“That went well,” said Arwen, startling Donna.

Donna slithered around in a circle and faced Arwen.  “Yeah, I guess it did.  This place is as much my home as the one Duncan lives in.  Doing this work is good.  Fulfilling.”

“How’s Dia holding up?”

The scales at Donna’s throat flared and became pure crystal.  “We are doing well,” chimed the crystal.  “For now.”

“For now?”

“In about four hours the Moon is going to set.  We are not looking forward to giving up our power, and becoming... less.”

“You have been through that before,” said Arwen.  “What is different now?”

They sighed, Donna and Dia as one.  “Gwen.  She held our hand the first time the Moon left us.  Her strength, her confidence...  Gwen was our storm anchor, and we are adrift from humanity.”

“Humanity is all around you,” said Arwen.

“We know.  But not one of them can look us in the eye, say ‘no’, and make it stick.”

Arwen nodded toward Rowan.  “Not even her?”

Donna contemplated the Blue Vixen’s ‘Den Mother’, and nodded slowly.  “Okay.  Rowan doesn’t understand us, but she can tell us when we’ve gone too far.”

Rowan approached them at the mention of her name.  “I hear you’ve decided to fix everyone you got stuck?”

“That’s the plan, yes.  Once we close down here, I need to hunt up a certain set of underthings.”

“And a certain mouse-shaped trophy.”

Donna’s eyes went comically wide.  “Pat!  Oh no, I forgot all about her.  What happened to her?”

“Beth ‘won’ her then promptly forgot about her in their excitement.  I reminded her the next day, but she didn’t want Pat decorating her apartment.  Ana came asking after her a couple days later, so I gave Pat to her.  She’s at Ray’s.”

“I should check on Unit Kate, too.  Right then.  Any more fantasies before I’m off?”

“More of the usual,” shrugged Rowan.  “Vanessa can handle the singers.  If you can set up a few celebrity changes we’ll manage.”

“I could make waitress-type bodies for those, with headbands so anyone can use them.  Anyone with a interface crystal, anyway.  Is Beth around?”

“I think she’s running the fennec-girl over there.”

Donna looked then spread her awareness and giggled.  “No, that’s Clarence.  Beth is sleeping upstairs.”

“I had wondered about that,” chuckled Rowan.  “She was acting more eager than usual for Beth.  I suspect they’ve been alternating shifts for a while now.”

Donna approached the sandy-furred dancer, and asked if she’d be willing to embody as a celebrity or two for fantasy purposes.

“Of course!” said the fennec girl.  “I’ll have to run the headbands upstairs, is that okay?”

“Don’t wake Beth when you do,” whispered Donna.

“You knew?”

Donna nodded.  “Rowan suspected.  And doesn’t care.  How’s being a robe working out for you?”

Clarence grinned.  “I love it.  I have all kinds of bodies to wear whenever I want to stretch, and I can feel myself snuggled around Beth at the same time.”

“You don’t feel stuck?” Donna asked intently, their voice overlaid with crystal.

Clarence shook her head.  “Never.  Even without a headband I can move around some, and see.  I can fetch a headband whenever I wish.”

“Good,” said Donna firmly.  “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“There are a bunch of new waitresses that want in on the headband thing.  We could use a few new bodies, too.”

“I can do new designs easily enough.”  Donna waved to a row of what looked like deflated bodysuits hanging on a rack at the back of the room.  “They’ll expand when in use,” she added at Clarence’s curious look.

“Awesome.  Our break room at the Kitten is getting crowded.”

Donna hugged her tight.  “Have fun!”

Clarence was already grinning like a kid in a candy store.  “We will!”

Once Clarence and Rowan were busy with the rack of ‘costumes’, Donna looked around the room.  Jeremy was looking at her, so she flicked herself beside him.  “How’s the dancing going?”

“Good.  Great even.  But…”

“Yes?”

“Could I get a few more skins?  The sparkly snake is fun, but I want to mix it up.”

“So you’re going to keep stripping out of skins on stage?”

Jeremy nodded eagerly.  “It’s getting great reactions.  I… Okay, this might be a bit far…  Could I get one that looks like Neysa?”

Donna agreed to make one if Neysa was okay with it.  She was excited about the idea of doing a twin act with Jeremy, so that suit and one that looked more like a plausible sister to Jeremy were soon hanging by the sparkle-snake suit.

Jeremy hugged Donna ferociously, then went to get ready to dance with Neysa.  Donna left them discussing plans for the dance.

“Happy?” asked Arwen as Donna approached her.

“Getting there.  I have three old mistakes to fix.  One pendant, a lingerie set, and a trophy.  They’re stuck because of me, and I need…”  Donna trailed off.

“To atone?” Arwen asked.

Donna’s eyes lit up, glowing with power.  “Yes!  Yes, exactly.”

“Good.  Go.”

Donna flashed away, on the hunt for traces of her old magic.  To her surprise, there were many people out there with her touch on them.  Most were normal now, but many were reliving their changes in dreams.  Donna smiled at how happy most seemed, and touched one nightmare to soothe it.

It was only after she’d calmed dreams of being shattered that she realized she’d found her first target.  A simple pendant, hanging beside others much like it.  Donna called to the mind within, rousing it.  “Time to be human.”

Donna could feel an emotional response, but she wasn’t sure whether the burst of panic was real, or a relic of the nightmare.  Dia changed their body to a matching pendant, hanging beside the first.  A moment’s tuning allowed her to hear the other pendant speak.

“Is someone there?  Carissa, wake up!  Don’t be stupid Abby, she can’t hear you.  Nobody can.”

“I can,” transmitted Donna.

“Aaa!  Who…  Wait, I remember that voice.  Donna?”

“Yes.  Have you learned…  No.  This was a mistake made in anger.  What do you want to be?”

“Just like that?  You’ll make me whatever I ask?  Even if you don’t like it?”

A sigh soughed through the link.  “Yes.  But please ask for something that lets you communicate, so when you decide you’re tired of being a thing you can at least...”  Donna stopped due to the giggling she was hearing.

“Believe me, I’m quite thoroughly done with being a thing.  I want to cup her breasts.  A month ago, I would have asked to be a bra.”

“But?” asked Donna.

“I spent most of the last month hanging here.  Being worn was fun, but not being worn?  Boooring.  And...”

“What?”

A giggle.  “It’s silly... but there was this series I was following, and I desperately want to know what’s happening by now.”

Donna chuckled softly, and started the change.  “Whatever reason works.  I’ll have to remember that one, I suspect you’re not the only ex-person that curiosity can rouse.  She won’t pitch you out, will she?”

“Nah, we’ve been roomies for ages.  All my stuff’s still in my old room.  Thanks!”

Donna vanished away, but watched for a moment even so, as the new human didn’t leave the bedroom, and instead slipped into bed with Carissa.  Soon both were awake, and Carissa seemed more than happy to find her friend human once more.

Donna darted away to another bedroom, where a fiercely patterned bra and panty set was languishing in a drawer.  She gave them both communication crystals, then called out to them softly over the newly established link.

Two sleepy voices replied, then suddenly realized they could talk to each other.  Donna was ignored as they caught up with each other.  When it became apparent that their chatter could go on for some time, Donna interrupted.

“Hey you two.  Do you want to stay like this?”

“Eh?”  “Who said that?”

“Me.  Donna.  The one that made you like this, and could change you into anything else.  It’s the night of the full Moon, and all options are open to you.”

“Could we... stay like this?  With the talking, I mean?” asked the bra.  “Being able to talk to each other would make this so much more fun.”

“You really want to be a bra for the next month, or more?”

“If I can talk to my bestie, sure!”

“Yeah!” agreed the panties.  “But... could we talk to Kirsty and Zena too?  We love them so much, and it’d be great if we could let them know.  Especially when they use us.”

“Do they use you a lot?” asked Donna, considering the request.

“Oh yeah!  Zena wears us all the time.  Every other day or two, then a nice handwash, and back in the drawer... but never for long.”

“Good, good.  I can see you’re having fun.  And now that you can talk to Zena and Kirsty, if you decide you want out, you can tell them yourself.  Still...  The idea I had with Arwen could be fun.  What if I gave Zena the option to swap which crystal is which?”

“You mean, she could trade places with us?  Oooh!  Pretty please?”

“Done.”  A hard rectangular object landed on top of the bra and panties.  “Don’t worry about waking them up, you’ll have to deliberately open a channel to them for that to happen.”

“How do we do that?” asked the panties.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.  Explaining too much takes the fun out of it.  G’night!”

“Thanks!” chorused two voices.

As Donna arrowed away, she eavesdropped on the communications between the four, and sure enough, Kirsty and Zena were soon awakened by their excited underthings.  She dropped the link then, save for a background watcher process that would alert her if any of them called her name, or called for help.

Donna took the scenic route to Ray’s place, flying low over the highway, following its dips and curves, then arcing over moonlit trees until she settled, hovering over his estate.  She could feel the activity within.  Despite the hour, Ray was on the phone, as were Anna and Isolde.  Unit Kate had just dropped off a plate of sandwiches, and was returning to the kitchen with several empty plates.

“What are you doing?” asked Donna as she appeared in the room.

Ray held up a hand to forestall further questions, then finished his conversation, telling whoever it was where they’d find a safe space to stay.  He ended the call then turned to Donna.  “Sorry about that, we’re scrambling to find safe places for people to stay outside Toronto.  I know a bunch of people out that way, and... and...  Gods, what a horror show.”

“I’m sorry,” said Donna sincerely.  “I made a mess.  If it helps, I’m pretty sure I can tell you where the worst affected buildings are.”

“No, it’s not that.  Nobody wants to stay in the plague zone, so we’re trying...”  Ray suddenly looked at Donna in a new light.  “It’s not an actual disease, is it?”

Donna shook her head.  “A plague of ghouls.  There were eight.  All gone.  There are also an awful lot of broken windows, and some damage south of the CN Tower due to the final battle.”

“Toronto can survive without the entertainment district.  How much housing is unusable?”

Donna hung her head morosely.  “I don’t know.  The worst-hit buildings were all office towers.”  She named four intersections.  “Everything within about two blocks of those four sites is going to be windowless, but structurally sound.  A few sheets of plywood and a broom, they’ll be somewhat usable.”

Ray jotted down notes, then sketched out the zones Donna had described on a map of Toronto that was covering a pair of folding tables that had been moved into the room.  “Okay.  That’s... an awful lot of housing.  Damn.”  A dozen push-pins were inside the enclosed zones.  “Still, not too many of my folk affected.  The rest can go home safely?”

Donna nodded.  “I’d avoid the intersections in question.  Lots of glass on the street.”

“City’ll handle that quick enough,” said Ray with a dismissive wave.  “Getting those windows done is going to be a nightmare.  I’m sure every glazier in the province will be in Toronto next week, and even that won’t be enough.  Thank goodness it’s spring, not winter.  I’ve been redirecting everyone I can reach to various lakeside cabins north and west of the city.  Best if the worst affected stay there a while, I guess.  Impromptu vacation.  Not like most of their jobs or schools will be open anyway.”

“Sounds like you’ve got things covered.”

Ray nodded. “Yeah.  Still trying to run down a few folks, but I’ll update Ana and Isolde on what to say.  Give me a couple minutes.”

Donna nodded and waited, watching a side of Ray she hadn’t seen before.  Normally he was casual to the point of carelessness, but now he was showing a professional precision that Donna surmised had served him well in his old jobs.

“Done,” said Ray.  “Thanks for the update.  We’ve been operating blind and under one major mistaken assumption.  What can I do for you?  You don’t look good.”

Donna closed her eyes, tried to resettle herself in a human body.  Patches of crystal showed through here and there.  “It’s been a hell of a night.  But Gwen will live, and the ghouls are all gone.”

“If you fought eight ghouls, no wonder.  What can I do for you?”  Ray stepped closer, arms open in an offer of a hug.

Donna accepted gratefully.  “I was afraid you’d be so mad at me,” she murmured into his shoulder.  “Those broken buildings are my fault.  I had to deal with ghouls atop them with awful, death-fuelled weapons, and the fastest way I could imagine was... more destructive than necessary.”

“So they were being used by enemy combatants?  Makes them fair game.  If you ended the slaughter, you’ve done far more good than harm.”

“You think?”

“I know.”  Ray let Donna go, but kept his hands on her shoulders so he could look her in the eyes.  “You’re a good person.”

“I was furiously angry.  Good didn’t enter into it.”

“Really?”  Ray raised an eyebrow.

Donna sighed.  “Maybe.  I don’t know.  I wasn’t being rational, and I credit Gwen with keeping me from doing more damage... but that may have been part of me speaking with her voice.”

“There’s the Donna I know.  Crediting others for her good behaviour.”

Donna ducked her head and looked away, but there was a hint of a smile on her face, too.  “I guess.”

“You didn’t just come here for a pep talk.  What’s on your mind?”

“Pat.  She’s been stuck as a trophy as a month.  It is kind of what she wanted, but I’m really off the whole ‘stuck’ thing right now and she’s the last one I need to fix.”

“What about Unit Kate?  And Unit Cobalt, for that matter.  I’ve been enjoying my stints as Unit Cobalt.”

Donna let Ray call the two robots in, and looked them over.  Making Unit Cobalt permanent was the matter of a moment’s thought.  The other, however...  “Unit Kate, activate Kate and let her speak freely.”

“Hey Donna,” said Kate.  “What’s up?”

“I haven’t make your upgrades permanent yet.  You’ve had a week now, what do you think?”

“I love it!  They won’t turn me off as much as I’d like.  Something about the AI just not being the same without me around.”

“That, and I know you,” said Ray.  “You’re happiest when you can watch Unit Kate take over.”

Kate giggled mechanically.  “Guilty as charged.  I still want some downtime.”

Donna nodded.  “Okay.  Here’s an offer.  I’ll put downtime under your control... but there’s a cap.  Max of eight hours in any twenty four hour period.”

“Sounds good to me.  Can the others still shut me down?”

“If you like.  Same cap applies to both.  Deal?”

Kate studied Donna’s face.  “Why is this so important to you?”

“Because I’ve fixed everyone else.  But you want to be stuck like this, and while I respect that... I want to make sure you’re safe.”

Kate rapped the side of her head, making it ring metallically.  “I’m a robot.  How much more safe can I be?”

“Okay, make sure that consent is clear and continuous.  Consent once, stuck forever is not on.  And after tonight, I’m feeling mortal enough that I don’t want anyone left behind if I don’t come back.”

Kate nodded.  “Fair enough.  Does that mean I can’t be stuck in rider mode forever?  Because I still really want that.”

Donna looked over at Ray.  “I trust him to treat you right.  Do you?”

“Hell yes.  I’d never have agreed to come here in the first place if I didn’t.”

“Then it is done.  This is you, for as long as you wish to be this way.  Which, I accept, might be a very long time indeed.  Ray, I charge you with her care.”

Ray chuckled warmly.  “Like I wasn’t already.  Yes, I’ll make sure she stays healthy.  And give her what she needs.  Unit Kate, cut off all outbound signals from Kate.”

“Affirmative,” intoned the robot.  Then it formed a bright smile on its featureless oval face.  “She seems happy.  How may I serve?”

“Donna?  Do you need anything?” asked Ray.

“Just Pat.”

Ray pointed to the shelf behind her.  “I put her where she could watch the TV.  Assuming she can still see, that is.”

“She can.”  Donna blinked and reappeared mouse-sized, standing on the shelf beside Pat.  “Hey, mousegirl.  Wakey wakey.”

The trophy’s eyes brightened.  A tinny voice came through a concealed speaker.  “Wazzat?  Oh!  Hey Donna.  What’d I miss?”

“A whole month as a trophy.  Beth won you, but was so excited to change herself and Clarence she completely forgot about you.  And I’m not doing permanent changes as part of the game any more.  So it’s time to go back to whatever passes for normal for you.”

“Awww,” said Pat disappointedly.  “I was hoping to get turned into someone’s toy.  Left on a shelf and forgotten is pretty cool, too.”

Donna stared at her.  “Really?”

“Yeah!  I want to be owned.  I’ll take pet, but... toy is better.  Or tool.  I’m not picky.  Hey Ray, do you need a sentient can-opener in the kitchen?”

“Not really.  Nor a talky toaster, for that matter,” added Ray with a chuckle.

“Poop.  Does anyone want a living toy?”

Ana shook her head.  Isolde pondered the matter for a time.  “What kind of toy?  I could use a new vibrator.”

“Sold!” cried Pat.

Donna rolled her eyes.  “I’m going to put limits on this.”

“Aww,” said both Pat and Isolde.

“Not many, though.  Let’s see...  How does twenty four hours sound?”

“Total?” whined Pat.

“No.  At a time.  Once Isolde catches you, she can sculpt you as she sees fit.  Twenty four hours later, you’ll return to mouse shape.”

Two sets of eyes lit up.  “I get to hunt her?”

Ana’s ears perked. “Hunting?  Could I get in on that?”

“My toy,” snarled Isolde, but she was grinning.  “But I guess I can share.  Some of the time.”

Donna chuckled softly.  “Isolde is still the only one that scan sculpt the toy.  Doesn’t mean others can’t hunt her down and bring her to you.”

Pat stepped off the trophy base, wobbling slightly on her rubbery legs.  She was shiny and black, with only her eyes and her cute pink nose-pad for contrast.  “This is promising.”  She rubbed tiny paws over her body and murrred happily.  “Oh, yeah.”

Isolde’s hand closed around Pat, and the mousegirl sqeaked as her body squished and reshaped.  Isolde released her, revealing that Pat’s arms had been squished into her chest.  The imprint of each finger was clearly visible, leaving Pat’s body ribbed.  Pat’s grin got even bigger.  “Do it.”

Isolde grabbed her legs, crushing those into uselessness.  “My toy.  How do I... not sculpt her when I hold her?”

“I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” said Donna.  “Perhaps a ring?  Wear it, and she’s squishy.  Take it off, and she’s... no?”

Isolde shook her head.  “I might lose it.  Or Ana might steal it.”

Ana giggled.  “Who, me?  I’d give it back after I’d had my fun.”

Isolde mock-glared at Ana.  “You know what?  Sure.  Go with the ring.  Can you give me one that works on little Izzy, too?”

“Done.  Have fun.”  Donna blinked away from the shelf, returning to full size once more.

Pat giggled up at her.  “Oh, we will.  We w... mmh!”  Her comment was cut off by Isolde’s hand closing around her head.  A shiny black ring adorned Isolde’s finger.  When she released her hand, Pat was left as little more than a lumpy cylinder.

“Oh yes, we will indeed.  Thank you,” said Isolde.  “I’ll take good care of her, and make sure she gets played with lots.”

To Donna’s surprise, Isolde opened her arms for a hug.  Donna accepted gratefully.  “Be good.”

Isolde chuckled softly.  “Now where’s the fun in that?  I’ll be bad.  But not cruel.”

Donna laughed.  “Works for me.  If I didn’t have a family to go home to...”

“I’d be getting another ring?” asked Isolde with a wicked grin, wrapping her wings tight around Donna.  “You looked yummy when you were mouse-sized.”

Donna shrunk as Isolde squeezed her tight, melting into the succubus’ arms.  When Isolde opened her wings, Donna was gone, replaced by a simple crystal cylinder sitting in her scaly hands.  The crystal shone with a brilliant white light that was reflected in Isolde’s eyes.

“Oh, sweet thing.  What I could do with you...  Turning predators into prey might be fun.”  Isolde’s gaze caught on Ana.  “Here, kitty.”

Ana put her hands over her belly protectively.  “No!  After the baby, you can do anything you like to me.  But not now.”

Isolde chuckled warmly.  “I’ll be holding you to that promise, kitty.  But if I can’t change anyone, what’s the point?”  She gave the crystal a gentle flick into the air, a practiced motion she used to launch little Izzy.

Donna briefly became a crystal bat, then reformed herself into a tiny crystal biplane.  She looped around the room, waggled her wings cheerily at everyone, and zoomed toward the window.  Instead of breaking it, she blinked herself away and was gone.

Ray shook his head.  “Did you really capture the most powerful person on the planet?”

Isolde grinned toothily.  “Only because she wanted to be.  Mmm, the way her power sings...  Would you mind if I headed off to the club?”

“Any time, Isolde.  You know that.  We’ll manage here without you.”

Isolde looked down at the phones, where frantically blinking lights showed many calls holding for their attention.  “I can wait.”