrow." I smiled dreamily. "I really like him."

"Oh child, trust me I can tell." he grinned. "He's good for you, and you two have some long history. Do the girls know?"

I shook my head. "I want to tell them, but I don't know how."

Sebastian nodded in comprehension. "I understand. I'm sure you'll find a way."

We were coming up to the gates of the garden. The scent of flowers danced around the area. I followed the trail that led to the cherry blossoms. After a short walk, I could see Briar Rose playing with the fallen petals. Jade was helping Mags with the blanket, and Bella was holding Flounder in her arms as they continued laughing at Briar. I ran to them holding up the container of cookies.

"Ariana!" they all yelled in unison and ran to me. I embraced them into a group hug. "Can we eat now?" I said once we broke up.

"Leave it to Ariana to ask about eating." giggled Briar, who had pink petals tangled in her golden hair.

"Hey you were thinking it, I just said it." I walked towards the blanket and plopped a squat. The girls followed.

"Alright here are some plates, pass those around." Mags dug around her basket. "And here's the silverware." Mags took out napkins that were wrapped around the silverware and tied with a piece of ribbon.

"These are adorable Mags." Bella complemented.

"Thanks, my grandma helped me with them. She went all out with them."

Jade was taking out the cups and pouring lemonade into them. Bella was opening the container that held the pasta salad, and some sandwiches. I placed my container of cookies in the middle so everyone could grab some. Briar Rose grabbed her cooler and slid the top off. She brought three flavors of Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

"Alright girls dig in." Bella said, as she marveled at how cute our picnic was. "Oh you too Sebastian and Flounder."

"Briar will you get me a bit of that pasta salad." Flounder asked. Briar scooped some pasta onto her plate and and then poured it into Flounder bowl.

"Careful Flounder, if you eat fast you won't look like a guppy," I said in between bites.

"You're the one who should be careful. If you keep eating like that, you won't fit into your sailor uniform." Sebastian remarked.

"Why are you so mean to me?!" I wailed at him, putting my sandwich down. All of a sudden we felt a strong gush of wind. It blew all of our plates,napkins, and cups away.

"I sense... something." Jade said.

The girls and I stood up. "Stay on your guard." Sebastian murmured.

I looked around the garden, but nothing was suspicious. Then out of nowhere the sky turned black. "That's impossible, it was sunny three seconds ago." I whispered.

"There's a strange energy present." Jade mentioned, her eye's closed.

"Can you feel where it's coming from?" Mags questioned.

Jade furrowed her eyebrows and tried to focus. Her eyes wiped opened and turned toward one of the cherry blossom tree's. "There!" she yelled.

My eye's scanned the tree, and I could vaguely make out a silhouette of a woman. She looked like a Geisha. Her long lavender dress hiting the branch she was on. I could tell she felt our stare on her, because she looked directly at us. When I saw her red eyes, I knew she was an enemy. She blinked her red eyes, and next thing I knew I was pushed from her line of sight by Briar. "Move Ariana!" she yelled.

I hit the ground hard. I looked at the scene in front of me. The girls were trapped in some sort of forcefield. Cherry blossom petals flew around them. Sebastian crawled over to me and told me to transform into Sailor Sea. I ran behind a tree and yelled '"Sea Trident Power!"

It felt weird being Sailor Sea again so soon. It seems that these fights against evil are never ending. I ran back to the scene with Sebastian right behind me.

"Huh?" The girls were no longer held captive in the forcefield they were being held by the actual cherry blossom trees themselves.

"Quick help them! They're losing energy." Sebastian instructed as he realized what that monster was planning on doing.

I was unable to do so because the creepy Geisha then appeared out of one of the trees. She was coming towards me, and fast. I just barely got out of the way. When she came to a halt, she began to look for me. Her red eyes landed on me and laughed.

"Sailor Sea use your Tiara!" yelled Sebastian.

Oh right. I grabbed the tiara off my forehead and prepared to throw it at her. "Sea Tiara Sliceeee!" The tiara flew towards the Geisha, but a few yards before hitting the intended target it fell to the ground. "What?!" I looked at it in disbelief. It's not working. I panicked.

"Sailor Sea don't give up!" I heard Mags say to me. "Don't get trapped like us."

"Sailor Sea behind you!" Jade warned.

It was too late. The Geisha was coming at me with such a velocity, I knew I wouldn't be able to get out of the way. She grabbed me by my shoulders and held me down. I tried to resist her but her arms were too strong and her nails were digging into my skin.

"Let me go, you creep." I said to her.

"She only takes orders from me." I heard an unfamiliar voice say.

I moved my head to try to find who that voice belonged to. I then spotted her. It was a girl, she looked like she was in her 20's. Her dress choice consisted of a red and white polka dot dress. Her hair was black and long like Jade's and it was curled. She had it styled in a black leather headband. She also had it teased. Her eyes were pale blue, she had pale skin and wore red lipstick. If I didn't know any better I would say she looks like something out of a 50's movie. Although the thing that struck me as odd was that she too had a seashell silhouette on her forehead. Instead of it being gold and upright, hers was black and facing downward.

"Who are you?" I asked, still held down by the Geisha.

"I'm Leila." she said plainly, circling me. "Now where is she?"

"Who?"

She bent down and cupped my chin in her hand. "That sea brat. I need to find her before my sisters do. It was informed to me that she was on her way here. I want to know where she is, where is she hiding?"

For a second I thought she might have been talking about me when she mentioned Sea Brat. But when she said that someone told her that this person was on her way here, I knew she wasn't talking about me. Or I hope she wasn't.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I told her.

"Suit yourself. But just know I will find her." She let go of my chin and walked away. "Dispose of her, and her friends." she instructed the Geisha, and then she disappeared.

The Geisha nodded, and looked straight at me. Her eyes blinked once more, and I felt a gust of air from below me. I looked at my surroundings and realized that she had created a forcefield around us. "Let go of me!" I screamed over and over again.

"Sailor Sea!" the girls, Flounder and Sebastian yelled out.

The Geisha applied more pressure onto me, and as she did so the wind blew harder. I heard a sick cracking of some sort, and realized what was cracking. "Oh no, my locket!" The sea foam green locket Sebastian gave to me awhile ago was breaking into pieces. Then something worse happened. I was changing back into my civilian form.

The Geisha had finally let go of me. The pressure on my chest was taken off, but my arms were sore. I got on my hand and knees and tried to crawl over to the girls. I had to save them. As i got closer to the border of the forcefield, the ground gave up. My hands had fallen under my body.

""Ariana!" I heard Briar yell.

"Save yourself!" Bella shouted.

I couldn't hear what else they yelled, because I had fallen into the portal the forcefield had created. I don't know how long I was falling, or where I was falling. I couldn't see a thing. But I felt something fall on top of my head. I quickly grabbed it.

"Ariana!" I heard the familiar jamaican accent.

"Sebastian." I said under my breathe. "I'm sorry I couldn't save my friends, but you shouldn't have followed me."

"I'll follow you wherever you go." He said.

"Sebastian, what am I going to do? My locket broke and now I can't be Sailor Sea anymore." I felt some tears fall onto my cheeks.

"Did you want to continue being Sailor Sea?" he asked.

"No" I said without a doubt. "I mean being Sailor Sea is fun, but I just want to be a normal teenager. All I wanted to do today was have a picnic with my friends."

"If you really feel like that, then you cannot be Sailor Sea."

"But how am I suppose to save my friends? I can't just leave them. They need me, especially now. And I need them. What can I do?"

Just then we had stopped falling. We were now floating. I brought Sebastian closer to me. "Where are we?" When I looked down, I realized Sebastian had his eyes closed. I also realized I was wearing a purple shell bra. My legs were criss crossed. "Sebastian..." he didn't answer. Tear rolled down my cheeks again as I feared the worst. "I'm so sorry Sebastian, this is all my fault. If I were stronger we wouldn't be here." I couldn't help but sob. I kept asking myself if we were dead.

My eyes then shifted its attention to something sparkling ahead of us. "Princess Ariel." said a familiar voice. I squinted my eyes, and realized it was Queen Athena and King Triton. I looked at them in shock.

I'm definitely dead.

"We're here in your mind, my dear." the Queen said. "We'll always be here when you need us."

"Can you help me, please." I looked at them with tears forming, once again, in my eyes. "I don't know how to save my friends."

"The powers in the locket." King Triton began, but was interrupted when a bright light shone. I covered my eyes from the intense brightness. When it died out, I felt my feet on the floor. I unshielded my eyes. I gasped. I was back in Atlantica. I wore my sparkly blue dress. In front of my face the Sparkling Sea Diamond circled.

"The strength of your desire to save your friends makes the diamond grow bright and strong again." Triton finished saying.

"Ariel." Queen Athena drew my attention back to her. She grabbed my hand and placed something inside it. I looked at what it was. It was my broken locket. The Sparkling Sea Diamond then hovered toward my hand. It slowly dissolved when it touched the locket. "This is my gift to you."

I held a new locket. It was pink with an intricate design of a starfish. "It's beautiful. Thank you." I went in for a hug.

"Sebastian keep an eye on her. Make sure she succeeds." I heard Triton talk to Sebastian. He nodded yes.

Athena and I parted. "With the power in this Diamond I can help save my friends." I held the locket tightly to my chest.

"Dear Ariel, remember the Sea Diamond has not yet regained all its power. But the stronger your true desire to save your friends, the stronger it will become. Then you will become the Sea Princess once more."

"I will make you proud mother." I looked at King Triton. "Father."

"Now say Sea Diamond Power." Queen Athena said.

I nodded. I backed away from them . I raised the locket and yelled "Sea Diamond Power!" I placed the locket in the middle of my chest. In that instance feathered wings wrapped around me and pink ribbons danced all around my naked body. As they disappeared my sailor outfit with a blue skirt, red boots, and white gloves with a red cuff appeared. I felt the seashell silhouette on my forehead, my tiara covering it. My earrings, and hair clips appeared later. A red choker necklace with a starfish was placed on my neck.

When I was done transforming, I realized I was back at the botanic gardens. I heard Sebastian land next to me. We then saw Flounder struggling to get away from the Geisha.

I stepped up. "I'M BACK!" I shouted, grabbing the Geisha's attention. "In the name of the Sea, I fight for love, and justice. I am Sailor Sea! I will triumph over evil." I made intense eye contact with the Geisha. "And that means you!"

"Sailor Sea!" the girls cried out in joy.

"I thought you two were goners." Flounder said when he saw us.

"Flounder, so little faith you have in us." Sebastian retorted back.

"You're mine Sailor Sea." The Geisha ran towards me again, shooting petals from her hands. I managed to dodge all of them. Unfortunately she had me cornered at a tree. She shot some more deadly petals, but I ducked.

"Sailor Sea get up." Sebastian yelled at me.

I shot him a dirty look. "This isn't easy as it looks, you know."

"This is it kid." Her nails had grown into sharp red talons, and the bad news was that they were coming towards my face.

I shielded myself, since I had nothing to stop her. As she was inches away from me, a red rose stopped her dead on her tracks.

"Tuxedo Mask!" I yelled out. My heart racing.

"Sailor Sea, only you can save your friends." he said.

"Princess Ariel..." I heard a male voice say. The moon suddenly shone brighter. When it stopped, I saw something fall. It slowed down as it got closer, it then landed in my hands. It was a trident. It was elegant, and silver. There was a red jewel in the center of the three prongs. There were beautiful carvings on the handle.

"What's this?" I questioned, looking at the moon.

I then saw the shadow of King Triton fly across the moonlight. "My gift to you. This triton will help you on your quest."

"Thank you King Triton." I whispered gratefully.

The Geisha ran towards me once more. She was far away from me, therefore allowing me to use my trident. I lifted it into the air, and swung it a few times. At that moment I knew what I needed to say. "Oceanic Trident Elimination!" I yelled as I pointed it at her. A light in shape of a starfish and trident hit her right in her chest. She stopped and disintegrated into a pile of sea foam.

The moment she had left, the girls were released, and ran towards me. "Mags! Jade! Bella! Briar Rose!" I yelled. I hugged them. "Are you guys ok?"

"Nothing we can't handle." Bella said smiling.

"You're a real friend Sailor Sea." Briar put her arm around my shoulder.

"Thanks for saving us redhead." Jade said.

I heard Derek laugh. "Hey! If she gets to call you that then I should to." he requested.

"Will you two stop calling me that." I huffed in frustration.

"Hey who was that 50's chick?" asked Mags concerned.

I had almost forgot. "Her name's Leila. She was looking for this and I quote 'Sea Brat'."

"Was she talking about you?" asked Sebastian.

I shot him another dirty look. "Watch it mister." I warned him. "I don't think so, she mentioned that she was informed that this girl was on her way here."

"Here?" Jade asked. "Here as in Marina?"

I shrugged my shoulders not knowing.

"We should have a scout meeting tomorrow. It looks like we have another enemy on our hands." Bella suggested.

I looked at Derek. He looked right back at me.

"What?" Jade said noticing us. "Are you two hiding something?" she eyed us both.

"Um.." Derek cleared his throat. "Ariana and I actually have a date tomorrow."