(Important Note: I just want to seriously apologize because it was brought to my attention that this was an M-rated fic, and there has yet to be a sex scene. I'll be honest and say I completely forgot about the rating- normally I try to incorporate some kind of sex scene into my stories, but I never found a moment where I would like it in this story. I considered putting one in chapter 20, but thought it would seem forced and not work for Ariel's character. Again, I am extremely sorry about this! I really hate to be "that guy."

On a side note, this is the last chapter, and I hope you enjoy!)

Something wasn't right. The moment Killian opened his eyes he realized that breaking Pan's curse wasn't going to simply just return everyone to the Enchanted Forest. Ariel was no longer by his side, and as he looked around the area in which he was standing, he realized that no one from Storybrooke was in the vicinity.

Panicked now, Killian frantically walked around moving through the trees until he realized where he had ended up. His pace quickened and soon he came to a small village, now occupied by the former citizens of Storybrooke. He saw a few familiar faces, but didn't have time to figure out what had happened. Everyone had the people they cared about around them, but Ariel was nowhere to be found.

It didn't take long to find the harbor, and he felt some comfort when he found his faithful ship there. He made his way on board and prepared her to sail, planning on searching for Ariel with everything he had.

He just didn't know where to start.

Ariel could not open her eyes. Cold seawater surrounded her, and she moved frantically, kicking her legs as hard as she could and reaching out around her blindly with her arms.

When her hands hit something solid, she grabbed a hold of it and pulled herself up enough to get her head above the water. She gasped for air and wiped at her eyes with one of her hands before opening her eyes to look around her.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to bright sunlight, but when she realized where she was she felt her heart drop into her stomach, and she searched the ocean surrounding her in some hope that Killian would be there to take her away from this. She didn't want to be here.

Neverland lay ahead of her, a good distance away and she knew she would never make it to land alive. She was lucky that she even found anything to hold onto this far out.

Ariel waited there, weighing her options. Why was she even in this situation? How did this not work out? Where was Killian?

She jumped when a head poked above the water not more than a foot away from her, and she knew that things could only go downhill from here. She watched in dread as more mermaids emerged around her.

"Ariel," one of them spoke up, moving closer to her. "I see that you've returned."

"I-I didn't want to," she admitted quietly, knowing this probably wasn't the best response.

"Come swim with us, Ariel," another one said, reaching out to tug on her clothing. She felt the fabric rip and the mermaid laughed.

Ariel felt her eyes watering, and tried her best to hold back the tears as the mermaids now moved to try and tear her clothes and pull her hair. She felt one grab her ankle and try to drag her down, but she held on tightly to the rock, trying desperately now to pull herself up while kicking at the nearby mermaids.

Quite suddenly, Ariel felt something vibrating in her pocket, and before the mermaids could ruin the rest of her clothes, she reached into the pocket and pulled out the small box that Rumpelstiltskin had given to her what felt like ages ago, but was actually more recently.

The mermaids had backed off a bit, watching her curiously as if they could sense something about what was in Ariel's hands. Carefully, she opened the box and pulled out the scale from within, looking at it in the sunlight. As she looked at it, it suddenly burned hotly and she almost dropped it.

She had a feeling she knew what to do with it, that Rumpelstiltskin had known even all those years ago when she asked for her legs that she would one day need this. She glanced at the faraway land and then at the vicious mermaids surrounding her.

She thought of Killian, of how much she loved him. She had a feeling he was worrying about her just as much as she was worrying about him. But who knew if they would ever find each other again.

Ariel let the tears fall silently now, lowering the scale under the water bringing it to an exposed part of her legs. She hesitated for a moment before pressing the scale to the skin.

At first, nothing happened, but then all there was was pain, and Ariel screamed and let go of the rock as blinding pain overtook her. She could feel herself sinking, but it was the least of her worries as she screamed into the water.

She blacked out at some point, and when she came to, she was floating underwater, staring up through the murky water where she could see that it was now dark out, moonlight playing on the surface. She could see clearly through the water and she was still breathing.

Ariel moved her arms slowly, briefly enjoying the calm feeling of floating just below the surface of the ocean until she realized why that was. The rest of her clothes had been torn off and she was wrapped in the sea. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, and tilting slightly to look down at where her legs used to be. There now was the fin she had given up for love so long ago.

Ariel spent most of her time in Neverland in search of the mermaids who had tormented her upon her return, but she could find no one. Everyone had abandoned the area, it seemed. Even the people on land.

Ariel was truly alone, and she spent her days swimming in the ocean and dreaming of Killian. She hoped that one day they would find each other, but with a fin… well, what could really be done? She wasn't meant to be out of the water now, and Killian couldn't exactly join her there.

She was hanging around in the shallows near land when she saw her first sign of life since returning to being a mermaid. A ship in the distance caught her attention, and without thinking she took to the water, swimming rapidly in its direction.

She wished she hadn't seen it though. That she hadn't gone towards it. There were definitely pirates aboard—she could see the crew running about. But then she heard it, a familiar voice barking orders as he headed to the bow of the ship, leaning over to look around the water and out towards land.

When Killian's gaze drifted in her direction, Ariel quickly ducked under the water. She thought momentarily about just revealing herself to him, but she knew there was no way she would be able to have legs again. She was doomed to wander the ocean alone in search of… something. She wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for, especially now when what she truly wanted was on a ship that was floating above her head. She dove further under the water to get away.

Killian sighed, straightening up to stare forlornly at Neverland in front of them. He had thought he'd seen a familiar shade of red in the water, but it must have been a trick of the light.