Barbie Waters was on location with her camera fish at Paradise reef for her WET News broadcast.
In their living room, Rocky and June sat on their couch depressed with the recent event of Melvin lying about flying on that historic mission into outer air.
Rocky flipped the TV to the news channel and saw Barbie Waters by the ledge of Paradise reef.
“We have breaking news. We just learned that the town of Aquaticville just issued an arrest warrant out for Melvin. Apparently the story of him rescuing his parents from the deadly grips of Air Aliens was also a lie, as he just recently let Air Aliens kidnap Stephanie,” Barbie said into her microphone.
Rocky jumped up while June sobbed over the news.
Rocky swam over to the wall and removed all of Melvin's pictures.
He swam over and dropped them into a trash can.
He swam out of the living room furious.
June continued to sob on the couch.
Later that night, Melvin cautiously swam from rock to rock back to Aquaticville.
He slowly swam into the cave and poked his head out and looked down at Aquaticville. The town appeared quiet and he figured everybody was asleep.
He swam out of the cave and headed down to Aquaticville so he can get some of his personal items out of his home.
Melvin swam closer to Aquaticville and his eyes widened in shock when he saw the “Melvin – Wanted For The Air Alien Kidnapping of Stephanie. 15,000 Claims Reward” sign floated next to the "Welcome To Aquaticville – 0 Days Since Last Air Alien Kidnapping!” sign.
“How did they find out?” he talked alone while he floated by the signs.
He looked down at Aquaticville and saw Barney while he patrolled down Aquatic Boulevard.
He turned around and raced back to the cave entrance scared of being thrown in prison.
Later that day, Melvin moped in the water without a clue where he was headed or where he should live for the rest of his life.
He looked so lonely and scared then he looked down at the sandy bottom of the Gulf and saw the green and slimy "Sand Quentin" metal prison building nestled behind a slimy green metal wall.
He looked scared to death when he heard screams emitting from the prison.
He raced off scared and vowed never be caught by Barney.
Later that day, Melvin mumbled to himself while he paced back and forth on another ledge of a reef.
“I can't believe I got myself into this mess!” he said then he stopped pacing and banged his head against a rock.
The old dolphin Dottie swam by and noticed Melvin banging his head on the rock. She shook her head in displeasure at the sight of Melvin.
She swam over to him “Don't do that, you'll give yourself a splitting headache,” she scolded Melvin.
Melvin looked at Dottie with the saddest eyes.
“I'm Dottie, why are you so blue?”
“I'm Melvin.”
Dottie moved away a bit. “You're that wanted fish!” she said a little leery of him.
“Please don't turn me in! I can explain!” Melvin cried out while tears formed in his eyes.
Dottie looked curious. “Okay, I’m listening,” she replied
Meanwhile, way over in Cooter’s fish store in Key West, the store was closed since it was Sunday.
The inside of the store had four rows of different size salt-water aquariums on shelves.
Each aquarium had numerous types of exotic fish swimming inside with some fake plants, treasure chests or sunken chest.
Cooter entered the store area from the back office.
He held a salt water filled plastic bag with Stephanie inside who looked ever so sad.
Cooter walked to an aquarium on a shelf up against the wall of the store.
He removed its lid and emptied the bag into the water.
Inside the aquarium, Stephanie was scared to death while she splashed into the water while the other exotic fish watched her arrival.
“We have a new resident,” Timmy said while he swam over the plastic treasure chest in the center of the aquarium where there was some plastic plants.
“She’s gorgeous,” Mitch replied while he swam up alongside Timmy.
They all watched while Stephanie immediately raced off. She swam toward one end of the aquarium thinking she had her chance to escape.
She slammed face first into the side of the aquarium and her face squeaked down the glass to the bottom.
She looked dazed while she turned around.
She races off and slammed face first into the other side of the aquarium. Her face squeaked down the glass to the bottom. She lay there in a daze and a little pain at the rocks at the bottom.
All the fish swim over to her with Carlos an overweight Cuban Goby fish.
“At least she cleaned the glass,” Kathy told Timmy and Mitch while they floated near her.
They all looked and saw a clean streak down the glass to the bottom where Stephanie lay in the rocks.
“You'll get use to this small world, pretty lady,” Carlos replied in a thick Cuban accent.
Stephanie looked up at Carlos. “Who are you?”
“Well my beautiful lady, I'm Carlos,” he replied while he puffed out his chest to impress her.
Stephanie still looked dazed and confused while she stared up at Carlos. Then she suddenly had this feeling that she knew him, but then her eyes crossed and she passed out.
Carlos grabbed one of her fins and held it in his fin.
Back on that ledge in the Gulf, Dottie looked sympathetic with Melvin. “I know what it's like to be away from your family. I was kidnapped when I was much much younger. They took me to a place called Sea World. There I had to do tricks in a big tub of water for the Air Aliens. They let me go when I go too old,” she told him.
“Tricks?” he replied and didn’t have a clue what that meant.
Dottie did a "Flipper on top of the water move" and clapper her fins.
She stopped and got a look of pain in her eyes.
She swam back to Melvin. “My back hurts when I do that now. Anyway, I do know for a fact that the Air Aliens won't eat her. They'll just put her in a small water world for display. They like watching us swim back and forth, back and forth, for some strange reason,” she said while she rolled her eyes thinking that was dumb. Then she thought for a few seconds and then her eyes lit up with an idea. “I know, why don't you rescue her with that new airship?”
“You mean I should rescue her? With an airship?” Melvin asked a little unsure he heard correctly.
“Why not? I mean you’re an Air Cadet and trained to perform those types of missions,” she replied.
Melvin paced back and forth while he thought about her solution and the more he thought about it, the more he got nervous. “I don't know. I mean, I have an idea where this Cooter’s place is located, but there’s thousands of those dangerous Air Aliens around there. Besides, I don’t which direction to head to find Key West.”
“I know where Key West is located and I can guide you there. Then you'll have to find Cooter's all by yourself,” Dottie offered.
Melvin nervously paced back and forth. “I, I don't know.” Then Melvin looked pathetic and depressed. “I don't have what it takes to be a hero.”
“And you never will with that attitude. If you pull this off, just imagine how grand your life will be. If you don't, think how your life will stink, forever,” she replied with a motherly tone.
Melvin thought hard about her comment while he paced back and forth. “I can't do it alone. I need help.” Then his eyes lit up and he stopped pacing. “Hazel. That's it. Hazel can help. She's always there for me. We'll rescue Stephanie, then we can get married!” he replied excitedly while he thought about Stephanie being his wife.
Melvin rushed over and gave Dottie a quick kiss then he swam away.
Dottie blushed over being kissed by the small fish.
“I’ll wait around here,” he yelled at Melvin.
“Okay,” he replied then rushed to the direction of Aquaticville.
A little while later, Melvin swam to the cave entrance to Aquaticville.
He hesitated for a few seconds while he wondered if this was a good idea.
He realized he didn’t have a choice and he swam into the cave.
It was nighttime but Melvin still cautiously swam down to Aquaticville.
He swam down Aquatic Boulevard then he turned down Shell Lane.
He swam down Shell Lane and found Hazel’s small house.
He looked around the area and the coast was clear.
He opened the door to her house and swam inside.
Melvin swam through Hazel’s living room then found her bedroom.
Hazel was asleep in her bed under the seaweed blanket with a geeky retainer in her mouth and her thick glasses on the bedside table.
Melvin snuck into her room and slowly swam up to her bed. He tapped her with his fin. “Hazel, wake up,” he whispered up.
Hazel rolled over to her side.
He lightly shook her body with his fin. “Hazel, wake up,” he whispered again.
Hazel rolled over and her eyes opened. “What?” she said and rubbed her eyes.
Melvin saw her retainer in her mouth and got startled.
She looked at Melvin but he was nothing but a blur and she thought it was a burglar. “Ahhhh!” she yelled out.
Melvin quickly covered her mouth with a fin. “It’s me Melvin. I’m not going to hurt you. I need your help,” he quietly replied.
She calmed down.
“Don’t scream and I’ll remove my fin. Okay?” he replied.
She nodded in agreement.
He slowly removed his fin.
“What do you want?” he asked a little upset that he snuck into her room.
“I need your help,” he pleaded.
“I’m not interested with you anymore. So please leave me alone,” Hazel replied then looked away from Melvin.
“I know how we can get Stephanie back home,” he said.
“She's gone and will never come back,” she replied while she continued to look away from Melvin.
“But she can if she's rescued with one of the airships.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“I can't do it without you, Hazel.”
“Of course you can,” she replied then looked at Melvin. “Because you’re a hero,” she added with a sarcastic tone.
Melvin looked ashamed. “Hazel, I'm so sorry for the way I acted. I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to see me again,” he said while he hung his head down in shame and his eyes welled up.
“That's right. I never want to see you again,” she said then pulled her seaweed blanket up over her head.
She rolled over and covered her head with her blanket.
Melvin looked at the lump of seaweed blanket. “I’m truly sorry Hazel and I truly hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me,” he said and was sincere.
Hazel didn’t respond then Melvin realized she never wanted to see him again.
“Okay, I’ll leave and you’ll never see me again,” Melvin said then he turned around and swam out of her bedroom.
Hazel peeked out from under her blanked and looked at her bedroom doorway. She reached under the mattress and pulled out a picture of Melvin in his airsuit with his fin around her. Her eyes welled up while she looked back at the doorway and thought about never seeing Melvin again for the rest of her life.
Melvin moped away from Aquaticville and headed to the cave entrance.
He swam through the cave entrance.
Melvin stopped off at a ledge near the Aquaticville cave and sulked.
“I can't go home and I can't go to Aquaticville,” he said while he started pacing. “I'd better move to the other side of the world. But I'll have to change my name,” he said while he thought about that idea for a few seconds. “I'm Alvin. No. Ozzie. No. Troy. That's it! I'm Troy from Aquadelphia,” he said then he sunk lower into depressed.
“Actually, Troy is a dumb name,” Hazel said while she swam up to Melvin.
“Hazel!” Melvin called out in joy.
“I'll help you,” Hazel said while she swam next to Melvin.
Melvin looked overjoyed with the sight of Hazel. “What changed your mind?”
“You'll never understand,” she said afraid to reveal her true feelings toward him.
Melvin gave her a hug and a kiss on her gills.
Hazel cherished this moment.
“Come, we have to go meet with someone that wants to help us,” he told her then grabbed her fin.
He swam her away.
A little while later, Melvin swam Hazel to the reef where Dottie kindly waited for his return.
“You returned. I had my doubts that you might chicken out,” Dottie told Melvin.
“No, I’m not going to do that again,” he replied.
“And who is this lovely lady?” Dottie asked.
“Dottie, meet Hazel. She’s Stephanie’s sister and one of the smartest fish I know,” he said with a loving smile.
“Glad to meet you Hazel,” Dottie replied.
“She offered to lead us to Key West,” Melvin told Hazel.
“Yes, since I’ve been there numerous times in the past. But once you get to Key West, you’re on your own with finding Cooter’s fish store,” Dottie responded.
“Are you sure Stephanie’s in this Cooter’s?” Hazel asked.
“Yes, I saw that name on the body of the Air Aliens,” Melvin told her.
“And I remembered seeing that Cooter’s store in that training video,” Melvin told Hazel.
Hazel looked a little bothered and she leaned in closer to Melvin. “That’s top sea secret. Don’t talk anymore about it,” she quietly scolded him.
“It’s too dark now, but there’s some training I want to do with the both of you first thing in the morning,” Dottie told them.
“That’s good, because there’s some training we need to do tonight,” Hazel replied.
“Meet me here first thing in the morning,” Dottie said then she swam away.
“Let’s get head back to the training room before the town starts waking up,” Hazel said then she grabbed Melvin’s fin and swam him back in the direction of Aquaticville.
A little while later, Hazel snuck Melvin back into Aquaticville and into the NASA headquarters building.
They sat in the training room and watched the air probe video while it flew through the streets of Key West and stopped at Cooter’s store.
“Now, notice how the Air Aliens in their environment don’t wear what we call watersuits?” Hazel told him while she inched closer to Melvin.
“I noticed that when I first saw this video,” Melvin answered.
“Those creatures can’t live in water so those strange watersuits allow let them venture down into our world,” she added while she snuggled a little closer to him.
They watched while the air probe turned right and flew down Duval Street.
They watched while the air probe turned right and flew down Eaton Street.
They watched while the air probe turned left and flew down Whitehead Street.
They watched while the air probe turned left and flew down Southard Street.
They watched while the air probe slowed down and turned to the right and flew into the parking lot of Cooter’s Fish Aquarium Store.
“That’s where the Air Aliens have Stephanie,” Melvin told Hazel.
They watched the video a few more times to get the travel path through Key West to Cooter’s store ingrained in their minds.
Then later that night, Hazel and Melvin snuck back out of Aquaticville and swam back to the reef.
They relaxed on the reef’s ledge and drifted off to sleep.
An hour later, Hazel woke up and slowly moved closer to Melvin and discreetly cuddled next to him.
She drifted off to sleep.