She grows a set of gills

Tracy clutched the dice in her hand and cast them. “Y’know Sandra,” She started, with an attempt at lightheartedness, “After this is all done, you and I are gonna have to have a little talk.”

Sandra turned a shade of red Tracy had previously thought only tomatoes were capable of, averting her eyes to the clattering dice, “I swear it was just the game-“ She mumbled with an attempt at sincerity.

“Uh-huh, sure pal.” Tracy chuckled, checking her dice, “Eight, holy shit is that enough?” She watched her piece with hope then deflated when it stopped, “Dammit, two more spaces.”

“That definitely means there’s only more round,” Samantha pointed out as Tracy reached for the card.

“Wonder what it’s thinking?” Emily asked.

“What what’s thinking?” Tracy paused, looking at the fairy.

“The game, you’re about to draw your card, what’s the game thinking? What’s it plotting? We know nothing’s on the card until you pick it up.” She explained.

“Guys, I said don’t think about it.” Samantha folded her arms.

“Well, how can we not?” Sandra shrugged her head a little, “That cursed box is just sitting there plotting some awful thing to do to Tracy and we’re just meant to ignore that? It’s freaky.”

“I gotta agree, it’s hard to ignore, Sammy.” Tracy agreed, “Has it had a plan this whole time? Or is it all random? Maybe we could like, guess what’s about to happen?”

“Maybe earlier,” Samantha spread her hands in consideration, “You were turning into a man, there was a pattern there, sure.”

“But now I’m a mermaid,” Tracy finished the thought, “No, no that’s a good point.” She drew the card and started reading.

“Scales bright as summer days/ Voice as sweet as honey glaze/ Become the singer of the seas/ A victory soon to be seized” Tracy chewed her lip as she puzzled out the riddle, “I’m already a mermaid though?”

“It mentioned a lot about singing though,” Samantha offered, “No offense, Tracy, but you’re not exactly a choir kid.”

“None taken, I don’t do singing. Is the game going to like- nnngh… here it comes-“ Tracy winced, curling in on her abdomen, feeling the familiar bubbling in her blood as her body felt the game’s bizarre magic. “It’s tight, I feel tight-“ She grimaced, writhing her tail against the carpet.

Sandra put her hand on Tracy’s shoulder, “Deep breaths, the weirder transformations hurt more.”

“I’m trying,” Tracy petered out, “Hard to- breathe.” Her tail shimmered, web-like fins began fanning out from her scales, three along each side of her tail, getting smaller as they got closer to her fin. “Nngh-“

“I don’t understand,” Emily fluttered upward as she spoke, “It’s just making her… more mermaid?”

Tracy grimaced and clutched her sternum, flopping over onto her belly as her tits started jolting with unwelcome sharp sensations, the others watched curiously as the scales of her tail spread past her waist, up her torso and over her chest, replacing her skin with the shimmering scales.

Her boobs started to deflate, shrinking back against her chest as her nipples pulled away from the ground. She grabbed her tits through her shirt in discomfort, wincing as she felt them descend through cup sizes, until they were barely even there, unnoticeable bumps along the scaly surface of her skin.

Tracy gasped as her arms spasmed, long-spiny bones jutted out from her wrists, scales grew over them as webbing fanned out from the bones to her arm, creating large swim fins. “Agh! Ah! Angh!” Tracy screamed and grunted, opening her mouth as her teeth needled and stretched to terrifying points, closer to the mouth of a piranha than any human. She groaned and retched as her eyes started flitting rapidly, changing from Hazel pupils to empty black pits, swimming voids on inky blackness.

“What the hell?!” Sandra pulled back as Tracy became this monster the game had devised.

“Help- me-“ Tracy gasped through her spiney teeth. Her breath went thin as gill split open down her abdomen, she crawled across the ground, grasping for Samantha, unable to form words.

“She can’t breathe!” Samantha shouted, quickly getting up and running to her kitchen, coming back with her brita filter, which she started pouring over Tracy’s stomach.

Tracy gasped, leaning back against Samantha, taking shallow, awkward breaths through her gills.

“Sandra quick! She can’t stay like this, take your turn!” Samantha barked at Sandra, panic in her voice.

Sandra scrambled to the board, grabbing the dice in a rush, and throwing them back down just as quickly.

______________________________________________________

Author’s Note: We’re in the final stretch now. No matter what happens in the next four chapters, one of the girls is gonna win and end the game, but who’s it gonna be? They’re all one dice roll away from the end, so it could be anyone. And the clock’s ticking too, Samantha’s only got so much water to keep Tracy breathing!

Genuinely though I’m so relieved this is coming to a close, this has been such a fun thing to write and the attention it’s been getting has been so rewarding. I’m happy to see it end, but sad I have to move on.

Anywhore, stay tuned, reader! There’s so much more to do, and the end is cumming.