[Anthro Dolphin TF, Brainwashing]

"You sure this is a good idea?"

"Of course it is. We won't be getting by if we don't get through some risky stuff, Carol!"

Those were the words that passed through a water-tight communicator as two young ladies swam deeper and deeper into the depths of the ocean. Why were they here? For quite the simple reason, really. Atlas Corp had tried their damnest to try and pierce through the depths of the world to see if there was anything they could exploit for the sake of progressing their products, but they had retreated from the depths of the ocean after some sort of incident. Naturally, this left a lot of independent individuals wanting to explore what that big entity had decided to ignore.

The two divers were Hilda and Carol. Young ladies that had been down on their luck ever since they left school, but the opportunity to take advantage of their skills as swimmers, and the chance to make a fast buck thanks to uncovering what exactly the big corp's avoided? That was the driving motivation behind their current presence in the ocean. Even if the younger of the two was rightfully worried on their combined behalf.

"You know, Hilda." The younger of the two girls, Carol, spoke into the communicator attached to her mask. Thanks to the experimental tech that they managed to snatch, that ran entirely on willpower, the two were able to communicate underwater despite the pressure from the water and the fact they were working with limited oxygen. "Maybe they decided to back off because there's something that scared even the big wigs at Atlas Corp?"

The bigger and older of the two girls, Hilda, laughed into her communicator as she dove deeper. "They're just pansies. Don't worry about them, we'll just bring back something that looks valuable, and then we'll make 'em pay for their mistake. Maybe we'll also get more of these." She chimed, tapping the communicator on the outside to bring emphasis to it. "Think about it, Carol. We could sell these for a ton of cash to help people talk while they're exploring dangerous locales. I'm sure proper adventurers would pay a pretty penny for something like this!"

Carol just shook her head as she followed behind her older and bigger friend. It was impossible to talk sense into her once she got going. It was why they had stooped to this kind of high-risk life. They didn't really steal things, more just take advantage of what people ignored. These communicators had been discarded since they didn't seem to properly work, but since they were able to make them work... Nobody would probably complain, since they were basically trashed before they took them.

As they kept swimming further and further towards the bottom of the ocean, the pressure was getting to them. It was getting harder and harder to swim, and if they went much further... The chance of survival would be null and void. Mostly because their oxygen supply would break and they'd end up drifting until they'd drown. But there was one saving grace.

"There, Carol!" Hilda shouted as she pointed towards a ruined greek-like structure. A temple that not only seemed like exactly what they were looking for, but judging by the way it had been broken... It was very possible that there were pockets of air they could take advantage of!

Before Carol had a chance to talk some sense into her partner, the bigger diver had gone right ahead, swimming as fast she could down towards the structure. All that she could do was just silently shake her head as she followed behind her, trying her best to keep pace despite the increasing pressure. She wasn't nearly as well-built as her partner, but she'd do anything to stay with her, even if she kept trying to dissuade her from the riskier stuff.

Thanks to her slower pace, however, she noticed something strange about the structure. Namely that there seemed to be... dolphins... embedded in the marble... Or at least, what she could reasonably identify as dolphins. They were large enough to confuse her, to the point where they seemed more like humans dressed up as dolphins.

Regardless, she dove into the ruined temple and headed towards the surface of the water, leading into a chamber near the ceiling which had been encapsulated by marble. Even though there was a difference in pressure, something prevented the water from pouring into this hidden chamber, giving the two divers a chance to breathe and a chance to get out of the water....

"Whoa..." Carol muttered as she slowly took off most of her equipment. Though not her diving suit. Just the oxygen tanks, the communicator, and the rest of the relevant gear as she remained nice and cozy inside the stretchy light-blue latex suit that had kept her mostly dry on the inside. But it was definitely wet on the outside, considering the water that was dripping from every little inch of her body.

Her bigger friend laughed a bit as she shook around, her more muscled and toned body practically on full display as the latex clung to her body as tightly as it could. "So this is what they left behind, eh? A Greek temple dedicated to sea creatures? They're wusses if that's what managed to scare them off!" Hilda laughed as she walked deeper into the chamber, grinning as she got closer and closer to the secret she had been pursuing, all while her long blonde locks started to spread out. It was nice getting the top of her suit out, that hair was starting to get way too sticky.

Carol followed behind her, still shivering a bit as they walked towards the inner parts of the temple. "You don't know what might be down here. Who knows, they might be... Monsters!" She spoke in a hushed tone, even when she let her biggest worry slip out. Honestly, she wasn't scared of Monsters. They were kind towards her. But if these were ancient Monsters, when they were still at endless wars with humanity... Then she wouldn't be caught dead getting close to one.

"You're thinking too much, Carol. It's been what, hundreds of years since somebody besides Atlas Corp were down here? Before the entire place got flooded, too. I'm sure there's nobody here!" Hilda replied as they made their way into a sanctum at the end of the long corridor.

The sanctum was dedicated to a single statue, with light shining down on it. Light that pierced all the way from the surface of the ocean all the way down through the ocean into the water-like lens at the top of the sanctum. The water should've been pouring into the sanctum, but it stayed perfectly still. As if something was keeping it from falling... As if something was preserving this place, freezing it in time as the world kept moving.

"Alright." Hilda spoke up as she let the surroundings sink in. "Now you might be right. But not like it's going to stop us!" The muscled girl laughed as she walked towards the statue in the middle of the sanctum. One that depicted a mighty looking dolphin-like warrior with a single trident adorned with several amulets. At least, that's what it looked like considering one was still embedded and there were slots for more...

And two of those very same amulets were sitting on a small pedestal in front of them. As if they were being offered to the idol in front of them. Not only that, but they didn't seem to have been rusted. They were in pristine condition.

Carol approached the pedestal and looked at the two amulets, before looking to Hilda. "We... If we touch these, something might happen. But this is what we were looking for, isn't it..?" She tried to act like the source of reason. She knew that this was exactly why they had dove this far into the ocean. She just hoped that Hilda would see reas-

"Catch."

Carol narrowed her eyes a bit as she caught one of the amulets as it was tossed to her, sighing. Of course she acted before she thought. She wouldn't be Hilda if she took a moment to think about the dangers. At least nothing seemed to happen as she just held it...

"See? You've been worrying for no reason." Hilda chimed as she clenched the amulet tightly, bringing it up to her face to try and spot anything. "Hey, wait, I see a few letters. Something about... Glory to the Delphinian Empire..?" She muttered, scratching the back of her head.

As those words left her lips, the amulet started to glow. Not just hers either, Carol's started to glow as well. And almost immediately, the light started to reflect off their eyes as their stances grew slack. They were utterly unprepared for the lingering willpower that was stored inside them. Because why would two humans be prepared for the collective hopes and prayers of the long-diseased Delphinian Empire?

With their minds wrung under the amulets' control, both of them lowered the amulets towards their chests, letting them sink into their latex. It was melding together with their existing 'armor', not that they would need it for long. It was inappropriate for warriors of the Delphinian Empire. Just like their human forms were. But these Amulets, blessed by the Queen of Cetapolis, would ensure that they fit the mold of the Empire that had long since passed...

Both Carol and Hilda let out loud groans and moans as they felt their bodies trembling and stretching. The hues of their skin started to turn a deeper shade of cream. Making them look less like humans, and more like colored fish. All while their outfits shifted as well to make sure that they properly fit their new roles.

Little by little, their latex diving suits turned into latex armor. Scales started to cover up the inner most layer of their suit, while boots and a elegant but effective looking dress decorated their legs and their torsos. With one big hole on the back to allow for something to leave their bodies. Something that they needed to fulfill their roles.

They both let out powerful moans as a thick looking cream dolphin tail grew right above their rears. Something they needed to traverse the seas. Something they needed to carry out their assault on the humans that dared to try and defy their rule. Something to subjugate the ones that forgot them...

Three fins grew from their heads. One on both sides of their head, and one reaching from the back of their head. This would allow them to compress their profile as much as possible, so they could accelerate through the ocean and catch anybody off guard...

And inside their minds, which had already been subjugated by the amulets and the willpower of the Delphinian Empire... Their very memories were being altered. They didn't need to remember anything about their original human lives.

They were Delphinians. They had always been Delphinians. And now they had been awoken from their slumber. In a world that dared to forget their Empire's reach. As Warriors of the Delphinian Empire, their task was to convert more of the unruly humans to their cause. Give the Delphinians their bodies back. And once enough of them had been converted... They were to raise the city of Cetapolis back from the ocean floor. So that they could rule over the world like they had done in the past.

Hilda and Carol... No, the loyal Delphinians who cast aside their human names. They kneeled before the statue of their Queen, as their eyes turned a predatory shade of yellow. As long as they breathed, as long as they could swim through the waters that she once ruled, they would do anything to bring their Empire back to its glory days. That was their nature as Monsters. their nature as loyal Delphinians.

This was why Atlas Corp had abandoned their descent into the ocean depths... And why they would make that awful corporation pay for daring to try and defile the Delphinian Empire.