Sorry if this chapter came up short, but I've been working on my Negima Remix story for some time. For some odd reason, I seem to be on a role with that one. But in order to keep you from suspense, here's a small update.

Aquatic Kingdom Hearts

Chapter 34: Farwell and Departures; Two Worlds, One Family pt.1

Back in the Cavern

Everyone paled as they heard the roaring of the now-awakened volcano. As Sweet and Audrey loaded the injured Helga onto their vehicle, Mole paled as his eyes shook with fear. The earlier explosion had caused the dormant volcano all around them to erupt with life once more. This posed as a bad situation for all of them; if they didn't get out of there in time, they would all be fried by the now bubbling magma that would engulf them all. Mole went white as a sheet and his voice full of panic as he stated the obvious, "Ze volcano! She awakes!"

"Hey I had nothing to do with it!" Vinny declared waving a stick of dynamite. The teens looked at him at this point as Dax and everyone else just up and glared at him. Vinny smiled sheepishly as he licked the tip of his finger and extinguished the spark.

"This here would be a good place not to be," Cookie said nervously. The rumbling in the cavern was beginning to get worse as everyone felt the ground underneath their feet beginning to shake and getting hotter.

That was made obvious as Frey felt searing heat beneath his feet as he looked to everyone, "Guys, let's get a move on. My feet are starting to sweat here."

Dax looked at Frey with a raised eyebrow as he sarcastically asked, "Do we need a newsflash every time your body does something?"

"Just ignore him. He does it for attention.", Eric sarcastically joked, which wasn't the best time for it at this very second.

"No, we have to get her back!" Milo cried as he ran over to the capsule with a few chains as he tried to secure them, "Or else the whole city will die!"

"And if we don't get out of here, we'll die!" Audrey retorted as she ran over to help him with it, accompanied by Kida and the boys as the two chained it to the Stingray.

"It's the only way to reverse this!" Milo cried in frustration, "Just do it!", and with that, they finished chaining up the capsule to the Stingray, and ran to their ships in quick preparation to get out of there.

"Jack, that's our cue to skedaddle!" Eric yelled up to where Jack was still parked at. However, he saw that he and his crew had already gotten a head start back to the city. The others had already gotten ready to sekaddle as well; as soon as possible. However, Eric shook his head at seeing Jack's yellow streak get the better of him at this point in time.

"I hate him!", Eric mumbled as he and Frey scrambled over to the Stingray.

A deep rumbling sound echoed from the distance. Suddenly, a stream of lava flooded down upon them. The two boys barely had time to scream before the lava forced them to speed out of there downstream. The Stingray scampered up the sides as Wally made dead sure that the Capsule was still attached to the vessel, and clung to the chains in a panic. Flames were licking the ship's rear and black plumes of smoke were rising in the air as it nearly melted the vessel.

Kida clung to Frey's back as the vehicle rocked back and forth "To the right! The RIGHT!" she yelled.

"I know! I know!" Frey yelled back, not wanting this to end up as back-seat driving, "Will you just let me DRIVE?!"

Wally screamed out of his mouth, "EEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"

In the cockpit, the boys struggled to maintain the ship's equilibrium. Eric, who gritted his teeth at the controls, groaned, "This is bad, Frey!"

Frey shook his head as he stated, "We've had bad before, Eric!"

"This is worse!", Eric retorted as he did his best to get them out of there and back to the others.

It was then that when they had gained more speed and a little more distance, the Stingray was catching up to Milo and the others. They had finally caught up!

"Guys!" someone yelled out to them from the side. They saw that it was none other than Sweet and the others as he pointed out, "We're almost out of the cavern! Just keep heading straight!"

The Atlantean vehicles sped ahead getting away as fast as they could from the approaching lava wave, sliding all over the cavern walls in an attempt to engulf the heroes. Everyone who was either steering or backseat riding were clinging to their vehicles for dear life until they finally made their way out of the caverns, passing the Digger as it immediately was bathed in a small wave of lava that came after them, and straight into the city of Atlantis.

At blinding speeds, soaring across the city ground with the Atlanteans watching in awe, the heroes made their way tot the palace platform. There they tried to land as best as they could, but instead skidded across the stone floor, crashing through stands until they landed in the center of the city.

Everyone immediately got off as they ran over to Eric and Frey's Stingray. Right now, what was more important was to get the crate open as fast as they could. Eric activated the Zeus' Fist as he began to hammer the door off the capsule as fast as he could. Kida and Milo joined in as they used combi-staffs to pry open the crates as fast as they could.

"ZE FIZZURE! IT IZ ABOUT TO RELEASE HER FANTASTIC PUROPLASTIC FURY!" Mole yelled out to everyone as he pointed and shouted hysterically.

"Milo! Kids!" Sweet called out, "Mole says the wall's gonna blow!"

"Oh, that's what he said," Jack said.

Eric grunted as he tried to pry open the crate with the Fist's strength as he gritted through his teeth, "Ugh! Very astute observation… Mole!"

Milo and the others were desperately trying to pry open the crate with all their effort and might to do so in order to save the city. And with one final slam of the Zeus' Fist, did Eric finally brought all of them hope at this point. For as the final strike of the fist to the door, suddenly without warning, the crate burst apart and light from the crystal flared everywhere. Suki hung there glowing a strange blue light as the pieces to the iron capsule floated all around her, almost as if she was generating an orbit that held them in place.

Dax, who was on Eric's shoulder, shook his furry little head as he whimpered at the odd scene, "This is not NORMAL!"

Kida looked up to her sister, helpless even with all her weapons and strength. She feared that maybe they were too late as she whispered in worry to her sister, fearing that she would soon join their mother, "Suki…"

Suddenly, Suki ascended upwards high above Atlantis on top of the highest tower, overlooking everything around them; the ground exploding under them as the carving rocks of the faces of the Kings of the Past floated upward towards her and orbited, slightly spinning. Then suddenly, the rock orbit began to spin faster and faster, as Suki and the Crystal glowed even brighter.

Then suddenly, out of the spinning, bolts of blue lighting shot at every corner of the city. Those that ran to the center saw the bolts aim at something as out of the water, Atlantean robots came back to life to join the people in this dire need. But then suddenly, out of the watery depths of the city's massive lakes and rivers, titanic statue like humanoid robots arose up from the abyss. As they rose up from their resting places, a rain of fire shot at the city, nearly hitting the city had almost killing those nearby. The giants tumbled and walked forward to the edge of the city as fast as they could, almost sensing on what was happening.

As the lava was coming in faster, the robots had reached their final destination. Together the statues clapped their hands together in unison, energy emanating from their hands as it slid over and connected to one another. This in turn, created a mighty blue shield which hovered over the city like a shell, protecting it again as it had in the days of old when the city was about to meet it's demise.

Suddenly a flood of golden lava swept over them rising over the top of the shell.

As this happened, looked up in much worry at this as she stood next to Eric. Almost sensing her dread and fear, Eric brought her close to him in an embracing hug, almost startling her with such an action; wanting never to let her go and out of her sight. He looked to her as she did to him as they were both eye to eye. Eric then spoke up to her, "Ariel… in case we die…"

"I love you, Eric.", Ariel finished, as the two close the gap between them with a passionate kiss.

Kida and Frey looked at the scene, and couldn't help but smile for their friends. But then the two turned to each other, and wondered about the same thing about them, both unaware that they were thinking the same thing at the time. But that thought had passed before everyone saw the lava had passed over the shield, covering them all up. And then by sheer power from the crystal, the shield charged up the lava and then hardened it into rock from there and back to its source.

… it felt like an eternity after the lava had frozen up into black fertile rock once more…

Then suddenly, glowing blue Atlantean writing began to weave up and down the shell. As it did, the rock broke apart crumbling down into the sea. The explorers watched in fascination as they saw the whole thing, and Packard taking plenty of pictures of it to boot. Finally, the shield began to thin out until it disappeared. A strange fog cleared up as everyone, including Milo and Kida looked up to where a small beam of light beamed downward in the center. And then they saw her… Suki, completely back to normal as the Heart of Atlantis was left floating upward with its rocky orbit circling it. Suki was finally lowered back down to the ground, released of the terrible power that had bonded with her only a few hours ago.

Milo and Kida hurried forwards to catch her. Milo had gotten there to her first as he had caught her when the light dimmed out, and he held her close for a few moments. Kida raced to them both as Suki moaned and stirred from her moment of dormancy. Her big blue eyes opened and she stared at the two, "Milo… Kida… "

She slowly opened her hand revealing a small bracelet in the palm. It was the same bracelet that their mother had taken with them, when she had merged with the Crystal in order to save them all on that very day. She had past the bracelet on to Kida; the youngest princess slowly clasped it into her hands, in remembering her mother's warmth and presence from that very day the two had lost their mother. It was then that Ariel walked up to her, along with the boys. Then Kida looked to her three new friends, and before she let out a few tears in sadness, she embraced them in a group hug, with them returning it.

For a few moments then, everyone walked over to the ledge; the explorers and remainders of the Royal Family stood out on the edge peering down at the city. It seemed that after the Shield had died down and the Crystal was restored it to rightful place, it somehow been restored back to life.

While they were staring at the beautiful view, Eric and Ariel held on to each other in ever loving bliss at this sight. And in a surprising notion, when Kida stood next to Frye, she slipped her hand into his, much to his surprise and non-resistance to the move. When Ariel and Eric saw that scene, the two lovebirds couldn't help but smile. In spite of all the turmoil, another love had managed to grow.

Later That Night

That very night, Suki was coroneted Queen of Atlantis, with Milo… surprisingly appointed Scholar/King of Atlantis. The royal couple strolled out into the center of the city, with the populace, Atlantean and Robot, and friends, where a large sculpture had been carved. Milo was quite proud of his artistic masterpiece. Kida gazed at it for a few moments with tear filled eyes before pressing her crystal to the stone. The carving lit up with blue light and Atlantean designs. A perfect replica of the sisters' late father. It slowly rose up to join the other Kings of the Past that floated and orbited the Heart of Atlantis.

Later on that night, in the now restored city, a huge party and feast went on, in celebration. The celebration marking the restoration of the Kingdom of Atlantis, as well as the valiant heroes that risked everything to save it. there was much celebrating and jolly-making, much to Jack's delight as he was dancing around comically with a bottle of unknown drink-age substance in his possession.

However, there were a few who weren't at the party, but just enjoying the scenery near the water. Standing at the pier balcony of the palace, overlooking the majestic city now restored, was none other than Eric. Due to tradition as being one of the heroic leaders, Kida and Suki offered Eric and Ariel some party clothing of their own. He was dressed in an ocean blue male sash robe that went down to his ankles, with a white long cloth in front; sort of an Egyptian style piece of clothing. He also wore a dark blue vest with gold line trim, opened up to expose his chest. However, what stood out from him now, was the peculiar mark on his left shoulder. It appeared to be a Heart-shaped glyph, with three lines going across it, representing the three levels of the universe. At this point, he was looking over the land, thinking about something that had been on his mind. However, it was broken out of thought as he heard a familiar voice, "Eric! Over here!"

He turned to see who it was and smiled at the scene. It was none other than Ariel as she too was dressed in Atlantean robes. She had on a toga like white and blue skirt that showed off her right leg, with a blue robe top that showed off her belly button, but exposed her cleavage a little; a golden band was around her neck to hold the robes on and together. On her wrists were two golden bands that had on two silk like bands that were attached to her collar. Her hair was tied in a ponytail that was let down, but didn't cover the tattoo on the back of her neck. It was two curved lines forming some sort of mouth, with a few wavy lines connecting to it, making them look like waves or the sea itself.

She smiled as she walked on over and stood next to Eric, "So I guess you didn't want to stay for the party?"

He shook his head lightly, "Nah. I just wasn't in the partying mood at that point." He then grimaced as he stated, "Plus…. You know how Jack gets when he's going on rum during parties and girls are in the mix."

Ariel nervously chuckled as she nervously sweatdropped, "You've got a point there." It was then that the two noticed two other individuals below them from where they stood. It was none other than Suki and Milo, walking together in the cavern moonlit forest walkway. The two were walking together, with Suki's arm linked to Milo's. Then, Ariel caught a glimpse of the two smiling to one another. She smiled as well as she looked to Eric, "I never would have thought your uncle or Kida's sister would fall in love like that."

Eric nodded to that, "I'm not really the romantic sort when it comes to seeing other couples as much," he said as he watched them go, "But they really do make a cute couple."

Ariel then smiled as she looked out to the whole city, "It's a real shame that we can't stay here much longer."

Eric nodded, "Yeah, but…", he then sighed sadly as he replied, "… Uncle Milo's gonna be staying here a lot longer."

Ariel sadly smiled at that as well from what she and Eric remembered. Milo, now as King/Scholar of Atlantis, and now married to Suki, had to stay in Atlantis. He wasn't angry or sad at the point, in fact, he couldn't have been happier to stay. Although he would be saddened that he and his nephew would be separated. She looked to Eric as she asked, "But now that Milo's staying here… what will we do when we get back?"

Eric smirked confidently, "Don't worry about it. I've been thinking about it, and I might ask Mr. Whitmore for a job. Until them, we can stay on the investment that we've been given during this voyage." He then looked back out in front, "But we'll manage."

Ariel smiled at Eric's unflinching confidence as she looked out at the landscape, "You're right. I mean, we've gotten this far."

Eric nodded as he smiled, but then looked serious for a few minutes. For a while, during this trip, this whole adventure, things had made him think about something for a while. He looked at Ariel, remembering that night during the school dance; on how she looked on the moonlit beach. She had looked the same way, and never wanted to tear his eyes off of her. it was then that he gathered enough courage and took a deep breath, and exhaled as he turned towards Ariel, "Ariel…?"

She turned to him, asking with a smile, "Yes? What is it?"

Eric sighed for a second, and looked to Ariel seriously, "I've had a lot of thought on this… and now I think it's actually the best time for it."

Ariel raised an eyebrow in confusion as she asked, "Time for what?"

Eric smiled to her as he started out, "Ariel…. We've been friends for a while. And afterwards, it blossomed into something much more." He then took her hands into his as he brought them up to their faces. He then looked her in the eye as he smiled to her, "And because of that, ever since I met you, I've never been this happy in my life."

"Eric, what are you getting at.", Ariel asked, not sure of where this was going.

Eric took a deep breath and let it out, as he said, "Ariel… when we're both eighteen, when we're both in college or after it, and we still love each other….", he shook his head as he mumbled, "…well, I'm pretty sure we both aren't worried about that…", he then smiled small as he looked to Ariel, and boldly asked, "… when we're old enough… will you marry me, Ariel?"

After hearing that, Ariel's face blushed and her eyes became starry on that question. Before it could go answered, Jack popped up with a rum bottle in hand. He looped his arm around Eric as he stated, "A wedding? I love weddings; DRINKS ALL AROUND!", and then looked to Ariel as he stated, "If you don't mind, luv… I'll be takin' the lad here. They're celebratin' on the heroes victory, and they're expectin' all the heroes."

Eric grunted, trying to break Jack's chokehold on him, "Then get Frey. I'm pretty sure he'd be interested in that."

"I'm sure he'd love to, mate….", Jack said as he tried to stay sober form the rum, but to no avail, "But we can't find Whelp no. 2, so we're goin' with Whelp no.1." And then dragged Eric away, kicking and pulling in an effort to free himself as they went to the party, leaving a still-stunned Ariel there.

As soon as the two were out of sight, Ariel blushed a little from what she had heard. She felt her cheeks burn bright as she brought her hands on her face at this, 'I can't believe it. Eric… proposed to me?' It was then that she felt giddier than a schoolgirl, as she giggled with delight. She then turned towards the landscape before her, and looked up at the cavern-induced moonlight. She smiled fondly of Eric as she sighed with ecstasy as she told herself, "I wish… I wish we were old enough now."

Next Chapter: Farwell and Departures; Two Worlds, One Family pt.2