The Device

The Device

Jim could swear that he could feel his heart hammering literally against his rib cage. From the sound of his calls, it sounded as if Delbert would cross over the sand dune at any moment. Frantically, his gaze kept tearing from Eric to the sand dune and back again. Any moment now, Delbert would come stumbling over that sandy hill, and reveal to the poor human the surprising truth that there indeed was different life on other planets.

"Jim! Jim, are you there?!" Now even Eric's attention was turned to the sand dune. At this point Jim just closed his eyes. He didn't want to stand by and watch as his future was torn away from him in one foul sweep. And by now, it was that dooming moment, as he could hear the heavy footsteps as they trudged down the sand dune and toward them. Any moment now he was waiting for the sound of Eric's breath hitching, or maybe his or Delbert's cry of shock and terror. Out of all of the possibilities that came next, he was the most surprised by what did actually occur.

"Jim, um, I think a friend of yours is here…" Eric's tone was hesitant and clearly indicated that an awkward moment was ensuing. In an agonizingly slow manner, Jim cracked one eye and looked at Eric. Eric was staring at him in a mixture of expectancy and confusion.

"Um, Jim, at the risk of sounding rude, uh, what are you doing?" At this particular comment, Jim's eyes opened wide. Eric's tone clearly indicated that if anything was out of the ordinary, it was because of his behavior. But wait, Delbert was there wasn't he? Couldn't he see that he was clearly not human? Delbert was some kind of alien with clearly canine like features. That was definitely not something the average human viewed everyday. On instinct, Jim's head swiveled to where he knew Delbert was. There was only one problem…Where was Delbert, because the man he was looking at now, could not possibly be Delbert.

The man standing in front of Jim and Eric at that moment was very much…human…

Meanwhile, a certain little mermaid was squealing in delight under the sea. She was in the classic stage that all girls go through once they get back from a heart racing encounter with someone of the opposite sex that they find incredibly attractive. In the sea valley, our favorite red head couldn't help but twist and twirl in delight. She could barely contain herself. This whole experience was simply amazing. And ooooohhh, he was soooo cute. Those eyes, and his hair, and the way his "covering" clung to his chest because it was drenched. The mere mental picture made her bite her lip and want to squeal again, and twirl about until she was dizzy.

"Ariel, Ariel there you are," Flounder's meek high pitched voice rung through the clearing. Straightening up, Ariel turned to see her best friend come barreling through the clear waters toward her. Oh, that's right, as soon as Jim had come back to consciousness, she had completely forgotten about Flounder. A pang of guilt flashed through her. Flounder had been so good through this whole situation, going along with her adventurous ideas despite his incredibly timid nature.

"Oh hey Flounder." Maybe if she didn't bring it up….

"Ariel, Ariel, what are we going to do?! You're not really going to see him again tonight are you?! It's dangerous! What if your father finds out, what if…"

"Oh Flounder, stop being such a scaredy catfish. Everything will be fine. Daddy isn't going to find out about anything, that is, if you don't tell, and besides I….I think I…really…like…Jim. He's seems really nice." Flounder could swear he felt his little heart sink. Somehow he just knew that this was going to end badly. This was a dangerous game they were playing, and if the sea king ever found out….his fins were doomed. Following Ariel back to Atlantica, the fish kept his fins crossed in hopes that absolutely no one would find out about this risky endeavor. If news leaked out that the youngest daughter and princess had become smitten with a human…fins would definitely be fried. But somehow, looking at how happy and carefree Ariel was, he couldn't bring himself to be upset with her. Ariel was his best friend after all. He only hoped that the price of her happiness would not be so high.

What the two didn't know was that a certain little red crab hidden in the reef had the heard the whole thing. Sebastian was concerned and confused simultaneously. Jim? Who was this Jim? Why did Flounder sound so concerned? Was he from the wrong side of the reef? And whoever this was, she was meeting him again tonight? How come he had never heard of this boy before? There were so many questions. Well, he would have to find out. King Triton did order him to look after her. Sebastian sighed. Man, what he wouldn't give for someone to nail that girl's fins to the floor.

Who was that? It couldn't be Delbert…could it? The man standing before Jim and Eric now was definitely human. He was a relatively tall man. He had the same dark chocolate brown hair, big brown hair, and though they were tattered, his clothes were still recognizable as those worn by a respected astronomer. However, there were drastic changes. His skin tone was lighter, and didn't hold such a leathery quality to it. Floppy canine ears and a big wet nose were replaced with human features, rounded ears and though still big, his nose was distinctly human. Other less striking features had been altered as well, like the size and shape of his hands. Needless to say, Jim was beyond shocked and amazed. Despite the radical changes, he could definitely tell that the man standing before him now was indeed the kooky Delbert. The questioned remained echoing in Jim's mind: How was this possible?

"Delbert…is that…you?" Jim couldn't help the astonished inquiry that left his lips. He hadn't meant to question Delbert's identity, but this was something he had never in his wildest dreams expected to see. A nervous chuckle rang out from the human looking Delbert. The poor man had never been much of an actor and did not do well at all in high stress situations.

"Of course Jim, it's me; I know I must look a mess since the shipwreck."

"Shipwreck?" The surprise in Eric's voice was enough to snap out of his visual stupor and get a grip on reality. Questions were being asked and if answered incorrectly, then there would be aroused suspicions and consequences that no one wanted to deal with. Because of the illusion that Delbert had somehow managed to create, the two of them had miraculously escaped banishment, but now the two of them had to work together if they wanted to pull of this twisted charade.

"Yeah um, this is my uncle, we took out a skip yesterday in hopes to catch some fish, but unfortunately we got caught in the storm, and tragically our ship was destroyed. It really was miraculous that we both survived." Jim only hoped that his half baked excuse and stupid grin would dupe the prince into believing. Judging from the same silly expression coming from Delbert, the feeling was mutual. There was a solid moment of contemplation on Eric's part before…

"That's horrible, here come back with me to my castle, and we'll get you guys patched up."

"Your castle?!" The simultaneous exclamation had Eric feeling sheepish. Nervously, he scratched the back of his neck in the typical body language of showing that one is uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I'm kind of prince of this kingdom…" His voice trailed off not knowing where to go with the conversation. It didn't help any that by now both Jim and Delbert's mouth had dropped open. Jim was the first to recover and a moment later gave a swift hard slap to Delbert's back, did the poor alien in disguise recover.

"Yes, well that is quite amazing…you see we're not from this kingdom per say, hence the lack of knowledge of the reigning monarchy." Delbert added stiffly. Man, the two of them really should just pack their bags at this point because with all of their slip ups, it seemed like banishment was inevitable. But the snort and whimsical smile adorning Eric's features indicated that he harbored no ill will towards them as of yet.

"It's alright, I think we should get going, I'm sure Carlotta will be able to fix us up something good to eat, and then I'll talk to Grim about commissioning a new boat for you guys." The prince had already begun to turn and make his trek back up the sandy dune. With his back turned, Jim shot Delbert a look implying that they needed to talk in private…now.

"Alright, we'll catch up with you in a mo…!" Delbert's amiable call was interrupted when Jim had yanked him by the collar and was pulling him down towards the surf. Looking back up at the dune and seeing that Eric wasn't there, Jim turned his intense gaze on Delbert clearing implying, "spill." Still a little flustered with Jim's unusually rough behavior, Delbert huffed a bit and took his time in straightening our his tattered clothing. Jim's natural attitude surfaced and his eyes rolled as he crossed his arms waiting for a decent explanation.

When Delbert had found himself "presentable" a very proud cocky grin spread across his human face.

"So what do you think? Am I not absolutely ingenious?!" The teenager's brow lifted. If it wasn't for the fact that Delbert was standing across from him looking completely human, he would've said that the dog had lost his mind.

"Delbert, what exactly did you do?" Sometimes getting a straight answer out of the astronomer was as hard as finding a hidden treasure without a map. Delbert's shoulders slumped in defeat. Kids these days had absolutely no appreciation for technology if it wasn't shiny or reached speeds that rivaled light. Sticking his arm at he indicated to his hand. There on his ring finger was what appeared to be a ring. But if you looked closely at it, you would see that every so once in a while, an electrical charge could be seen running through the ring.

"Jim, my boy, behold the future. Whenever I wear this ring, I need only to think of the species and this ring will mutate my DNA so that I will actually become that species." Jim's mouth was threatening to drop open.

"So what do you think…clever indeed huh?" But that wasn't at all what Jim was picturing with this new information. A certain beautiful red headed mermaid was currently occupying his thoughts. Possibilities were popping into his mind's eye like popcorn. He would have to remember to bring it up when he spoke to her tonight. The only question was how he was supposed to get that ring away from Delbert. If they were going to be staying with Prince Eric, then Delbert needed that ring so that his identity would remain a secret. But still, he couldn't deny the desire he had to use the ring so that he could get to know the new beauty better.

In that moment, he decided that he wasn't going to tell Delbert about Ariel. If Delbert knew about her then he would flip a lid for sure. He would lecture him for sure about meddling in the affairs of other worlds and how dangerous it would be if someone were to find out if he was from another world. But for some reason, he knew Ariel was different. She knew how to keep a secret. Her whole existence had to be kept hidden from people of her own planet. And besides, there was something about her that mad him want to get to know her better. Besides, he was skilled Delbert would never have to know about his secret excursions.

"Yeah…" Jim's response was really noncommittal.

"Yeah, the only downside is that it works for the maximum of twenty four hours at a time." This particular bit of information caught Jim's interest.

"What, really?" He supposed that it was crucial to know how the device worked before it was used.

"Yes, I suppose if we're going to be staying at the palace while we search for the others, I'll just have to be careful so as not to show myself at night when I take it off." Perfect, Jim, thought in reflex. He could spend time with Ariel at night when Delbert was sleeping, and he help scout for the others in the day.

"Sounds like a plan Delbert, so have any ideas where the others are?" Delbert smiled and nodded.

"I have already contacted them. They have managed to secure a deserted island approximately two miles out." Delbert said pointing out towards the ocean. But when Jim gazed out over the expanse, he was secretly hoping to catch a chance glimpse of a certain red head.

"Hey! You guys coming or what?!"' This time it was the amiable call of Prince Eric from the top of the dunes that broke Jim from his trance this time.

"Yes! Yes! We're coming your highness, come along Jim my boy; wouldn't want to keep Prince Eric waiting!" Delbert's over excitable jerky eccentric movements were thoroughly predictable and still entertaining as he scampered back up the beach towards Eric. Jim un-phased by anyone's royalty took his time in taking one last glance at the expanse of the ocean, suddenly not wanting to leave the special place, before slowly turning with a small secret smile and trudging through the deceptively heavy white powdery sand. He simply couldn't wait for tonight…