Smiling, Alex stood on the beach, basking in the warm rays of the morning sun, his bare feet buried in the still night-cold sand. This was it, what he'd looked for during his journey. With closed eyes, he took in the sounds of this place, the gently rocking surf, the cries of the cicadas, a couple of seagulls wrangling over some kind of juicy booty... it wasn't actually a quite place, but besides his breathing, there was not a single human-made sound.

The small Aegean island he'd gone ashore lay far away from commercial shipping routes, and its rocky composition had prevented it from becoming host to one of the hideous looking concrete blocks all too common in popular sea resorts. With beach chairs and waiters, and no difference to thousands of other similar resorts all over the world.

Purely by chance, Alex had come to know of the island's existence. He was traveling as a backpacker, deliberately avoiding spots which were frequented by tourists, and he'd been guest in a small hostel when he'd overheard talk of this 'cursed island'. The local fishers apparently shunned the rocky spot, for many sailors had disappeared in its vicinity, but this had intrigued Alex all the more.

A mysterious island, shied by locals and tourists alike? For him alone to explore? A dream come true and so he'd chartered a small motor boat and set off for the location. He had to come alone, no local fisher wanted to go near the island, but this hadn't bothered him. Quite to the contrary, this way, he had the island for himself to explore.

As he'd chugged closer he had passed many rocks and reefs, no doubt lethal hazard during storms and responsible for the island's reputation as a graveyard, but today the see was smooth like a mirror, as if the island was inviting him to come.

For more than ten minutes, Alex simply enjoyed the solitude of 'his' island, then he started pulling his boat up the beach so that it wouldn't drift away while he was gone. It was a small boat, but Alex was not in his twenties anymore, actually far from that, so he had to slog his guts out until he'd finally secured his vessel.

Heavily panting, he went down into the sand after he'd finished his task, wistfully wishing back his youth and strength. I should have done this when I was still young. Like many of my friends that time. Simply strap a backpack, go out into the world. Don't care for tomorrow. Care for today.

Morosely, he shook his head. He couldn't turn back time. Couldn't make good for the opportunities he'd foolishly slip away. At least he had realized his mistake not too late. Funny that it needs the prospect of an uncertain future to let me realize what I should have done in the past. he pondered with a sad smile.

Several months ago, Alex had lost his job. He had been a librarian in a public library, tended and cared for books his whole life, but last year, the venerable but ancient building had been replaced by a newer, more 'effective' multimedia temple. Lots of computer terminals and workstations, but only a fraction of the original book stock. The 'old' library had been intended to pass on the joy of reading and indulging in fictional tales. The new one, though, was intended to make 'information available'. There was a difference, apparently. And with most of the books gone, an old-fashioned librarian like him wasn't needed anymore.

So suddenly, Alex had found himself without a job. And without prospects of future employment. With the current situation on the job market, nobody needed a librarian who was closer to sixty than to fifty, much less one who couldn't even conduct a simple google search. He'd never married either, so he didn't have a family to support him.

Suddenly confronted by the grim prospect of unemployment, he'd come to a decision. He'd scraped together all of his savings, bought a large backpack, had packed it with everything he deemed necessary and then had hopped on the first plane, to make up for what he hadn't done when he had been young.

Because in the end, everything came down on two simple choices. He could either live off his savings until they run out and he had to go on the dole. Or he could spend them while traveling around the globe, until they ran out and he had to go on the dole - only a bit earlier.

By now, his savings were slowly but surely dissolving, the bottom of the barrel already visible, but it had been worth it. He'd seen more, experienced more in the last few months than he had over his entire life. He was suddenly feeling so alive, like never before in his life, and he didn't regret a single minute. In a sense he was even glad for his unemployment, for without it he wouldn't have taken this opportunity.

Alex relaxed for a few more minutes, simply letting his thoughts roam freely, and then reached into the boat, retrieving his backpack and his battered looking pair of walking boots. Moments later, he was trekking inland, smitten by a sudden influx of euphoria.

The euphoria didn't stay, though. Two hours later, it had been replaced by disappointment. The island was untouched nature, all right, but mainly rocky untouched nature. There was hardly a tree, and besides the occasional breeding seagulls, the island seemed to be devoid of life. Rocks and rocks and... rocks. For the first five minutes, it was intriguing, like walking a desert or the moon. But then? Then it became boring all too quickly. Alex was already on his way back to the boat when something caught his eye. Actually, he wasn't sure what. A shadow maybe, or a curious looking rock?

Nonetheless, he hadn't anything else planned to do today anyway, and maybe, just maybe, there'd be something the island had to offer him after all. Therefore he went checking it out. But he wasn't prepared for what he found. Wide-eyed, he stared at the large hole in front of him the entry to a cave. It seemed to be connected to the sea, for he could hear faint gurgling inside.

Insecurely, Alex stared at the entrance. On one side, he was aware that caves were dangerous place. On the other side... he'd come to this place to experience an adventure, hadn't he? The cave's inviting, compelling presence eventually triumphed over his caution, and grinning, he started searching his backpack for a flashlight.

Five minutes later, all previous reservations were forgotten as Alex wandered the cave, with mouth agape marveling at the grotto's beauty. This underground wonderland more than compensated for the island's inhospitable surface, its walls swerving away after a few meters to reveal a giant, dome-like structure. He didn't even have to use his flashlight since sunlight poured in through gaps in the ceiling, illuminating the cavern and the water inside.

Now it became clear where the gurgling came from - there was a large lake in the middle of the cave, the crystal clear water throwing dancing reflections on the walls. But all this elemental art faded in comparison to the thing which was waiting in a small, natural alcove on the other end of the cave.

Mesmerized, Alex walked through the cavern, stopping only inches away from the by far largest crystal he'd ever seen. The thing was huge, at least a meter high, and many crystalline fingers reached out of the cluster. The magnificent gem had an almost hypnotizing appeal to Alex and breathlessly, he reached out with one hand to stroke the precious stone.

The moment his fingers touched the smooth, cool surface, though, Alex felt something like never before in his life. Like a transfer of some sort, of energy flowing into his body, and the crystal seemed to glow, changing shapes. Startled, he jerked his hand from the gem. The touch was gone, but the energy transfer was still there, like an invisible band between him and the crystal.

"What the...?" Alex muttered and stared at his hand which was suddenly prickling as if an entire army of ants was moving under the skin. And then it started to change. The adventurer gasped as his limb swelled and took a light, bluish color. Within moments, his hand had become a claw, the change flowing upward his arm. Incredulously, he moved his now alien limb, and then the same happened to his other hand. The second transformation seemed to have broken a dam because he could feel the connection between him and the crystal spiking in intensity, the flow of energy multiplying many times.

At the same time, the crystal seemed to diminish, its many fingers shrinking, but this was nothing compared to what happened to Alex body. He groaned as his whole frame pushed outwards, becoming bigger. Within moments, he'd become too big for his clothing, and his swelling chest and pelvis ripped the garments apart. His shoes were torn as well as his feet changed into large claws similar to his former hands, and with an anguished cry, Alex toppled over, falling onto his new front legs.

He was already far bigger than an elephant now, but he was still changing, now a tail and a long neck pushing out as well. His cries turned into a bestial roar as his face bulged out into a muzzle, taking away his human speech. The whole change had caught Alex totally by surprised and that his body was suddenly changing into something whale-sized, monstrous made his mind gibber with confused fear. It was impossible, and yet it was happening. And the change wasn't even finished.

By now the crystal had lost more than half of its fingers, getting smaller, as if it was melting, but the transfer was still steadily going on. Several lumps formed all around Alex' long neck and pushed out, forming into snouts with teeth and eyes, exactly alike to his changed head. Dizziness overcame him as he suddenly felt more and more heads blinking into existence. This was madness! A human only had one head. Every animal only had one head. But whatever Alex was becoming had not one, but many. And the experience was totally alien, seeing, hearing, smelling several things at once.

When will it stop? Alex thought pleadingly while writhing his many heads aimlessly around. There were still more coming up, still more new visions plopping up in his mind. He was half-convinced that it would never stop when, abruptly, the energy flow dropped off, diminishing into a slow trickle and then cutting off altogether. The tingle all over his body stopped, the feeling of change stopped. But not the feeling of pure otherness.

Stupefied, Alex stood in the gigantic cave, which suddenly didn't look gigantic anymore. The magnificent crystal had disappeared, replaced by a dirty, slag-like piece of molten stone. A piece of stone he was seeing multiple times. The craziness of the whole situation, of his change, was bad enough. The sensations of his many heads made it worse. Incomprehension combined with fear broke through, burying the analytic part of his mind and making room for instincts to take over. Instincts, which weren't human anymore. Like a tsunami, reason trickled away until the mindset which came with his new body was in charge.

The large Hydra in the cave stopped shivering and then slowly turned towards the water. Clumsily, it waggled towards the sea, on limbs only barely suited for dry land, and then gracefully slipped into the water. The change had been strenuous and its stomach was empty. The reefs of the island would offer ample opportunity for feeding. Despite being as big as a house, the gigantic creature didn't make as much as a small splash as it slid into the depths, and seconds later the cave was deserted again. The lump of slag in its corner and the adventurer's tattered clothing were the only evidence of what had happened here barely moments ago.

****************************************************

Alex felt like waking up from a week-long slumber. Which was strange, actually. Since he didn't remember going to sleep. And the dream he'd had had been even stranger. In it, he'd become some kind of multi-headed sea-monster, and no other dream ever before had felt as real as this one. In fact it had felt like... now?

Shocked, Alex' eyes flew open. But not a couple like normally, but scores of them. What the hell? he contemplated numbly, It wasn't a dream?

The question was of purely rhetorical nature, of course. There was no other explanation for the most peculiar things he was seeing, namely both underwater and surface images, with the operative word being 'images', plural. His massive, changed body was resting in a pleasant feeling, sandy pit on a sandbank several meters below the sea. Most of his many heads were underwater, but a trio bounced on the surface, like some kind of living buoys, supplying his body with oxygen. He felt totally relaxed and satisfied, just like after a feast, and suddenly, all the events of the previous day came rushing back into his mind. 

How he'd changed into... this. And then his panic. And how the panic had displaced his rational mind, letting a... bestial side getting in control. He'd truly become a beast, an animal at that moment. He could clearly remember everything. How he'd slipped into the water, pushing his body with ease through the liquid, despite its stupendous mass. How he'd hunted the reef for food and grabbed and eaten fish with his many heads. Until night had fallen and stuffed and contented, he'd looked for a sleeping place, until he'd discovered this sandbank where he'd built himself a comfortable pit to rest.

He had lost himself in his changed body that time, but now he seemed back in control again. Was the bestial side of him gone...? Curiously, Alex probed inward into his mind. Now, it was still there, hovering watchfully behind, but firmly restrained.
So as long as I'm not panicking, I'm in control? he thought, That's at least something. But... just what the hell happened there. I changed? Like in fantasy stories? But that's impossible! And what... am I?

Tentatively, he started moving his many heads around. Yesterday, he'd freaked out because of the sudden influx of new senses. Now, controlling many different heads and seeing many different things at once came with a disturbing ease, a realization which he felt should freak him out even more. But somehow... it didn't.

First... inventory control? How many heads do I even have? Okay, one... two... three... four... One after the other, he began closing his head's eyes, incrementing with each one. When he closed number 16's eyes, he wasn't seeing anything anymore, which gave him his answers. 16 Heads... Alex thought numbly. That's just... wow.

Dazed, the former human positioned two of his heads so that they were looking at each other. He'd expected to get some kind of infinite mirror image when doing this, but instead... there were only two nearly identical views in his perception. Besides 14 others. Showing other things. But for now, he concentrated on these two. His new heads were unlike everything he'd seen before. The closest thing he could associate them with was a dinosaur's or dragon's head. The overall shape fit, with a long snout, a couple of nostrils and large eyes. But that was about everything which was reptile-like.

Dinosaurs had scales, and dragons (at least those in stories) as well. His heads... didn't. They were covered by some kind of bluish skin. He'd seen several dolphin pods over the course of his voyage, and this skin was looking exactly like a dolphin's. Moreover, his eyes had round pupils, instead of slit ones. The teeth were different as well, he could see no large protruding and interlocking fangs like a crocodile's. Slowly, he opened both his maws, revealing a row of small, cone-like teeth in each one. Again, these looked similar to those of a dolphin.

Gradually, Alex shifted his view further along his body. The heads' necks were long, like a brontosaurus' neck. Behind, there was a large but streamlined body with four legs and a tail. The legs ended in clawed feet, but they were a curious mix of flippers and limbs, and his tail wasn't round but rather flat, like a moray eel's tail.

Okay, so this body is probably mainly suited for life in the ocean... Alex pondered. But what am I...? I've never heard of such a creature. Outside of myths at least... wait a moment! Myths! What had happened to him, the transformation, was a story just like out of mythology. There were numerous tales of transformation in ancient mythology, and although he'd always regarded these stories as fantasy, his current condition strongly suggested to him that there must be some truth to them after all.

And in Greek history, there was one aquatic being which had been described as having many heads. I've become a Hydra! Alex realized numbly, trying to wrap his mind around the impossible seeming fact. Still, it had happened. At least Hercules has been dead for at least a couple of thousand years... he contemplated with gallows humor. So he was still capable of this. That was something at least. He snorted at the thought, that he was doing it with several noses adding to his feeling of difference. Okay, so I've been transformed into a Hydra. I wanted adventure, here I have one. Now all I have to do is deal with it... but what should I do now?

He pondered this question. After a while, though, he decided that going back to the site of his change, to the cave, would be the best course of action. Despite not having been in control yesterday, he still remembered everything he had done, including the way he'd taken from the cave. So he'd find it again. Awkwardly, Alex lifted his body up on his four limbs. Almost automatically, he breathed in with his three heads above the surface and to his surprise, his body started floating.

Wow... he thought, The extra air in my lungs must increase my buoyancy to the point where my mass is equal to the water I'm displacing...

Gently, Alex started striking his tail, the motion propelling him forward. All his heads went in front of his body, forming a cone, like some kind of wedge. Again, this came totally natural to him. When you were walking as a human, you moved your legs. And when you were swimming as a Hydra, you moved your tail and heads. The automatic and alien reflexes were deeply disturbing and deeply awe-inspiring at the same time.

The speed at which he cruised through the reef seemed to be awfully fast compared to his normal swimming as a human, yet he was aware that for his current body, this was a really leisurely pace. But this observation faded in contrast to the rich paradise which suddenly revealed itself to him as he crossed over the boundary between the sandbank and the reef. The reef was humming with activity, there were animals everywhere. Small fish feasting on corals, large fish feasting on the small fish, entire swarms of fishes, sharks, dolphins, tortoises, crayfish, starfish... it was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen and that he suddenly had sixteen pairs of eyes to give this beauty the attention it deserved made it even more impressive.

One head spotted a large fish in close proximity, feral instincts making the limb twitch in anticipation. Should I...? Alex asked himself, but the question was more or less rhetorical. Well... why not... I've by God done it often enough yesterday. And I guess it's the proper breakfast for my current body.

Swiftly, he let this head breaking formation and darting forward, towards the startled fish. The creature barely had time to react to its onrushing doom. His teeth grabbed the fish off-guard, his head then swallowing it whole. Okay, so that's why I have these small teeth... to better catch fish and fixate them until I swallow them... Alex contemplated. The meal had felt... good. It certainly hadn't tasted good, actually it hadn't tasted at all, he hadn't chewed it after all, but eating had been satisfying.

From thereon, he started catching unsuspecting fish each time one of his heads spotted a juicy opportunity, and by the time he arrived at the underwater entrance of the cave, he felt sated and stuffed again. Plus he just realized that despite the long time he'd spent underwater, without breathing, he wasn't feeling any signs of discomfort. I guess a Hydra can hold its breath just as long as a dolphin or whale... Alex assessed while he eyed the entrance out of sixteen wary pairs of eyes. Well then... he gulped inwardly, Forward into the Lion's, err, Hydra's den...

A minute later, Alex heaved his massive body out of the water. Awkwardly, he moved over the rocky bottom, more dragging than walking, and there was nothing his newfound Hydra instincts could help him with to make this motion any more graceful. Apparently, a Hydra wasn't designed to move on the shore.

The first thing Alex noted in the great cavern was how small it suddenly seemed. When he'd entered it yesterday, still as a human, it had looked gigantic to him, like a large church or even cathedral. Now, though, after he'd grown to the size of a decent house, it looked not exactly cramped, but not spacious either. More like a normal bedroom. Quickly, he scanned his surroundings. Having sixteen separate heads simplified this task enormously, and somehow he even had acquired the multitasking ability to concentrate on and process each of the sixteen images at the same time.

Therefore it took only a few seconds until Alex had determined that besides the slag-lump turned former crystal, there wasn't any other gem in the vicinity. Or anything else. Besides his tattered clothing, of course. Tentatively, Alex moved a couple of his heads forward to inspect the slag-lump. For more limbs there wasn't space in the alcove. The desolate remnants of the crystal seemed... dead. All its magnificence had vanished. For a few minutes, he simply stared at the thing. Then he gathered his courage and bumped it slightly with his nose, bracing himself for the flow of energy. But nothing happened.

He bumped a second time, this time a bit longer, and a third. As nothing happened at all, he pressed his entire head against the lump, waiting. Yet there was no change. After maybe half an hour, he took his heads back and contemplated his situation. The crystal was gone, as if all of its energy had gone into him, changing him into this... a Hydra. And now, the thing responsible for his change, apparently was broken, apparently didn't want the energy back. If such a thing was even possible. If the change he'd been subjected to wasn't a one-way street. But any way, for the moment, it looked as if he was stuck as the Hydra.

The prospect of being stuck as a monster should have been terrifying. Strangely enough, it wasn't. This is... odd... Alex contemplated his situation. I should be devastated. My humanity has been taken away, I've become some kind of beast. But as the crystal failed to change me back, I wasn't feeling disappointment. Is this another aspect of my change? That I've somehow been changed to become comfortable with being a Hydra...?

But after a while he realized that this was only partly responsible for his failure to feel distressed. Actually... he pondered, This isn't a crisis for me... it's an opportunity! At home, there's the dole waiting for me. Spending the rest of my life in a cramped apartment, trying to survive each new month anew with the little money I'll, hopefully, get. Not enough to live, but too much too die. And now, I've got this opportunity! There's the reef, there's the cave, there's the island. I can live here, I can hunt here... why not?

Thoughtful, Alex assessed his options. Well, actually, there was only one, since he couldn't change back anyway. But after some time, he fully realized the opportunity he'd been given. Freedom. Freedom of the danger of social fall and poverty. And adventure. Gone were the days when he'd simply been a small librarian, one human besides billions, a faceless number in a statistic. Now he'd become the Hydra, the ruler of these waters, and he'd indulge in it. He had to be cautious, of course. If humans saw him, they would undoubtedly hunt him. But if he'd stay near the island, there shouldn't be any danger. After all, the local fishers didn't dare coming close to it.

He had only one regret, and that was that he didn't know whom he owed this gift to. Many years ago I've read a story about a man who was changed into a mermaid, a friend of him stating that she'd somehow 'entered a God's dream'. I'm wondering if that's the same what happened to me here...? If yes, maybe the being who changed me will give me a sign, that it changed me for a reason, just like in this tale?

Eagerly, Alex waited with all heads raised, waited for a sign, for something which would show him the nature of his benefactor, or the reason of his change. But nothing at all happened. Well... he thought, If whatever is responsible for this has the power to change a puny human into a Hydra, it surely is able of knowing about my gratitude as well. And in the mermaid story, it took months until the God revealed itself to her... Still, there's one thing left to do...

For a moment, Alex eyed the tattered remains of his clothing and his backpack, the last remaining proof of his humanity. Almost gently, he went forward with his heads, using several of them to pick his belongings up with their teethed snouts. As swiftly as possible, he darted into the water again then, swimming back into the reef with powerful strokes.

As soon as he was in open waters again, he raised a trio of his heads above the surface, just like a submarine's periscope. It didn't take long until he found what he was looking for, and a short while later, Alex heaved his large Hydra body ashore next to his boat on the beach. he dumped all his belongs inside and then used his heads to push the vessel into the water again. Pulling it up the beach as a human had required enormous effort, pushing it down into the water as a Hydra didn't even make one of his heads brake out a sweat. And he had sixteen of them. That power alone was another argument in favor of his change.

Still... for a few minutes, the giant Hydra simply eyed the gently rocking boat. The tide was already pulling it out into the open sea, but inside the boat rested, basically, Alex' life. What he was about to do would be a symbolic gesture, only partly to tie up loose ends, but mainly it would be about signaling an end to Alex' human life, and the start of his new one. Despite his eagerness to truly become what he'd changed into, he hesitated. Fifty-eight years of life, of friends and experiences, of ups and downs, of struggle and reward. Was he really prepared to throw it away?

Then, though, he thought about the underwater wonderland of the reefs, of his reefs, of his magnificent feeling new body, and he inhaled sharply with all sixteen heads. He'd already decided. And he knew, he didn't believe, he wasn't feeling certain, he knew that it was the right decision. And with a serene ease, Alex turned, letting his tail come crashing down onto the small boat. It wasn't constructed to withstand such punishment, and one stroke was enough to reduce it to splinters. The sea around the wreck filled itself with Alex' belongings, his backpack having been ripped open by the massive punch.

As he watched the tattered evidence of his life flowing past him, greedily being sucked out to the sea by the tide, he expected to feel sad, for the things he'd lost. Instead, he felt a relief like never before in his life. As if a tremendous load had been lifted from his mind. It was done. His old life was over, his new one had just begun. He was free! Had he still been human, he'd probably have cried tears of joy. As a Hydra, he apparently couldn't cry, but the emotion was the same nonetheless.

Alex followed the path of his belongings out of a former life for a while, until the debris disappeared in the sea's waves. Then he raised his sixteen heads, scanning the sky. Far away on the horizon, he could see dark, towering clouds being highlighted by constant lighting. A storm... perfect, that will offer a handy explanation for my disappearance. he smirked inwardly. I guess the Gods or whoever gave me this gift are still looking upon me.

The Hydra roared an exuberant cry of joy out of sixteen mouths, and then gracefully disappeared into the water, like a diving whale. The tempest would be here soon and it needed to find a safe spot to weather the storm. And afterwards, it would start surveying its new realm. A new realm, full of adventure and opportunity. One of danger as well, but above all one of freedom.