I'll shake this world off my shoulders

Rose had woken up in Kim’s bed. Which raised the very pertinent question- what had happened to Marley?

The answer to that question could be found in the evening before, unbeknownst to Carly.

Rose and Marley were preparing to head to the Arcade Suite, where Dani was waiting for them. The blue-haired girl was attempting one of the video games, and greeted the two women as they entered the room.

“Hey, you two,” Dani said. She stood up from the machine and checked her score. Unfortunately, she didn’t get the high score. “We need to talk.”

“Oh?” Rose’s ears twitched with curiosity. “What’s up, Dani?”

Dani’s eyes flickered over to Marley for a moment. Then, she held up a crumpled piece of paper and walked over to the two of them to show them what it said.

It was a bounty poster.

“What?” Rose’s eyes widened in surprise.

ACCEPT A RANDOM TEMPORARY CLOTHING TRANSFORMATION

REWARD: TRANSFORMATION-INHIBITING PAJAMAS

Marley gasped when she read what it said. “Transformation-inhibiting… pajamas?”

Dani nodded grimly. “That’s right.”

Rose took a look at her. “Is that… why you’re wearing those clothes?”

Dani’s face burned. Needless to say, she was not a big fan of her outfit. She was wearing a frilly blue dress, like something a pop-idol would wear. The sort of clothing that she would enjoy seeing on someone else, like Carly, but wearing herself?

She wasn’t a fan.

“Don’t remind me,” she growled. “I don’t like this, to be clear! Echo was the one who put me into this, when I took the bounty!”

“Couldn’t you have backed out of it?” Rose questioned. “You can always put the bounty back, right? And take the clothes off?”

“Sure I could,” Dani nodded. “But I already claimed the reward. So, that opportunity has kind of passed, I’m afraid.”

Marley frowned. “But don’t you have your date with Nick tomorrow?” She pointed out. “You’ll have to wear that dress the whole time with him.”

“No, my date with Nick is the day after tomorrow, tomorrow is Gina’s night,” Dani corrected her. “Trust me, if I had to wear this with Nick, I never would have taken the bounty, no matter what the reward said.”

And, needless to say, she wouldn’t be able to put the pajamas on while she was being affected by the temporary clothing transformation.

“So, wait, I’m still kind of lost.” Rose rubbed the bridge of her nose. “You were heading up here to turn in for the night, then you saw a bounty poster on the board, is that right?”

Dani nodded. “Put up by Echo. I saw it, and I realized that it was important that I grab this one before anyone else did.”

She looked down at her humiliating clothes. “…Even if it means I have to look like this,” she said with a shiver of revulsion.

It wasn’t like Dani disliked girly clothes or anything. Yes, she was a dyed-in-the-wool tomboy through and through, but even she could appreciate the occasional pretty dress. But she didn’t like froofy, fluffy, weird clothes like these. They made her feel like an idiot when she was wearing them.

Dani looked expectantly at Rose and Marley, but neither girl understood her intentions. So, she sighed, and walked over to the dresser and retrieved the gift box she had left there. She brought it back over to the two of them and showed them both the box’s contents.

Inside was a set of starch white pajamas. Or, at least, an approximation of pajamas. It was like someone had tried to make “sexy pajamas” but didn’t want actual lingerie. The lower half were basically booty shorts, and the upper part had short sleeves and was cropped to show off the midriff of the person wearing it.

She showed them the description of the item.

Transformation-Inhibiting Pajamas: While wearing these pajamas, the effect of one transformation can be nullified for a single night’s sleep. Carries three charges. Recharged every round.

“So…” Rose scratched her cheek. “If I was wearing these, then I would be able to nullify my fox ears, and my tail, for a whole night?”

Dani nodded. But she had a wily look in her eyes. “It’s not for you,” she said, pulling the box away from Rose. “You think I’d subject myself to these humiliating clothes for YOUR sake? Hah!”

Rose pouted. “That’s mean.”

“Rose, don’t be so selfish!” Marley chided her “sister” sternly. “Think about it for a second! Dani, this is great!” She turned to her friend and smiled. “With those, you’ll be able to nullify that awful sleeping transformation you’ve got!”

“Oh, hey, yeah, I forgot about that!” Rose nodded. “What was it, again?”

Dani sighed and showed Rose the text of her punishment transformation, the one she’d gotten way back at the beginning of the show.

• Sweet Dreams Are Made of These: Dani has always fantasized about women. And though she’s slept with men before, the thought of being with one now revolts her. At least consciously. But starting now, whenever Dani goes to sleep, her dreams will be plagued with nothing but moments between her and the master, as she remembers her past sexual interactions with him. (Punishment)

“Don’t remind me,” she muttered, shaking her head. “This stupid thing.”

“Yeah, that must really be awful for you,” Rose said, nodding sympathetically. She would have loved to have her dreams filled with tender moments of just her and Nick making love with one another. But then, that would mean she wouldn’t get to dream of her maman anymore. No more vague memories of childhood, of being carried by her mother, or eating her mother’s cooking. Those dreams were among her favorites. So, to imagine what Dani was stuck with…

“I completely understand why you got those,” Marley said, nodding her head vigorously. “I would have chosen to grab that bounty in a heartbeat if I was in your shoes!”

Dani looked expectantly at her. She nodded slowly, and then sighed. “Well, uh… this is kind of awkward, actually…”

She looked down at the box again, and then shoved the pajamas into Marley’s arms.

“Eh!?” Marley gasped in surprise. Her eyes bulged, and she looked down at the starched white pajamas in confusion. “Dani, this, uh… …What are you doing?” She questioned.

“Take it,” Dani urged the other girl. “I’m serious, take it. I didn’t get these for me, I got them for you and your sister. …But mostly for you.”

Marley was speechless.

Dani scratched her cheek. “I mean… Carly’s going to be spending more time with Nick these days, at least, she’s trying to, anyway. And it sucks for her to have to ask Rose or Sylvia to use up their Method Acting transformation for the day to copy hers, or to pay someone else to take you off their hands, so… look, it’s just easier if every now and then you have a way for Carly to spend the night somewhere else, right?”

Marley understood the reasoning behind Dani’s gesture, and it sincerely touched her. But… to make a sacrifice like that…

“But Dani…”

“And, hey, my transformation really isn’t that much of an imposition anyway,” Dani said, trying to laugh it off as not being a big deal. “Thanks to my other transformation, I can put up with it easy enough. I’ve even become more comfortable with having threesomes with Nick, anyway, so it’s not that big of a problem.”

She shook her head, and smiled. But Marley wasn’t convinced.

“Still, I think this is a little TOO nice,” Rose said, shaking her head. “Are you sure you don’t want to use this yourself, Dani? Really? And enjoy some dreams without Nick’s cock in them?”

Dani glared at her. “Do you have to be so vulgar about it?” She groaned. “I’m trying to do something nice, here!”

And Rose could appreciate that. And she knew Marley appreciated it, too. But they both cared about Dani a lot, and didn’t think it was fair that she had to put up with this sort of situation. No, it really wasn’t!

“I know, what if we share it?” Marley suggested. “It’s not like it’s a transformation or anything, it’s an item. So, we can pass it between each other, right? If Carly doesn’t need to leave my side more than once or twice in a round, then however many charges are left, you can use those, and have a good night’s sleep! Wouldn’t that be fair?” She asked hopefully.

Honestly, Marley just wanted to help Dani out. She really appreciated the sincerity behind the other woman’s gesture, but… it really felt like it was too much!

Dani was such a nice woman.

“Um… well… if you put it that way…” Dani had a sheepish look on her face. Marley was really hard to argue with when she was giving her a look like that. She nodded her head meekly and gave in, not wanting to push the other girl.

Marley smiled, glad that Dani had at least agreed to that much.

“…Either way, I can’t wear it tonight,” Dani said, shaking her head. She gestured to her frilly dress again. “As long as I’ve got this thing on, I’m stuck with it. So, you might as well take the pajamas for today, don’t you think?”

Marley glanced at the outfit. Hearing Dani say that made sense. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right about that,” she conceded. “I’ll take these, then. For tonight! But maybe some other night, you can take them, Dani!”

“Aww, that’s so sweet!” Rose was so happy for Marley. And Dani. They were both getting what they wanted out of this arrangement, and so was she. “Look at the two of you! Getting along so perfectly together!”

“So, you want to try it on?” Dani encouraged the other girl.

Marley nodded. She went to the bathroom to change, and that forced Rose to follow her.

“Come on,” the blonde complained. “It’s nothing we haven’t already seen before. Just come out here and do it in front of us, it’ll be easier that way.”

“It’s the principle of the matter,” Marley called from the bathroom. “…Besides, this thing is harder to put on than it looks!”

Rose doubted that. From where she was standing, that costume looked like it would be a nightmare for Marley to squeeze her curves into.

She was vindicated not long after that when Marley stepped out of the bathroom, wearing the pajamas on her body and an embarrassed expression on her face.

Rose tried not to laugh.

“I… I think it looks cute!” She said, clasping her hand over her mouth. “Really… Marley… it suits you so well!”

“Thanks,” Marley said sarcastically. She leered coldly at Rose. “You really know how to make a girl feel special, you know that?”

“Hey, we’re sisters,” Rose pointed out. “…Aren’t we?”

The two stared at each other for a second. Apparently, just because Marley’s half of the transformation was negated, that didn’t magically make Rose stop being her sister.

Unless the pajamas didn’t work until the wearer fell asleep. In that case, they would be a lot less useful for the girls’ purposes.

“…Well, we should test it out,” Rose said, taking a careful step back. “Don’t hold it against me if this doesn’t work, alright?”

“Don’t worry about that,” Marley assured her friend with a shake of her head. “You just do what you gotta do, okay, Rose?”

Rose looked at her and nodded. She took another few steps back, until she was pretty sure she reached the limit of the transformation’s ten-foot restriction.

Then, she kept walking. In another second, there was no denying it- the two of them were completely separated from each other, and Marley hadn’t collapsed into a puddle of white goop in front of the two of them.

Marley gasped when she realized it. “Oh my gosh!”

“Hey, looks like it works!” Dani applauded. She was still clapping when Marley leapt forward and threw her arms around her, pulling her in for a tight hug. “Whoa! Hey! Marley!”

“Thank you!” Marley gushed, trying and failing not to burst out crying. “Thank you so much, Dani!” She sobbed. “I mean it… thank you!”

“Hey, no, no problem!” Dani shook her head. “I’m just glad I could help out, Marley!” She flashed a beaming smile at her friend. “And, hey, like you said, we’ll be able to share it, or whatever, so it’s not a big deal!”

Rose was happy for the both of them. Dani had done a really nice thing for Marley here, and Marley was obviously grateful to her. And, she was sure that Carly would be just as grateful when she came back and saw what her sister had received from her girlfriend.

But, most of all, Rose was grateful to Dani.

Because this meant that she just had to share a bed with one woman tonight, instead of two.

“Well, I’m glad to see that this is all working out for the both of you,” Rose said, taking another careful step back, inching for the door. “I’m not going to get in your way. Now that Marley can be all by herself without going splat, I’m free!”

“Yeah,” Marley said, looking back at Rose. She no longer felt the pull of sisterly attachment to the blonde that she’d felt before, now that the transformation was suppressed, but she still felt grateful to the other woman for the gesture all the same. “Thanks for helping me out today. My sister really appreciated the opportunity.”

Rose shrugged. “Well… thanks for helping with the party planning,” she replied, not used to being praised so openly by other people. “Really meant a lot to me. So, uh… yeah. …Thanks.”

The two of them stared at each other, neither quite sure what to say, given the circumstances.

Rose decided that it was for the best, then, if she just left, and let Dani enjoy herself and her newfound freedom. That seemed to be in everyone’s best interests.

So, Rose went back to her bedroom, to a very surprised Kim, and left Dani and Marley to spend the night together. Neither was quite sure what to do, now.

“…It’s a little tight,” Marley admitted, pulling on the hem of her shorts as they bit into her skin. Just a bit of a pinch, not enough to hurt or chafe or anything. “But I don’t care about stuff like that. Not as long as they’re working, right?”

Dani nodded slowly. “Yeah, that makes sense,” she agreed. “I’m glad you like them.”

“I just hope that they really do work through the night,” Marley said, climbing into bed. If this was another trick of Echo’s, then things were going to get messy.

Very messy.

Marley didn’t want to think about how messy they were going to get, if she was being honest with herself.

“Hopefully you don’t wake up as a puddle,” Dani said, trying to be helpful.

“Yeah, I’m hoping for that, too,” Marley said with a laugh.

The two women turned in for the evening and Marley closed her eyes, ready to go to sleep and see what the morning would bring.

Marley didn’t think anything was strange when she first woke up. Why would she? She was just waking up in her bed, after all, what was strange about that?

But then, she thought about the context of her situation, and it gave her pause. As her memories from last night returned to her and she realized what was going on, she sprung out of bed with a gasp, eyes wide.

“Ah!”

Marley looked down at herself, clad in the pajamas, and very much not a puddle of slime. “Oh my gosh!” She exclaimed. “It worked! It worked!”

Her cries of triumph were loud enough to wake up Dani, who raised her head wearily and looked around. “Huh…? What worked…?” She asked, still not fully cognizant of the situation herself. Then she saw Marley’s ecstatic grin, and put the pieces together.

“…Wait, seriously!?” She asked, sitting up straight. She was fully alert now. “It worked? For real?”

Marley hopped out of bed and presented herself to the other woman. “You tell me!” She said with a smile. “Take a look!”

She wasn’t melting. That spoke volumes.

“Well, alright then!” Dani said, climbing out of bed and walking over to give Marley a hug. “Way to go, Marley!”

“Carly’s going to be so excited when she sees me!” Marley grinned.

Then she had a grim thought.

“Wait… how long does this last, actually?” She looked down at the pajamas. The instructions said that they were good for a single night’s sleep, and, well, night was over. It was morning, now.

So, by that logic, didn’t that mean her clothes should stop working and she should revert back into a puddle, then?

A chill ran down her spine and she blanched. “Dani…”

“I don’t want to know, either,” Dani said, shaking her head. She’d arrived at the same conclusion as her friend. “We should get Carly as soon as possible.”

Luckily, Carly should have already been coming back to the Arcade Suite, because she knew that the transformation would be wearing off and she would be needed at her sister’s side again, for exactly this reason.

Marley barely had time to make it to the door on her quest to find her sister when the door swung wide open and Carly herself stepped out with a big grin on her face.

“Good morning!” She said, glowing brightly in her nun habit. “Thanks for looking out for my sister, Rose, but you can… …Huh?”

She looked at her sister and did a double-take. Her eyes scanned the Arcade Suite, but she saw no trace of Rose- let alone within ten feet of her sister.

Marley was just as shocked to see Carly wearing a nun costume.

“…I’m lost,” Carly said, shaking her head. “What’s going on, here?”

When Marley and Dani filled her in on what happened, Carly was overwhelmed by emotion. “Oh my gosh!” She cried, pulling her sister into a tight hug. “Marley! I’m so happy for you,” she gushed. “This is great!”

“Thanks,” Marley said, not sure how else to respond to her sister’s strong hug. “That… really means a lot to me, sis.”

She couldn’t help but smile at her sister’s affection. This really was a good morning. And hopefully, the start of a good day.