(At last! The final chapter! This will probably end a lot...um, differently than most people imagined. Ack...I'm gonna get shot for this. I myself think it's sweet and rather fitting, but that's just me. I had quite a bit of fun with this story; you might see a Sora x Ariel oneshot in the near future... Anyway, now that Atlantica Presents is finally finished, please be sure to share your opinion on the final chapter and the whole story! Enjoy! --Topaz Fox)

"Welcome the dawning of a happy age of new beginnings!

Land and sea have come together,

Joined in peace and harmony."

He hovered, stationary, in the water backstage, watching through the angular slat of light that led straight to the stage. Groaning a little deep down in his throat, he raked a hand through the mocha minarets of his hair, attempting in vain to soothe his pounding headache. Ever since last night, he hadn't been able to eat, sleep or even think straight. His whole being seemed to be buzzing with her heavy words.

-----

She clasped her hands behind her back and looked upward into his eyes. His heart broke as woefully absorbed the sight of her frowning, something he had not thought possible. "Sora…you're wonderful, you really are. You're sweet and adorable and brave, and you have so much passion for everything you do. But…" Her tiny frown neutralized into a quavering parody of a smile. "I really…"

-----

"Fairytales and miracles

Are what we're singing of…"

The muscles in his arms tensed. If only he could storm out there with the Keyblade and destroy those two witless, ugly mermaid sisters. Their mediocre singing and the lyrics it carried brought him pangs of agony that he had never felt before…

Well, almost never. The vision of an angelic little girl, another redhead, popped into his mind for the millionth time that day. Angrily, he brushed it away, but those soft lilac eyes lingered and burned twin craters into his already-throbbing mind.

"Our dear princess Ariel

Truly fell in love…"

Damn the coward prince to a thousand years of burning hell… Damn true love as well…

"With a prince, a human prince,

Who lived so far above."

A clamshell rose up between the two girls. As soon as it swept its great curling halves apart, it became evident that the blonde and brunette mermaids on either side were simply pillars of flesh and bone. They were only there to showcase the flawless gem that now sat, poised, on the clamshell's magenta inner cushion. He visually caressed the way her crimson hair billowed out dramatically behind her, constantly moving in the water. When song flowed from her painted lips, it was as if the sea became physically sweeter, and the tiny lines of sunlight dancing in beams through the waves gleamed with the beauty of fine-spun gold.

"Wishes really can come true

If you want them to;

And this happiness inside

I owe to every one of you."

He felt his insides constrict with a mixture of fear and fury as he prepared to swim out to the stage. Every muscle in his body contracted until he felt like he was made of cold, dead steel and nothing more.

-----

"…Love Eric."

Nothing had ever hurt this much. Not since…no. He quickly erased the memory of the other girl, whom he had convinced himself was no more than a friend.

The mermaid before him looked up, her eyes polished with remorse. "I like you, Sora. Quite a bit. I always have, ever since you were a naïve little boy." She bit her lip so hard he thought it might draw blood. Not that it would matter if it did…

"But I don't just like Eric. I'm sure you understand when I say that my heart belongs to him.

"You have someone your heart belongs to, too, Sora. And she misses you."

-----

"How about an introduction

To these lovely friends of yours?"

She lit up with joy and gratitude, as did her voice. The obvious improvement of her demeanor shot his heart to pieces. He felt...like he had let her down, somehow. Like her happiness was wasted on him.

"Come take a bow

Donald, Goofy, and Sora!"

The octopus duck and the turtle dog darted out from the depths of the backstage area, careening along with the fluidity of twin torpedoes. The dolphin boy was not nearly so fast. He focused on methodically pumping his tail up and down, pushing through the water and trying to stay on a straight path. Donald opened his mouth first and let loose the pinched, pickled voice that had made him famous:

"Congratulations, dear princess, to you!"

Spinning his cyan-tentacled body away, Goofy popped up next, more talking than singing:

"You found your first love, and he found you, too."

For some strange reason, the boy lagging behind felt…touched. The prince was her first love, wasn't it? He felt an invisible bond connect him with her; not a channel of lustful energy, but a genuine feeling of amity. He remembered briefly when he had first met her. He was so little then, and so guileless…

Something prickled in the back of his chest. He had a first love, too, didn't he? With a brass-forceful pang, he realized it was his first and only true love. He had had a crush on the mint-tailed mermaid, but perhaps he only felt that because…

Because she reminded him so much of her. Red hair, bright eyes, beautiful laugh.

"We were glad to help you out

And very proud, it's true."

His voice came out forced and hollow. He felt lodged in the state between love and friendship, and was confused with what to do next. Frightened, he realized he didn't feel like he used to. The mermaid seemed…far away, even though she was so nearby.

But he couldn't give up on something he had fought so hard for. Could he?

You fought harder for something else. Did you give up on that?

"Seeing how we made you grin

Just makes us want to twirl a fin!"

Near center stage, the two other mermaid sisters twirled around their gorgeous counterpart. The effect was kaleidoscopic, blurred with movement and song and color. She remained still, the axis of the sea at this moment in time. All eyes were on her.

"Wishes really can come true

If you want them to;

And this happiness inside

I owe to every one of you."

Suddenly, the two generic mermaids bolted, reappearing behind a massive stone column. The brunette clutched the blonde's shoulder and both of them peered out shyly at the scene.

"Be so kind and introduce

The King and these, his loyal friends."

She beamed once again.

"Please say hello

Daddy, Sebastian, Flounder!"

An air of awe passed over the audience and cast alike as Triton, great King of the seas, arced overhead in his golden chariot. The vehicle shone like the sun on water, pulled expertly by two highly-trained royal dolphins. Speeding along with such grace he seemed to flow, the King raised his triton, at last pried from Ursula's grasp, and sent a slim gleam of magic to a cluster of crystal stalactites. The sparkling formation of spikes lit up majestically from the inside out, smoothing a starlight-colored glow over everything.

"Ariel, I'm so happy for you," he said in a voice as placid as lamb's wool.

Watching from below, the dolphin-tailed boy felt another sharp ache. Triton had been, to say the least, against the idea of his daughter wedding a human. Now he seemed…celebratory? It didn't make sense.

You're happy for her, too. Don't hide from yourself.

Sebastian sang out at his conductor's stand.

"Yes, happy endings are so rare and so few!"

Flounder wobbled up, propelled by his flimsy blue fins. Almost everyone flinched as his voice sounded. It was not what one would call…developed.

"We were glad to help

And very proud, it's true."

"Seeing how we made you grin

Just makes us want to twirl a fin!"

The ever-present mermaid sisters swam in perfect circles before the conductor's stand. They seemed to warp into a smudged ring of coral colors. Gradually, they rose upward, following the notes they sang.

"Any other friends of yours

That might be waiting in the wings?"

Largely forgotten, the boy delved into his thoughts. Gazing at the girl he had helped, protected, been there for, he saw through the mist that had made his life miserable. He had been so lonely…it had been so long since anyone but a dog and duck had lived life with him. He longed for completion in the form of someone he could open up to…someone who knew him back and front, who looked and acted in ways he admired…

Then Ariel had appeared, an angel with fins. He had taken her as a substitution. A once-true friend had become an obsession, a filler.

"Come say hello

All my friends from every corner of the world!"

Dolphins, groupers, rays, jellyfish, angelfish, bass, sprat and more poured in. They were a heavenly ensemble, a deluge of life and joy. All sorts of shapes, sizes and colors collected from every corner of the sea, piling up around the stage. Surrounded by this, the boy at last found truth.

It seemed silly, impossible, strange, but it was truth. A new day was dawning.

"Welcome the dawning of a happy age of new beginnings!

Land and sea have come together,

Joined in peace and harmony.

Fairytales and miracles

Are what we're singing of;

Our dear princess Ariel,

Prince Eric from above…"

There together on stage, the whole plethora of them danced and sang, causing the whole concert hall to reverberate with loud, jubilant noise. They were unified in the joy that only mutual love could bring. Nobody was afraid, nobody worried. And, as the boy looked to his right side, he smiled at the object of his painful affection and mouthed something subtly:

Still friends?

Her eyes glittered. She gave him the first true smile he had seen in a long time. Without warning, he was swept with the exhilaration of letting go. She mouthed something back:

Of course.

Bubbles streamed silver from somewhere unknown, signaling the finale. And it was the finale: the end of pain, the end of insecurity, and the end of loneliness.

Most importantly, it was the end of an old age.

He and her, Sora and Ariel, twirled around each other and joined hands. Her touch still warmed him, but he could see through the heat now. They each stole a look at each other, smiled, and bowed as the last words were uttered amidst a thunderclap of applause.

"A happy end, forever after…

Full of joy and love."

-Fin-