Disclaimer: I do not own 'Flipper' or 'The Mermaid Princess.' This story is a work of fanfiction. No profit is being made from it.
It was another typical day at the Bal Harbour Research Institute. Maya Graham, Holly Myers and Dean Gregson had just finished their studies for the day and were ready to enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
"Thank God that's over," said Dean as the three young interns left the building. "If I see one more sea slug, I'm going to lose my lunch." He was a strongly-built young man with blond hair and an Australian accent.
"I hear you, and coming from me that's saying something" Holly agreed. She was an "All-American" girl from a wealthy family with blue eyes and long blonde hair.
"Yeah, I agree" Maya added. A beautiful Latina girl, she had large brown eyes, full lips and long brown hair. She grinned. "So who wants to go scuba diving?"
"Maya!" Holly and Dean both exclaimed.
"What? Flipper will be there. It'll be fun" she replied.
"No thanks. We've had enough for today," said Holly. "You have fun though."
"I will. See you guys later."
"Yeah. Bye Maya."
"Bye."
Maya kept smiling as she and her friends' parted ways. She wasn't sure why but she had a sense that something big was going to happen that day. Nothing bad, the vibes she'd been getting didn't seem ominous at all, but there was going to be something, she was sure of that. She was equally sure that Flipper would be involved. One thing was for sure, she was eager to find out.
Out at sea a single figure was swimming casually through the deep blue waters, unseen by human eyes. Her bright red hair was tied back in a single ponytail and her eyes were a deep blue. In place of legs, she had a long fish tail covered with sparkling blue scales. She wore a light blue bodice that matched her scales, a pair of pearl earrings and a starfish-shaped hairpiece. Her name was Anny and she was a mermaid princess.
Anny stared in fascination at the schools of fish swimming around her, and the multi-coloured coral reef on the seabed below. Although she had lived under the sea for nearly her entire life, she had never been to this part of the ocean before and the countless varieties of marine life always fascinated her.
She looked up as she heard a very familiar series of whistles and clicks. Turning around she smiled as she saw a sleek bottlenose dolphin swimming towards her.
"Hello there" she said. "My name's Anny. What's yours?"
He introduced himself as Flipper and told her that one of his human friends would very much like to meet her. She shook her head.
"I'm sorry. I'm sure your friend is very nice but the law of the sea is that mermaids aren't supposed to have any contact with humankind." She had actually broken that law once, many years ago, but that had been to save a child from drowning. While she believed saving an innocent life was more important than following the letter of the law, that didn't mean she had no respect at all for the law of the sea.
Flipper was disappointed but he understood. He told her that he needed to go and meet up with his human friends to help them with something, but they could play together later if she liked.
"That would be wonderful. Thank you, Flipper. It was nice to meet you."
He chattered a goodbye and swam away. Anny resumed her exploring of the area. After a few moments she noticed something odd. Some distance away she could see movement but she couldn't make out exactly what it was. Curious, she swam closer to take a better look.
As she drew nearer, she realized that the object was a fine mesh made of a blue material that blended in almost perfectly with the surrounding water. It blended in so well in fact that Anny didn't notice a section of it drifting towards her until it became tangled around her tail.
"What in the world?" She tried to swim away but her tail wouldn't move. Only then did she realize what it was.
"A net!" She had seen fishing nets before but those had been clearly visible and easy to avoid. Before she could get clear the net wrapped itself around her. She struggled to get loose but succeeded only in further entangling her arms and tail. She sank to the sea floor, unable to move.
"Help! Help!" she cried.
At first there was no answer. But then she heard a welcome clicking sound and seconds later Flipper appeared. He asked if she was all right.
"I'm okay but I'm caught in this net and I can't get free" she replied.
Flipper told her not to worry. One of his friends was nearby and he would go to fetch her.
"Okay. Please hurry."
He whistled an affirmative and sped off. Anny hoped that he would be back quickly.
What neither of them realized was that something else was approaching the trapped mermaid. However, this was no friend. This was a fully grown adult tiger shark, an apex predator with a reputation for eating almost anything that moved in the ocean. As it cruised through the water, the small pits on its snout detected the faint electrical impulses of a living creature. Prey was close. Sizeable prey.
The shark picked up speed.
"Thanks for the lift, Cap," said Maya. Now wearing her favourite pink and purple wetsuit, she was standing on the deck of the Maria D.
"No problem, Maya" Cap replied. "Just remember, if you find any treasure it's fifty/fifty."
"Sure" she replied with a laugh. She checked her scuba tank once more to make sure it was full. Satisfied that it was, she put it on and jumped over the railing, landing in the water with a splash.
Maya swam down gracefully through the water until she reached the coral reef. Her studies at the Institute often brought her there, but she still liked to go just for the fun of it. The reef was a magical place and she loved being there.
To her delight she saw Flipper coming rapidly towards her and she waved in greeting. Her joy became concern as she saw how agitated he was. He kept flicking his head to the side.
He wants me to follow him. Someone must be in trouble she thought.
Flipper set off through the water and Maya followed him. After a moment she spotted a figure lying on the seabed. As they got closer, she saw that it was a red-haired woman and she was trapped in a net.
She's drowning! I have to hurry!
But as she started to swim over to the woman, she noticed something else and her eyes widened in awe behind her diving mask.
She's a mermaid!
For a moment she was unable to move or even think. She had always believed in mermaids and to finally see one right in front of her was overwhelming. With an effort she managed to regain her focus. The mermaid needed her help.
Once again Maya started to move forwards and again, she halted as she realized that something big was approaching. She saw the dark stripes running down its body and instantly recognized it as a tiger shark.
Oh no!
Normally she wouldn't be worried. Tiger sharks were usually cautious around divers and attacks on humans were extremely rare. But in this case, she wasn't concerned for herself, she was concerned for the mermaid. The shark was quickly closing in on her. She had to do something.
Maya swam over to the netted mermaid and held up both hands to try and indicate she meant no harm. To her relief the red-haired woman merely smiled and nodded as much as she could. Maya drew a diving knife and began cutting through the net. As she did so Flipper zoomed through the water like a torpedo and slammed right into the shark, hitting it squarely in the gills. It swerved off to the side and Flipper began circling around for another charge.
Maya took a quick glance to make sure Flipper was all right and then resumed her efforts, taking care not to harm the mermaid. In just a few moments she had cut through enough of the net for her to get out. The mermaid swam free with a look of relief and joy on her face. At the same time Flipper rammed into the shark's gills again. This time it turned and sped off in search of easier prey. Once he was sure it was gone Flipper swam back over to them. Maya carefully took the damaged net and wrapped it around a nearby rock to keep it from drifting away.
The mermaid smiled gratefully at Flipper and Maya. She raised her hands and a large bubble of air formed around Maya, allowing her feet to touch the ground. The mermaid then poked her head through the bubble while Flipper floated just outside of it. Maya removed her respirator and diving mask, and stared at her in amazement.
"Thank you so much for saving me. I'm Anny."
"I'm Maya."
Anny put an arm through the bubble and they shook hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Maya. You must be the friend that Flipper told me about."
"That's right. Flipper's my best friend." She smiled warmly at him and he whistled appreciatively. "This is so cool. I always knew mermaids were real."
"Well of course we're real" Anny replied. "It's just that we're not supposed to have any contact with humankind."
"Oh. Wait, will you get in trouble for talking to me?"
"Don't worry, I won't. But please don't tell anyone about me. I know that most people are good but if the wrong ones found out…"
"I understand" Maya replied. "I promise I'll keep it a secret." Flipper chattered eagerly and she added, "oh and Flipper will too."
He nodded his head up and down in agreement.
"Thank you" Anny said warmly. "I'll be staying here for a while before I have to back to my home seas. You can visit me whenever you like."
Maya grinned delightedly.
Some time later Maya and Flipper returned to the surface. Cap looked up from his fishing as she came back aboard the Maria D.
"Everything okay Maya?" he asked. "I was starting to wonder if anything had happened down there."
"Everything's fine. Me and Flipper just met a new friend, that's all" she replied cheerily. Flipper whistled in agreement.
"Ah I see" he replied with a chuckle.
"Oh, and we found this" she added as she held up the bundled-up net, still wrapped around a rock.
"Damned ghost nets" said Cap. "Good thing you found it. That thing could have killed a lot of sea creatures. Anyway, let's get back before Jennifer starts worrying."
As he went into the Maria D's control room Maya looked out to sea and saw Anny peering out from under the water. She waved and Maya waved back.
Anny watched her new friends leave with a smile. She looked forwards to seeing them again soon.