Hello everyone! I apologize if it's taken this long to update!

I've been busy and forgot to update! However, since I've got some free time, here's another chapter!

Enjoy!

Ariel, Flounder, and Garret soon arrived back at the palace in King Triton's throne room. When they did, Ariel told her father all about Urchin and his situation, and about The Lobster Mobster, while the king was busily at work charting maps. Naturally, because of seeing Urchin with them before, Sebastian was worried.

"Dat little merboy is friends with de Lobster Mobster, Your Majesty!" the red crab objected. "Dat lobster's wanted in five of the seven seas, and not wanted in the other two!"

"But Urchin is really nice!" protested Ariel. "He's just... confused."

"Ariel, as a princess, you must set an example. Preferably a good example," King Triton said importantly. "I think it'd be best if you stay away from the lad, you and your friends."

"But, with all due respect, your majesty, that doesn't seem fair," Garret said. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I didn't like the kid at first either, but even I can see that he's just misguided is all. Not to mention that he doesn't have someone to tell him right from wrong."

"Yeah. He doesn't have a kind, understand father like I have," added Ariel innocently, as she looked pleadingly at the king. "Or good friends to help him decide right from wrong like us."

King Triton looked across to Ariel, and sighed conceding. "Oh, very well, Ariel. If you and your friends can bring the boy around, then we'll see."

Sebastian face-clawed his himself, and feeling pleased, Ariel kissed her father on the cheek, as she, Garret, and Flounder swam away to search for Urchin.

"Well, it looks like we were able to convince your father to talk with Urchin," said Garret. "Now comes the hard part, convincing Urchin to do the same."

"I'm sure we can convince him," said Ariel. "We just need to talk to him."

The three swan on until they soon arrived at Urchin's place. However, when they got there, Urchin was nowhere to seen.

"Urchin! Are you home?" called out Ariel.

"Looks like he isn't," Flounder said.

"Maybe he's out and about somewhere," suggested Garret. "I'll go see if he's around. You two keep looking around here just in case."

Garret then swam out of the cave in search, while Ariel and Flounder stayed inside. However, what they didn't realize that the Lobster Mobster and Da Shrimp were lurking nearby, setting a trap. The two had propped a long piece of sea coral underneath a giant boulder, while tying it with seaweed, waiting for the right opportunity to tip it over.

"I had a feeling that those kids would come back," grinned the Lobster Mobster. "Especially that princess."

"Must be all the cologne you're wearing, boss," Da Shrimp said.

"No, it's because that girl actually likes that Urchin," the Lobster Mobster said. "And that other little punk too."

The two then began to heave and grunt as they pulled on the seaweed, trying to make the stick lift to jar the boulder loose. It took a bit longer than the two expected, until at last, the boulder was on the move. It rolled along the ocean floor, and then crashed into the entrance of Urchin's place, blocking the door and trapping Ariel and Flounder inside. The two tried to push the boulder out of the way, but it wouldn't budge. The Lobster Mobster and Da Shrimp cheered as they swam over.

"Yeah! We got her!" whooped the Lobster Mobster. "That girl's worth a fortune!"

"Yeah! She's worth a fortune, Boss!" agreed Da Shrimp. "But, how are we going to make a fortune off of her?"

"Her father, the king, you cocklehead!" snapped the Lobster Mobster. "That king's got a treasure vault the size of my ego! We'll make him pay through the nose!"

"Oh, yeah! A nose!" Da Shrimp said, nodding in understanding. "But, um. what's a nose?"

The Lobster Mobster sighed and beckoned the Da Shrimp to come to him, which he complied. Then the Lobster Mobster shouted at the top of his lungs.

"HOW ABOUT SHUT UP!?"

Meanwhile, Garret was swimming around trying to find Urchin, but he couldn't find him anywhere. He searched inside caves, nearby caverns, but he couldn't find him anywhere.

"Come on, Urchin. Where are you?" Garret complained to himself. "You've got to be around here somewhere."

Then suddenly, Garret spotted him. Urchin was a few feet away from swimming across the floor. Garret then swam over to him, causing Urchin to scowl upon seeing him.

"So this is where you are," Garret said. "You're a hard guy to track down."

"And what do you want, Star-face?" grumped Urchin. "Here to pick a fight again."

Garret scowled for being called Star-Face, but he tried his best to ignore it as he spoke to him. "First of all, my name is Garret, Urchin. Secondly, I came here because Ariel's been looking for you."

Urchin wasn't scowling any more. "She has? For what?"

"What do you think, dummy? She wants to be friends with you," Garret said. "She even went as far as to convince her dad to smooth things over with you, despite everything that you did."

"She did what?!" Urchin cried. "Why would she do something like that?!"

"Isn't it obvious? It's because Ariel cares about you and wants to be your friend," said Garret. "A better friend than those other two jerks you're running with."

"Hey, don't be calling them jerks, see?!" Urchin spoke glaring. "They're my pals, and they're going to make me a somebody, see?! And I ain't apologizing to that no matter what you say!"

"Oh, yeah?! And how are your so-called pals going to make you a somebody, Urchin?!" Garret shot back. "By getting you involved in a life of crime and on the receiving end of King Triton's trident?! Unless you want to get blasted, I'd strongly suggest that you think about who you're real friends are."

Urchin stopped scowling taken aback by Garret's words, as he took a deep breath to calm down.

"Look, I understand your reasoning for not wanting to speak to King Triton, and can relate to that in some way," Garret went on. "But it's better to apologize now than to not to. And I know we got off on the wrong foot before, but after seeing Ariel open up to you, and seeing you play with us, even I'm starting to understand that all you want is a friend. A real friend. Right?"

Urchin didn't answer, except with a silent nod.

"Then, if you'll let me, and since Ariel's done the same, I'd like to offer my hand in friendship, too," Garret said. "And if you're still feeling scared of going to see the king, Ariel, Flounder, and I will come with you. You know, because that's what friends do. If you're not feeling too stubborn, of course."

Urchin stared at Garret, and Garret stared at him back. Then, after a good long pause, Urchin spoke up.

"Alright then, but no tricks, see?" Urchin said. "If you're lying-"

"Man, you don't trust anybody, do you?" Garret sighed. "I give you my word."

The two then swam off, heading back to Urchin's home, unaware of the situation that would await them.

At Urchin's place, Ariel and Flounder were still trapped inside the cave while the Lobster Mobster and Da Shrimp stood guard outside, the Lobster Mobster busily trying to figure out what to write on a ransom note.

"So Boss, now that we've got the princess, what are going to do?" asked Da Shrimp. "And what are you doing?"

"Now, first impressions are important, after all, catching the princess is going to get us real good with Crab Louie, see?" said the Lobster Mobster, as he scribbled on the paper with his utensil. "And since we caught her, we'll write a ransom note. How's about this: "All right, King, Give us all your treasure of we'll feed your princess to the sharks."

"Eh, too impersonal," Da Shrimp replied.

At that moment, Urchin and Garret arrived, and when the two saw the scene, they were surprised.

"Hey! What happened to my hut?!" exclaimed Urchin.

"And what are you two doing here?!" Garret demanded, pointing at the goons. "And where's Ariel and Flounder?!"

The Lobster Mobster immediately changed his gears smirking at Urchin. "You did good, Kid," he said to him. "You're going to be somebody before you know it. Your princess friend came looking for you, and we're holding her for ransom."

Garret and Urchin looked at the lobster deeply shocked, as Ariel's voice came out from behind the rock.

"Urchin! Please, don't listen to them!" begged Ariel. "They're just using you!"

"That ain't true, kid," the Lobster Mobster spoke innocently. "We're your best friends, see?"

"Yeah, right! Like he should believe a word you say!" Garret snapped as he glared. "You let our friends go right now, before I get really mad!"

He then swam towards the Lobster Mobster rearing to tear them a new one, when Urchin cut him off.

"Not so fast," Urchin spoke defiantly. "If you want to get to my friends, you gotta go through me! Get it?!"

Garret was surprised and felt betrayed. After everything that he told Urchin, it seemed that his words didn't get through to him. Feeling hurt, he was about to lay it onto Urchin, when the merboy leaned in and spoke so only Garret could hear him.

"Listen, follow my lead," Urchin whispered. "Trust me."

Garret was surprised as he looked at Urchin as the merboy winked at him. Understanding, Garret decided to do as he said, pretending to be angry.

"Urchin! How could you?!" Garret scowled. "After all Ariel, Flounder, and I have done for you, you still won't listen to reason?!"

"Sorry, but the Lobster Mobster's my friend, and anyone who tries to hurt him, has to deal with me!" Urchin said, scowling back.

Garret lunged at Urchin, trying to get his hands on him, but the merboy quickly swam out of the way avoiding his grip. Urchin swam over to some kelp quickly grabbing a strand, and before Garret had a chance to react, Urchin had wrapped the kelp tightly around Garret, binding his arms and his tail. Garret struggled as he tried to get free, but he couldn't.

"You won't get away with this, you jerks!" Garret yelled. "King Triton will show you no mercy!"

Urchin then stuffed a shell into Garret's mouth. "Ah, shut it already," he spoke gruffly. "I ain't scared of some king!"

"Nice work, kid," congratulated the Lobster Mobster, feeling impressed. "Couldn't have done it better myself."

"Thanks, Boss," smiled Urchin. "Hey, since we've caught the princess and this guy, let's celebrate! I'll steal us something to eat!"

"Kid, you're a crook after my own heart!" the Lobster Mobster chuckled, high-fiving the boy. "In the meantime, Shrimp and I will finish the ransom note."

"But what about that merboy with the weird colored tail, Boss?" wondered Da Shrimp. "Won't he be a problem or something?"

"Ah, don't worry, I'll take him somewhere where won't be in the way," Urchin offered. "Heck, I'll feed him to the sharks or tie a rock to his tail and let him sink into an abyss, or throw him in a cave."

"Good ideas, Kid," the Lobster Mobster said. "Go for it."

Urchin then grabbed Garret by the ropes and dragged him away while he let out a few muffled screams struggling to get free. Ariel and Flounder saw everything through a small crack just above the boulder, and were devastated.

"I thought Urchin was our friend," said Flounder.

"So did I," Ariel spoke sadly.

Then, the two heard a pair of whispers.

"Hey, youse guys - I mean, you guys!"

"Ariel! Flounder! Over here!"

Ariel and Flounder jumped in surprise, and looked towards where the voices came from, which came from the other end from Urchin's hut. From a small hole, Ariel and Flounder were surprised, yet also relieved to see Urchin and Garret at the other side.

"Garret?! Urchin?!" exclaimed Ariel. "But, I thought the two of you-"

"It was nothing more but an act, Ariel," Garret said. "Although tying me up and stuffing that shell in my mouth was a bit much, Urchin."

"Hey, I had to make it convincing. Although, you sure know how to look like you're mad," Urchin said. He turned to Ariel and Flounder. "Anyway, I'm sorry I got you guys into this."

"So, you do know how to apologize," chuckled Ariel.

"Look, I just want to help, okay?" Urchin said. "After all, it's what a friend would do, right?"

"Yeah, but that boulder's huge. There's no way none of us are strong enough to move that thing," Garret said. "Not to mention, we got the lobster and that little shrimp to deal with."

"You two should get King Triton!" Flounder suggested. "He'll bring his trident; then pazow, he'll cook that lobster's tail! And then Hawow-shmow, he'll fry that shrimp, and then he'll-"

"Take it easy, Flounder," interrupted Garret. "Those little comments of yours are scaring even me."

"Yeah, especially since he might do those things to me first," Urchin gulped nervously.

"Don't worry," soothed Ariel. "He's really kind and understanding."

"Yeah, he sure sounds like it," said Urchin doubtfully.

"Trust me, Urchin. Ariel hasn't steered anyone wrong thus far, and she knows what she's talking about," Garret spoke. "Besides, we're going there together, so I got your back. Now, we'd better get going, before the Lobster Mobster gets suspicious."

The two merboys then swam off, heading for Atlantica as fast as their fins could carry them.

Soon, the two merboys arrived back at Atlantica and were now in the Royal Palace. When they got there, Urchin couldn't help but feel more nervous than ever, but Garret swam on ahead, making sure to keep close to Urchin. The two went down Corridor after Corridor until they came to a corner. They slowly peeked out from behind and could see the throne room ahead of them. However, there was no sign of King Triton anywhere.

"Looks like nobody's here," Urchin spoke quietly, sounding a bit relieved.

"You've got to be kidding me," Garret complained. "We just saw him not too long ago, and now of all times, he's gone? Why?!"

"Dat is because dat boy ruined de entire Neptune Ball!" snapped a voice crossly.

Both Garret and Urchin jumped in surprise feeling startled, almost jumping out of their skin, as Sebastian suddenly appeared before the two, looking as cross as ever.

"Dang it, Crabby! Can you not sneak up on us, like that!" Garret snapped. "Or do you like sneaking up on people?!"

"I told you not ta call me, Crabby!" Sebastian snapped crossly. He turned to Urchin. "As for you young man, you've got a lot of explaining ta do!"

"I sure do, but there's no time for that!" Urchin spoke. "Ariel's been captured by the Lobster Mobster!"

Sebastian was now horrified. "What?"

"It's true! That guy's got Aiel and Flounder trapped in Urchin's hut, by a big boulder, and they can't get out!" Garret added. "Which is why we need King Triton as soon as possible!"

"Yeah! So he can bring his trident and blast 'im!" concurred Urchin.

"But de king has gone off to apologize to all of his guests at de ball!" Sebastian cried. "I don't know where he is!"

"Then I guess it's up to us then," said Urchin. "Since the king's not here, then we'll save Ariel and Flounder."

"And how do you propose we do that? You saw the size of that boulder. There's no way we can move it," Garret pointed out. "Not to mention, it's not like the Lobster Mobster's going stand idly by and let us free them, despite him being somewhat of an idiot."

Urchin then started thinking, trying to come up with a plan. Then he noticed something. Just behind Sebastian, there was a wanted post of Crab Louie with a couple of mugshots. Urchin looked back and forth between Sebastian and the wanted poster, then, an idea bubbled up in his brain.

"Hey, check this out!" Urchin spoke as he took the poster and put it next to Sebastian. "Notice anything?"

Garret looked at the poster and then at Sebastian, and started to understand. "Hey, I get it! I like the way you think," he said. "It's a bit of a long shot, but it might just work! After all, he does look a little bit like him."

"What are you boys talking about?" Sebastian asked. "What might just work?"

Garret then smiled at Sebastian. "Say, Crabby, have you ever considered turning to a life of crime as one of the most notorious criminals in five of the seven seas, excluding the other two? Well, now's your chance!"

Sebastian looked at the poster of Crab Louie, and then realized what Garret and Urchin had planned, When he did, the red crab couldn't help but gulp nervously, knowing full well that this wasn't going to end well. Especially for him.

"Why do these tings always happen ta me?" Sebastian moaned.