A Fish Tale

Chapter 2

by

Oasis Herself

At first, he hadn't given it too much merit. He had simply attributed it to the insufferable heat and dismissed it.

On the second day, he discovered that the itching and scratching was sloughing off skin and revealing scales. He had spent much of that day pacing and scratching and cursing Jack Sparrow.

On the morning of the third day, when he found the tender new flesh at his neck, he sent word to the fort that he was down with a minor ailment, locked himself in his room and drank himself into a stupor.

When he awoke the next morning, his hangover became entirely superfluous upon the discovery that he had managed to acquire a ridge of hard cartilage along his spine and the rudimentary beginnings of a dorsal fin.

With that discovery, reason returned, and he summoned Groves and the fort's surgeon.

Theodore Groves was one of James's closet friends and confidants and, despite his rather unsavory 'attachment' to Gillette (an attachment James preferred not to examine too closely), James knew him to be a trusted ally. He and the surgeon, Dr. Marrow, had both served with him during Sparrow's last escapade with the undead pirates. Certainly, James reasoned to himself, 'this situation' (as he had come to refer to it) shouldn't pose too much of a shock to either of them.

They listened quietly as James began to relate the details of his adventure with Jack Sparrow. Telling them the tale and actually speaking the words aloud brought the reality of it all crashing home. He clasped his hands behind his back and sought comfort in the familiar pose, only to feel the press of the dorsal fin against his wrist. He struggled to keep his rising panic in check. He paused and took a deep calming breath, mentally congratulated himself on maintaining his composure, and went on with his story.

When he mentioned that the creature had been a male, Theo interrupted. "But I thought mermaids were... well, 'maids'?"

James composure began to crumble. "If there are mermaids," he snapped, his voice rising, "it only stands to reason that there must be mermen somewhere in order for there to be mermaids to begin with—and if you would be so kind as to not interrupt me again..."

"Yes of course, James. I'm sorry," Theo answered politely.

The surgeon, surprised at the uncharacteristic behavior, asked cautiously, "Why have you summoned me, James? Do you believe there was some contagion with these creatures?"

"I... yes, I'm afraid I do, Dr Marrow. And if Theo can contain himself long enough, I'll attempt to explain."

Theo managed to contain himself only until James related the changes that had begun to occur, then jumped to his feet. "Now see here, James... this isn't funny at all. Why, I almost believed you when you said you found a merman, but I'm not some lubber to believe such nonsense as this."

"I seem to recall that you there at the battle with the undead pirates. You both were, were you not?" James challenged.

"Well, yes, but really now..."

"Can you show us, James?" asked the surgeon.

James loosened his collar and pulled his shirt off, then turned his back to them both and asked conversationally, "Would you be so kind as to tell me what that is?"

"Well, I... I believe it's a... dear God, James, it's a fin."

Norrington unbuttoned his breeches and let them drop to his ankles and, clad only in his small clothes, pointed to his legs. "And these Theo, what would you call these?"

"Scales," whispered Theo, horrified.

Silence hung in the room as Dr Marrow made a cursory examination, and James couldn't help but notice that the surgeon avoided touching him.

"It's all that Jack Sparrow's fault," Theo burst out as James righted his clothing.

"Of course it's Sparrow's fault," James sighed. "It's always Sparrow's fault. The man attracts disaster like a whore attracts sailors."

Dr. Marrow crossed the room and poured himself a brandy. "You know, of course, there's nothing I can do for you?"

"Actually there is," James said, seating himself at his desk. "If you would be so kind as to give me an official ailment that requires me to be off the island for a time, to recuperate, then I can leave the fort in Gillette's capable hands and Theo can help me find Sparrow."

"You can't be serious, James," Theo said, helping himself to the brandy as well. "We've spent month's searching unsuccessfully for that scoundrel. What makes you think you can find him now?"

"I daresay he'll be looking for me. This... thing... that is occurring to me is almost certainly occurring to Sparrow as well."

"Do we have a direction in mind?" Theo asked as they cleared the harbor.

"Circle the island," James told him. He shifted and hitched his breeches further down on his hips. The new flesh between his legs had extended to mid thigh during the night and his clothing had become unbearably uncomfortable. "Sparrow made berth in one of the coves on other side of the island during the hurricane, then came inland on foot. It's possible he would do that again."

He anxiously scanned the shore as they made their way around the headland, and then followed the curve of the island. His thoughts were a jumble of conflicting feelings—one moment a burning desire to throttle the pirate, and the next, a fervent hope that Jack would actually return.

Surely Jack would return, he reasoned to himself, they had both touched the creature.

Would Jack even know of a solution? Or was he, by looking for Jack, condemning himself to a lifetime of the pirate's unsavory company in the unthinkable event that the changes were permanent? He was driving himself mad with worry and he resolutely refused to even think about what he would do if Sparrow didn't show up.

"There you are, James," Theo said, with some trepidation, "and right out in the open, as bold as you please."

The relief James felt at sighting the Pearl was palpable. "I never thought that the sight of that black beast would be a welcome one," he murmured, searching the men at the rail for some sign of Jack.

A woman stood at the rail, much to his surprise, watching their approach through a spyglass. When they were finally close enough that they could be identified, the woman raised her arm in some signal and a British flag was unfurled from the mast.

As James watched it catch and snap in the breeze, "Ahoy" could be heard across the water... but not from the Pearl.

"There, Theo," he said, nodding towards the cove.

A small jollyboat had been dragged up onto the beach and a man stood beside it waving them in. James could see that the man was not Jack and his stomach lurched at what that could mean. They moored the boat and waded the shallows, and by the time they reached the beach, James thought he recognized the man.

"Mr. Gibbs?" he asked, uncertainly.

"Aye. We've been watchin' for ya. Jack thought ya might come lookin' for him."

"Where is Jack?" Theo asked.

"T'other side o' them rocks," Gibbs told him, and then to Norrington added, "Jack were goin' to try an get to Port Royal t'night, if ya didn't show up. Don't think he could walk that far though."

Norrington eyed the rocks skeptically, uncertain if he would be able to climb them. Gibbs, watching him, pointed out where they met the water. "Wade around 'em."

He nodded his thanks and followed clumsily after Theo.

"Slow up, Theo, my wind is short. I can hardly breathe."

"We're almost there, James."

Norrington tugged open the collar of his shirt and the gaping wounds at his neck fluttered frantically with each breath he took. He suddenly realized that he was breathing—or trying to breathe—through them.

Theo looked away from the sight. "Can you go on?" he asked, after a moment.

"Yes, yes, I think I can now," James gasped.

On a whim, Theo pulled his handkerchief from the cuff of his sleeve and dipped it into the ocean. Leaving it sodden, he handed it over to James. "Wet your neck," he said, "see if that helps you to breath."

James's breathing eased almost immediately. "Yes, thank you. That helps," he said after a few moments.

"Are you... are you breathing the water?"

James lifted the cloth and breathed deeply, testing the air. "It seems that I only need the gills..." He stopped, horrified at his words. "My neck," he corrected, "I only need my neck to be wet."

"Evening Commodore," he said, looking up at their approach. "Nice o' you to save me the trouble of tryin' to get to Port Royal."

"Sparrow," Norrington growled, "I hope you have a solution for this."

"Course I do," he assured, spreading his arms wide. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

Theo rolled his eyes and sat in the sand beside him. "What's the plan then, Captain Sparrow?"

And that was Jack's plan. They would wait for the change to complete itself and then search out the merfolk in the hope that they might have a remedy.

James had grudgingly agreed to it and sent Theo back to Port Royal with plans to meet up again in a fortnight.

Jack had sent Gibbs and the Pearl to Tortuga for the wait. "Don't want my girl sittin' in the Navy's back yard," he had told James as he watched her sail off.

Jack had roughly provisioned the cave, and James searched through the pile to see what was on offer. A couple of worn blankets, the inevitable rum, some dried meat and biscuits, apples and ... ah yes, more rum.

"Help yourself, mate," Jack said, climbing up beside him and reaching for one of the bottles.

James scowled, but took one of the blankets for himself and shook it out. He tugged at his breeches, tried to make them more comfortable, and then, resigning himself to the inevitable, he removed them. His shirt hung low enough to offer some modesty, but still, it felt awkward to be nearly naked in such close quarters with Jack. He wrapped himself in the blanket and tried to make himself comfortable on the ledge. "It's going be a long night," he grumbled.

He heard Sparrow snickering beside him and then the sound of the cork coming out of the bottle. "Cheers mate," Jack said softly.

There. There was that sound again. Slap, slap, slap.

He raised his head slowly, looked over to Jack and then let his gaze trail down to that... noise. He stared dumbly at the sight for several seconds. A tail—Jack's tail! (dear God, Jack had a tail)—hung over the side of their ledge, twitching lazily from the shallows and then up to slap wetly against the ledge.

Which meant—

Oh, no. He couldn't look. He... would... not... look.

The noise he made when he did look was one that he would later deny ever making, and one that Jack would torment him with in later years, but at that particular moment, it served its purpose.

Jack startled awake, bolted upright, attempted to leap to his feet and succeeded only in slapping himself in the face with his own tail. The momentum sent him somersaulting over backwards and he landed with a splash and a string of curses in the water on the far side of the ledge.

He came up sputtering. "Are ya daft, man? What kinda way is that to wake a fella? Are ya tryin to drown me?

He reached out for a hand hold on the ledge and James could see the next movement was meant to lift legs to ledge—legs which weren't there.

Sparrow stilled and frowned and then plunged his hand beneath the water, frantically feeling what was there. He looked up wide eyed and took in the sight of Norrington for the first time.

"James," he said finally. "Nice tail."

They were both enormous, was James's first thought, as they each set out to acquaint themselves with their new bodies. "I didn't expect the tail to be so long," he said with no small amount of wonder. "Why, I believe if I were able to stand I'd be well over ten feet tall."

Jack was busily examining the interior of his pouch. "I got a knot in me nob," he announced.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Look, right here. It's a knot."

James looked over to find Jack holding his cock.

"I don't want to look at that!"

"Have you got one?" he asked, reaching towards Norrington's pouch.

"Stop that, Sparrow."

James sidled over to the end of the ledge and peered into his own pouch. It appeared that he did. What should have been a straight shaft now had a distinct protruding ridge of tissue that circled the organ at its base.

The interior of the pouch, he also noted with some distaste, was slimy. He tucked himself away and looked up to find Sparrow watching him avidly.

"Well?" Jack demanded.

"Yes, Sparrow, I too have a 'knot in me nob'."

Jack narrowed his eyes. "No need to be rude, Commodore."

James slid into the water to distract Jack from the subject. "Perhaps we should try out our new sea legs," he said, "or fins, rather."

It felt quite comfortable in the water and he found that it took very little effort to stay afloat and in place. The tail and fins appeared to be very powerful appendages. He ducked beneath the surface and, gathering his courage, took an experimental breath. To his surprise it really was too easy.

He bobbed back to the surface. "Come on, Jack, try it."

Jack looked anxiously down into the water and then back to James face. "Actually, I'm pretty comfortable where I am." He made a flicking motion with his fingers. "You go ahead and enjoy yourself."

James studied him for a moment then asked. "Are you afraid?"

"Course not! Just don't feel like it yet." He leaned back and pillowed his head in his hands with exaggerated nonchalance.

James reached out, took hold of Jack's tail flukes and pulled. Jack landed with a splash beside him. When he surfaced, he lunged for the ledge and James lunged for Jack.

"Now look, Norrington, I want to get back on the ledge. This isn't something a man just jumps into, ya know."

James took him by the shoulders and shoved him back under the water.

Jack flailed wildly in the water and then climbed Norrington's body. He clung desperately to his neck and twined his tail tightly around him.

The tails really were remarkably flexible, James thought, trying to untangle himself from Jack's death grip.

"I'm gonna drown mate. Let me go."

James finally stopped trying to detach Sparrow and instead took a firmer grip. Jack stilled and looked down into his face. Norrington's grin was pure evil intent.

"No. No. No. Not good," Jack babbled as James simply held tight and submerged them both.

Jack was shaking his head frantically and pointing to the surface. He was also holding his breath.

The idiot's going to pass out first, thought James in disgust. He reached out and grabbed a fist-full of dreadlocks and beads, and yanked.

Without thought, Jack yelped and before he realized what he had done, he was breathing.

He broke into a wide grin and a series of clicking noises issued from his gills. His eyes went wide and then he frowned and made the sound again. As James watched, he closed his eyes and swiveled slowly in the water, repeating that odd clicking noise as he made a complete circle. Then he grabbed James and dragged him to the surface.

"You can see what things look like with that noise, mate," he babbled excitedly, "in your mind, savvy?"

He darted back beneath the surface and James could hear a continuous series of the clicks now.

James followed him down and tried for himself. Jack was right. He closed his eyes and tried it again and he could clearly see the shapes of whatever he directed that sound towards.

The temperature of the water warmed slightly and he made a short series of clicks, then opened his eyes to confirm what he had 'seen.' Jack was inches from his face and grinning at him. They surfaced together.

"What say we try it out in the open ocean, eh, mate?" Jack asked. "What say you to that?"

"I say yes, Jack," James agreed quickly, "I've a real mind to see how well we can swim."

"Splendid. Then let's get out of here."

Jack darted back to the ledge first and snatched one of the rum bottles. "Not without my rum, though," he said, tucking it carefully into his pouch.

"I certainly hope that doesn't break in there," James murmured as he followed him out of the cave.