A couple of days later, Ariel, Garret, and Flounder were back in the graveyard hunting for more human treasures in another sunken ship. But as they were searching around, Flounder noticed something. As he swam around searching, he saw a small trap door at the bottom of the floor.
"Hey, Ariel! Garret! Look at this!"
Ariel and Garret swam over, and Ariel's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"A hidden door! I wonder what's inside it?"
Garret also was a bit curious. "Well, why don't we open it and see what's inside?"
The two took hold of the handle and gave it a mighty tug, managing to pull it open. What lay inside was a hidden dark chamber.
"Whoa. It looks like a hidden room," murmured Ariel. "I wonder what's inside there."
"Hold on a minute, Ariel. I don't know if we should go in," Flounder spoke worriedly. "It looks dark and creepy down there."
"I agree," said Garret. "Especially since we don't know what's down there."
But Ariel wasn't frightened. "Come on, you two. It'll be fine," she urged. "I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle. Now, come on!"
Before the boys could stop her, Ariel kicked her tailfins and swam inside. Knowing that there was no choice now, Garret and Flounder soon followed.
Inside the chamber, it was very dark and eerie, with broken objects lying everywhere. Ariel was eager to explore the place as she looked around, while Flounder and Garret were a bit more nervous than excited.
"Stay close to me, Flounder," warned Garret. "We don't know what's in here, so keep your eyes peeled."
"R-Right. I will," replied Flounder nervously.
As they ventured further, a strange shadow danced across the walls watching the three carefully. Then, suddenly, the waters surged, and a black tentacle shot out of the darkness catching the three by surprise. Then, seven more came snaking out, revealing that they belonged to a giant and cross octopus.
The three quickly swam towards the exit to escape, but then one of the tentacles shot out and wrapped around Garret, pulling him back into the chamber.
"Garret!" Ariel and Flounder cried.
"Let go of me, you eight-legged creep!" Garret cried as he twisted in its grasp.
But the octopus only squeezed tighter.
"Flounder, Decoy Plan Number Three!" shouted Ariel.
The tropical fish was scared but bravely shot toward the octopus's face and gave him a few slaps right in the middle. The octopus was quick to try and catch him, but Flounder was quick to avoid it, causing the octopus to slap itself in the face. Now angry, the octopus used his other tentacles to capture him, but Flounder was too quick as he darted around like a bullet.
While it was distracted, Ariel pried and pulled the tentacle, holding Garret captive while the boy wriggled around. Then, Garret managed to free his arms, and Ariel quickly got behind him, looping her arms under his shoulders, and started pulling as hard as she could. With the mermaid's help, Garret pushed against the tentacle with all his might and gave it a powerful kick with his tail. He finally broke free!
"Flounder! Come on! Let's get out here!" shouted Ariel.
The trio then swam out of the chamber as fast as their fins could let them and quickly shut the door. And not wanting to stick around, they quickly exited the shipwreck getting as far away as possible. When they were safe, the three friends took a minute to rest.
"Are you all right, Garret?" gasped Flounder.
"More or less," panted Garret. "Thanks for getting me out of there, you two."
"Well, we won't be going back there again," said Ariel. "Sorry about that, Garret."
"Don't worry about it. You and Flounder saved my hide, so it's cool," said Garret. "But I think we should stay away from the graveyard for a while. If that octopus we saw made that ship we were in its home, then there'll probably be more hidden creatures in there we don't know about. And I don't want to run into another octopus after that experience."
"Well, what should we do now?" wondered Flounder.
The three took a minute to think. Then, Ariel looked up towards the surface, and a sly grin tugged her cheeks.
"Well, there is something that I want to do," she said.
"Oh, yeah? What did you have in mind, Ariel?" asked Garret.
The little mermaid pointed upwards with her finger, and Garret and Flounder glanced upwards.
Garret then realized. "Ariel, you're not suggesting that - !"
Ariel grinned. "Yes, I am," she said eagerly. "Garret. Flounder. I've decided that I won't wait until my fifteenth birthday. I'm going up to the surface! Today!"
"But Ariel, you can't!" objected Flounder. "It's not allowed!"
"Not to mention that your dad and Crabby will be super mad if they find out!" added Garret. "Your dad specifically!"
"I don't care. I'm going," Ariel spoke resolutely. "I have to see what it's like up there! You guys don't have to come with me if you're worried. I'll go by myself."
Ariel then started swimming upwards toward the surface.
"Ariel, come back! It's too dangerous!" Flounder cried in alarm as he swam after her.
"Good grief! There's no getting through to that girl once she's got her mind set!" Garret sighed as he also followed.
The three friends continued swimming up, the journey taking quite a bit of time until, at last, they finally broke the surface. A marvelous sight met their eyes. The sun had begun to set, turning the sky into a beautiful shade of amber, the clouds were rosy pink, and its reflection also danced and sparkled in on the sea.
The trios' eyes were wide with wonder. Ariel was especially amazed as she took in everything around her. "Oh, Flounder, Garret! I never dreamed it would be so beautiful!" she gasped.
"Yeah. No kidding," said Garret. "I've never seen a sunset as beautiful as this one."
"A sunset? Is that was that glowing thing is?" Ariel curiously asked as she pointed at the sun.
"Well, its real name is the sun, but when it goes like this, it becomes a sunset," explained Garret. "I can't exactly explain why it's called that, but that's what you're seeing now."
"What about those pink fluffy things?" wondered Flounder.
"Those things? Those are clouds," replied Garret. "You usually see those things up in the sky sometimes. Normally, they're white but change colors as the sun goes down."
Just then, a flock of seagulls flew towards them, spiraling and dashing about in the sky. Feeling startled, Flounder quickly ducked below the water while Garret and Ariel stayed up. As they passed, one of them smiled and gave the two merpeople a wink before flying out of sight.
Flounder soon resurfaced. "Wow! What were those?!" he exclaimed.
"I don't know," replied Ariel. "Maybe fish that can fly?"
"Those aren't fish," said Garret. "They're seagulls. And... I think one of them winked at us."
"Seagulls?" repeated Ariel, testing the word with her lips. "What a strange name. I didn't know you knew so much about the surface, Garret."
Garret flinched. "W-Well, uh, I've heard some things where I come from," he stammered. "People would tell me many stories about the surface, and I guess I started paying attention."
"Crap! I started explaining things without even realizing it!" Garret cursed in his thoughts. "I got to keep my trap shut; otherwise, they'll start suspecting!"
Ariel then looked to her right and saw an island not too far away. "Oh, look, you guys! Is that land?"
The little mermaid then dove under and swam under the surface, her curiosity growing more as she headed towards the shore. When they got a good distance away while bobbing to the surface again, Ariel gasped.
"Oh my gosh! It's a little boat!"
Sure enough, gliding across the water was a little rowboat with a little boy and girl sitting inside it. The boy was rowing the boat along while the little girl sat admiring the sights while carrying a doll in her arms.
Garret couldn't help but notice the clothing the children were wearing. The boy wore a button-down with trousers while the girl wore a dress. "Based on their clothing, and if my history's correct, it's safe to assume they're probably clothes from the seventeen hundreds. It's almost as if I've gone back in time or something."
The rowboat started to come closer, and the three friends quickly dove down to avoid being seen, but Ariel stayed a bit close to the boat.
"Ariel! Stay back!" Garret warned. "If you get too close, you might get seen!"
But Ariel didn't listen as she looked up at the children beneath the waves. This was her chance to learn more about humans, and she would not squander it.
At that moment, there was a splash as something fell into the water, followed by a cry from the little girl.
"Oh, no! I dropped my dolly!"
As the doll sank into the water, Ariel quickly dove after it, caught it in her arms, and swam far below the boat so she wouldn't be seen. As she inspected it, she felt even more amazed.
"So this is what humans look like!" she spoke as she spun around joyfully. "I never imagined they would look so strange and fascinating!"
Garret then came over. "That's all fine and dandy, Ariel, but I think you should return that doll," he urged. "It doesn't belong to you, and the little girl up there sounds upset."
Ariel didn't want to give up the doll clutching it tightly, but the little boy threw a net over the side of the boat unbeknownst to them. Then, it covered Flounder, trapping him from his fin to his nose. The little fish struggled to get free, but he couldn't.
"Hey! I think I caught something!" cried the boy.
"Ariel! Garret! Help!" Flounder called frantically.
"Oh, no! Flounder!" Garret cried.
"We got to help him!" Ariel gasped.
Ariel and Garret shot after Flounder, hoping to save him, but the boy had already hauled up the net and Flounder out of the water, and the boat began to move away from them.
At first, Ariel and Garret thought the worst, but the boy leaned over to the side of the boat, holding Flounder gently in his hands.
"Sorry about that, little fella," apologized the boy. "Didn't mean to catch you. Back you go."
He then slipped Flounder back into the water. Not wanting to stick around, Flounder quickly swam back to his friends.
"Oh, Flounder! Thank goodness!" sighed Ariel as she hugged her friend in relief. "I was so worried about you!"
"Me too!" concurred Garret as he joined in on the hug. "For a second, I thought you were done for."
"Did - Did you guys see that?!" Flounder panted, still in shock. "That human boy let me go!"
"Yeah, good thing too," said Garret. "Looks like your first experience with humans were the kind ones. Not what you expected from what you heard from King Triton and Crabby, did you?"
Ariel then looked at the doll, thinking about this act of kindness, and then looked at the boat, which had begun to float away from them. She then looked across to Garret. "You know what, Garret? You're right. I want to keep this, but how could I after that boy was so kind to Flounder? But I can't let them see me."
Garret smiled. "Don't worry. Give it to me, and I'll take care of it."
He took the doll, bobbed up towards the surface, and aimed carefully while holding the doll. Then, he tossed the doll towards the boat and landed on the little girl's lap. The little girl, overjoyed to see her dolly again, smiled happily as she hugged it.
Garret quickly dipped out of sight as he, Ariel, and Flounder watched the boat float away until it was out of sight.
Just then, a loud and familiar voice shouted crossly at them.
"Ariel! Dere you are! I've been looking all over for you!"
That voice belonged to Sebastian, who was not only angry but also very much panicked.
"S-Sebastian!" gasped Ariel. "What are you - ?!"
"Never mind what I'm doin' here! What are you and your friends doin' here?!" Sebastian interrupted harshly. "Don't tell me that you and your friends went up to the surface!"
"Well, we - !" Ariel tried to explain.
But Sebastian interrupted again. "Oh, dis is terrible! Your father's going ta bust his scales when he finds about dis!" the red crab raved. "What if a human saw you?!" You would've wound up on a hook for sure!"
"Hey! Take it easy, Crabby! We weren't doing anything!" cut in Garret. "Besides, no one saw us! Right, guys?"
"Yeah! Nobody saw us!" agreed Flounder.
"A likely story!" snarled Sebastian. "And for de last time, stop calling me Crabby! I told you a thousand times!"
"Well, maybe if you weren't yelling so much, I wouldn't have to," huffed Garret. "And King Triton won't bust his scales because you ain't going to tell him."
"And what makes you say dat?" scowled Sebastian.
Ariel and Flounder looked across to Garret, wondering what he was up to.
"Well, for one thing, you don't have any proof that we were up on the surface in the first place," said Garret. "And for another, if you do tell King Triton, he'll bust his scales. There's no doubt about that. But there's one thing you didn't take into account." He paused impressively. "He'll most likely get angry at you as well."
Sebastian was surprised as well as fearful. "M-Me?!" he squeaked.
"Yes. Think about it," went on Garret. "You're King Triton's most loyal assistant. He trusts you to help him and watch out for his daughters. And what do you think his reaction will be if he finds out his most loyal, trusted, and faithful right-hand crab failed in doing that?"
Sebastian was frozen in realization as he trembled with fright. "Y-You're right! If he finds out, he'll fry me with his trident and serve me for dinner!"
Garret winked at Ariel and Flounder, and the two understood what the boy was up to and chimed in.
"Oh, yes. If Daddy found out, he would get mad," nodded Ariel feigning worry.
"Yeah! He would blast you with his trident and, pa-zow, fry you to a crisp!" said Flounder. "Then he'll ka-zow, blast you again, and-!"
"Anyway, the point is, it would be best if you keep it a secret, Crabby," interrupted Garret. "So, please pretend that this never happened, for our sake and yours."
"Yeah, I t'ink I will unless I want ta end up as a crab salad," agreed Sebastian. "Now, come along, you three! Let's get you all home."
The red crab then swam downwards, and Ariel, Garret, and Flounder sighed in relief.
"That was some pretty sly talking, Garret," whispered Ariel with a smile. "I honestly didn't think that would work."
"Well, given that Crabby's scared of your dad more than anything, I just did whatever," said Garret. "I wouldn't recommend doing that again, though, and I suggest that we keep what we saw a secret."
Both Ariel and Flounder agreed.
As the three started following Sebastian home, Ariel looked one last time toward the surface, remembering what she had experienced. She was sad to leave the surface world behind but promised herself that she would come back again. After seeing the humans' kindness firsthand, she now knew that not all of them were bad as her father and Sebastian made them out to be.
"I'll head home for now," she said to herself. "But I'll be back. And someday, somehow, I'll be a part of their world."
And after making that promise, she swam for home.