Garret was at the doctor's in the palace, getting the starfish removed. The doctor carefully peeled away the starfish, revealing Garret's nose, showing no swelling signs.
"There we go," said the doctor as he showed Garret's face in a mirror. "Your nose is as good as new."
"Thanks a bunch, doc," said Garret as he felt his nose. "That starfish did wonders on my nose. It's like I never smashed it at all."
"You're quite welcome," smiled the doctor. "But just make sure you don't run into rocks again."
"Haha. Very funny," Garret chuckled. "But don't worry. I'll make sure I take your words to heart. Until then, I'll see you around."
And Garret then left the room. As he swam down the hall, he couldn't help but touch his nose to double-check.
"Man, I don't know how he does it, but that doctor is incredible," said Garret. "I can see why King Triton keeps him around. Now, I won't have to worry about it when I get back home. And speaking of which, I better get back. Who knows how much time has passed over there."
Garret started outside, about to head for the treasury, when someone swam past. It was Andrina, one of Ariel's sisters.
"Hey there, Garret," Andrina greeted. "I see that you finally got the starfish off you."
"Yep. Doc just took off this morning," said Garret. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to have it off. Although, to be honest, I got used to having it on. I didn't even notice I had it."
Andrina then chuckled. "Then maybe you should have kept it on. You would have looked like a pretty cute superhero."
Knowing that she was joking, Garret rolled his eyes but smiled. "Like I haven't heard that one before," he said. "So, where are you heading off to?"
"Oh, just rehearsal, the same as it always is," replied Andrina. "You want to come along? Ariel's going to be over there."
"I'll think I'll pass for now," said Garret. "Nothing personal, but I was going out for a swim by myself. But make sure to give Ariel and the others my regards."
"Suit yourself then," Andrina said with a wave. "I'll see you later then. Don't want to be late."
And she swam away.
Garret swam outside the palace and started towards the royal treasury. While avoiding the guards, he entered it and soon came up to the mirror when he got there. He then touched the mirror's surface, expecting it to activate and send him home.
However, unlike before, the gem above it didn't glow, and the mirror's surface didn't change or shoot out any bubbles.
Garret tried again, taking his hand away and placing it on the surface. But, yet again, nothing happened.
"What the... Why isn't it working?" Garret wondered aloud. "Is it broken or something?"
He inspected the mirror, ensuring nothing appeared out of the ordinary. He also waved a hand over the teal gem, thinking it would be motion-activated. He even tried the classic "Open Sesame" command. But no matter what he tried, the mirror didn't do anything.
Then, he heard a voice that made him jump.
"Hey! Who's back there?!"
It was the guards from were outside. Garret quickly swam out of the treasury as the guards came right around the corner. He then promptly swam as far as he could until the boy was sure he was safe.
He was relieved he didn't get caught, but now Garrett began to worry. "I don't get it! Why can't I use the mirror?!" he spoke worriedly. "It doesn't make sense!"
He then had a worrying thought.
"Wait, what if it's finally stopped working and I'm stuck here forever?! Don't get me wrong, I like this place, but still!" But he quickly calmed himself down. "No, calm down, Garret. Don't think like that. You got through the mirror before, and you can do it again. So you have to think for a minute."
He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, thinking, remembering his past instances with entering and leaving Atlantica. Then, it occurred to him. One significant thing always happened whenever he left or entered Atlantica.
"The mysterious singing voice," realized Garret. "Of course! I didn't hear it yet, so maybe that's why it didn't work! But if that's the case, how am I supposed to find it? Maybe I'm supposed to find another mirror or something?"
He then started thinking about places with mirrors. However, the only place closest to him was the palace.
"Well, I suppose it can't hurt to check out the palace," Garret said. "Ariel and her sisters should be at practice, and it's more than likely that Crabby's over there too. Hopefully, King Triton isn't lurking around somewhere with his trident."
He then swam back inside the palace and looked around while listening. He looked in the main throne room, the ballroom where the Neptune Ball took place, and even back in the resting room. He even went as far as to check Ariel and his sister's dressing room, albeit carefully, and was relieved that none of the mirrors didn't activate, nor did he hear any singing. But, other than that, he didn't find any mirrors.
"Man, the moment you need something, it's difficult to find," Garret lightly complained. "Although, I am glad that none of the mirrors in the girls' room didn't activate. The last thing I want is to run into Attina again. But I'm running out of places to check. Now, what should I do?"
He thought about other places to search, like the marketplace or maybe even a shipwreck. But then a familiar sound wafted into his ear, which immediately got his attention.
It was the soft sound of a woman's voice singing.
"That's it!" Garret exclaimed as he looked around. "The voice! It's faint, but I can hear it!"
He looked around, swimming and listening carefully while looking through the coral reefs and rock formations. At first, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but he didn't realize how far he was swimming away from Atlantica. Then, he came to an area he hadn't seen before.
It was in dark, murky waters with only a few rays of sun coming from the surface. And all around the landscape, there were dozens, if not hundreds, of sunken ships.
Garret couldn't help but gape in awe while also feeling unnerved. "Oh, man, this must be one of those ship graveyards I saw on TV," he said. "I've never seen one of these before, although I'm not sure if that's good."
To make things even more problematic for Garret, he could hear the singing from somewhere inside, giving it a more ominous feel.
"Oh, man. Why does it have to be over there of all places?" Garret groaned. "Well, I've faced sharks, mobsters in the form of a lobster and shrimp, and even humanoid sharks, so what's a ship graveyard, right?"
He took a deep breath and swam into the graveyard. He went slowly past piles of rotting wood and the twisted masts and sails.
Garret couldn't help but swallow a bit as every shadow seemed to stretch and dance across the seafloor, and every corner seemed dark enough to hide any creature that could jump out and pounce at him.
"Come on, Garret. It's just a ship graveyard," he told himself, trying to keep his mettle. "You are fifteen years old and have experienced far worse than this. Just keep calm and focus on finding the voice."
He continued while listening for the voice. It was faint, but he could still hear it somewhere further inside. The further he swam in, the louder the voice became.
Soon, he stopped beside a half-collapsed ship and peered around the corner. He saw a large chip that was mainly intact resting on top of a rock, where the voice was at its strongest.
"Good grief. Why aren't I surprised?" Garret sighed. "Of course, the voice is coming from a sunken ship. If this is the universe's way of testing me, I am not amused."
Knowing that he had no choice, Garret was about to proceed when something caught his eye close to the ship. A mysterious figure with red hair swam close to the vessel and then disappeared into a hole in the hull.
Immediately, Garret gasped, remembering where he had seen the figure before, and it wasn't Ariel. "That looks like the mermaid from my dream! But it can't be!"
Garret then swam over to the ship entering through the same hole. Inside, he could see the lower deck in complete disarray, with furniture and items scattered everywhere. As the boy looked around, he could still hear the singing, but he could make out some words.
"...try...measure~ The...that...~ ...wave...~."
"Hello? Is someone here?" called out Garret. "Hello?"
No one answered him, with only the singing being heard.
Garret ventured further inside, coming up to the upper level, where the singing was loudest. He glanced around, wondering where it was coming from until he saw it.
In the corner next to the door leading to the outside of the deck was a mirror. Like the other ones he had seen before, it had the same metallic gold trim and a teal gem on top, but its frame looked rusty, the jewel looked cloudy, and its surface looked very dirty. At the same time, the singing stopped.
"Looks like I found the mirror," said Garret as he came over to it. "Although, it looks pretty messed up." He wiped its surface with his finger and inspected the dirt, cringing in disgust. "Ugh! Way messed up."
He then looked around, trying to find something to clean, eventually finding an old piece of cloth on the floor. Then, after picking it up, Garret used it to clean the mirror, wiping away the dirt and grime on the glass surface and cleaning the teal gem. And it wasn't long before he could see his reflection, and the jewel was sparkling clean.
"Whew. That's better," said Garret. "Now it looks a lot less disgusting. Now, time for me to get home."
He then swam up to it and reached out to touch its surface. But at that moment, he saw something in its reflection.
His body froze, becoming stiff as a statue, staring with shock and fright.
In the mirror's reflection, he saw the same red-haired mermaid from his dreams, only now, she was floating right behind him, radiating in a strange ethereal glow while transparent like a ghost.
Garret slowly turned around, fully facing the being, his heart pounding like a jackhammer. He wanted to scream in terror, but he couldn't, his mouth unable to utter a sound.
Then, the mermaid slowly glided silently towards him, making Garret's heart pound even faster and harder as he began to tremble and back away, only to feel his back touch the mirror's surface leaving him nowhere to swim.
The apparition then reached her hand towards Garret's face, and he couldn't help but shut his eyes, expecting the worst.
But then, he felt a warm touch caress his cheek, which made him instinctively open his eyes.
He found himself staring into the eyes of the mermaid. He expected them to be filled with some form of maliciousness, but instead, he saw nothing but kindness and amiability.
The mermaid gazed back at him and smiled as he stroked his cheek like a mother and smiled, and for the first time since Garret saw her, she spoke in a quiet and soothing voice.
"Please don't be frightened, little one. I mean you no harm."
The pounding in Garret's heart slowed, and the fear that seized him was replaced by amazement and curiosity. And finally, after everything that happened, Garret managed to speak, uttering three words.
"Wh-Who are you?"
"You will know soon enough in time," was her reply. "But for now, you best be going. It's time for you to return home."
At that moment, the teal gem above the mirror began to shine brightly above Garret's head, and a torrent of bubbles erupted from its surface, quickly surrounding Garret and pulling him into the mirror.
The boy tried to reach out to the mermaid, not wanting to leave and desperate to know who she was, but he couldn't resist the mirror's pull as it sucked him inside, transporting him back to his world.
It wasn't too long before Garret reemerged from the mirror in the attic. As the water receded into the mirror, its surface turning back into glass, the boy quickly shot up, slapping his hands on the mirror.
"No! Wait! Send me back! Take me back there, please!" he spoke a bit urgently. "I have to know who that was!"
However, the mirror didn't respond.
Garret then sighed, realizing that the mirror would be inactive, but still felt confused and bewildered about what he had experienced.
"Who the heck was that?" he thought to himself. "That mermaid was right in front of me, and I couldn't get any answers!"
Feeling a bit frustrated, Garret sighed as he hung his head, taking a few seconds to calm himself while still keeping his hands on the mirror.
Then, the morning sun shone through the attic window, signaling that it was the start of a new day in his world. Garret looked outside and then looked back at the mirror.
"I don't know what that was, and I'm not sure why," he said to himself. "But I'm going to find out."