Back in Atlantica, Urchin was outside with another merman having target practice just outside a house beside the city.
The merman he was with was around his middle age, had chestnut brown hair, and wore glasses. His tail was also colored coral and orange fins. He was Urchin's adoptive dad.
Urchin took a seashell and called out to the merman. "Here it comes, Dad!"
He then threw the seashell like a frisbee. As he did, the merman observed as it flew in a curve. Then, he elegantly whipped out a slingshot, took a small pebble, and aimed and fired in a split second.
The stone shot through the water like a bullet and struck true, shattering the seashell.
"Nice shot, Dad!" said Urchin.
The merman smiled with pride. "Thank you, Urchin," he said humbly. "But it ain't nothing special."
"I sure wish I can shoot like you can," said Urchin. "Your aim's about as great as the king's."
The merman laughed. "Well, I don't know about that," he said. "But I appreciate the compliment. All it takes is some practice, is all. With proper training, I bet you can be just as good as I am."
"You think so?" Urchin asked hopefully.
"I know so," smiled Urchin's Father.
Then, the two heard a woman call out from inside.
"Honey! It's time for you to go to work! You don't want to be late, you know!"
Urchin's Father then gasped. "Oh, shoot! I almost forgot! I got so caught up that I lost track of time! Sorry, Urchin. Duty calls."
Urchin was a bit disappointed, but he understood. "No problem, Dad," he reassured. "I'll find something to do until you get back."
"Tell you what," the merman went on. "After I get off work, how about I teach you the basics of handling a slingshot? We'll have a great time!"
"Sounds good," smiled Urchin.
Urchin's Father then put away his slingshot, grabbed his handbag close by, and swam off, leaving Urchin alone.
He still felt slightly disappointed, wanting to spend more time with his dad, but he got a naughty idea of how to pass the time.
"Hey, Mom! I'm going to see my friends!" he called out to the house.
He then swam away, heading towards the Royal Palace.
Garret was on his computer, searching online for Father's Day gifts.
He tried thinking of something he could give to Tom that was useful or something he needed. But he couldn't think of anything. Every product he saw made him think it was a good idea before deciding against it.
"Geez. I didn't think that finding a gift for Dad would be so hard," he huffed. "It makes me wonder why I'm being so decisive. Maybe because I want to make this year's Father's Day gift special?"
He leaned back on his chair while rocking back and forth, still thinking.
"I can't make it too cheap, and it's got to be within my budget too," he hummed thoughtfully. "And I would ask Mom to borrow some money, but I don't want to cause her trouble. And I want to surprise Dad, so I can't ask him either. I suppose I could make him something, but I'm not exactly the kind of guy who's handsy with arts and crafts. Lucy might, but knowing her, she'll probably tease me."
He thought, and he thought, and he thought some more. Then, he had a thought, but the idea made him doubtful.
"I suppose I could try asking Ariel and the others," he hummed. "But is there even such a thing as Father's Day in their world? And what kinds of gifts would they even give someone like King Triton?"
He tapped on his chin in thought.
"Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt to ask them," he decided. "I mean, after all, King Triton's got seven daughters, so one of them must have a good idea. I guess I'm going to Atlantica again. Although I just got back, maybe I should wait a bit. Yeah. I think I'll do that."
He then got up from his computer and stretched his limbs and back.
"Until then, it's time for me to take a breather. I think I'll go for a little snack."
He then left his room.
Outside the palace, Uchin sneakily snuck inside with some other sea creatures.
He enlisted the help of a slug, a sea sponge, and a stickleback to prank Ariel and her sisters, thinking it would be great fun.
Then, he led them into the girl's dressing room and got to work tampering with their things. First, he opened up a tube of lipstick, and the slug jumped inside it, hiding under the material as he twisted it shut. Next, he placed the sea sponge on top of a compact to make it seem like a powder puff. Finally, he swapped out a comb with the stickleback, putting it in front of a mirror.
Pleased with his work, Urchin gave the sea creatures a wink and a thumbs up, and they winked at him back. Then, he heard the sound of chatting, prompting him to swim away and hide.
Not long after he did, Attina, Adella, Arista, and Andrina swam into the room, talking to each other. They were discussing plans on what to give King Triton for Father's Day.
"I honestly think that Daddy's going to love what I've planned for him this year," bragged Andrina. "I'm going to get him a marble cake."
"Well, I'm sure he'll love my gift, too," said Adella. "It'll be something useful and something he likes."
"Oh yeah? What did you get him?" asked Attina.
"The same thing as last year," shrugged Adella. "Crown polish."
"Seriously? You're getting him the same thing you did a year ago?" puzzled Andrina. "If it were me, I would have gotten him something different."
As the girls continued their discussion, they swam to their respective mirrors, doing their hair and putting on their makeup.
While they did, unbeknownst to them, Ariel swam in. She, too, was planning on giving her dad a gift for Father's Day and was about to ask one of her sisters if they wanted to come with her to the market. But after hearing her sisters talk about their ideas, she decided not to ask and swam off to the market without saying a word, having two other people in mind.
"Well, I'm not telling anyone what I'm getting Father for Father's Day," Arista replied snootily. "I love surprises."
She reached for the lipstick and opened it, about to apply some on her lips. Then, suddenly, the slug popped out from the tube and, while holding the coral, scribbled it all over Arista's face, making her entire chin bright red along with her lips. Arist couldn't help but scream in surprise while the slug sniggered as it swam away.
Attina, seeing this, paid no mind as she was about to powder her face. However, the slug took action, jumping from her hand and buffing her face with too much powder, making it as white as a ghost. Attina then looked in the mirror, and she couldn't help but scream out of horror. The sea sponge quickly swam away, its work now finished, and joined Urchin and the slug outside, sniggering.
Adella then picked up her comb and started combing her hair, unaware that her comb was the stickleback. She had just run its spine through her hair once when it sprang up from her hand and started zipping around it. Adella screamed in alarm as it tried to shoo it away, but it was already too late. Her hair had gone from a ponytail to a giant and tangled mess.
Urchin, who had been holding back, couldn't keep it in anymore. He and the other creatures burst into laughter, which didn't go unnoticed by the princesses.
"Urchin!"
But before they could stop him, the boy and his gang had already swam away, making their escape.
"Ooh! That boy needs a good talking to!" scowled Arista.
"I agree!" concurred Attina as she wiped the power off her face. "By somebody he respects!"
"Well, that pretty much leaves us out," moaned Adella as she tried detangling her hair, but to no avail.
Meanwhile, Ariel had gotten her bag and looked around, hoping to find a certain someone. And sure enough, she saw Flounder, who had just arrived, wanting to see if Ariel.
"Hey, Ariel!" greeted Flounder. "I was just looking for you."
"So was I, Flounder," smiled Ariel. "You know what tomorrow is, right?"
"Oh, yeah. Father's Day, right?" replied Flounder. "I already got my dad something. What about you?"
"Not yet," said Ariel. "But I was wondering if you wanted to go with me to the market to see if we can find something for me to give him."
"Sure! I'll go!" Flounder bubbled eagerly. "But... what about Garret? Shouldn't he come with us? He might also be looking for a gift to give his dad."
"You could be right, but I haven't seen him," said Ariel. She then started thinking. "Now that I think about it, Garret tends to disappear lately, although I'm not sure why."
"Well, he does get around and sometimes likes to be alone, at least, that's what I think," said Flounder. "But I'm sure it's nothing we need to worry about. Right?"
Ariel briefly thought before smiling. "Yeah. You're right. He's probably over at the market right now," she said. "We might run into him while looking for a gift, so why don't we get going?"
"Sounds good to me," said Flounder.
And the two friends swam off to the market. But as they did, Ariel couldn't help but still wonder about Garret's random disappearances, but she didn't overthink it.
At the market, the place was bustling with people.
Merfolk and sea creatures were tirelessly searching for gifts for their fathers while salespeople were pitching sales left and right, trying to get customers.
Moray was also there, hoping to find a sucker to con for money after his last attempt went dry.
"Now, let's see. There's got to be somebody he's desperate enough to buy something here," he mumbled thoughtfully. "And hopefully, none of them have any dogs or are that creepy looking."
While he looked around, he happened to walk past a stand with a man selling large mirrors. Unbeknownst to him or the salesperson, the surface of one of the mirrors began to glow, and not long after, Garret emerged from it.
"All right, where did I end up this time?" he wondered.
He looked around, making sure no one saw him. As he did, the mirror salesman happened to catch wind of him.
"Hey there, young man!" he called out. "Where'd you come from?"
Garret jumped. "Oh! I just, uh, came in," he replied.
The merman then looked at his tail. "Hey! You look like a boy who seems to care greatly about his appearance," said the salesman. "Are you interested in buying a mirror? I'm having a sale on them for a huge discount! Buy one now, and I'll throw another one for free!"
Garret blinked. "Uh, no thanks, I'm fine. But I appreciate the offer," he declined politely. "Although, I do need to ask. Where am I exactly am I?"
"Oh, you're in the marketplace," replied the salesman. "But I must admit, this place is busier than usual today. It's most likely because of Father's Day coming up. People are scrambling to find the perfect Father's Day gift for their dads."
"So, they do celebrate Father's Day here," Garret hummed in his thoughts. "Maybe I can find something to buy here, or at least give me some more ideas."
"In that case, I better get going," he said. "Good luck with your sales."
And while waving goodbye to the salesman, Garret swam off, beginning his search to find the perfect gift.