This story is meant to be fairly wholesome and for most viewers. However…
*This story has numerous LGBTQ characters.
*Some mild profane language is used.
*References to mortality and spirituality can be found.

Dreaming of an Alternate World (Part 2 - Finale)

“Afraid you’ll wind up like the chair?” Andrea joked.

Roland nervously grinned, rubbing the back of his head. “Heh heh… Yeah… A little…” he admitted.

“Alright, angel girl, give it your best shot!” Andrea jokingly ordered.

Roland backed up as Ariel approached with the hammer. She felt around, trying to find Andrea’s knees in the mass of her tail. When she did, Ariel readied a small swing. With a decent bump to the knee, a massive explosion of sand kicked up as Andrea’s knee-jerk response caused her to kick, her tailfin flinging sand everywhere and sending the ball skyward, flinging her backwards into the sand. Roland braced himself from the sandy rain as he watched the numbers flow into his phone. Ariel stood there unfazed, immaterial as she was – but she realized she wasn’t holding the hammer anymore. A quick glance suggested Andrea might have hit it in the moment of chaos. Only a divine presence might know where it had gone…

Andrea pulled herself up and adjusted her breathing device, making sure it was still intact after that. Ariel looked around for Roland’s medical hammer, but there was no telling where it went… Roland continued to watch the numbers roll in.

“Still going… Damn…” he muttered.

“Wouldn’t that lose connection to the sensors if they got too far away?” Ariel asked.

“Not these ones. They’re designed to connect to satellites, or so the folks at CHU claim. So as long as it’s in range of a satellite – basically anywhere on Earth – we’ll get data from them,” Roland explained. But then his jaw dropped.

“What is it, Roland?” Andrea asked as she lifted herself back into the chair.

He walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but…” He flipped his phone around: “Connection Lost…” filled the screen. “You have achieved space travel,” he joked.

All of them started laughing hard. “Oh my gosh, I can’t even fathom how much force that must have taken! Are we even sure the ball is intact!?” Andrea asked.

“I can guess most of it made it up there!” Ariel suggested. “Maybe Roland’s hammer is up there with it!”

“Well, the sensors made it up there, that’s for sure!” Roland said, still laughing.

Once they regained their composure, Roland carted Andrea back inside. He took her into the pool room where – at Andrea’s insistence – he tipped the wheelchair forward, sliding her into the water. She waved to them before swimming further into her underwater suite.

“Less than two weeks left for her… To think I’m the one monitoring her progress,” recounted Roland. “Me. Just over a year ago, I was stuck on the streets thanks to some illegal loan practices. And now? I’m a physician in training watching over a mermaid. What a strange turn of events…”

“Well, you know, you had help…” Ariel placed her hand on his shoulder.

He felt the warmth of it. “Of course! As always, thank you, Ariel!”

“Can we… Can we go outside for a minute?”

“Uh, sure…” He noticed Ariel seemed anxious. He followed her out onto the beach again. “So… What is it?”

“Just… I was reflecting on our time together before, well, you know. You were like a big brother to me. And… Maybe…”

“You think something more would have happened between us in time?”

“Arg, I shouldn’t be thinking that way! I mean, death has already done us apart before we could even think about it!” She sighed. “But… I want the best for you always, Roland. You need someone in your life, someone that sees you for who you are.”

“You’re already working in the background to make that happen, I take it?”

“I don’t have to.”

“Huh?”

“You’re already living at her place.”

“Wait, you think Andrea and I…?”

“I can feel you two bonding through the jokes and the time you both spend together. It may have gone differently under different circumstances. But for our circumstances, I think you and Andrea should see if there’s something more between you…”

“I-um-wow-is it hot out here or is it just me?” Roland asked, flustered, as a bright blush overtook his face.

Ariel chuckled. “Yeah, you definitely have feelings for her.”

He sighed. “You’re right. I hate to admit it, but you’re right. She’s beautiful. I love her personality. And…”

“You love her.”

He nodded. “B-but I’m her physician right now. It doesn’t feel right…”

“Just give it some time. I mean, this is over in a couple of weeks, right? Just try not to overthink it.”

“R-right.” He took a deep breath. “So… How do you think it’ll go for the genie version of you?”

“Honestly, I can’t say. We know from last time she was around that she met with her friends for the first time since she became a genie. She even had lunch with her version of you. But knowing myself, she likely doesn’t even know her orientation yet. And it’s probably even more complicated now that she’s immortal. And capable of basically anything. And being a guardian to a teenager who has a rough school life.”

“I’m guessing then she probably won’t know for some time?”

Ariel shrugged. “Probably.”

“Well, for what it’s worth: thank you. Even if we couldn’t find out what could have happened between us, I’m glad you’ve been watching over me.”

“You’re welcome as always, Roland!” Ariel replied, smiling.

“And I’ll… I’ll see about talking to Andrea later,” he suggested, blushing.

“Oh, I can already feel it: you two will be cute together!” Roland blushed even more.

“Hehe, Roland and Andrea sitting in a tree… K-I-S-S-I-N-G, hehe…” Ariel heard from the genie still watching over them.

“Oh Lord…” Ariel muttered, chuckling a little.

“What is it?” Roland asked.

“Oh, the genie Ariel. Still here, just said something silly.” She leaned over and whispered it into his ear.

He started laughing. “Oh my gosh, you weren’t kidding earlier about her being a mess, hahaha!”

“Hehe, my gosh, I can’t believe I’ve sounded like that before… But I know I have! Anyway, I should let you go for now. Let you relax for a bit.”

Roland smiled and nodded, and they both went back to the house. Roland went into his room in the basement suite, while Ariel went to the pool. She dove in, causing little more than a small ripple on the surface. Once again obeying the laws of the medium she was in (despite not needing to), she swam up to Andrea.

Despite her immaterial state, Andrea sensed her coming. With magic of the Ocean flowing through her, she could sense things non-magic beings could not, particularly in the water. This included wandering spirits like Ariel.

“Hey there! Came for more videos, I take it? Not like we can play games down here…”

“Sure, Andrea, I’d love that!” Ariel sat down in the chair beside Andrea.

“What are you up for? Game streams? Romance? Cats doing silly things?”

“You know what? Game streams.”

“Yearning to play some but can’t?”

“Actually, I could. I mean, I did just hit you in the knee with a hammer…”

“Haha! Fair point!”

“But I’m sensing you’re projecting a bit…”

Andrea sighed. “Dang it, you’re right. CHU wasn’t able to get the underwater gaming rig done before I got stuck down here. It sounds like it’ll be done… By Christmas.”

“Ouch. Sorry, girl. By that point-“

“I could just play on land. But, you know, I’ll still take it. How many get to say they played video games underwater?”

“Hehe, that’s one way to look at it!”

They fired up some streams. They mixed in a few modern games and a few classic gameplay videos to appeal to both of them. This went on for several hours, before…

“By the way, has… Roland said anything about me?” Andrea suddenly asked, blushing as she did so.

Ariel stared blankly at Andrea for a moment before smiling. “Heh… That’s what we were talking about just before I came down!”

“A-and?”

Looks like I’m playing matchmaker today! Ariel thought. “He’s definitely got feelings for you. I’ve been noticing the chemistry between you two lately, so I suggested it to him earlier today.”

“N-no way, really!?”

“You should have seen him blushing! And take it from your personal guardian angel, I think you two will be cute together!”

Andrea blushed.

“He’s just nervous about the fact he’s basically your personal physician now. He’s a bit conflicted about it.”

Andrea thought about it for a moment. “Hey, Ariel, think you could get him for me?”

“Uh, sure. Give me a minute.” Ariel quickly got up and headed out for Roland’s room. She had a pretty good idea where this was going…

Roland heard a knocking on his door. He opened it to the semi-transparent Ariel. “Something you need?”

“Andrea wanted to talk to you, actually.”

“Hang on, I’ll be right there!” Roland put his book down and walked over to the pool room. There, he found Andrea waiting for him.

“Is everything okay, Andrea?” he asked.

“Can you come a little closer?” she asked.

Roland knelt down. As soon as he did, she grabbed him by the shirt, pulling herself up to give him a kiss! She pulled back, and while he was startled and blushing, he was smiling. She smiled back.

“Aww!” swooned Ariel, who was witness to it all. At the same time, she heard the genie version of her say the same.

“S-so you love me?” Roland asked.

“I like my guys gentle and caring. Who else could be better than the close friend who personally takes care of me while I turn into a mermaid?”

“I-I-I-I…” Roland stammered. He shook it off. “Andrea, you’re beautiful. Not just as a mermaid, but as a person. Y-you have this graceful way about you, but you’re also warm and inviting. And I love your jokes, and your scales are pretty and your hair is cute and now I’m babbling like an idiot…”

“I think you just got to ‘I love you’ the long way,” Andrea joked, getting Roland to blush and smile and Ariel to chuckle.

“Y-yeah…” Roland admitted.

“Well, I’m sold! When I get out of this pool, the first thing I’m doing is giving you a great big kiss! Sound like a plan?”

“Haha! I’m good with that!”

Ariel clapped her hands together, her wings flexing up. “Ohmygosh you two are just as cute together as I imagined!”

“Been trying to make this work in the background?” Andrea asked.

“Actually, she was just saying to me that she didn’t need to,” Roland admitted.

“It took a little while, but you guys started bonding really closely without my input. I just figured I should say something to Roland about it – but I didn’t expect you were going to bring it up too, Andrea!”

“When did it start?” Roland asked.

“I think it really started about a week before Andrea stopped being able to walk, but the real sparks were when you helped Andrea with her ‘last walk’ to the pool. I don’t think either of you noticed the way you were looking at each other that day.”

Roland and Andrea blushed.

“You know what? I’ll let you two talk it out alone…” Ariel suggested with a wink before leaving the room. As she closed the door, she saw them look at each other lovingly.

She put her back to a wall and slid down. She already admitted she had feelings for Roland, but she knew it could never work out now. Besides, she could feel it; in this timeline, Roland and Andrea were destined for each other. Everything she had done for Roland got him here. Whether by her intentions or more powerful ones, the two were now together. She took some solace in the fact they’d be happy…

Even if it still hurts.

“I’m so sorry.” It was the voice of genie Ariel, who now with a few hours of sleep behind her was a lot more coherent.

“I-I’ll get through. It’s just… Fresh, is all.”

“I can see as well as you that they’re meant to be together in this timeline. And you get to watch over them both, make sure they’re okay!”

“You’re right. I guess, in a way, I get to be a part of the family anyway…”

“That’s a way to look at it!”

“What about you? With all that power, surely you know-“

“I don’t know everything. I can infer a bunch of different events, but I can’t tell you which one will wind up being real or not… And like you said earlier, I don’t know who or what I prefer yet. I was a sheltered rich kid for 18 years, then surviving for one, then figuring out how to be a genie for another. Not a lot of time or space to figure out a lot about myself…”

“Wait. ‘Sheltered rich kid?’ You were rich?”

“Right, something else that makes me different… From almost all my alternate selves that I’ve seen. Mom and dad were rich. From criminal enterprises, as I’ve come to find out. Mom in particular… She’s ruthless, manipulative, and I’m pretty sure she has murdered a few people personally. It’s weird, though, that I can’t seem to get any hard evidence on her, even with my magic… Dad, to his credit, does seem to be a nice person underneath, but he has done some horrible things for her – out of fear, mostly. He has blood on his hands too, and he knows it. He just can’t get away from the woman he thought he fell in love with.”

“Sounds a little bit like the dynamic between my mom and dad. Except I was trailer trash. And my mom was caught collecting on my life insurance before I was actually dead, so she’s in jail now. Good thing too, because they actually stopped her from doing something to my dad.”

“Yeah… Our mom is the worst, isn’t she?”

“Heh, yours more than mine.”

“Pfft, that’s true.”

“You said you know a lot of our alternates… Are there any out there that aren’t messed up like us?”

“Plenty! Lots of Ariel Hopes – and in some cases, Arden-Smiths – that are living happy lives as their authentic selves. There are a LOT of little things that can make huge differences down the line. It’s just that we had some of the worst circumstances… But hey, as a result, you get to help your friends as an angel, and I get to help, well, a lot of people as an Angelic Genie!”

“Thank you, I needed to hear that!”

“You’re welcome!”

“How about you? How are things going?”

“Well, my Andrea is roughly in the same place as yours, so I’m planning on taking Roland over to meet her when she can resurface for good. I’ve been trying to set up with some nice girls to join our friend group, but I’ve been busy with Andrea and my charge.”

“Taking care of a bullied trans teen I have to imagine is a full-time job.”

“It is, hence why I was a bit… Err…”

“I’m you, remember. I know what we’re like when we’re that tired.”

“Right.”

“Well, maybe you should focus on sleeping, genie. Get your rest, so you can keep helping that poor girl!”

“Thank you. I will!”

“See you next time, Ariel the Angelic Genie!” The angel started waving, knowing the genie could still see her. Slowly, the world faded from view as the genie returned to her world, her body, sleeping soundly in her bed. Her mind now focused on rest… And what could be for her, one day…

TO BE CONTINUED ANOTHER DAY…

By Erica Chrisman (CrystalSeaDragon44)