Tara blinked.  It took her a moment to recognize the significance of that fact, that she was no longer a paralyzed statue.  She shook her arms out, and relaxed from her pose.  Then she looked around, and saw Sasha grinning at her.  She was wearing even more clothes than before, having added two lace gloves and a long, flowing over-robe to her outfit.

“Penny, Elaine and Crissy?”

Sasha nodded giddily.  “Penny changed them back, and they asked.”  She spun about to show off her finery, all the delicate fabrics flaring and fluttering about her voluptuous form.

“So jealous...”

“To join them?” asked Sasha impishly.

“To wear them.  But they’re all your size.”

Sasha scooped up the ball and started squeezing.  “I can fix that.  Twinsies!”  She lobbed the magic ball toward Tara.

Taa let it hit, half expecting to become a mannequin.  Her viewpoint slid lower, but stopped when she was eye to eye with Sasha.  She glanced down at her body, seeing curves that she’d become familiar with on her sweetie.

Sasha dragged her off to the bedroom so they could stand side by side in front of her mirror.  “See?  I tried for as good a match as I... dang it.”

“What?  What’s wrong?”

“My mole is on my left breast, but yours is on the right.”

“You made me your mirror image?”

Sasha nodded.  “This is the view I’m used to.”  She mulled it for a moment and turned to face Tara with a grin.  “That works.”

“That works,” echoed Tara a moment later, mimicking Sasha’s tone and pose.

“Eee, creepy,” giggled Sasha, and Tara a moment later.

Sasha moved closer to her twin, and rested a hand on her cheek.  Tara did the same, matching her stroke for stroke.

Soon they were both stripping Sasha in a frenzy, until they truly matched.  Their frenzy slowed again as they studied each other, learning anew how they fit together.  Soon their explorations moved to the bed, but the pace stayed gentle, curious, exploratory.

After they’d satisfied their curiosities and each other, the pair retired to the shower, exulting in the fact that it was, in fact, big enough for two.  After a too-long shower that let Tara understand just why Sasha took so long there, they emerged and helped each other towel off.

“Your turn to dress up.”

Tara picked up the very pretty maroon bra first.  “But this is... Sasha’s.”

Her sweetie grinned, and darted out of the bedroom.  “Back in a bit.”

When she returned, she was tall and muscular.  “Now you’re Sasha, and I’m Tara.”

The shorter of the pair nodded slowly, and started to get dressed.  Bra first, then the filmy top and skirt, the scarf, the gloves and finally the robe.  She stood in front of the mirror, turning this way and that, the biggest grin ever plastered to her face.  “These were all...”

“Yep.  Head to toe, your clothing is... magical.”

A giddy spin led to giggling and a tumble into muscular arms.  “Mmm.  Starting to see the appeal, at last.”

Those muscular arms lifted her and carried her to the bed, where soon all the clothes but the scarf were removed and set carefully aside...

*** *** ***

In the morning, Tara woke to the sound of her voice calling cheerful farewells.  She sat up slowly, feeling her Sasha-curves bounce and pull in ways that had become familiar.  She cupped her breasts, smiling at the feel of their weight in her hands, at how pleasingly they wiggled.  She could get used to feeling like this.  Maybe Tara would... she blinked, startled by the thought.  Then smiled.

“I am Sasha,” she murmured to herself.  “I have sexy curves, and that is good.”

She stood and stretched, repeating her mantra more loudly.

“So that makes me Tara?” asked the woman watching her from the doorway.

She nodded, grinning.

“Good.  I need my leggings.”

She stared at the glowing ball in the tall woman’s hands.  “Panties?”

“I could be persuaded that you should be.  Why?”

A headshake.  “What.  That first pair I tried to turn...  I mean...”

“Oh!  Oh yes.  Turnabout is fair play.  My sexy panties.”  The ball lanced out, faster than she could see or react.  She felt herself fall and flutter, her mind already racing to accept her new reality, as Tara’s... as Owner’s panties.

“Is that how we’re playing it today, hmm?” chuckled Rachel.

Owner slipped panties up her legs, and settled it in place.  “Yes.  Objections?”

Panties couldn’t hear the reply, but the way a familiar hand caressed it suggested... oooh.

*** *** ***

Panties sat up, pouting at the realization she was human again.  She glanced around, then down at herself to check herself out.  Four limbs, that seemed about right.  Something about the texture of her skin felt a touch off, though.  She rubbed her fingers over her waist, smiling at the smooth sensation of silk on silk.

“What did you do?” she asked softly.

Sasha giggled, and Tara turned to look at her.  “I think you know.”

“I feel caught between worlds.  Not quite human.  Not proper panties.”  She poked at her legs, frowning at the softness there.  Standing up would be impossible.

“So which way do you want to go?”

The silk-skinned woman considered that for a while, while still tracing her fingers over her fabric.  “I like being mobile.”

“So back to normal?” asked Sash, holding up the magic ball.

Tara shook her head.  “Not quite yet.  Is it Monday?”

Sasha nodded.  “Your day off.  I’ve got enough food stashed that we can just stay in if you’d like.”

Tara crooked a finger, and Sasha happily moved closer, tumbling into bed with her.

Tara was still there when Rachel got home from work.  Her sweetie scooped her up under one arm, and carried her out to the dining room.  She arranged the silk-skinned Tara doll at the table, where the lovely scents wafting from the kitchen made Tara sigh hungrily.  “Back to normal, please?”

Rachel wordlessly tossed her the ball, and soon Tara was back to her usual asexual self.  And quite naked.  She glanced at the others, then over to the window.  The room was private enough, so she grinned at Rachel and carefully unfolded her napkin then placed it in her lap.

Sasha finished serving the food, then grinned at Tara.  “Oooh, naked dinner is it?  I could go for that.”  In a flash her apron, t-shirt and panties were set aside.

Rachel laughed warmly.  “You’re both nuts.”  But she followed suit as well.

Partway through dinner, a thought occurred to Tara.  “Did I miss Carl coming over to swim in the pool yesterday?”

Sasha nodded.  “Don’t worry, we took lots of pictures.  James and Melanie came over too, though James spent the afternoon as a bathing suit.  And went home as a bra.”

“Oooh.  I hope they have fun.”

Sasha smirked at Rachel.  “Mel is such a slut...  Rachel had gone male for the afternoon, and she pretty much had to beat her off with a pool noodle.”

“Phrasing!” protested Rachel, to much laughter from the three.

“Not tempted?” asked Tara once the giggles had died down.

Rachel shook her head.  “Sasha was right there, and made sure to put you back on for funtime.”

Tara thought back to her fuzzy memories as Panties.  “Mmm.  So that’s what that was.”

“It didn’t bother you?  I was kinda caught up in things at the time.  I know you’re not a fan of male attention.”

Tara weighed that against her memories.  “Panties had fun.  I... don’t think I’d object if it was you.  Or Sasha.”

Sasha licked her lips.  “Well then.  I know what I want to be tonight.”

“Mmm?”

“Rachel’s condom.”

Tara blushed.  “I... um...  Wow.  Actually...”

“Yes?”

“I’d... like to try being the condom.”

Rachel shot a worried glance at Sasha, who then took Tara’s hand in hers.  “Are you sure?  It’ll be intense.”

“Yeah, but the bra and panties tricks worked, getting me used to... fun stuff with you guys.  This could work the same.”

“And if you freak out?” asked Sasha.  “We won’t know.”

Tara shrugged.  “I’ll think I’m supposed to be a condom, I should be fine.”

Sasha tossed the ball at Tara.  Soon she was watching in fascination as her hands and arms became transparent and filmy.  “This feels nice so far...” she managed, before the transformation took her head.  She stared upward as she dwindled, and if she could have moved she would have flinched as Sasha’s enormous hand reached down to pick her up.

The experience of being unrolled was novel enough to distract her from her destination, but not for long.  Once Rachel was inside her, she knew she’d made a mistake, and by then it was too late to try to focus on being a good condom, she was in the thick of it.

When she finally returned to normal, Sasha took one look at her bedraggled expression and hugged her tight.  “Oh Tara.”

“You were right,” sighed Tara.  “Little bit too intense.”  She glanced over at Rachel, shuddered, and looked away again.

Much cuddling was required that night.  Rachel joined them after changing back to normal, and only then was Tara able to relax.

*** *** ***

The next week saw them settling an approximation of their old routine.  Rachel and Tara had shifts at the gym, with more overlap than before.  Sasha spent her days as Tara’s “exercise dress” and the evenings cooking in her amazing new kitchen.

Penny talked Tara into petrifying her for the night, once, and was left on display in the gym until shortly after opening the next day.  She was amused that Tara had used her as a display model, but insisted that it not happen again.

Late in the week, Tara returned from a grocery shopping trip with an extra bit of clothing.  One of the clerks had insisted on becoming a lovely flowing top that was so sheer as to be nearly transparent.  “The better to show off Sasha’s pretty bra”, she’d said.  Sasha dimpled prettily when it was given to her, and she insisted on wearing it out somewhere special, so the three of them went dancing that night.

On Friday, Tara’s father called with word about Dawn’s missing payment.  Rather more than one word, in fact.  Brightview Designs claimed that the money had been paid, but Dawn’s accounts had still not been credited.  He was about to head over with a forensic accountant and asked if Tara still wanted to see what transpired.

Tara managed to wheedle the day off work with a promise of covering Sunday instead.  She also changed Sasha back to human, so that Dawn could attend the meeting as well, as Sasha’s favourite bra.  Sasha did pout a little when Tara asked her not to wear her new transparent top “so that Dawn can see”.

At the offices of Brightview Designs, they met Tara’s father and his friend Mr. Thompson.  The woman at the reception desk had them wait, but it wasn’t long before they were escorted to a boardroom to meet the firm’s owner, Mr. Lumin.  He introduced himself and his accountant, and asked the latter to show the relevant records.

“You cut her a cheque four days after her valuation dropped to zero?” ranted Tara the moment she saw the entry.  “She can’t cash that, she’s no longer legally a person.”

“Correct.  It can be cashed by her legal owner.  I believe that would be you, Ms. Stark?”

Tara blinked.  “Seriously?  That’s insane.”

“No more so than the fact that your friend is wearing the person in question,” noted the accountant.

“So was that Gordon’s scheme all along?  Snag Dawn so that he could pocket the money?  That’s awful!”

Mr. Lumin narrowed his eyes.  “Are you accusing one of my longest serving associates of wrongdoing?”

Mr. Stark held up a hand to forestall Tara’s rant.  “I would not like to put that on the record, no.  Has anything like this happened before?”

The accountant tapped on his notebook a few times and nodded.  “Several.  This is by far the largest payment that has been claimed by an owner instead of the intended recipient.  There have been three others.  Let’s see who... ah.”

“Problem?”

“They were all signed over to Gordon.  He’s been making a habit of this.  Perhaps we should look into it further.”

“Has he done anything illegal?” asked Mr. Lumin.

“Not as such,” replied Mr. Thompson.  “But the DME takes a dim view of abusing its systems like this.  Perhaps you should consider another question.  Why does he need such sums?  Simple greed, or financial irresponsibility?”

That led to a hushed huddle between the accountant and Mr. Lumin, one that grew gradually more heated as certain records were investigated in more detail.

A few minutes later, Gordon was summoned to the boardroom.

“Yes, boss?” he asked cheerfully.

“There was an irregularity with the Spindrift campaign, one that resulted in a cheque going astray.  Tell me about it.”

Gordon shrugged.  “The artist disappeared before the cheque was claimed.  I imagine it’s still sitting in accounting.”  His tone was a bit too casual.

“Curiously enough,” said the accountant, “it appears to have been deposited a few days ago.”

“Oh good, she finally got it.”  Gordon’s smile became distinctly more forced.

“That would be difficult, considering she’s been a bra for the last month,” growled Tara.

Gordon was starting to sweat.  “Oh.”

“Yes, most curious.  It was deposited to a numbered account,” reported the accountant.  “The trail would end there, but here’s a curious thing.  There were a number of large payments made on your outstanding lines of credit shortly after the cheque cleared, and the total is curiously close to the size of the missing cheque.”

“Should we review the video surveillance in accounting?” asked Mr. Lumin.

Gordon shrugged.  “Go ahead.  I didn’t pick up the cheque.”

After some conferring with security, Mr. Lumin nodded.  “We do appear to have a mystery on our hands.  Someone resembling Dawn did in fact appear.  I’ve sent a request to the DME to clear up just who the doppelganger might have been.”

“What?” asked Gordon.  “They can do that?”

“They can, yes.  Their divination fees are... significant, but when there is forty-six thousand dollars at stake, I believe the fees are worthwhile.  Do you have anything you wish to say?” asked Mr. Lumin.

Gordon sighed, slumping in the chair.  “It was me, transformed to look like her.”

“Why?”

“Because the fucking judge tacked another five years on to my alimony!  I was supposed to be done with it six months ago.  But no, Elaine claimed ‘ongoing trauma’ and now I’m stuck with payments I can’t make.”

“It will be even harder to make them if we fire you.”

Gordon laughed mirthlessly.  “I’d probably end up in someone’s drawer.  That’d fix her, wouldn’t it?”

“What happened to Elaine?” asked Tara.

Gordon sighed.  “I have a fondness for... um, a certain kind of toy.  We had an agreement, I could use the ball on her at least once a week, to turn her into...”

“A sex toy?” asked Sasha into the embarrassed silence.  “Sounds like fun.”

“It was!” replied Gordon with a smile. “Oh, we had great fun at first.  She loved it.  Then we got married, and suddenly it was ‘not tonight dear’, and ‘maybe next month’ and...  Well, I sucked her into it without asking a few times.  Most of the time she seemed happy enough afterward, but ... she needed some time away, she said.  I used it on her the night she was supposed to leave, and in the morning when she was gone... well, I figured she was doing her thing.  How was I supposed to know the ball had gotten stuck between the mattress and the headboard?”

“Oh dear,” sympathized Sasha.  “Was she stuck?”

“It turned out the temporary magic of the ball wasn’t so temporary if you couldn’t emerge.  When I finally freed it, she popped out of the ball... as a compact little sphere.  Even prettier than when she’s inside the toy, she had this pearlescent layer around her, shining and shimmery.  I’d have kept her like that, but her family objected.  Cost a bomb to get her changed back.”

“And that’s when she left you?” prompted Tara.

“No, we kept things together for a while.  I apologized profusely, and put the ball away for months.  But the damned image wouldn’t leave my head.”  Gordon cupped an invisible object in his palm, something the size of a grapefruit.  “So small.  So beautiful and perfect and sexy.  So one night, I used it on her.  After I’d had my fun, I locked the toy in a custom made box for a week.  I’d arranged it so she could disappear for a few months and her family wouldn’t realize, but by Thanksgiving they started to get... insistent.  She was never quite the same again after those six months.  She never came back to me.  Haven’t even seen her since then.”

“I don’t blame her,” sighed Tara.  “Doing that to someone against their will...”

“Is perfectly legal,” retorted Gordon.  “She had no income.  The DME charged her family for the restoration.  But she wanted nothing more to do with me, and ... the courts did not look upon the case kindly when she requested the divorce.”

“And the other girls, since then?”

Gordon’s smile returned as his gaze went distant.  “Are very pretty.  I still have them all, but new ones are the most fun.”

“You’ve turned more women into toys.  Permanently?”

Gordon nodded.  “I still have the little box.  Works like a charm.  Each one looks different, and I could just tell Dawn would be the most beautiful of the lot.”

“So you arranged for her to be negative-valued, and could just scoop her up for free.  And her late payment in the bargain.  I can’t believe that’s legal,” groused Tara.

“It certainly isn’t ethical,” mused Mr. Lumin. “I’m going to have to consider how to handle this.  Firing Gordon would be unfortunate for his ex-wife.”

“Maybe she’d like to have him back as a dildo,” giggled Sasha.

“Perhaps. Perhaps not.”  Mr. Lumin studied Tara carefully.  “If I were to put him on two weeks administrative leave, what would you do?”

“Two weeks of no pay, so if I transformed him... no penalties incurred?” asked Tara.

“Precisely.”

Tara looked Gordon over.  “It would be only fair to turn him into some kind of toy, but I wouldn’t want to use him like that.”

“Nor, I suspect, would Elaine, as cathartic as it might seem.”

Tara nodded slowly.  “There was one other person who registered a claim on Dawn.  Do you know who Trinian is?”

“You would have met her on the way in.  She’s our receptionist.  Was she involved in his scheme?”

Tara shrugged, and soon the pink-haired receptionist was in the boardroom with them.

“Do you remember Dawn?” asked Mr. Lumin.

Trinian nodded.  “I saw what Gordon was doing to her.  Tried to help, but...” she shrugged.  “Someone named Tara scooped her first.”

Tara waved.  “Hi.  I’m Tara.  If you could turn Gordon into anything you wanted for two weeks, what would you do with him?”

Trinian grinned brightly.  “One of his toys.  I’d stuff him on my biggest vibrator and see how long he lasted.”

Tara set a brightly glowing ball in Trinian’s hand.  “Imagine how that would look, then toss this at him.”

“What?” protested Gordon, but the ball was already on its way.  Any further protests vanished as a bright flash overwhelmed his body, leaving nothing behind but a polished black sphere.

Trinian scooped the sphere up.  “Are you guys serious about this?”

Tara grinned broadly.  “Can’t think of a better fate.  Unless you happened to want to take a... personal hand in the matter.”

Trinian looked at her curiously.  “What do you mean?”

“Ever wanted to have a cock of your own?”

Trinian’s eyes went very wide. “Ooooh.”

Tara winked at her.  “Come see us later.”  She wrote down her address on the back of a business card, and handed it to the woman.

Trinian skipped off, humming happily to herself.

“Well.  So much for Gordon.  What about his other toys?”

Mr. Lumin shrugged.  “Legally acquired.  Not much to be done, really.”

“And Dawn’s payment?”

“We’ll forward it to her account immediately.  Is there any chance I could talk to her, apologize personally?”

Tara looked to Sasha, who shrugged.  “Sure.  She can hear you.”

“Ah?  Well, then.  Dawn, I am sorry how Gordon mistreated you.  If I’d had any idea what was happening, I would have stopped it.  I will be paying closer attention to how we handle contractors from now on.”

Sasha shuddered and a soft mewl of pleasure slipped out.  “Apology accepted.”

“How can you know?”

“She can move a little.”

That got a raised eyebrow.  “I see.  Dawn, we have six clients who loved your work on the Spindrift campaign and want similar work for their own.  Are you interested?”

Sasha frowned down at her chest.  “Why not?  This would be a great opportunity.”  She sighed.  “Now she’s sulking.”

“I don’t suppose you could change her back, so we can talk?”

“I don’t think she’ll be very happy about it.  Nggh, nope, not happy at all,” replied Sasha.

Tara glared at Sasha’s chest.  “Dawn, stop that at once.  No hurting my sweetie.”

Sasha grimaced.  “She’s still pinching.”

Tara pulled Sasha’s top open, and slapped the ball against her bra.  Before long, the bra was expanding into a pretty woman, while Sasha did her best to cover up again.

“Why?” asked Dawn, once she’d found her voice.  “I was happy, damn it.”

“You were stuck in a rut.  Might have been a cozy one, but you’re better than this.”

Dawn glared at Tara.  “What gives you the right to decide that for me?”

Tara tapped on her phone, then showed the DME page that declared her ownership.

“Um, Tara?  This says I’m worth over a hundred grand, and that since you’ve restored me your ownership is void.”

Tara turned the phone back to look at it.  “Wow.  They move fast.”

“I’m afraid that’s my fault,” said Tara’s father.  “I mentioned the possibility to them.  They were not happy about Gordon’s manipulation of the system.  Something about penalties...”

Tara tapped some more, then started to laugh.  “Oops.  It appears Gordon’s present worth is zero.”

Mr. Lumin frowned.  “Gordon is very good at what he does.  He would be missed.”

“Then ask Trinian to bring him back in when she has had her fun.  She hasn’t registered him yet, so she’s not technically his owner.”

“Could you talk to her about it?  I’d rather have Gordon in the hands of someone I trust.”

Tara agreed, then looked over at Dawn.  “You’re human now.  Take some time to get used to it before making any big decisions.”

Dawn sighed.  “Easy for you to say.  You have a job, friends, and a home.”

“So do you,” retorted Tara.  “You’ve got months worth lined up here, and enough money to keep you going through any rough patch.  As to friends and a home, you have us.  We’re not going to pitch you out on the street.”

“Thanks,” sniffed Dawn.  “Can we go now?”

Tara nodded.  “What you need is a good workout to really settle back into your body.  I’ll spot you.”

At Dawn’s dubious look, Sasha added, “Followed by a home cooked meal, and a good night’s sleep.  See how you feel in the morning.”

“Okay.”