The crustacean made its way down the city, passing through merfolk along the way. The corals in his surroundings provided shadows, allowing Sebastian to lurk with stealth. With his small size, he was almost invisible. However, his grumpy face was very much appealing.

"Tha' mermaid is so busted… Wait 'till her father hears—"

A dash of a stream made the crab pause. It wasn't just that, he heard laughter. It was a familiar one, belonging to the one and only, Ariel herself. Under the corals Sebastian hid himself. The mermaid's best friend was seen near her, sharing laughter as well. Ever since the two had been caught scavenging a wrecked ship in the area where sharks would roam, a smile on the princess' face was rarely seen, as Sebastian found.

The two best friends stopped in the middle of their track, stopping for a chat. Hand gestures, genuine smiles, an abrupt laugh, Ariel and Flounder were certainly enjoying their conversation. Sebastian eavesdropped a few words, and concluded that they were talking about the world up above the surface. Sure, it wasn't a topic that Sebastian would talk about, nor even think about. But the princess was undoubtedly into it.

Sebastian looked at the city through a gap between the corals. He was nearing, for sure. But why would he? Would he really destroy the happiness and joy that the princess often only would find in a wrecked ship? Would he really do it?

"Ariel… you and your…"

"Oh, Sebastian! Hey!"

Gasping, Sebastian looked up, immediately greeted by the mermaid. Not knowing of what to do, the crab simply waved a claw with a smile. Ariel approached the composer with her best friend.

"What are you doing here? You don't usually travel around the reef."

"Oh, well—I was… returning to the city—"

"Where did you go?"

Damn you and your questions kid…'

"I was from… the…"

Even a mere merman would notice the sudden change of tone, as it doesn't take a genius to realize that Sebastian was a terrible liar. Sebastian was very much aware of this. Nevertheless, he went for it.

"I was from… errands. So, I've been to numerous places," he grinned. Somehow in in some way, the mermaid bought it, and so did her best friend.

"Ah, busy one, aren't you, Seb?" A higher tone was heard in her voice. "Although I never really find you doing any 'errands' befo—"" Before the mermaid could even finish her sentence, Sebastian dashed towards the opposite direction of Atlantica city. The sudden movement left the duo puzzled.

"I just remember another errand to do! I'll see you later, bye!"

Sighing, Ariel and Flounder shrugged it off, seeing no interest in following Sebastian. They resumed their trip back to the city, while Sebastian could only look from a distance. All he saw was a genuine happy mermaid and her best friend, and it would break her into pieces if he were to tell the secret to her father. Indeed, Ariel was one of a kind among the sisters, with her red hair and her bubbly always-on-the-curious-side personality. Curiosity was indeed found on some of the daughters of King Triton, however, the one in Ariel was extreme. She'd do anything to add a piece of knowledge into her brain, as she would find it satisfying and amazing to know more how less she knew. It was her only source of happiness, and Sebastian didn't have the guts to take it away.

"Hmph… You win this time, Ari. But I'll keep my eyes wide open on you," he crossed his claws.

"Right, order number twenty…"

Jim dashed through the tables, and placed the plates he had on table number twenty where two chicken-like aliens were sat.

"Here are your corns… and veggies… with extra cheese!" Enthusiasm filled his tone,

"enjoy," but didn't on this part.

The dining room was not crowded at the moment, which meant an easier job to deal with for the bored male. He had a love and hate relationship with the job he's dealing with, but in his opinion, it was a better thing to do than being in the academy. His mother had a different view, but she accepted his son's in a hard way.

"Jim," his mother called. Being a good son, he walked over to her. "I can take it from here. Go somewhere else." At a split second, his eyes were going to bulge, but he put on a normal expression.

"Alright mom," he hid his excitement in his tone, and looked at the clock on the wall. It was time.

He walked in a fast phase to the backdoor of the inn, and the view of the sunset welcomed him. He slammed the door behind him, and without noticing, every single step he took was observed by two men in the inn in silence, who were 'nonchalantly' enjoying their meal.

"You sure that's the boy?"

"Positive. That's him. We'll set a plan first after we leave," the man replied, taking another sip of his soup.

Weeks had passed ever since Ariel's first encounter with a human, and their friendship had strengthened even more. It took a certain period of time for Jim to get used to the talking tropical fish, Flounder. But then, having compared his friends in the sea and the ones on the land, Jim wouldn't mind having a fish to talk to.

Meeting every day was too much for the mermaid to manage, since her life was often filled with a schedule that didn't necessarily go well together with her own desired schedule. She'd warn Jim every time they'd part ways about the next meeting. However, consistency was not her specialty, considering her schedule might change anytime. Therefore, she could only give an advance 'sorry' if he were to walk up to the beach and wait all day, only to find that she was not coming.

However, a promise was made in the current time. In a serene transition from day to night, Jim and Ariel promised to meet again. This time, Ariel promised to return something that belonged to the Hawkins. She had forgotten numerous of times to return Jim's pendant, and in this meet up, she already had it in her possession.

Jim waited patiently on the sands. Usually, the presences of Ben and Morph would accompany him, however, their absences were the ones that accompanied him. Ben had talked to the mermaid and the tropical fish, only to find out that they're merely fascinating species that only legends had documented. Getting to talk to a species that had never been recorded in Planet Montressor was an experience with nothing that could match with any other experiences he'd had. Morph, meanwhile, only added the two as two new living beings to rub himself against, mainly on their cheeks. Morph really loved cuddles.

However, it was only Jim at the moment. Him, and the subtle sound of the wave washing on the shore, and the sun on the far west, being swallowed by the sea.

A red object breached through the surface, and to no one's surprise, it was Ariel. The sight curled a smile on Jim's lips, as he waved a hand at her.

"Hey Ari."

"Jim," she removed a few strands of hair off of her vision. "Hey!"

Seconds passed, and Flounder joined Ariel above the surface.

"Hey Floundy."

"Floundy? That's new," Flounder retorted.

"Ah, Jim, here it is, your um…" she retrieved the object out of her satchel. "What is it called again?"

The boy could only chuckle at the mermaid's lack of knowledge, or perhaps, memory, more like. "Pendant."

"Yes, pendant. You're right. Anyway, here," Ariel approached the boy, and handed the object. He observed the item to find for any damage or anything close, and found none.

"The seawater didn't seem to give any damage, huh?" The male put on the pendant back around his neck. "I guess that old merchant was right, for that price, not even seawater could give this thing a rust."

"Oh Ariel took a good care of it," Flounder chuckled.

"I certainly did."

Jim glanced to the two and smiled. "Thanks. It's a priceless one, this is," with a finger, he flipped the pendant open, which projected that very picture that Ariel first discovered. The Hawkins' family portrait. The two merely watched the projection.

"I'm assuming you and your curious head had already managed to open this thing? Because you don't seem surprised to see something appearing out of nothing," Jim questioned.

"Yeah, when I first found it, I gave a firm press, and it opened, and that…" she pointed at the portrait. "Showed up."

"Oh…"

Disappointment was unintendedly intended in his tone, Ariel and Flounder couldn't help but to notice.

"Sorry, maybe we should've asked for permission first," Ariel carved a line on the sand with a thumb, biting her bottom lip.

"No, it's fine. There are just some… embarrassing stuff in here…" Jim chuckled in the end. "Like…"

"Like what?"

Jim's gray-blue eyes met with Ariel's light green ones, which were full of unsolved questions. "Like… a portrait of me, very much still an infant, just dressed with… nothing."

Ariel's brow cocked. "I… never saw that one."

A smile slightly formed on Jim's face. "Hmph, here. To heck with it." He slid his thumb over and over, shifting through many pictures. He stopped at a particular one, displaying a one year old Jim, very much naked. Ariel and Flounder took a gasp at the picture.

"AWW—" The brunette shut the pendant, and the awesome sight was gone.

"AWH, JIM—YOU," she gave the boy a friendly push. "LEMME SEE IT AGAIN, LEMME, PWEASEEE…."

"My my, Jim…"

The three could've sworn that the air around them froze, even with the wind blowing really hard right now. The source of the voice came from Jim's back, as Jim discovered. It was his mother.

"James Pleiades Hawkins, I never knew you'd made another pair of friends."

Jim stood up. "Mom, I can explain…"

"What's there to explain?" She smiled casually, approaching the mermaid and the tropical fish past her son. "Hello there."

Sarah didn't seem to be anywhere shocked as Ben once did. She simply knelt down to lower her level down to Ariel's while handing a hand for a polite handshake. Ariel felt nervous at the woman, not wanting to give her trust away right away.

"Don't worry, pretty one," Sarah assured. "I've met one of your kind before."

"What—mom? You,"

"Oops, that wasn't supposed to come out. I spat it right away, didn't I?" She glanced to Jim with a cheeky smile. The statement gave the mermaid a little confidence to return the handshake Sarah was offering. She even smiled at her.

"Whoa, mom. Hold on, you've met a mermaid before?" Jim was dumbfounded, stroking his hair in disbelief. Never had he ever thought a person like his mother would meet something out of the ocean.

"Yes. And… a talking fish!" Sarah gave a small 'fingershake' at Flounder.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Hawkins. It's an honor," Flounder politely greeted. "My name is Flounder."

"And my name is Ariel, Ms. Hawkins," Ariel introduced, nodding down a tad.

"I see that my son has been sharing some names," she once again glanced at her son. "Hasn't he?"

"We've been friends for only several weeks, but we did share some stories and… names," Ariel confirmed with a smile.

"Mom, you haven't answered my question," Jim reminded. His throat erupted a chuckle before continuing, still not believing at the woman. "How? When? Where? Who?"

"I clearly heard 'question'… but oh well. Oh wait, how about we save it for later?"

Jim crossed his arms. "Mom, come on—"

"You're um…"

"I'm what?"

"You're not ready yet," seriousness was clearly there, very much intended. With a glance, she conveyed her seriousness before turning to the mermaid with a completely opposite expression.

"My, my, you're a beautiful one."

Sarah's compliment earned blushes on Ariel's cheeks.

The night sky had already taken over, and it's been two hours of endless not-running-out-of-topic-anytime-soon conversation between the three. Flounder had to return home due to her parents that might get worried over their young child. But, even with his absence, the chat kept on. Ariel discovered Jim's mother to be a very nice person, a very motherly one, to be precise. However, the chat was more of a chat between friends, although not for Jim and Sarah.

"Our city is going fine. But, I do know one thing for sure, it bores me. If only Flounder is still here, he'll agree right of the bet. But, you know, parents. Flounder is their most loved one."

"Hmph, I see you in her, Jim," Sarah rolled her eyeballs around. "You're always bored with anything you have."

The male sighed in annoyance. "Oh please."

"Oh I'm sure he finds his happiness up there Ms. Hawkins," Ariel pointed at the dark sky. "You should've seen him pulling tricks midair!"

Sarah's jaw dropped a little, inhaling a gasp. With a furrowed brow, she turned to her son, only to find her son pretending not to know what Ariel meant by looking at the horizon.

"Jim," she quickly turned to Ariel. "Oh, and just Sarah is fine, Ariel." Ariel nodded down. "You went solar surfing again?!"

Jim sighed once again. "Mom, I've learnt in the academy that the law doesn't cover the use of the space above the ocean for solar-surfing, or any flight that crosses it! So I'm perfectly fine!"

"But we all know how much of a terrible swimmer you are!" The adjective used in the sentence immediately made the mermaid giggle. "The engine could've died in midair! What if there were a strong wind? You and your trick wouldn't be able to save the day, would they?"

The two continued on and on, and Ariel found it as an amusing chat to listen to, presumably because she never had one like this. Sure, an argument is not the nicest thing to have between a mother and a son. But, like life, it's a part of it. There are the sweets and the bitters. A tad of jealousy appeared in her mind, wanting to experience something like this in her life.

"Ugh, can you believe him, Ariel?" Sarah pointed a thumb at the male.

"Whatever mom."

"Sarah," Ariel chuckled, "I do believe he's a professional, though. Hearing his story departing to Treasure Planet did convince me he's a guy who knows what he's doing."

"Thank you, Ariel!" He raised a hand to have a high-five with her. "Finally, someone who agrees."

"Why are you raising your hand?" Ariel questioned.

"What—Oh, yes, I forgot. It's a thing that we do. Raise yours as well," Jim gestured her to do the same. So, she did, and he high-fived her.

"We do that when we celebrate over something. Big or small, we do that quite often," Jim explained briefly. "It's called a high five, because of our… five fingers. Haha."

"Ah… interesting."

"Interesting, indeed," Sarah smiled while landing her cheek on a palm. "You two are just unstoppable. For a daughter of King Triton, I salute you for being this… daredevil. I don't suppose a king would let his daughter even touch the shore."

"Well… there are just so much to see in this world, Sarah," Ariel smiled back.

"What about your mother? If your father doesn't know, does she?" Sarah leaned forward a little, not knowing she had touched a touchy subject. Jim was about to cut in, but Ariel's sigh stopped him from doing so.

"She's… dead, I'm afraid."

Sarah's blue eyes widened. "O-Oh, I'm sorry."

Ariel suddenly found the sand more interesting to look at. With her trust to the Hawkins, she mentally decided to spill everything out. "I remember the whole city mourning for her death. Not even my father could approach me back then. I shut myself for days, shut my appetite for every dinner and breakfast and lunch, shut myself from my friends!"

The Hawkins carefully listened to every single word she spoke.

"Back then, my mother would take me to wrecked ships to find treasures. It was not something that my father would completely agree, but with my mother's guidance, he let me. We would hunt, collect, and cherish any kind of object made by your people. However, the tradition stopped for a while since my mother had passed away, but then," Ariel looked up to Jim and Sarah. "I continued doing it, now with Flounder's company."

The story teller let out a forced chuckle. "It's silly, I know, to risk my life to collect items that are not necessarily valuable in your eyes in areas where sharks mainly hunt. But in those items… I see her. I feel her. It's the closest I can ever get to my mother."

Ariel's hand took some sand, and palmed it afterwards. Her forced smile turned upside down. Without noticing, a drop of tear made its way across the mermaid's delicate cheek, falling into the salty seawater when it reached her chin. It was an odd sensation, having never cried outside of the water previously. Knowing this, she tilted her head down to hide her tears. But her sobs gave it away.

In Sarah's eyes, she only saw a daughter. Not necessarily hers, but in the meantime, it was a responsibility of hers to soothe her. As motherly as possible, Sarah knelt down and hugged Ariel, not caring of her garment that got soaked right away. Sarah's warmth was quickly felt by the mermaid, and as a daughter who'd never received such a feeling, she returned the hug, almost desperately.

"It's alright, Ariel," she brushed her cheek against Ariel's forehead. "It's alright..."

"Oh S-Sarah…" Ariel's quivering lips prevented her from speaking, so she decided not to. Instead, she enjoyed every single second of it while it lasted. The red-haired female opened her watery eyes for a second, and only saw a blurry figure. Clearing them afterwards, Jim was seen watching the two with a small smile. He knew Ariel needed this, as he found a mother figure was something she was lacking of in her life throughout their friendship.

After giving a few rubs on the back, Sarah let go of the mermaid.

"I'm sorry, that was e-embarrassing." Ariel confessed, clearing her face from tears.

"Oh please, I've experienced worse," Sarah glanced over to Jim.

"You really had to, mom," he rolled his eyes away. The mother let out a few laughs, and so did the mermaid.

"But… thank you, Sarah. Really, thank you." Genuineness was seen in her gratefulness, all described with a smile and a pair of honest eyes.

"You're welcome dear," she cupped her cheek. "Don't be shy around me."

"We're here for you," Jim added, curling an honest smile.

Now that's something Ariel had never heard of, and never thought would hear in her life. For the first time in her life, she got to feel love, a real one.