I'm sorry for not applying Sebastian's accent into his speeches. Imagining him speaking every single word is too much for me.
"Jim?! JIM?!"
Sarah searched through the entire inn for his presence. She called for his name in every single room, including the guests' rooms, the most unlikely place to find him in the morning.
She rushed down the stairs. "Ben?! Where is he?!"
"Sarah, I searched every single corner in the first floor, and even scanned for any sign of life! I only came up with Morph's!" He reported, approaching the desperate mother. Morph floated towards Sarah's side from Ben's.
"Morph, you didn't see him?"
The alien shook its head as in a 'no'.
Sarah rubbed her temples with her hands, "where could he possibly have gone to?!" With a twitch of a muscle, she looked up to the window with the diamond pattern on it. The window gave a view of the ocean, which gave her a lead of a new place to search.
"There's no way he'd gone to the beach, right?" She asked to herself. Without even waiting for an answer, she lifted her dress by a little to gain more space for her legs to rush out of the inn. Once she opened the backdoor, the wind of the sea immediately welcomed her. Followed by Ben and Morph, the mother figure walked her way to the cliff that separated the inn and the beach. From on top of it, she looked down, and gasped deeply.
"Is that… Oh my god, what in the world…" she knelt down, narrowing her eyes to see better. Ben and Morph had no idea what she was spectating. Before they could even peek, Sarah rushed away to the stairs.
"Wait, Sarah—um, hold on," Ben halted himself, letting Morph go after the woman.
The robot had picked up something in his radar on the air in front of him. Something… out of its place. It's floating right on the air in front of him. Normal humans would only see the view of the sea, but Ben saw something in that view. Human eyes wouldn't be able to spot the very small object, but luckily, Ben was a robot, equipped with eyes capable of detecting molecules in the thin air. He stood there for a few seconds before catching up with Sarah.
Once Sarah reached the beach, her worst guess came into reality.
"Ariel?!"
Ariel's eyes rolled up to see the woman calling her name behind her soaked hair. A smile formed immediately.
"Sarah!"
She tried to support her weight with her arms first before trying to use her legs. But with her wobbly motion, she failed. But Sarah caught her before she could kiss the sand
"A-Ah… thank you Sarah."
Lifting her up, the woman scanned her looks. The girl she once knew as a mermaid was now a human, very much naked, except for her breasts which were covered by her seashells. It wasn't her naked look that shocked her, it was the new addition on her body; a pair of legs. Sarah's reaction was summed up with a drop of a jaw.
"Ariel… what have you done?"
"I've got myself a pair of legs!" She answered childishly.
She groaned in disbelief. "You r-really are unstoppable! Does your father know about this?"
She shook her head. "No."
"Then that makes me a hostile in his eyes. I have the daughter of King Triton with me, with her new pair of legs! Great, one thing missing only—"
"Miss, if you please, we don't have much time."
Both of the females looked down at the sand to see Sebastian. It took her by surprise to see a crustacean talking in an accent she had no knowledge about. "We only have time until sunset before she's turned into a mermaid again. She needs to see the boy at once!" A sense of fascination was taking over the woman, so she didn't pay attention to what the crab he just spoken.
"Oh hello there," Sarah gave her hand as a base for Sebastian to stand on, then brought him to her level. "A talking crab, never met this one before."
"He's a great musician as well, Sarah. His name is Sebastian!" Flounder called from the water. Sarah's eyes brightened at the fish.
"Oh hello Flounder!"
"Hello Sarah!"
The woman was certainly distracted at this point, so Sebastian needed a diversion. But before he could even gain her attention again, she cleared her throat. "Sorry, I've been distracted. What was that you just said?" She rolled her eyes onto Sebastian's.
Sighing, the crab explained once again, "we only have time until sunset before she gets turned into a mermaid again and have her soul sold to the Sea Witch!"
"The Sea Witch?" Sarah paused herself, coming into realization of what she was dealing with. "Oh no, no, no… Ariel, you're so in trouble right now. I wish I could ground you if I could." She glared into the girl's green eyes. She could only smile hopelessly.
"Let me guess, true love kiss is the key?" Sarah asked, turning her attention onto the crab.
Ariel cocked a brow, surprised to see Sarah knowing the key. Sebastian also found it odd that Sarah knew such a thing. "Yes, how did you know that?" Ariel asked.
"I'll explain later. Let's get you something to wear first, Ari." Sarah rotated herself and the girl around to see Flounder. "I suppose we say bye for now, okay?" She smiled at him.
"Okay, bye-bye, all of you!" Flounder waved a fin.
"I'll share the stories right away when we meet again, I promise!" Ariel waved a hand. "Bye!"
With that, Sebastian hopped onto Ariel's shoulder before they turned to the stairs. Sarah acted as a support while Ariel was learning to use her new body parts effectively. However, they stopped when they noticed Ben and Morph, who happened to be watching them in the whole time from behind.
"Ben, Morph, you two go first. I don't want you to enjoy a 'view' from behind." Sarah commanded.
Morph nodded, however, Ben didn't. His gaze was locked onto the ocean in front of him. Once again, his system had picked up the same thing.
"Actually, Sarah, leave me be. There's something interesting in here…" He walked past the trio. As much as it shocked him to see a talking crab in the flesh, whatever he was picking up right now was more interesting, apparently. Sarah looked at the navigator robot in confusion, but didn't let him take her time.
"Let's go. Learn slowly, dearie. It'll come around."
"Now may us know where the boy is? We have wasted an hour just for Ariel to learn how to walk and get dressed!" Sebastian crossed his claws together while watching Ariel putting on a dress that belonged to Sarah herself. The impatience of the crab had just dug its way under Sarah's skin, as she put her hands on her waist.
"They're essentials for her, just like how you learn how to walk sideways and use your claw for self defense, you crustacean!" She barked back deliberately to show who the boss was around. The message was conveyed, and Sebastian immediately shut his mouth.
With heavy heart, Sarah sighed, and looked at Ariel finished dressing up in a simple light blue dress, topped with a bow on her hair that knotted it.
"He's… gone. Jim's gone."
"Gone? Jim's gone?!" Ariel yelled.
"Y-Yes! Last night, he was still here. By morning, he was gone! His boots were not even taken, so someone had kidnapped him…" she shoved her arms together, looking at the floor in disappointment.
"He's gone… It can't be…" Ariel placed her hand on her forehead.
"And he has no idea who you are, Ari. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse," Sebastian slammed his claw against the floor. Sarah's brow furrowed, remembering the fact that Jim somehow had forgotten about Ariel.
"Regarding that, Sebastian," she knelt down. "What happened to him? I found him on the beach yesterday, and he woke up knowing nothing about Ariel."
Sebastian looked up. "… King Triton used his magic to erase the memories he's had with her. Her identity, her personality, everything. The tool he used was his trident… so a little damage might be there." He emphasized on 'little'.
Sarah gasped a little, frowning before turning into Ariel. "I'll definitely have a word with your father if I stumble upon him."
"I never wanted him to do this, Sarah," Ariel sat on the bed. "But he's so strict with everything, too strict, I'd even say."
The woman stood up. "So if you knew that Jim had become a person who has no idea of who you are, what were you planning exactly? If he, let's say, still happened to be here with us?"
"I don't know… I just hope he'd remember me." She smiled faintly. "Maybe he just needs… you know, a kick, to let the memories flow again."
It was a plan and a half, in Sarah's opinion. A very sketchy one. But she's here, with her, and a pair of legs to walk with for her to use. She saluted the ex-mermaid for that.
"I know, I should've planned more thoroughly. I'm so stupid… now with him nowhere to be found…" Ariel imagined the life she was going to enter after sunset, and it terrified it. Every single fiber of her being was shaken, feared of her destiny that was coming in a short period of time. She couldn't hold it, so she proceeded to let it all out by crying.
Sarah took action by soothing the girl. The mother was very much experienced with the problem, and with her experience, the ex-mermaid immediately returned the woman's hug. Ariel dug her face in the woman's shoulder, soaking it with tears.
Sebastian hopped off from the table he was on to face the two. "I'm sorry, but if I may ask, how did you know about… the true love kiss again?"
Sarah sighed, and placed a few rubs on the girl's back. She proceeded telling her tale with a "it all began…"
At the beggining, Ariel was listening through her sobs. When Sarah reached the point where her tale was suddenly more interesting to hear, she pulled her face out of her shoulder, but still very much close with the mother figure. When she was nearing the end, Sarah gave a dramatic pause, and revealed the plot twist of her tale. The twist shocked the two.
"S-So… that means…"
The door of the room opened abruptly, revealing Ben and Morph. "I'm so sorry for cutting in, but Sarah, I have a new lead. I know where Jim might've gone."
The mother's face brightened. "You do?!"
"Yes, come with me, all of you!"
With his cue, Sebastian, with the help from Ariel, Ariel, and Sarah rushed after the robot. The robot led all of them outside on the cliff.
"Now Sarah, we both agreed that Jim was kidnapped, right?" Ben asked when he turned around to his spectators.
"Yes."
"That drop of chloroform on his bed sheet gave it away, and so did his boots that were never taken. So, I suppose we can agree with that. However, the kidnapper might've gone not to the civilization, but out there!" He pointed at the sea.
"What's a chloroform?" Ariel's curious side asked. Ben was about to give a long three paragraph essay of explanation regarding the question, but Sarah stopped him before he could even start.
"It's a chemical that induces people into sleep, if inhaled." She smiled endearingly at Ariel, as if she was her own daughter.
"Oh, okay."
"Now Ben, do continue."
"Okay, Sarah. They've gone to the sea, as I've mentioned." Ben reminded.
"To which direction, exactly? We can pull many lines from our spot but we—"
"And that's where I become useful, hehe!" Ben halted the woman with a raise of his index finger. "Now, our ships use the technology of solar powered thruster, correct?"
Sarah rolled her eyes around. "You don't need to ask for confirmation every time you know the answer, Ben. Believe me, I've experienced this before with you, Ben."
Morph, who was floating right next to Ben, happened to find it annoying too. So, he turned himself into a hand, and pushed the robot in annoyance.
"Alright, alright. Geez."
The robot turned around to face the sun above. "Now, our current technology uses solar power radiated by the sun. Solar sails capture those energy, and transmit them into thrusters, which will eventually give a massive thrust and move the ship forward."
Ben turned around back to his audience. "Now, what's interesting with the use of this energy is that the waste of this concept is not exactly a 'waste'. You know, we breathe in oxygen, and we exhale out carbon dioxide, which is the waste. But in this concept, there's almost no waste, except, a few amount of energy particles that was not converted into thrust by the thruster. Now, this means an inefficient use of energy, but solar energy is so powerful, not every bit of energy is needed. So, what I'm saying is, the ship that might have taken Jim had left a trail of solar molecules as it departed. These molecules have tendency to stay stationary right where it was spat out from the thrusters of the ship, weirdly. Neither gravity nor even a blow of wind can move it. So, what I'm saying is… I can track these molecules with my system, and lead ourselves to Jim!"
Sarah was about to express her gratitude for the amazing news, but Ben continued. "And an addition to that great news," he turned to the ocean and scanned for the trail, "the trail that I'm seeing right now has no sign of elevation… meaning they haven't gone to outer space."
"Oh, that's the best news ever! Thank you Ben, you're the best!"
The females proceeded to hug the robot. Ben would be lying if he said he didn't find the hug enjoyable.
"You're welcome, Sarah." He placed his robotic arms on her shoulder to gently pull away. "But one problem… transportation."
Sarah placed a finger on her chin. She actually doubted the option she's pondering of at the moment, but no other choice was to help her. To boost some confidence, she turned to Ariel.
"Ari, has Jim ever taught you how to operate a solar-sail based vehicle?"
Within an instance, excitement grew out of her.
Jim started to hate the feeling of being put into sleep by force. The sleep he'd have wasn't nice at all, and a headache usually accompanied him as he rose from sleep.
At this time, it was no different. He woke up with another stinging pain on his head. To make matter worse, the surface he was sleeping on was the roughest surface he'd ever slept on. The wood he's sleeping on wasn't exactly a one that was polished finely. Trying to ignore the bitters, Jim used the muscles on his arms to get his upper half up. He noticed the small thin blanket covering his lower half, but the environment he's in was… unexpected.
"My, my, look who's awake."
"Oh boy, he's awake!"
A feminine and a masculine voice called from the dark corner of the cramped room. The source of the masculine voice approached the male, making Jim realize who it was. It didn't take long for him to identify the owner of the feminine voice too. However, a deep raspy voice called.
"Jim Hawkins… in the flesh."
It was voice of an old pal. Their companies surprised the boy, but the reveal of the last company shocked him even more.
Shorter chapter, but that's enough for this chapter :)
