As per usual, June August had gone to explore a tomb, which hadn't been documented prior for one reason or another. She was used to this by now. Despite the danger, she didn't really mind, it still gave her a thrill.
This tomb lay on the coast of Egypt, not far from the Mediterranean Sea. According to sources, it had been closed off due to coastal proximity, as ancient records showed a massive flood in the area. Descending down the stairs, June found ahead of her a dark hallway. She couldn't tell how long it was, but it seemed to stretch almost infinitely.
'...Hmm...should I head back?' she pondered, eventually dismissing the idea. After several hours of walking, however, she began feeling exhausted. She started to limp a bit and was breathing very shallowly, but with going back no longer an option since she had (probably) reached halfway, she had to endure. June sat down for some water from her canteen, and continued on.
June's legs were now gelatin. She was sweating heavily, to me matters worse, she was starting to come across skeletons, laying in puddles of water. It occurred to her that maybe more people had entered this tunnel and had met their end here. But she had to press on, as chances are she wouldn't survive a return trip. Whatever lay ahead, she had to confront it. She then realized something.
'Wait, this is...water! I could...' Ignoring the fact that it was likely dirty, she tried tasting it. She spit it out immediately, tasting salt.
After almost a day of walking in near-darkness, she came across a set of torches. She wasn't sure how they stayed lit if no one (probably) lived here, but moved along. Another set of torches later, she saw a door. Her legs were shaking, she was leaning against the walls to stand, but she had arrived. She entered to find another door in a very small room. Past this door she could hear something. Was it...water? It seemed to be...the door shut behind her, suddenly. She saw writing on the door ahead. It was in Ancient Egyptian, but she knew enough of it.
'Whoever invades this temple will face the curse of the aquatic...what?' Just then, June felt something wrapping around her legs.
'Goddamnit, no! I'm being mummified!' Cloth started to encircle her body. June attempted to struggle and get out of her binds, but there wasn't much she could do. She felt a liquid seeping into her legs. It didn't seem to be the salt water, but this wasn't on her mind. What was on her mind was escaping. Alas, she was unsuccessful. Fully covered by cloth, she was picked up by...someone. She heard the door opening, and water was rushing inside. It was the ocean! The pyramid's internal catacombs really just lead to an underwater alcove. A weight was tied to her chest and she sank to the bottom. She had her eyes shut, but could hardly hear anymore, water flooding her eardrums. She was drowning, unable to do anything about it. Her senses started to give way, but something began to stir in her legs. As her life began to flash, June felt herself starting to breathe again, as her bindings, as well as her clothes, withered away in the salt water. She slowly began to reopen her eyes, and noted that she could see clearly through the ocean. June put her hand to her neck. She felt...gills!
'Am I...a mermaid?' she wondered. She then put her hand over her mouth in shock. She could hear herself clearly underwater! She saw her pocketknife, which had come out of her pocket and fallen to the ocean floor. She picked it up and cut the ropes that bound her to the weight. Since she was 'laying' on her back, and the rope was gone, she could now see two things. First, her legs had fused together, and second, she wasn't wearing anything! She, however, was more concerned about her exposed breasts than her legs, and covered them with her hands. Soon, however, she felt something materializing. It was a swimming top, made of fish scales! She uncovered her breasts, and saw the goldish scales that formed her top, glistening. June then gandered down, seeing her fused legs start to gather a color. Her feet turned to the side and began to form into fins reminiscent of those of a fish. They began to expand, golden scales forming from nothing, and the scales spread up her whole lower body. They stopped just at her crotch, completing the transformation to her new form.
'...Looks like it's complete...' she said, almost lamenting. She gazed around, and then floated up to the surface. She swam back to the shore, waiting for sometime during the night when no one would be there, and resurfaced. She still had lungs, so she could breathe just fine. When she returned to the sands, however, her scales started to evaporate. Her feet turned the right way, her swimming top vanished, leaving her once again exposed, her legs separated, and her gills retracted into her skin.
'What the hell? Wait, let me see...' She returned into the water. Sure enough, her legs fused, her feet turned sideways, the scales reformed her fins and top, and her gills reformed.
'It appears this is the curse of the aquatic...then why'd I get mummified?...Then again, the Egyptians definitely loved mummies, so I guess that was their way of doing it...I should report back to my superior.'
Shortly afterwards, June was on a tour boat in the Mediterranean, a little prize for the discovery. A couple of her fellow explorers and her superior were with her.
'...And here we arrive at about where Alexandria is.' said the guide, 'The old sunken city...' June knew this lecture well. She'd studied Alexandria extensively. She had a sinkingbad punfeeling they'd want them to get some oxygen tanks and have an up close look at the ruins. She was right.
'All right, equip some oxygen tanks and self contained underwater breathing apparatuses. We're goin' under...June, what are you doing?' Without thinking, June, knowing she didn't need them, hopped in. She underwent the transformation sequence she knew, this time in front of a couple people, who looked on in awe. When she resurfaced, she could see them all peering over the boat's railing, stunned.
'Oh, son of a bitch...uh...surprise?'
