Changes In Paradise - 09: Autopsies, Admirals, And Adversaries free porn video

Disclaimer: The usual ... 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 re-post on any free site with attribution. Read "Changes In Paradise, parts 1 - 8," if you haven't. and leave a comment on the older ones. Thank you to those who leave comments, suggestions, and encouragement. I really appreciate it. Part Twelve is now taking shape because "Debra's" comments to me could not be ignored. A very special thanks to Mare Vir and Pat(rick), who have helped me with the editing and proofreading. There really is no replacement for an editor who will spend hours finding verb tense agreement problems or missing question marks, or telling you that your time line is out of sync. The mistakes that remain are my own, sigh. Please leave a comment or a suggestion, if you can (there is a pattern here, no?). Thousands of people read these stories, and yet only a precious few actually say anything. If authors sold these works over the Internet or in bookstores, then we could gauge our success by our sales. But here ... it's only your comments that tell us how we are doing. So, drop your penny on the counter, and leave a comment. Changes in Paradise: Part 09 - Autopsies, Admirals, and Adversaries By Patricia ***** Alexis sat on a low rock near Rocky Cove, her tail mostly in the water as she raised her breasts toward the morning sun, enjoying the warmth on her face and upper torso. Liga floated in the water next to her, her head resting on Alexis' lap, keeping her growing belly in the water where it was more comfortable. "Look," Liga exclaimed, pointing out to sea. "Watch how high they can go!" Alexis turned her face away from the sun and focused on the water closer to the rocks on which she sat. She saw two royal blue mertails slice into the water from what must have been a vertical re-entry, barely a splash raised by their broad and strong flukes. A few seconds later, both Eric and Sally erupted from the water a few meters further out, arching high into the air, topping out at nearly four meters above the surface of the water. Their tails were gleaming in the morning sun, the water cascading off of their strong and sinewy bodies, and their torsos facing towards the sky. They twisted in unison, turning over onto their backs as they pointed their hands back towards the water. Their bodies followed the perfect line of their hands, straightening back out as they passed through the top of the arc, their pelvic and mid-tail fins at perfect forty-five degree angles out from their tails, and their flukes were parallel to their shoulders. They both sliced back into the waves, arrow straight, with no splash. "Our new mates are strong," Alexis observed, stroking Liga's hair. "And beautiful," Liga said wistfully. "And much bigger than Ag?" Alexis said, remembering the previous evening with a lusty smile. "No!" Liga interrupted. "No talk of Agba and Angara. It's ... it's ... " "I know," Alexis said, caressing the petite mermaid's cheek. "I am sorry. We should not compare." "No," Liga said. "It's because we are ... they are ... we haven't ... " "Oh," Alexis said, putting her hand on Liga's forehead. "It has to be done, and we must bear it." "But I don't have to like it," Liga sighed. Together, they watched their new pod-mates play and tried not to think about why Eric and Sally had suggested that the pod go to the eastern caves this morning. Their former pod mates were undergoing an autopsy. ***** Malaki straightened up from the table, set down the magnifying glass he had been using, and rubbed his temples. The last radio report from Tumibay indicated that he had come within a few kilometers of the signal >from Alberto's boat, and he would be going after them that night. That message was four days ago. Three days ago, a second message was sent, but it wasn't Tumibay, and whoever was talking wasn't making much sense, raving about sea monsters that were destroying the boat, ripping it apart. The signal had been lost, but Malaki's operator, who had spoken to the raving man, thought Tumibay's crew had been drinking. Sea monsters? Impossible! Ripping apart a boat? Tumibay's boat was one of Malaki's finest yachts. Alberto must have cooked up something unexpected. Malaki sighed as he picked the magnifying glass again. There were several small islands and atolls within 20 kilometers of Tumibay's last reported position. Some were barely a sand bar in the ocean, while others were more substantial, their volcano cores still smoldering. He identified ten islands that could hide Alberto and his men, but he could find no sign of Alberto's boats. He needed more information before he sent another team out in search of his problematic minion. "Miss Chin," he barked. "Yes, sir?" she answered. "Come in here," he ordered. The pretty, Chinese secretary walked carefully into his large office. She was rarely called into his office, and when she was, she knew that her next task would involve something illegal. Shen Chin had always been a bright child, the best in her small, rural school outside of Guangzhou, and had won a scholarship, through relatives in Hong Kong, to go to college at Oxford. She had brought great honor to her family, and when she graduated, she hoped to work for a multi-national company. Dimaunahan Industries had seemed, at first, a great start. Two years ago, when she was first hired, she tried to know as much as possible about Malaki's business, but he kept nearly everything hidden. Once her sister was kidnapped, that all changed. Malaki did his homework; Shen loved her family and her older sister. Once he kidnapped Lin, he forced Shen "into the fold" as his trustworthy executive assistant by threatening both Lin's life and the honor of her family. Now, she tried to know as little as possible and only came into his office when ordered. Only the knowledge that her good behavior here kept Lin alive allowed Shen to do the things Malaki ordered her to do. Malaki found that such "recruitment" techniques worked very well for a few years before a new secretary was necessary. Men or women, it didn't matter. After two or three years, they were killed or sent to the brothels. Malaki liked the system because the one person who knew the most about his empire was also the most temporary. It made secrets easier to keep. "Tell Manalo to get me all the information on our current business arrangements with Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, and any other governments in this area," he ordered. "I want to know every detail of every transaction that we might have had for the last year in these locations," he pointed at the map, indicating that she should take notes. "You get me a list of all the government officials we have under our influence or who owe me a favor in the surrounding areas," he said as he strolled back to his large window overlooking the city. "I want both reports back to me by the end of the day." His oldest son, Manalo, had been clamoring for more responsibilities in his business for some time. Well, it was time to see what kind of backbone the boy had. ***** The lab cave was one of the largest caves that the mers inhabited. The expansive floor of the brightly lit cave was littered with equipment, wires, and storage racks. Most of the larger equipment had been moved to the edges of the cave, and two long steel tables were in the center of the room. The tables, which were some of the largest pieces of equipment in the room, were three meters long and one meter wide, and were perched on gurneys that the mers had cut down to 30 cm (one foot) high. Equipment much longer or thicker than these examination tables could not be brought to the cave, because there was a bend in the tunnel that prevented anything longer from making that turn. A sweet and sour smell filled the room. A stranger might have remarked that the smell seemed like an odd combination of a "Saturday morning fish market" and a "high school locker room:" fish, smelly socks, and Lysol. The four mermaids in the room, however, had long since grown used to the smell, though an occasional wave of nausea swept through Phoebe and Emma. All four of them were hunched over one table, turning a small, lifeless mermaid over onto her stomach. On the other table, a long merman's body stretched a few centimeters over the end of the table, the ends of his wide flukes drooping lifelessly towards the floor of the cave. A large plastic bag with Russian lettering held the majority of his internal organs, and his entire body cavity, from his face to the base of his tail, was exposed to view. On a small metal tray nearby, two thin metal spears gleamed in the blue-white light of the LED's, each one topped by small, pointed barb. Each tip was hollow, and the small cavities were still stained with the bluish residue of the organophosphate poison that killed Agba and Angara. After they succeeded in turning Angara's smaller body onto her stomach, they all stretched. Agba's autopsy had taken most of the morning, but the mermaids had learned a great deal. After their stretch, Pat and Galina began making incisions along the sides of her dorsal ridge. Emma and Phoebe, both trying to maintain their composure and their lunch, settled in front of nearby computers, typing furiously as Pat and Galina dictated their findings to them. Several electrodes ran from Angara's body to Phoebe's computer, and data scrolled across her screen. Pat stopped talking and arched her back, trying to get more comfortable, but her growing belly made the long hours at the operating table difficult. Phoebe was struggling as well, but neither wanted to stop because of the joy of pure scientific discovery. With nearly each pass of the scalpel, they were discovering new facts and possibilities about themselves and their mermaid bodies. Agba's lifeless body caught Pat's eye, and she suddenly thought that John or Gabriel would not fit on those tables. She shuddered at this unbidden thought of her pod-mate lying on that table, dead. "Are you OK? Do you want to take a break?" Galina asked, sensing a change in her friend. "Emma and I can certainly handle the next hour or so. Why don't you two take a break?" "I'm fine," Pat said recovering, "I was just imagining John lying there." "Oh, yes," Galina agreed. "I had a vision of Gabriel earlier. Awful. I can only imagine what Alexis and Liga are going through." "Do Petra or Xing talk much about Michael?" Phoebe asked. "No," Galina said, carefully lifting the membrane that formed the barrier around Angara's electrical organs that lay under her dorsal ridge. "But I don't ask." "Be careful," Pat warned as Galina exposed the long, thin, gray organs that ran from just below their shoulder blades all the way down to their mid-tail fins. "I will," Galina said, smiling ruefully. The first time they had probed the series of three long, gray organs on Agba, Galina had gotten a nasty shock that knocked her back several feet. The lesson learned, she approached Angara's set of organs with greater care. Pat lifted back each section of membrane as Galania carefully avoided touching the gray organ itself. "I think that this array of nerves and cones might actually do more than create the luminescence our tails generate during sex," Pat observed. "These cones in the middle are very similar to the cones found in skates and eels, and it would also explain why Agba knocked Galina down." "Skates can shock victims?" Emma asked. "Some," Pat answered. "They can generate enough electricity to stun large predators, even a human." "Or a mermaid," Galina said ironically. "Do you think this organ is the same one that gives us our mer-senses?" Emma speculated. "Eels have three electrical organs," Pat said, remembering her graduate marine biology classes. "One of which is used for electrolocation, which seems to be similar to what our mer-senses do. My guess is that our top organ, here at top of the dorsal ridge, is our mer-sense organ. Come here, and take a look." She pointed with a wooden probe at the small grey mass that rested on the spinal column just below the top of Angara's exposed dorsal ridge. "And this middle one, don't touch it, Phoebe, is one that generates electricity, and the bottom one, see how it is connected right there," she said pointing with a wooden probe. "May do something else or it may also generate electricity." "I wonder if we can tap into it some how?" Emma said. "You mean now?" Galina asked. "Do you want to get shocked too?" "No," Emma said. "I mean we could try to generate electricity ourselves." "It is too dangerous to experiment on ourselves," Galina warned. "Phoebe," Pat asked. "Are you ready for me to discharge Angara's organ?" "Yes," she replied, moving back to her computer. "Emma, maybe we can do this same thing with ourselves?" "Pay attention, please," Pat said. She waited until Phoebe nodded, and then she pushed the metal probe they had rigged into a ground wire into Angara's middle organ. The computer whirled and a crackle filled the air. "500 watts just zapped through to the ground," Phoebe reported. "That is enough to stun most anything. Wow." "Yes, wow indeed," Pat agreed. "Is the current fully discharged?" "Yes," Phoebe said, checking her computer screen, the Cyrillic letters glowing softly on the screen. "What I meant was, I think we can do the same experiment on ourselves with electrodes and bio-feedback programs on the computer," Phoebe continued. "We can run it through the same circuit we did just now, with Angara, so that we don't fry the computer if we actually generate an electrical charge." "We already are generating an electrical charge," Galina observed. "And storing it too, even after we die." "That's right," Pat agreed. "The question isn't how to generate the charge, but how to use it. We can't do those experiments now! No one should even think of trying to use your electrical charge, you could hurt yourself or others without meaning to. Remember, all we have to do is think of our child's eyes to become pregnant. So, no thinking! Got it?" "No thinking until AFTER we get done with these autopsies," Galina added. "Yea," Phoebe agreed, rubbing her lower back. "The sooner we get done, the sooner we can rest." "You could rest now. We're done with Agba," Galina offered. "Emma and I can finish Angara." "Or we could finish more quickly together," Pat said with a smile. "I'm fine, just uncomfortable, but together we can finish the endocrine system, which seems to be the most complex, as far as human versus mer anatomy is concerned. We can decide on names for the two new organs we've found later, and we need to finish the circulatory and lymphatic systems." "That's a good idea," Galina agreed. "The respiratory systems seem to be identical in males and females, though we still have to name the three new organs in that system: our so-called gills, the new fibers that connect the gill fronds to the bronchial clusters in our lungs, and the vocal nodule that allows us to speak under water." "We could just call them gills," Phoebe suggested. "No we can't, we are a different phyla," Emma teased. "We're mammals, not Osteichthyes." "Oooooh, someone has been studying her biology notes," Phoebe said. "So, they aren't technically gills. What should we call them, Miss Smartypants?" "If I could wear pants, I would tell you," Emma said, sticking her tongue out at Phoebe. "We can decide later," Galina said. "Let's finish charting the gender differences in the remaining systems. Emma, which ones are left?" "The muscular, skeletal, reproductive, urinary, digestive, immune, intergumentary, and nervous systems are uncharted," Emma said checking her list on the computer. "We already did cardiovascular?" Phoebe asked. "Oops, and cardiovascular," Emma said. "And circulatory and lymphatic, too? Do we have to do that with Angara? This time Phoebe and I don't want to be the ones who have to mop up." "Yea, right," Phoebe agreed, turning green again. "Take heart, dear one," Pat teased. "Why?" asked Phoebe struggling to remain in control of her rebellious stomach? "Because despite the mess that we are making, and which you will help clean up, we have discovered that we might be immortal," she said. "As long as we don't get shot through a major organ, poisoned, or crushed," Galina said. "Really?" asked Phoebe. "Really," Galina answered. "Who was crushed?" Emma asked worriedly. "No one," Galina said. "Yet." They worked quickly, comparing what they had already charted in Agba, looking for key differences that might help them understand how and why the transformations had occurred as they had. They noted the strong cluster of nerve attachments between the lowest electrical organ and the base of spinal column, but they could not trance the function of those connections. When they had done all they could on the dorsal region, all four mers flipped Angara back over, and the autopsy continued. "Did you actually imagine all this during your transformation?" Emma asked a few minutes later, as Pat stretched again, taking a small break from dictating. "All what?" Phoebe asked. "All these new organs, electrical sensors, generators, our nano- structured skin and scales, regenerative cells that repair all our systems, including our bones, you know ... all this," Emma said indicating the two dead mers who were now mostly dissected, tagged, and catalogued. "Of course I did," Phoebe said deadpan. "Really?" Emma challenged. "Well, if you could do immortality, then why didn't you do magic?" "Do you really want to go back to legs?" Phoebe asked, exasperated. "Maybe," she said sullenly. "I never got much of a chance to be a girl before I became a mermaid." "Actually, given how sensitive our "siren cells" are to bioelectrical fields," Galina mused as she lifted a long section of muscle away from Angara's re-shaped leg/tail bones. "These mer-organs were probably created by Pat's and John's expertise in marine biology rather than Phoebe's imaginative efforts. So, I would bet that they are more responsible for these new organs." "Can we save this speculation until after we get done?" Pat chided. "We owe Agba and Angara a decent burial, and Alexis and Liga a chance to say goodbye. Let's get finished." ***** Eric stretched his body out on the beach, enjoying the sun, and tried to catalogue all the changes he had experienced. The girls were out harvesting lunch, insisting on some mermaid-only-time. He thought back to breakfast, when Pat asked him to take his new pod over to the eastern caves. At first, he did not understand her request; he had wanted to get to know his new community a bit more thoroughly, especially John, Gabriel, and MuSu. He had so many questions. After Pat explained what was planned for that morning, he quickly agreed to go. Despite his and Sally's best efforts, however, both Liga and Alexis were melancholy for most of the morning. He had been torn between his concern for and responsibility to his two new pod-mates, and the simple joy and wonder he felt as he ventured out into the open sea for the first time as a merman. Everything was more incredible than he ever imagined. His enhanced hearing and sight allowed him to see much further underwater than he thought possible, and his mer-senses gave him a view of the underwater world unlike anything in his previous experiences. Coral was not only red or pink or purple or yellow, it was also alive, with millions of tiny, sparkling points of life, glowing from within. Every living creature seemed to have an inner glow. According to Emma's brief explanation during breakfast on how his mer-senses worked, things should not really be glowing. Maybe it was how his brain processing this new sensory data as "light." On the other hand, he really didn't care about the scientific explanations for his new senses; the ocean was more beautiful now than ever before. Sally was more beautiful too, he thought as she surfaced several meters out, making her way ashore. Yes, she had subtly changed during her transformation, but her beauty was more than mere (or mer) physical changes. As she salamandered up the beach, he looked closely at his transformed lover. Her human half was sleeker, trimmer, and shapelier. Her hair was longer, thicker, shinier, and more beautiful, her breasts and lips were fuller, her waist was smaller, and her hips were wider. He knew that he was physically changed too, and he thrilled to the appreciative looks that Sally and the other two mermaids cast on his own body. As she deposited her collection of mollusks and sea grasses nearby, he closed his eyes and remembered their first swim that morning when they entered the open water for the first time. When he focused on swimming and "seeing" with his mer-senses, the ocean floor was visible to him like a city seen from an airplane at night, thousands of fixed and moving points of light in different shapes and sizes marking coral reefs, fish, anemones, sea grasses, stars, turtles, and many species for which he did not know names. The brightest and clearest points of light were the three mermaids, each a cipher, not mermaid shaped, but still clearly Sally, Alexis, or Liga. He could still "see" his mate with his eyes closed, and lifted his cheek so that she could give him a quick kiss before she waddled back into the water. He reopened his eyes and watched her shapely form disappear beneath the waves with a final flap of her beautiful blue and silver flukes. When he "looked" at each of his mates, he knew he wasn't seeing their identities, per se, but rather he was seeing a network of energies some of which were literally connected to his own body. Even now, he could see whispers of light?tiny, microscopic tendrils of energy?that constantly moved among and between the four of them. He could see them now stretching from his body across the beach towards all three mermaids, twisting and swirling as they left his body and reached out into the sea. He realized that he was seeing their literal connections. Mermaid bonding was not merely emotional or spiritual, it was physical, measurable, and it was visible to his mer-senses. It was beautiful. It was like being able to "see" love. He closed his eyes and "watched" his mates who were underwater, as they turned and slowly and gracefully started swimming towards the beach. They surfaced, laden with food. He opened his eyes and watched them waddle up onto the beach. Even Liga, who was visibly pregnant, was still a sexy mermaid, he thought as he watched her salamander towards him. He looked at all three of his mermaids, their bodies and tails undulating over the sand, and he could still "see" the inner glows that signaled their feelings and emotions. Earlier in the morning, when he and Sally were relatively subdued, he could only see Sally's glow clearly. Later, after the recent mer-widows insisted on playing together in the water so that he and Sally could get to know their new bodies, he began to see Alexis and Liga's inner glow more clearly. He smiled as Sally handed him some oysters, remembering that morning's first twinkling of the sheer joy of mer-life, besides his new mates, of course. The discovery of power and strength in his new body was intoxicating. His flukes and fins responded effortlessly to his intentions, allowing him to swim with great speed and agility. Sally had been equally intoxicated, and she nearly matched him in speed and power. She made up for her smaller size with even greater agility and efficiency in her strokes and maneuvers. She was a born swimmer. As they finished their lunch, Eric could see Sally's strong connection to him. He knew that they had something special, and that the sex was fantastic when they were human. Last night, it had been even better as mers. He looked over at Alexis and Liga and saw that they were growing more attached to both him and Sally with each passing moment. He could see their electrical patterns changing, and thin tendrils of light reaching out between him and them, fusing their bodies and souls together. He caught Alexis' eyes, and he noticed that both Alexis and Liga were now looking at him differently than they did last night or even this morning. His heart actually pounded harder in his chest as he contemplated the love these mermaids were projecting towards him. He realized, at that moment, that he would lay down his own life without hesitation to protect his mates. After they cleaned up the shells and bones of their lunch, the four of them lay together on the small, sandy beach. Eric's head was resting on Sally's lap, his flukes floating in the warm water as it rushed back and forth along his tail. Alexis was behind Sally, braiding Sally's hair, while Liga rested half in and out of the water, her head resting along Eric's tail, her arm draped across his mid-tail fins. "When do you think we should head back?" Sally asked Alexis. "Not until dinnertime," she said with only the slightest hesitation. "Autopsies take time, especially when you are doing an unfamiliar species." "You seem less upset than I thought you would be," Sally said. "It's because I now have you and Eric in my life," Alexis said, pulling Sally's braid tight. "I thought I would die, at first, the pain seemed so great ... so physical. But after last night, the hole in my heart got smaller and smaller, filling up with you two. Now, it feels almost filled." "The pain was physical," Eric said. "I bet it felt like strings were being ripped out from your body." "Yes, that is exactly how it felt," Liga said, looking up at her new pod- mates. "How did you know?" "I can see the strings that flow between us," Eric said. "Can't you?" "What do you mean by see?" Alexis asked. "I mean that I can see glowing threads of light going between us," Eric answered. "You mean right now?" asked Liga. "Well, I can see them better when we are in the water," Eric said. "Don't you see them too?" "No," Alexis answered as Liga shook her head as well. "I can sense the presence of others, but I don't see anything like a thread." "What about you, Sally?" Eric asked. "I can sense each of you," Sally answered. "But I don't see any glowing bits of light." "Well, I do," Eric said. "And it's beautiful." "Do you see anything now?" Alexis asked. "Yes," he answered, closing his eyes. "But when we are out of the water, I can see only a few tendrils of light coming from each of you." "What do they look like?" Alexis asked, all business as she finished Sally's braid. Eric concentrated for a moment, then he opened his eyes and looked down at Liga, then up at Sally and Alexis as they loomed over his head. "There are two main threads from each of you that go into each of us, six threads total leaving our bodies," Eric explained as he traced a finger along a swirling thread of light out from his chest to Sally's chest. "One goes to our chests and the other to our flukes." "Really?" Alexis said. "Chest to chest and fluke to fluke?" she asked. "Yep," Eric answered. "Chest threads are white, and fluke threads are a mixture of the colors of our tails." "Everyone's chest threads are white?" Alexis asked. "Yes," Eric answered. "And the fluke thread leaves your tail a swirl of pink and white and about halfway to mine it mixes with my blue and silver, but our colors sometimes shoot all the way back and forth." "And my fluke thread to Liga goes from blue and silver to black and white?" asked Sally. "Yes," Eric answered. "But our thread is blue and silver along the entire length." "I wonder what that means," Alexis said. "It means that we are connected," Liga said. "Of course it means we're connected," Alexis said with a smile to her sister-wife. "But maybe those threads and colors mean more?" "Our tails light up when we have sex," Liga reminded her. "Maybe Eric's threads are connected to our bio-luminescence. If they are, then our luminescence is electrical, not chemical." "Liga!" Alexis gushed. "You have been learning about science. I think you may be right. Eric, do the threads look like the lights in our tails?" "Well, I'm not sure," Eric said, blushing, remembering their heated and repeated couplings last night. "Last night, you guys were in charge, and I couldn't really see our tails." "We are always in charge," Alexis said with a smile. "But maybe you will see our tails in greater detail shortly," Alexis said, kissing the back of Sally's neck. "Oh, that's different," Sally said, shivering. "Did you like it?" Alexis asked, her lips moving lightly across Sally's soft skin. "I think so," Sally said, her breathing quickening. "I've never ... um ... never." "Maybe those threads are why it was so painful when Agba and Angara died," Liga said. "Maybe our new threads with Sally and Eric are why the pain is going away." "Oh ... um .... ah ... I hope you feel no pain soon," Sally said, smiling down at Liga, trying to ignore the feelings that Alexis' caresses were prompting. "It's been only a very short time, but I know that we are connected, even if I can't see threads. I am starting to feel things towards you and Alexis that I've ... um ... never felt towards another woman ... er ... mermaid before." "What feelings are those?" Alexis asked, slowly taking Sally's braid back out, stroking her hair with her fingers. "I'm not sure," Sally said, glancing into Eric's face, trying to figure out what she felt. "I think I love you just like I love Eric: emotionally, physically, everything. Does that make me a lesbian?" "It makes you a mermaid," Liga said. "Sometimes I wanted only Alexis or Angara, sometimes I wanted only Agba, and sometimes I wanted all three of them." "Just Alexis?" Sally asked with a nervous laugh. "Does mer-sexuality frighten you?" Alexis continued, taking one strand of Sally's thick hair and reaching around her sister-wife to brush the underside of Sally's breasts with her own hair. "No ...ooooh," Sally said. "Should I stop?" Alexis asked. "No, ah, ummmm, you can keep doing that for as long as you like," Sally said as she leaned back into Alexis' embrace. "If that's alright with you, Eric?" "Alexis, I order you to continue stroking Sally's breasts," Eric said smiling. "Sally, I order you to enjoy it." "He's not in charge," Alexis whispered in Sally's ear, pressing her own breasts against Sally's back. "But I like doing it." "This feels quick," Liga observed as she watched Alexis seduce their new mate. "Too quick?" Alexis asked, worriedly. "No," Liga said, stroking Eric's tail with her fingernails, causing pleasant tremors to run up and down his soft, smooth, scales. "It feels good quick. But it is quicker than before." "I think you're right," Alexis said, as she lifted her other hand forward to cup Sally's other breast. "But why?" she pondered as Sally moaned in pleasure. "Eric and Sally sought us," Liga answered. "Angara and Agba sought escape, and we were an accident. Our new mates wanted to be mers, and we needed new mates, so the bond was quick and good." "What do you think?" Alexis asked as she gently pulled on Sally's nipple, lifting her full round breast up and away from her chest. "Quick is ... aaah ... good," she said, her breathing deepening and quickening. "Eric is a big, fine, new mate," Liga said, inserting a finger into Eric's vent, and blowing into the pocket in which his cock was hidden. "Oh, don't do that," Eric said with a groan. "Why not?" Liga asked with a giggle. "Because I won't be able to control myself," he answered. "Good," Liga said as she reached into his now open vent and helped fish out his quickly stiffening cock. "I will control you. We like being in control, remember?" "You go right ahead," Eric panted as he felt her warm mouth encircle his slowly stiffening cock. Sally looked down at her mate and lover, watching the dark haired mermaid stroke and suck on Eric's long cock. Liga was beautiful, lying in the surf, her velvet black tail shimmering in the sun, the white fringes along her fins, flukes, and dorsal ridge fluttering in the water. Liga's hair was a thick, lustrous cloud of black that flowed over her shoulders, down her shapely back, and draped over Eric's hips. Sally looked down at her own tail, so beautiful, so blue, and identical to Eric's. She stroked Eric's hair as he closed his eyes to enjoy what Liga was doing to him, and she could feel her own vulva swell with passion as Alexis continued to stroke her breasts. She had never had a sexual thought about a woman before, and now she wanted to touch and caress and stroke every part of both Alexis and Liga. She could feel Alexis' large breasts pushed into her gills, and her own breasts felt heavy and full with passion and mermaid milk. She shivered at the memory of the previous evening, when she had her first mermaid orgasm. She was surprised when her breasts started spurting milk into the water, and she was also surprised by the intense feelings generated by her newly enlarged breasts, ones similar to the tingles of pleasure Alexis was generating. "I want some desert," Liga said in between slurps. "Alexis, why don't you give Sally some desert?" "That's a great idea," Alexis said as she pulled Sally into an embrace and rolled them a few centimeters away from Liga and her prey. Eric let his head fall back onto the damp sand as he felt Alexis and Sally roll away from him. He savored the warm water as it washed along his now quivering tail, cresting in small waves along his shoulders, his fins and flukes were fully extended, while the petite Filipino mermaid lavished attention upon his stiff cock. She beat it against her face, and licked it like a lollipop. Then she gave it several vigorous strokes along its entire length, and returned it to her mouth, taking nearly half of it down her throat. He knew he wouldn't last long. Sally was equally engaged, writhing under Alexis, feeling the blond mermaid's soft weight pressing onto her, her tongue teasing Sally's now swollen and exposed clit and labia. She put her arms around Alexis' tail, reaching up to her dorsal ridge, running her fingers over the soft fringe that ran along her spine. Alexis swayed above Sally, suspended on her pelvic fins and flukes, moving her hips gently back and forth over her face. Sally gasped as Alexis' belly rubbed across her stiff nipples, and she pulled Alexis' hips down to her face, tasting the other mermaid for the first time. Eric glanced over at Sally's gasp, and watched them grappling in the mermaid equivalent of a 69, their bodies both quivering and twitching, as their faces were buried in one another's vents. Even in the bright sun, he could now see the tremors of light running up and down their tails as they squirmed against one another. The flickering blue, silver, pink and white lights that shimmered along their tails were, indeed, very much like the threads of light that joined them all. Eric lifted his head and saw that both Liga and he were also luminescent, his flukes in particular were flickering and twitching, and they were beautiful. He laid his head back down, savoring Liga's enthusiastic attention to his now throbbing cock. He turned to look again at the other mermaids and saw Sally's head turn away from Alexis' vent, making eye contact with him. The thread that flowed between them pulsed, and he felt a sudden orgasm rise from his mid-tail and explode into Liga's eager embrace. Sally's eyes rolled back in her head as she too, joined him in orgasm. He closed his eyes, and savored the long pulses of cum that splashed into Liga's warm mouth. He heard Alexis vocally signify that she too had joined him in this moment of bliss. When he recovered, he turned his attention to Liga. As he listened to her squeal his name as his tongue pushed her over the edge again and again, he could also feel Alexis and Sally join her in similar orgasms. When the girls recovered, Eric could see that the connection between Sally and Alexis had grown more substantial, and his own connection to Liga pulsed with greater energy. "You can really see a difference?" Alexis asked. "Yes," he answered, stroking Liga's fins as she shuddered and cooed in post-orgasmic bliss. "Let's go out into the water," Sally suggested. "O.K., but why?" Eric asked. "Liga is still recovering." "Because then we can do a round robin," Sally said. "What's a round robin?" Liga asked, still enjoying the fading tremors of her own orgasm. "We keep switching partners until each of us has made love to everyone individually," Sally explained, looking at Liga. "That way, the new bonds can be built among each of us as quickly and as strongly as possible." "I'm recovered enough for that!" Liga said, rolling towards the water. "Good!" Sally said as she splashed joyfully in pursuit of the petite mermaid, her mermaid sexuality fully awakened. Eric watched the two mermaids race into the water, playfully caressing and teasing one another. Suddenly he felt the force of a mermaid tackling him from behind, rolling him into the water. Alexis pulled his face to hers and kissed him soundly as they spun into the water. He could taste Sally's juices on Alexis' tongue as it swirled in his mouth. As soon as there was enough water under them, she swam them both out to deeper water, propelling them down towards an underwater rock. "Seaman Edwards, I order you to suck my nipples," Alexis said playfully, pulling Eric's face from her lips and guiding him towards her aching breasts. "It's Merman Edwards, if you please, and I'll only do it if I'm ordered to enjoy it," he said as she thrust her stiff nipple into his mouth. "Enjoy it, Edwards," Alexis hissed as his teeth bit down lightly on her stiff nipple. Eric sucked the warm mermaid milk from Alexis; her orgasm with Sally prompted a prodigious amount of liquid. It was sweet, and he was enjoying sucking on her firm breasts. Not being in charge was going to be easy, he thought as he pulled on his vent muscle to free his quickly rebounding cock. Mermaid milk was better than Viagra. They made several rounds that afternoon because someone would "accidentally" start a new round, and then the other two would be behind an orgasm or two, but no one really seemed to mind. Later that evening, after a post-dinner round (their sixth of the day) they rested entwined around Eric, floating about five meters below the surface. Alexis belatedly remembered that they were supposed to be at a meeting of all the mers to debrief the autopsies. They rushed back to the caves, but no one chided them for being late. Although Eric alone could see the strong, thick threads of light that threaded their way through his entire pod, all the mers could see the looks on their faces, and that was excuse enough for their tardiness. ***** "It's a boat," Emma exclaimed. "Another one?" Phoebe sighed, looking into the morning sun. "So soon?" "What did you find out?" Pat asked, lifting herself onto the beach of the lagoon. "The Freedom III, from San Francisco," MuSu answered. "I don't know anyone from San Francisco," Sally worried, looking at Eric. "I'm from LA," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "There were six people on board," Rikki said. "Three men and three women." "We think it's a family," Cleo said. "That tall blond guy and the two girls are siblings, but the dark-haired boy must be a friend," Emma argued. "You weren't spotted?" Gabriel asked apprehensively, holding Michelle in his arms. "No," MuSu answered. "But only just barely," he finished with a glare at Emma. "We needed to?" she started to argue. "Relax, everyone!" John said firmly. "It's Hank and Janice Connor." "And their kids," Pat said with a smile. "And the tall blond guy is probably Trevor Green, if memory serves." Everyone blinked at Pat and John for a moment, the late morning sun beating down on the beach. After a breath or two of silence, everyone started talking and asking questions at once. It took several minutes to get all the information out and for everyone to settle back down. "So, these are friends of yours from Greenpeace who are looking for you?" Petra concluded as everyone listened. "Yes," Pat answered. "Though they are likely to be surprised by what they find." "No kidding," Phoebe said in a deadpan. "The dark-haired boy is the girls' brother?" Emma asked. "No way." "Well, brother or not, the boat will be here in about an hour or so, depending on the wind," MuSu observed. "We need a plan." "Here's what we're going to do," Pat said. ***** Hank nosed the Freedom III into the lagoon on the south side of 399, one of the larger islands on their possible targets list for finding his brother-in-law. Janice and the girls were at the bow, eagerly scanning the island with their binoculars, while Robbie and Trevor readied the dinghy at the stern of the boat. The noonday sun was bright and clear, the light dancing across the beach and water. "There are beach huts!" Kate exclaimed, her long blonde hair swirling around her face as she pushed it away from her eyes. "Where?" Janice asked, swinging her gaze away from the volcano that rose majestically up along the western edge of the picturesque island. "One-o'clock," Ann said, joining in her sister's excitement. "I see them," Janice shouted. "Hank, there are beach huts!" "Who built them?" he thought to himself, wondering if he should get his gun from the cabin below. "Look, in the water, 11 o'clock," Kate said. "There's a man swimming. It looks like John. No, wait, it can't be ... but ... wait ... it is John, but he looks younger than I remember." "You're right," Janice said with surprise and relief as she focused her glasses on the bobbing figure in the water. "It's John, and he does look ten years younger." "And more handsome," Ann said, quickly embarrassed that she had said it out loud. She dropped her binoculars to her side and turned to face the stern. "For an old guy," she stuttered, looking at Trevor. "I'll remember to tell him that when we get closer," Hank said with a wry smile and a nudge in Trevor's side. "Janice, can you hail him?" "JOHN!" Janice screamed, waving. "It's Janice and Hank!" "Hey sis!" John's voice floated back to them over the water. "It's great to see you," she shouted back. "Where's Patrick?" "Pat is out collecting samples on the other side of the island," John said, watching the boat veer towards his location. "In your boat?" Janice asked as they made more speed for the beach, now that they knew it was safe. "No, our boat is gone," John said, bobbing in the wake of the sailboat as it swung into the wind. "What happened to your boat?" Janice asked. "It's a long story," John said, as the sailboat slowed. "Trevor, radio the Sea Dancer and let them know we've found John and Patrick on 399," Hank said. "Rodger," Trevor responded, ducking into the galley. "Do you need a hand up into the boat?" Janice asked as they drew with in a few meters of the still floating John. "What's happened to your eyes?" she asked, noticing the jewel-like quality of his flashing grey/green eyes. "It's another long story, but don't worry, you'll eventually hear all about it," John said with a smile, "but go ahead and anchor and make landfall. Who is on The Sea Dancer?" "Bill and Mae Williams," Janice answered. "You remember them?" "Yes," John answered. "Anyone else?" "Mae's sister, Eve," Janice answered. "And Sandy and Dawn Halbst." "Sandy and Dawn?" asked John. "It's their first voyage with us," Janice said. "Why all the questions? What's up?" "Like I said, it's a long story," John grinned. "But it's a good one. Can they be trusted to keep a secret?" "This search for you is a secret, remember?" Hank answered. "Are you o.k.?" "I'm fine," John reassured them. "Listen, you get to the beach, and I'll go get Pat. It will take about thirty minutes to get back. Just remember, you need to be ready for the surprise of your life." "What the heck do you mean by that?" Hank asked from the stern as he swung the tiller to allow Janice to set the anchor, which she had already lowered into the water. "You'll see," John said. "But I warn you, it will be a big shocker. Just trust me, and don't shoot us. You should be on the beach when I return." "Shoot you," Hank said laughing, "why on earth would we want to shoot you and Patrick?" "Promise me?" John said with a hint of seriousness. "Fine, fine," Hank said laughing, "We won't shoot you." "How is he going to make it to the other side of the island and back in thirty minutes?" Trevor asked, scanning the length of the island. Janice watched as John sank quickly below the surface, and she noticed that he looked very different under the water. She saw for the first time that his outline was much longer than she expected, and that he shot under their boat much faster than she thought a human could swim. There was also a flash of steel and blue and quicksilver along his legs as he passed beneath the boat. A sudden fear clutched at her heart. "Hank," she said. "John's changed." "Of course he's strange," Hank said. "He's been on this island for nearly two years with only Patrick for company." "No, not strange, changed," Janice said, her fear building. "He has really changed." "What?" Hank asked, sensing her fear. "Do you think the radioactivity has affected him?" "I don't know," Janice said. "Kate, what were the readings as we approached?" "They were all within normal parameters, normal background radiation," Kate said. "He hasn't come up for air yet," Ann said as she scanned the lagoon in the direction in which John had headed. "Girls, did you see anything strange about John?" Janice asked. "No," Kate said. "Not really." "Me neither," Ann agreed. "Where did he go?" Hank asked. "Under the boat," Janice answered. "He was headed for the reef, swimming much faster than any human I've ever seen swim." "Human?" asked Hank. "He looked like he had a fish tail," Janice said. "What, like a mermaid?" Hank laughed. "No, like a merman," Janice said. There was a moment of silence, only the sound of the waves lapping along the hull of their boat, and the wind rustling the sails. "He did say we would be shocked," Hank said. ***** "And then you arrived," John finished, looking across the fire to where his in-laws sat in stunned silence. The mers were all arranged by pods with their backs to the water, while Hank, Janice, and Trevor sat on camp chairs on the other side of the fire. Their three children had moved among the mers, and the girls were stroking John's fins and flukes, while Robbie was holding Michelle who was sleeping in his arms. It had taken the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening to answer everyone's questions. "And you think that you've become immortal?" Janice asked. "Perhaps not immortal," Pat answered. "But the aging process has been slowed considerably, we think." "We've studied individual cells in all our major biological systems," Galina explained, "and the regenerative properties of our new "siren cell," which exists in mermaid milk and our reproductive fluids, affects all systems similarly." "We're still not sure how it works, but it rebuilds and reshapes cells, bone, nerve, blood, DNA, everything," Pat said. "It operates like a stem cell, sort of. Rather than it becoming any other cell, it helps other cells become any other cell. Two new organs in our endocrine system make it." "It also made us younger. I was 56 years old before I transitioned," Gabriel offered. "And he was a woman," Petra said, taking her mate's hand. "And I was nearly 60, and a male." "Well, yes, there were a few steps in between before we got to being mermaids," Pat said. "And now you all look twenty-five," Hank observed. "Siren cell," John said with a smile, "I like it. Good name for it." "You didn't know about it John? When did you discover it?" asked Janice. "A few months ago, but we didn't understand what it was or how it got produced until this morning," Pat explained. "Oh, right," Janice said. "The autopsies." Janice looked over at Eric's pod. "Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have?" "No," Alexis reassured her, taking Liga's and Sally's hands in hers. "We have new mates now, and the knowledge we gained from our old mates will help us. We can bury them tonight with great dignity and honor." "Angie?" Janice asked. "Angara and Agba," Liga answered, clear-eyed but sad. "They were killed protecting us." "It is time to honor their sacrifice," Pat said. "We will post MuSu's pod at the entrance to the lagoon tonight, and all of us will return here in the morning. Why don't you get some rest in the huts, and we can talk further after some reflection." Hank and Janice agreed, and watched as the mers made their way into the water. Hank returned his attention to the fire, watching the flames lick against the driftwood, the occasional spark rising into the darkness. He felt his wife's hand slip into his own. "Penny for your thoughts?" she asked. "There isn't enough money in the universe," Hank said, looking across at his children and Trevor, all of whom were eagerly waiting for his response. "All this is just beyond me, beyond anything I expected." "Dad," Kate began. "No," Hank said with a sigh. "It's written like a neon sign on all your faces, and the answer is no." His three children erupted at once. They all wanted to stay, and they wanted to become mers. "Were any of you listening?" Hank shouted, quieting them. "First, there is some crazy drug lord who is hunting them down. Second, the US Navy will be breathing down their necks any day now. Third, the ratio is 3 females to 1male?ideally?which means that at least one male among us would need to change into a woman, and ... AND," he raised his voice as he saw their arguments rise in their throats. "AND, fourth, I am not going to have any kind of incestuous relationship with my own children, human or mer!" Everyone sat in silence while they did the math. "I could become a mermaid to go with Janice and Hank," Trevor said. "I'm not related by blood to the rest of you." "That might work," Robbie said hopefully. "You could be with Dad, and I would have Kate and Ann." "Ewwwe," Kate and Ann said together. "You're our brother!" "But I don't want to be a girl," Trevor said carefully. "NO!" Hank said. "No one is going to be a girl or a mermaid. Furthermore, Robbie is NOT going to be a father to his sister's children." Another few moments of awkward silence passed. "What will we do?" Janice asked. "I don't know, but we can talk about it more in the morning," Hank said. "Tomorrow is likely to be a big day, one way or the other, and we should all try to get some rest." ***** Later that night, Trevor found Robbie alone on the beach, watching waves roll onto the shore in the darkness. "Hey," Trevor whispered. "Hey." "Can't sleep?" Trevor asked. "No, you?" "Nope," Trevor said as he sat down beside the younger man. "I'm sorry about the mermaid/girl thing," Robbie said. "What mermaid/girl thing?" Trevor asked. "You know, the ?that might work' thing?" Robbie answered. "Oh, that," Trevor said. He looked out at the waves for a moment or two. "Would you become a mermaid?" he asked. "Me; you mean become a girl?" Robbie said. "Yea, would you?" "Would you?" Robbie returned. "I asked you first," Trevor said. They sat in silence for a while, each lost in thought. "No," Robbie said. "Me neither," Trevor answered. "You'd be a merman husband to my sisters, though?" Robbie asked. "In a heartbeat," Trevor said good-naturedly. "But not without your Dad's permission." "Yea, that would be bad," Robbie agreed. "He'd kill you." "No, he wouldn't," Trevor said. "But it would hurt, that's for sure." There was silence again as the boys watched the sea in the moonlight. "Would you be a merman husband to your sisters?" Trevor asked. "Nah," Robbie said. "I just wanted to stay and be a mer." "Good," Trevor said. Trevor sat next to the younger boy in silence again. His thoughts were all a whirl. The mers were the most beautiful creatures that he had ever seen, and the grace and beauty with which all the mermaids moved, swam, and even talked was completely captivating. Their voices were like silver bells, and their laughter was like music. They were indeed sirens of the sea. He had to find a way to become a part of the mers, and it had to be sooner rather than later. "Do you think your dad would let me stay?" he asked. "He might," Robbie answered. "I mean, technically you're not his kid, and you're twenty five years old." "Good," he said. "That's twice you've said good," Robbie said. "What are you hatching in that addled brain of yours?" he asked, chucking his old friend in the shoulder. "I'm gonna stay," Trevor announced. "You need a girl to stay, remember," Robbie said. "Mermen need at least one girl or they get crazy. That's what Emma said. And, all the current pods are full." "Maybe one will turn up?" Trevor said hopefully. "Maybe," Robbie said, turning his gaze to the moon. ***** "Where the hell is my daughter?" Admiral Mackenzie "Mac" Bennett bellowed. "I don't know sir," the young officer said, wishing that he were anywhere else on the planet. "What the fuck does that mean, I don't know?" His voice ringing down the long hallways of the Naval Annex. "Call those assholes over at Homeland Security and get some answers, and then call State and see if there has been any activity on her passport." "I can do that?" the Lieutenant asked nervously. "If you don't," the admiral growled as he loomed over the shorter, younger man. "You'll be busted back to Seaman so fast that pond scum will out rank you. Go!" "Aye, aye sir," the young man squeaked as he dashed from the Admiral's office. Damn fool girl, he fumed. She was always wanting to some impulsive thing, and now she had, finally. Heck, he almost admired her for it. It showed some balls to double cross her old man that way, sneaking off with out so much as a how-do-you-do. Probably shacking up with that surfer, what was his name? Eric, damn him! Once he got his hands on that sonofabitch, he wouldn't have legs to stand on a surfboard. Why couldn't he have had a son? If a son of his ran off with a pretty girl despite his objections, he might have bought the fool a cigar for finally standing up to his bluster. But a girl ... girls were different! He had tried his best, after his wife had died in childbirth, to raise Sally. When she was a little girl, she adored him, but after she turned twelve, she became a creature he didn't understand. Damn women! No, damn Eric! It had to be his fault. The Admiral picked up his phone. "CIA, headquarters," he barked into the phone. ***** "Bill is probably about three or four weeks out," Hank said. "We have to get back now, especially since we are not going to rescue anyone." "But why?" Kate whined. "We want to stay. We have only been here for two days, and you said we were going to be here for a week." "Plans have changed," Hank said simply. "But why?" Ann chimed in. "Is it because of that meeting you all had this morning?" Hank sighed. He struggled with how much to tell his own children about the meeting he and Janice had with Pat and John. But he couldn't let anyone know what they had decided. "We are going back," he repeated. "But why do we have to go?" Kate repeated. "We're both 18!" "Not for another two weeks," Hank said evenly. "We are going back because you two are going to get a college education, whether you like it or not," Janice said. "So, that order to go back might not include me?" Trevor asked. "Or me?" Robbie added. "We've already got our college degrees." "And we want to stay and help with the gun," Trevor added, glancing over at Gabriel who smiled guiltily. Hank glared at Gabriel who shrugged. He swung his gaze back to his son and his former intern. They were both young, strapping boys, and they could probably help a great deal. He understood their desire, but he hesitated on giving his consent. "And it would give you the excuse you needed to return," Robbie added as he watched his father struggle with his decision. "What excuse do I need?" Hank growled. "To tell your friends that you need to visit me," Robbie said. "Besides, I know you and Mom, and the girls. You'll be back; the possibility of becoming mers is too much to turn away from. Think how much we could accomplish environmentally as ambassadors from the sea, and we can only do that if there are enough of us." "Are you going to become a mermaid or a merman?" Janice challenged, glaring at both Robbie and Trevor. "No," Robbie said. "We're not becoming mer anythings for a while. At least for a month or so, while we help with the gun and stuff." A few moments passed while Hank and Janice whispered fiercely to one another. "I'm not saying yes," Hank said. "But he's not saying no," Janice added. "You two can make your own decisions, but we would like you to return with us. You are right, we will be coming back." Trevor and Robbie shared a quick glance, while his sisters squealed with joy. "I'm staying," Trevor said. "Me too," Robbie said. "It's not fair," Kate exclaimed. "Life, even a mermaid's life, is not always fair," Alexis said, offering a comforting smile to the two young girls. "We will welcome you back when you are older." "But you must promise to keep this a secret," Pat said, waddling over to them and taking their hands in hers. "Please promise me that you'll not tell anyone until your father says that it's o.k." "We promise," the girls both said solemnly. ***** Hank and Janice had spent the rest of the day with all the mers in the Western Caves, except for MuSu's pod who kept the Connor children and Trevor company. Trevor and Robbie were given the task of replenishing the boat's supplies and informing the Sea Dancer of their plans. The Sea Dancer was advised to continue to 399, as John and "Pat" had need of some of their supplies, which is what Hank told Trevor to tell Bill, and no other details. "Why are you guys always the ones on guard duty?" Kate asked as she stroked Emma's fins. "Because we're the only pod that doesn't have anyone in it who is pregnant," Emma answered. "Oh," Kate said. "Do you want to be?" "Someday," Emma said. "Do you want to get pregnant?" Ann asked Cleo. "Yes, very much," Cleo answered, stroking Rikki's hair. "Why don't you?" Ann continued. "Because we will know when it is time," Rikki answered. "We agreed that we would all go together, and Emma and I are not ready. Cleo has agreed to wait." "What was it like, becoming a mermaid?" asked Kate. "It was wonderful, almost magical," Cleo sighed. "I remember that it felt like my whole body had become light or energy, and that I had this incredible power in my body." "It was also sexy as hell," Rikki said. "Oh, I'm sorry ... you guys haven't, um?" She said shifting her gaze from Trevor to the girls. "No," Ann giggled. "My father would kill us if we had sex before we got married. And Trevor is just a good friend." "He's cute though," Emma observed. "He would make a good pod-mate." MuSu cleared his throat, not turning back to face the mermaids as he looked out on the lagoon. "Not as good as MuSu, of course," Emma said quickly. "No, MuSu is the best of all the mermen," Cleo added. "He's alright," Rikki said, and then giggled when he glared at her. "So did MuSu teach you to speak Chinese?" Robbie asked. "Yes," Rikki answered. "Yea, but how?" Robbie persisted. "I don't know," Rikki answered. "We just started talking, and he would correct us, and we slowly got better and better. Just like he learned English." "You just started talking?" Robbie asked, incredulous. "Cleo?" Emma asked. "What is the middle organ on an electric eel called?" "I'm not a biologist," Cleo complained, playing with Rikki's hair. "How should I know?" "Humor me," Emma said. "Something Robbie just said. So tell me, just think, what is the name of an electric eel's middle electric organ?" Cleo shot Emma an exasperated looked and then closed her eyes to think. "Hunter's Organ," she said guessing. "I knew it! You're a genius," Emma said, offering Robbie a high five. "What?" asked Cleo? "What just happened?" "You knew," Emma said. "I didn't tell you, but I only learned it yesterday, and you knew it too." "What's the big deal about that?" Cleo asked. "Hey, I know some stuff too," Rikki said. "You still don't know what our third organ does, do you?" Emma shook her head. "Pat must have told us those names," Cleo said. "We just don't remember it from the meeting a few days ago." "No," Emma said, growing more excited. "She didn't say any names because she said that we need to come up with new names: mer names. She only said that we have eight new organs that don't exist in human anatomy." "So, how did Cleo know the name of that organ?" Rikki asked. "It's because we are connected, we are a pod," Emma answered. "That's why we learn languages so fast, and why we know how each of us are feeling, and all that. We learn via our connections." "So, we could learn everything someone else knew if we were pod-mates with them?" Ann asked. "Yea, I think so," Emma answered. "But we all learn a little bit from other pods, not just our mates, though those learning links are not as strong as our own. We've just never discovered that the pod learning may be unconscious." "Unconscious?" Ann asked. "Cleo knew the name of the organ without being actually told, and she doesn't care much for science," Robbie concluded. "But you actually like science, right?" "Well, Phoebe and I are the only young mermaids who really like science, and we are always learning new stuff from Pat, Galina, and Alexis. But everyone, even Cleo, knows a lot about marine biology, what stuff to eat, and stuff like that." "I know stuff about Russian literature," Cleo sniffed. "I actually like talking to Galina about that stuff." "It is pretty international here," Emma agreed. "We all have learned stuff about America, China, Thailand, the Philippines, Russia, all kinds of places." "And you teach everyone about Australia," MuSu offered. "Wow," Ann said. "We wouldn't have to go to college! We could stay!" "Yea, you might," Emma agreed. "If you can get your father to agree," Trevor cautioned. "Emma, can I ask you a question?" Robbie asked. "Sure," she answered. "Uh, not here, can we go for a walk or a swim?" he asked. She looked at MuSu, who nodded his assent. "Sure, let's go for a swim," she suggested, as the two of them headed for the water. "I wonder what that is all about?" Rikki asked. "Oh, he gets mysterious every now and again," Ann said. "It's usually nothing." "Yea, don't worry about it," Kate agreed. "It's just his artistic side showing." ***** "Goodbye," Pat shouted out to the boat as it pushed its way out into the open sea. Her head and shoulders bobbed in the warm lagoon as she waved vigorously. "We will take good care of Robbie and Trevor!" "You'd better," Janice called back. Pat watched the boat for another few minutes, savoring the water as it supported her body, her fins gently twirling in the water to keep her in place. Danni and Phoebe were on her flanks, and John was below, brushing among all three of their tails. Liga, Petra, and Xing also bobbed in the water nearby. Liga was feeling "very pregnant," as she explained to anyone who would listen. Xing was just as pregnant, the two of them having conceived on the same day, but she seemed much more comfortable than Liga. Petra was trying to keep Michelle entertain