As I regained my consciousness I realized I was strapped to a bed, and my face was all bandaged up. Carefully I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was the kind face of a nurse hovering over me. “Welcome back, Deanna” she said.



Her name was Karen. Dr Karen Zeus. Dr Zeus? I chuckled, and she guessed what I was thinking. “Better than just Karen, right? Nowadays having that name is not always great.”

“Sorry”, I replied, and suddenly it hit me, I could talk again. That thing was gone from my mouth? I moved my tongue around in my mouth, and although the rubbery stuff was gone, there was still a lot of metal, smooth metal, that didn't stop me from talking.



The other thing I noticed, just from that one word, was that my voice sounded completely female. A bit croaking still, but definitely female. Karen nodded. “Glad you can talk again? That gag is really only needed underwater, to keep you from sucking in water. The new one you have now won't stop you from talking.”



“What happened?” was all I could say.

“Well… Maureen here”, and she pointed back at a small pool behind her, where Maureen was smiling, with her elbows on the edge, “broke your face. Mainly your nose.”



Maureen added, “Sorry Deanna. I only meant to swipe a ton of water in your face. I had no idea how strong my tail had become. Glad though that Karen could fix you up. Improve you even.”



“Improve me?”

“Yes”, Karen continued, “it gave me a chance to try out my latest invention, as I reconstructed your face. No worries, your nose will never break again. But, once you're back in the water, you should be able to breathe through your nose. Water, I mean. My invention will separate the oxygen from the water, directing it to your longues, as the water gets expelled again through a tiny hole in your cheeks, which are covered up again by two cute little fins.



“It's not enough air, yet, for you to stay fully underwater, but I estimate it will give you an extra fifteen minutes, with practice perhaps thirty.”



I was stunned. I would be able to breathe underwater? But what about sleeping? With Femke? “Femke”, I cried out, “where is she?”

“No worries”, Karen laughed, “you'll soon be sleeping with her again. She's holding up, all by herself, but she spends lots of time in the main pool, exercising, and in her case, wowing everybody with her jumps. I've never seen anything like that from one of my creations.”



“Your creations?” I was almost scared to ask. But then Karen told her own story. She was a biologist by nature, and brilliant at that. With a PhD in neuroscience and two majors in electrical and mechanical engineering. The world was her oyster, and major corporations stood in line to offer her a job. But it was her love for mermaids, and when she said that she looked back and aimed an air kiss at Maureen, that made her choose a small startup, specialized in making mermaid tails.



They already made beautiful latex tails, but Karen invented a biological material that was used as an inner liner, and the tail became so comfortable to wear, that people didn't want to take them off.



A mistake in the formula for an oil to make it easier to pull the tail on, caused the top layer of human skin to dissolve, resulting in a glue like substance, and a permanent bond was made.



This could have resulted in an enormous lawsuit, taking the startup down. Instead, the new mermaid was the happiest person alive. A millionaire hired her as a playmate for his daughter, and good money was exchanged in return.



As Karen improved the oil formula, as well as the biological insides, nerves were rerouted into the tail material and a genuine sense of feeling was accomplished. Soon, the tails became full body covers.



By now, a greedy partner had taken over the business side, and new mermaids, who had volunteered to be converted, were suddenly sold to rich collectors, who basically put them in aquariums. This did not go without troubles, and Karen, who was locked up by now in her underground lab, was told to invent a solution to control new mermaids better.



Karen was ashamed as she was telling this, but they were threatening to kill the “troublemakers”, and giving them what they wanted would save lives. She made sure though that the control center she invented would give as much pleasure as pain. Many that worked here, but were afraid to speak up, provided pleasure in reward, rather than pain as punishment.



Karen's improvement of communication, by adding a bone induction earbud inside the face mask was abused by the new management to not let any other sound through, turning the improvement into another method of control.



It was soon clear that mermaids who ended up in solitary confinement would soon go crazy. The type of people that wanted to become mermaids simply needed at least one other person like themselves, and Karen invented the connector and receptor system. Like dolphins, mermaids got a life partner.



For the connector to work, males were needed, and they typically would not be looking for tails, like their female counterparts. So, the company started scanning online for mermaid user groups, book clubs, Facebook pages, Discord communities, etc. Blood type was important to match mermaids, and hacking medical databases became a side job description in the company.



Karen, in essence a prisoner herself, although she still makes good money, thanks to her name on numerous patents, dedicated her life to make the lives of forced mermaids just a little bit better, under the ignorant nose of their captors.



And when Maureen, the troublemaker that hurt Deanna, after which she attacked a staff member that came to help Deanna, only to find out there was no cell reception down here, nor were her tentacles slim enough to operate the phone. Anyway, she could not be forced back in line through very painful punishment, and Karen was to take hold of her, to try out more severe ways of generating pain. Her neuroscience experience should help with that.



It was simple psychology however that opened up Maureen's real issues. She was happy to be a mermaid actually, despite being forced into it. But she could not get along with her forced partner JuJu. And her anger was aimed at anyone who was feeling happy. But Karen understood her, and by simply talking they overcame the anger issues. JuJu was matched with a new mermaid that was still unpaired, and Maureen was now trained as Karen's assistant. It didn't take any training for them to become lovers, Karen's deepest wish becoming true.



As she had reached the end of her story, I felt sorry and happy for both of them. But I could sense that Karen was genuine and even Maureen seemed happy finally.



Karen explained that while we were waiting for my face to heal, which would take another two weeks before I could swim again, she'd work on some small improvements on me. She had figured out how to make our tentacles more sensitive. She had applied it already to Maureen, and it was good enough to control a cellphone, if we had one.



Another fix that had taken place already, was to give my hearing back. The long range communication was still there, but they couldn't shut off the external sound for me anymore. Karen was trying to find a way to get this new system as well to new mermaids, without management finding out. Getting it applied to existing mermaids would even be harder, unless they needed to be “fixed up” by Karen for some reason. But she warned me, “don't go around, breaking people's noses suddenly, as it would be too obvious.” Now, if my new gills proved to be working well, then maybe all mermaids would get one, and she could apply more of her fixes.



The next two weeks seemed to take forever, as I really wanted to be back with Femke. However, the first test of my gills was amazing. Weird, but amazing. I thought it worked, once I managed to inhale water through my nose, but Karen was not satisfied. It took her three more days of experimenting with small changes, before she was happy.



In these weeks the three of us became close friends. Let me rephrase that, as Karen and Maureen were much closer already than I care to explain. While I was there, I learned a few things about lesbian and mermaid sex. But the fact that they included me in their most intimate moments, created a whole new level of friendship. In a way, I was their bridesmaid, as they exchanged their vows, in an unofficial wedding.



Finally, my face still sensitive, but cleared to go back underwater, Karen moved me into Maureen's pool, which had a connection to a larger pool, where I could get used again to my mermaid body and my upgrades. It was better than even Karen had anticipated.



My first serious trial of my gills had me underwater for twenty minutes, without feeling any discomfort. The new pieces of “flesh”, attached to my cheeks, were weird at first, but when I looked in an underwater mirror, they were cute, but more importantly, functional fins.



Maureen insisted we connected again, and my new trust that she was genuinely cured was not disappointing. Every feeling she shared was one of love and friendship, she was still sorry, but it had in the end improved her life, my life, Karen's life, and even JuJu's life.



Eventually, I said my goodbyes to both of them, and Karen promised she'd do her best to convince a rich friend, who had “bought” a few mermaids already, to bid on us as well. The friend offered a sanctuary that Karen had invested a lot of money in as well. She explained how hard it was for her to communicate with the outside world, as her email went through some relay first, and was censored by the company, as was all her internet access, but she'd outsmarted them using hidden messages in orders for equipment and materials.



After a last hug, I had to swim into a tube, and I was “sucked up”, moving up several floors, before I was launched into our exercise pool. Femke was there, and as she hugged me, I could now hear the soft sounds she made, as she cried happy tears for having me back.



We connected right away, and our exchange of information was crystal clear, another upgrade by Karen apparently. I learned of everything that had happened while I was gone. I could happily update her on Maureen, who was not killed as a punishment, as all the mermaids were thinking. She simply couldn't believe how my body was upgraded, until I demonstrated how I stayed underwater for more than ten minutes, longer than anyone in the group.



It was so satisfying to hear all the girls make their little sounds, while happy, while working hard, while jumping. Why would anyone want to take that away? I was glad I had my hearing back, but I knew I couldn't have them find out.



At night, Femke really enjoyed my more sensitive tentacles, as I caressed her breasts, and played with her slit, before we connected for bedtime. I couldn't stop the sleep cycle, but our dreams were more vivid than ever.



The next day, Femke was ordered to swim into a new tube, and I prayed it was by Karen’s order, who would upgrade her as well. It took more than three weeks before she came back, confirming her improvements. While she was gone, I had practiced my own jumps, a vertical one in particular, until I could fully clear the water, like a missile. Femke was impressed, when I demonstrated, then simply jumped parallel to me, all the way.



Three days later it was auction time. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Femke and I were going to be the top seller. And although I knew I should be appalled at being sold as a pet, I was mighty proud of our accomplishments. We demonstrated our jumps, and our ability to stay underwater for more than twenty minutes, and someone paid three million for the two of us.



I don't know if our new owner was Karen's acquaintance, but we were treated extremely well. After a long ride (flight?) we were finally delivered into a huge aquarium with thousands of other fish. A big part of our new habitat seemed natural with rocks and sand and small caves, but a vertical glass wall underwater exposed us to a potential audience, although all I could see was two girls, who were in awe of us.



Life was very easy from then on. There was a pod similar to the one in the mansion, where we slept and were fed. During the days we swam through the aquarium, often practicing our jumps, just for fun, giving the watching girls a good time.



One day both girls were allowed in the water near us. For the first time here we were given commands. Don't hurt the girls. And make sure they have a good time. Really unnecessary, as we were excited ourselves to have them with us. Seeing them up close now made it clear they were twins, just in their teens, and very pretty.



The audience now was a man and woman, that we assumed were the parents, the way the kids were laughing and waving at them. There were other people around, providing food and drinks. Plus there was an unsmiling man who looked like a bodyguard, whose eyes never left us. Another two men, in full diving suits, were in the water, where the girls had entered the aquarium. Nothing was left to chance.



We simply played with the girls, quickly forgetting about all the people watching us. We could not let them find out, however, that we could talk and hear everything. We played a game with a ball together, making sure they stayed afloat. Then we took short dives with them, seeing they took a deep breath each time. The girls loved hanging on to us, softly stroking our tails.



Almost every day we swam with them, the girls becoming stronger and stronger, and able to hold their breath longer. We had worked out some signals and touches, in case there were problems underwater. I was Ginny’s favorite and Femke always took Winny.



Things changed when one day the girls were wearing a mermaid tail. I could tell they were made by Karen, although they were not the permanent type. Their wish had changed from swimming with a mermaid to swimming as a mermaid.



We were trainers now. We still had room for games, but we had to make sure they swam the right way, using the correct movements and optimal use of their muscles and air supply. Sessions took longer and longer, and although we had no clock down here, my impression was that we spent a whole morning or afternoon with them.



We could measure the week by the weekends that the girls stayed all day with us, and after some months the night in-between as well. Sleeping pods were installed for them although each had their own air and feeding tube.



It was fun to see that as a twin they seemed to share thoughts and feelings together, the way they moved as a pair underwater, very similar to Femke and me. One day they brought hats and cake, as it was their birthday, and although we could not eat the cake, we enjoyed sitting on a rock together, as they ate theirs. When they sang the birthday song, which sounded loud and clear through our earbuds, we slapped our tails in rhythm.



The aquarium was very well designed, I suspected part of it was real ocean, and

I remembered having seen some oysters. I dove down and two minutes later I handed one to each girl. Femke helped open them, and there was a small pearl inside each. The girls were stunned, then overcome with happiness.



I guess soon after summer break had started, as the girls stayed permanently with us now. The parents actually told us to take good care of them, while they went on a vacation together. They had been trusting us for quite a while, as no bodyguards or rescue divers were at hand anymore.



The twins had been growing and both had a new tail and a matching top that covered their slowly budding breasts. They had a device in their mouth that must have been a commercial version of Karen’s gills, and it gave them probably an extra five minutes underwater. Femke and I easily managed half an hour by now, was my estimate based on counting seconds.



Our hearing was officially “cleared”, and when we finally showed the girls we could talk as well, although they should keep it a secret, a whole new type of teaching started. We learned that both loved us more than their own mother, who hardly spent time with them. It was Femke who helped them through their first period, and although I never experienced that myself, I cried with them. We could all feel a mother-daughter bond forming.



They were with us for two months, though we did see some of the caretakers once in a while, making sure we were all still alive. Both girls cried when they had to take off their tails eventually, as school was about to start. We could see they had quite some trouble walking again.



By the time their next birthday came up their parents had divorced, and Femke and I mostly took care of them, helping them with homework and being the mom they needed. They only took their tails off now to go to school. The father, Albert, took much more interest in us as well and we learned he had a mermaid fantasy himself, but his ex had done a good job suppressing that.



He told us he had turned off all options to control us, and he smiled when he learned that we had been able to talk and hear, even when we were not supposed to. He said he was working on a tube that would connect the aquarium to the ocean, but the home was in-between. He promised us our freedom, but he would pay us for raising his kids with him, at least until they were eighteen. It was an easy deal to agree with.



We convinced him to somehow contact Karen, as she knew about the mermaid sanctuary. We liked the idea of being free again, but we were not sure if we could survive in the ocean. And then one day Karen was there.