#and uhh went to davy jones locker

[thdorkmagnet]

Under the Sea (Star is Ariel AU)

Sorry I for the long absence everyone!! I was sick last week and just didn’t feel like posting anything and I’m really only now feeling 100% my old self!! I’ll try and get the rest of these posted as regularly as I can again. Thanks for the patience!!

Summary: A series of one-shots and multi-chapters proving why Star Butterfly should be considered a Disney Princess, as Star and company take over the roles of all your favorite Disney Princess characters! (Starco inevitable)

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Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters are owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney. The Little Mermaid belongs to Disney. All rights go to their respective owners.

The sound of crashing waves and seagull's calls filled the air as the large fishing boat cut it's way through the foamy sea. Dolphins, eager and happy, followed after the ship, practically gliding across the blue waves, easily keeping pace with the fast-sailing ship. They chittered and squeaked up at the boat as a group of sailors hauled a large net onto the deck, which was filled to the brim with dripping, flopping fish, all of the chattering creatures hoping for a handout. The sailors all but ignored the clear beggings of the sealife below as they went about their work.

One lone soul though was watching the dolphins playful behavior with a smile, the teenage boy getting quite a bit of entertainment out of the friendly sealife. A fish somehow wiggled free of the net, landing at the boy's feet, still flopping wildly and he took a quick look around at the other sailors, who were all too preoccupied with their work to notice him. The boy carefully picked up the dying fish and held it up where the dolphins could see and pointed at it with a wide smile. The reaction was instant, the aquatic mammals chittering excitedly. He quickly tossed the fish overboard and the dolphins went into a mad dash for the handout, trying to shove each other out of the way, until eventually it ended up in one of their mouths, the particular dolphin swallowing greedily while the others watched him in jealousy.

The boy laughed until he felt a hand on his shoulder and he cringed turning to see Manfred staring at him, with a raised eyebrow. “Sire, you know if you keep giving them handouts, they will just keep coming back,” he said with disgust, leering down at the creatures below.

“Yeah, but I want them to come back,” the boy explained, looking back over to them with a smile.

Manfred rolled his eyes, saying, “Oh, Your Highness, you still have so much to learn before you take the throne.”

With that the man thankfully left and the boy sat down on the boat's edge with a tired sigh, looking down at the ocean again. The dolphins had left and he was already missing their presence, one of the few tolerable things on this trip. He stared at the waves for another minute before turning and heading back to his cabin, his brain wandering as he tried to imagine what it would be like to a dolphin, living life free of responsibility and without a care in the world, able to explore the vast ocean with no one telling you what to do or how to live. It must be nice.

...

Meanwhile far below the fast-moving ship, deep deep below,  beneath the blue waves and lapping tides, father down than any human could go, lay an underwater world full of mysteries yet unsolved, creatures and places that no mere land dweller had ever laid eyes on, a treasure trove of wonders that went unappreciated and unnoticed to the world above. And in a particularly dark corner of this oceanic world, lay a far less pleasant and calming part of the sea.

A graveyard. Where sunken ships had met their demise at the hands of the oftentimes harsh ocean surf and storm. Here, in the dark, dreary waters, where little sunlight was able to touch, lay the sight where an unmeasurable number of souls had come to their end before being put to rest in Davy Jones' locker, a bloody collection of broken masts, tattered sails and shattered remains of what were once fine, sailing ships.

But this cruel fact did little to dissuade the two young mermaids who braved the underwater cemetery, swimming swiftly through the dark waters. One was blond with long flowing hair, bright blue eyes that sparkled with curiosity and innocence and hearts on her cheeks. She had a couple of pink shells braided into the top of her hair, acting as a headband of sorts, as well as around her chest. Her tail was long and slender, the thousands of green scales catching the low light making it shine, the end of her tail pink, matching her shells and cheeks.

The other mermaid, who was in the lead, had short white hair with a streak of green. Her face was freckled beneath a pair of shimmering sea-green eyes that sparkled with confidence and a pair of yellow seashells on her cheeks. She also wore a necklace that matched her cheeks perfectly and a light blue cloth around her mid-section. Her tail was light blue at the top but slowly grew a darker shade all the way down its length.

“What do you think we'll find this time, Jackie?” the blond one asked her friend, trying not to show how out of breath she was from trying to keep up with her fast-moving bestie. Jackie had the reputation for being the fastest swimmer in the ocean, oftentimes proving this title by racing against other sea creatures who were dumb enough to challenge her. So far she had yet to lose.

“Don't know,” Jackie responded nonchalantly, making sure to slow her pace a little to make it easier on her friend. “Maybe a snarfblat or another thingamabob?” she supplied.

“Ooooh,” Star said in wonder. “Either of those would be good, but y'know I kinda hope it's something new.”

The two swam for a few seconds in silence, before Star suddenly squealed with delight, not realizing just how close to Jackie's ear she was, spotting the unchecked ship they had scouted out a few days ago up ahead. The blond yelled loudly, “Look there it is, Jackie!”

“Yeah I can see it, Star,” Jackie responded with a chuckle, not caring about the slight ring to her ears, she was used to it by now having the overly excited Star as her friend, and she couldn't help but smile at the blond's infectious joy. No matter how many times the two came here to scour for human items, Star was always beside herself with exhilaration, acting like it was her first time.

Star adored the humans, loving anything and everything to do with them, collecting any trinkets she could find from their world and even studying them from afar. Jackie was fine with her friend's hobby, despite the rules against it, and often tagged along with her, but honestly wasn't that interested in the similar race from above. She mostly joined in because Star insisted she come, even making the argument that it was no fun without her bestie by her side.

Still she couldn't pretend it didn't put a smile on her face whenever Star spoke about the humans, her bubbly excitement intoxicating and impossible to resist.

“Well what are we waiting for? Let's go check it out!” Star said impatiently as she swam forward nearly matching Jackie's own quick speed. Jackie grinned before slowing her pace enough so that they were now side by side each other, feeling her own heart start to race in anticipation.

Once the two reached the destroyed wreckage of what was once a beautiful sailing vessel, the two easily slipped inside the small window of the ship and into the broken, decaying interior. The water was musty within, green algae covering the fractured and fading wood. Despite this, the ship was mostly intact, in comparison to most of the shipwrecks the two mermaids had explored in the past. It was as if the ocean waves had captured the ship in a moment of time and refused to let it go.

“Wowww!” Star squealed, instantly swimming deeper into the dark and cramped space, her eyes exploring every inch of the ship's lower decks, until she was no longer in Jackie's line of sight. A second later, Star screamed in joy, “Jackie, get over here, I think I just found a skeleton!”

The speedy mermaid, just shook her head and followed after, not saying a word as she looked around with mild interest.

But neither of the two noticed the large, dark shadow that passed by the port hole the two had entered into a moment earlier, before following along the length of the ships exterior, looking for a way in.

…

The two explored the ship for a while, navigating the maze of rooms below, searching for anything that caught their eye or intrigue. The two eventually came across a large chest, highlighted by the large unbroken window in that area, light somehow creeping into the murky interior. Star eagerly threw open the trunk without a second thought. The room lit up golden as thousands of dazzling coins reflected in the water around the two.

The blond looked inside for a few seconds before slamming the lid back down with an unamused expression. She let out an annoyed sigh as she leaned against the chest. “Uhh, another one,” she complained, with a roll of her eyes. “That's like the fifth one of these we've found.”

But Star quickly spotted something else that caught her instant interest, abandoning the chest for the greater treasure. It was a small piece of metal with three little points on it, reminding her of her mom's Triton.

“Wow, what is it?” Star said in a sing-song voice, her shimmering eyes almost reflecting the shape of the object perfectly, as she slowly approached the small, metal object.

“Beats me,” Jackie said as she watched Star pick up the piece of metal, running her hand along the smooth frame.

Star turned back to her friend as she stuffed her find into her purse. “Buuuuttt, we know someone who will,” Star pointed out, excitedly.

Jackie nodded and was about to respond when a shadow fell across them and she frowned in confusion. “Is it just me or did it just get darker in here?”

The two mermaids slowly turned in the direction of the light source, the light from the window being blocked by a large shape which Star and Jackie instantly recognized by its top dorsal fin and rows of sharp, dangerous teeth, which were opening wide as the overgrown fish prepared to strike.

“Shark!” Star screamed, before the glass shattered and the deadly predator barreled into the sunken ship with his prey. Star and Jackie dodged around the sharks gaping jaws, heading back the way they had come in a hurry.

The shark followed after, wiggling its large body through the tight spaces, chomping and destroying any weak, algae-covered wood that blocked its path like it was nothing. The two mermaids swam like their life depended on it (which it did) Jackie easily taking the lead and leaving Star to follow after her trail of bubbles. The blond pumped her tail up and down as fast as she could, panting heavily, as she heard the shattering of wood and low growl of the approaching predator ever behind her.

Suddenly though, Star felt something getting ripped off her shoulder and she looked back to see her purse hanging off a lone nail, the dangerous shark's snapping jaw fast approaching her treasured items. Star panicked, screaming out, “My purse!” before doing the unthinkable and actually began swimming back toward it and the predator.

Jackie, hearing her friend's scream, looked over her shoulder only to feel her heart drop as she watched the blond's suicidal dive. Jackie instantly reversed course, swimming back over to her friend as fast as her body and adrenaline would allow. Just as Star recovered her purse, Jackie grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the way, causing Star to cry out, but allowing them to just barely miss being eaten alive as the shark's jagged teeth made contact with the spot they were just in a second later, destroying everything there with a mighty snap.

The two quickly swam the short (if not claustrophobic) distance to the port window, both easily squeezing through the tight space, leaving the shark trapped below. Still, Jackie refused to release her hold on Star for a single second, dragging her behind her while trying to put as much distance between her and the deadly predator.

The blond looked back just in time to see the shark break through the wall of the ship, not even slightly dissuaded from his pursuit of his future meal. “Jackie!” Star started to cry in panic, but her friend quickly interrupted her.

“I see him.” she replied shortly, her eyes busy scanning the dark ocean around her for something to help them escape. Normally she could outrun a shark no problem, but with Star weighing her down she wasn't sure if they could escape or not. Which meant they needed another way out and fast!

That was when she spotted a giant anchor half buried in the sand and a plan began to form in her mind. “I've got an idea!” Jackie exclaimed. “Split up and lead him over there,” the white-haired girl continued, pointing out the place in mind. Star followed her finger and then gave a short, determined nod.

Jackie released her hold on her friend's arm and the two quickly took off in opposite directions, confusing the shark who looked between the two for a couple of seconds trying to decide which of the two would be an easier meal. Once he realized that the blond one was slower than the other, he quickly charged after her, his slick body cutting through the water like a knife.

A tingling feel in the back of her neck informed Star she was being followed and she looked behind her to see the shark gaining. She let out a small cry of panic, before picking up her pace with every ounce of energy she had left, overworking her tired tail in the hopes it would be enough to escape. She swam toward a sunken ship, maneuvering though the wreckage in an attempt to confuse the shark. But as she did, the shark crashed into the ship's side making the whole thing creak and groan as it fell to its side, nearly crushing the blond mermaid under its weight.

It did, however, kick up a cloud of sand that filled the ocean water for a moment, blinding the predator completely, who began snapping his jaws wildly in hopes of catching something. Star managed to swim out of the foggy area and made her way toward Jackie who was waving to her wildly. But as the dust resettled and the water became clear once more, the shark was finally able to see the mermaid and it shot toward her like a missile.

“Star, look out!” Jackie cried in warning and Star turned just in time to see the shark about to swallow her whole. She screamed and bolted to the side, the jaw's missing her by mere inches, but also managing to snatch her purse, ripping it off her shoulder. The blond watched in horror as her possession hung from the shark's sharp, deadly teeth and without even thinking she let out a yell, charging toward the deadly predator.

The shark actually stopped short in shock, as the foolish mermaid swam right up to him and grabbed onto the purse, pulling and tugging against it in an attempt to free it from his jaws. “Let go of it!” she hissed, her voice strained. “It's mine!”

Jackie just face-palmed, giving her friend a disbelieving look, unable to tell if she was either really brave or really stupid... or both. The shark, recovering from his initial shock, growled and began to actually pull back against her, getting into an odd tug-of-war with the stubborn mermaid, who refused to let go, keeping a firm grip on her prize.

Jackie, seeing this, reacted quickly she grabbed the end of the thick rope that once hung from the anchor beside her and swam over to the shark's swaying tail. She did a few loops around it, before yanking the rope tight around his tail and the shark let out a growl of surprise. The second his jaw opened Star was able to finally yank her purse free, flung back a few inches and sending her tumbling for a moment. But as she regained her bearings, she let out a shout of victory, “I got it!” She help up her purse triumphantly, but her elation was quickly overshadowed by the pure fear as the shark was now right in front of her, a deadly leering in his eyes, that told her she had made him angry.

“Uh oh,” Star squeaked, as the jaw opened its mouth to attack, but Jackie had just finished tying the final knot and in the spam of seconds, swam around the shark and pushed the mermaid out of the way of the deadly, snapping jaws. She and Star continued on, the predator making chase, that was until the rope around his tail went taunt, yanking him backward and holding him effectively in place.

The two paused, watching as the shark struggled to free himself, snapping angrily at the water, trashing around like there was no tomorrow, causing a cascade of bubbles to swirl around as he upset the flowing tide around him. Star and Jackie panted and let out deep sighs of relief at having avoided being eaten alive, the latter punching her friend hard in the shoulder.

“Ow! What was that for?” Star asked, rubbing at her sore limb in annoyance.

“That's for putting your life intentionally in danger... twice,” Jackie replied, surprisingly calm.

The two began swimming side by side to the surface, leaving the dark murky waters and forgotten graveyard behind them. Star let out a scoff and rolled her eyes, saying, “I was fine, I had it handled.”

“Oh really?” Jackie commented with a small smirk. “Cause if I hadn't done anything I'm pretty sure you'd be in that shark's digestive system by now.”

“Well, you did, so it's all good, right?” Star stated, her own naive logic as endearing as much as it was frustrating.

Jackie let out a small sigh, before saying, “Just maybe try to use your head next time or else that hobby of yours will end up getting us both killed.”

“Now your starting to sound like my mom,” Star said, grinning playfully. The two began to giggle, as they continued their ascent, unaware of the furious roars from the predator below them.

…

When the two surfaced, breathing in the salty sea air, they instantly began to look around for the large rock that housed their human expert. They found it quickly, but once they had swam over to it, they realized it was empty. “Where is she?” Star asked, her hands on her hips.

“Knowing her, it could be anywhere,” Jackie replied with a roll of her eyes. A form surfaced from the water suddenly and the two turned to stare at the black-haired mermaid, wiping her dripping bangs out of her face. She wore a fishnet woven into a beanie of sorts over thick black hair and a pair of skull and crossbones on either cheek. She had on some sort of soft yellow material over her top, her dark green tail slapping the waves carelessly. She had a net full of what looked like a bunch of kelp slung over her shoulder and she lugged it over to her home. She either didn't seem to notice the two there or was simply ignoring them, but Star decided to take the initiative and say hello.

“Hey Janna!” Star greeted cheerfully.

The girl's brown eyes landed uncaring on the two, as she threw the kelp onto the rock. “Oh it's you two,” she said emotionlessly.

“Yeah, ha, it's us!” Star agreed, ignoring the girl's careless behavior. “We brought you some more human stuff...” Star held up her purse for Janna to see. “And we were hoping you would... y'know, tell us what it is, like you do.”

“What's in it for me?” Janna asked, hauling herself onto the rock and leaning comfortably back against the bulky net.

Before Star could answer, Jackie quickly cut in, saying, “C'mon Janna, is that really necessary?”

The dark-haired mermaid shrugged, retorting,“Hey, if  you don't want to pay up, find someone else who knows about humans.”

“But you're the only one!” Star exclaimed in exasperation.

The girl smirked widely, before saying, “Exactly.”

“Look, we almost died to get this stuff-” Jackie tried, but the topside mermaid was having none of it.

“Not my problem,” she said. “I'm just trying to run a respectable business up here, which you two keep getting in the way of by constantly interrupting me.”

“What business? You're only up here because you got yourself banished trying to steal the Triton,” Jackie shot back.

Janna raised a finger in the air, correcting the white-haired mermaid, “No, being banished just meant I couldn't be in Atlantica anymore, ... I chose to come live topside because the ocean is dumb and boring.” She looked over to the blond. “Which I'm sure you already know, considering you keep coming up here.”

Star twitched nervously, her hands fiddling with the strap of her purse. She would be lying if she said she wasn't bored of the same old place, hence why she had taken such a strong fascination with the surface world. But she also knew that her mother would never allow her only daughter to leave Atlantica, especially to move to the surface, a place she despised with every fiber of her being. No matter how much she wanted to, she was stuck where she was at.

Still that didn't stop her curiosity any, making her venture outside of her mother's established boundaries, breaking the rules in the hopes of satisfying her overwhelming need to know more. She knew her mother would not approve of her coming to the surface, of her collecting human things, and most certainly would be opposed to her speaking to the banished mermaid traitor. But part of her wanted to be rebellious, to for once live outside her mother's suffocating rules and regulations to keep her safe and just... be herself.

“I just... want to know...” she said softly and Janna nodded in understanding.

“Hence, why you're here.” She held out a waiting hand, saying patiently, “Now, my payment?”

Star reached into her purse and pulled out a shiny, gleaming pearl handing it over to Janna, who eyed it meticulously, tapping a finger against it, before grinning widely. “Okay then, lay it on me, princess.”

Star handed over her bag to the other mermaid, the girl digging around inside it and pulling out the small fork. She examined it closely, while the two waited patiently for her explanation. Well, Jackie waited patiently, Star was jittery as she stared at her wide-eyed, fiddling with her wet and tangled hair.

Janna tapped a finger to her chin, trying to think of a good name for the object, before saying simply, “Dingelhoper.” She tossed it back to the blond, who caught it with ease, staring at it as if it were the most priceless treasure ever made.

“Dinglehoper,” Star muttered wistfully.

“What's it do?” Jackie asked, cocking her head to the side as she stared at the small, metal object.

“Straitens your hair out,” Janna replied instantly, digging around in the purse again, before pulling out another metal object twisted into a couple of loops. Another paperclip? she thought, raising an eyebrow. That had to be like the ninth one they had found this week. How the heck did they keep ending up out to sea? Star looked up, noticing the object in the her hands.

“Oh yeah, I found another thingamabob back on the ship too, want it?” Star asked, giving her an earnest smile. “I got like twenty at this point.”

“No thanks,” Janna said, before stuffing it back into the purse and handing it back to the blond royal. “Don't really need it.” She lifted the pearl back up, studying it closely. “This baby is all I need to get by.”

“What good does a pearl do you?” Jackie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Observe,” Janna replied, holding the shiny object up, as a dozen seagull flew in out of nowhere, dive-bombing the pearl, squawking loudly the same word over and over again, “Mine! Mine! Mine!”

“Turns out, seagulls are attracted to shiny things!” Janna shouted above the loud, obnoxious birds, while Star and Jackie covered their ears, cringing openly. “And with it I can get them to bring me all kinds of food.” She held out her other hand, keeping her eyes on the two mermaids. A second later, one of the birds dropped a hotdog onto her hand, her smirk never leaving the two. She lowered the pearl out of sight and just like that, the birds scattered, leaving her alone again. Her hair was now even messier and covered in feathers but she didn't seem to notice this as she took a bite of her food, giving the two a knowing look.

“Well that's... one way to get by,” Star said hesitantly, while Jackie just stared at the girl incredulously.

Janna shrugged, simply replying, “Hey don't knock it until you try it.”

…

Deep within the shiny gold city of Atlantic, where all mermaids dwelled and in the very heart of its esteemed castle, a certain member of the castle staff was swimming back and forth just outside the throne room, while another watched them in disinterest, the former muttering to themselves in worry. “I can't believe she just disappeared like that,” he continued his quiet rant. “Does she just not care about my job, about how much trouble she was gonna get in or get me in for that matter?!”

“Awww, relax Johnny,” Ponyhead, a blue seahorse and close personal friend of Star, said to the worrisome dolphin. “You worry too much. Must be from breathing in so much surface air.”

The dolphin ignored the comment, before complaining, “But Star has gone too far this time! She knew how important today was and after I spent weeks, with little to no sleep, preparing my most thrilling presentation of ocean safety yet, and she has the audacity to run away from home to go treasure hunting!”

Pony rolled her eyes, before scoffing, “Geez, your complaining is giving me a headache. Look you can still give your dumb presentation as soon as B-fly gets back.”

“But I don't have that long!” Johnny angrily exclaimed. “I'm expected to go out there any second and if she isn't here by then than my whole career as safety manager for the castle is over!”

“Uhh, I don't see what the big deal is?” Pony pointed out, with an uncaring roll of her eyes. “So the girl has a little freedom for herself, so what?”

“The big deal is if my new safety implications can't even keep Star here and out of trouble than how can I expect the Queen to take me seriously!”

“Your a porpoise in a suit, I think that ship has long since sailed.”

“This isn't a joke, Pony!”

“Hey, I'm only here cause I promised my girl that I would cover for her so she could go and live a little reckless for once, making fun of you is just added bonus!”

Johnny growled, before turning back to the entrance that led to the throne chamber and gulped loudly. He was so gonna end up fired. Or electrocuted by the Triton. Or banished from Atlantic forever. He could almost picture it now, him standing in front of a judge after a terrible and tragic accident had befallen the princess and him being sentenced to the Great Barrier Reef Prison or worse...

If Star didn't get back soon, he was gonna be in deep trouble.

“How much longer can your boyfriend stall?” he asked, worriedly.

“Ah don't worry about him, Seahorse can put a whole school of fish to sleep. He's even more boring than you.”

Johnny glared at her, saying suspiciously, “I'm starting to think you are the bad influence in Princess Star's life.”

“Hey, Pony!” a cheerful voice suddenly called and the two swerved to see Star and Jackie swimming up and Johnny let out a relieved sigh, muttering, “Oh thank kelp.”

“Hey B-fly!” Pony called enthusiastically. “Get any good finds from that shipwreck!”

“Pony, shhh,” Star reminded her, putting a finger to her lips, both her and Jackie quickly hushing her. “Top secret, remember?”

“Oh yeah, right,” the seahorse quickly said, giving her a sheepish look. “My bad.”

“Where have you been, young lady?” Johnny scolded and Star gave him a confused look, raising an eyebrow.

“Uhh, we're the same age,” she pointed out.

“Don't change the subject,” the dolphin continued. “You were supposed to be back here an hour ago!”

“We got held up,” Jackie said simply.

“And anyways, I'm here now so what's the big deal?” Star asked, unconcerned with Johnny's lecture, swimming forward and into the throne room, the dolphin following after her as he continued his rant.

“The big deal is if you hadn't gotten back in time, I could have been fireeee-” his voice trailed off as he caught sight of the Queen's regal and biting glare, so busy educating Star he hadn't even realized they had entered the throne room. He visibly froze and if they hadn't been underwater would have been noticeably sweating, chuckling nervously.

Moon's inquisitive eyes jumped between both her daughter and servant, before returning to Seahorse, who was droning on about a decreasing in pearl population or some other such nonsense, when the queen interrupted. “Thank you Seahorse for that... interesting lecture, but now I would like to speak with my daughter if you don't mind.”

“Of course, happy to be of service, You Highness,” Seahorse said in the same monotones drone that she had been listening to for the last hour an a half, nearly driving her mad and wonder more than once the implications of using the powerful weapon positioned in easy reach from her throne on one of her subjects. He bowed, before starting to swim out of the room when he caught up with Jackie and his girlfriend Pony, who were watching quietly from the entrance.

“Hello darling!” he greeted Pony Head, his tone and infliction never changing in the slightest.

“Sup, Seahorse,” she replied, almost uncaring, more focused on the drama between mamma and daughter that was about to take place, but Seahorse didn't seem to notice or mind.

“Did I do a good job?” the appropriately named Seahorse asked, his voice never losing its empty, business-like tone that was off-putting to nearly everyone. And if that didn't do it then his unblinking, blank stare and forced smile could make anyone uncomfortable.

“Yeah, I mean only because of my brilliant planning and stuff,” she got a cocky look at that statement. “You were just as boring as I was hoping you would be, maybe even better.”

“I aim to please,” he said simply, his fake smile widening almost creepily.

Meanwhile Star was staring into the reprimanding gaze of her mother. “Star,” her mother began and Star let out a mental sigh. Here we go.

“Where have you been?” she asked, her eyebrow raising in that condescending way she hated. “You were supposed to be back an hour ago.” Johnny sucked in a breath, looking like he was about to pass out. He couldn't believe she had noticed. Of course she had noticed, the queen saw everything. Oh man, he was so going to be fired.

Star stayed calm, though, as she merely shrugged and said, “I was just out hanging with Jackie and we lost track of time, no biggie.”

Moon's eyes narrowed. “There is a 'biggie' here, Star. A proper princess is punctual at all times. How can you be expected to run a whole kingdom if you can't even arrive on time?”

Star crossed her arms in front of her chest, giving her mom a stubborn look. “So I was a little late, it's not the end of the world, mom.”

Moon let out a long sigh. “It is when you are in charge,” she explained, sounding exasperated with her daughter. “You will be queen someday, you need to learn the right way to behave.”

“Oh what, like you. Dad told me all about how you used to be reckless and irresponsible when you were my age.”

“Don't change the subject, Star!” Moon shouted, quickly losing patience for her daughter. “And yes, I was that way and I had to learn the hard way what it takes to be a good leader. I just want to spare the same thing happening for you.”

“Gee, thanks,” Star muttered bitterly.

“Now then,” Moon continued, ignoring her daughter’s behavior. “Tell me, what exactly were you doing that made you so late?” Moon asked, her eyes searching and Star froze up for a second. This caused Johnny to pale immensely, his already uncomfortable look multiplying tenfold, as his eyes jumped frantically between mother and daughter.

“Just... doing stuff with Jackie,” the princess replied as calmly as she could.

“And that would be...” her mother pried. “I mean if it was interesting enough to make you break one of your duties as a princess, then it must have been very important.” The way Moon emphasized the last word, Star began to worry that she had already figured out the truth. She would have to be very careful with her answer.

“Oh you know, just-”

“Searching for seashells!” Pony quickly interrupted, positioning herself between her bestie and her scolding mother.

“Pony what are you doing?” Star whispered worriedly and Pony confidently answered, “I got you girlfriend. Just leave it to me.”

“Seashells?” Moon repeated skeptically.

“Yeah but not just any shells,” Jackie quickly cut in, joining in on the lie. “They were for a necklace Star was gonna make for your birthday.” She paused before quickly adding, “Uh, Your Highness.”

Moon's eyes widened in surprise at this, turning to her daughter. “Is this true?”

“Uhh-” Star said, until an elbow from Jackie, made her blurt out, “YES! Of course it is mom. That's, uh, that's why we had to keep it a secret from you, so we wouldn't spoil the surprise.”

They all gave the queen innocent grins, all hoping she bought the lie. For a few uncomfortable seconds, Moon said nothing and the three began to mentally panic, until she finally responded, her face and voice conveying how unsure she felt in this situation. “Well, I'm... sorry that I spoiled your surprise.”

Star chuckled awkwardly, waving an arm in the air. “Aww, it's fine, mom. I'll just find another gift for you. No big deal, it's all good.” She could tell she was starting to ramble and feeling increasingly awkward, she sought out an escape goat from the situation, quickly blurting out the first name that came to mind, “Right Johnny?” The blond turned to the dolphin, who had staying oddly quiet the whole time. His mouth was sealed shut, both flippers over it and his body was shaking as he seemed to be struggling to hold the truth in. Star saw her mother's suspicious glare and quickly tried to make light of the moment, “Uh, haha, yeah. Anyways, I should probably be heading back to-”

“Star went to the surface!” the dolphin finally blurted, startling everyone. “What?!” Moon cried in concern, while Star and the others all shot him a death glare. “Johnny!” they shouted.

“I'm sorry, I couldn't help it! My conscious got the better of me!” Johnny cried.

“Starrrr,” Moon began in a warning tone and the princess whimpered in fear.

“Uh, bye mom, we'll talk later, I got princess lessons to do!” Star quickly shouted, trying to quickly escape the room, but her mother's scolding shout, stopped her in her tracks. “Star!”

The girl slowly, guiltily, turned back around to face her mother, the look of pure anger and disappointment on her face, enough to make even the most evil of creatures cower in guilt. It was a look that Star dreaded and one she never seemed to be able to avoid, still that didn't mean it didn't sting every time she had to look at it.

“Come here,” her mother demanded and Star slowly obeyed, approaching her mom with a lowered gaze.

“You know that you can't go to the surface for any reason, it's forbidden!”  Moon began, her tone sharp and her gaze stony. “You could have been seen by a human, you could have compromised our entire world!”

“Yes, but I didn't,” Star argued. “I was really careful, no humans saw me, I swear! And anyways I was only up there for like a couple of minutes!”

“That doesn't matter, Star!” Moon shot back, her anger rising to new levels and Star visibly flinched at the tone. “You could have died! Murdered by those barbarians!”

Star had to bite her lip to keep from blurting that not all humans were barbarians and that she had no right to judge a bunch of people she had never even met before. “You think that is what I want to see happen to you, Star!” Moon added, her voice cracking with emotion, the fear in tone obvious now. “To see you dying at the hands of those vile humans!”

Star felt a tinge of sympathy and regret, but it was easily overshadowed by her anger and she quickly snapped back, “I'm not a little kid anymore, mom! I can make decisions for myself!”

“Not when you are purposely breaking rules made to keep you safe!”

“Well, it's a dumb rule anyway!” Star crossed her arms stubbornly in front of her chest. “Just because some humans are bad, doesn't mean all of them are.”

Moon let out a long sigh, burying her face in her hands. She didn't say a word for a moment and when she did finally speak again, Star could hear the exhaustion in her voice, “Star, those rules exist to protect us. Whether it is right or not, we can not take that risk. It is for the good of the kingdom that we remain separate. To protects our world and keep any one of us from ending up dead in some fishing net, do you understand?”

Star hesitated before sadly answering, “Yes, I understand.”

“Then I want you to promise me you will never go near the surface ever again, are we clear?”

Star opened her mouth to argue, but her mother's gaze narrowed and she harshly repeated, “Is that clear?”

Star rolled her eyes with a huff, before saying, “Yes, mom.”

“Good, then you may go,” Moon said dismissively. “Permitted that you stay safe and keep out of trouble.”

Star didn't even reply as she turned her back on her mom and angrily swam out of the room, her posse of friends following right after.

Moon leaned back in her throne once she was alone again, looking utterly exhausted and lost. “Ugh, what am I going to do with that girl?” she asked herself, worriedly.

But suddenly, her attention was drawn to the sweating Johnny, who was still watching her wide-eyed. There was an awkward pause between them, before the dolphin quickly chuckled nervously. “Um so about my suggestions for safety-”

“I'm afraid that your services are no longer required,” Moon curtly responded and Johnny looked panic-stricken. He quickly threw himself at the queen's fins, bowing low and begging wildly, “No, please, my queen! I swear I can make it up to you! Just give me another chance to prove my worth to you!”

Moon gave him an annoyed look, before the begging became too much and she finally said, “All right. I will give you one more change.”

Johnny's face brightened at that. “Oh thank you, Your-”

“If you can keep my daughter out of trouble and, most importantly, away from the surface,” Moon continued, and Johnny's mouth dropped open against his will.

He quickly shut it, though, saying, “Um, well, I was thinking maybe I could just... give a few lectures on how to-”

“Do you wish to remain as a member of this staff or not?” Moon asked in annoyance and Johnny quickly swallowed.

“Y-Y-Yes, Your Highness, I very much do,” he said softly.

“Then I suggest you hurry and catch up with my daughter. She did get quite the head start while you were busy ogling.” Moon looked away from the porpoise, staring off into space, signaling that the conversation was over. Johnny paused only for a second, before making the very smart move of bowing and leaving the queen to her thoughts.

Though he let out a very loud groan the second he was out of earshot. Great now his entire future career depended on one reckless, headstrong teenage. What else could possibly go wrong?

…

Star swam huffily through the streets of Atlantica ignoring all the friendly merfolk waving to her, too angry with her mom to notice anything else. “Ugh, who does she think she is?!” Star yelled, throwing her arms up in the air in frustration.

“The Queen of Altlantica and your mother,” Seahorse instantly replied and Star shot him a glare.

“Not now, boo, can't you see the girl is ranting,” Pony quickly reprimanded him.

“Oh, my apologies,” her boyfriend quickly replied blankly, before going silent.

“Look Star, I know her thinking is flawed but she is just trying to look out for you,” Jackie supplied, putting an hand on her friend's shoulder.

“Yeah, but I don't need her too!” Star exclaimed back. “I can take care of myself and besides, humans aren't the monsters she says they are.”

“What did you call me?!” an angry barracuda who had overheard part of the conversation quickly shouted, turning to glare at them.

“Nothing, mind your own business!” Pony snapped, which only managed to enrage the dangeous and deadly fish all the more.

Jackie put an arm up between her friend and the fish, giving him an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that, sir. We weren't talking about you, we swear.” The barracuda still looked skeptical so Jackie quickly added, “And may I just say that you have very fine and lovely scales.”

The fish glared for a few more seconds, before his face melted into a smile, which was still terrifying to look at, but at least they no longer had to worry about him attacking them now. “Oh, well, thank you. No one ever says that about me.” He looked genuinely happy and slightly embarrassed and he quickly cleared his throat saying in a gruff voice once more, “Ahem, carry on.” He then swam past the group and they watched him go, before Jackie sighed in relief. She gave Pony Head a glare, asking in annoyance, “What was that, Pony? Were you trying to get yourself eaten?”

“Ahh, whatever I could have taken him,” Pony replied with her usual Pony smugness that was one of her many annoying trademarks.

“Actually I think you would have been eaten alive, dearest,” Seahorse said and Pony shouted at him, “What did I say about interrupting the moment?!”

“Guys, can we please stay focused on my problem,” Star reminded them with slight annoyance and they all turned to her in surprise.

“Oh yeah, sorry, guess we got a little off track there, girl. That is my bad, B-Fly,” Pony quickly admitted.

“So what are we going to do now?” Jackie asked, giving her royal friend a long, questioning gaze. “I mean, you promised your mom you wouldn't go up there anymore. Are you going to do it anyways?”

Star let out a long sigh, swimming forward with an unsure and troubled look. She was about to respond to the mermaid when, another voice quickly cut in, “Oh look at that, if it isn't, Little Miss Perfect.”

Star groaned, dreading talking to the owner of that voice, who she recognized in an instant. Brittney Wong. Great, as if she didn't have enough problems to deal with. She slowly turned to glare at the mermaid before her, who stood there in the same cocky, holier-than-thou pose that she always had and Star held back rolling her eyes. It was no secret the two had been rivals for years and never got along in any regard whatsoever. It wasn't like Star hadn't tried, in the beginning she had been friendly and optimistic as she was with everyone, believing the two would become close almost instantaneously. But this hope was dashed as Brittney's stuck-up attitude caught Star by surprise and began to slowly push her away.

She didn't understand why the mermaid was so bitter and hateful toward her, but the more and more Brittney pushed the more angry Star became and she quickly began fighting back, using the rejection as fuel for the fire inside her as she bit back every comment with equal disgust and vexation as the snob. Since then, their confrontations had only gotten worse with time.

“Oh, Brittney, it's you,” Star began calmly, keeping a forced smile on her lips. “From your voice I was sure a seal or something was wailing at us for a handout.”

The black-haired mermaid glared at the grinning blond, scoffing as she said distastefully, “Well my voice can't be as bad as that outfit, what's the deal, princess? Did mommy not teach you how to stylize your shells?”

Star crossed her arms but it was Pony who quickly retorted, “Ha, like she'd taken fashion advice from someone who wears make-up underwater. Like seriously, what's that about?”

“Yeah, Brittney, what's that about?” Star repeated, equally mocking as her friend and she quickly gave Pony's extended fin a high-five.

“Not to mention, her choice in braiding her hair in shells that went out of style exactly 2.5 hours ago,” Seahorse added and Pony let out a loud gasp.

“Ooooh, good thing we are underwater, because that was a harsh burn,” the blue seahorse snapped, with a cocky grin.

Brittney seemed to be growing more and more angry by the second, her entire body shaking as she tried to fight back the intense hatred she felt. “Why don't you freaks stay out of this?!” she quickly shouted and Pony's eyes quickly narrowed, a furious snarl on her face.

“I better not have just heard those words come out of your bratty, snobby face,” Pony hissed, Jackie having to hold her back to keep a fight from breaking out.

Brittney just smirked arrogantly, flipping her hair as she swam over to Star, who looked the angriest she had ever been. If there was one weak point you didn't touch, it was Star's friends. “Honestly, Star, I don't know why you hang around these losers, are you that desperate for friends your willing to hang out with a bunch of bottom-feeders,” the snobby girl said, tutting sarcastically, feigning worry.

“I hang out with them because they're real friends, something you wouldn't know about considering you don't seem to be able to make any,” Star shot back.

“How sad,” Brittney continued, seemingly ignoring the royals last comment. “You know, everyone around here talks about you. Says that you've got a thing for humans.”

Star rolled her eyes. “Whatever Brittney, you must be pretty gullible to believe a bunch of gossip,” Star scoffed, trying to dodge the question as best she could. “Did you also believe that crab that said we were going to be invaded by jellyfish last week?”

“Oh please, you can't seriously think I'm that stupid,” Brittney retorted.

“Coulda fooled me,” Pony suddenly snapped and the bratty mermaid ignored her, as she tried to swim around Star, who quickly turned her body with her, trying to hide her purse behind her back.

“So where you heading off to, princess?” Brittney asked, intrusively, still trying to get a good look at what was behind her fellow mermaid's back. “And what's that you got behind your back? Some secret your ashamed to let everyone see.”

“None of your business!” Star snapped. “Now if you'll excuse me, I've got better stuff to do than stay here and be picked apart by you!”

She quickly swam past her and Jackie followed, moving so she was blocking the purse from the others prying eyes. Pony and Seahorse followed swiftly after, the former shooting the first a mocking, superior grin which only further infuriated the black-haired girl. She crossed her arms, watching her rival swimming away as she muttered under her breath, “I will find out whatever weird thing your hiding, princess. Just you wait.”

…

Johnny panted wildly as he swam through the underwater streets of Atltantica, his eyes searching for any signs of the blond princess anywhere, but for some reason she was no where to be found. “Oh man, oh man,” Johnny muttered to himself as he continued his frantic hunt for the missing mermaid, his mind jumping to the worst possible scenario. “This is bad. Where is she? What if she already went back to the surface. If the queen finds out she'll have my head!” The dolphin groaned covering his face with his fins in frustration and worry. But as he removed them, he miraculously spotted Star and the others swimming out of the city and into deeper waters, a black-haired mermaid watching them go in disgust, before flipping her hair and swimming off in the other direction.

Johnny almost laughed out loud in relief as he quickly followed after the girl. He did his best to match their quick pace as they got further and further away from the safety of Altlantica, but he was finding it difficult to keep up with them his cushy job in the palace leaving him out of shape for most physical activities. He quickly began to fear he would lose sight of them altogether as they made odd twists and turns as if trying to lose someone tailing them, the four disappearing out of his sights for a couple seconds at a time before he found them again. And when they disappeared around an outcropping of rocks on the ocean floor, not emerging after several seconds (far longer than any of the previous times), he panicked and swam forward with frantic vigor.

He peeked around the edge of the rock, watching the princess and her friends and whatever scheme they were up to this time. Probably with the intention of getting me fired, he thought bitterly. The princess did a quick look around to make sure nobody was watching, before her and her white-haired friend tugged a large boulder up and out of the way, revealing a hidden entrance, Johnny gasping in surprise. Pony and Seahorse wordlessly swam inside, followed after by Jackie and then Star letting the rock fall back into place. Johnny propelled himself forward with all the energy left in his body, just barely managing to squeeze past the rock and into the large cave hideout of the princess. He let out a sigh of relief, wiping his forehead with his fin, before trying to swim forward. Only to be jerked back sporadically and he turned back to see the end of his tail caught in the large rock. He began pulling and tugging on his tail trying to free his trapped limb, grunting quietly so as to not alert Star to his presence.

But just as it grew an inch free and Johnny almost let out a squeal of delight, the rock moved, crushing the limb more and making the dolphin cry out in pain, his loud voice echoing around the room.

Jackie's head jerked back toward the way they had come, hearing the eery scream bouncing around the walls of the cave and she asked, “Did you hear that?”

“Eh, it was probably nothing,” Ponyhead replied nonchalantly.

Jackie shrugged before following after her friend. The four entered into the main part of the cave, a large open space, lit by a small hole above, letting the filtered light pour into the area, lighting it with an otherworldly glow. Every inch of the cave was covered in trinkets from the race above, human items of all shapes and sizes coated the walls and sandy floor, the princess's vast collection from years and years of exploring and scouring every sunken ship she could get her hands on scattered about the large open space, displayed in their full glory. Jackie gazed around in wonder for a moment, quite impressed with the vast treasure trove. No matter how many times she saw it, it never lost it's grandiosity.

Star didn't seem to feel the same, not even gazing at the items as she simply reached into her purse and pulled out the small dinglhoper she had received and setting it in place with two similar looking objects, one flat and the other rounded at the top. She let out a long sigh, as she gently pocked one of it sharp tips absentmindedly, thinking to herself, her face sent into a deep frown that was so unlike her.

“So, what are we gonna do now?” Jackie asked, sitting down next to her downtrodden friend.

“I don't know,” Star said sadly. But there was slight venom in her tone as she added, “Mom is just being dumb and overreacting like she always does.”

“Maybe it will blow over in a few days,” Jackie suggested, though it sounded weak coming from her. They both knew that wasn't true.

Still, Star allowed herself to cling onto the foolish hope for a moment, responding hesitantly, “Maybe.”

“Aw, who cares what your mom thinks,” Pony suddenly chimed in. “It's your life, B-Fly. I say you do what you want. So what if you break a few laws? It's not like you haven't done it before.” She gestured around the room with her snout, the thousands of illegal trinkets glimmering in the faded light.

“That's true,” Star said softly, clearly considering her friend's words. She let out a loud groan, falling back and onto the sandy floor. “Ugh, she just doesn't get it!” the blond exclaimed in annoyance. “She wants me to stay underwater and away from the humans but, I don't get how the surface can be so bad when they make all this cool stuff.”  

“Yeah, like this thing, whatever it is,” Pony said, moving closer to a small box with a handle in the side.

“Oh that's a surprise box,” Star explained.

“What's the surprise?” Pony asked, gently nudging the handle, which began turning on its own, provoking an off-key jingle.

“It would seem it produces some kind of music,” Seahorse said, matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, I can see th-” Pony was cut off, as the box suddenly sprang open, as a small puppet attached to a spring jumping out and startling the cocky Ponyhead, who released a loud scream.

“That's the surprise,” Star said as her and Jackie laughed at the panting Ponyhead.

“Yeah, okay. I knew that the whole time, that's why I played along, to y'know cheer you up and stuff,” Pony quickly said, clearly trying to cover up the embarrassing moment.

Star swam over to the box, closing it up once more. “See, humans make all kinds of cool things. Things that mermaids and fish can't make.”

Star picked up a nearby object, a gun with a hook in it. “Like this thing.”

“What's that do?” Pony asked.

“I have no idea,” Star admitted, setting it back down. “Or, or how about this?” the girl quickly grabbed another object, a small pocketwatch. “Look at this gizmo, see? We couldn't make something like this in Atlantica.”

“Or how about this?” Star said, gesturing to the painting in front of her, one with a woman warming her hands over a small flame. “Humans can make fire, for crying out loud! Why can't we make fire?!”

“Cause we live underwater?” Pony said, now decked out in as much jewelry as she could wear, stealing it off the shelves when Star wasn't looking.

“Or, or what about-”

“Star,” Jackie said, silencing her friend as she put a hand on her shoulder, knowing she could go on forever if she wasn't stopped. “We get it. We know you love human stuff.”

Star let out a loud sigh. “I just wish I could go up there, y'know? See all the wonders of the human world, instead of being stuck down here with the same old boring ocean.”

Jackie nodded. “I know,” she said, understanding clear in her tone.

“Well then do what you want B-Fly and don't tell your mom!” Pony shouted enthusiastically. “If she doesn't find out than what is there to worry about?”

“Yeah,” Star said softly, deep in thought. But her voice was stronger as she said again. “Yeah. Yeah!” she practically shouted. “It's my life I can do what I want!”

“You go girl!” Pony yelled in support.

“Who cares about the rules?! This rebel princess makes her own rules!” Star cheered, jabbing a finger at herself.

“Technically speaking, the princess does have slight authority for making decisions in certain circumstances,” Seahorse pointed out.

“Which I'm pretty sure doesn't count in this case, right?” Jackie asked with a raised eyebrow.

“That would be correct,” Seahorse droned out.

“Well still, promise or no promise I'm not giving up going to the surface. It's just too important to me,” Star declared with a finality, crossing her arms determinedly in front of her chest. But it switched to a bright smile as she couldn't help but squeal over her decision, glad she didn't have to give up on the one thing that made her happy. “Oh man, if mom could hear me she would be so mad,” Star said with a small giggle.  

“That is correct!” Johnny shouted as he swam into view, making his presence known. The others all gasped in shock at seeing him floating there, Star exclaiming, “Johnny?! Wh-What are you doing here?”

“Your mom told me to keep an eye on you, so I followed you here,” the dolphin explained.

“Well it's not what it looks like,” Star quickly blurted out, trying to cover her tracks as best she could. “We were just... um, getting ready to throw all these human things away, since I won't be going to the surface anymore, right guys?” She turned to them for help, her eyes pleading for them to play along.

The others obeyed, quickly nodding in agreement, but Johnny just continued to glare at them, saying, “Save it. I heard what you were talking about.”

Star let out a short, awkward chuckle, before asking, “How much did you hear?” She was poking her fingertips together sheepishly as she waited for a response.

“All of it,” Johnny said with narrowing eyebrows.

“Oh,” Star muttered in defeat, visibly deflating.

“And you should be ashamed of yourself, going behind the queen's back like that,” Johnny scolded, waving a disapproving flipper at them.

“Only because mom is being stupid and making a bunch of dumb rules,” Star argued, crossing her arms childishly in front of her.

“She is trying to protect you, again if you had just followed my previous rules we wouldn't have this problem. All you had to do was listen to me and everything would be fine, but noooo, instead you had to be rebellious and do whatever you want so-”

Star, Jackie and Pony shared a look, knowing they had just lost him to the rant for who knows how long, as he swam back and forth around the cave, overemphasizing his speech with wild gestures from his fins. They all tuned him out as he droned on about every single security measure he had ever implemented in great and excruciating detail, only Seahorse actively listening, watching with interest, even nodding every so often.

“This is gonna take forever,” Pony groaned in annoyance, rolling her eyes.

“Hey at least he isn't busting us to Star's mom,” Jackie pointed out.

Suddenly, the entire cave went dark and the three girls looked up to see their only light source covered up by some large shape at the top of the waves. Star gasped. “A boat!” she exclaimed in joy. Ships almost never sailed this far out to sea, so seeing one intact was quite the rarity for her. “Oh man, we have to go see it!” The desperation and need shimmered in her eyes as she looked back over to the still-distracted Johnny, who hadn't noticed a thing as he carried on with his rant.

“Come on, at this rate the turd won't even notice we're gone,” Pony pointed out and Star nodded in agreement. Besides, who knows when her next chance to see a ship up close would be. It was worth the risk. Star and Jackie easily slipped past the dolphin, making for the exit, Pony stopping to rip her boyfriend away from his mindful observation before pulling him after the others, Seahorse never blinking or breaking gaze from the dolphin until he was out of sight.

Johnny after a moment, finally wound down, finishing up the speech he was currently giving to the treasure trove and trinkets, way off topic from where he had started from as his rambling came to a close. “And that's how to avoid being stung by an angry, vengeful jellyfish. Any questions, You Highness?” he looked over to where the four had been only to see empty water and he panicked, looking around the room frantically. “Your Highness? Star?” But when he received no answer and came to the quick realization that he was alone, he groaned in defeat. “They ditched me,” he whined in disgust before quickly swimming out of the cave after them.

Once back in open waters he spotted the four instantly, seeing them heading up to the surface where a large and familiar shape cut through the waves, as well as unfamiliar bright flashes of  multicolored lights, which colored the ocean in its hue with every few second bursts. “Oh no,” Johnny groaned in worry. “Princess, stop!” he tried to plead with her only to get an exited and unconcerned response, as the girl shouted joyfully, “Come on, Johnny! You won't want to miss this!”

Johnny just cringed knowing he had no way to stop the headstrong teenager. “This princess is gonna get me killed,” he observed. But, because it was now his duty to do so, he followed after the four, dreading what they would find topside and just hoping it didn't lead to any of them tapped in a net or on a hook.

…

The moment Star surfaced, she became enchanted by what she saw, her eyes glittering as she watched the bright explosions in the sky, her mouth gaped open in shock and awe. The others surfaced around her, also seemingly captivated by the fireworks, all except Johnny who was watching the whole thing nervously.

“Wow, they're beautiful,” Star murmured in whispered wonder.

“Yeah really pretty,” Johnny said, though his voice lacked any enthusiasm or emotion toward the sight. “Can we go now?”

“Wait a minute, we just got here,” Star insisted, swimming closer to the boat.

“Stop, princess! Come back!” the dolphin shouted after the mergirl, holding a fin out uselessly as if trying to will her back, though he was too frightened of the boat to move closer to it himself.

Star meanwhile, put a hand against the smooth wood and let out a small giggle. She couldn't believe this was really happening to her. After all this time, she was finally able to see a real boat up close, well one that was in one piece that is. Suddenly she could hear a janky tune above and her gaze and interest was immediately drawn upward, where she could almost hear the exited chatter of the human's over the loud popping of the fireworks.

Johnny just continued to groan and fidget with worry, his eyes darting around in paranoia, as he begged the girl, “Star, please, what if someone sees us? We should just go home already.”

“Aw relax, J. You worry too much,” Pony said nonchalantly.

“Yeah, Star is a big girl she can handle herself,” Jackie added, reassuringly.

But Johnny was having none of it, putting his flipper down as he commanded, “No way! I am not losing my job over this. I am taking the princess back to Atlantica and that's final! And once I tell the queen, she'll-”

“Fire you,” Pony finished for him and the dolphin visibly froze. He hadn't thought about that.

“I mean you did let the princess come to the surface, after all,” Jackie pointed out.

“Only because you guys ditched me!” Johnny loudly defended himself.

“Yeah, can't wait to hear you talk your way out of that one,” Pony said with a roll of her eyes.

Johnny was visibly unsettled by that. What was he thinking? He couldn't tell the queen about this. She had said that this was his last chance and if she found out he had already failed his task less than an hour since she assigned it... well, he didn't want to think about the consequences. “Oh my gosh you're right,” he admitted with horror. “I can't tell the queen about this, she'll kill me!”

“Yeah so just don't tell her and it can be our little secret,” Jackie suggested with a shrug.

Johnny quickly nodded. “Y-Yeah, okay. We'll just leave and pretend like none of this ever happened.”

“That's going to be pretty hard to do,” Seahorse suddenly spoke up.

“What, why?” Jackie asked in confusion.

“Cause Star is currently climbing the ship,” Seahorse explained.

“What?!” the others shouted, whirling around to see that the boring fish was right, Star was currently scaling the side of the boat, using her arms to pull her now useless tail up the length of the boat.

“Star, get down from there?!” Johnny screamed, but Star ignored him, only hearing the playful laughter and infectious music above, drawing her in closer and egging on her curiosity. When she finally reached the side, she hauled herself up enough that she could peer over without being seen, her tail resting on a convenient slab of wood beneath her. From there she could only watch in awe as the humans danced around the ship, laughing and partying it seemed, while others played some sort of collection of instruments, most of which Star didn't recognize at all. The blond also didn't recognize the tune, but after a moment, found herself humming along with it, its upbeat, janky notes catchy and impossible to resist.

She studied each human closely, watching their movements, particularly from their legs and feet, their weird motions they were making foreign and yet intriguing. But as her eyes roamed over the crowd of happy-go-lucky sailors she spotted one in the crowd who looked unhappy to be there, even in the midst of his fellow partying men. He was a young boy looking no older than 15. Right at Star's own age, she realized. He had brown hair and eyes along with tanned skin. He wore a fancy looking white suit, complete with cape and tight restrictive looking black boots. Star also noted with interest that he had a small little dot on his left cheek that was absolutely adorable.

Who was she kidding, all of him was adorable, he looked so handsome in his outfit and Star felt herself blushing at this train of thought. He was the first human boy she had ever seen before and she found there was something about him that seemed to draw her in. But at the same time, for as cute and interesting as he was, she also noticed just how sad and alone he looked standing all by himself, his eyes studying the crowded deck with disinterest. Star didn't understand why he didn't just join in on the fun, but for whatever reason, he simply rubbed at his arm absentmindedly, before quickly stopping himself and looking around as if afraid someone had seen him.

He kept his posture stiff after that, continuing to watch the celebration he seemed to be left out of and Star felt a twinge of sympathy for the boy. She wished she could go over and comfort him, but that simply wasn't a possibility, not unless she wanted to reveal her identity to the entire boat. So instead, she just followed him with her eyes as he made his way around the eager partygoers and over to the edge of the boat, leaning against the railing with a deep sigh, now directly over where Star was perched.

The mergirl sucked in a breath as the handsome boy unknowingly hovered over her, she felt her face beginning to break out into a sweat over how close he was to her, almost able to feel his presence through the thick wood. She looked down below where Johnny stood mouth agape at the sight and looking on the verge of passing out. Jackie had dunked beneath the surface to avoid being spotted, but Pony was winking at her and giving her encouraging, meaningful smiles to tell her that the boy was cute and she approved which only made Star's cheeks blush lobster red. She risked a look up and instantly caught sight of the boy, his eyes gazing sadly down at the ocean, but despite this the chocolate brown orbs were magnificent and engaging as Star found herself having trouble looking away from them.

The boy just stood there silently for a moment, before he rubbed his eyes tiredly with the palms of his hands, muttering under his breath, “What am I even doing?” He started to walk away and Star sat up so she was peering over the edge again, wanting to follow his every move, when she noticed with concern that he had turned around. His eyes lit up as he spotted her and the mergirl felt her heart stop, whether that was from being found out or being noticed by this boy of all people Star didn't know. “Whoa, be careful!” the boy cried, racing over to her, fear and concern on his face. The blond briefly contemplated ducking back out of sight but she was frozen to the spot so it wouldn't do her any good at the moment.

He continued to shout as he reached her, saying, “It's dangerous that close to the edge! You could fall!”

Star finally seemed to recover, ducking enough out of sight that only her head was in view to him. “Oh, um, thank you, but uhhh, I'm fine.”

“No, your not,” the boy insisted holding out a hand to her. “Here I'll pull you up.”

Star started to instinctively reach for his hand but stopped herself, shaking her head freeing of any distracting thoughts and saying, “No, really I'm good, just pretend I'm not here and you didn't see anything.” She chuckled nervously, hoping the boy bought it and just left her alone.

Instead, his eyebrows just pinched together in the cutest way and he looked over at the other sailors, who hadn't paid him any mind, before getting down on hands and knees and asking in a soft whisper, “Are you a stowaway?”

“A what?” Star asked in confusion.

“Did you sneak onboard this ship?” the boy asked, instead.

“Ohhhh,”the blond said in realization, before hesitantly replying, “Uhhh, sorta,” She looked down at her tail with a grimace.

“Well, don't worry your secrets safe with me,” the boy said softly, a small smile on his lips.

“Secret, what secret? I don't have any secrets,” the mergirl replied way too fast.

The boy gave her a confused look. “Uh, about you being a stowaway.”

“Oh rightttt. Yeah let's go with that.”

The boy gave her an incredulous look, but didn't press her on her odd behavior instead saying, “I'm Marco by the way.”

“Star,” the girl said softly, her cheeks growing red once more.

“Star,” Marco repeated, testing out the name on his tongue. “I like that. It's really pretty.”

Star giggled nervously, trying to hide her face from view. “Oh, psh, stop it!” she mumbled in embarrassment. She was about to say something more, when she noticed out of the corner of her eye a familiar form over by the buffet table. She felt her heart stop as she realized that Janna was stealing food out in plain sight and she made a tiny little eep noise.

“What, what is it?” Marco asked, starting to turn to see what she was looking at.

“No, no, nothing,” the girl nervously exclaimed, grabbing his face and keeping him from looking in that direction. “There's nothing to see.”

She watched as Janna caught her eye, shooting her a wink before diving overboard without being spotted. The mergirl let out a sigh of relief, glad that her friend hadn't been caught, that could have been a disaster.

“Uh, can you please let go of my face?” Marco spoke up and Star looked back over to see that she was squishing his face with her hands and she let go with a gasp.

“Oh, uh sorry,” the girl said, her cheeks flushing bright red. What was she thinking? She was acting like a total doofus in front of the first human she had ever met.

The boy didn't seem too upset though, just giving her a long look. “What was that all about?” he asked, an eyebrow slowly raising.

“I was just, uh, trying to keep you from being tempted by all that food over there, ha ha,” she chuckled nervously, hoping he bought the weak lie.

Marco didn't say anything for a moment, though, finally muttering, “You are a strange one, Star.”

“Good strange or bad strange?” she asked, looking at him hopefully.

He smiled. “Definitely good,” he replied, earning a smile from the blushing girl. He leaned against the railing of the ship with a far-off look. “In fact, your the first good thing about this trip so far.”

“Why? This place looks like so much fun,” Star blurted out, looking around at all the dancing humans with longing, wishing she could be one of them.

“Maybe for someone who actually belongs here,” Marco muttered sadly. “I'm only here because I'm expected to be. No one ever really asks me what I want.”

Star let out a long sigh, propping her elbows on the deck and leaning her head on her hands. “Yeah me too. My mom is always telling me to do this or do that, but she never really listens to what I want.”

“Sounds like we're in the same boat,” Marco said, before the two began giggling at the accidental pun.

“Yeah, guess we are,” Star whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

The two continued to talk for a while, just chatting about their life and all the responsibilities that were being constantly thrust upon them. Star quickly discovered that Marco was actually a prince and that this whole trip was to celebrate his birthday, despite the fact that he hated sailing and had been virtually ignored the whole time only to be scolded or reprimanded by someone named Manfred. Star found herself enjoying herself the longer they talked, the boy so easy to talk to and so opposite what her mother had told her that humans were supposed to be like. He was nice and very fun to be around and she found herself wishing this moment would never end and she could just stay by this human boy's side until the end of time.

“You know, if you don't mind me saying, when you put your hands on my face, they were really pruny,” Marco suddenly mentioned out of nowhere.

“Huh, that's strange,” Star quickly said, trying to cover her shock.

“Like really pruny,” the boy continued. “Almost like you live in the water,” he added with a laugh.

The girl's eyes went wide and she let out a quick, fake laugh, feeling sweat dripping down her face. “Yeah, that, that's crazy,” she said with a halfhearted scoff. “I mean, we humans don't live in the water, hahahaha.”

Marco gave her a suspicious look, able to tell she was hiding something. “Uh, right. We human's sure don't,” he said, forcing the weird phrase out of his mouth. He tried to shrug off her off behavior and instead commented, “You must really do a lot of swimming, though.”

“Me? Oh yeah, I swim all the time,” she said, still with an awkward edge to her tone.

“And you must love the ocean to wear seashells in your hair,” he added, pointing to them with a little smile, the girl quickly trying to cover them up with her hands.

“Yeah, I uhh-”

Before the girl could stutter out another answer, there was a roar of thunder behind them and they both turned to see the sky quickly growing dark, already nearly black, out of nowhere. “Wh-What's that?!” Marco asked in worry and Star just sucked in a breath.

“Oh no,” she muttered in terror.

Above their heads, the lookout yelled to the rest of the unsettled crew, confirming Star's fears. “Hurricane acomin'! All hands secure the riggin'!”

Rain began pattering the deck of the ship, as panicked sailors ran around trying to tie up the now uncooperative ropes down with little success. Marco stood up, a look of anxious determination on his face, as he turned back to the girl he had just been talking to, offering her a hand. “C'mon, we need to get somewhere safe, before the storm finishes blowing in.”

Star looked at his hand eagerly before reluctantly shaking her head. “I'm sorry, Marco,” she said, her sad eyes not meeting his. “I can't.”

“What, why not?” Marco asked.

“Your Highness!” a voice interrupted behind him and he turned to see Manfred, wobbling over to him on the unsteady deck. He grabbed the boy by the arm trying to forcefully pull him away. Marco fought the grip, trying to reason with the small man. “No wait! Hang on, there was someone who needed my-”

But as he looked back over to the spot Star had just been in, she was now gone. He felt fear and confusion pinch his chest, wondering how she had suddenly disappeared but hoping she was alright.  “Star?” he muttered softly.

“Oh dear, he's seeing stars,” Manfred said in worry, clicking his tongue and continuing to drag the boy behind him. “I really must get you below decks. Come now, Your Majesty, it will be safer there,” Manfred insisted and Marco followed numbly, his head still spinning with unanswered questions and fears.

…

Star dropped back into the water with a splash, ignoring the questioning gazes of her friends and the panicked rant from Johnny, keeping her eyes on the ship and hoping it would be okay, her thoughts and fears solely focused on Marco. The waves were quickly growing higher, slapping against the boat as if trying with all its might to knock it over and sink it. The sturdy vessel held strong though, fighting through the ocean and trying its best to keep coarse through the rough wind.

Star and the others were nearly being dragged away by both the waves and wind but Star fought tooth and nail to stay close by the boat, wanting to see what happened to the desperate crew. She kept her eyes on the ship as she forced her body through wave after wave, fighting the sinister current with every ounce of strength she had, ignoring every limb that was aching and begging her to stop and let her rest.

Meanwhile, the ship didn't seem to be doing much better as it was suddenly lifted up on a particularly large wave before being slammed back down into the water, making the whole ship shudder and groan, threatening to fall apart at any moment. Flashes of lightening and blinding rain filled the sky and the sound of thunder seemed to echo from every direction.

At some point, a lightening bolt must have struck one of the masts, because the boat was slowly being engulfed in flames, even the drenching rain unable to put out the fire, as it eagerly ate away at the wooden vessel. The sailors promptly gave up on saving the boat after that, the men quickly abandoning ship as they loaded themselves into lifeboats and quickly dropping themselves into the crashing waves below, to avoid being licked by any stray patches of fire.

As Star neared the ship, panting heavily and nearly blind from the rain in her eyes, she searched for any signs of Marco, fear clenching her chest as she watched the once proud sailing ship being reduced to ash and fire, and she silently prayed that her friend had made it out okay. Which was why she nearly cried in relief as she finally spotted Marco being led over by someone to the last lifeboat, looking safe and unharmed.

But to her horror, just as Marco went to get into the boat after the man, a sudden shuddering from the ship knocked him off his feet and caused the lines holding the lifeboat up to snap, dropping it in unceremoniously into the ocean. The man screamed the prince's name but could do nothing as the ship was easily carried away from the boat.

Marco lay unmoving on the deck, knocked unconscious from the hit to his head, as the steady but growing flames came nearer and nearer to his oblivious form. Seeing this, Star began fight with vigor against the unforgiving tide in a desperate attempt to reach the boy before he was burned alive. But she never got a chance as the ship suddenly exploded, a bright and expansive burst of light as the remnants of whatever fireworks were left were found by the flames and simultaneously ignited, tearing the ship apart in a hot breath of beautiful destruction. Any previous feelings of curiosity or delight for Star were now replaced with empty horror as she watched what was left of the ship sink into the sea to join its other destroyed brethren.

Finally seeing up close and personal what caused the wreckage she had spent most of her life exploring made her sick and she knew after this her days of exploring the tragic sights were now over. But for right now she didn't care about that, as she dove underwater, swimming through the debris now floating to the bottom of the ocean, looking for any signs of Marco, her heart pounding in her ears as she continued her desperate search. She pushed past broken masts, damaged boxes of goods and other items, ignoring their content or worth as she panted wildly, looking for the first human she had ever met.

At last, she found him, his body caught in a rope as he was dragged down into the depths below. She quickly swam to him, nearly hugging him in her relief, but knew she had too little time for such things, he was in danger of drowning. So instead, she quickly untangled the rope from his frail body before wrapping her arms around his frame and lifted him back up to the surface.

The moment her head broke through the waves, she saw that the storm had begun to die down, leaving the ocean a dark blue as the sound of thunder rolled away from the pair. Star made sure Marco's head was above water but bit her lip not sure which way land would be. But to her relief, Janna suddenly appeared, shouting out to her, “This way!” and pointing off in what Star guessed was the direction of shore.

Janna began to swim toward that and Star began following along as best as she could, struggling with the human boy's heavy form weighing against her. She wasn't used to swimming with a partner, much less an unconscious one, making her movements klunky and awkward as she nearly dropped his head into the water several times, struggling to keep his head resting on her shoulder.

She felt her body fill with relief as Jackie appeared beside her, grabbing hold of one of the boy's arm and helping shift the weight so it was equally distributed between them. Even Pony and Seahorse pitched in, each lifting a leg above the ocean surf, balancing it on their heads as they helped carry the human to safety. Star smiled at each of her friends, touched by their kindness as she and the others much easier followed the dark-haired mermaid, who turned back every few seconds to make sure they were keeping up with her.

Johnny just nervously watched the whole thing a short distance away, his face full of worry as he kept pace with the young group of underwater rescuers and their determined mission to save the poor, unsuspecting human prince.

…

The sun began to rise on the horizon, bathing the world in light once more and casting a beautiful glow off of the water's surface. The gentle sound of the now peaceful waves hit Star's ears as she leaned over the dripping wet boy laying against the sand, his eyes still closed, as she admired his adorable face up close. She gently brushed the hair out of his eyes, as she hummed thoughtfully to herself, glad to see the boy was relatively unharmed despite the traumatic experience not too long ago. He looked so pale and fragile in that moment, nothing like the stories she had been told by other mermaids trying to scare her away from the concept of humans altogether and she felt a surge of pride as she realized she had been right all along about them. They weren't dangerous killers they were just people, capable of either good or evil. And in this moment, Star could easily see the good written all over the boy's face as she studied him closely.

“Star, is he dead?” Jackie asked, out of nowhere, interrupting her thoughts and she looked over to see her and the others watching her waist deep in the waves.

The girl looked back over to Marco, a sudden fear in her chest. How had she forgotten to check that? He was just in an explosion after all and had more than likely swallowed a lot of water. Her voice shook as she replied, “I-I'm not sure how to check.”

“Step aside,” Janna said, as she crawled over to the girl, pushing her out of the way, as she observed the boy. Star waited for her to check his heartbeat or something, but she instead gave him a little smack on the nose and Star let out a scream, grabbing onto the mergirl's arms to keep her from hurting him again. “Janna! Why did you do that?!” she demanded in anger, but a soft groan from below the two brought their attention back to Marco, who shifted a little in his sleep, his eyes scrunching up in the cutest way.

“He's alive,” Janna confirmed, smugly. “You're welcome.”

Star dropped her hold on the girl, letting out a huff as she retorted, “Was there no other way to check that?”

Janna just shrugged. “Thought that would be more effective,” she said with no ounce of remorse in her voice and Star sighed before her eyes returned to the boy's face. She was now able to easily pick up on his breathing, as he began to relax once more and she smiled, her cheeks turning red.

“Well at least he's okay,” she said softly, her hand unknowingly cupping his cheek and she felt him subconsciously move into her touch, letting out a smooth breath. The girl watched him with growing fascination and love as she felt his soft skin beneath her fingertips, making her shiver. She began to hum softly to herself some unknown song coming to her in that moment as the world faded away and all she knew or saw was the boy before her, the human prince who had captivated her from the moment she laid eyes on him and she once again wished this moment lasted forever.

The others didn't say a word or if they did she was unable to hear them as the sun peeked out from behind a cloud lighting up Marco's face as he gently opened his eyes, small and unfocused but still a beautiful shade of brown. He seemed to spot her in that moment, a hand reaching up to touch hers and she smiled at him again, as his eyes began to widen in realization. He opened his mouth to say something but there was a shout from farther down shore and Star whipped her head over to see the same man from before walking toward her, shouting out Marco's name every few seconds as he searched for him.

Star knew she had to go as she cast one last look at the boy, before forcing herself away and back to the water, where she ducked below a second later and now safely out of sight.

To Marco, it was as if she had suddenly disappeared, one second looking into her stunning blue orbs, the next just gone... leaving him blinking in the blinding sunlight. He sat up with a loud groan, his body feeling like it gone through a blender as he looked around for any signs of his rescuer. Had it been Star? he wondered to himself. It had to have been, it was the only thing that made sense. Somehow the stowaway had swam him to shore all on her own. Although it seemed illogical, there was no mistaking that sweet, infectious smile and those bright, startling blue eyes. It had been Star, he was sure of it.

But where was she. He cupped a hand over his eyes to shield them from the burning sun as he stared off toward the horizon, the light reflecting off the waves nearly blinding him again. “Star?” he whispered under his breath, barely hearing a voice calling out his name.

He felt a hand grip his arm, pulling him to his feet, and he let out a groan nearly falling back onto the sandy beach. Hand to his head, trying to alleviate the headache that was beginning to surface, he turned to see Manfred looking quite relieved to see him. “Prince Marco, thank goodness your alright,” the servant said, but Marco was barely paying any attention to him, still looking around for Star. “We've been searching all over for you, many of us feared that you had been lost to the storm.”

“D-Did you see that girl?” Marco asked suddenly, surprising Manfred.

“Girl?” he repeated with concern, his eyebrow raising slightly and Marco knew he must have thought he was crazy.

“Yeah the one who saved me,” the young prince continued. “She- She was just here a moment ago. Did you see where she went?”

“Your Majesty, there was no one with you,” Manfred said slowly.

Marco shook his head, refusing to believe it. “No, no, I know she was here. I saw her.”

“So a young girl just appeared in the middle of the ocean and carried you all the way back to shore, before vanishing into thin air again?”

Marco opened his mouth to retort, but quickly closed it knowing that he still couldn't tell him that he knew for a fact Star had been on the ship with him. So he instead shrugged and said softly, “Yeah, yeah, I must have just imagined her.” But he couldn't keep his eyes from returning to the sea as if hoping she would somehow be there.

Manfred clicked his tongue disapprovingly, before saying, “You probably just swallowed too much sea water.” Marco tried to ignore the man's belittling tone as he hoisted his arm over his shoulder, using his weight to help him walk as they headed back to the castle. “Now come along, Your Majesty, let's get you into some dry clothes.”

Marco said nothing, allowing himself to be led, but keeping his gaze on the water, his thoughts still bouncing around his mind out of control as he tried to make sense of the blond stowaway and her heroic rescue.

…

Star peeked out from the rock she was hiding behind, watching the whole display with a growing sadness and longing unlike anything she had ever felt before. She kept her gaze trained on Marco's form as he was led away, his eyes still clearly searching for her and it took every ounce of self-control she had not to go to him.

Johnny, at this point was hyperventilating, going on and on about how stupid and dangerous all this was, about how they had to keep it a secret, about how no one could know what had gone on, especially the queen, while the others tried futility to calm him down. Star just tried not to roll her eyes. Duh, or course they weren't gonna tell her mom she would have a heart attack if she knew what Star had done. But she didn't regret it though, considering it the right thing to do, despite every merman or mermaid disagreeing with her on that point. Saving Marco had been the right thing, she just couldn't allow him to drown. And as for talking to him beforehand, well...

Star felt her cheeks flush furiously as her eyes remained trained on his figure, being practically dragged by the small man. The burning longing insider her only seemed to be growing more and more intense as she began to crave to see Marco again. She began to hum to herself again, finally recognizing the song as the one that had been playing when she and Marco met.

And at that very moment, like the crashing of a wave, Star came to a decision. She wouldn't let this be the last time she saw Marco. She would find a way to see him again, no matter how long or what she had to give up, she would see the human world in all its glory, with Marco by her side. She didn't know when or how but still she knew she would succeed. She had to. And so from the deepest depths of her soul, she promised both herself and her first human friend she would find a way to become a part of his world, no matter what.