Changes In Paradise 05: The Rescue free porn video

Disclaimer: The usual boilerplate ... if you're underage, stop reading (and how did you get a hold of this in the first place), if you're offended by transgender or transsexual ideas, stop reading, and if you're unlikely to enjoy erotic descriptions of sex, stop reading. Permission granted to post on any free site. Changes in Paradise: Part Five, The Rescue By Patricia You really ought to read "Changes In Paradise, parts 1 ? 4," if you haven't already. Thanks for the comments, suggestions, and encouragement on my other works. I really appreciate it. Please leave a comment, if you can. Finally, this is fiction?not real, though I wish it was real?and it's my universe and I get to decide how science works here ;-). Special thanks to Mare Vir for help on the "Mermaid Stories" group pages. ***** Gail wanted to cut off her hair. "It will make me faster," she complained. "I want to be as fast and as strong as possible." "Don't," pleaded Petra. "Just do it," Gail asked. "Please," as she held out the shears for her sister-wife. They were sitting, mermaid style with their flukes in the water in the Moon Pool cave where the dim light from the stormy sky above filtered down. Michael and John were out searching for useful tools among the reefs, cliffs, and along the drop off where shipwrecks from time immemorial, but mostly from WWII, could be found. The men could swim almost twice as fast and as deep as the women, and they seemed to really enjoy going out together, pushing their new bodies to the limits of endurance and depth. It rankled Gail that her own pod- mate/ex-sister could go faster, deeper, and longer than she could. "I can't," Petra pleaded. "Why not?" demanded Gail. "Because I love you," Petra said, stroking Gail's cheek. "You love me?" she asked, disbelieving. "And THAT is a reason not to cut my hair." At that moment, Pat popped up from the pool, twirling as she rose from the water, smoothly and powerfully rising on her sparkling sea-green tail, and settling next to Gail with a large net of freshly paralyzed fish, mostly tuna. "When I think about doing it," Petra said holding Gail's beautiful face in her hands, "I get a terrible, wrenching feeling in my gut. I don't know why." "Why would cutting my hair make you feel that way?" asked Gail. "Because cutting our hair is a bad idea," Pat said. "Phoebe and I have been doing some tests, and our hair is different from normal human hair," she continued, holding a lock of her own hair towards Gail. "Look closely and you can see micronodules that form the sheath of each hair strand. Those same structures are in our skin and scales. These tiny structures force the water to ball up whenever we emerge from the water. You've noticed how water sluices off us when we get out of the water?" Gail nodded, noting how quickly Pat had dried off, and her hair appeared to be nearly dry even though she had only just emerged from the water. "It's one reason why we don't feel dirty," Pat continued. "In Biology, it's called the Lotus effect; surface structures force water into little balls, rather than beading or sloughing down our skin, and those balls actually clean our skin and scales each time we dry off because a ball of water picks up dust, dirt, flaking skin cells, etc., whereas a drip of water just slides across the skin, leaving dust, dirt, and even a bit of water on the surface." "Is that why we swim so fast and so easily," asked Petra. "Not fast enough," Gail complained. "Yes, my dear," Pat chided. "Michael and John will always be faster than us; they are bigger by nearly two feet. But you're right, Petra, we are a lot faster than I would expect for aquatic mammals of our size and strength. And, miss grump," she concluded, addressing Gail directly, "the length of our hair shields our gills from sunlight while we are swimming." "Our gills can be harmed by sunlight?" asked Gail. "What about the men? Their hair isn't nearly as long as ours." "Our gills are built slightly differently," Pat explained, turning Petra around so she and Gail could examine her back together. Pat swung her long tail onto the cave floor behind her, easily holding her torso vertical despite the reversed angle. Pat felt her pelvic bones shift, a reminder of her newly reorganized system of bones and muscles. It felt like sitting up, except that her back muscles worked at holding her upper torso upright rather than her abdominal wall. If the results would not be so catastrophic, she would love to dissect someone to see how it all worked. Instead, she gently ran her fingers down Petra's mane of hair, separating the dark, lush brown hair into two strands that she pushed forward over Petra's soft, sloping, shoulders. "See how the inside edge of each gill is lighter ... pinker ... and that there is a different texture and organization of those tubular gill filaments that run down the entire length?" she asked as she ran her fingers lightly down Petra's spine. "Hey, now," Petra giggled. "You keep that up and I will throw you down and ravish your body." "Although that might be fun," Pat said, noting how Gail stiffened at Petra's tease, "I will wait for my own sister-wives to return from fishing. Now, pay attention. This interior edge is much more sensitive to UV radiation, and I think that it would be very painful if it got too dried out or even worse, sun burnt. It might even kill us; I'm not sure. So I don't think we should actually test it, but Phoebe's hair blocks less light than ours, and she gets irritated along that interior ridge if she spends too much time on or near the surface, swimming with her back to the sky." "And the men?" Gail asked. "Their pink filaments are centered near the top of their gills, and their shorter hair covers that dense patch just fine," Pat explained. "I think because their shoulders are so much broader, they have more room at the top of their gills. Our shoulders are comparatively narrow, and so our pink filaments run the length of our gills." Gail thought about what Pat had said. The men did have long hair, but it only reached to the top of their dorsal ridge, about mid-way down their backs, leaving the bottom halves of their gills fully exposed. The girls, however, had hair that reached down over the entire length of their gills, two strips of red, tender skin that lifted filaments into the water whenever they were submerged for more than a minute or two. Their gills followed their spines, about three inches wide at the top on the men, and only about an inch wide for the women. Both men and women had darker sections of filaments that followed their spine down, narrowing to a mere sliver at the bottom of their waists where their scales met their skin. A prominent dorsal ridge climbed up from their hips like a reverse widow's peak, terminating in the middle of their backs, a slight ridge that allowed them to lean back onto surfaces without putting direct pressure on their sensitive gills. "Finally, I would bet that the microstructures in our hair actually add to our speed," Pat argued. "It breaks the surface tension of the water molecules as we move through the water, and so cutting it off might make you slower." "I keep forgetting that you were a scientist," Petra said. "AM a scientist! Why do you forget?" Pat asked warily. "Because you're so pretty," Petra giggled. "Why do we have such different gills?" Gail asked interrupting Petra's flirting. "I don't know yet, but most species have subtle differences between the male and female species in several body systems," Pat said thoughtfully. "Our torsos are smaller, and so our gills are smaller, so perhaps the pink bits are what absorb oxygen while the darker bits are where we slough off carbon dioxide." "We have breasts, too, you know," Petra teased, swinging hers against Gail's other arm. "YOU have breasts," Pat said with a smile. "The rest of us just have chests." "I'm just frustrated," Gail grumped, nevertheless enjoying Petra's attention, feeling her enormous breasts rubbing against her elbow fin. "I want to free our island of that scum." "I know," Pat said gently. "And you are the strongest mermaid here, which is saying something. I'm going to find Danni and Phoebe and help them with the fishing. Why don't you two mind the Listening room," she said as she lifted herself up onto her fins and flukes and wiggled to the edge of the pool and slipped head first into the water. "Come on," Petra said as she watched Pat's flashing sea-green tail disappear down the tunnel, "Michael will be back soon, and then we will start making our plans for the rescue." Gail gazed into Petra's rich, hazel-green eyes, not a bright green, like Pat's, but softer, flecked with gold. Sometimes her heart felt small and hard, and Gail wished she could feel the emotional and sexual freedom that Michael and Petra seemed to share with each other. When Petra leaned in to kiss her, she could feel herself tense up, pull back. Petra persisted, however, knowing and loving her pod-mate. She opened her lips to the kiss, willing her cool and distant pod-mate to feel the great depth of love she felt for the incredibly beautiful Gail. She opened her eyes in the kiss, gazing at Gail's violet eyes, sparkling in the light of the overcast sky that cascaded down into the moon pool. Slowly, Gail softened into Petra's warm and welcoming kiss, nibbling at her full lips as they caressed her own. She felt the familiar tightening across her breasts as she responded to Petra's amorous advances. In between, kisses, she said, "We should continue this, in the listening room." Petra pulled Gail into a fierce hug, not breaking her kiss, and then pulled them both into the pool with a flick of her tail. Not releasing her hug, Petra slowly propelled them both down the tunnel to the Listening Room, sensing the twists and turns of the underwater tunnel with her mermaid "sight," a combination of sensitivity to electrical impulses in all living things, like the organisms living on the rocks along the tunnel walls, and a sonar of sorts that used the reflection of the ambient sounds of their own swimming to form a dim picture of their surroundings in the darkness of the tunnel. Gail didn't know why Petra could do this to her, but she allowed herself to be swum to the Listening Room. She could feel Petra's enormous breasts pushing against her own as they swam together, their tails crossing and caressing as Petra's long gentle strokes propelled them forward. They rose to the surface of the pitch black "Listening Room," and floated in the water with their heads breaking the surface. Petra was still kissing her, even as Gail began to sort out the sounds as they echoed down the various cracks in the earth into this small room. Their enhanced audio processing also allowed them to "hear" the sounds from many different parts of the island with great clarity. This morning, however, the island was being pelted with a rain, and no useful sounds of Alberto and his men could be heard. In some ways, this was a good thing; no screams from one of the five young captives would likely interrupt what Petra had planned for Gail. Petra had become more and more attached to her pod-mates, especially since their dramatic transformations into living and breathing mermaids and mermen. When she gazed at Michael's long, broad tail, his chiseled face, his muscled back, his hair and face glistening with water, or at Gail's sleek lines, her dramatic coloring, her soft curves, or the fire that burned in her eyes, it made Petra's womb ache, but it also made her soul ache. These two had suffered so much, and yet they had focused their new lives on their two pods and on rescuing the captives. They pushed their bodies harder; volunteered long hours of keeping watch, depriving themselves of sleep and rest, and Petra admired them intensely. She knew that Michael had found some healing in his new sex, in her love for him, and in their lovemaking that was free, frantic, and frequent. Gail was more difficult. She could not let go, could not return the affection Petra so very much wanted to give her. She had to find a way. As the two mermaids kissed in the dark pool, both of their tails began to glow, giving off a biochemical luminescence that slowly filled the pitch-black room with a soft light. Gail's tail glowed a rich lavender that shimmered up and down her tail, rippling up from her flukes and flashing along her flanks, while the green highlights along her dorsal ridge and fins also flashed in the dark water. Gail's tail was a barely visible, deep, dark blue ripple of light that only seemed visible in the reflection of Petra's luminescence. The black highlights on her dorsal membrane and fins and flukes flashed the faintest traces of pale, white light as she became more and more aroused. Making love in one of the many dark pools of water within these caves had become something of an adventure for the new water dwellers, thrilling to the symphony of color by which their own bodies produced light under these circumstances. "Gail, my sister-wife," Petra moaned, "you are the most beautiful creature I've ever seen," she said as she sucked on Gail's sensitive, swan-white neck. "I want to touch you, love you, caress you forever." "How can you say those things?" Gail pleaded. "What about Michael?" She tried to push away, but Petra wrapped her tail around hers three times, and held her firm to her ample bosom. "Now listen here, woman," Petra started. "Well, not merely a woman any more. You goddess of the water! I love you both! Don't you get it? We are pod-mates." "But I am hard and cold," Gail argued. "And you are soft and warm." "Which makes us a great pair," Petra said as she kissed Gail's strong- featured face. "Why can't you believe that I love you?" "Because, you are the one who is beautiful, so sexy, so easy with Michael," Gail said with a sob. "I'm hard, calculating, and cold." "I'll show you how cold you are," Petra said firmly. "Sink." "We can't, we have to listen," Gail worried. "There's a storm," Petra told her, "we can't hear anything, and won't be able to for hours. Sink." "Can't," whispered Gail. "Can," whispered Petra as she nuzzled her pod-mate's neck, and let herself go limp, using her own body weight to pull Gail under the water. They sank about ten meters, and hung in the water, locked in their embrace. They could see each other clearly, both because of their enhanced vision and because of the glow they now gave off. Petra released her lover and then slowly began swimming around and around her, caressing Gail's body with her own breasts, her hands, and her tail. She grazed Gail's back, gills, tail, breasts, gliding past lips, eyes, arms, and fins. "Feel how silky your hair is," she whispered as she gathered Gail's sleek black hair in her hand and held the hair to her own breasts as she twirled around her. "Your dorsal membrane is so soft, like Spanish black lace." "I can put my arm around your waist and reach my own breast." "That's because you have incredible breasts," moaned Gail, feeling the effects of Petra's constant fondling of her entire body. "Your flukes are supple yet strong, and so rich with color and light," Petra continued as she chased the flashes of light that sparkled from within Gail's now quivering tail, spread wide in evidence of her mounting sexual tension. "I love the way your fins soften in my hands, and the way your waist meets your tail, so curvy and soft." Gail gasped with passion as Petra's feather-light touches ignited her body. Petra rose before Gail, her own breasts swollen with passion, their impressive size now floating conically, her large nipples stiff and erect in the dim light, her dorsal membrane fluttering and flickering madly with soft, green and lavender light. Her own flukes was also fully spread, quivering in the dark water, shooting tendrils of lavender light up her flanks as she hung in the water. "Drink from me, my love," Petra asked, as she fluttered her tail to lift her swelling breast to Gail's lips. "Take comfort from me, take from me ... peace." Petra pulled Gail's lips to her breast, and then stroked Gail's beautiful black hair as she began to suckle. Gail slowly, gently wrapped her tail around her lover's, resting her hands on Petra's slim waist, stroking the line that separated her tail from her waist. Petra focused her thoughts on love, peace, and comfort as Gail's suckling slowly built passion and effort. Soon, milk was pouring from her breasts, and Gail was pulling and sucking with passion on Petra's impressive bounty. As she drank from Petra's breasts, Gail's tail increased its luminescence, the flashes of light building in frequency and intensity. Her own breasts swelled with passion, and her mind began to relax. Petra sank back down into a kiss, pressing her breasts against Gail's, kissing her with passion and hunger. She wrapped her tail around hers again, and used that advantage to press her genital vent against Gail's, creating a pocket of suction. Her pelvic fins beat against Gail's, increasing the vibrations of their union, and further elevating Gail's building passion. "Give yourself to me," Petra whispered. "Cum for me." Gail reached behind her sister-wife and grabbed the generous bones of her pelvis, her wide hipbones that now bent in both directions. She pulled Petra to her fiercely, further entwining their tails together, pressing their bodies together. Petra happily purred, grinding her hips against Gail's, pressing their breasts together, kissing her neck and ears, cheeks and chin. "Oh, Petra," Gail groaned, "my sister-wife." Their bodies were now twisting quickly in the darkened pool, locked in a passionate embrace, their hips grinding together as their breasts and lips danced in the cool, dark water, their tails both pulsing with electricity. Petra began whimpering, "please, please ... please ... oh ... please" as her own orgasm built, but she refused to give in, focusing her energy on bringing release and pleasure to her partner. She reached behind her sister-mate and stroked Gail's gills lightly with her fingers. Gail's body responded, immediately, involuntarily, responsively to Petra's stimulation, and her abdomen began to pulse against the voluptuous Petra. "Oh ... my ... goooooooooooo" Gail dissolved into incoherence as a massive orgasm overtook her. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she bit down into Petra's shoulder. She felt her tail quiver and shake more violently, her clitoris vibrating against her lover's, their bodies pressed together. Petra felt a sharp, sweet pain as Gail's eye teeth sank into her shoulder, but felt at the same moment her own milk flowing through her veins, nurturing them both, healing her of Gail's love bite. "Yes, take me ... bite me ... love me," Petra whispered to her convulsing lover. "My love can heal your pain." Gail lifted from Petra's shoulder, her eyes sightless and unconscious of how her own pent up passion had exploded into her lover's flesh leaving four neat puncture wounds that closed as quickly as her teeth had released their grip. Gail merely continued to shake into her lover, pulsing with abandon, rather than control. As she watched Gail thrash out her first real orgasm, Petra allowed her own release to come, joining with her as both their breasts spurted their milk into the water around them. Soon they were both lost in a haze of pleasure, release, healing, and white milk. ***** Mai Lin wanted to die. She had been captive now for many months, and she had lost track of time. She longer cared when Alberto's men came into her hut and took their pleasure; her body no longer felt any pleasure at all. Sometimes, she felt more dead than alive. In fact, if it hadn't been for Martin, one of the Henderson triplets, she might have died three weeks ago. Dear, sweet Martin ... only 17, but so wise. He had simply held her hand through the night as she miscarried, the sorry result of her near constant abuse by Alberto's men, never saying anything, giving her warmth and support, and helping her staunch the bleeding. She knew that he was being raped too, but he never complained, never flinched. She could see the quiet courage behind his eyes, and something else too. She wasn't sure. Neither his sisters nor Shou Ling, the other Chinese captive, had been able to help her that night, lost as they were to their own hellish nightmares that stalked all of their dreams. She vowed she would not forget Martin's kindness and quite courage. She had been captured, along with several other Chinese passengers including Shou Ling, when she went on a pleasure cruise with friends from her boarding school in Hong Kong. The other girls had died months ago; the three crewmembers of the charter boat were killed when Alberto's men boarded their boat. Somehow, both she and Shou Ling had survived. They were both Han Chinese, from northern China, and were relatively tall for Chinese women, about 5' 7'' and pretty. Shou Ling seemed to have a bit less of a wild streak in her because she seemed aloof to what her captors were doing, whereas Mai Lin fought it every step of the way, trying to force this nightmare to end. After they had beaten her or raped her yet again, she would close her eyes, and wait for death to come, but instead a new morning greeted her yet again. Which was just fine with her; she would have yet another opportunity for revenge. Mai Lin had been a young master in shaolin kungfu, which was probably the only reason she was still alive. She could deflect the blows that might have killed her without seeming to, and her captors seemed to enjoy beating the beautiful young woman. She kept her secrets to herself, and bided her time, waiting for Alberto to do something foolish so she could kill him. After she had blinded one man who was foolish enough to rape her by himself, without someone else to hold her down, they had nearly killed her. But she was beautiful, and Alberto forbade them from killing her, though she did get a pretty severe beating. Mai Lin had learned to walk the thin line between compliance and resistance, looking for her opportunities for revenge, but keeping her captors happy. She looked across the sand in the early morning light, the sky still a vibrant blue as the sun had yet to peak over the horizon of calm water and placid palm trees, and look back inside the hut to took stock of her fellow captives. The Henderson's were all curled in a corner, a tangle of limbs as much for protection as for warmth, the triplets now united in a race for survival. Shou Ling was propped against the wall, beaten and bruised because she would not respond last night to the men's request that she dance. Mai Lin admired her courage, even if it was misplaced?it would have been so easy to give them a little dance?and wondered how a girl so beautiful, more beautiful than she herself was, could have so much stubborn fire in her soul. She wished she could have taken Shou Ling's beating, she could have withstood it more easily, and looking across at her fellow countrywoman, she feared that Shou Ling would not survive many more such beatings. She glanced again at the three sleeping Henderson's, feeling a great wave of affection wash over her. They had been so scared when they were first added to Alberto's menagerie of captives, but even in their fear they had reached out to Mai Lin, who spoke only broken English at best. In order to keep their spirits up, the Henderson's had taken to helping Mai Lin with her English, Shou Ling didn't need much help, as her English was fine. But after Rikki and Cleo, the identical twin sisters, were gang raped one night by the all of Alberto's men, they both had stopped talking to anyone and now seemed to be walking through life as in a trance. Martin still showed signs of life and fight, but there were deeper waters in his eyes than she could figure out. Only a few of Alberto's men had an interest in his body, and the two women seemed to be lovers themselves. Everyone, however, even the two women gang members, loved the Henderson girls; Mai Lin worried that the twins would soon simply expire and that Alberto would kill Shou Ling because she was so stubborn. That would leave only her and the boy, Martin, to satisfy the selfish desires of Alberto's men. She shuddered at the thought. A flash of blue caught her eye in the lagoon as she turned back to the water, trying to will herself erect so that she could make another attempt at escape. She thought she could see a tail fin of a large fish, nearly ten feet in length, as the flukes, over three feet across, arched back into the sea. She brought a shaky hand back up to her eyes to rub them, disbelieving what she had seen, and tried to stare out into the early morning light to catch another glimpse of that beautiful fish, blue scales with the hint of white along the dorsal ridge. Suddenly she saw a flash of gold tinged in a multi-hued blue crest the surface not ten feet where she had seen the first fish tail break the smooth surface of the water. The beautiful flukes flashed in the pale light of the morning sun that had finally crested over the horizon to her left. Then she thought she saw a face ... a human face ... a beautiful girl, lift her head from the water closer to shore. She had blonde hair that was nearly white, and beautiful blue eyes. She was only about twenty meters from shore, in about two meters of water. Then, a second face emerged, also a blonde female, with golden hair but equally blue eyes, or so it seemed to Mai Lin. The pair of beautiful women stared at the camp for a minute or two, Mai Lin barely breathing, not daring to raise the alarm. Suddenly, one of the beautiful girls caught Mai Lin's eyes, and smiled, and put a finger to her lips for silence. Mai Lin's widened in surprise ... she had been seen, and these girls knew she was a captive! Suddenly there was a shout from another hut, and the two girls ducked under the water and disappeared. Mai Lin stared hard at the spot where they had appeared, but she could see no other sign of them. She searched the water for any sign of swimmers or of the large fish she had seen earlier, but she could only see the calm, early morning waters of the lagoon where they had been held captive for so many weeks. A few seconds later, a group of five or six men had gathered at the beach, all searching the water, shouting at one another in a mixture of Pilipino, Spanish, and English. Mai Lin could make out some of their English, and they seemed to be shouting about a sea monster. Alberto himself came down to the beach and demanded which of them had seen the sea monster. One of the men stepped forward and described a great fish of gold with terrible teeth, and Alberto shot him. He then pointed his gun at the others and reminded them that they were on the lookout for people, for the police, not sea monsters. A glance back to the hut confirmed that the gunshot had woken up his captives. He decided that it was time for some morning fun. ***** "All five are still alive," Phoebe reported, "and we waited until we were seen before we ducked under the water." "I think one of the Chinese girls may have seen us," Danni said. "I mean she really "saw us;" she looked really shocked when I smiled at her." "That doesn't mean that she saw your tail," Gail said. "If I had seen anyone who was not connected to my captors who actually "saw me," I would have been surprised too." "I guess you're right," Danni agreed. "In any case, if we are successful with our rescue, it won't matter. They will know who we are." "There will be another storm tonight; are we ready," asked Pat, looking around the Moon Pool at the collected pods. Everyone nodded in agreement. "One more time," Gail said. "I hate to be a hard ass but it's ... " "... because you love us," Petra said, reaching out to her sister-wife and stroking her arm fins. "Yea," Gail said, softly, "it is." Everyone had noticed the change in Gail over the last two weeks as their plans for mounting a rescue came together. She seemed more connected, more balanced, and less angry. She and Petra had spent much more time together, and Michael had now been forced to step up his amatory efforts (he was most eager and willing to do so). Petra had always been randy and ready, demanding attention from Michael several times a day, but Gail had only allowed herself to be taken by him occasionally. In the last two weeks, however, she had made love to him every day, and, in the last few days, joined Petra for a second or even a third round of sex. She still had the fierce gleam in her eyes, and no one doubted her dedication to pay back with double interest the suffering she had endured at Alberto's hands. "Right," Michael said watching with grateful pride and love as his wives softly stroked one another. "John and I will take the old mines we found and release them under the boats. If either one still works, that will signal the rest of you to begin." "Are you sure you will have enough time to get clear," ask Petra for the hundredth time. "The mines are counter weighted, and it will take them at least a minute to travel the fifteen meters up from the bottom to hit the boats," Pat reassured her, yet again. "They can swim faster than any of us, and should be clear by at least double the distance needed. Do you think I'd let John do anything that crazy?" "And everyone remember to protect your ears," Phoebe added. "If the mines don't go off," John continued. "We will climb on board and sabotage the engines, and then use the bow gun on the larger boat to sink both boats." "Because the mines will work," Danni said with a smile and a caress for her pod-mate, "John and Michael will rush over to us when the blast goes off. Petra and I will start shouting for help from the west side of the lagoon, making sure our human half is clearly visible, while the boys lurk below to make sure no trouble gets too close." "As soon as enough men are drawn to the beach, trying to save their boats or these two bathing beauties, we three will make for the prisoner's hut from our hiding place on the east side of the lagoon," Phoebe reported. "Gail in the lead, then me, then Pat." "I'll take out the guard, if he remains, and then use my coloring to hide and wait for anyone who may head in our direction," Gail said firmly. "Phoebe and I will enter the hut, rouse the prisoners, use our canteens that are full, thanks to Petra, give them a stiff dose of milk, and lead them to one of the two inflatable dinghies on the beach," Pat said. "We will use our barbs to puncture one, and load the prisoners onto the other. Once the boat clears the beach, we will swim with the boat towards the open sea." "John, Michael, Petra, and Danni will continue to provide a distraction, while I join the girls behind the dingy," Gail said. "Once we clear the lagoon, everyone will help get the dinghy back the western cliffs as quickly as possible." "Then, we will take them into the water, and rush them through the tunnels back here," Pat finished, "forming a fireman's brigade to help them breath by giving them our air until they reach the Moon Pool Cave." They all looked again at each other, nodded and headed down the tunnel to the open sea. ***** It was a very loud explosion. Martin struggled towards consciousness, the lethargy that gripped his body would not release him, and he struggled against the nightmare that held him. He heard someone calling his name, and he opened his eyes. There was a beautiful woman urging him to wake up, to rise. Her red hair was curled around her neck and shoulders like a velvet scarf, her green eyes shone even in the dark, storm tossed hut, but she didn't look wet. How could that be; it was raining. She was naked, too. That got his attention, and weakened as he was, he struggled to sit up. "Here, drink this," the vision of beauty ordered. He did so, and was immediately rewarded with a feeling of warmth and vitality that coursed through his throat like a fine whiskey, burning slightly but warming him. He could see another figure in the hut, moving very strangely, who's hair seemed nearly white. Then he saw the sparkling sea-blue of her tail ... her long tail ... her mermaid's tail that looked just like the pictures from his long missing diary. "Whu, wha, what is..." he sputtered. "No time for questions now," the redhead whispered tensely, "follow us down to the dinghy. We are trying to rescue you." He struggled to his feet and looked for his sisters. He saw that they were already outside, waiting for him. Shou Ling was helping Mai Lin stumble through the rain, running for the beach. He tried to ignore the strange gait of his rescuers as they slithered over the sand, but they moved much more quickly than he did. He became aware that the boats in the lagoon were burning, and that a group of Alberto's men were running along the western arm of the lagoon shouting. He nearly tripped over a gang member who was inert on the sand, a neat red hole in the middle of his stomach. The white haired mermaid (mermaid!) was falling back, trying to urge him to go faster. He tried to get his feet to obey his commands, but it was like he was still in the dream. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Finally, the dinghy appeared before him, and he tumbled into the small boat, laying against his sisters who were also heaving with the effort of the short dash for freedom. The boat lurched towards the sea, and then slowly gathered speed as it headed for the middle of the lagoon. Gunshots rang out, and Martin chanced a look over the edge of the inflatable dinghy. Illuminated by the light of the burning boats which he was now passing on his right, he could see some men scrambling on the beach, firing shots at their boat. Bullets zipped into the water and one pinged off the outboard engine, but none hit the vulnerable craft. The boat seemed to be picking up speed, but he couldn't hear an engine running nor could he feel the vibrations of one. Finally, the lights of the burning boats and the shouts along the shore faded as he slipped back into the darkness from which he had been roused. ***** The two mines had both gone off, and at nearly the same time. Perfect. Gail had waited until she saw at least ten men head towards the western arm of the lagoon, responding to Petra's and Danni's plaintive cries for help. Then she charged up the beach, low to the ground, a black angel of vengeance. The surprised guard never saw nor heard her coming, and when her barb sank into his abdomen, pumping him full of her venom, Gail imagined that is how a man felt, planting his seed into a woman. The guard fell noiselessly to the sand, and Pat and Phoebe joined her at the hut. She kept watch while the others woke, fed, and roused the five captives. Then they all made a mad dash for the beach. It all seemed too easy, until the gunshots rang out. A white hot flash of pain seared her shoulder and another pierced her side, and then the pain faded. Interesting, she thought to her self, getting shot ought to hurt more, and she looked at the ragged tear in her shoulder with fascination, but she didn't stop pushing the boat. It wasn't until nearly an hour later, when Petra pried her fingers off the stern, that she realized how weak she felt, how tired she was. Her last thought was how beautiful Petra was, even when she was crying. ***** Danni was alone in the water, her golden hair illuminated by the fire of the burning boats. She wasn't afraid; John was circling below her. She could feel his electrical pattern even though her gills were partially exposed to the air. Petra had headed back for the caves as soon as the men headed for the girls, pretending to have drowned, a last minute improvisation that she hoped would lend more urgency to Danni's cries even as it gave her more time to prepare for everyone's return, and it gave Michael permission to swim for Gail, now that he wasn't needed to protect her. Petra had at once thanked whatever forces in the universe that had given them Michael and had provided him with an unerring sense of what she and Gail were thinking. That left Danni alone with John below, and she sang her siren's song. But she was surprised by the speed of the young man who was charging towards her, determined to rescue her. He was already up to his waist, while most of the men were still a hundred yards down the beach. She could see with her enhanced eyes the dim shapes of Gail, Pat, and Phoebe as they emerged from the other shore. She needed to give them more time, so she tried to keep the determined young man a few yards away while still not giving herself (or her tail) away. He was a better swimmer than she thought. As Alberto's man closed on Danni, John shot to the surface. He gathered the intruder into his arms just as the criminal's hand had closed on a fistful of Danni's hair. His powerful tail carried both of them into the air, and Danni gave a cry of pain as a few strands of her thick and full hair came away in the desperado's grasp. John kept his captive in front his upper torso, letting his steel-gray flanks shine in the light from the burning boats, but keeping his human half behind the struggling and screaming man. John switched his grip as they came back down into the water, but as they plunged below the surface, he discovered that the man was limp, literally dead weight in his arms?his neck was broken. John hadn't intended to kill him, but nearly 300 pounds of angry merman rushing up from twenty meters below at full force was as good as a head butt from a killer whale. John had simply let the poor man float back to the surface as he circled back beneath between the men and Danni. There were now six men in the water with knives flashing, more determined than ever to rescue (or capture) the beautiful woman struggling in the water. Moments passed as Danni slowly retreated further into the lagoon, while more men poured into the water, heeding her cries for help. John had a sudden inspiration and extended his dorsal fin to its maximum height; he surfaced his back in the water between the men and Danni, and twisting his flukes vertically?like a shark's tailfins?swam with only his dorsal fin, and twisted tailfin visible?towards Danni. Danni, to her great credit, immediately started screaming "Shark, shark," as the rest of the men paused in fear, wondering why the large grey shark that had just struck at their own man was now headed for the still struggling woman. There must be more than one shark! The other one would be feeding on their poor comrade. As John's dorsal fin slipped below the surface, Alberto's men hung back in fear, unable to move towards Danni and unwilling to retreat from such a beautiful woman. Suddenly, mid-scream, Danni was pulled violently below. As the men dived beneath the waves to find her, they found instead their comrade, floating towards the surface, dead but otherwise unmolested. That was no shark. They could see one of their two dinghy's floating further out in the lagoon, but no one made a move to go get it. It looked empty, and the water had not been a safe place to be at night. As soon as they were far enough away, John twisted the "limp" Danni in his arms, gave her an enormous kiss, and kept swimming with his full force. Danni hung on to his hips and drafted on his strong strokes, and together they caught up to the boat. With John and Michael on the bowlines, and the five women at the stern, the boat moved fast enough that Martin could have water skied back to the cliffs, if he hadn't already been passed out in the bottom of the boat. ***** When he reached the hut, he knew what had happened. Those bitches. Alberto cursed the gods who were causing such strange events to befall his now shrinking gang of pirates, thieves, and cutthroats. As he watched the latest victim of these strange circumstances float towards shore behind his quickly retreating men, he knew which of his captives had been part of the escape. It was that bitch Mai Lin; she was a feisty one, and he should have killed her long ago, but she was so pretty he couldn't bring himself to do it, that and the few times he thought he had hit her hard enough, the bitch survived. Now this. She had made contact with those women, they had helped her and the others escape. Damn, this island had proved dangerous. From his original twenty-two men, two women and five captives, he was down to fourteen men, two women, and no captives. He wouldn't be shooting anyone else to help maintain discipline; he didn't know how many others were out there. There had been a blonde woman in the water, and now he regretted shooting Hui that morning; there was not a sea monster out there?it was a human. Everyone had seen the woman, perhaps even two, and it didn't matter if that shark got her or not. They were here, on the island, and he and his men had missed them when they were searching for bobby traps. Those caves to the east were a good place to start. The fleeing dinghy was now gone from his view, having disappeared past the opening of the lagoon, headed west. His two magnificent yachts were now at the bottom of the lagoon, only the radio mast from his flagship poked above the surface. That was bad, without those boats, he was stuck here, but he wasn't down for the count. He would find where Mai Lin and the other captives were hiding, and he would make them pay. First, however, he needed to find out which of his remaining men had left the keys to the outboard motor on the dinghy, which had allowed their captives to make an escape. He wasn't too worried, he had another dinghy, and there was only enough gas for an hour's run time in the boat they stole. They wouldn't get far. The one on the beach had a full tank, enough for several hours of searching. He would find them before morning. He started towards the remaining dinghy. It was then he noticed that it was losing air as it collapsed slowly onto the sand. Shit. He hated this island, he hated that bitch, and he hated this storm. ***** "How is she," Danni asked carefully. "She's alive," Pat answered, stroking Petra's hair as the sobbing mermaid held Gail's lips firmly to her breast. "She's lost a lot of blood. I can't believe she pushed the boat the whole way back." "I can't believe I didn't see her wounds," Petra sobbed. "Don't blame yourself," chided Pat. "You know how she is." "She's my pod-mate," Petra said angrily. "She's my mate." "She's our mate," Michael said softly as he rose from the pool, his hand fixing Gail's hair, as she lay unconscious beneath Petra's impressive breast. Gail's lips weren't moving, but she was breathing, and her gills were in the water. "Oh, Michael," Petra sobbed. "I'm sorry ... I ... I meant." "Yes, I know," he said softly as he pushed his long body out of the water next to Petra and wrapped his arms around her. He did know what she meant. It was as if Petra had given Gail some of her warmth and sensuality and Gail had given Petra some of her fierce anger. He held his flukes to support Gail's lower tail, hoping that their unconscious mate would feel the love and energy they both were sending to her. As soon as they discovered her wounds, they had all fed Gail as much milk as they could before she lost consciousness, and then bathed her two wounds in their milk as well, but Gail had lost a lot of blood. Pat had suggested that they keep her gills in the water and her head in the air to maximize the amount of energy her body could draw upon. As far as she could tell, the bullets had passed cleanly through Gail's shoulder and left hip, but given how little she really knew about their new anatomy, she couldn't be sure the hip wound wasn't more serious. In any event, only time would heal Gail, if she could be healed. She looked around the cave, feeling the soft spray of rain filter down from the chimney above. The storm still lashed at the island, but they had succeeded. Save for Gail's injuries, everyone else had made it back without a scratch. "Let's go back and reconnoiter," Pat said to John. "You two stay here and help Petra and crew, and if our guests awake, you can begin to explain what's happened to them." "They don't have a choice, do they?" asked Danni. "No, not really," sighed Pat. "They drank our milk, and so their journey is inevitable." Pat leaned over and kissed Petra's forehead and ruffled Michael's hair. She turned to her mate. "Let's go and see how Alberto likes being stuck on an island in a storm," she said, and together they slipped into the water. Phoebe waddled over to Petra and gave her a kiss too. She then bent down and kissed Gail's cheek. "You did good, girl," she whispered. "I'm so proud of you. You too, my sister-uncle," she said running her finger along Petra's cheek, wiping a tear she found there. "Why are you proud of me," Petra asked. "To many reasons to tell," Phoebe said. "Danni, let's go see if our guests could use some milk, eh?" As the other two girls busied themselves with the still unconscious guests on the far side of the cave, Michael held tight to his two women, closed his eyes, and willed them to be well. Alberto had had many chances to take Gail from him in the past, and he refused to believe that he could take her from him now. They had come so far, and changed so much. The thought of losing his beautiful Gail, his woman- warrior, the perfect balance to Petra's lush womanhood, was more than he thought he could bear. "We will get him," Petra whispered into his ear, her voice ragged with emotion. "I will hold him down myself as you and Gail skewer him again, and again." "I love you," he replied, holding her face to his chest. The three of them remained like that until morning, when Pat and John returned. ***** The Moon Pool cave floor was crowded. Merfolk took up much more room than regular humans, and six of them were spread out on the narrow cave floor that surrounded the Moon Pool. Nestled among them were the five new guests, as they were being called. None had woken during the night; the healing effects of the first draughts of mermaid milk had caused them to swoon just like Daniel (now Danni), Peter (now Petra), Michelle (now Michael), Gail, and Phoebe had before them. At first, Martin had thought he had woken up from an incredible dream, half nightmare, half mythological wonder. But when the sunlight slowly filtered down from the chimney, and he saw the beautiful Pieta-like tableau of Michael, Petra, and Gail, he pinched himself to make sure he wasn't still dreaming. When a near copy of the mermaid pictured in his diary rose from the pool, he nearly fainted. It was now late morning, and everyone had learned the story of Pat and John, then Danni, and then the rest. Gail had regained consciousness, and her wounds seemed to have healed, but she was too weak to leave the water. She propped her chin on her hands, while the rest of her floated in the pool behind her. "We become you?" Shou Ling asked again, looking furtively at Michael, Petra and Gail. "Not necessarily," Pat explained. "We had to do this to ourselves on purpose. You could end up looking quite differently." "Why?" asked Martin. "Because we didn't know what we might otherwise change into," Phoebe said. "We were growing webbing and had already grown our gills, and the changes weren't stopping." "And you were trapped in this cave, constantly exposed to water," Rikki finished. "You had to take control of what was happening to you." "Unfortunately, in order to rescue you, we had to put you on the same path," Pat said. "We WILL become you," Shou Ling said with happy recognition. "I'm sorry," Pat apologized. "You WANT to become us?" "Yes," Shou Ling said. "We all die, bit-by-bit, for long time. Now, need new life. You beautiful, different life. I want that life, not my old life. You life, not by trouble, but by choice." "Do all of you understand what she's suggesting," asked Pat, as she turned to each of them. Ricki, Cleo, Martin, Shou Ling, and all voiced their intent to join them, and then Mai Lin gave a barely perceptible nod. "Well, in that case, there are some logistics we need to work out." "Like what?" Shou Ling asked. "Phoebe and I have been going over my notes on the original harems of the painted shell-fish from which the goop was first distilled," Pat explained. "We have a few hypotheses based on the fishes' behavior and our own, at least among our two pods." "Let's have it," Michael said, as he held Petra in one arm as his other hand trailed into the water to caress Gail's shoulders. "Phoebe," Pat prompted. "Three to one seems to be our optimum ratio," Phoebe explained as she gave winks to her three pod mates. "The painted shell fish have harems in a ratio of males to estrus cycles of 36:1, which is to say that there is one male for each 36 possible pregnancies." "But I thought they lived in harems of 20 to 1," John interrupted. "Those fish aren't in estrus every month," she continued. "They go into estrus twice a year. We, on the other hand, have periods every month, like normal humans. Thus, the same ratio would be three females to every one male." "Physiologically and psychologically," Pat added, "there seems to be some advantages to the three to one ratio. Sexually, three females can be kept quite content and connected through one male, whereas four females makes pairing a problem. Two to one makes it necessary for both females to travel with the male, as there is no second female to nest with." "We nest?" asked Gail from the pool. "More or less," Pat continued. "Think about what happened to Petra when you and Michael were doing all your patrols. She was crazy with worry." "I was nuts," Petra smiled, stroking Gail's hair. "You weren't nuts," Pat corrected. "You had no one to fill the strong pair bond instincts we have. It is sort of like schools of fish, if you like. Our social needs seem to be quite high, and two merfolk at all times?two women or one of each seem to be the minimum necessary." "The men can pair together without conflict if they are alone," Phoebe explained, "or if they are with one of their pod mates, all is well." "But if it's just Michael and I," John interrupted, "and one other woman, it doesn't matter whose pod-mate she is ... " "We can barely control ourselves," Michael finished, "even though we really like each other. It does seem to be hard wired into us." "Which brings us back to the logistical problem," Pat said. "There are five of you, three of whom are blood related. If Martin assumes pod- leadership, we take a double jeopardy chance on the off-spring from both sisters, or we separate one sister away, which ... " "Isn't going to happen," Cleo said softy. "We're triplets ... I couldn't abandon my brother and sister." "But could you mate with your brother?" asked Phoebe. "Ewwwee," Cleo responded. "No offense, Martin." "None taken," he said calmly. "What about us," Gail asked. "I don't know," Pat said, "but your pod won't have three blood related pairs, and so even if you and Michael prove infertile, Petra and any new pod-mates would be fine." "Ah," Gail mused, "besides, Petra will probably have a million kids given the way she mothers us." "Martin, you haven't told them yet, have you," Rikki asked. "No," he whispered. "Why," she asked. After a moment of awkward silence, Petra suddenly realized "It was your diary, wasn't it?" Everyone turned to her with a look of surprise. "Well, it takes one to recognize one. I mean, we all just assumed it was Cleo's or Rikki's." "You have my diary," Martin choked out. Phoebe reached behind her and pulled a plastic wrapped book from a crag in one of the rocks. She handed it to Martin. As he pulled the book from its protective covering, he gasped in surprise and delight. "They found it," he exclaimed. "How did you find it? "It was on your parent's boat, which washed ashore a few weeks before you all showed up," Pat explained. "We gave the unrecognizable bodies on the deck a burial at sea, and then set booby traps in the boat for Alberto's men." "We are all so sorry," Petra said. There was a long moment of silence as the three Henderson children fought to control their emotions. "We ... we ... will mourn later ... when Alberto is dead," Rikki said firmly. "Where ... how ... how did you know it was my diary," Martin asked. "I was a life-long cross-dresser before I changed into this lovely form," Petra said. "I actually wanted to become a woman, not like Pat and Danni who become women accidentally." "And I wanted to become a man," Michael added, stroking Petra's hair, "because my life as a woman had left me unsatisfied. We're both happier now." "We are ALL happier, now," Gail said. "So, it is your diary," Phoebe said. "Yes," he said. "It's mine. I wrote it, and now you transformed yourself into the creature of my dreams. My sisters have always known that I wanted to be their sister, not their brother. Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to be a sister to my sisters." "And, you wanted to be a mermaid," Cleo teased. "Always making us swim like dolphins as we were growing up." "And, always stealing our clothes from our closets," Rikki teased. "At least now, we wouldn't have to worry about clothes here." "Who become man then?" asked Shou Ling. "I do," Mai Lin said firmly. "What?" asked Shou Ling, "What happen to me?" "You become our pod-mate," Petra said firmly, but gently. "I have more than enough love for all of you," she argued as she lifted one of her large breasts towards Shou Ling, who blushed. "Well, that solves the logistics problem, we have genetic diversity among pods," Pat said with surprise. "But I didn't expect so neat a solution," Pat mused. "Is everyone sure of what we are about to do?" She checked everyone's faces for agreement. She saw the same sparkle in their eyes now as she saw in Gail's eyes first time they had beheld Phoebe's beauty after her transformation. "The question now is, how will we do it. One or two stages?" "One," Phoebe said. "Why only one?" Pat asked. "They've only had two servings of milk," she responded, "but they are already starting to change, subtle changes so far, except for one big one." "What big one is that," Pat asked noting that she couldn't see any major differences in their guests other than that were all healthy and conscious. "Their gills have already appeared," Phoebe said, "weeks ahead of schedule." "Oh, my god," Cleo exclaimed, "You've got red marks on your backs just like them," she said while pointing at her brother's exposed back. All the guests checked their backs, and indeed, they had gills from only two feedings of mermaid milk. "Our milk is getting stronger and stronger," Phoebe concluded. "I think that if we all go to the pool, and combine our fluids, energy, and focus, they can all make it through in one stage. Otherwise ... " "They?and we?might not be able to "control" their changes. You're right Phoebe," Pat concluded. "Does everyone understand our situation?" "Because your milk is stronger, we will change more quickly than you did," Martin offered. "And if we don't "will" our changes, we may end up as something other than what we wish." "Right, but there is good news," Pat continued. "As we have all discovered, the more energy and focus there is, the easier it is to control the change. So, as each new mermaid is created, the process should get faster and easier." "We don't know how many feeders any one person can actually hold," worried John. "Remember how hard it was for you to reach your last feeder?" "It was a lot of work," Pat said, "but the only way to find out is to try." "Gail," Petra asked, "are you feeling up for this?" "I wouldn't miss it, not even if I was already dead," she said with a grin. ***** Martin sat nervously in the early evening moonlight, his feet dangling in the water, trying to watch what was going on below him in the pool. Rikki was in the center of the circle, her body glowing with energy, her tail nearly finished. He was next; actually, he was last. They had discovered that none of the "guests" could stay down in the water for long; their gills were too immature. Mai Lin had gone first, while Michael and John had stayed out of the water so that all the women could focus their energy to help Mai Lin transition to a male mermaid. Cleo and Rikki added their focus to that first circle too, but they had to keep rising for air every ten minutes or so. Their immature gills allowed them to stay down longer than normal humans, but they still had to breath regular air. Still, they bobbed up and down for the entire time, knowing that Mai Lin was becoming their pod-mate. Mai Lin, or Mu Su, as he renamed himself, didn't have to keep rising up, however. Once under the influence of the massive dose of milk, her/his gills had started working quickly, and he was able to stay down for the duration. He took eleven hours to transition. Mu Su, whose new name meant, "longed for revival," then became the "first feeder" for Shou Ling, and the group discovered that men were not nearly as potent as the women. Shou Ling had to rise for a breath of air despite swallowing Mu Su's impressive load, but once Petra had given her a double dose of milk from her impressive breasts, Shou Ling was well on her way. Her "last feeder" was Michael, since she was joining his pod, and he experienced the longest orgasm of his life, shooting pulse after pulse into her trance-like embrace. Shou Ling hung in the water, glowing and changing, for only eight hours. She renamed herself Xing Hua, or "new flower." There seemed to be a geometric relationship between the potency of the fluids and the number of people contributing. After Cleo finished in only six hours, Phoebe bet Pat that Rikki would be done in four hours. Pat said three, but that Martin would take one hour. Both Phoebe and Martin had nearly choked on their food. Mu Su was the last feeder for Rikki, and for Cleo since they were joining his pod, and Rikki was nearly done, less than three hours later. That thought both frightened him and filled him with excitement. Trying to understand the titanic forces at work in their bodies as they changed their form, and in his case, his sex, was difficult. Trying to imagine those same forces at work in a mere hour was beyond him. What would it feel like? He had dipped down, from time to time, to watch as his sisters changed. Rikki's transition seemed to be even more violent than was Cleo's, her rigid body rippling and convulsing, twisting and shaking. Cleo had reassured him during that last meal break, that she didn't feel much discomfort, and now that she was fully transformed, she felt better than ever before in her life. He remembered back to the first time he stole his sister's underwear. They were 12, and Cleo and Rikki were blossoming into beautiful young women. Martin was a little jealous of all the attention they were getting, and when his puberty hit a year later, he grew more and more awkward and unhappy with his body. Slowly but inexorably, he had been shut out from his two best playmates, and he wished with growing fervor that he had been born one of three identical twins, rather than a fraternal twin to two identical twins. So, he had retreated into his imagination, his diary, and the world of magic, where things like mermaids existed. A sudden movement below stirred him from his reverie. Rikki's glowing body suddenly arched backwards, a signal that she would be shortly released from the grip of transition. Mermaids weren't magic any more, Martin mused. He would become one himself soon. As with the other transitions, the group rose as one and fell upon the food that they had gathered in anticipation of their guests before their rescue. Martin, who wasn't hungry at all, watched the colorful and beautiful crush of merfolk as they jostled each other to reach for the food. Cleo and Rikki were identical twins still, both beautiful with perfectly even, mottled blue and white scales with yellow highlights along their fins, flukes, webs, and dorsal ridges. Their shining blue eyes were even bluer, jewel-like in their intensity. Their short dark brown hair was now a long and lustrous chocolate brown that flowed down to their expanded hips. Their full C cups had remained the same, which made them look girlish next to Petra and Pat, but they were about the same as the rest of the mermaids. Like them, their nipples had matured and were thicker and longer than previously. "You sure you don't want to eat," asked Cleo, twisting her upper torso 180 degrees without moving her tail as it stretched out behind her. "It will help you later," she nudged Rikki and they both giggled girlishly. Pat had explained to them at the last feeding that when they were all changed, sleep would finally take them, but only after their sexual appetites had been sated. Petra and Gail explained that the transition would really make them feel like new people?that they were a new species even?and that the abuse at the hands of Alberto's men would slowly wash away. John teased Mu Su that he would likely be put to the test with three newly transitioned mermaids to deal with. He had merely smiled, a coiled spring of confident, new manhood, which had made Cleo and Rikki swoon with anticipation, and even Martin was excited thinking about being held by Mu Su's strong arms, being pressed to his washboard stomach, and feeling his impressive cock push its way into his body. Martin walked over to his sisters, thinking that he wouldn't be doing that for much longer, and reached for some dried fish. He was even a bit embarrassed that he had an erection in anticipation of what Cleo had meant. "You soon beautiful on outside as you were on inside," Mu Su said gently, "I happy you are excited to be beautiful. Feel no shame in erection, for I know how you feel, and soon ... you know how I felt when I was girl." "Thanks, Mu Su," Martin blushed. "I hope you will like me when I am a girl." "You, I have liked always," he responded as he gave Martin's face a gentle caress, "you I will never forget, your kindness and courage before." "You are as handsome now as you were beautiful before," Martin said with a quaver in his voice. "Inside and outside." Mu Su was striking with his strongly featured face, jet-black hair, his broad shoulders and strong hands, his yellow and black striped tail with yellow highlights, and his dark brown, nearly black eyes. Martin let his gaze wash over his soon-to-be pod-mate. "Hey, don't hog," teased Rikki as she poked her brother in the ribs. "You're going to have to share." "All right, enough," teased Xing. "Let's go in pool and do last one, so all can get (cough, cough) rest." "I've got your rest, you minx," Michael said, slapping his tail suggestively. Xing was a minx, whose new coloring subtly complimenting her pod- mates. Her tail was a dark forest green with lavender highlights on fins, flukes, webs, and dorsal membrane, the opposite of Petra. She had the only hazel eyes of the pod, but she shared Michael's and Gail's jet-black hair. Her Asian features were still visible, and her C cup breasts looked positively enormous on her slender frame. "O.K., I ready for many rests," she said smiling. "In the water, both of you," Petra said, mothering. "Let's all go," as she took Gail's hand, gave her a peck on the cheek, and dove into the pool. ***** Martin took a deep breath and dove into the center of the pool. His slender body sliced down cleanly through the water, and he pulled up even with the assembled group. They looked beautiful in the moonlight, glowing and pulsing with energy. Rikki reached out her arms to him, and he floated to her. "What will my new sister's name be?" she asked. "Emma," he answered. His two sisters smiled in recognition and approval. It was their