Triton lifted his arm, pointing he trident right at the boy's chest. Jim filled his head with questions right away. What else was going to happen after slaying the Sea Witch?

"Leave my daughter alone… for now. She needs to recover first. You may see us in the not distant future."

He relaxed his muscles. "That is all, farewell."

With that, he descended into the depth, leaving Jim and his companions on the small solar boat. Sarah and Amelia.

"A simple thank you would've been nice," Amelia crossed her arms. "I expected more from the king of the sea."


"Nice… thank you for bringing me here, Ben."

"You're welcome, Seb."

The crustacean hopped off from the robot's hands, piercing the sands slightly with his pointy feet. It had been a while since Sebastian actually stepped on the sands, let alone washing himself in saltwater.

Sebastian had been on a routine where he'd go back into Atlantica City to check the others, especially Ariel, and resurface back to Benbow Inn to report Ariel's condition. He'd been doing this for two weeks since the day the Sea Witch was slayed.

The sand Sebastian was stepping on was warm, and he used this opportunity to warm his shell. He dug himself in the sand, and enjoyed the sun above him. Seeing his friend relaxing, Ben came up with the desire to do the same. But he decided to hide under a shade, and it was the shade of the pirate's ship that they had beached right next to them.

"Isn't it marvelous, the adventure we had weeks ago?" Ben asked.

Sebastian peeked the robot with an eye. "I'll admit, I never thought a living being like myself would experience such an adventure. But would I go for another one? Nope."

"Heh, if you say so. I'd totally go for another one if the chance were given."

He processed his statement. "Perhaps… One that is less life-risking. Then I might be interested."

"What's life without death-risks?" Ben complained. "It's an essential of life itself!"

"It is called a lively life, I'd say, Mister."

"I have to agree with him on that."

The duo looked up in unison to the source of the unusual voice. Their eyes widened right away when they found out it was the ruler of the sea who had 'agreed' with Sebastian. He was sat on a rock just an inch from the sands.

"My, y-your majesty!" The crustacean cleaned himself from bits of sands. "I was not aware of your—"

"Oh, it's fine, Sebastian," the king gave a gesture to assure him. Even with the king who was pretty chill, the two still bowed before him before looking up to him.

King Triton cleared his throat. "I've come here, after gathering some might and getting rid some egos, to see the people who have slayed Ursula."

"Right… and what are you going to do with us?" Ben questioned, cocking one of his mechanical brow.

The king took a deep breath, trying to bury his ego. "I want to… express my gratefulness to the heroes of the sea. Had you not stopped Ursula from doing her evil plan, the whole world, not just the sea in particular, would've looked different by now."

A little bit convinced, Ben shared a look with Sebastian. But being one of the king's servant, Sebastian eyed to the cliff, telling him to call the others.

"I'll call the others, Your Majesty."


Sarah, her son, and Silver made their way to the beach, and the mother figure was already unhappy to see the ruler of the sea. Basing her behavior on her motherly instinct, she glared at the king right away. Both Jim and Silver were very aware of her mood at the moment. She was radiating an aura so obviously, that Sebastian and Ben were aware of the angry mother, too. But they didn't bother to tell her to calm down.

King Triton, however, lacking a presence of a wife in his life for a long time, didn't notice the signal. He simply questioned about the number of people that showed up after Ben's return.

"I suppose you need more than three people onboard to operate a ship?" He asked.

"Um, there are another two, but they have gone to their home," Ben answered.

"Oh no, Ben. Operating a ship merely needs a single man onboard, along with a proper might and a brain of tricks," Sarah patted her son on the back. Jim simply played along.

Triton cocked a brow after hearing her tone. "Uhh… You're the one who did that?"

"Ya heard the lass," Silver added, buckling his belt. "The lad here, was the mastermind."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Jim replied. "I operated the ship, and drove the bowsprit of the ship into the Sea Witch's heart. But, without my companions, including my mother, here, my plan would've never succeeded."

It surprised the king to hear that it was Jim who acted as the mastermind. "You? And your—" Triton didn't dare to say the word, as he had just realized the woman's true role.

"Mother? Is that the word you're looking for?" Sarah placed her hands on her hips. Neither Sebastian nor Ben was dare enough to intervene the scene.

He looked down in embarrassment. "My… apologies," he looked up. "I've caused harm to your son—"

Triton stopped speaking when he discovered that Sarah was still not buying it. He decided to pick his words more carefully. He could barely remember the last time he had a moment similar like this, but one thing was sure, it felt like nostalgia, although the nostalgia could've been about something better, something less nerve-wrecking.

"My biggest gratitude, and my deepest apologies. For you have stopped Ursula and her plan to take over the sea, and for I… have caused a harm to your son."

"That's about... two weeks late. Has it been two weeks, yet?" Sarah asked her son. Her son simply nodded.

"And for being late."

Sarah stepped forward, dipping her bare feet into the water. "You're aware that the trident could've done something more than just erasing a part of his memory, weren't you?" Sarah pointed a finger at the trident Triton was holding. "It's a trident that possesses the power of the whole sea! And you decided that it would be fine to use that to strike him with that? What on earth could my son have possibly done that he earned such a mindless and merciless action?!"

"Sarah, please calm down, he's still the king—" Sebastian pleaded, gripping her skirt.

"Oh, stop right there, already! King or no king, a mother would bow to nothing and nobody if it's to protect her beloved ones! And for the record, my son is the only family I've left!"

Her tone was the tone a mother would use to reprimand a certain person, and clearly, it wasn't the proper one to use when speaking to a royalty. However, Triton could care less. He was at fault, and everything she had said to him was right.

Triton forced himself to look up at the woman in shame. He blinked, and he couldn't believe his eyes at this very moment. He saw his wife instead, posing in a pose Sarah was posing. Her crooked brows, her furious blue eyes, it was very much her! The only difference was the attire she's in, she was in Sarah's dress. But other than that, it's very much Athena. His wife.

Once he blinked again, he saw Sarah once again. That brief moment of disbelief and shock was enough for Triton to learn that it was time to get rid of the shame and to man up.

He planted his trident's bottom tip on the sand, and took off his crown. He stuck it on the trident so he could bow before Sarah on the water. Sebastian gasped deeply at his action.

"I'm… sorry. For everything."

Never had Sarah ever thought in her life that the king of the sea would bow before her and the others, all for the sake of forgiveness. However, Triton earned her respect, and most importantly, her apology.

After a brief silence, the king looked up at Sarah.

"Back on your…" she paused, thinking before speaking the word out. "Fins, Your Majesty."

Having not much water to float on, Triton sat on the rock back. Sarah scanned his face, and discovered honesty, genuineness, and guilt. Experiencing many relationships previously had given Sarah the ability to distinguish between the face of a deception and the face of honesty.

"I forgive you, Your Majesty. But there's still one thing you haven't done yet…"

He processed her statement ten times faster than he usually does at normal statement. "Ah! And all Atlanteans, including me, thank you all for your heroic action. If you could pass our thank you to your other colleagues, it'd be very much appreciated."

"Right. We will, Your Majesty," Jim responded.

"And I was also wondering… if we could ever pay you back for your services," Triton asked, scratching his head. "With something materialistic, or anything."

The statement caught the mother's interest side. "Hm."

Everyone in the beach proceeded to ponder of something that they could request in return. The thing that Ben had wanted for a while was an upgrade on his processor, but the king of the sea would have no such thing. Sebastian wasn't really in the position to think of something, but he did, anyway. Sarah was thinking about something valuable, something expensive, but she thought it wouldn't be nice of her to ask for such a thing. Besides, she was not the craziest when it comes to riches. However, Silver was thinking the same thing. But, the cyborg also knew he was in no position to ask for something like that. As for Jim… asking the return of Ariel would be too much, he'd probably earn another strike with the trident.

The Hawkins exchanged a look, both expressing the same face. They even shrugged in unison.

"Your Majesty, it's really humble of you to offer us that, but we can't think of anything… proper," Jim gave a small hint of a smile. "But, if you could think of something," he eyed his mother, asking for a hint, and received nothing. "Uh… meaningful? It'd be very nice of you."

Triton stroke his white beard. "Hm… I think I can come up with something. I will return one day, and give you the present by myself."

The Hawkins nodded. "Yes. Thank you, your Majesty."

"One last thing," Triton raised a finger. "Although, I wasn't sure if I would do this. But, I'm here to update you about my… daughter."

Ben, Sarah, Jim, and Sebastian were taken by surprise. Never had they ever thought the King of the Sea would tell humans, the species that he despised, about his daughter's condition. But, they wouldn't mind at all.

"Alright…" Sarah spoke. "How's Ariel?"


The red-haired mermaid was in a deep slumber. She and her other sisters were asleep in their chamber. Morning was only minutes away, and the first one to sense it was, of course, the red-haired one.

Ariel had been always the early-riser. Whenever people think of an early-riser, they might think the person who does that is always ready to do something productive. However, the 'productivity' that Ariel did was not so productive in everyone's eyes.

She first stretched every muscle in her body, and weirdly felt an absence that she'd previously have. That very absence was the pain that she'd have on her left hip where she had had several wounds. She looked down, and found that the mark was nowhere to be seen.

'Yes, finally!' She whispered. Using a gentle touch, she felt her skin on her left hip, and sensed a bit of mark of the wound. It was still there, but visually, it was not.

She uncovered herself from the blanket she had, and attempted to move her fins gradually. It took a few adjustments, but she managed to float in the center of the chamber. Previously, staying afloat in the water would burn plenty of energy for her. But now, she could already tell that her body had healed.

Her head spun to face the hole of the chamber that faced to the open sea. She swam towards it to see the surface slowly illuminating, reflecting the light of sunrise. Finally, she could do her routine that she had longed for a while.

Ariel dashed out of the hole, and headed upwards towards the surface. Once she was surfaced, she spun a little, and stopped on the east. And there it was, the sun that she adored.

"Oh how I miss the sun…"

Just right after she expressed her deep miss towards the sun, several solar ships flew past the mermaid on a relatively low altitude without warning. They were headed towards east, chasing the sun as it energized their solar sails. Seconds later, every ship in Ariel's sight tilted their nose up, heading straight into the open space up above.

It was a magnificent sight for a mermaid who had always wanted to have a pair of feet and walk on land. The sight was reminiscent of someone very important in her life, Jim, considering he's very experienced in boats.

"How is he?... I wonder. Perhaps I'll sneak my way to the beach today," she fisted her hands in determination. "Yes! I will! And no one's going to stop me!"

"Really, Ariel?" A deep, raspy, fatherly voice called from behind.

Ariel turned around, and Flounder was there!

"Flounder! Jeez, I thought you were my father!" The mermaid splashed some water at the tropical fish. Instead of avoiding, the fish 'accepted' the water in triumph.

"Jeez, stop it."

The mermaid faced the sunrise once again, and with a chuckle, the tropical fish joined her on her left. Finally, the duo was able to do their morning routine they'd previously do.

"How did you know that I was up here?" Ariel asked her buddy.

Flounder shrugged. "I didn't. When you're still under your dad's supervision, I still would come up here."

She looked at Flounder. "Awh, Flounder. You really did?"

"Yep," Flounder shared a glance. "I miss you, Ari."

Ariel brought her buddy close to her, where their cheeks united. "I miss you too, Flounder."

Afterwards, they enjoyed the sunrise in a serenity. A flock of birds flying past, solar ships crossing the horizon, a leisurely enjoyable chat, the sun radiating on the far east, these were the essentials of the serenity taking place. That was, until, a solar ship flew past the two at a ludicrous speed. However, Ariel's sharp eyes spotted something falling from the ship right when it blew past them.

"Did you see that?" Ariel asked.

"See what?"

"The thing that fell! You really are a guppy, Flounder."

Ariel said no more as she leaped towards the direction where the object in question fell. As she paddled through the water, a small shape reached the surface. Seeing this, she picked up some speed. However, the object suddenly drowned, leaving her no choice but to dive.

The object slowly descended, but the mermaid quickly reached for it. Ariel examined it after resurfacing again.

"What is this?"

Flounder joined the examination, and asked the same question mentally. The object's shape was tubular. It was hollow on the inside, but there's a closing at the other end of the shape. Judging from the feel, Ariel think it was made out of metal.

Ariel tried to think of an answer hard, but came up with none. Then it clicked in her head, why not ask a human being for the answer? And who else could give the best answer if it's not Jim?

"I really need to get to Jim! I can ask him what this is, after I give him the biggest hug in the world," Ariel said in full determination.

"You sure your father would let you?" Flounder asked, scratching his cheek with a fin.

"Nope. But I'm Ariel, and you've seen what I can do."

The statement earned a confused look on Flounder's face. "… No?"

While still wondering what she could possibly mean, a grumbly roar sounded. The red-haired mermaid was hungry.

"That's the signal. Meet me at the usual spot after breakfast, 'kay?"

Before Flounder could even reply, Ariel already dived in the depth.


"Right, this will do."

It was past breakfast, and Triton apparently had missed it deliberately. His absence in the breakfast was a question mark for every single servant in the castle, let alone his own daughters. However, he gave a note to let them eat without his presence in the dining room for he had something to take care of.

Triton grabbed out a bracelet from inside a large shell where stored valuable possessions in it. The bracelet was forged out of the hardest coral rock in the sea, colored in a combination between green and blue. The bracelet was known by people who had used or witnessed it as an object that could 'tame' the water in the wearer's surroundings. It was not as powerful as Triton's trident, but it's really enough to protect its user.

To test out if it still had any magic left in it, Triton put the bracelet on his wrist. He pondered of a trick to pull.

"Hm," he extended his arm, and pictured of a small vortex in front of him. Magically, the water in front of him spun, creating a small vortex.

"It's still got its magic."

The king smiled proudly, and took off from his room with his trident.

He was on his way to the beach. On his way, many civilians of Atlantica city greeted him with waves of hands and smiles. Some guards offered him their presences to make sure no harm could reach the king. However, he kindly refused them. Being the king sure had plenty of benefits, let alone a wise king. However, he was still a merman at fault, and he had yet to redeem himself.

Minutes of swimming eventually brought him to his destination. Triton breached the surface, and he was immediately taken by shock to see two familiar figures on the water.

Ariel and Flounder.

"JIM?! MS. HAWKINS?! BEN? ANYONE?!"

While calling for their names, Ariel hit the water spontaneously as if she was a woman who needs an assistance from a nearby lifeguard. Occasionally, she also used the tubular object she had found previously to make more sound by contacting the bottom of it against a rock. Flounder was helplessly watching his best friend, until he spotted King Triton's figure on the corner of his eyes.

"Um, Ariel?"

"What?"

"You might want to turn around."

She did, and let out a deep gasp.

"D-daddy?! I d-didn't know—"

Weirdly, and most certainly unanticipatedly, the father figure simply chuckled at his daughter's behavior. It was such a goofy sight for him.

"It's alright, Ariel. I'm not grounding you or anything," he waved a hand. "How's your condition?"

"I'm doing great! Better than ever, actually! I felt no pain whatsoever during swimming!" Her tone was clearly trying to convince him, which Triton was very much aware of.

"I can see that. I was going to give you permission to roam around more, actually," Triton said. Ariel's face brightened immediately. Right when her face brightened, he spotted the object that he was going to question near her.

"Why do you have a cup with you?"

"A cup?" She lifted the object. "You mean this?"

"Yes, Ari. Humans use that to drink water or any drink they like. They pour the drink into the hollow part and drink it from the lid," he briefly explained.

"Oh… so that's a cup," Flounder said.

"I was going to ask Ji—one of them about it," Ariel smiled cheekily, with a hope that her father didn't figure out the name she was going to mention.

"Jim, is it?" He crossed his hands, returning the smile of his daughter. "Well, I have a task for you, my dear."

He planted his trident on the sand with a push, and took off the bracelet he had on his right wrist. Neither Ariel nor Flounder spotted the existence of the bracelet due to the sudden arrival of the king himself. However, Ariel recognized the object right away.

"Daddy, why were you wearing the Aqualet?"

"Yesterday," he cleared his throat, "I came down here to meet the people who had taken down Ursula. I didn't meet all of them because some of them had already headed home, so I regret not coming earlier. Anyway, I showed up, and met the Hawkins, and that robotic person. I expressed my gratitude for their heroic services, and my rue for what I've specifically done… to the boy."

He paused, only to look up at Ariel who was taken aback a little. Her face expressed a little of disbelief at her own father.

"I suppose I haven't asked for your forgiveness, my daughter. I'm… sorry for erasing the memory of you and him inside his head. However, I think he already remembers you again," he smiled a little.

"All he needed was a little kick," she shrugged. "But… it's okay, daddy. I forgive you. I'm sorry too, again, for making such a deal with Ursula."

He smiled gratefully. His arms spread wide, and the two united in a big, warm hug. They pulled away seconds later.

"And this bracelet is my sign of gratitude for them. The Aqualet," Triton gestured at the object. "And now, about the task, Ariel. I need you to bring this to them."

She accepted the Aqualet when it was given to her. "Well… looks like it's busy hour up there, no one has heard me at all."

"Hm? Why don't you go up there, then?" Triton crossed his arms, having something under his sleeve.

"How?"

"Ariel," Triton grabbed his trident firmly, "I am going to miss you so much."

Flounder soon spectated a performance of light and magic that was indescribably mesmerizing before his eyes.


Indeed, it was a busy hour in the Benbow Inn. When they thought summer had ended and busy time had finished, they were completely wrong. However, the Hawkins couldn't complain for what they were doing was their earning. Ben was busy in the kitchen, using one of his eyes to look at a recipe virtually and using the other one to spectate the soup in front of him. Morph was cutting down some veggies into pieces in the form of a… saw. Silver kept telling the alien not to cut the veggies in the form of a saw, but he shrugged it off this time. Jim was tidying up the rooms on the second floor. And the owner of the inn, Sarah, was taking orders from the customers. She stopped at a table where a lass was sat. She rarely looked at the customer's eyes when taking the order, and that's exactly what happened here.

"Yes, yes, coming at you, Mrs. Witwicky! Good morning, young one. What would you like for breakfast?"

"How about…" the lass skimmed through the menu. "Rum?"

"Rum, in the morning?"

Sarah looked down at the customer, who was apparently Ariel, dressed in a fine yet simple white dress that lasted until her knees with a cup made out of metal in her grasp. She was smiling widely at the woman.

"OH MY GOD, ARI—" Without any other word, Sarah hugged Ariel with every ounce of motherly love she had for the girl. The hug was tight, but brief. Afterwards, Sarah pulled herself away and looked down. She was right, she had a pair of legs, and she was apparently barefoot.

"But, how?!" Sarah landed a hand Ariel's knee. "Oh my goodness, Ariel what are you into right now again?!"

"Don't worry, Sarah. My dad granted me this pair of legs. And… the dress," she chuckled.

"Really?! Oh that's the best news I've ever heard, almost like too good to be true! Wait," she pinched her cheek all in sudden. "Am I dreaming?"

"No, Sarah. You're not," Ariel giggled.

Sarah pinched the ex-mermaid's cheek. "Are you dreaming?"

"N-No! Hahah, we're not dreaming, Sarah."

"Okay… well, I know someone who misses you a lot, and whom you miss a lot, as well," She placed her hands on her hips, smiling confidently. In response, she nodded vigorously.

"He's upstairs. Careful with the steps, as you're inexperienced with steps. And let me serve you," Sarah grabbed the metal cup Ariel had, "with something healthier, missy."

"Thank you, Sarah!"

The lass gave one quick hug at the woman, almost like a daughter giving her mother a hug before she's leaving the house. Afterwards, she dashed to the staircase on the other end of the dining room. Once she was upstairs, she was greeted with a corridor of doors. On her left and right, closed doors were seen. She kept walking until the corridor made her turn right, where on the left, windows were seen instead of doors. They gave a perfect view of the calm ocean up ahead.

Ariel resumed her exploration. Soon, caught by curiosity, Ariel stopped at a double door, which happened to be opened. She stepped in, and the interior of the room interested her the most, as it was filled with many books. It was books, books, and books. And it didn't end there. There were plenty of objects varying in shapes, size, color, and functions, which she had no idea of, placed at numerous spots in the room. The sensation she was experiencing was something she would only experience when she was in her secret grotto. The only difference was the lack of knowledge about the room and its content, which only aroused her curiosity more than ever.

When Ariel was about to enter an aisle of books, she stopped at her track when she heard of a sound at the other end of the aisle.

And Jim was there, who was casually placing some books back where they belonged on the shelf.

"Jim!"

The call turned him around, and made him drop the books in his possession.

"A-Ariel?"

The two caught each other in each other's arms, closing any gap that existed between their bodies. Tucking her head in his neck, Ariel engulfed herself with Jim's unique scent. Jim did the same, only, he added kisses on her skin.

They pulled away a little, little enough for them to find each other's lips. They kissed passionately, lovingly, and hard.

The end