Changes In Paradise: 11 --Babies, Beliefs, And By-Products 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. Please read "Changes In Paradise, parts 1 - 10," if you haven't already, and please take a moment to post a comment or send an email. Permission granted to re-post on any free site with attribution. Thanks for the comments, suggestions, and encouragement on the previous parts. I really appreciate it. Several characters that appear in this chapter are the results of the comments from readers. Thank you, Draflow, Debra (and there is still "Debra" yet to come, one hopes ... if I can keep this story afloat ... oh, yes, I kill myself), Mar Vir, Pat(rick), and Fran(k). This chapter is for each of you. Changes in Paradise: Part 11 - Babies, Beliefs, and By-Products New mers, new babies, new challenges, a new transition, and new discoveries make Mermaid Island a busy place. The saga continues. By Patricia ***** Shen Chin laughed aloud on her way back to the hotel. Finally, after years of waiting and planning, she would start her revenge. She smiled at the startled, late evening shoppers as they brushed past her in the street. Her plans were working better than she hoped. Tuo was able to radio her, just as planned. He had the money, and even better, Turi had been "liquidated," whatever that meant. Tuo wouldn't explain further. She was sure that she didn't need to know the details, however. Now, all she had to do was get Manalo to secure one of his father's high speed boats to reach the location Tuo had shared with her, then she could continue on to Davao, where Manalo had unknowingly transferred Lin Chen, and there she could "buy her sister" back from the brothel. Malaki would not be able to trace her movements because she would only use cash--his own cash, in fact. Then, she would return to the island. She stopped to look at a dress in a shop window. Tuo promised her that he had a plan so that Malaki would not be able to harm her or her sister, but only on the island. Why would Alberto's hideaway, which Malaki certainly would not stop looking for, offer such a refuge, she wondered. Tuo was adamant; she and Lin would be safe, and Shen would understand once she got to the island. Well, that dress was going to look lovely on her slender, but shapely form. Hopefully, it would keep Manalo distracted from her true purpose. She entered the shop to try it on. It was past dinnertime when she got back to the hotel room. "Where have you been?" Manalo demanded. "Shopping," she said, holding up the dress she had bought for exactly that reason. "Would you like to see it on?" "Not now," he said excitedly. "I've just heard word from Turi that he has located Alberto and the money. We need to leave right now." "Tonight? O.K., I'll put the dress in here for later tonight on the boat," she said as she grabbed the suitcase that they had prepared for just such news. Well, she thought to herself as she carefully placed the expensive dress into the suitcase, Manalo believed the fake message from Tiki. "Are you going to bring your gun?" she asked. "Of course," he said, grabbing his gun bag. "You don't think I trust Turi or his cousins, do you? And what about that Chink, Tuo? Yea, I don't trust him either." "You watch too much American television," she said. "Shall we eat dinner on the boat?" she continued, ignoring Manalo's racist slur. She bent over provocatively as she picked up the suitcase. "I can call the marina and have them put something on board." "Yea, that will be fine," he said, watching her shapely ass sway back and forth. "That will give us more time to ... " she winked at him. "Yea, that will be fine too," he said, grabbing her butt as they left the room. As Shen watched him get into the limo, she wondered if tonight would be the last night she had to put up with his pathetic efforts at lovemaking. She hoped so. Racist bastard. ***** Sandi pushed her transformed body off Tuo's cock, feeling the aftershocks of her most recent orgasm echo through her body. She watched as Eve took his still rampant pole and guided it towards her own vent, pulling the mammoth shaft into her mermaid's body for the first time. Tuo's long silver and gray tail entwined with Eve's yellow and pink tail, and together they began to make love. Sandi hung in the water, her body still quaking, letting her gills replenish her air supply as she watched Eve's blue fringes begin to dance with light. Tuo's white highlights were already flickering wildly thanks to her own efforts. Next to her, she could sense Dawn floating next to her, still recovering from the orgasm she had while perched on Tuo's pelvic fin. They had all transitioned in the moonlight that evening after Alexis had gathered them from the nursery cave. They all developed the familiar red stripes down their backs in the three hours after their third feeding. Tuo went last, as had most of the other recently transformed mermen, and Sandi was his last feeder. The orgasm she felt as he fed from her breast was nothing compared to the one she just had as they made love for the first time as mers. It was incredible, a wrenching, twisting, throbbing pleasure that she had never imagined anyone could feel. Her internal muscles were still shaking. Sandi looked over her shoulder at Dawn, who was still enjoying the orgasm she had while perched on Tuo's pelvic fins. She wondered if they should return to his fins or spend some time alone first. Dawn smiled at her, and Sandi made up her mind. "Kiss me," Sandi said to her sister wife. "Kiss me," she repeated as she turned fully towards her. Dawn watched Sandi turn in the water and drank in the sight of her greatly transformed husband. Sandi was now her identical twin. They both had long blond hair, piercing green eyes, and very pale blue and pink tails with bright yellow highlights that now flashed with light. They were both petite, only Xing was smaller than they were, though the two Polynesians might be as small as or smaller than Xing. They would transition later the next morning as Bill, Mae, Tiki, and Rangi were all in the newly christened "Change Cave" that had a small pool but a large, soft sandy floor that allowed humans and mers to mingle more easily. Sandi pulled Dawn's face to hers and kissed her soundly, pressing her body along the length of Dawn's identical body. Sandi could feel her still swollen vent rub against Dawn's, their erect clitoris' perfectly positioned, poking and prodding the other's. Sandi gasped as Dawn grabbed her own now wide, scale-covered hips and pressed their bodies together. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the incredible feelings from her tail as Dawn's equally soft tail rubbed against hers. Their tails felt softer than human skin, and they were sensitive along their entire length. Their two sets of fins each caressed one another's, and with their flukes twisted together, each of their flukes were on the reverse side of their lover's. "Do you still love me?" Sandi asked. "Yes," Dawn said, her eyelids fluttering with passion. "It almost feels as though I love you more now than I did before." Sandi glanced down at their joined bodies, each the mirror of the other. Her full and heavy breasts pressed into Dawn's, and their hardened nipples were both poking dents into one another's soft flesh. Dawn's strong hands gripped her hips, and Sandi could feel another orgasm approaching. "Me too," Sandi said, surprised. "What about Eve and Tuo?" "They too," Dawn answered, grinding her hips into Sandi's. "I love them too, but not the same as you." "How is it different?" Sandi asked. "I'm not sure," she answered, biting her lip as her own orgasm approached. "But I know that it is something more. I love you so much. I always have. You were always so gentle and giving, and now ... now." "And now my spirit and body match?" Sandi suggested. "No, ah ... oh ... um ... that feels so good," Dawn moaned. "There is a sense of wholeness about you ... about us." "Oh, yes, oh god ... right there ... a ... ahhh ... wholeness?" Sandi asked. "Maybe it's the siren cell, or the mer-bonding, but everything just seems to fit," Dawn said, leaning forward to kiss Sandi. Their bodies merged again, their flukes fanned out and quivering against one another's, their hips pressed together, their breasts sliding and pushing together, Dawn's arms grasped Sandi's hips, and Sandi held Dawn's shoulders as they kissed. They could both feel each other's energies, their bodies' sexual tension building, and their kissing grew more urgent. They were devouring each other's lips, tongues, and mouths. "We ... do ... ah ... fit ... oooh ... perfectly ... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," Sandi agreed as another orgasm exploded within her womb, rippling outward along her torso and tail. Dawn held tightly onto Sandi's jerking hips as she joined her sister-wife in an orgasm, their breasts spurting hot mermaid's milk into each other's chests. After a few moments, they both recovered, and floated a little bit away from each other. Dawn reached out and stroked Sandi's breasts, tweaking her swollen nipples. "Ah, ummmm, ohhhhhh, you always said they were sensitive," Sandi gasped, pushing her breasts into Dawn's caresses. "Now I finally ... under ... ummmm ... stand ... for myself." Sandi reached out and pulled Dawn's face to her own again, their breasts pushing against one another's. She held Dawn's gaze in her own as she slowly, playfully brought their lips together. They both moaned as their full lips slid across each other's, nipping, and licking at their soft, full lips. Next to them, they could hear Eve and Tuo beginning to speed up, Eve's cries and moans filling their ears. They could hear and sense the other mermaids and mermen were all making love all around them. "I was right," Sandi said, her breasts pleasantly pressing into Dawn's, their nipples hard nubs of pleasure that slid against soft flesh. "We can still make love, just you and me." Sandi let one hand drop from Dawn's face and began to trace circles on her smooth skin, working her way around Dawn's body. "Your body is so perfect, so beautiful," she said as she let her pelvic fins brush against Dawn's waist, watching her internal muscles jump with the contact. "If I had to be a mermaid, I wanted to be just like you," she finished her circuit of Dawn's body, pushing herself back up into Dawn's embrace. "I can't believe how sexy you are," Dawn said as she pushed the hair from Sandi's face and shoulders, watching it float like a halo around her face. She traced her fingers along the hollow of Sandi's delicate neck. "Do I look this sexy to you too?" The two mermaids looked at each other, drinking in their shared beauty. Their bright green eyes were wide and full of passion with graceful eyebrows arching above, their chins small and perfectly shaped, and their golden hair cascaded down their backs reaching below their hips. Sandi dropped her gaze to Dawn's breasts, and watched them float in the water, always moving with each twist and quiver of her torso. She looked down at her own new breasts, and watched them sway and float in the water too. "Let's make love again," Sandi said. "But this time, I'll be your mirror," she said as she began to stroke her own body. Dawn smiled, remembering their old game. They used to masturbate together when they were husband and wife, talking their way towards a mutual orgasm. "This time will be different, " Dawn said, as she started to touch her own body. "You won't just watch me; you will feel the exact same sensations as me." "Yes," Sandi said with a lusty smile. "I finally get to have multiple orgasms." The twin mermaids floated centimeters from one another, each running their hands over their own bodies. Sandi matched Dawn's actions as she lifted her hands to her face, and tracing her fingers across her full, trembling lips. Dawn sucked a finger into her mouth, and Sandi did the same. They ran their hands down their necks and across their collarbones, tracing the shape of their clavicles. Sandi felt the delicious tension that she had just released begin to build again. She continued to mirror Dawn, letting her fingernails stroke the sides of her breasts, not quite reaching the nipples, gently pushing them together, and feeling their warmth as they pressed together in the cool water. They both moaned when they pinched their nipples, pulling their breasts forward in the water. They both snaked their hands down to their still throbbing vaginas. Sandi could see that Dawn's clit was completely aroused, sticking out into the water. In fact, her entire mons swelled, raised slightly from the surface of her tail. She knew without looking that her own was equally raised and swollen. They brushed their fingers lightly across their vents, and they both jolted with pleasure. "Someone is on a hair trigger," Sandi teased, even as her own hips twitched, tendrils of pleasure shooting through her body. Dawn said nothing, but plunged two fingers into her vent, and started pumping her hand in and out of herself. She returned her other hand to her breasts, and began to push and pull on both her breasts. Sandi copied her, and together they both hurtled towards yet another orgasm. Dawn's eyes were fluttering, her torso shaking with effort, and her hand was a piston in her vent. Dawn's other hand settled onto her left breast, and Sandi pushed her chest forward so that their otherwise free nipples touched. It was as if lighting struck both their bodies at once. "Aaaaahhhhhh," Sandi moaned as a throbbing wave of pleasure gripped her abdomen and she leaned her breast more firmly into Dawn. Her body vibrated from her head to her flukes, her tail flashing with light. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and Sandi felt her vagina clamp down on her own fingers. "Saaaaannnnndiiiiiiiii," Dawn squealed as they shared a massive orgasm together, their breasts again squirting hot milk into the water, enshrouding them in a mist of white. Behind them they heard Eve and Tuo reach their climaxes too. A few moments later, neither Sandi nor Dawn moved when Tuo and Eve reached out and brought them into a collective embrace. They were still shaking, their hands pressed into their vents, and their breasts were still pressed together. ***** Pat smiled as she watched the new mers make love. The Moon Pool was getting crowded, but not enough so that new rules needed to be developed. She cradled both Michelle and Mari in her arms while their mothers enjoyed the ardent attentions of their pod-mates. They were up to twenty-six mers, counting the children, with another five babies on the way, three of them within the month. Depending on how many girls Shen Chin was able to rescue, they would soon be up to a sizable number of mers. Where would they all fit? The Moon Pool could probably hold fifty mers comfortably, if in close quarters. But after that, then what would they do? Gabriel's pod finished first, so they swam off to the Change Cave to help Bill and Mae give Rangi and Tiki their third feeding. Bill's two new pod-mates would transition the next morning, Rangi and Tiki opting to follow Emma and Rose's advice about being a girl for at least overnight. Here in the Moon Pool, the remaining pods made love, satiating the sexual need created by mer-making. Pat herself struggled to maintain her composure as she held the sleeping babies, her own sexual tension increasing within her body despite her pregnancy or her current job of baby sitting. As with the last transformation, the children stayed in the Moon Pool Cave, and they seemed to understand the special moment of transition, but they always fell asleep, rather than have any sexual response to the power of the changes. Pat felt Maureen roll again in her belly, as she sensed John rise up behind her. She leaned back into his embrace, his strong arms enfolding both her and the two mer-babies. "You O.K.?" John asked. "I'm good," Pat sighed. "Maybe a little horny; how anyone could not be is beyond me. Participating in the transformation of another person's body, mind, and spirit is a very intimate act, but I'm content to let Michelle and Mari sleep for now. Where are Danni and Phoebe?" "They're keeping one another occupied," John said, with only the barest whisper of regret. "Now that all of you are so close to delivery, no one wants to actually have sex with me." "You poor baby," Pat teased. "What will we ever do?" John's response was interrupted by Petra who swam through the swirling clouds of white towards them. Both John and Pat could sense her unspoken need. "I'll take them," Petra said, holding out her arms. "Are you alright?" Pat asked, handing over the sleeping children, their tails drooping over her arms. "I'm fine," Petra insisted. "I just needed to hold my daughter." Petra gathered both mermaids into her arms, and Michelle stirred enough to wrap her arms around one of Petra's magnificent breasts, using it for a pillow. Petra had helped with Tuo and his girls' transition while Liga had watched both kids in the cave above. Once Gabriel, Galina, and Xing took off for the Change Cave, Petra had made a beeline for her daughter. "You'll understand after you have Maureen," Petra said. "I thought my bond to Gabriel was special, but it's nothing compared to Michelle." "It occurs to me that we haven't spent enough time studying our mer- bonding," Pat said, sinking back into John's embrace. "Maybe we should put Eric's special talents to better use, and our slowly improving equipment in the lab could be of some assistance." "Sure," Petra said, nuzzling her daughter and checking Mari who was still sound asleep. "Sounds fine. Why don't you two get rid of that sexual tension I can sense bubbling underneath your skin." "Is it that obvious?" Pat asked, almost with relief. "Yes," Petra smiled, winking. "John, you're not doing your job." "I'd love to," he protested. "But no one wants any help from me." "There is more than just fucking, you know," Petra teased. "Yes, I am well aware of that," John said, running his hands along Pat's flanks, teasing her swollen belly. "I still know how to use my hands." "So do I," Pat said, turning, and she reached down for his vent. "We'll see you later, Petra?" But she was already gone, and Pat never bothered to check. She sank down to John's vent, and he was already opening it up for her. As his magnificent cock sprang out, he twisted his body so that they both were oriented along each other's tails, horizontally in the water. Side by side, they floated together, each of their faces buried in each other's vents, their tails extending beyond their heads. John had to curl around Pat's swollen belly, but that did not turn out to be an impediment. After bringing one another to a mutually satisfying release, they floated back to vertical as Danni and Phoebe made their way through the Moon Pool towards them. "We've got another transition in the morning," Danni said, rubbing her belly. "I don't know if I am happy or sad that Tiki and Rangi decided to wait until morning." "What do you mean?" Pat asked. "I don't know if I would just as soon get it over with tonight or collapse right now," she complained. "I can't wait until Freya decides that she's cooked, and I can stop feeling like a beached whale." "Danni, you have always been so impatient," Pat said tenderly. "And you always mix your metaphors. Besides, I know the real reason why you are eager to deliver." "Why's that?" Danni asked warily. "Because all three of us can see how you pine and ooh and aah over Michelle and Mari," Phoebe said, kissing Danni on the shoulder as they pulled up next to Pat and John. "You can't wait to be a mother." "Yea," Danni said dreamily, looking down at her belly. "I'm going to be a mother." Pat sighed. She could wait, she decided. Everything seemed so out of whack, so overwhelming, so unsettled. She couldn't wait until there was nothing more to worry about than the very basics of mer survival: gathering and eating food, frolicking in the sea, and making love, again and again. A near eternity of that (she didn't think the mers were immortal, just very long-lived) would suit her just fine. ***** "Well?" demanded Malaki, watching his new executive assistant cope with the news of his sister's captivity and enslavement. Two of his best bodyguards flanked the small Indian man, towering over him. The poor man was shaking with rage, but he was also terrified. "I ... I ... I accept the terms of my employment," he nearly sobbed. "Good," Malaki said emotionlessly. "What was the report you received from my son?" "He ... er ... I mean, Ms. Chen told me that they believe they have located Mr. Estanado's boat, and will be recovering your property shortly. One of our yachts has been temporarily reassigned to this mission." "Fine," Malaki said, turning his attention to a small stack of papers on his desk. "If you hear anything unusual from Ms. Chen, notify me immediately. These two gentlemen will see you back to your desk, and they will brief you on the behavior I expect from you in the future." Sudhish Basra drew on every ounce of strength left to him, and turned to leave the office. He made it only a few steps before Malaki stopped him. "Mr. Basra," Malaki's voice said in the same monotone that characterized all their conversations. "I trust I will not need to worry about your discretion or your loyalty." Sudhish forced himself to smile, the pictures of his elder sister, Geeta, fresh in his mind, and thought of his two other sisters and the danger in which his own ambition had put them. He turned to his employer, now his tormentor, and struggled to maintain his composure. "No, sir," he said, almost as calmly as he intended himself to sound. "You can count on my cooperation as long as I can count on yours." He waited for Malaki to give some indication that they had reached a bargain, but the other man made no sign and remained focused on his paperwork. After a few seconds more, Sudhish turned and walked out of the office. ***** Joy waded out into the water a third time, making her way around the small seaplane she had secured for the next step of her mission. There were limited choices in Tarawa, and this was the only plane she could buy without attracting unwanted attention. The plane was old but had been adapted for the long distances between islands. There were no passenger seats, just cargo space, which was just fine with her. She wasn't taking any passengers, though she hoped she might have one on the return trip. The plane was in good shape considering the price she paid for it, she thought dryly. Well, there was only one way to find out for sure. She hoisted herself up into the cockpit of the DeHavilland DHC-2 Beaver floatplane, and fired up the old radial engines. They sounded good, and she eased the plane away from the dock, towards the open sea. Based on her calculations, she should have enough fuel for at least two trips out to 399. As the old engines roared, the plane broke free from the water, and she waited until she was well away from prying eyes before she banked the plane towards the island to the south. She should get there by mid-afternoon. ***** Timi (formerly Tiki) sighed as her body shuddered in the final release of her transformation into a mermaid. She looked across the Moon Pool and gazed lovingly at her new pod mates who beckoned to her. She looked down at her body, now quite changed, and admired her golden tail, shimmering with blue highlights along her fins and flukes as the morning sun filtered down into the water. She lifted her golden brown arms up to her face, marveling at how slim and delicate her new fingers looked. Beyond her new feminine fingers and nails, she could see all the pods gathering around their mermen, beautiful bodies and tails entwining and twirling in the water. She swam over to Bill, admiring his barrel chest, his strong chin, and his thick swirl of red hair. Ragi (formerly Rangi) waited next to him, her sky blue tail with white fringes shining in the light that drifted down. Her thick black hair, golden brown skin, and dark brown eyes mirrored Timi's own. Mae, her new sister wife, had been her last feeder, and she admired once again Mae's yellow and blue tail, her pink fringes, and her long blond hair. She glanced down at her own chest, noting that her new breasts were smaller than Mae's were, but she didn't mind. She knew that her changed body was exactly what Bill, Mae, and Ragi had wanted, and she smiled shyly as she felt their desire wash over her. She looked at Ragi, practically her twin, though their tails were each unique. She remembered Rangi's easy acceptance of her (Tiki's) pledge to the mers. She initially worried that Rangi would balk at her promise, but when they talked about it; both agreed that there was something powerful about the mers, something they couldn't seem to resist. Ragi was now beautiful, a perfect Polynesian mermaid. Timi was glad to be a mermaid herself finally, and she felt the power of her new body surge through her. Just like Ragi, she too was a petite, shapely mermaid, with rich, lustrous, dark brown skin, her long and powerful tail flashing with both internal and reflected light as she pushed her way towards her new pod-mates. Her delicate neck sloped down to feminine arms, and her narrow rib cage supported two firm breasts with large, dark chocolate nipples. Her narrow waist seemed impossibly small, especially as it widened out to her new hips, from which sprang her new pelvic fins and below which her golden tail shimmered. They had each transitioned from man to woman the previous evening. Their transition into mermaids this morning had taken less than twenty minutes. Pat had explained during their second feeding that pregnant mermaids produced even more powerful milk than the others, and Ragi and Timi had an especially speedy transition because the "male" they were bonding to, Bill, was already a merman. Bill's mer-semen was much more powerful than siren-cell-infused-human-male-semen. Timi remembered two sessions in the new "change cave" in which they had spent the night as she floated towards Bill. The first time s(he) lay down along Bill's long tail to drink from his cock, Timi (Tiki) had hesitated, but there was something inside him that pushed him to that long, white cock, such a contrast with (his) own dark brown hand that encircled it. It had taken only that first feeding from Bill and Mae to push both Tiki and Rangi towards womanhood, and Timi had thrilled to her new sexual awakening. Pat suggested that they be with Bill and Mae alone for their first feeding to help focus their bonding. First, they both fed from Mae, feeling her mermaid's milk begin to transform their bodies, and then they shared Bill's cock. After their third feeding, where Xing added her pregnant milk to their mix, their transition into women speeded up. When they were complete, both she and Ragi had ridden Bill's cock while he lay on the soft sand of the transition cave, but they were both eager for morning to arrive. They wanted so much to be mers. Now, she was a mermaid, and she was eager to make love. She wanted Bill's cock inside her, in the new space within her that ached with need. "Let me honor you," she said softly, feeling her passion grow within her body. "No, let us honor you," Bill said with tenderness, his body responding to his newest pod-mate. He internally tugged on his special vent muscle and freed his cock, now fully recovered from feeding both Ragi and Timi. He looked over his new pod, feeling intensely protective of his mermaids. Mae was on his right; his wife of many years restored to her youthfulness, her long body a picture of power and beauty, just like her sister, who was now bonded with Tuo. Her breasts remained the modest C cup of her past, but they seemed rounder, fuller. He remembered how her kindness and encouragement helped the two Polynesians make their transition from men to women easier. This morning, the two cousins turned quickly, almost effortlessly, from women into mermaids. Now, Timi floated in the water before him, and Ragi on his left. The two Polynesian mermaids were equally beautiful, but very different from Mae. They were tiny, officially, the smallest mermaids of all, and each glowed a golden brown, their jet-black hair floated around their faces, round and graceful, with sparkling dark brown eyes, full lips, and pointed chins. Their breasts were smaller than Mae's were, but they looked enormous on their petite bodies. Mae and Ragi reached out to Timi, and held her pelvic fins as they guided the trembling mermaid towards Bill's cock, sticking out like a white flag pole from his maroon tail. His green eyes flashed with desire, and Mae settled her own vent onto his right pelvic fin, which was now beginning to vibrate. She watched as Timi's eyes rolled back into her head as Bill's stiff cock slowly eased into her new vagina. Timi was overwhelmed with sensations. Her body was rising to an orgasm, and she could feel Bill's thick cock slowly stretching her new vagina. She thought back to the last time she had sex as a man, and nothing in her memory was close to what she was experiencing now. Each ripple of flesh within her own taut tunnel sent new spasms of pleasure racing through her body. Bill's cock slowly pushed into her, and she felt that memories of being anything other than a mermaid were pushed from her mind. She didn't feel afraid; she only felt desire. Mae looked at the petite mermaid through her own-lidded eyes. She could feel Timi's swirling emotions but sensed that there was no pain, no fear. She pressed her own vent onto Bill's vibrating pelvic fin, letting her new body lift her to heights of pleasure that she hadn't felt in thirty years. Ragi looked with a mixture of desire and worry as Bill's cock slowly slipped into her transformed cousin. She knew that she was next, and the thought both thrilled and frightened her. Only about a third of Bill's long, thick cock was inside Timi's tiny body, and it looked like she was in pain. She tried to trust her new mer senses, which didn't show that Timi was feeling any fear, but her beautiful round face was twisted in a grimace, her eyes were fluttering as though she could barely stay conscious, and the muscles on her arms were taut. Timi could feel each millimeter of Bill's thick cock push forward, and the tension in her belly grew with each ripple of flesh that pressed within her. When half his cock was inside her, she began to feel orgasms shaking her body with pleasure, her breasts spurting milk into the water. With each spasm of pleasure from her womb, she gave a great yelp. Her eyes shot open, as she watched Bill continue to press into her body. Bill felt Timi's vagina begin to pulse around his cock, and he smiled as he realized that Timi would be an extraordinary lover. Even Mae, recently transformed, did not respond in such a blatantly sexual way. Bill focused on his fins both of which pressed into a mermaid, tried to keep from erupting into the quaking and yelping mermaid who was slowly enveloping his cock. He felt Ragi shudder in her own orgasm as she pressed her small body into his left side. Mae was getting closer and closer. He reached down to Timi's hips, and pulled the shaking mermaid all the way onto his cock, watching her face contort in beautiful agony. Timi gave a massive yelp, and then whimpered into his shoulder for a few seconds. Then she began barking again, and she continued to yelp with each new wave of pleasure that rose from her womb, about every ten seconds, for the next five minutes. Each yelp accompanied several quick contractions around his cock as Timi's new muscles convulsed sharply. Bill didn't move; he just held her tight to his waist, feeling her incredibly tight vagina vibrate around his cock and her warm mermaid's milk spurt against his chest. The water became clouded with her milk. Both Ragi and Mae soon joined their new sister-wife in multiple orgasms for the last two of those five minutes, when Bill finally allowed himself his own release, his tail sparkling with yellow and maroon light that flashed with each pulse of semen that he pumped into the incredibly sexy mermaid who writhed on his throbbing pole. He could feel the surge of both physical pleasure and strong emotions sweep through his entire pod. If everyone only understood the real power of mermaid bonding, Bill thought to himself as he peered through the cloud of white mist that obscured the other pods from view, everyone would try to become a mer. He reached out with his mer senses, feeling each of the pods around the edge of the Moon Pool, some of them, like his own, now at rest, and some, like MuSu and his girls, still going at it as strong as ever. He slowly eased Timi from her perch and kissed her full lips. Her body was still shaking, nearly uncontrollably, and he eased her to his left as Ragi swam slowly around to his front. "I want to honor you," the small mermaid said softly, Ragi's dark eyes flashing with desire. "The honor is entirely mine," Bill said with a smile, enjoying the strength and power he felt from his still stiff cock. ***** Joy eased her body into the hot tub, enjoying the swirl of water around her aching bones. Even though she was in fantastic shape for a sixty- year-old woman, she still had her days. That old DeHavilland had shaken her bones loose from her sockets, and she was grateful to have discovered this mountainside retreat. She had searched for Sally for several hours, and now she simply wanted to relax. After she soaked for about an hour, she made her way back down to the beach. The moment she broke through the trees, she knew something was up. Her plane was gone. She sprinted along the beach, looking for any sign of her equipment, but all of it was gone. The late afternoon sun cast longer shadows across the beach, and she could see strange tracks that crisscrossed the sand leading to where she had stowed her pack and food in one of the beach huts. She followed the tracks back to the hut, and noticed a Russian walkie-talkie inside. It crackled with static. "Joy Simpson?" a voice asked over the airwaves. "This is Joy. Who is this?" she asked, pressing what she hoped was the talk button. This was a newer model than she was used to, and she felt a sliver of fear knife through her chest as she wondered if Sally had been mixed up with some abandoned remnant of the Cold War. "A friend," the voice continued. Joy couldn't be sure that it was Sally, it didn't sound like her, but it had been two years since they last spoke. "There is a small dinghy hidden along the western arm of the lagoon. Find it, and take all your clothes off. Get in the boat, and push it out into the lagoon, leaving the painter hanging in the water. Do you understand these instructions?" "Yes," Joy answered, stepping outside the hut, scanning the lagoon, looking for some sign of who was speaking to her. She could see nothing. "We will contact you shortly," the voice finished, and as the static died, it indicated that the other walkie-talkie had been shut off. Joy tossed the walkie-talkie back into the hut, and walked down the western arm of the lagoon. She spotted the small rubber dinghy easily, and with no hesitancy, took off her clothes and pushed the dinghy into the water. When the water was up to her waist, she hopped in, and dropped the very long, painter into the water. As she sat there, she hoped that whoever was going to meet her would not be long. She didn't have any sunscreen. After only a few seconds, she felt the boat begin to move, and she craned her neck to see what or who had grabbed the painter and was now dragging it out to sea. The boat picked up speed, and soon she thought she could make out a mass of color and bodies about three meters underwater ahead of her. There were flashes of blue, steel, maroon, black, and red, but she couldn't make out what kind of fish or creatures they were. Mermaids. The thought returned to her with force, pushing all thoughts of the Russian radio and the Cold War out of her mind. No, mermen, apparently, she concluded as she peered into the water ahead of her now swiftly moving boat, noticing their uniquely male outlines beneath the water's surface. Soon they were in the open sea, and she noticed a strange turbulence all around her boat. Now the boat was leaping across the waves, and she saw that hands were pressing against the stern of the little boat, and flashes of blue, white, gold, black, pink, and yellow churned in her wake. Mermaids! They were shaped differently than the figures still underwater ahead of her. Joy gaped at the figures in the water as the boat flew across the water. The dingy was moving as fast as any speedboat, but the ride was smooth. After only a few minutes, she saw the western cliffs of the volcano come into view as her boat propelled her around the island. She could see a face in the water, one that quickly resolved itself into Sally Bennett, whose eyes and hair shone like new chocolate poured from a melting pot. There was something different about Sally, something beyond her longer, richer hair, and her sparkling eyes. Joy felt a tug in her heart as she looked at Sally, one that had nothing to do with their long history together. "Hello Joy," Sally said, holding up small radio. "It's waterproof. Did you keep yours?" "No. I ... er ... um ... what or ... er ... who is moving this boat?" Joy asked, expecting the answer. "We are," a voice from behind, answered. Joy turned and saw a beautiful Russian girl, her blond hair cascading around her angular face. The mermaid's eyes were a sparkling blue, and she was smiling broadly, two sharp incisors visible. Then, a young Elizabeth Taylor lifted her face from the water, her violet eyes sparkling with humor. Behind her, three identical mermaids also lifted their heads above the surface, their bright blue eyes a dramatic contrast from their dark chocolate brown hair. Joy felt the pressure increase in her chest as she surveyed these beautiful creatures. What was causing this reaction? She had faced far stranger sights when she was an active agent. She steeled herself, and swiveled in her seat, facing Sally. "Friends of yours?" she asked simply, not betraying the roiling emotions that swirled within her. "Yep," Sally answered smiling. Next to her, a new face emerged. An affable young man with black eyes and black hair gave Sally a quick kiss on the cheek as they bobbed in the water. "Do I have the honor of meeting Seaman Eric Edwards?" Joy asked. "You do," the young man answered. "How did you know my name?" "Her father told me many things," Joy answered carefully. "How about you tell me some more?" "Will you pinky swear?" Sally asked, with a pleading look on her face. Joy looked at Sally carefully, remembering when she taught a very young girl that sometimes there were secrets so important you could never tell them, no matter what. A complex and ancient pinky ritual sealed those secrets, and the young girl, lonely and awkward and missing her recently deceased mother, never broke any of those promises. Joy reached a hand over the side of the boat, her pinky extended towards the beautiful young mermaid. "Yes, my little Sally-Su-Su," Joy answered as earnestly as she could. "I will pinky swear." ***** The next day, Shen Chin looked out at Manalo's yacht now anchored in the large lagoon. She saw no sign of any other boat, and wondered how Tuo planned to surprise Manalo. The beach was too wide to allow him to rush up unnoticed, and Manalo kept his gun ready at all times. She only knew that she was supposed to get Manalo to go swimming, but so far he refused. She could see a dolphin playing in the surf near the outer reefs, and she wished that she could join it. "Manny," she cooed, trying to distract her twitchy lover from his fearful scanning of the horizon. "Turi will show up, and when he does, then you can ask him where he's been." "That bastard had better not have taken off with my father's money," Manalo fumed. They had been on the island for most of the day, but there was no sign of Turi and his men. He had seen the bloodstains in the mountainside huts, right where Turi (Tiki) had reported over the radio that Alberto had met his end. It was too late now, but he wished he had brought some henchmen. He was getting tired, worried, and hungry. "I don't like to swim," he said. "We don't have to swim," Shen said, taking off her bikini. "We could just fuck." "We can do that over there," Manalo said, pointing at the huts. "No, I want to feel the water around my body," she said, caressing her now naked breasts. "Don't you want to feel my body?" she asked as she took several steps backwards into the surf. "What about Turi?" he asked. "You can show him what a man you are," she purred. Manalo smiled at that. He lowered his swim trunks to the sand and took his shoulder holster off. He followed Shen into the water, but she kept herself just ahead of him. She was laughing and smiling, working her way out into deeper water. "Get back here," he growled. "I have to be able to stand up or we won't have any leverage. Do you want to drown?" The water was up to their chests, and Shen's breasts fascinated Manalo as the waves pushed them back and forth. Shen watched as her ungainly lover stumbled gracelessly towards her, using his arms as oars, trying to keep water from splashing onto his face. Suddenly a flash of silver and gray zipped past her and curled around Manalo's legs. He cried out, and then slowly fell forward into her arms, unmoving. "Keep his face in the air," Tuo said in Mandarin, his face rising from the water. "What did you do?" She asked, holding the conscious but unmoving Manalo in her arms. "Paralyzed him," Tuo answered. "Let's get back to the beach; there is a lot to explain." Tuo took Manalo from Shen and handed his body over to the three women whose faces suddenly popped up from the water. Below the surface, Shen could see tantalizing glimpses of blue, pink, and yellow, but she couldn't see their legs. "Tuo," she said with a worried tone. "What's going on here?" Shen felt a great pressure on her chest, and the air felt thick. She ran her eyes over the incredible sight before her, three blond mermaids, two identical, and Tuo, who was himself strangely changed. He was beautiful, and Shen's heart began to pound in her chest. Shen felt a passion that she had long repressed for any man rise within her. "What is happening?" she asked, her breath coming in gasps. "Hi Shen, I'm Sandi," one of the girls said in Mandarin. "It will be alright. It's a long story, but we'll try to make it short." ***** Joy leaned back from the microscope, and rubbed her eyes. In the past few days, she had learned everything there was to know about Mermaid Island. Once she understood the situation, Joy committed herself one hundred percent. First, she helped Tuo create a plan for rescuing Shen and Tuo's brother, and then, for the last several days, she and the mers had been brainstorming on a bigger plan, one in which the siren cells she watched squirm in the Petri dish played a key role. "Do you think it will work?" Pat asked from the pool, her pregnancy keeping her from land. "I think so," Joy said. "At least it is worth a try." "You have the necessary contacts?" Galina asked. "Yes," Joy said, looking over at Sally and Eric who lounged on the examination tables, their royal blue tails gleaming in the pale blue LED's of the lab cave. "Do you think your father will go for it?" "I think so," Sally said, flipping her flukes up and down. "At least I hope so." "This is a pretty big risk," Pat worried. "Big rewards demand big risks," Danni said, hugging her sister wife in the pool. "I think this is the big break I was feeling last week." "You think so?" Pat said, looking at Phoebe and John bobbing next to her, and then at the other mers scattered around the lab. "We changed this sea anemone using the siren cell several months ago," Alexis said pointing to a sealed tub with several small creatures fastened to the sides and bottom of the tub. "The new species favors Serratia marcescens, the fecal coliform that exists in all human waste, which is the bacteria that is destroying coral reefs around the world. The anemones still eat other microorganisms, but they thrive on Serratia marcescens." "The anemones are stable," Phoebe assured Joy. "They have been keeping our caves clean for several months. Mermaids excrete the same bacteria as humans in our waste." "Yes, but you excrete so little," Joy observed. "Your bodies are much more efficient than normal human bodies." "Yes, they are, but we estimate that these new anemones are capable of processing enormous amounts of human waste," Alexis countered. "Well, I do agree that once scientists understand that something like this is possible, a way will be found for you and the other mermaids to be protected," Joy said nodding her head. "Are you sure that the siren cell can't be used on its own?" "We have tested the siren cell on multiple organisms and in several contexts, open water, our caves, etc.," Alexis explained. "They are only active as a transformation agent for very brief periods of time outside our bodies. They retain their healing qualities indefinitely, we think, but they do not "re-write" DNA once they have been aged." "How do you know?" Joy asked. "We are still testing," Alexis continued. "But the primary catalyst for radical transformations is the siren cell's ability to respond to bioelectrical stimulation. Once they have been outside the body for a few minutes, they only react to biochemical stimulations, like your own white blood cells in your immune system. So changes made in the absence of our electromagnetic influence only produce natural, and somewhat random, mutations, not paranormal ones. In order to have a directed mutation occur, you need a fully cooperative mermaid." "How did you all change without a fully cooperative mermaid in the first place?" Joy asked. "The chicken or the egg?" Pat agreed. "It's a question we are still trying to answer. We think that my original goop may have been inherently unstable. We distilled it, and so it was concentrated. Now that we have incorporated it into our DNA, which is probably different from human DNA ... " "Do you think you can interbreed?" Joy asked, interrupting. "We think so," Alexis said. "But the gene sequencer on the submarine was damaged by the explosion. Without one, we can only guess." "Pat you were saying?" Joy prompted. "Right, DNA, mer or human is junk most of the time," she continued. "Junk?" Joy asked. "Yes, junk," Pat said, smiling. "We code DNA in repeating patterns of four different letters, ACGT, each of which stand for the four types of bases that bind nucleotides together in what we call base pairs. The human genome, for example, consists of some 2.9 billion of those pairs ? the equivalent of about 750 megabytes of computer data ? but only about 3 percent of it goes into composing the 22,000 or so genes that make us what we are." "Well, maybe mermaids have more like 25,000," Alexis suggested. "Only 3 percent of our genes actually control our bodies?" Joy asked, stunned. "How do you know this? Didn't we just map our genome a little while ago?" "They finished in 2003, and I came to this island before they were beginning to understand all this stuff," Pat admitted. "But Alexis and Galina have brought me up to date. The remaining 97 percent, so-called junk DNA, looks like gibberish. We don't know what it is saying to or about us, but within that mass of megabytes there is plenty of room for the all kinds of information, including our siren cells." "750 megabytes doesn't sound like much to me," Joy said, shaking her head. "Are you saying we could store our DNA on a CD-ROM?" "More or less, yes," Alexis answered. "The complete works of Shakespeare, for example, only takes up about five megabytes in plain text form." "Yea, but Shakespeare doesn't explain why you are so certain that the siren cell can't be used without your cooperation," Joy said, drumming her fingers on the microscope. "What's wrong, why are you looking at me like that?" "Because they are trying to protect me," Phoebe said. "Why you?" Joy asked, looking around the lab. "Because, one of our discoveries is that we probably wouldn't have changed into mermaids if I hadn't forced the issue," Phoebe concluded. "What would have happened?" Joy asked. "I thought you guys were changing anyway, trapped in these caves?" "We were," Pat said. "But we probably wouldn't have changed much more than we already had. The siren cell needed the bioelectrical focus we gave it in the Moon Pool to effect our radical species change. Phoebe wanted to be a mermaid, and we all thought we had no choice." "You could have kept your legs?" Joy wondered. "Yes, but who would want to?" Pat said. "You see Joy, none of us miss our legs, not even Emma." "Yea, but don't tell her that," Emma said with a teasing smile. "I want something to hold over Phoebe." Phoebe stuck her tongue out at Emma. "We gained several advantages in the change," Alexis continued. "The barbs in our tails, the power of our tails, the ability to withstand deep ocean pressure, our enhanced sensory organs, the ability to actually exploit the siren cell, exceptionally long life, and several other advantages." "Like the best sex ever," Sally said, and then blushed immediately. "Speaking of which, how did you change sexes, then?" Joy asked. "Wouldn't you still need the bioelectrical influence?" "It is relatively easy to change only one chromosome in an organism, as in the change from male to female, so simple touch was probably enough to conduct the bioelectrical influence" Alexis continued. "But to change so many chromosomes, probably at least ten or more, to make the change from human into mer, that took special effort. So it needed a critical mass of people, water, and time." "The good news," Galina added. "Is that our current DNA seems very stable, and very healthy. That's probably why we are not aging. Although we can't sequence our DNA with our current equipment, we can still see it in the microscope. Our DNA is replicating itself in this particular pattern very efficiently with almost NO mutations." "We evidently stumbled upon a very strong, stable, and robust set of chromosomes," Pat concluded. "I don't think they will grant us immortality, but it is likely that we will have very, very long lives." "There is another logical construct for why you can be sure that other people cannot replicate the siren cell," Phoebe said after a moment of silence. "What construct is that?" Joy asked. "It took eight humans nearly twenty four hours to force the siren cells to transform me into the first mermaid," Phoebe said. "As each new mer appeared, the time shortened geometrically rather than mathematically. Now it only takes twenty minutes to complete a transformation. In other words, my transformation was luck, a one in a trillion-billion chance. But after that, it wasn't luck; it was our new mer-organs." "What about Tumibay's change?" Joy asked. "What if your new serum was stolen?" "Like the original goop, it seems to be inherently unstable and unpredictable," Pat answered. "We haven't done enough testing yet, of course, but we only create enough to use at any one time." "How do you make it?" Joy asked. "Never mind, don't tell me. I have a feeling that only the five of you know how to make it anyway." "Yes," Galina said. "Only I, Alexis, Pat, Emma, and Phoebe know how it is made. And no one else will know." "Even without the new serum, there was, and therefore still is, a chance for something paranormal to emerge using either the original goop or mermaid milk," Joy said. "A one in septentrigintillion chance," Pat said. "It's a very small risk, and we can't hide forever." "How did you figure those odds?" Joy asked. "A septen ... whatever, sounds like a big number." "It is," Pat agreed. "There are 46 human chromosomes with 2.9 billion base pairs, and you have to get 25,000 of them correct. That is incredibly hard to do. For example, the odds of getting seven numbers to match from a possible fifty, your average Lotto game, are over 5 billion to one. That's for just seven numbers out of a possible fifty, rather than twenty-five thousand out of a possible three billion." "We are pretty sure that Phoebe's luck was unique," Alexis said. "But Joy is right; theoretically someone else may be able to either duplicate or improve on the siren cell. But remember, the odds of success depend on the number of attempts. It would take centuries for someone to try to create a siren cell that didn't require mermaids." "This all sounds like a pretty good argument for intelligent design," Joy observed. "Not really," Alexis said quickly. "It would depend on the number of attempts. If millions of people had access to millions of siren cells, and they were all trying to make mermaids without us, it would still take centuries to succeed, but eventually someone would make a mermaid." "100 monkeys typing Shakespeare," Joy nodded. "No, that's not the same thing, but let's not get into that," Pat said. "There is too much science needed to explain why those are different. It is enough for us to know that the eight of us did something that day in the Moon Pool that defied the odds." "So it really is your fault that everyone here is a mer," Joy said, giving Phoebe a look that bordered on awe. "No one is complaining," Pat said, giving her sister-wife a watery hug. "We are all very happy to be mers." "Is that really true," Joy said wistfully. "So why would you want to stop being one? Are you sure that you can perform sallekhana if captured?" Joy asked, referring to the Hindu practice of meditative suicide. "Yes," Galina said softly. "We are 99% sure that a conscious effort by us will shut down our electromagnetic organs, and that will result in our deaths." "Have you tested this?" Joy asked. "Yes," Galina said, wrinkling her brow with the memory of that test. "But not completely, of course. Emma and Alexis revived me, and I was willing and ready to live. I'm sure that if I wasn't cooperating, that I would have been unable to be resuscitated." "And you're sure that everyone will hold to this plan?" Joy asked with only a trace of skepticism in her voice. She had learned over the past six days that the mermaids made few claims that they couldn't back up, but a death pact among all the mers if captured was extraordinary. "You haven't experienced mermaid bonding," Sally said. "It changes everything." "And you all trust me?" Joy asked, looking around the room crowded with mers. "You pinky swore," Sally said. "And ... we could sense your intentions." "Right, the mer-senses," Joy nodded. "Well, if it matters, you CAN trust me, and ... I did pinky swear." Joy rose from the microscope and walked over to the tub, lifting it up. "Who is helping me to my plane?" she asked. ***** Dreams ... dreams ... nightmares. Images of mermaids and monsters swirled in his mind, and Manalo struggled awake. He felt nauseous as he blinked, trying to move, and his stomach lurched with each jolt of the yacht as it raced across the waves. He felt the pounding of the hull as it leapt from wave to wave. He tried to lift his head, but he could not. A shadow fell across his face, and he tried to turn, but found he could not. He could only blink. What the hell was wrong with his body, he wondered. "Well, good morning, sleepyhead," Shen cooed as she lifted his head into her lap. "Here you go big boy, drink up." Manalo tasted something bitter on his tongue, and tried to spit it out, but the liquid poured down his throat, choking him. He sputtered, but swallowed it anyway, feeling an iron heaviness seep into his body. "You'll want today's news, won't you?" Shen asked brightly. "It will be fun. I know that you've come to love our little sessions." Manalo's memory snapped into focus even as his body felt even more dull and lifeless. He had lost track of time, but he knew that it had been several days since Shen seduced him into the water, and his whole life had turned upside down. "We've made it to Hong Kong," she said narrating as she began to wash his body with a sponge. "And we picked up Tuo's brother. I can see why he wanted us to rescue him, poor thing. He's a paraplegic, and you know that the Chinese don't have much of a social safety net for handicapped people." Manalo seethed inside, unable to speak, unable to move. He could only blink and listen. He remembered lying on the sand as those strange creatures talked with Shen. Their story was incredible, but there they were, mermaids and a merman, and they had stung him again after several hours, keeping him paralyzed. The next day the mermaids loaded his still paralyzed body back onto the boat, and his nightmare had begun in earnest. "It's too bad we didn't bring more mermaid milk," She continued, washing Manalo's weakened body on the bed. "Wong is looking better, but he still can't use his legs. At least he can feel his toes. He says that becoming a mer would make no difference to him because he has never had the use of his legs." Manalo struggled to remember Wong, but he was still nearly comatose when they neared Hong Kong. He could remember the long trip to Davao where Shen had given him yet another drug that allowed him to speak but prevented him the use of his limbs. He didn't understand what her plans were, and so he had raved on and on about the sex she had denied him, which played into her plans perfectly. "Do you think I should become a mermaid?" Shen asked, and then looked down at Manalo's unmoving face. "What about you, eh? Would you like to become a mermaid or perhaps something else?" Manalo felt fear stab through his gut as she rolled him over onto his stomach, continuing his bath. Shen's confidence had improved with each step of her mission. He remembered the day she came back from the brothel with her sister and four other women in tow. The look in Shen's face told him that he would not escape from the plan that had trapped him. "I didn't want to become a mermaid," Shen continued, squeezing out her sponge and working on Manalo's legs. "There is something strangely powerful about them, and it scares me. But Dawn convinced me that your father would never let me escape, and my only hope was to disappear forever. And, thanks to the drugs that you use on your girls, mermaid milk was the only hope for my dear Lin," she said, pinching him painfully on his butt. "Lin!" she called out. "Coming," a voice answered. "It's time for lunch, after all, and we need to get you ready for our return to Mermaid Island," Shen said. "We can't have you wasting away to nothing, can we?" Manalo fumed again over his lack of control. He replayed the last few weeks in his mind. First, he felt again his helplessness when he watched Tuo give her a million dollars of his own money, that is, his father's money, several vials of mermaid poison, and several vials filled with mermaid milk. Then they headed for Davao, and Shen showed him the order "from" himself that had transferred Lin to Davao. A few days more, and they had arrived, and it didn't look like Shen was going to run short of the Mermaid poison. When she went off to the brothel, leaving him alone on the boat, he hoped she would be unsuccessful, but even he was surprised at how quickly and easily the brothel's manager had sold Shen's sister and the four other women. Shen spent five thousand dollars to hire temporary muscle in Davao, and then a quarter of a million dollars for the "permanent use" of all five women. Manalo felt shame wash through him again as the sponge scrubbed his anus. He couldn't stop himself from raving that day, and apparently he was very convincing as Shen's "crazy boss." The brothel's manager watched, amazed, but had proved more than willing to take his father's money. "Is our great leader ready for his lunch?" Lin asked as she walked into the room with a small bowl of pureed food. "Almost," Shen answered smiling at her sister. Lin had been ill-used by her time in various brothels owned by Malaki, but she recovered quickly thanks to the first dose of mermaid milk. The four other women that Shen rescued were also hostages, rather than local women who stumbled their way into prostitution. Manalo remembered the first time he saw the other women. They all looked at him with equal hatred, even though he was only personally responsible for Lin's abduction. He thought they would simply dump him into the water as they carried his paralyzed body from his father's boat to the new one they traded for in Hong Kong. There was Binah, a Nigerian who had dreamed of becoming a dancer, whisked away to Asia when she was sixteen. Trixi was an American transvestite who had gone to Thailand for sex reassignment, but was kidnapped to satisfy the desires of those patrons who didn't want the boy parts removed. Homa was a young Iranian, sold by her own father into a slavery ring because she had asked to go to school. Esm?e was a young French prostitute, who had been vacationing with her family during the tsunami a few years ago, and the people who found her young body clutched to a palm tree decided not to find her family, selling her instead to the brothel. All of the women showed scars from their time in the brothels. Shen had taken each one onto the boat to be "interviewed" by Manalo, but in reality, she explained that she could buy their freedom, but they would not be returning to civilization. Even as Manalo watched, from his prison of the bedroom, Shen promised them a new life, but would not say more about what kind of life it would be, only that she promised they would never again be subjected to the whims of men who used them for their bodies. The catch was their promise that they would not seek to return to their families no matter what. Each had agreed to the terms, some quite happily, like Homa. Other women would not accept Shen's word or the promise of not returning to their families, so they decided to stay in Davao. Once they were out to sea, Shen shared the truth with them, and while everyone was skeptical at first, to some the prospect of becoming a mermaid was exciting. Esm?e was not excited. She seemed genuinely upset at the "trick" that had been played on her. Shen decided not to press the issue until they got back to Mermaid Island. Manalo looked up at Lin's face, now much improved thanks to her one small dose of mermaid milk. Shen promised Lin that she could decide Manalo's fate, since he was the one who kidnapped her two years ago. Frankly, he was surprised that he wasn't dead already, given the hatred he saw burning in her eyes. "Have you decided?" Shen asked. "No," Lin said, as she not too gently forced the mush into Manalo's mouth, waiting for his esophageal reflex to kick in. "I'm glad you didn't kill him outright," Shen said, cleaning up her bath supplies. "I still might," Lin said, looking into Manalo's eyes as she put another spoonful into his mouth. "How are th