"They did what?" Briar asked excitedly.

"They opened a store of their own." Jade continued. The five of us were walking into town to see their new shop. "Well technically Leila was promoted to run her own store. But she's still apart of the same company."

"That's awesome. Good for them!" I exclaimed. We walked a few more blocks, and stopped in front of the building. It had very modern architecture. The whole front section was glass, and the two columns by each side of the building was white marble."Sister Studio. Hmm, kinda catchy don't you think?" I said looking at the name. The location of the store was in the magnificent mile of Marina. Every big store was on this block.

We all walked inside. The store was pretty full. Many women were browsing the shelves. I saw Mitchie help a teenager with what shampoo to buy. Zenon was running the cash register, and Alex was handing out baskets to customers who had their arms full.

We saw Leila walk out of the back room with boxes in her hands. When she saw us standing in front of the door, she ran to us, with the supplies still in her hands. "Hi girls! I'm so glad you came." She hugged each one of us with one arm.

"Leila this is very impressive. You must be so proud." Bella said, taking a box out of her arms. We all followed Leila toward a counter on the right side of the placed the box down, and turned back to us.

"Yeah, we really are." She looked around the room with a satisfied expression. "It's hard work, but it definitely is worth it. Oh please take a seat." We pushed the stools out from the under the counter. Leila stood on the other side, unpacking the box.

"Are you girls always this busy?" Mags asked her.

"Weekdays are slow, but the weekends usually look like this."

"There's so much variety, I'm not surprised it's so full. I mean you girls range from makeup, to hair products to nails, and to perfume." I said spinning around with my chair.

"Well women need to treat themselves, they work so hard. Men too. We have a few aisles for them too." She pointed.

As the store began to empty out, the girls decided to close down early. Alex, Mitchie, and Zenon joined their sister behind the counter.

"Oh it's so good to see you." Mitchie kissed our cheeks.

"So how are you girls settling into this whole situation?" Briar asked them.

"Well it was hard in the start. But Leila and Mitchie helped our transition." Alex responded.

"Working in something we know and love makes this whole thing a whole lot better." Zenon smiled at us. She looked a lot happier since we had last seen her. Her smile was real, and she looked happy.

We spent the next two hours talking. They were telling us about buying a townhouse on the coast of Marina Beach. It was bigger than the two room one bathroom apartment Leila had. They mentioned how every evening they take their mugs of coffee out onto the beach, which is literally their backyard, and watch the sunset. They were fascinated by how serene Marina really is. How beautiful and peaceful it is.

"Hey Ariana," Zenon said after a pause. "I would like to apologize for everything we've done to you, the scouts, and Melody."

"Oh," I said a bit shocked at where the conversation took a turn to. "Please don't apologize. You were being used by Undertow and his gang. I'm just glad that you allowed us to help you."

"What you girls did for us means a lot." Alex tucked her long straight black hair behind her ear. "So thank you."

"You're welcome." I place my hand over hers.

"If you girls want to watch the sunset tonight, you better get going." Briar said looking out the window. The sky had turned a purple-orange color.

"Oh but we don't want to kick you girls out." Leila answered with a pout.

"No worries, we know where your store is now. You can expect surprise visits every now and then." Jade laughed.

"Good, you girls come in whenever you want." Mitchie giggled.

The sisters walked us out. "Hold on before you girls leave, here's a little gift." Leila digged into her pink poofy skirt that had pockets, and took out five bottles. She handed each of us one. "It's nail polish. They correspond to your sailor scout color."

"Oh my gosh!" Briar yelled out in happiness. "Thank you so much!" she circled the sisters in excitement.

"Thank you, you didn't have to do that." Bella said through laughter.

"It's not much, but I hope you like them." Zenon smirked.

"Thanks you guys, see you soon." Mags said as the sister entered back into their store. They stood in front of the window and waved goodbye.

As we walked away from Sister Studio I couldn't help but smile to myself. These sisters sacrificed so much, and yet they are thankful for what we've done for them. We've allowed them to live a life of happiness and love. Everyone deserves that.

"Why the huge smile Ariana? Have a date with Derek later tonight?" Briar teased.

I shook my head. "I was just thinking about how different they are. They look so grateful."

"And its all thanks to you." Mags wrapped her arm around me.

"No. It's because of us." I reaffirmed.

When we hit the cross road we all said our goodbye's.

The bell that marked the end of the school day had rung. I ran out of my classroom and into the hallways. If I run home I will make it just in time to change and go to the beach on time for the meeting. I wanted to get out of my uniform so bad. It smelled like yogurt and tuna, since I spilled both things during lunch.

I dashed through the streets like a maniac, trying to get home as quickly as I could. A few people looked at me weirdly, but it didn't matter. As long as they didn't smell me, I was fine. I got to my house ten minutes later. I caught my breath at the door, and went inside.

At the sound of the door shutting my mom popped her head out of the kitchen. "Hello love. Would you like some coconut clusters? I just made them?"

I admit I was very tempted for one since half of my lunch was on me. But I was already late. "Hi mom. You know I would love one, but I'm a bit late." I said climbing the stairs.

"I'll put them in a bag for you to share with the girls." she called out.

"Hey Mel. Hows it going?." I greeted her, as she made her way downstairs.

"Oh hi." She said after snapping out of a daydream.

I ran out of my room and changed into some leggings and a violet pullover. I left my dirty uniform on top of my bed. Sebastian crawled near it and stuck his little tongue out. "That smells disgusting."

"Oh shush." I cradled him in my hand. "We're late let's go."

I sprinted down the stairs without an accident. My mom handed me the bag of her coconut cluster, gave me a kiss on the forehead, and said goodbye.

I bolted out the door and made my way to my favorite place. My cave. When I arrived at the beach, I walked towards my secret hideout. I moved the boulder that shutted the entrance.

"Hey guys." I panted. "Sorry I'm late. Had to change." I took a seat next to Bella.

"Trust me it was for the best. Her uniform smelled unpleasant." Sebastian crawled in the center, next to Flounder.

"So where do we begin?" Jade asked once I was settled.

"Wait my mom made coconut clusters. Here pass them around." I said taking out of the bag and passing it to Bella. "Ok now you can start." I told Jade.

"We need to find a way to stop Undertow." she began. "He's at a high disadvantage since he lost the four sisters."

"But that won't stop him. He still has his sights on Melody, so we better be on our guard." Mags added.

"We need to watch her closer than ever." Bella advised.

"What do you think he has planned?" Briar asked munching on a cluster.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know, but when I get my hands on him, he is going to regret everything he did to Mel."

"Woah calm down there Ariana." Mags chuckled. "I've never seen you so worked up."

I moved my hair to one shoulder to try to calm my nerves down. "You're right. Maybe he's under some sort of control just like the sisters were."

"Could be." Jade said in thought. "Has Melody told you anything about herself lately?"

"No, not really." I remarked. "But ever since the day I left her at your house to go save Leila and her sisters, she's been a bit weird around me."

"You don't think she suspects anything do you?" Bella looked a bit worried.

"I don't think so. Leila told her that Sailor Sea and the Sailor Scouts saved them because we told them where they were." I informed her.

"Melody's a smart kid. We need to be careful around her." Briar spoke up. "With her knowing that we're the Sailor Scouts, she might be in even more danger."

"Well you girls still need to look after her." Sebastian suggested. "The sisters might be out of the way, but Undertow isn't."

"I don't think Undertow is calling the shots though, Sebastian." Flounder commented. Sebastian looked at him confused. "What if there's a higher power making all of his decisions?"

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"How is it that the NegaSea always knows where Melody is going to be. Leila knew to be at Jade's temple twice. And the rest of the sister knew where she hid that one day when she ran off by herself." he continued."Theres a possibility that Undertow might be working for someone."

"If what you're saying is true Flounder, then who do you suspect is behind all of this?" Briar inquired.

Bella took out her book that Sebastian gave her about our past lives. She flipped through multiple pages, until she found what she was looking for. "It has to be someone who is still associated with the cult Ursula began."

"But I thought that was the NegaSea as a whole?" I furrowed my eyebrow.

"Well it is, but see when Ursula began the NegaSea many began to claim her as the queen. Hence how she got the name Queen Ursula. Before those times, she was known as the sea witch. It's possible that whoever is in control of the Negasea is some sort of magic wielding being just like her." Bella concluded.

"Wait." I said trying to put the pieces together. "You've mentioned that the Negasea's purpose was to defeat King Triton and Queen Athena?" Bella nodded. "Then it makes sense. Melody is a princess, therefore her parents are royalty. The Negasea is trying to take down her family."

"Ariana we already know that." Jade pointed out.

"I know, but now we know that the Negasea can't do it without Melody or my diamond. They can't control the future without one or the other."

"Speaking of your diamond, where is it?" Sebastian asked with alarm.

"It's right here." I placed my hand on my chest. When I didn't feel the locket, my hand moved around in a panic. "I left it on my school uniform." I gasped.

"You did what?" Sebastian jumped up in horror.

"Well what are you waiting for, go get it." Jade said.

I grabbed Sebastian, and ran out of the cave. I raced back home with Sebastian lecturing me in my ear. When I stepped foot on the porch, I tried breathing normally. I wiggled opened the door and yelled out that I was home.

"Hi honey." she greeted me at the door. "I made pancakes for Mel's tea party. Help yourself to some." She said walking into the living room.

"No thanks mom. I totally pigged out on your coconut clusters." I took my shoes off and ran upstairs. "They were so good." I yelled.

I opened my door, and approached my bed where I left my uniform. My heart sank at the realization that my locket was no longer there.

"Jumping jellyfish! This is bad." was all Sebastian could say.

I paced back and forth, retracing my steps wondering if I left it somewhere else. But it was no use. I knew I had it on my uniform. A cold breeze distracted me from my panic mode. I didn't leave the window open did I? No, I had them shut with this chilly weather.

"Go check on Melody!" Sebastian ordered.

I walked to the room next door. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I opened it anyways. "Melody." I said, peeking inside the room. I opened the door completely when I noticed she wasn't in there.

I ran down the stairs and into the living room. "Mom's where's Melody?" I asked her.

"Isn't she upstairs?"

"No..."

She stood up from the couch, and looked at me with a terrified expression. "You don't think she'd run away do you?"

"It's been a habit of hers." I mumbled under my breath. "She probably went out. I'll go look for her. No need to worry mom. I'll find her." I reassured her.

"Let me come with you." She began to follow me.

I placed my hands on her shoulders. "Mom I got this. You stay here with Jace. I'll call you if I find her."

She gave me a smile that made me feel like I could anything, and hugged me. "Thank you." she whispered.

I ran upstairs to grab Sebastian and off we went to look for Melody. "You better call the scouts to let them know what's happened." Sebastian advised, as we walked out the door.

I grabbed my cell phone and called up Briar Rose, since I knew she always had her phone on hand.

"Ariana?'

"Melody's missing, along with my diamond. I need your guys' help to find her."

"We'll begin to search."

"Thank you."

"Ariana?"

"Yeah?" she must have sensed my worry through my tone.

"We'll find her, I promise, and the diamond."

"Thanks Briar Rose."

I hung up and began my search. I decide I should start with the smaller spots, such as the beach and the park. I know that's where Melody likes to go. I just hope she hasn't used my diamond to go back home.

When I felt the sand beneath my sneakers, I began to oversee the beach. No one was in the water, since fall came around. There was a group of people having a bonfire, another set of friends were playing volleyball. And by the far side of the beach there was a couple wrapped in a blanket drinking from mugs, watching the sunset

"She's not here, Ariana. Let's go check the park." Sebastian recommended.

I nodded, and made my way to the park. No one has called me if they found Melody. The sun was going down, and our search would become even harder. We had to find her before Undertow does. I reached the sidewalk that led to the park, and began scanning to see if she was here. All the benches were unoccupied. The playground looked so lonely with no one playing on it. The lights from the lamp post had turned on, and made looking in the dark a bit easier.

"Do you see her?" I asked Sebastian.

He shook his head. "No."

At this point I was growing more and more nervous. I felt that I had let Melody down. I kept telling her that I would watch over her and not let anything bad happen to her. She must see me as a disappointment. I arrived to the docks, and sat by the edge in complete darkness.

"She's gone." I weeped.

I could feel Sebastians stare on me. "Don't say that my child. We'll find here, you'll see."

My tears fell down my face, and I brought my knees closer to my chest. This is all my fault. I should have never left my diamond laying around the house like that. If Melody goes back home, the scouts and I won't be able to save her. Not in future.

I heard my cell phone go off.

"Hello?" I said, trying not to sound like I'm crying.

"Ariana, we found her." It was Jade.

"What? Where was she?" I said standing up. I looked at Sebastian, and gave him a nod signifying that we had sights on her.

"Well... she ran into the city, but we lost her again." She sighed.

"I'll meet you in front of the clocktower and we can all search together."

"See you soon."

We hung up, and I ran into the city. "Well where was she?" Sebastian asked

"They had her but she ran off into the city. I'm going to go help them out, but first we're meeting at the clocktower." I informed him.

When I reached the clocktower I began to scan the crown to find the girls. I saw Jade waving at me, and Mags was next to her. I approached them. "So you girls found her?"

"Yeah, but she ran away" Jade exhaled.

"She has the locket, that means she has the Sparkling Sea Diamond." Mags conquered. "Undertow wants both, therefore we have an even bigger crisis on our hands.

"Where's Briar and Bella? I asked them.

"We split up. They were heading north of the city." Jade explained.

The clock chimed, and we all looked up to see what time it was.

"It's ten o'clock" Mags said. "Melody should be in bed by this time."

We were interrupted by my cell phone. I looked at the caller ID and realized it was Derek. I picked the call up.

"Derek!" I cried out.

"Ariana, are you alright?" He asked with worry.

"I'm fine. Is she with you? Is Melody with you?"

"Yeah, she's here. That's why I'm calling She was sleeping in front of my door. Is everything ok?"

"Don't let her out of your sight. I should be there in 20 minutes. Watch over her please."

"Ariana!- Ariana!' He yelled into the phone, but I hung up.

"What is it?" Jade asked.

"She's at Derek's." I told her, walking towards his apartment. "If we jog it, we might get there in ten minutes."

"I'll let the others know." Mags took out her phone and began to text them.

We half jogged half walked to his place. I felt the weight off my shoulder roll off since I got Derek's call. I knew that as long as she was with him, nothing bad would happen to her. We arrived to the entrance of his apartment.

"Ariana you should go up. We'll stay here." Mags advocated.

"You sure?" I held the door open.

"Yeah,we'll wait for Bella and Briar." Jade spoke up.

I gave them a smile, and rushed inside. I pushed the elevator button so many times Sebastian yelled at me. When it arrived I walked in and felt butterflies in my stomach. I was just so eager to see her. As the elevator ascended slowly, I texted my mom telling her that Melody was safe.

The elevator stopped at the 12th floor, and we walked towards his door. I knocked but there was no answer. "Derek!" I whispered loudly. Nothing. I wiggled the doorknob and realized it was opened. I pushed the door, and dashed inside.

I heard Derek yell from the balcony which only made my heart sink. I ran out into the night, and saw the strangest thing ever. Melody had transformed her walrus ball into a parachute. She was floating through the sky. It was so dark out I didn't even see where she landed.

I punched Derek's arm. 'I told you to not let her out of your sight."

Derek rubbed his arm. "I was in the kitchen making her something to eat. I guess you must have startled her when she heard your voice."

I took out my phone and texted the girls that Melody was out in the city once again. I walked back inside and began to pace in Derek's living room.

"Ariana what is going on?" He placed his hand gently on my shoulder trying to call me down.

"She has my locket. She has the Sparkling Sea Diamond. That makes her an even bigger target for Undertow." I weeped. Derek turned me to face him. He wiped my tears with his thumb and looked into my eyes.

"We'll find her. She couldn't have gone too far." He tried reassuring me.

There was a pink glow that was coming into Derek's apartment. We both looked out the window and saw a pink beam of light shooting out of the sky, but it disappeared within a few seconds.

"She's trying to go back, but she can't" I whispered.

"The beam is coming from the fountain, that means she's there." He said pointing towards the direction the beam came from.

In that moment something descended from the sky. It was black as night, the only reason I noticed it was because of all the lights that were reflecting from it. It was shaped like a star, but with many extra arms.

"What is that?" I looked at it closer, as it descended closer to the city

"It looks like some sort of ship." Derek replied.

His words sank in. "Then that means... Undertow must be in it."

We looked at each other with a horrified expression. Derek ran back inside, I followed. He opened the door to the hallway, and off we went. When we reached the main floor, we ran outside and made our way to the fountain.

I halted halfway, panting. I was never a runner. Derek noticed I was no longer by his side. I waved him off. "No go on without me. I'll just slow you down." I placed Sebastian in his hands. "I won't be of any use anyways, I can't transform." He looked at me with disbelief in his eye, but there was no time for us to argue. "Go she needs you! I'll be there in a minute." He gave me a kiss on the cheek, looked at me once more, and ran off.

I sucked in all the air I could. I felt all the energy drained from me. I always felt invincible as Sailor Sea, but as Ariana, I'm just...nothing. I couldn't run to save someones life.

No. I thought. I can do anything.

I took one last breath and ran to the fountain at full speed. I'm coming Mel, I won't let you down this time.

I was a few blocks away from the fountain. I saw all the chaos that Undertow had unleashed. There were chunks of concrete all over the place. Dust was falling onto the ground. I saw the girls from a distance, and it looked like they were trapped in some sort of anti-gravity beam. They lay on the stomachs, unable to push themselves up.

"We need to pull our powers together, it might not work with Sailor Sea." I heard Sailor Blossom yell. It seemed that they agreed to the plan. The Sailor Scouts were formed into a circle trying to use the Sailor Princess Power attack.

"Melody get out of here!" Sailor Mystique yelled at her. I just noticed Melody sitting against a concrete wall watching in awe of what was happening in front of her. I was still meters away, there was no way I was going to get to her on time.

Just then, I saw Tuxedo Mask crouch down and grabbed Melody. "Don't worry, I've got you." He reassured Mel.

"NO!" A voice boomed. I looked up and saw Undertow floating above the scouts. "THAT KID IS MINE!' He screamed. He brought his arms up, and threw a wave of negative energy toward the scouts.

I was a few feet away from them. I could still save them. I saw them break their circle, and begin to float up in the air toward Undertows ship.

"NO!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. The scouts turned to see me running towards them. I was about to fling myself towards the beam, but strong arm held my waist stopping me. "LET ME GO!" I struggled in Derek's arm. I kicked, and clawed hoping he would let me go. But it was no use. His grip on me was tight.

"Ariana! Take good care of Melody!" I heard Jade say. And just like that they were sucked aboard the ship.

Derek wrapped his arms around me in a hug. I didn't move my hands, for a few seconds. I went into a fit of rage and began punching his chest. "WHY DIDN'T YOU LET ME GO! HOW COULD YOU?!" I cried. Derek did nothing to stop me, he just let me tire myself out. When I realized what I was doing, I stopped immediately. I looked into his eyes with tears in my face, and let out another ugly sob. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry, I'm sorry" I whispered over and over again.

He swiped my bangs out of my face. "Shhh, it's ok." He smoothed my hair, trying to calm me down.I could feel my whole body shake from fear. They took my best friends away. I was all alone. And that is what they wanted. They wanted me to feel helpless and defenseless.

"Where where you Sailor Sea?" I heard Undertows accusing voice. "Too much of a coward to fight your own battles?" He laughed.

Derek led Melody and I to an alley where he wouldn't find us. I held on to Derek's hand tightly, hoping he wouldn't spot us. Melody was hiding underneath Tuxedo Mask's cape.

"I'm the one with a head start now. But we can change it up. If you hand over the Sparkling Sea Diamond and Princess Melody you can have your friends again. You have three hours. The choice is up to you."

His ship descended up to the sky leaving me with a choice. A choice which I did not want to make.