Suddenly a Mermaid [Man to Mermaid TG] (Patreon)

Caleb is diving for treasure, but when he finds a mysterious amulet, he becomes one. 

Tier reward for Niddhoggr

~

He dove down through the warm, salty water, past a school of tropical fish, toward the coral shelf. It was another beautiful day in paradise, and Caleb was making the most of it. Wetsuit and flippers on, he dove down and paused in front of a rock shelf, taking in the little fish and wild clam pearls lining the area. Silver bubbles danced past his golden fringe as he breathed out, and he checked the respirator; not much time left now.

He headed down a little deeper to the sandy ocean floor and ran his fingers over the ground, stirring up a few crabs in the process, and a smooth silver shell. He’d have grinned if he could and picked it up, adding it to the bag at his hip. He collected all sorts of little things on his dives. They were always a hit with the ladies; nothing made a woman swoon quite like ‘Would you like a shell from the nearby reef?’.

He was about to turn around and head back when a gleam of something shiny caught his eye. A shaft of sunlight made its way down to the ocean floor and reflected off something in the sand. Curious, he swam over and dusted away the sand to reveal a beautiful amulet: a giant blue opal, surrounded by silver in the shape of waves, on a chain so thin it looked almost like hair. It was a miracle it hadn’t broken already. Caleb’s eyes went wide in wonder; it had to be worth a fortune. 

He held it up, letting the light shine on it fully; beautiful. He was so busy admiring it, he didn't notice the barracuda slowly circling nearby until he felt a tug at his hip. The fish’s razor-sharp teeth were slashing at his bag, and he yelped in surprise, knocking the respirator out of his mouth in a panic. The strap snapped, and off the fish went, darting through the water, shiny shell and bag in hand. Calbel floundered for his respirator and blew out the water before taking several deep breaths. 

Damn barracuda, they loved shiny things. He should have closed the pack more securely. At least he still had the amulet. With a huff of frustration through the respirator, Caleb kicked off the ocean floor as much as his flippers allowed and headed for the surface, placing the amulet around his neck for safekeeping. 

A bit of awkward climbing later, and he was back up on the pontoon, shaking out his hair and removing the googles. As much as he loved diving, the headgear always gave him a headache. What he wouldn't give to be able to dive without goggles, squeezing his skull and a constantly ticking clock. 

“Finally, I can get out of this wetsuit.” 

He pulled out his arms and let out a deep sigh of relief as the sun touched his bare chest. Letting the fabric bunch around his chest, he reached down to remove the flippers and…couldn’t. It wasn't that the straps were too tight; there were no straps at all. It was like they had melted into the shoes, and the shoes to his skin. Calbe pressed and tugged at the plastic, but he couldn’t even get his pinky between the flipper and his skin. 

“The fuck?” 

Caleb pulled at them in vain. There was nothing he could do. He bent, fumbling with the wetsuit zipper, pulling hard. The zipper slid down, but the suit beneath his fingers felt wrong; warmer, almost alive. Where the neoprene clung to his calves, it no longer ended cleanly. The seam blurred, dark rubber softening into smooth skin.

Caleb sucked in a sharp breath.

His legs tingled, then burned, then went numb. The flippers began to lose their rigid shape, edges melting and stretching, fusing together where the water pressed them close. He kicked instinctively, and the motion sent a ripple through them both, as if they were no longer two separate limbs.

“No, no, no,” he muttered, though the word dissolved into bubbles as he slipped fully back beneath the surface.

The ocean rushed to meet him, and the water felt icy with dread. He gasped…and didn’t cough. Something at his neck, tiny frills, flare and he reached up and felt along the creases that hadn't been there a moment ago. He had gills.

“I…can breathe?” He said to himself out of shock, his voice warbled under the water, but it was clear. 

The wetsuit tightened along his thighs, seams vanishing entirely as the material darkened and patterned itself with subtle scales that caught the filtered light. He half expected the material to transform into shiny scales, and he winced. Bracing for the prickly of hard scales against his skin, but it never came. The strange, rubbery surface of his wetsuit remained. 

His legs drew together, bones shifting with a deep, internal pressure that felt less like breaking and more like yielding. Caleb felt panic flare in his chest, and he froze, waiting for the inevitable pain. Instead, there was a powerful shiver that ran down his spine, making both his legs jerk in perfect sync as they started to melt together. He kicked awkwardly, sinking a little further, trying to raise his feet up to get a better look at what was happening. When he finally managed it, his flippers and feet were gone.

In their place was a single, broad tail unfurled, strong and supple, the last remnants of flipper becoming a crescent fin that was slightly translucent. It still had that same texture, though, being slightly thicker than a fish fin had any right to be.  He twisted, and the water answered instantly, carrying him farther than any kick had before. The motion felt right in a way nothing else ever had, and that idea terrified him.

“A merman? I’m becoming a merman?”

Sure, he’d always wanted to dive without a tank on his back, but not at the expense of his legs! Not to mention the other very important thing he kept between them! It was gone now, replaced with his odd, rubbery tail. The wetsuit was still bunched at his hips where he’d removed the top half. Was it just going to stay there forever? 

The amulet sat on his chest, metal cool against his skin. Could it be the cause of all this? Caleb claws at his neck, ready to yank the chain away, but…it was gone. He ran his fingers over his shoulders and chest, feeling the former slope and the other start to become oddly soft. The thin chain was gone, and the thick metal ring surrounding the opal was pressed to his skin just like the flippers and wetsuit; he couldn’t remove it. 

The fins at his hips flared, and then Caleb realised he had fins on his hips. The bunched wetsuit that had been sitting there was now smooth and part of his body, just like the fin at the end of his tail. They weren't very strong, but as he kicked his new tail, he felt them flare and shift slightly, helping him to steer through the smooth water. It would have been exhilarating if it weren't so insane. 

Caleb swam in circles, trying to look at every inch of his new body. A thick, powerful tail that undulated, made of that strange material, and an opal merged with the front of his chest. How…odd. But…things could be worse, he supposed.

Then it got worse. 

That softness in his chest was continuing. The skin there felt tender, and Caleb pressed a hand only for the muscle to yield in a way it never had before. The water took away most of the weight, but as he stared down at his own chest, he could see it growing. Two round, smooth breasts were going out of his chest.

“Merman…no wait, mermaid!?” What the hell was the deal with this amulet? Or…maybe it was the water! If he got out, maybe the changes would stop! He swam for the surface and broke through in a  spray of silver bubbles. Immediately, the weight of his new chest made him gasp. Gravity pulled his heavy breasts down as he awkwardly dragged himself up onto the pontoon and started frantically drying himself. Maybe if all the water were gone, he would change back. 

It didn’t work through. The dry air made his skin ache, and his breasts just kept getting heavier and heavier. His nipples turned an odd shade of pinkish blue to match his new tail, and Caleb groaned. His gills were dry, and his lungs ached; this felt even more wrong. Especially when his skull began to itch, and hair started to roll down his shoulders. 

Calbel yanked at his tail and felt nothing but the tug of skin; the amulet wouldn’t budge either. His chest felt so heavy and sore, his spine started to ache, and then, there was a yell. “Holy shit!”

He looked up from the pontoon to see a local fishing boat, two guys gaping at him openly. Caleb felt his face flush as he rushed to try to cover his still-growing chest. This wasn't working, and he really didn’t want to try and explain this to two strangers. He took a deep breath out of habit and dove into the water, instantly sighing with relief as his chest stopped aching. 

His hair was long now, flowing out behind him as he swam through the water. Tail undulating quickly to try and escape the boat's sight. His fingers burned as webbing formed between his fingers, and he cursed as his sharp teeth almost cut his soft lips. The amulet sat between his breasts, glowing faintly as he entered darker and darker water at the edge of the reef. 

Caleb combed his sharp fingers through the long locks of hair in fascination, then took a deep breath through his gills. He could feel his new bust rise and fall with the motion…it felt good. So did swimming, feeling the cool water glide over his exposed skin and new, rubbery tail felt wonderful like the gentle caress of a lover's hand. 

Deep below, far deeper than his little diving set up could ever have taken him, Caleb saw something glitter. With nothing to fear he dived down into the dark and scooped up the open clam shell, and pried the top off entirely to reveal the beautiful, dark pearl within. It was beautiful, utterly breathtaking, just like him. 

A subtle change in the current made Caleb pause, and he turned to see another barracuda floating nearby, eyeing the pearl. He hisses, bearing his teeth and talon,s and the fish zipped away without a fight. Caleb smiled triumphantly. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad after all.