A/N: This was a GT writing prompt I read that struck me as something fun to write from a fan. Her idea was a tiny mermaid lives in a shell and that shell is subsequently collected by a human who takes it home. Though her suggestion was fanfiction based I veered from that but kept her original idea since I myself love to collect shells.

It is said that mankind knows more about the surface of the moon than Earth's own ocean. So much oceanic life is yet to be discovered. One such undiscovered life grew no more than three inches long and lived in the colorful reefs of the Caribbean. This species was known as the Serrani Mers. The Serrani Mers were the tiniest of merfolk who inhabited the lush reefs of the seas. Because of their small size, quick evasive movements, and their resemblance to a common dartfish, the colorful little merfolk went undiscovered from the human world.

One such Serrani was named Junia. Her tail was the common flame red with a tiny stripe of luminescent blue racing down her transparent tail and caudal fins. Her top half was delicate and pure white with iridescent black hair that flashed blue to green in the sunlight. Hiding amidst her mane of hair were two, tiny fins that served as ears and vibration detectors. Lustrous blue dots fanned out from her pretty, green eyes. She wasn't the most beautiful in her shoal by a long shot, but she could still turn a head or two. However, Junia did not venture out much. Being so tiny on a reef meant she had to constantly be on her guard lest she be swallowed up by a much larger fish or creature. Even the most vigilant and cautious Serrani could be eaten or killed in a millisecond, and it wasn't uncommon to find one of their homes eerily empty.

To help prevent such an end, Junia lived in a large Queen's Conch; one of the largest in her reef community. Long abandoned after the death of its original squishy owner, the huge, thick shell served as perfect protection for the vulnerable little Serrani. No fish could crack the impenetrable shell nor fit their voracious mouth into the spiraled interior where she lived. She only had to fear octopi or smaller eels slithering inside, but they were less common. Not only was it a safe home, the soft, pink-colored inside was very appealing and had lots of room for Junia's treasures.

Ask any of her neighbors and they would say Junia was a treasure collecting fiend. But her treasures were not tasty nor useful...they were just...odd. Treasures such as a wrinkled, shiny silver ball she had found lolling with the waves. It was almost as big as she, but it was so light she could carry it with little trouble. She had a whole collection of fake fish and squiggly worms of various neon colors. They were all soft and squishy like anemones but didn't sting. Older neighbors claimed they were dangerous traps from the surface, but Junia still kept them and used a pile of them for pillows. But most intriguing of all was a thin, loop made of something as hard as a rock. It was smooth, shiny, yellowish-brown, and had shiny stones growing on it. Junia would wear it around her waist sometimes when she was safe at home. She didn't dare bring any of her shiny baubles outside her home; shiny things attracted predatory eyes attached to hungry mouths.

Truth be told, Junia didn't know what any of her treasures truly were but there wasn't anything like them on the reef where she lived, so they were special to her.

One sunny day, Junia ventured out of her shell home with great caution to hunt for tiny zooplankton. The tiny animals were a staple of the Serrani Mer's diet along with tiny fish, clams, and shrimp. Some days they were plentiful near her home and other times she'd have to venture further away. The further she swam from her protection the less safe it became. However, she had to eat, dangerous or not. With her green eyes darting in all directions, she made sure the area was clear of predators before swimming out. She swam out, using the surrounding coral as protection while she hunted. Luckily other members of her community, (her shoal) were also out and about; more eyes meant safer conditions.

Junia had managed to catch several tasty zooplankton when suddenly a voice near the top of the reef shouted, "Kraken! Kraken!"

No one hesitated to flee from that warning call. Dozens of red tails hurriedly swam for cover. Junia fled to her shell home with all haste.

Her shoal all knew the Kraken. It was an enormous black beast as big as most sharks with two long independently moving tail fins. Unlike a shark, however, the Kraken was a slow-swimming giant. No one knew exactly what kind of creature it was, so it was dubbed "Kraken"; a huge monstrous beast from the unknown. Bubbles constantly erupted from its strangely shaped body, and it always made low, rhythmic, hissing sounds. It was very noisy and only invaded their reef during the day but at odd intervals. Since it was so big, so noisy, and slow-moving, her shoal always had plenty of time to evade it. Still, no one was foolish enough to waste time and not hide when the warning call went out. A creature that big was indeed powerful and probably had an appetite to match.

Funnily enough, no one had ever seen the Kraken eat anything. The only thing it ever did was swim over the reef very slowly and pick up shells or catch the occasional large crab or lobster. None of her shoal knew if the Kraken ate these things but every time its shadow passed over, things would disappear. The only thing the tiny merfolk could do was wait for the huge beast to pass and it would eventually leave for the surface.

Junia darted into her Queen's Conch home and settled down into the deepest part to wait. She had only seen the huge Kraken from a distance a couple times but like any predator, that was all the closer she wanted to get. In the dark she waited, resting on her bed of squishy fake fish treasures. Hopefully the Kraken would move on, and she could get back to hunting.

After several minutes of waiting, Junia peeked out of her shell to see if it was safe. But suddenly she heard a loud noise outside.

[SSSSSHHWWOOO. CLICK! SSSSSHHWOOO.CLICK!]

And then all sunlight went dark outside her shell. The tiny fins sprouting from her ears were tingling with the powerful vibrations of thousands of bubbles popping and the movement of a huge presence.

"Oh no! The Kraken is right over me!" she fretted to herself, ducking as deep into her shell home as possible.

Though there had been times a large fish had chased her to her home, they were never able to reach her when she hid deep inside the spiral. The Kraken was so big there'd be no way it could reach her inside her shell.

[SSSSSHHWWOOO. CLICK! SSSSSHHWOOO.CLICK!] the huge monster kept up its loud noises.

Was it trying to make her flee? Then it could snap her up the moment she came out?

Junia held firm. She wasn't going to abandon the safety of her shell and give in to the panic. Then, suddenly, her entire home shook and the shadow grew blacker. Junia squeaked with fright when she felt her house dislodge from the seafloor and all her belongings slid to one side of her shell. She was all but buried. Had it not been for her squishy treasures padding her she might've been seriously injured. Still, it was uncomfortable. Her shell house shifted violently, this way and that. And then it felt like it was dropped.

Junia struggled to unbury herself from her things. Now she didn't care. Her house wasn't safer than the outside now. She had to flee before the Kraken destroyed her and her house together. The tiny mermaid darted out of her shell but much to her horror a fine mesh net was barring her way.

Nets were evil incarnate to her shoal. As dangerous as any predator and even less discerning. Nets took predator, prey, and refuse all in one fell swoop and drug it to the surface. Junia gripped the soft fibers, trying to find a hole to slip through but she barely could fit her arm through the holes. Her tail pumped furiously, trying to push her way out but it was useless.

"No! Nononono!" she kept repeating to herself.

It was then she realized both she and her shell home were contained within the net together along with two large crabs and several smaller spiraled shells. The crabs were trying to pinch their way out of the net but with no success. Crabs that size were dangerous to Junia and would readily snatch her up for a snack if given the chance. However, they were too preoccupied with their own capture to even think about food. Junia peered through the mesh briefly and could see nothing but bubbles and the immense black body of the Kraken. Then she looked down and gasped upon seeing her reef home grow smaller and deeper as it faded into the blue.

The Kraken was swimming to the surface.

Fear stabbed through her guts like an icy knife. The surface...the place of no water and no return. Though her species could revert into a two-legged, land, form when dried out, Junia had never undergone the transformation before. She had rarely left her own home reef much less ventured close to land or the surface. She sobbed at the thought of losing her beautiful tail for something unknown.

And then she felt the harsh jostling of waves as the Kraken broke the surface of the water. Was the Kraken like a dolphin and needed to touch the surface every so often? Maybe it would dive back down and stay in the water just like said dolphin?

But that hope was quickly dashed when the gigantic black creature remained at the surface and slowly swam. Junia could see its long, massive fins pumping in turns in a strange, slow-motion swim. She, her shell, and the two trapped crabs were jostled roughly within the net. Not sure what else to do she darted back into her shell. But as she entered everything shook and suddenly her head struck the inside of her shell and she dizzily slumped.

...

Junia awoke with a sloshing sound in her head. She was sure her brain was making that noise as hard as she hit her head. A throbbing pulsed from her head and into her spinal fin. The tiny mermaid sat up and suddenly flinched when her head surfaced out of the water. She ducked her raven-colored head immediately back down into the water in panic.

Where was she? What happened?

The familiar slick pink surroundings confirmed she was still in her shell. But there was air in her shell! She was huddled down in the deepest spiral of her home where water still collected but if she lifted her head there was prickling, air beyond. The horror settled in: she and her home were out of the water.

But where was she? Did the Kraken drop her shell on the shore? Would she be able to get back to the water?

She might have to climb out of her shell and flop around a bit to get back to the water. If she could pull that off she wouldn't have to transform and lose her precious tail.

Junia listened intently for the surf, but she couldn't hear the crashing of the ocean, the familiar sloshing and gurgling. It was quiet...too quiet. And then she heard water. But it sounded strange. It was hissing...but not in a natural sounding way. Then her house shook. She, her treasures, and the remaining water sloshed harshly. Suddenly, her whole home shifted again and was turned upside down! The water surrounding her retreated, running out of the shell quickly. Several of her treasures followed.

"What the...?" a strange, booming voice shook through her.

Junia didn't understand the language spoken but she could only assume it was the Kraken's voice.

The Kraken could speak?!

Her shell was set down again. Junia shivered with dread noting the remaining water was barely enough to cover her backside fins. She could no longer fully submerge.

Outside her shell the loud voice began making a pulsing noise...almost like the barking of a seal but not as scathing to the ears.

"He he he! What is this?" the voice inquired. "Rubber lures? He he! What the Hell? A tin foil ball? What kind of crazy fish was living in this shell?"

Then Junia felt her shell assaulted again, lifted, and turned upside down. This time everything shook, and more water left as did her hard golden loop and several more of her squishy fake fish. Junia tucked her tail into the deepest part of the spiral and held on for dear life, refusing to be flushed out like her treasures. However, this time there wasn't any water left. She trembled.

No water.

What was going to happen now?

The gills at her neck felt prickly, unable to fathom the waterless state.

The strange noises continued.

"Heh! Looks like a packrat lived in this thing! Oh! Hello?" there was a pause, "A gold ring! Hey, that's not bad!" the pulsing noises returned.

Junia lay still in the humid depths of her shell home. She'd never transformed before so she didn't know how long it would take for it to start happening.

Would it hurt? Would she be able to transform? When she transformed would she be able to escape without the Kraken seeing her?

Once again, she felt her shell being lifted.

"Leave my home alone! Stop shaking it you monster! You're not going to eat me that easily!" she wanted to yell at the beast but knew she couldn't.

And then the hissing sound of water returned and before she knew it her shell filled with water again. However, this water felt wrong. It didn't feel like ocean water at all. It was wet but it felt harsh to her scales and skin. But just as quickly as it surrounded her it left, pouring out the end of her home. At last, her home was set down again.

"There we go. Washed and now to let it dry. What a lucky find! I've never found such a pristine Queen's Conch before. Definitely fit for the collection." The Kraken rumbled.

Junia could feel vibrations that steadily faded away and all went quiet again save for a strange buzzing noise nearby. It got dark. She didn't move for a very long time. For all the little Mer knew the Kraken was patiently waiting for her to come out so it could devour her. But the longer she laid inside her shell the more uncomfortable she felt in her own skin. The prickle of air began to make her feel tight in the tail.

Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore and began to use her arms to pull herself out of the tight part of her shell and into the roomy outer curve.

Suddenly a surge of restlessness and then pain wracked her whole body. She thrashed her red tail uncontrollably and fell completely out of her shell house onto something hard but soft like moss. She couldn't help but shriek as she suddenly she felt her tail slough off like a sheet of moss from a rock. Junia gasped but instead of her neck gill flaps flaring, they sealed shut and that prickly air turned sweet and cool as it entered her mouth and flooded her chest. It felt strange and disturbing. Before she knew it, she was feeling like her tail had divided in half...but it didn't hurt anymore. She pumped her tail but instead of a strong, unified motion it became frantic flailing of two tails.

Two tails?

Her eyes popped open when she saw what had happened to her.

Her beautiful red tail was disintegrating in a dry pile of scales right next to her and in its place curled two, shell-white legs the same color as her top half. She could see remnants of her blue iridescent speckling racing down the side of the two limbs. Then at the bases of these new limbs were strange flat flippers. Her hands curiously began to stroke the new limbs, almost in disbelief that they were indeed hers. They didn't feel slippery, but they were smooth and there weren't any large scales to speak of either.

So, this was her people's transformed state...What were these strange appendages? How was she supposed to use them?

Junia tried flipping them like her tail, but they flailed with uncoordinated abandon. Her tiny "appendage fins" slapped down onto something soft. The tiny, transformed Mer had been so preoccupied with her own body's change that she didn't take in her strange new surroundings. She was sitting on something blue colored that looked like a perfect rectangle of moss...but it wasn't moss. It was just soft, and her shell was sitting on it.

Before Junia could take in more the darkness was shattered by a light as bright as the sun. She closed her eyes against the brightness with a flinch.

Suddenly a blackness fell over her and a deep rumbling voice shook her, "What in the...?!"