“Fuck! Fuckity-fuck-fuck-fuck! I didn’t expect her to actually be States-side to answer it! Oh shit, Maddie looks really pissed! What do I do? I need to… yes words, I can use those! Maybe. Deep breath, friendly smile, not too friendly though. You don’t want to smile too big and freak her out with the fangs. Carp, I mean crap, I’m still panicking. Heh heh, those fish puns will never lose their a-lure though.” At that point, I managed to calm my thoughts enough to take that deep breath I had been planning on and tried to look friendly. “Okay, I really wasn’t expecting you to answer but I need you to just calm down for a minute and watch the screen while my friend shows you the back of my neck.”

I handed the tablet to Kara, who brushed my hair out of the way with one hand while aiming the tablet with the other. Then I heard the telltale click of a photo being taken before it was handed back to me. When I looked at the screen again, I saw that the photo had been sent and my sister was gaping at the screen. “How did you get that tattoo?”

“It’s simple Mads, I was the one who designed it for you. We got them together after my mom died. We promised to always be there for one another and I drew this for you so you’d always have part of me with you. You insisted that we both get them since I was going to art school instead of joining you and your parents for an exciting life of shooting people and blowing shit up. You said that we’d always be together this way if we got them in the same spot. You suggested the back of the neck so guys wouldn’t razz me for having a girlie tattoo, because I always wore my hair long,” I told her as patiently as I could with my heart hammering in my chest.

“No… you can’t…”

“It’s me, Mads. I’ve been through some changes though. Ask me anything,” I encouraged while she was still speechless.

Her eyes narrowed and she asked, “If you really are Jon then you’ll know this, what’s your favorite sports team?”

She just had to go for my weak spot, didn’t she? “Goddammit, Mads! Of all the stupid questions to ask! You know damn well that I hate sports, all sports! I hate watching them, I especially hate playing them! I wanted music lessons, but oh no, you begged me to join the little league team with you! It was a disaster and then there was you, our top hitter and star pitcher! The only reason that I ever wore that stupid Dolphins jersey was that we live in Miami and it was a gift from you, and you know it! If I still had fucking legs I’d walk out of here, find you, and smack you upside the head!”

For a moment after my rage-rant, she just sat there gaping at the screen. “Jon? How? What? I… nobody goes on an anti-sports rant like you do.” Then the end of my rant seemed to catch up with her. “What do you mean by, ‘If I still had legs’?”

I took a deep breath to calm myself. “Okay, Mads, this is all going to sound crazy as fuck, but I, and some other girls, have been turned into ‘mermaids’ by some Bond villain wannabe. We’re being held captive and he plans to train us to perform in some marine park. And could you call me Naiya, please? It’s what I’m calling myself now since I no longer look like a Jon. It turns out I wasn’t really your kid brother all these years, I was your kid sister, I just didn’t know it. I never realized what felt so wrong until I woke up like this.”

“Wow, this is not how I expected you to come out to me,” I heard her mumble.

“Wait, you knew?!”

“I suspected,” she clarified. “I thought that you’d come out to me when you were ready. I never expected ‘Oh, I’m a girl and a mermaid now and being held against my will.’ That didn’t even make my top one hundred scenarios.”

“Well, it does seem a little unlikely,” I agreed.

“I’m assuming that you’re calling because you and your friends need our help, Sis? You did mention a Bond villain and being held captive,” Maddie said to try to get back to the subject at hand.

Omigod, she just casually called me Sis. Not Bro, or Jon, or Jonny. I felt like my heart was going to explode with happiness. She not only believed me, but she also accepted me and that meant everything to me. I had to try to fight back tears while I began to explain everything to her. I told her that we were Naethari, not mermaids. I told her about how Pierce had captured Kieshala and how he had been cutting her apart and using pieces of her flesh to change people. I told her how he had kidnapped Kara, Jenny, and their family, how few of us survived, his plans, and our plan. Finally, I told her the most difficult part of all, how I had gotten into this mess.

She was angry, but then, she had a right to be and she was already pissed about our situation, to begin with. “Naiya, you should have fucking told us! We could have been there for you!”

“How?! What could you have done?! Watched me waste away?! Felt helpless because there was nothing that any of us could do?! I didn’t want any of you to have your last memories of me be like that!” I practically shouted back at her in frustration.

“So you shut us out?! You took away our choice?! Never do that again, Naiya! We promised to be there for one another forever and I’m going to damn well keep my end of the bargain, so I expect you to as well!” She took several deep breaths to calm herself down. “You know what Mom and Dad say, this isn’t the time for anger. You and your friends are in danger and if we’re going to get you out then we’ll need to think calmly. Mom and Dad are going to be just as pissed at you when we have you safe and sound though.”

“You’re right, and I probably deserve it. I was a shitty brother,” I admitted.

“No, you were a shitty sister, but I think we can work on that,” my sister said, cracking a faint smile. “I already suspected that you had gotten deep in some bad situation, Sis. We got home almost a three weeks ago and when you weren’t answering our calls for four days straight we got worried and started checking hospitals. We found where you’d been taken not long after you were released into the care of an Emily Shaw, representing the Pierce Foundation two weeks ago.”

“Two weeks? But I’ve only been here like five days,” I argued.

~ The transformation process of a human into one of our kind can take up to half a moon cycle, Naiya ~ Kieshala pointed out. She was still having trouble with more complex words and phrases, especially slang, but it seemed like my outburst was simple enough for her to understand.

Maddie didn’t hear that though, of course. “I dunno, you did say you were drugged for a while and I’ll bet that a transformation like that doesn’t happen in a few hours, Sis. Anyway, it was all bogus, Emily Shaw doesn’t exist and Pierce has the reputation of someone who I would very much like to put a bullet into, even before I heard about this. We contacted the Pierce Foundation and they said no such cancer treatment exists. We tried tracking the van that took you from the hospital using traffic cameras but it didn’t go to the medical research facility mentioned in the paperwork, we lost track of it in a residential area.”

“Not surprising since all of this is going on right beneath that bastard’s mansion,” I told her.

“Extracting you while you’re there is going to prove difficult,” my big sister explained. “We could probably loop the cameras and get you out without anyone knowing it’s us but there would be a lot of bodies if he has as much security as I suspect. Maybe some of them are just working stiffs with no idea what’s happening down there. And carrying out four people is just begging for someone on our side to take a few bullets too. I’d rather not risk that. The best time to get you out would be at the marine park or better yet, to intercept you en route. Which means that we’re going to need an inside man, or woman in this case.”

Dr. Emerson had been watching the conversation over my shoulder and quickly said, “I’m your girl! I want to get them out of here safely and you may need someone to help if any Naethari-related problems crop up.”

“Okay, I’m going to need you to contact me when you’re off work, so keep Naiya’s Skype account loaded on your tablet, Dr. Emerson. Or we could meet somewhere for dinner so we can get to know one another and you can give me more details on the situation,” Maddie suggested with a smile.

“Oh my Goddess, Sis! Stop flirting, this situation is serious!” I sputtered in frustration. “You don’t even know if she’s interested!”

“Who says I’m not,” Natalie countered. “I happen to have a thing for butch redheads, and you can call me Nat. Unlike some useless disaster lesbians that I know, I can admit when I’m into someone.” Wait, was that directed at me? Is that why she looked pointedly at me and Kara?

“Dinner tonight then, Nat?” my sister shamelessly pressed.

“I could maybe manage an hour before I have to come back to feed the girls,” Nat teased right back. “I promised them some Chinese take-out tonight for a treat. Do you know Sun Chi’s?”

“It’s one of Naiya’s favorites. What time should I meet you there?”

“Four o’clock? We can eat something light and talk business. If things go well then maybe we can meet at my place later tonight for dessert,” our caretaker offered suggestively.

“I do like dessert, sweet thing. I’ll see you at four then,” Maddie replied with a grin, winking at her over my shoulder.

“Lalalalalala. I’m not hearing this.” I would have covered my ears but I was still holding the tablet.

“Oh grow up, Sis, there’s nothing wrong with being open and honest about being attracted to someone. How else are you going to see if you’re compatible without giving things a try?” she chastised me before looking behind her. “I gotta go now so I can talk to Mom and Dad, and try to convince them that this crazy story is the truth before meeting with Nat. Take care of yourself and the others, Naiya. Love you, Sis, and don’t worry, we’re gonna get you all out of this.”

As soon as she disconnected the call I let out a long sigh. “Well, that went a lot better than I thought it would when she picked up.”

“It did, I even got a date with a hot redhead out of it,” Nat teased.

“Please, she’s not hot, she’s my sister,” I grouched as I wondered if brain bleach was a thing.

“Your hot sister,” the fit blonde human among us said with a grin. Then she gave us a serious look, more specifically, she gave me and Kara a serious look. “I’m going to go fish up some lunch for you girls, I’ll be back shortly. Before I go though, Naiya and Kara, there’s something I want to tell you. You two seriously have to stop awkwardly dancing around one another. I only caught onto it after you started talking to me but it’s already painful to watch.”

“Huh?” we replied almost in unison.

“You two are hopeless! I’m eight and I got it!” Jenny suddenly announced while rolling her eyes and huffing in frustration.

“See, it’s obvious to everyone but the two of you, you just need to kiss already. You two are into one another but you’re both so worried about being rejected or scaring each other off that you’re missing the signs or dismissing them as something stupid. I probably would have seen the signs days ago if I had been thinking of you as humans but I was still trying to figure out your social behavior in the context of ‘mermaids’ so I missed it. I’ll be back with your lunch in a few minutes, just think about what I said,” Natalie said as she turned and headed for the exit.

“You… I… umm…” I tried to speak as I turned to look at Kara but words were so damn hard. I wasn’t like my sister, I couldn’t just jump in and start flirting. It was as I was fumbling with those word things that Kara pulled me in close and our lips met.

Her lips were so soft and tasted of saltwater but they were somehow gentle and insistent at the same time as they pressed against mine, their warmth melding with my own. My lips, my everything, tingled as she pulled me closer. It was like my very soul was singing and, oh Goddess, I wanted so much more. Seriously, if kissing people was supposed to feel this good how did people ever get anything else done?

Kara held me close with one hand as the other tenderly stroked my hair, lightly brushing against my elfin ear and causing even more shivers of pleasure to erupt within me. When her tongue probed my lips I offered no resistance but instead met it with my own until our tongues were dancing and darting over and around each other with increasing fervor as our kiss became more and more passionate. We lost ourselves in that kiss for I don’t know how long. All that I knew for certain was that I wanted more, as much as she was willing to give.

The way that she held me, the way that her lips crashed into mine with a bruising need, or that her tongue entwined with mine as she lovingly caressed me; the whole experience was one of the most amazing things that I had ever felt. It was easily in the top two and when the other was that feeling when I discovered who I really was and found my real name and gender, that’s some pretty heady company. I felt safe, loved, and genuinely wanted in a way that I had never felt before.

Our marathon lip lock was finally brought to a close when we heard Kieshala laugh and say, ~ I must agree with Natalie. It is about time that you two started to properly court one another instead of getting stutter-fins every time that the other sends an obvious signal that she is interested. I have never seen two people so awkward about their attraction to one another. If this goes any further you might want some privacy though. ~

We broke apart, gasping for air, and Kara’s face looked as red as mine felt. ~ I am attracted to you, Kara, I just thought… that you were attracted to men. I didn’t want to make things weird by pushing for something that you probably had no interest in. I was afraid that I was doing things to make you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable. ~ I admitted.

~ Seriously? ~ the aquamarine-hued hottie holding me in her arms asked with a dumbfounded look on her face. ~ I was trying to flirt at first and I kept finding myself doing things without really thinking about them. I was feeling the same way though, and I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I’ve been crushing on you since you first spoke to me. I thought that maybe if I gave you some time to figure your new self out that things might happen eventually. ~

~ We’re both oblivious then, ~ I said with a sigh. ~ I like you, Kara, and I find you very attractive. I’d like to see where this goes and if one of us starts to make the other uncomfortable then we should just speak up, okay? ~

~ Okay, Naiya. I’d like that, ~ she replied with a grin before pulling me close and kissing me again.

I was giddy when she finally relinquished her hold on me. ~ Neither of you seemed too surprised by this. ~ I mentioned, looking toward Jenny and Kieshala.

~ You were both being so obvious, even to a kid like me. And I knew that my sister was attracted to girls, she came out to the family on her birthday and explained things to me. We thought that was the biggest surprise we’d get that night and then we all woke up in a cell. ~ Jenny pointed out, her tone turning bitter toward the end, causing Kara to scooch over out to hug her sister tightly.

~ Jenny is right, you two were being obvious. Same-sex mates are not uncommon among the Naethari either. Love is what makes mates, not the physical forms, and among our kind two females can still have children together. Physical sex is unimportant; our bodies adapt to those of our chosen mates to be able to produce offspring during the third metamorphosis ~ Kieshala pointed out. I really wanted to know more about that, the whole mating bond thing, but that was when Natalie returned with our lunch and our conversation was set aside so we could eat. Jenny and I were both pretty hungry since she had healed me.