A few hours later, a group of guards approached the mermaids' cell to take them out, knowing full well that they weren't going to return. Hanon's curiosity overwhelmed her.

"Where are you taking us?" The guard gave her a bitter scowl.

"After that little stunt you pulled, you will all be sentenced to a fitting punishment."

The mermaids tried to break free of the guards' grip, to no avail. When they arrived, the mermaids found themselves standing before Mikeru and Fuku, with the sea servants and Pastor Max standing at the side.

"Luchia, Hanon, Rina, Karen, Noel, Coco, and Sara. You stand accused before us for your acts of blasphemy and insubordination. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?"

Rina then spoke up for the group. "No matter what you do to us, we will never bow down before you! We know that the King of Kings awaits us!" All of the servants laughed at this.

"Heheheh! You mean the one who let you fall into this mess? You guys are truly something!" Fuku once again got his word in. Mikeru then resumed the sentencing.

"Very well, girls. Jury, what do we say about these girls?" I was at the side, still nailed to that cross. I gave the verdict.

"My lord, they are guilty on both counts!" Mikeru turns back to the girls.

"Very well, then. By the power vested in me by the Dominion of the Sea, I sentence you girls to death by boiling water! Take them away!" The girls are then led away by the guards towards a giant water tank filled with water that was being heated up, near the boiling point.

"Any last words?" Sheshe seemed to be overjoyed by this. As was requested, she was given a chair, a large bag of chips, and a 40 oz cup of soda. Not that the execution would take that long, as the boiling water would quickly overheat their bodies and kill them. With nothing left to say, they were quickly lowered into the tank, surprised by how hot the water already was. However, instead of panicking, they devised a plan for once they were in the tank.

"Pink pearl voice!"

"Aqua pearl voice!"

"Green pearl voice!"

"Purple pearl voice!"

"Indigo pearl voice!"

"Yellow pearl voice!"

"Orange pearl voice!"

Even though the lid had shut, and the water was rapidly reaching the boiling point, the mermaids began to sing O Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer to express God's praises while in their idol forms [8]. After a few minutes had passed, they were certain that the mermaids had been boiled to death. They even made sure that the final temperature would be seven times hotter than it usually is. The self-satisfied smirks of the sea servants were immediately wiped away when the furnace door was opened.

"What the?!" All seven emerged completely unscathed. No burn marks of any sort were found on their bodies. All of the sea servants stood astonished. Mikeru thought he had finished them off once and for all.

"H-How could they have survived that?! Did we not turn the water temperature up seven times hotter than usual?"

The guard than look at the heat setting. "We did, my lord!"

"But I see seven mermaids unbound, walking in the midst of boiling water temperatures and they're not even hurt!"

Luchia then gave a wide smirk to the sea servants. "How's that for the King of Kings? He came and saved us, as we were singing his praises in the tank!" Mikeru then came up to the mermaids.

"Well, that is fine. We still have your Pastor, who will still do our bidding. Guards! Let them go free! There is no use in tormenting them if they cannot serve us." Everyone was surprised by this pronouncement, but the guards nonetheless obeyed and let them out of their shackles. As they were led out, Sheshe gave the mermaids a pouting face, disappointed that her revenge failed to stop the mermaids. When they got to the exit, Mikeru addressed them one last time.

"This time, we'll let you go. But you girls must watch your backs!" With the heavy doors closing behind them, the mermaids swam back home, satisfied with the knowledge that God had clearly not abandoned them. When they got back to shore, they all sat on the beach looking out at the ocean, reflecting on this recent ordeal.

"I know that we have escaped, but what about Pastor Max? Will we ever see him again?" Noel's hopes were affirmed when Coco spoke.

"He may have gone home to be with the Lord, but we will see him there someday when we are called home." All the mermaids nod in agreement. That said, little did they know that even they would be surprised by the plan God had for us. As soon as the mermaids got back to land and walked into the lobby of the Pearl Pier Hotel, Nikora ran up and held all seven mermaids in her arms.

"My babies! Praise God you're all safe!" It had been an agonizing past few days for Nikora, who feared the worst for the mermaids. Even though only Luchia was her younger 'sister,' she felt like an elder sister to all of them.

"We knew you'd come back soon!" Kaito, Masahiro, Nagisa, and Hippo were also rejoicing in the return of their mermaid friends. They were also greeted by someone they did not expect.

"Sara, is that you?" Sara looked over in surprise.

"Seira? Seira! The two orange mermaid princesses embraced each other tightly.

"I heard the news that you guys were kidnapped, so I went looking for you. I'm so glad you guys are safe!"

"We're so glad to be back here!"

"And I'm glad I got to meet your little friend. She told me all about you guys." Pastor Joshua came up with a smile, also relieved that all of the girls were safe and sound. However, there was still one notable person missing from this little reunion.

"So, we were unable to find Pastor Max, unfortunately. We know, it was risky, and we endangered ourselves, but we were so hoping to bring Pastor Max back here and let him continue to do his good work." As Luchia explained this, all of the mermaids look dejected. They couldn't bring themselves to say that I had actually died a few days ago, so they claimed that I was still at large.

"I see. In the meantime, I've taken over all of Pastor Max's roles at Honolulu First Baptist. As for Our HOPE Ministries, the Deputy CEO has temporarily taken over his duties there, and we've sent new representatives to Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in his place. Our search will continue for our Pastor, as will our prayers. I'm just grateful that you guys are all back home and that we can have you at youth group again. By the way, we didn't do our usual study because we spent the whole time praying for your return."

Sara and Seira were then going for a walk outside, now that Sara has a little bit more to share with her successor.

"…and that's how mankind can be saved from their many sins."

"Wow, this Jesus sure sounds like a swell dude! I can't wait to tell my future subjects about Him and His plan for everyone!" Seira's excitement for the salvation of all the mermaids already gave her ideas about her future Kingdom. Sara smiled at her protégé, knowing that she would be a godly, Christlike role model for her subjects.

"That's wonderful, Seira! Here, Pastor Joshua wants you to have this." Sara hands Seira a pocket-sized Bible, so then she could get deeper into the Word. In particular, she noticed that Sara left a bookmark in, where Seira turned to. Sara then pointed out John 3:16.

"Look here, Seira. 'For God so loved the World, that he gave his only son…'"

"'… that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.' So, I guess God wants to have a relationship with everyone, right?"

"That's right, Seira. That is why we must tell everyone about this. Here's a little something I sing with the Sunday school kids. Follow along, you'll like it." Sara then begins to sing Go Tell it on the Mountain. Seira then joins in singing; it's a very catchy tune for her [9].

Seira was overjoyed that she was able to proclaim God's truth to those around her. Just thinking about what this means for her fellow mermaids puts a wide grin on her face. Sara was happy to think about this as well.