"Wh-what?" Cam asked, his voice rising in panic. "Why? How? What gives you the right?"

"The fact that you do not belong in our world to begin with gives us the right." Veridia said coolly as she stood up and faced Cam. "You should count yourself lucky that we are not taking your memories as well."

Cam took another step back, his hands balling into fists at his side. "I don't think I am going to let you do that." He said. He took another step back and bumped into someone. He glanced around and saw Zach staring down at him from the step above, a regret filled expression on his face. "Were you in on this?" Cam demanded.

"It's for the best." Zach said, but he didn't sound certain. "We saw what happened with Erik. We can't take that change again."

"So you get your happy ending and you forget about your best friend?" Cam snapped angrily. "Is that how it's going to be?"

Zach couldn't seem to meet his friend's eyes, which Cam immediately took advantage of. With a quick swiftness he struck his friend in the groin and leapt past him, ignoring the startled shouts of the mermaids. He sprinted away from Rita's house, nearly tripping as he rounded the corner. Heading directly for the beach, he tossed off his shirt as he dove headfirst into the surf. Kicking hard and he propelled himself through the water, desperately swimming for the spot where he was supposed to meet Erik. When he could no longer see the shore he stopped and turned in the water, looking everywhere for the tell-tale sign of a merperson. He had just been about to abandon hope when Erik broke the surface next to him, a body board clutched under his arm. "You look like you've seen a ghost." He observed, handing the body board to his accomplice. "What's wrong?"

Cam quickly outlined what had just transpired in the grotto beneath Rita's house and Erik scowled. "The mermaid council has always thought that they were always right." He told him as he handed Cam a rope. The other end was looped around his chest. "But that doesn't mean they actually are. We need to get you to mako. Now."

"How?" Cam asked, tying the rope around his wrist.

"I'm going to draw the guardians away from the island, but before that I am going to let you go. While I have them distracted you should be able to swim to the island." Erik told him. "Once you are there, hide. Don't let anyone find you or this all is for nothing and you won't ever have another chance at becoming a merman."

"Okay, so once I get to the island and I hide then what?" His arms were quickly growing tired from treading water and from the rapid swim out to sea.

"Wait by the merman's chamber entrance. Once it opens go inside and activate the chamber." Erik told him. He gave an angry sigh when he saw Cam hesitate. "The trident isn't there so it can't be fully activated."

"Okay, so I activate the chamber, then what?" Cam demanded, still unsure of what Erik's plan was. "That won't do anything."

"Not true." Erik disagreed immediately. "The way I figure it, the Moon Pool belongs to the mermaids' right? We know that the Moon Pool can transform girls into mermaids so wouldn't it make sense that the merman's' chamber can do the same for guys? The way I see it, if you stand in the center of the trident you should be transform just like Evie did."

Cam chewed his lip for a moment before nodding. "Alright, let's go."

Erik dove under the waves and Cam had his arm nearly pulled out of socket as the merman shot through the water, a cloud of bubbles in his wake. Cam gripped the body board as though his life depended on it. Erik pulled him along at a pace that Cam had never gone in the water, in fact he was going so fast that the water kicked up by the body board hit his face like needles. Thankfully, at Erik's pace it wasn't too long until they had reached their destination. Erik reappeared from the water and quickly untied the rope from around his waist. "I don't have much time." He pointed to Mako, which was only a few hundred yards away now. "You need to swim there as fast as you can. I can only distract them for a few minutes."

"Right, I'll hurry." Cam said, tying the body board to his back with the rope. "Are you meeting me at the chamber?"

Erik shook his head. "Too risky, they'll know something is up." He said, but he appeared wistful. "You know the start sequence right?"

"Yeah." Cam nodded. He took a breath and propelled himself forward in the water. Erik submerged again, and the last that Cam saw of him was a stream of bubbles jetting away. Drawing on every last ounce of energy that he could muster Cam swam as fast as he could to shore. Once his feet touched bottom he surged forward, not stopping until he was hidden in the tree line. Removing the body board from his back he tossed it aside, making sure it was hidden out of sight under a bush. He moved deeper into the island, not willing to cease his forward movement until at last he was next to the rocky outcrop that was the merman's chamber entrance. He collapsed onto a rock and breathed heavily, his lungs heaving for air. The damp heat of the jungle made the air extremely humid, but after a while Cam's breathed settled and he was able to relax somewhat.

He thought back to the grotto and he sighed, somewhat regretting having had to strike at his best friend. "I'll make it up to him once I have my own tail." He promised himself. He sighed and gazed at the solid rock wall, willing it to open.

That day was among the most tense that Cam had ever experienced. Every odd sound that the island produced had him diving for cover, convinced that the mermaids had discovered his presence. It became worse at night, and eventually Cam simply remained in hiding. When the full moon finally rose in the sky, his nerves were frayed to the point that he was constantly fidgeting. There was a shimmering sound, and when Cam looked up from his hiding spot Cam saw that the rock wall had disappeared. He stood up from his hiding spot and took a step forward, scarcely believing that now of he was finally going to get his tail.

He walked through the entrance and followed the winding path into the merman's chamber. He stepped around the trident on the floor, careful to avoid that space in case it transported him away like it had Ondina. He stood over the pedestal, his hands sliding across its face as the symbols glowed blue. He quickly tapped in the sequence, his anticipation making his hands shake. As he pressed the last symbol, the trident, its twin on the floor glowed blue and water began to fill it. Cam took a steadying breath and moved around the pedestal to stand next to the trident symbol. He was about to take the step onto the trident when Zach's voice cried out. "Cam, wait!" He yelled, sliding to a stop into the chamber. Behind him, Ondina, Evie, Mimie, and Sirena followed, out of breath, and their eyes wild with panic. "You can't do this!"

For a moment, Cam let the rage he had been hiding for months show in his voice. "Oh yeah?" He challenged, "And why not? Why shouldn't I get what I want for once?"

"This is not how it should go." Sirena said. "You don't belong in our world Cam, you have to understand that."

Eyes downcast, Cam nodded just once. "You're right." He told her. "I don't. Not like I am now."

"You don't know what will happen if you step onto that trident." Zach said, stepping around the symbol to stand opposite his friend. "None of us do. We don't want you getting hurt."

"Getting hurt…" Cam repeated slowly, "Like I wasn't going to get hurt when you were going to keep me from ever getting a tail?"

"That was the mermaid council's decision." Ondina said firmly. "You have to abide by it."

Cam spread his arms out to his side and smiled apologetically. "Sorry. Not a merman. Not yet." Without another word he stepped onto the symbol, despite the sudden cries by his friends. He blinked once as he was suddenly enveloped in a strange blue light. He gazed at his arms, a frown beginning on his face. "What the-." He began, but he didn't get to finish because at that moment the light flashed once and Cam disappeared from within the circle of the trident.