“Good morning, sunshine”, Toby said as he pulled open the curtains in Allie’s room.

Allie kept her eyes closed and smiled.

“Hey”, she simply breathed and fluttered her eyelids a few times to get her eyes to adapt to the sunlight a little quicker. She raised her pointy arm stumps, let the reality of her current predicament hit her and squirmed around until she was on her belly and could use her stumps to prop herself up. She had gotten very adept at doing that over the past few weeks. After her roommates had executed her punishment (the removal of both her arms just above the elbow and the removal of her last leg, the left one, above the knee, as well as having the stumps shaped to be somewhat pointy) for removing Sanya’s limbs for years to come, she had painstakingly slowly typed a message to Toby on her phone as soon as she woke up the next morning. Toby had been filled in on the situation by Sanya, Dave and John, and offered to take care of Allie for the next month until three of her four missing limbs would come back. Everybody had graciously agreed, seeing as Toby and Allie were dating it seemed only logical and right. And so Toby had organised a bag and packed some essentials for Allie, with her “help”. She couldn’t really pack efficiently, but that didn’t stop her from using her stumps to dig through piles of clothes, which Toby had taken out of her closets, and picking up single pieces of clothing between her stumps to pass on to Toby so he could pack them. She also pointed a lot with her shortened arms, which Toby found impossibly adorable.

That was three and a half weeks ago. Since then, she had grown quite accustomed to her new body. The fact that her left leg stump included most of her thigh, while the right leg was missing at the hip proved rather helpful. Since her left leg, like her arms, narrowed down at the tip, she doubted she would’ve been able to stand on her stumps anyway, had they been the same length. With her right leg missing completely, she was at least able to use her longer leg to lift herself up and propel her forwards when scooting. It was exhausting, moving like that, but she build up the necessary muscle quite quickly. The most annoying part was not having elbows, as her two pointy stumps basically worked like a pair of tweezers, with which she had very little manoeuvrability. She took almost two weeks to figure out the small twitches and rotations she needed to turn objects in her grasp around or accurately move them.

Still, she looked adorable, and she knew it. Besides, her predicament was nothing compared to what she had done to Sanya, who was still missing all her limbs entirely and was just a head on a torso. She had to rely on her friends for everything, and despite living with Toby for the duration of her punishment, she had met up with Sanya and her roommates almost daily. Allie felt remorse for what she did to Sanya. Yes, Sanya had taken her right leg for three years, but in return, it would take Sanya take almost as long as Allie’s leg until she had stumps long enough to grasp anything. Allie had basically condemned Sanya to learn to use her feet as hands. The problem with that was that Sanya also didn’t have any feet and wouldn’t have until in about a year. Yes, Allie felt remorse, and she had let Sanya known about it. Sanya still struggled. While she had resigned herself to accept her fate a few days after Allie had moved in with Toby, she still got frustrated about not being able to do anything on her own every single day.

“Ready to go to the swimming pool today?” Toby asked.

‘Oh right’, Allie thought. She had planned on going to the swimming pool with Toby and her roommates today. That included Sanya. They had mostly kept to themselves in the past few weeks, rarely going outside to interact with other people and present their abbreviated bodies to them. They had both been out in public before the incident, happily displaying their reductions, but since this time they couldn’t just bring their limbs back whenever they grew tired of their situation, their self-esteem had taken a major hit. So much so, that they actively decided to go to the swimming pool to get it over with. That was going to be today, a cold, rainy Saturday in early December.

“Yes”, she said weakly trying to hide her uncertainty behind a wobbly smile.

“Hey, hey, relax, Allie”, Toby said once he noticed her forced smile. “People have seen you out in public with reductions many times. This is no different, and you’ll be back to your old self in two days.”

“Minus one leg”, Allie said.

“Well…yeah, but still, you’ve done that before. Hell, you were armless when I first met you. You’ll be fine. Besides, I’ll be right next to you. This is going to be a cake walk”, he said reassuringly.

Allie took a deep breath. “You’re right”, she said eventually. “Thanks Toby! I have no idea what I’d do without you.” She leaned forward and gave him a passionate kiss. She meant it. She had relied on her boyfriend so much in the past few weeks, and it had brought them closer together. Toby had been pretty open about the fact that he not only didn’t mind helping her, but found some pleasure in it. In a way, Allie’s punishment had been a blessing. Then she thought of Sanya, who was currently single, and she felt bad again for stranding her like that.

Toby helped her eat breakfast, brushed her teeth and helped her with her hair, before he helped her put on her swimsuit and some street clothing above that to keep her warm. Then he dressed himself, took their backpack with their towels and change underwear, and pushed Allie and her wheelchair out of the flat.

“Good morning, Sanya.” Sanya opened her eyes as Dave entered her room and opened her curtains.

“Good morning, Dave”, she said. “Did you sleep well?”

“Actually, yeah, thanks. What about you?”

“Me too. Ever since I lost all my limbs, I sleep very well. It’s very nice not having to find a comfortable position for my limbs.”

“I like your attitude”, Dave grinned. “Are you ready to go swimming today?”

“Yep! It’s been almost four weeks. I might as well get used to…this and the attention it’ll get me.” She nodded down at her limbless torso.

“It’s not like you wouldn’t have received any less attention if you had all limbs, what with a body like yo…” Dave trailed off, his face flushing a little. Sanya giggled.

“Come on, Dave, it’s alright. You have been super helpful in the past few weeks and I know I have a killer body.” She stuck her tongue out at him. Sanya had long suspected that Dave might’ve had a little crush on her, but it had become very evident in the past four weeks. And honestly, she didn’t mind. Dave was a little chubby and nerdy, and at least on paper it seemed like she was well out of her league. Before losing her limbs, she had gone to the gym fairly regularly, and in the past few weeks, she had gotten a lot of exercise through moving the little bit of her body she had left. She was fit, with olive skin, deep dark eyes and, at least when Dave did it, with amazing hair. John didn’t really get her hair, but Dave was like a wizard. Her hair looked just as great as it had before the incident with Allie, if not better. And so, while Dave might seem like he was a few leagues below her, she had started to really appreciate his friendly, calm demeanour, his eye for the little things and the attention he gave her and her alone. If you’re completely unable to do anything by yourself, you start noticing and really appreciating these things.

Dave seemed relieved and shot her an uncertain smile, which she took care to reciprocate.

“Will you help me get ready now?”, Sanya asked.

“Of course, sorry.” Dave gently grabbed Sanya’s shoulders and pulled her up into a sitting position. His face came very close to hers, and Sanya made sure he noticed as well. She looked him in the eye and smiled again. Dave didn’t do anything to move closer to her. Of course he didn’t, he was a perfect gentleman. Besides, it probably didn’t occur to him that she wouldn’t mind him getting closer and making a move. After a minute or so, Sanya shook her upper body.

“Can you help me get dressed? Take off my shirt first, then we’ll pick out swim clothes.”

Dave nodded, got Sanya out of her shirt and then quickly crossed the room to open the closet, carefully avoiding looking at Sanya’s bare chest for more than a heartbeat.

“Where do you keep your swimwear?”

“Left side, bottom drawer.”

“Ah, yep, got it. Which one do you want?” He showed Sanya different bikinis until she was happy with her choice – a moss green one.

“Okay, help me get this on”, Sanya instructed, and Dave carefully dressed Sanya in her swimwear before helping her put on normal street clothes over the swimwear.

“Look in the drawer above, that’s where I keep the underwear. Could you get out a set and pack it, so I have dry underwear later when we’re done?”

“Sure thing.”

“Thanks Dave! You’re a life saver.”

“An..anytime”, Dave stammered and smiled.

He packed the spare underwear and a towel into a bag, closed the closet again, placed Sanya in her wheelchair and pushed her out of her bedroom.

Allie and Toby met the others at the entrance of the swimming pool. Allie waved a stump to Sanya in greeting from her wheelchair, and Sanya instinctively tried to do the same, only to be reminded that she had nothing to wave. She felt blood rush to her cheeks, but regained her composure quickly. Instead of a wave, she gave Allie and Toby a nod.

“How are you guys doing?” Toby asked.

“Fine I think”, Sanya responded. “I am a bit nervous though. I have never been this reduced in such a public setting. I think it’ll be fine once we get out there, but right now I’m nervous.”

“Well, let’s not wait much longer then”, Allie said sympathetically, and the five friends entered the building. It turned out that Allie and Sanya paid significantly reduced entrance fees because of their (temporary) disabilities. Toby and Dave helped Allie and Sanya out of their streetwear, locked the extra clothing into lockers and pushed the girls into the main hall in search of some deck chairs to set up their things.

Sanya was stressed out. She felt like a million eyes were focussed on her as soon as the group entered the main hall. She could see a few children pointing at her and Allie and asking their parents why the two women had no limbs, and she felt like she could hear people talk about them while Dave and Toby pushed them through the hall, on display for everyone to see. Their swimwear accentuated their altered bodies and drew attention to the spots where their arms and legs used to be, but now terminated prematurely.

Dave must’ve noticed that Sanya was uneasy with the situation, because he reassuringly placed a hand on Sanya’s back and began walking quicker.

Once they had arrived at some free deck chairs, John spread towels on them and Dave and Toby helped Allie and Sanya out of their wheelchairs.

Only now could Sanya take a few deep breaths and calm herself. Allie scooted over and touched Sanya’s shoulder with an arm stump.

“Hey, sorry again”, she said, looking Sanya in the eyes. “I know this is incredibly hard right now. If there’s anything I can do when I have my hands back, let me know, okay?”

Sanya just nodded and gave Allie a weak smile, but she finally began coming to terms with the situation. ‘Let them stare’, she thought. ‘This is just another chapter in the story of Sanya, another challenge. I’ll manage.’

She took another deep breath, steeled herself and a look of determination appeared on her face. “Let’s go for a swim”, she said.

A few moments later, Toby, John and Dave were in the shallow end of the pool with Allie and Sanya. Dave stayed close to Sanya, while Sanya scooted her completely limbless body into deeper water, one hip after the other.

Allie had an easier time entering the water, since she had three stumps to work with. As soon as she was in deep enough water, she used her stumps to swim. She wasn’t very quick, but could definitely manage. It didn’t take long until Toby and Allie made their way to the other side of the pool, leaving the others behind.

Allie really enjoyed the feeling of water on her pointy stumps. She had trouble paddling with her legs, seeing as she had only one stump, but slightly using it to keep balance while letting her arm stumps do the heavy lifting worked well enough. She swam closer to Toby, used her arm stumps for support on his shoulders, pulled herself closer and gave him a kiss. She instantly felt his dick harden in his swim trunks and grinned. As he held her, she marvelled at the way her pointy arm stumps looked when they were wet. She had grown accustomed to them over the past few weeks and felt rather cute. She leaned in for another kiss.

“You know this is partially your fault, right?” she asked, but her voice betrayed the fact that she was only half serious.

“What do you mean?” Toby asked.

“Well, you helped me get the idea to get back at Sanya the way I did. If you hadn’t done that, and if I hadn’t gone with it, I wouldn’t have been punished the way I have.”

He thought for a second. “Huh, that kind of makes sense”, he admitted. “Are you mad?”

“What? No! I love that you were game instantly. No questions asked, just instant commitment.” Allie grinned. “I love you, you dork.”

Toby’s eyes widened, and a grin snuck on his face. “I love you too, you little weirdo.” They kissed again.

On the other side of the pool, Sanya was having a hard time. Unlike Allie, she was just a torso with no limbs to help her swim. She discovered that she could float, with enough air in her lungs, and if she worked hard enough, she could twist her body in a wave-like fashion to go forward, but her movement was very limited and swimming like that was too exhausting to keep it up. In the end, she let Dave and John keep her afloat and push her around. She enjoyed the feeling of weightlessness in the water. She was frustrated with the limited movement, but the attention she got from Dave was nice and she felt safe with him.

Later in the day, Allie and Sanya decided to explore their new bodies in this unfamiliar setting. Sanya had gotten comfortable enough with her body and the stares to at least partially ignore them, and so Allie and Sanya asked the boys to help them jump from the towers. John waited in the water while Dave and Toby helped Allie and Sanya up the ladder to the one metre tower. Allie went first, using her single leg stump to waddle to the front and hop off. John made sure she was alright, while Sanya began scooting forward, one hip after the other. Left-right-left-right-left-right-left…

Once Allie had cleared the landing area, and swam to the side of the pool, Sanya took a deep breath and forced herself to hop off the tower by scrunching her belly quickly straightening out again. She fell forward and hit the water hard. Water entered her nose and she tried to use her arms to get back up to the surface, but was once again reminded that she couldn’t do that at the moment. She was just about to panic when she felt John’s hands around her waist, pulling her back up to the surface. Once she was back on the surface, she suddenly felt emotions well up inside of her and she fought tears. “Tha..thanks”, was all she managed to say to John while coughing up some water.

Dave and Toby jumped and joined them. Dave instantly noticed that something was off, and he quickly took Sanya and hugged her. “You’re safe”, he whispered. Sanya felt herself begin to smile.

“Maybe I should stay away from the towers for now”, Sanya said. She and Dave watched as Allie went up the three meter tower with Toby and jumped.

Later, they all decided to give the waterslides a go. Sanya refused to go alone since she had no way to protect her head with her arms or steer on the way down. Instead, they picked up swim rings and got in line for bigger slide.

“Um…excuse me?” a voice said as they waited in line. Two girls about their age approached the group. You’re the girls we’ve seen on campus, aren’t you? The ones who got in trouble for taking away each other’s limbs?” the brown haired girl asked.

“Um…I guess, yeah”, Allie said cautiously. “Why?”

“Um…we…we wanted..”, the brown haired girl squirmed.

“We were wondering how it feels”, the blond girl asked. “I hope that’s okay for us to ask. Feel free to tell us to shut up though.”

“Um..no, you’re fine”, Allie said, flustered. She had not expected this. “Um…it’s hard to describe. Like my limbs are complete, but when I try to move the missing part, nothing happens? And I can’t feel some parts, but my fingers feel like they are there, only they aren’t for example? Sanya?”

“I think that describes it best, even though it makes no sense. I have no idea how I would describe it. I only really notice it when I try to move and can’t”, Sanya explained.

“Sorry we can’t be of any more help”, Allie said. “I guess you just have to experience it to be able to grasp it. It is really weird.”

“Hm…thanks”, the brown haired girl said. “Do you know where we could try it out? We’re really curious.”

“Around here? I think there’s a place downtown, but it’s been a while since I was there and I don’t know if it’s still there. Since you’ve heard of us, I take it you are also attending college here?”

“Yeah, we are”, the blond girl said. She gestured to the brown haired girl. “Dora studies political science…”

“…and Jessi studies anthropology. We’re roommates”, said Dora.

“I can help you out”, Sanya said all of a sudden.

“That’d be awesome”, Jessi said, and both girls beamed.

“Allie gets her limbs back in two days. Well…most of them anyway. She can help you. She’s really good at it”, Sanya said and nodded to her torso. An uneasy grin appeared on Dora’s and Jessi’s faces, and seeing that made Sanya giggle.

“If you come by on Saturday, we can do it”, Allie said.

“That’s amazing, thank you so much!”, Dora exclaimed.

“In preparation, please decide which limb you want to lose and for how long. Also, when I use a timer with the Atomizer, I can’t bring the limb back earlier. That’s what got us into this mess in the first place, so be careful what you wish for – I can’t fix it afterwards”, Allie said.

“Alright, thank you!”, Jessi said.

Sanya told the girls where to go and they said their goodbyes before the group got onto the slide.

On Saturday, Allie, now only one-legged again, opened the door for Dora and Jessi and led them hopping into the living room, where she had prepared the Atomizer. Sanya sat on the couch. Her right leg had begun to come back, giving her a single very short stump she could wiggle. She was surprised how much having a joint she could move increased her mobility.

“So, what can I do for you?” Allie asked Dora and Jessi.

“Well…I decided to go without my left hand for a year. If you take it a few inches below the elbow, I’d really appreciate it”, Dora said.

“A year is a long time. Remember, once I set the limit, there’s no way to bring the limb back earlier”, Allie reminded Dora.

“I know, but I’m right-handed. It’ll be fine. I’m sure.”

“Alright then. What about you, Jessi?”

“I also want my left arm gone, but from just below the shoulder. For a year and a half. And yes, I too am sure”, Jessi said with a determined look.

“Alright. I’ll start with Dora. Please free up your left arm completely. Same goes for you, Jessi. If you feel comfortable, the boys are currently out and you can take off your tops and be in underwear if you like. That’d probably be the easiest way.”

Dora and Jessi nodded and quickly lost their tops before waiting anxiously. Allie picked up the Atomizer and set the timer to one year. Then she hopped over to Dora.

“Hold out your arm”, she instructed. Dora did as she was told and thirty seconds later, Dora’s left arm ended a few inches below her elbow.

“Does that length work for you?” Allie asked. Dora just nodded. “Right now your arm has no scars whatsoever. If you like, I can make it look like it was amputated or like you were born like that with some bumps and uneven patches. Would you like that?”

“Um…can you do a clean scar? Like it was amputated, but I got lucky and it looks really good?”

“You got it”, Allie grinned and did as she was told. Then she left Dora to get dressed again and marvel at her new limb, set the timer to a year and a half and turned to Jessi.

“Same for you, do you want any scars or bumbs?”

“Uh…a faint scar for me as well, please.”

“Alright”, Allie said. “Hold out your arm.”

Once Jessi’s arm was mostly gone – it barely reached the side of her boob – Allie added a scar and watched as Jessi struggled to get dressed again.

Dora and Jessi said goodbye and left in a hurry, no doubt to return to their place and lose their tops again to inspect their new arm stumps.

“How do you feel?” Allie asked, turning to Sanya.

“Well…good. It’s still frustrating like this, but I’m looking forward to getting more of my limbs back. It’s interesting to slowly grow back like that. It let’s me explore my limitations over and over again. It’s surprisingly rewarding being able to do more and more.”

“Well, I’m glad you find positives in your situation.”

“I have to, otherwise I would go insane, I think.”

“Well…I’m still sorry, you know?”

“Yeah, I do.”

There was a brief pause. Then Sanya wriggled her only stump, as if to pat the couch near her.

“Come on, let’s watch some TV. I feel like watching Indiana Jones.”

Allie happily hopped over and joined Sanya.