Over the next few days, Ariel, Garret, and Flounder routinely and secretly visited the shipwrecks at the graveyard per Ariel's insistence. The little mermaid wanted to explore every nook and cranny of them and was fascinated with every treasure she came across. So, whenever she and the gang visited, she took home an object she liked for safekeeping.

At first, Garret wasn't too keen about these trips but later decided to use the time to search for any clues. So, while Ariel and Flounder looked at the treasures, the boy searched for mirrors for any clues. However, most of them were broken beyond inspection or didn't resemble any he used to travel to his world. Also, whenever it came to the abandoned objects, Garret pretended not to know what they were, still wanting to play it safe. But even though it was an important mission, Garret started to enjoy himself, too.

One afternoon, the three were again exploring another ship in the graveyard. Ariel was excited as she and Garret inspected all the relics. But, while they did, Flounder was still feeling worried.

"Say, Ariel, are you sure it's OK for us to be here? Remember what Sebastian said."

"Oh, Flounder. Don't worry," said Ariel. "Besides, he's just a worryfish."

"Ain't that the truth," agreed Garret. "I mean, I wasn't too keen at first, but I'm starting to enjoy doing this too. Besides, as long as Crabby doesn't know, it'll be fine, so loosen up a little."

The tropical fish looked around, pondering. Ariel picked up a brass soup bowl inspecting it. Then she placed it on top of her head, believing it to be a hat.

"Hey, Garret! Flounder! Look at this - this thingamabob!" she said. "I wonder if humans wore this on their heads like this?"

Garret and Flounder couldn't help but snicker.

"Yeah, something's telling me that I don't think that's what it's for, Ariel," chuckled Garret.

"And even if it was, that's a pretty silly-looking crown," giggled Flounder

Flounder now felt less worried and grew a bit bolder, starting to explore the ship, darting all around, checking out the inside, and then going outside to check out the crow's nest. From up there, he could see everything. Then, he noticed a hole leading to another room on the ship's deck. Feeling curious, he swam through it and saw something inside it.

"Ariel! Garret! Come here! I found something!" he called out.

The two mermaids quickly swam over to Flounder's location and gasped. Inside the room in the center was a large treasure chest. The three went to the chest, opened it, and found it filled with gold coins that shone brightly like stars.

"Whoa! Check it out!" gasped Garret. "You found treasure, Flounder!"

"These are so pretty!" agreed Ariel as she picked up a few and played with them in her hands. "I think I'll take a few of them with me."

She then put the coins into a small pink bag she was carrying with her.

"You know, you've been taking quite a few of those things home with you lately, Ariel," said Garret. "You better make sure you're hiding them. Otherwise, Crabby'll throw a fit along with your dad."

"Don't you start acting like a worryfish, too, Garret," smiled Ariel. "No one's going to find out."

"Yeah, Ariel's got a special place for all her human stuff!" added Flounder. "A special place that no one knows about!"

"Flounder, shush!" urged Ariel while trying to cover his mouth. "That's supposed to be a secret!"

Garret raised a brow. "Well, now, you've got my interest peaked. What's this place Flounder's talking about, Ariel?"

Ariel and Flounder looked at each other and nodded.

"Garret, before we show you, you have to promise that you won't tell a soul," Ariel spoke firmly. "No one can know about it, not even Sebastian or my father."

"Don't worry, Ariel. I promise I won't tell," replied Garret.

"Cross your heart, hope to die, lying on a shore until you're dry?" Flounder asked suspiciously.

While caught off guard by the idiom, Garret responded with a nod.

"In that case, follow us," said Ariel.

Ariel and Flounder then swam out of the ship, and Garret followed. Eventually, they came to an area hidden between a reef and a sea mountain stopping in front of a large round boulder. Ariel looked around, making sure no one was looking. Then, she moved it aside, revealing a hidden cave.

"Come on. In here," urged Ariel as she Flounder slipped inside.

Garret then followed suit and ventured inside. When he did, a marvelous sight met his eyes.

It was a room with hallowed-out shelves, each carrying ancient human treasures and artifacts. There were books, pots, paintings, silverware, and many other objects, and above was a small hole where the sun's light shone through, illuminating the room.

Garret was so amazed that he almost couldn't speak.

"What do you think, Garret? Isn't it amazing?" asked Ariel. "This is my secret grotto and my collection of human things."

"It is. I've never seen anything like it," Garret murmured. "How long has this been here?"

"For a while," replied Ariel. "I've been collecting all sorts of human things whenever Flounder and I go exploring shipwrecks or caves, and each one is very special to me, although I wish I knew what most of these things did."

Garret looked around and inspected a village under a swirling sky.

"Ariel and I found that one when we explored a cave a while back," said Flounder. He then shivered a bit. "It was pretty dark, scary, and filled with anglerfish!"

Ariel then came over carrying an hourglass. "Ooh! And look at this one! I found this the other day when I snuck out one night," she said eagerly. "I don't know what it does, but I like how the sand passes through it!" She set the hourglass down, put on a pearl necklace, and twirled around. "And this necklace, I found this when Flounder and I were being chased by an angry squid while exploring another shipwreck further away from Atlantica."

Garret chuckled. "Sound like you two have made quite a few memories collecting these items," he said. "And I can see why you want to keep this a secret. Your father and Crabby would go nuts if they found this place."

Ariel then looked up wistfully, staring up through the hole from above. "I know. I would always come here whenever I was sad or want to get away from it all and think about what it would be like on the surface and what humans did with these things." She then sat down on a rock setting down the hourglass. "Every time I find something to add to my collection, I can't help but want to learn more about them. That's why, when my fifteenth birthday comes, I'm going to swim up to the surface and see what it's like. But it seems that no matter how much I want to go up there and learn about humans, everyone tells me they're dangerous, barbarians, and other stuff, but I think they're wrong about them. Is it so wrong to be curious about something you want to know?"

Garret then remembered what Ms. Gesnar said and thought about his investigation of the mermaid ghost.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with that," he said. "Someone once told me it's natural to be curious about the unknown and wanting to know everything about what it is we're curious about. So if you want to know something and are ready to face the unknown while trusting your gut, go for it. Find the answers that you're looking for. At least, that's what they said."

Ariel looked at Garret, and her eyes brightened. She then gave Garret a huge hug, which made his cheek grow pink in surprise.

"Oh, Garret, you're one of the few I've met who understands me!" she said happily. "That makes me happy, more than you know!"

She pulled away from the boy and dug into her bag, taking out the gold coins. Then, she swam up to the second shelf and placed them in a stack.

"These will be a reminder of a new memory we've made today," Ariel told Garret. "The day that you came to the grotto, Garret."

Garret could only scratch his cheek, adverting his eyes while Flounder smiled, chuckling a bit.

Then, suddenly, Ariel gasped, remembering something. "Oh, no! I just remembered!" she cried. "I have a music lesson right now! I'm going to be late!"

Ariel and her party then raced outside, securely shutting the round boulder and ensuring the entrance was hidden and swam off as fast as they could.

The trio eventually arrived at the palace, where an impatient Sebastian was waiting, who was quick to criticize as they came.

"Ariel, you're late again! How many times do I have ta tell you?! Never be late for your lessons!"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, Sebastian," apologized Ariel.

Then Sebastian's eyes narrowed curiously. "Dere's something different about you, Ariel," he said. "Somet'ing's changed."

At first, Ariel and the others were puzzled, but they suddenly realized. In her haste to leave, Ariel had forgotten to take off the necklace and was still wearing it.

"Wh-what do you mean, Sebastian? You must be imagining things," the little mermaid spoke innocently. "I'm the same as I've always been. See? Listen to my scales!"

And to demonstrate, Ariel sang a few notes, but Sebastian wasn't buying it as he pointed accusingly at the necklace.

"Den, where did you get dat? Dose don't look like any mer-pearls I've seen."

Ariel tried thinking of an excuse, but Garret and Flounder chimed in.

"We found them! Flounder and I were swimming, and we happened to come across them. Right, buddy?"

"Yeah! And we gave them to Ariel because we thought they would look pretty on her! Besides, all pearls come from the ocean, right?"

Sebastian frowned, still a bit suspicious but conceded. "All right, den. But I want dose pearls off. You can put dem on after de lesson, Ariel."

Ariel complied, taking off the pearls and giving them to Garret, but not before whispering to her two friends.

"Thanks, you guys."

"No problem," Garret whispered back. "And don't worry, we'll go put them back."

The boys then swam away while Sebastian continued Ariel's lesson.

Garret and Flounder swam stealthily back to the hidden grotto and quickly placed the pearls back inside.

"Whew. And that's that," sighed Garret. "That was a close one."

"No kidding," agreed Flounder. "I thought for sure that Sebastian wouldn't believe us."

"Well, technically, what you said was the truth, Flounder," said Garret. "But I didn't think you'd be the type that would come up with a little fib like that one. Hopefully, that was able to get Ariel out of trouble." He then stopped thinking. "Say, Flounder, do you think it's OK for me to know about Ariel's grotto? I mean, it's a pretty big secret. If I wanted to, I could throw caution to the wind and tell Crabby and her dad about it."

Flounder was horrified. "What?! You're not going to do that, are you?!" he exclaimed. "You promised you wouldn't tell!"

"No, no, no, don't worry! I wouldn't do that!" Garret cried hastily. "I was making a point because I think you and Ariel might be a bit too trusting when it comes to me! I may have been with you guys for a while, but I still feel like a stranger to you two. Are you sure you want to trust me with something like that?"

Flounder relaxed before smiling. "Well, why not? I mean, you're our friend. I trust you. And I'm sure Ariel does too. She doesn't usually show her grotto to just anyone, which means she must trust you a lot."

Garret looked at the tropical fish with surprise. But then he smiled. "I guess she does. Even more so than I thought. I can't help but feel a bit flattered.

The two soon returned to the palace and just entered the halls when they heard someone shout.

"Arista! Where are you?! I know you stole my mask, and I want it back!"

Then, Aquata came swimming down the hall looking very cross, but she stopped when she saw Garret and Flounder.

"Oh, Garret! Flounder! Have you two seen Arista? I intend to give her a piece of my mind!"

"What's wrong, Aquata?" asked Garret. "Did something happen?"

"Oh, Arista stole my mask again!" complained Aquata. "And this isn't the first thing she took from me! She's taken my hairbrush, my pillow, Mr, Fuzzyfinkle, and my lucky shells - oooh! It drives me crazy!"

"I'm... sorry to hear that?" Garret spoke while puzzled. Then, he suddenly remembered. "Say, Aquata, I know you're busy at the moment, but I was wondering if you could answer a question for me. Have you seen anyone else in Atlantica having red hair besides Ariel?"

Aquata's angry scowl was replaced with puzzlement. "Why would you ask me something like that?"

"Well, it's just that recently, I happened to come across someone that looked like Ariel but a bit different," explained Garret. "So, I've been asking around, but nobody seems to know."

"Well, I've never seen anyone with red hair," replied Aquata. "And I'm pretty sure the rest of my sisters haven't either. Also, I would strongly advise you not to ask Father. He wouldn't know either."

"I see," said Garret. "Well, thank you anyway. Come on, Flounder. Let's go catch up with Ariel. She's probably still at her lesson with Crabby."

The two boys then swam off. As she watched them leave, Aquata couldn't help but feel confused.

"I wonder why Garret would be looking for a lookalike of Ariel?" she wondered. "There's only one other person I know that had red hair like hers, but..."

She then trailed off, frowning, unable to finish her sentence as she swam off.