Landlocked 49- The End

      Flounder found Ariel in their old grotto, half-heartedly modeling the modified blue gown in front of a large, broken mirror.
"It looks good on you," the fish offered, pressing his head beneath her hand. Ariel didn't reply, and an awkward silence settled over the two friends. "Soooo," Flounder awkwardly continued, "how did your date with Jim go yesterday?"
The mermaid caught her breath. "It was-- nice--" Ariel tensed, then sighed, unable to keep anything from her longtime friend. "He's-- leaving. Tomorrow. He wants me to wear this dress to see him off." She turned away from the mirror as if repulsed by her reflection. "He wants me to look happy while he abandons me."
"Oh Ariel, he's not abandoning you, he's just--" Flounder searched for the right words, then settled for the obvious "--going home."
"Yeah, well," Ariel pulled the gown over her head and let it fall to the ocean floor, "I'm not sure what home is anymore."
Flounder frowned slightly. "Well, no matter where you live," he said carefully, "you will always be my best friend."
Ariel smirked. "Likewise, you sap," she grinned, hugging him tightly.
       "Knock, knock!" An unexpected voice called from the entrance.
"Who's there?" Ariel asked with a smile.
"Only the most amazing merman in the seven seas." Urchin leaned into the pale sunlight, still resting against the stone doorframe. "What's up?"
"Oh, just preparing for the love of my life to travel billions of miles away." Ariel sighed, her smile fading. "No biggie."
"So you're giving up, then?" The merman asked gently, swimming forward to put a hand on the princess's shoulder. "I mean, I've still got a potion with your name on it."
"No more potions," Ariel said tiredly, "and no more adventures. I've learned my lesson." She sighed. "Besides, I can't betray my family, not again."
"Speaking of whom," Urchin interjected, remembering something, "the old man wants to speak with you. He sent me to come getcha."
Ariel exchanged confused glances with Flounder, then looked back to Urchin. "Really? About what?"
"I'm not sure," he replied, tapping his chin, "but judging by the look on his face, it can't be good."

      On the morning of his departure, Jim shook hands until his fingers went numb. It's kind of funny, he thought, as more strangers came forward to say goodbye. I arrived on this planet in secret with no friends, and now that everyone knows my identity, I'm the man of the hour. He pried his hand away from a particularly enthusiastic fan. Humans are so fickle.
Humans were not his only fans, however. Jim high-stepped into the surf where tens of mer-people, including all of Ariel's sisters, waited to bid him adieu.
"It's so nice to finally meet you," a brunette princess, introduced as Adella, cooed.
"Yeah," another, Andrina, agreed, "Ariel has talked so much about you. You seem nice enough. But if you ever--"
"I'm Arista!" A third sister interrupted, shaking Jim's hand emphatically. "Charmed, I'm sure!"
"Umm, yeah," Jim smiled tightly, rubbing his squeezed knuckles, "Where is Ariel, by the way?"
"Oh, she's-- around, I'm sure," Attina said uneasily.
"Probably still getting ready," Alana cut in. "She's such a beauty queen."
Jim nodded, but as he made his way back to shore, an uneasy knot twisted in the pit of his stomach.
      Captain Harris was breathing in deeply when his apprentice rejoined him.
"Clear skies, a strong, westerly wind-- perfect day for sailing." He elbowed Jim in the arm. "Even your kind of sailing, lad." When Jim didn't respond, the captain leaned forward to get a better look at the youth's overshadowed face. "What's wrong, boyo? You're going home, back to your element. You should be excited!"
Jim pursed his lips. "I am. It's just--"
"Hey, stupid!" Came a high, annoyed voice. Jim looked down. It was Jimbo and his crew of street urchins. The leader had his hands on his hips. "Where's da princess?"
"Yea!" said Felix. "Dee red one. Where's she?"
Jim sighed and rubbed his forehead irritably. "She's not here yet."
"Well, she betta get here soon," Manda said, hugging a rag doll, "or she'll miss the show!"
Harris noticed Jim's crestfallen look and took control of the situation. "Well, kiddos, I'm sure she'll show up soon, so run along. There's some good young 'uns-- ah, Jim, here's the sea king now!"
      King Triton extended the surf five feet further onto shore to approach the spacer, his body half-concealed by a pillar of water. Jim walked over to him.
"Your Highness," he greeted with a small bow.
Triton nodded appreciatively. "Mr. Hawkins. Are you prepared to go?"
"To be honest, sir," Jim said, "I'm not. Ariel hasn't arrived yet, and I was wondering--"
"I don't know where she is either, son," Triton interrupted, a worried look on his face. "She's not in the palace, or in her grotto, and I sent Urchin to search for her an hour ago."
"Then I'll go find her--"
"No." Triton said sternly. "My daughter's insolence is her own folly. Stay and bid farewell to your friends. I'm sure Urchin will find her in due course."
Jim acquiesced, because at that moment he spotted Prince Eric and Princess Jeanette running hand-in-hand up the beach toward him, Max galloping beside them.
"Sorry we're late, old boy," Eric panted, shaking Jim's hand with his free one. "Jean insists that we write all the wedding gift thank-you letters ourselves instead of having servants do them." He grinned tiredly. "We've been at it all morning."
"So, vere is your flying sheep entourage?" Jeanette asked, seeing nothing on the beach besides Jim's crowd of well-wishers.
The spacer looked up from petting Max. "They arrive at noon."
"Ahh, zat vill be quite a show, no?"
"Um, yeah, I guess." Jim turned toward the ocean, rubbing his left arm anxiously.
Eric frowned. "What's wrong, friend?"
"My daughter has yet to show herself," Triton informed the newcomers, "and it is five minutes till midday."
"I should have known this might happen," Jim muttered. "She was really upset when we parted ways last night, but I thought at least Sebastian would come say good-bye."
"Sebastian is in Atlantica, looking after it so I could come to the surface. A king's work is never done, after all."
"I couldn't agree more," a deep, feminine voice concurred. The voice belonged to a tall woman, her copper hair streaked with grey. She had deep blue eyes, and her skin was tanned from many months at sea. She wore grey trousers and a simple green tunic and vest, her only finery a gold signet ring on her right hand. In all of her simplicity, however, she radiated confidence and power.
"Mother!" Eric greeted happily. The queen nodded her acknowledgment then turned to Jim, a small smile on her full lips.
"I never did express my gratitude to you for helping my son slay that beast," she said in her cool voice. "Please know that our gratitude is infinite and our gates always open for you."
"I will remember this honor. Thank you, Your Majesty." Jim bowed, and the noble nodded in return.
The queen redirected her gaze to Triton. "In light of recent events, the other rulers of Earth and myself are convening to discuss the future of this planet regarding the Intergalatic Space Union. Would you care to join us?"
"I will talk with my advisors, but I believe that can be arranged," Triton said solemnly.
"Good." The queen nodded, then, as if distracted by something, raised her face to the bright sky. "Young Hawkins," she mused, "I believe you consort has arrived."

       In the end, Captain Harris and Captain Amelia had to force Jim into the skiff.
"Wait!" He fought desperately as the feline officer pulled him in by his jacket. "Please, Ariel's not here yet!"
"Jim, if the girl wasn't here before, she's not turning up now," Amelia said with no sympathy, "and we have a ship to catch."
"But if we just wait a little longer, she'll--"
"Hawkins!" Amelia hissed. "This is not behavior becoming of a future ISU officer. Now sit down, or so help me, I will shoot you in the kneecaps." She meant it, too.
Jim sat with a huff, his anger quelled and pride bruised.
      The humans and mer-people on the shoreline gasped in awe as the skiff's motor rammed into gear.
"King Triton!" Jim yelled over the noise, leaning over the edge, but held in his seat by Doctor Doppler, who had tagged along. "Tell Ariel I love her! That I'll always love her!"
The king called something in return, but the spacer couldn't hear him over the roaring of the engine. Jim gripped the rim of the boat hard, tears stinging his eyes as the longboat sped into the sky.
"Out of all the Academy's students, you would be the one to pull something like this, Hawkins," Amelia commented as they cruised through the clouds. "I was barely surprised when I got the news."
"Am I in trouble?" Jim asked sarcastically, petting Morph as the creature rolled around on his shoulder.
"Not precisely," Doppler replied. He had been the Professor of Astrophysics at the Academy for about a year now, so was almost as informed as his wife, Amelia. "If your cover had been blown for selfish purposes, you would have been expelled. However, since the Earth queen, King Triton, and your Earthen mentor all gave shining reviews as to your conduct on their planet, expulsion has been waved. Your only 'punishment' is that, due to your shortened period on Earth, you may be at a disadvantage when writing your evaluation."
Jim grunted, not concerned.
"The ISU itself is not taking any action against you because your adventure may serve as a boon," Amelia continued, not taking her eyes off the horizon. "Because of your exposure, the Earth dignitaries might choose to change their stance on interplanetary peace and join the Intergalatic Space Union."
Jim didn't reply, absentmindedly poking his shapeshifter as Morph swirled into different shapes.
"But apparently, you don't care about any of this." Doppler pouted.
Amelia laid a hand on her husband's shoulder. "It's been a rough few weeks for him, dear."
Their ward ignored them, staring down at the ever-shrinking planet and trying not to think about her hair, her laugh, or how much he already missed her.

      They docked the skiff in the hull of the ISA Vertigo half an hour later, and Jim stepped onto a solar ship for the first time in over three weeks. He sighed contentedly. Morph whipped excitedly around the skiff bay, glad to be back in space as well. Amelia immediately ran up the stairs to the main deck, leaving Jim to tie off the longboat.
"Why don't you go rest in the captain quarters for a while?" Doppler suggested as the spacer finished. "I'd rather not," Jim said softly, not looking up from his work. "I'm not tired, and I don't think my mind will let me sleep, anyway." The doctor sighed, but let him be. The two trekked above-deck as the engines roared to life, preparing for take-off.
      "You're not resting?" Captain Amelia asked from the helm as Jim and the doctor emerged into the sunlight.
"What is with you people and me 'resting'?" The spacer laughed wryly, leaning against the bulwark and breathing in the thin space air gratefully. "I'm fine, really," he lied. His spirits were heightened considerably by his return to space, but Ariel's absence that morning still troubled him. Jim's brows furrowed and his jaw clenched as he realized he would probably never return to Earth again.
If only he could see her, hold her one more time-- Jim pushed angrily away from the railing. He needed work; something to keep his hands from shaking.
He must have asked every crew member on the ship for a job, but the ship was too well-employed and low maintenance to keep the spacer busy for long. Besides, no matter what he did, he couldn't stop thinking about Ariel.
Finally, he decided to take the doctor's and Amelia's advice and try to escape his conscience through sleep.
      When Jim told Captain Amelia his plans, she agreed with a queer smile on her face, and hurried him along like she couldn't wait to get rid of him. Makes sense, Jim thought as he walked defeatedly down the short hallway to the captain's room. I'm not of much use, especially with the mental condition I'm in. A nap will do me some good. He turned the door's gilded handle and pulled it open.
       "Do you mind?!" A blond man yelped at Jim's intrusion, causing both teenagers to jump. The strange youth wore only a pair of boxer shorts and was apparently very sensitive about it, covering himself as best he could. When Jim just stared at him, bewildered, the blond ran forward and slammed the door in his face.
Jim frowned inquisitively at the door, shrugged, and turned to walk back down the hall. He was a bit shaken and more than a little irritated by the short and strange accident. Amelia must have known there was someone in her rooms, so why did she and Doppler insist on his sleeping there?
"Urchin, what's the matter?" Came a voice from the room behind him. Jim stopped in his tracks. It couldn't be.
"Some guy just barged in like he owned the place, so I kicked him out! Don't people knock in space?"
"Here, I found you some clothes," the feminine voice continued. "So what did this 'guy' look like? -- No, it goes on this way..."
The blond, Urchin, scoffed. "Medium height, blue eyes, and brown hair with a weird little ponytail--"
Something behind the door dropped with a thud, but Jim found he couldn't move to investigate. He didn't want to investigate and be disappointed; he quite liked this hallucination.
"A-Ariel?" Asked a different, wavering voice.
The mention of her name shook Jim from his spell, and he turned heel and headed purposefully for the captain's door.
"Aryal, wait!" Another familiar voice called. "Don't go out dea! De cap-tin told us--"
Jim yanked the door open and there, in the doorway, stood Ariel, who had been reaching for the door as well.
"Jim!" She gasped breathlessly. She had legs again, and wore the blue gown he had bought for her. "Jim, I know you didn't want me to come, but I can explain, I--"
       She was cut off by Jim's lips pressed again hers.
"Explain later." He murmured, then resumed the kiss, holding her so close she couldn't breathe. Ariel wrapped her arms around him with equal desperation, ecstatic to feel his mouth against hers again.
After a few minutes of warm reunion, the couple broke apart due to the uncomfortable clearing of throats from their onlookers. "You still taste like sea water, even as a human." Jim mused, his arms still around her waist. "Hey, what do I taste like?"
"Hmmmm," Ariel pondered for a moment, then leaned her head against his chest with a sigh. "Home."
Jim looked down at her, a bit thrown. "Ariel, that doesn't make sense."
"Does everything have to make sense with you?" She huffed. "Just let me enjoy the moment."
Jim laughed.