Karen was as happy to see us, as we were about seeing her. We all sat together in a shallow part of the aquarium with both chairs and rocks. The two humans sat on chairs, the four mermaids on rocks. Apparently, with enough money, Karen could be “freed” from her underground labs. But, she explained, Maureen would suffer, if she would not go back, and she would not have that happen. The love in her face was still very clear.

Albert was shocked when he learned the truth about us, and many of our fellow mermaids. When he bid for Femke and me, he had a signed document, stating that we voluntarily offered our services and that we got a good part of the money. He promised he'd make up for his “mistake”. I told him that we had been lucky to end up in his possession, and we truly loved the twins, but many of our “sisters” were perhaps not so lucky.

But nothing brought it home the way Ginny did. “Dad”, she said, “we were at that place to fit our new tails. That could have been us. Sold into slavery. We would not have minded becoming a permanent mermaid, but what if some freak would buy us?” Her sister nodded fervently, as Albert broke down. He would use all his resources to help us and all the mermaids, sold against their will.

We were not in a particular hurry to join the sanctuary, as we wanted to help raise the twins first, at least until they'd go to college. The girls however wanted to know why they couldn't become permanent mermaids, right now. Karen explained that it would work better if their bodies were fully grown. But now it was Albert with the best argument.

He was okay with the girls becoming full time mermaids, but not until after they completed college. At their protest he explained they had to think big. If we were to save all these mermaids and take them to the sanctuary, then it would grow into a true community, the first underwater “city”. They would need a whole new kind of engineers, and builders, and farmers, and schools, etc. The girls should pick majors that would help them into becoming part of that new community.

As I saw the light come on in Femke's face, I knew my own astonishment would be visible too. This was the kind of thinking that had made Albert a multimillionaire in the first place. But it was the girls, first nodding, then smiling, and then asking their dad a thousand questions. They still had a few years in highschool, but they would start already picking college courses, which would improve their chances for the right college. Ginny was going for Engineering, Winny for Farming. Both would add Marine Biology. Their futures were bright.

The next day, Albert and Karen would fly to the Caribbean island where the sanctuary was. Before that, Karen was going over the possibilities for the twins, mermaid wise. She suggested surgery to their nasal circuit, much smaller than what Femke and I had gone through, as her gill system was more compact again. It would not affect their breathing in normal air, but underwater they'd get fifteen to twenty minutes out of it. And by the time they'd go full time, it would be a minor procedure to install the bigger version that by then would give them around an hour. The tiny hole under their ear, to return the water, would hardly be visible, at least above water.

In the matter of the corrupt leadership in the mermaid company the opinions were mixed. Calling the police seemed the most logical, but the media outburst that would undoubtedly follow, could put the lives of all captured mermaids in danger, as their “owners” may try to get rid of the evidence.

In the end we settled on a revolution from the inside. Karen had identified the five major perpetrators, plus five guards, that needed to be taken out. She had a new invention that needed to be injected in each of the bad guys. Bad gals really, because they were all female. The shot would cause the body to overheat, like an instant menopause, but then tenfold. The victim would not be able to think straight anymore, and want only one thing. Jump in the closest water, to cool down.

In their state, and in our natural environment, the mermaids should be able to overpower the guards, and have all of them converted into new mermaids. They would go through the same training as all other mermaids, with punishments and rewards, and that's where the plan had different options we couldn't decide on. Sell them through an auction, and live the life they had forced onto so many people? Or offer them a place in Mermaid City, as we called the future sanctuary by now?

I wanted to know first how these ten could form five couples, but none of them were male. It was simple really. They would all have receptors, so none of them could become a tight couple, and work on escape plans in their dreams. They would not have what we liked best, the lifelong intimacy with another person, the orgasms just before disconnecting. This meant two breathing tubes and two feeding tubes, and their sleep time would be hours shorter, in order to feed separately.

It seemed like a valid punishment, and with no chance at communication their life's would be waiting for the next command, as the only form of sound from another person. But who would command them? We did not want to make the same mistake and have someone getting power hungry.

It was a tough decision, but we all felt we should do better than these criminals. Karen had a suggestion. In her research to develop better gills, she had found a way to create permanent gills, but it took out the longues completely. It would force these people to live permanently underwater. And she could replace their tentacles by flippers, like a dolphin, taking their ability to use any tools or weapons away. They could then stay in Mermaid City, but without a chance to ever take control again.

It felt harsh, to sentence other humans to a life, not much better than an animal. But these people had sold us as pets, for profit, and how many mermaids right now were exactly like that? An animal, under full control of their owner. With no hope, unless we could locate them and save them.

The decision was made, and so many things could go wrong still, but it felt good to finally take action. Albert and Karen would fly to the sanctuary and form an alliance with Karen's friend, which would start Mermaid City. Karen would then fly straight back home, and set the revolution into motion. Femke and I would help raise the girls, until they were off to college. Then we would move to Mermaid City, and help settle it. The girls would get a surgery for the special gills once the bad guys were taken out, and once in college they'd go “home” for holidays, home being where all mermaids would live.

The plan went surprisingly well, although we hadn't counted on Albert and Louise, Karen's millionaire friend, falling in love. Their combined wealth accelerated our plans dramatically, and Mermaid City became our home years sooner. The twins finished highschool in an international school, and they loved their stepmother more than their own mother. Femke and I were still their favorite, but Louise was okay with that, and would often swim with the four of us, though in a diving suit, she never tried a mermaid tail herself.

The city we built was in a large bay, far away from any human settlement. As a matter of fact, the only access was by helicopter and technically by boat, but the coastline was very dangerous, and kept curious people away. It was the main reason the bay was never converted into some harbor.

The bay was almost inland, with perhaps a hundred meter wide inlet. Louise had sank a huge barge, normally used for bauxite transport, right in the opening, by loading the left side with a large amount of rocks, and then sawing holes in the bottom, causing the rest of the barge to fill up with water, and the weight of the rocks dragged that side down to the ocean floor, causing the bottom to stick our vertically in the water, around twenty feet high, fully shutting off the inlet. Not the prettiest, but very effective.

Multiple holes were sawed in the now vertical wall, most covered with metal bars, to keep large predators like sharks out. A few holes were turned into doorways, allowing expeditions outside the bay, and letting friendly animals like dolphins in.

It was interesting to see that our former CEO, stripped of her humanity, made friends with a single female dolphin, and chose to live as her partner, a bond that became after a year so strong that she managed to communicate to Karen to let the both of them out of the bay, into the ocean. Karen agreed, as long as the CEO stayed away from any human activity. Her hearing was restored but a GPS tracker was installed in her tail. She was accepted as a member of a small pod, and clearly a favorite with visiting males.

The five former guards had been paid to do their job, nasty as it was. In their new life however they could fulfill a similar job, while paid with forgiveness. They guarded the entrances to the bay, and escorted mermaids that visited the ocean, and were generally happy about their future.

Not so much for the final four, the corrupt members of the former leadership team. They fought amongst themselves, two dying like a fish out of water, as they had been pushed upon a rocky beach, away from the life-giving water.

The two remaining members attacked a guard at one of the “doors” to the ocean. A tail slap so hard it knocked the guard unconscious, but floating away she survived, thanks to the fact she could only breathe underwater. Without arms and even tentacles, the criminals had trouble opening the doorway, and although they managed, it wasn't without damage to their tails, that they had used to force it open. Once out in the open ocean it took about ten minutes before sharks were on their tails, attracted by the blood. We don't know how long they lasted, but it had to be painful, as the sharks feasted on them.

Over the years we rescued about three quarters of the mermaids sold into captivity. Sometimes compensation had to be paid, sometimes explaining the illegal transactions were enough to get cooperation in releasing the mermaids. Some had been sold into difficult countries with little chance of success to be released. Some were happy where they were, similar to Femke and me, as they had developed a good relationship with their “owner”.

Many new mermaids were created, volunteering for the permanent change, and taking their place in the slowly growing community. We had several newborns that were swimming with a tail long before they would have crawled on land. One of the mothers was Femke, with Albert the father, fully supported by Louise. And since Femke was my life partner, I became a mother as well.

Ginny and Winny, fully graduated and thrilled about their new half sister, were soon pregnant as well, from the same father, each giving birth to twin girls within an hour of each other. In a way I became a grandmother thus as well. Oh well…

I decided to write my story down for multiple reasons. First, to show that in life good and bad things will always happen. It's easy to take the good, but the way you deal with the bad stuff will shape your future.

Second, maybe some of the lost mermaids will one day read this story, and find hope from knowing there is a thriving community waiting for them. We will do everything in our power to help these women.

And last, but not least, there may be many many human girls out there, with a love for mermaids, like Ginny and Winny. Finish your school, your college, and find us, and we can make your dreams come true. And as a former male, I never expected to be a permanent mermaid, but it was the best thing that ever happened to me. So maybe a few human boys, if you're interested in becoming a girl, a mermaid, we have room for you too!