"That's the last of it." Melody placed the heavy cardboard box on the floor next to the other dozen or so. "Thanks so much for the help, you guys."

"Hey don't mention it. You would've had to pay an arm and a leg for professional movers and you don't even have that much stuff." Answered Dawn, motioning to the packed belongings that now laid scattered throughout the otherwise empty bedroom.

"Well, now that we're done, I say we celebrate the arrival of our new roommate, Melody, by ordering pizza and watching crappy movies on TV." Annette sat on one of the larger boxes as she spoke. Her cheerful demeanour was meant to dissolve any discomfort that the girls might be feeling from the brand new situation.

"Is that what you two do all night? Is this the sort of lifestyle I've gotten myself into by moving in with you?" Melody picked up on Annette's attempt to quell any uncomfortable silences before they started and ran with it by using some friendly sarcasm. Her red hair rested on the back of her shoulders as she jokingly mocked her new friends.

It seemed like aeons ago, but it was only last week when Melody moved to the small town of Midpoint for her new job as a sales manager. Expecting difficulties in finding a decent place to live, she arranged the move a month before her job was due to start. Melody was fully prepared to live in a hotel for as long as it took. However, she was lucky enough to meet Dawn and Annette at a grocery store line up. She learned that the two girls lived in a very large home that Dawn inherited from her parents when they died in a car crash last year. One thing led to another, and now Melody found herself standing in a beautiful home tucked nicely in some gorgeous, secluded woods.

She was a little nervous about moving in with two people she didn't know, but they both seemed so nice.

Dawn was a little strange, but that was to be expected with her parent's death still not so far away in her past. She was quite beautiful and the tallest of the three girls. Her jet black hair was cut a few inches above her shoulders.

At first glance, Melody took Annette to be the timid sort. But quickly found that not to be true at all. While her long, blonde hair and angelic features portrayed a quiet, caring type, her love for herself and her own needs sometimes got the better of her.

All in all, Melody was certain the three of them would soon become the best of friends. However, she had not yet reached that point of blissful comfort and currently stood in a large, carpeted room with two strangers. Despite Annette's attempt to dodge the near inevitable, uncomfortable silence, all three girls could feel one quickly forming.

"Hey Melody, You haven't seen my room yet, have you?" Dawn's face lit up with the realisation that she'd found a subject of conversation once more.

"Oh God, you're not going to believe her collection." Added Annette before Melody could answer.

"Your collection?" Asked Melody.

"Ya, C'mon, I'll show you!" Dawn gleefully grabbed Melody's wrist and led her down one of the many halls in her new, gigantic house.

A short time later, the two girls arrived at a door marked 'Dawn's Room' by one of those novelty door tags found at most gift shops. Dawn opened the door to reveal a huge bedroom cluttered with stuffed animals of all kinds. They covered the bed, the floor, shelves on the walls, they lay tumbled out of an overflowing closet, they were everywhere.

"Oh my God." Said Melody.

"I know. Wild, isn't it?" Dawn's face housed a huge grin which was clearly fuelled by pride. "I've been collecting them since I was a little girl. This collection is the most important thing to me in the world."

"Wow. That's ...uh, a lot of stuffed animals."

"Here, let me show you my favourite." Dawn bounded over the scattering of soft toys with practised ease and landed knees first on her bed. She then grabbed a pink, stuffed dog with droopy ears and a long, pink tongue hanging out it's mouth.

"This is Fuzzpuppy. He's the first stuffed animal I've ever gotten. He was a gift from my Father when I was four."

"And you still have it? Impressive." Melody stood at the bedroom doorway, nodding her head to show her polite appreciation.

"You think I'm weird, don't you." Dawn said with a smile after a short pause.

"No, not at all. I think your collection is really neat."

"No, I can see it in your eyes. That's okay, most people think I'm weird for having this collection." Dawn got more comfortable by shifting from her knees, onto her butt. Her legs knocking a few stuffed animals off the bed and onto the floor.

"Seriously, I like it." Melody laughed. She bent over and picked up a doll from the floor. Both girls were beginning to feel more at ease with each other's company.

"So how come you have this one? This is a hard, plastic doll. Not a stuffed animal." The toy was a simple, plastic mould in the form of a baby. It wore nothing more than a diaper and was obviously a little girl, due to the tiny, rubber pigtails on it's head. The face was in the shape of a happy smile.

"Oh, that's Babyfat. I've had her forever and I just can't bring myself to throw her out. Pull the string on her back."

Melody carefully spun the doll in her hands and found a thin string with a plastic ring on the end of it sticking out of the small of the toy's back. She gently pulled the string until it stopped about a foot from it's exit point in the doll, then let go. As it slowly retreated into the toy, a static laced child's voice came from within the plastic head.

"I wove you. Wanna pway wif me?" Said the toy. Melody smiled at the result and pulled the string again. "I'm just a wittle baby." It said.

"Cute." Said Melody as she carefully stepped over the stuffed animals on the floor and handed the doll to Dawn.

"Ya, she used to say more, but she's pretty old, so those are the only two things she says now. I don't usually keep her on the floor, though. She's supposed to be kept up here so she doesn't get stepped on." Dawn reached up to a shelf above her bed and placed her toy between two matching oil lanterns, which Melody assumed were placed there as decorations.

"But my little Fuzzpuppy stays on the bed, don't you?" She said as she placed the pink dog back on the pillows where she'd taken it from.

"So, you like extra cheese?" Asked Dawn as both girls left the room to join Annette.

Two days later, Annette was alone in the house, her two roommates having gone shopping an hour ago.

"Dammit!" She cursed in frustration as she slammed the kitchen drawer shut. "Where is it?"

Annette had been looking for nail polish remover for the last ten minutes. She had a date with that amazingly gorgeous guy from the office in just a few short hours and she was damned if she was going to go out wearing 'sunset yellow' when the occasion clearly called for 'banana peel yellow'.

Suddenly she remembered seeing remover in Dawn's room once. In a blonde flash, the busty, young woman was down the hall and into her friend's bedroom. After searching through a couple desk drawers and finding nothing, Annette paused to remember where'd she seen the small bottle.

"Aha!" Annette smiled and looked up to the shelf just above Dawn's animal covered bed. Next to two oil lanterns and the doll she'd come to know as Babyfat, was the small vial of nail polish remover.

She hopped up onto Dawn's bed and kicked some of the fluffy fauna onto the floor to clear a path to the shelf on the back wall. Picking up the remover, Annette noticed the oil lanterns for the first time.

"Wow, these are really nice. They've gotta be antiques." She muttered to herself. Wondering how well they worked, Annette placed the bottle back down and picked up a box of matches obviously left on the shelf for the purpose of lighting the lanterns.

After striking a match against the side of the box, causing it to ignite in a tiny burst of sulphur and wood, she reached out to lift the glass lid off the nearest lantern. However, her hand knocked the item off the shelf, causing it to fall onto the bed. Annette stared in horror as she watched lantern oil splash all over her roommate's bed and stuffed animals.

"Oh shit!" She called out, the pungent smell of the oil already filling her nostrils. She began to imagine Dawn screaming in fury at her for the clumsy intrusion on her room.

Annette stood amidst the fuel soaked, stuffed animals, wondering what she would tell Dawn. She was so lost in thought, that she'd completely forgotten about the lit match in her hand. That is, until the flame reached her fingers. She cried out in sudden pain and instinctively dropped the match.

That evening, Dawn and Melody arrived home to find a fire truck parked outside. From the driveway, there appeared to be no damage.

Dawn went almost catatonic when she saw her room. The actual structure of the room was still intact. However, the outer layers of the walls as well as everything in the room, were reduced to a near unidentifiable, charred mass. Melody stood in shocked silence, not knowing what to do as Annette explained in tears what had happened.

The next week went awkwardly. After a period of boundless anger, Dawn claimed to forgive Annette, but seemed strangely quiet. While talking to Annette, Melody once described Dawn's eerie mood as a calm before a storm. Both girl's agreed and decided to stay away from Dawn until she could fully pull herself together.

One night, while Annette was out on her postponed date with the gorgeous guy, Melody passed near Dawn's door to hear sobbing from within the bedroom.

"Dawn? Can I come in?" Melody softly knocked on the door. The undamaged 'Dawn's Room' tag glared back at her as if it now stood for some sarcastic joke.

"Come in."

As Melody opened the door, she realised that although Dawn had been spending countless hours in here since the accident, she herself hadn't actually seen the room for days. She was amazed.

The room was almost completely repaired. Of course the walls were still stripped down to the plaster and except for the new bed and desk, it was practically empty. But it was fast becoming liveable once more.

Dawn sat on her bed, tears rolling down her smooth cheeks as she clutched what looked like a charred piece of clothing. Melody's heart sank as she realised it was Fuzzpuppy. Or what was left of it.

"I thought you'd thrown out all your damaged toys." Said Melody as softly as she could.

"I couldn't bring myself to throw out Fuzzpuppy." Dawn said between sniffles.

Melody crossed the burnt floor and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Are you gonna be okay?" She finally asked.

"Ya. You know she never even said sorry?"

"She didn't?"

"No. She asked me not to be mad at her anymore and I said okay. But she never said sorry."

"And are you still mad at her?"

"I guess so. I don't know. I just want my collection back." Dawn felt tears welling up again, but managed to fight them off.

After a pause, Melody tried to gently change the subject. "I didn't know Fuzzpuppy had metal in him. I thought he was just fuzz." She said, noticing a silver shine of steel mixed in with the burned, pink fabric.

"What?" Dawn looked down at the damaged animal she'd been cradling and was surprised to find a metal object inside the toy. Visible only due to the rips and holes that now existed.

"What's that?" She asked to herself.

Melody watched with curiosity as Dawn reached into the stuffed dog and pulled out a small metal box that was held shut by an attractive latch.

"Wow. You never saw that before?" Asked Melody.

"No. Oh my God, this has been in here all my life." Dawn was astonished.

"So what's inside?" Melody was careful to remain considerate to Dawn's feelings despite her growing curiosity.

Dawn answered by flipping the latch and opening the small box. Inside, she found a beautiful, black stone about the size of a thumbnail attached to a tiny gold necklace. Tucked under the stone was a tiny book bound in leather.

"Wow!" Exclaimed Melody who was finding it increasingly difficult to contain her interest in the situation.

Dawn opened the book and began skimming through the pages.

"What's it say?" Asked Melody.

"Weird. It's all about how to control and change people through the black stone."

"Um...okay."

Dispute their combined disbelief, the two girls spent the next half hour reading through various parts of the book. Until finally, Dawn said what both girls had been thinking.

"So should we try it out?"

"On who?"

"Well, I could try it on you, Melody."

"Sure. But if it works, I get a turn too, okay? I'll make a trip to the bank and get them to give me all there money." Joked Melody. Neither girl truly believed the stone actually worked, but both were having a good time playing along. It was very similar to girls playing with a ouiji board at a slumber party.

"Okay, the book says that I've got to wear the stone and tell you what it is about you that I want to change." Dawn put on the stone as she handed the book to Melody.

"Ya, but you can't change anything too serious." Said Melody as she flipped through the book's pages.

"I can't?"

"No. See, it says here that each session used to alter a person is called a 'take'. Minor alterations that don't completely change the subject's personality or belief system or don't include physical changes require only one take. While more complex alterations may require up to five takes. With a minimum of twenty-four hours between each take. It also says to be careful because all takes are permanent and irreversible."

"So I should probably do something positive to you then." Smiled Dawn.

Melody was just happy to see Dawn smile again. Perhaps she'd be able to get over this loss of hers sooner than expected.

"Sure, give me super powers or something." Laughed Melody.

Then Dawn had an idea.

"I've got it." With the golden necklace still around her neck, Dawn clenched the stone in her hand and concentrated on the words she was about to say.

"You now completely believe in the power of the black stone." As Dawn spoke the words, Melody felt her mind grow numb. Her eyes seemed to stared at a distant nothing. She fell into what seemed like a deep trance.

"Um, Melody?" Asked Dawn.

"Huh?" After only a few seconds of her 'trance' Melody awoke and was herself once more. Except for one small change.

"Oh my God! Dawn, that thing's real!"

"Cool, should I give you those super powers now?" Giggled Dawn, convinced that Melody was simply acting.

"Here, I'll show you." Melody gently but quickly took the necklace off of Dawn and placed it on herself.

"You now completely believe that this stone works."

Just as Melody had gone into a brief but powerful trance, so too did Dawn. Her eyes became half closed and her body slightly swayed as she stared off at nothing. Seconds later, Dawn blinked her eyes and seemed to become aware of her surroundings once more. She now understood and believed that the black stone held real power over other people's minds.

"Wow! It's like it reprogrammed my mind, inserting the believe that the stone worked!" Exclaimed Dawn.

"I know, this is great! I could take it to work when my job finally starts and get an instant raise! Or I could get you to make me hate milkshakes and brownies and instead love carrots and apples and stuff. Or maybe we could use it to make each other smarter! Or ..." Melody was cut off by Dawn.

"I have a better idea..." Said Dawn as she carefully took the necklace off of Melody and placed it back around her own neck.

"...Why don't I first use it to get a little revenge on Annette?" Dawn had a sinister smile on her face.

"What? Like what?" Melody was unsure of how to feel about this suggestion.

Seeing the worried look on Melody's face, Dawn reassured her with a friendly smile. "Oh relax Silly, I only mean I wanna do a couple little things to embarrass her. Then I can have enough closure to really forgive her and we can let her in on our new find, okay?"

"Well, I guess that sounds harmless enough. But then I get a turn next okay? The book mentions physical transformations, so I'm thinking I could maybe alter my DNA to increase my life span or something like that. Pretty cool idea, eh?"

"Geez, you're always so clinical about everything." Laughed Dawn "But yes, it's your turn after I'm done."

The next evening the three girls sat in the living room watching TV as they often did. Melody and Dawn were bursting with excitement. But remained quiet until they both felt the time was right.

"Okay what! You two have been shooting each other looks like you've got a huge secret or something, what gives?" Annette sat comfortably as she spoke, casually chewing on her pinky fingernail as she always did while watching TV. She wore her nightly which came down to her waist and a pair of white panties. The other girls had learned early on that Annette was most at home in her underwear during these quiet evenings so thought nothing of it. Although Melody still couldn't understand why she found it necessary to wear make-up at times like this.

"Annette," Said Dawn "I have something to show you."

"What?"

Dawn clenched the stone as she spoke her words.

"Annette, you love giving Melody and I massages." Instantly, Annette's eyes became blank and she stopped chewing her fingernail. Her hand fell away from her face and flopped helplessly onto her lap.

Dawn kept talking. "Foot massages, back massages, shoulder rubs, you just adore doing any kind of massage to the two of us. Also, you will not ever remember being altered by this stone no matter how many times I use it on you."

"You can't have her giving us massages for the rest of her life." Said Melody light-heartedly.

"Oh I won't, I'll get rid of all the changes I make to her as soon as I'm finished with my revenge."

At that moment, Annette awoke from her trance. She seemed to have no idea that anything at all had happened to her. Both Melody and Dawn burst into laughter when Annette then asked if either girl would like a massage. Annette didn't know what was so funny, but she didn't really care as long as she got a chance to relax those two girls with her fingers.

For the rest of the evening, both girls enjoyed all the kinds of massages from Dawn.

The next day, Dawn knew she had to wait 24 hours to perform her second take on Annette. When the time came, the girls were in the dining room and had just finished dinner.

"Okay, so who's up for a back rub?" Asked Annette for the fifth or sixth time that day.

"I have a better idea." Said Dawn as she winked at Melody.

"Why don't you clear the table for us. Better yet, why don't you clean the whole house?"

"Are you out of your mind? I'm not doing all that work!" Annette snapped back.

"Oh I think you will." Dawn reached up to her necklace and clenched the black stone once more.

"Annette, you love to clean."

"I love to clean." Annette repeated in a mindless tone as her eyes took on the now familiar blank look.

Dawn and Melody looked at each other with mild surprise.

"No one's ever repeated the commands like that before." Said Melody.

"That's weird. Maybe it's what people do on there second take." Dawn replied.

"Oh that's right," Melody was talking as if Annette wasn't in the room. "this is her second take. I guess that means you can make a more severe change to her personality."

"That's right, now check this out." Dawn turned her attention back to Annette who continued to stare off at nothing, unaware of what the two girls were saying, waiting only for the rest of her alteration from the black stone.

"You are the house servant."

"I am the house servant."

"All you ever want to do is cook, clean and serve me."

"Cook, clean and serve you."

"You belong to Dawn."

"I belong to Dawn."

Somehow sensing that Dawn was finished with her changes to Annette, the black stone released it's power over the young blonde's mind. Soon enough, Annette was fully conscious once more.

Right away, Annette started to clear away the dishes from the dinner table.

"Here, let me gets those. I am the house servant after all." She said with a submissive smile.

When Dawn glanced over at Melody and saw that she was looking at Annette uneasily, she responded. "Relax, soon enough I'll fix everything I've done. I'm just having a little fun."

"I suppose so." Said Melody, still growing uncomfortable with what was happening.

Annette however, proceeded to clean the dining room and move into the kitchen to do the dishes. She began to wonder why on earth she'd never done all the cleaning before. She was, after all, the house servant. She belonged to Dawn.

The next evening, Melody had been writing a letter to a friend back home. When she entered the living room, she was amazed to find Dawn watching TV while Annette was actually licking what looked like melted ice cream off the carpet.

"Oh hi, Melody." Said Dawn casually.

"What the hell is going on her?" Asked Melody.

"Well, I accidentally dropped my ice cream on the floor, so Annette is cleaning it up for me, that's all."

"With her tongue? That's disgusting Dawn!" Melody walked over to Annette and addressed her. "Annette, stop that, it's gross!"

Without looking up, Annette answered her friend between licks. "I have to do what Dawn says. I belong to her. I am the house servant."

"Dawn, I think this is going too far."

"Is it?" Dawn casually played with the black stone that hung around her neck. "Is it going to far, Melody? What about my collection? Was burning my collection going to far? WAS DESTROYING MY LIFE GOING TO FAR!?!" She screamed.

Melody jumped a bit at Dawn's yelling. She'd never seen her like this.

"Dawn, I know you miss your toys..."

"My toys? Those were my best friends! You killed my best friends you bitch!" Dawn stood up and kicked Annette as she spoke. Annette paid no attention and continued to clean up every inch of the spilled dessert.

Melody didn't know what to do. She just watched as Annette stood up and turned to face her owner.

"I'm finished cleaning the spill Dawn. Would you like me to clean the windows now?"

"I'd like my Fuzzpuppy back, you slut." Dawn seemed a little calmer now.

Melody watched as she clasped the black stone and looked into Annette's eyes.

"Annette. You are my Fuzzpuppy." Annette's face went slack once more as her arms hung lazily at her sides.

"I am your Fuzzpuppy." She repeated in a mindless tone.

"Dawn, no! What are you doing?" Melody asked, but Dawn continued to alter her friend.

"You are my little stuffed doggie. Nothing more."

"I am your little stuffed doggie. Nothing more."

When Annette came out of her trance, she looked at her two roommates.

"Should I clean the windows now?" She asked as if nothing had happened.

"Why isn't she acting any different?" Asked Dawn.

"Because turning her into a stuffed animal is probably more than the stone can handle." Answered Melody, still upset about what was going on."

"What's a stuffed animal? " Annette asked, still waiting to be given an order.

Both girls looked over at Annette in surprise.

"How'd she get so dumb? I mean, she was never Einstein, but this is REALLY dumb." Snickered Dawn.

Suddenly Melody began to understand what was happening. "Of course, a transformation like that must require five takes or so. She's just made the first step toward being Fuzzpuppy. If we watched her, she'd probably display other strange behaviours as well. But this has got to end now! You've gone to far with this, and you said I'd get a turn."

"I told you I'd reverse all this stuff I'm doing to her. Chill out!"

Annette tried to understand what the others were talking about, but the words were often too big. She felt as though her head was all clouded. Thinking of complicated stuff was hard. But for some reason, that didn't bother her much. Then she heard her owner call her name.

"Annette, come here for a second." Annette gladly did as she was told.

"Dawn, what are you doing?" Asked a frustrated melody.

"I wanna test something." Dawn took off one of her socks and tied it in a knot. She then dangled it in front of Annette's face.

At first Annette didn't know what to do with this odd situation, but gradually, a need grew inside of her. A powerful urge to play. Without thinking about it, she lunged her face forward and grabbed the socked in her mouth. She tugged at it as she tried to back up. A feminine growling sound quietly escaped her mouth as she enjoyed the new game.

Dawn was finding that she loved her new revenge over the once conceited girl.

"Come on, girl. Get it! Get the sock!" She laughed.

Not knowing how to react to these bizarre happenings, Melody went to bed in disgust.

The next day was a strange one. Annette, insisted that her name was and always has been Fuzzpuppy. She wouldn't or rather couldn't answer to anything else. She continued to cook and clean and even offered her roommates the odd massage. However, she seemed to be able to only eat off the floor and her intelligence was about half of what it was. Annette even seemed to have trouble dressing herself properly, so Dawn told her to just go naked.

Melody was sure that everything would be fixed by Dawn that evening and she could start enjoying her turn with the stone. When evening came, Melody entered the living room once more. She was repulsed to find Annette lapping up water out of a bowl on the floor while Dawn watched TV.

"Okay, Dawn. It's been 24 hours. You can put Annette back to normal now."

"Actually, I was thinking of seeing what would happen if I continued her takes into Fuzzpuppy."

"What? Are you crazy? This is getting seriously perverted! She's been naked all day for Christ's sake! I mean, look at her!" Melody motioned toward the girl on her hands and knees, mindlessly drinking from a dog bowl.

Melody watched Dawn reach for the stone around her neck and sighed as she realised that she was going to do it anyway. But instead of looking at Annette, she turned to Melody.

"Melody..." Melody's eyes stared off at nothing. She felt her mind lose interest in the well being of her friend Annette as a zombie-like state took over. Her mind became a blank page just waiting to be written on.

Dawn took a moment to look at her friend in her current helpless state. She was quickly getting used to having so much power.

"You want to go to bed early tonight. In fact you want to go to bed right now. That's the most important thing to you."

"I want to go to bed right now." Melody quietly repeated to no one.

As she gained control of herself once more, Melody quickly realised exactly what had just happened.

"You bitch! How dare you use that thing on me!"

"Oops, I forgot to erase your memory of the take." Grinned Dawn.

"Listen, either you give the stone to me right now or I call the cops and..." Suddenly Melody felt that going to bed was far more important than this. She knew full well that it was only because of the take just performed on her, but she couldn't help herself. She wasn't even that tired, but she just had to go to bed right now.

Dawn was gleeful to see Melody stop in mid sentence and leave for her bedroom. She then turned her attention to her new Fuzzpuppy, with the stone held tightly in her hand.

"Hey Fuzzpuppy..." Annette stopped drinking and looked up at her owner. As soon as she did so, she lost all conscious control of herself and returned to her mindless state. She remained crouched on her knees, facing Dawn.

"You are my Fuzzpuppy."

"I am your Fuzzpuppy."

"You are not a person, you are a stuffed animal."

"I am not a person, I am a stuffed animal."

"You belong to me."

"I belong to you."

When Annette came to once more, she cocked her head to one side and glanced at Dawn like a confused dog might do.

Dawn found herself to be very curious as to what the recent changes in Annette might be. "How do you feel?" She asked.

"I ... feel ... <woof> ... funny. <bark>." Annette's mind was even more clouded than before. She couldn't even remember Dawn's name anymore. She was simply her owner.

Dawn laughed as Annette stood up with difficulty. Her arms were perched in front of her with her hands dangling from floppy wrists. She even seemed to be panting a little with her moist tongue hanging out her mouth.

"Oh, you are just too cute, Fuzzpuppy. Come here, girl!"

Annette walked over to her owner and was happy to receive a good scratching on the back of her neck.

When Melody awoke the next morning, she was both furious and afraid. She felt violated about last night's take, but what if Dawn were to do it again? She decided it might be best if she just went out for the day. Then Dawn could have some time to realise how stupid this whole thing has gotten. Hell, she'd probably apologise for what she did to her last night.

During the day, the new Fuzzpuppy found that although she still had an urge to clean for her owner, the work was just too difficult to understand. She no longer knew how a toaster worked or even what it was for. Although she barely remembered how to use a toilet, she couldn't help herself as she found that drinking the cold water was very refreshing.

Dawn enjoyed the day with Melody gone. She spent a lot of time cuddling her new Fuzzpuppy who never got bored of being held and stroked. She found that she was getting quite used to the constant dog-like panting and the cute way her hands would dangle in front of her ample chest. She couldn't wait until evening when she could do the third take.

That evening, Melody entered the house to find the two girls in the living room. She winced in disgust as she saw Annette bark at her presence.

"This is twisted. Annette is a grown woman and look at what you've got her doing. Jesus Christ, is that a dog collar she's wearing?"

"You don't like it?" Asked Dawn.

"No. You and your stupid stone can go to Hell." Melody stormed upstairs to her room. Although she'd never admit it to herself, she was frightened that if she stayed to argue, Dawn might do another take on her. And it might not be as benign as sending her to bed.

Dawn glanced at her watch and was overjoyed to see that it was time enough for the third take.

"Fuzzpuppy..." Fuzzpuppy fell into her trance again.

"You are Fuzzpuppy."

"I ... <bark> am ... fuzzpuppy." Dawn was intrigued to find that even in a trance her alterations remained. She still had trouble talking.

"You are my stuffed animal."

"<bark woof> I am ... your stuffed <woof> animal."

"You are not a person."

"I am not ... <woof> a <woof>... person."

As soon as Fuzzpuppy came out of her trance, she fell to all fours. Her hair began to shift and change until it looked like two blonde, floppy ears at the sides of her head. Her eyes took on a glassy look and changed to the same pink colour that the original Fuzzpuppy once had. Finally, a small, blonde tail grew in the appropriate spot on Fuzzpuppy's backside.

"Oh my God!" Remarked Dawn in astonishment. "This is so cool!"

"<bark> <woof>" Fuzzpuppy's tongue seemed to permanently hang from her mouth as she forever panted in an exaggerated canine fashion.

Meanwhile, Melody was in her room leafing through the little booklet that had come with the strange artifact. She had 'borrowed' it from Dawn's room only moments before in hopes of finding out more about it.

Melody's heart leapt into her throat when she found one of the pages she had been reading the day they'd found the stone.

"Irreversible." She whispered to herself. "The takes are irreversible. Oh shit, I forgot."

Melody rushed through the house as fast as she could. Surely, Dawn had forgotten as well. She had to tell her before anymore damage was done to poor Annette.

"Dawn, stop!" She yelled as she entered the living room. Melody gulped as she looked upon Annette. The physical changes had already started. The girl was curled up on Dawn's lap, licking her face. Dawn was simply enjoying her new toy.

"What's wrong with you?" Asked Dawn.

"We forgot, the takes are permanent! You can't reverse them! What are we gonna do?"

"I didn't forget." Said Dawn, idley petting Fuzzpuppy's head.

"What?"

"I always knew this was permanent. I just saw that you forgot so I went with it."

"But ... how could you do this to Annette?"

"Her name is Fuzzpuppy! And the bitch deserved it. Besides, I've got two more takes to do on her before she totally becomes my new Fuzzpuppy."

"You're crazy." Melody began to back up. She wanted to get away and call someone for help. Anyone.

"Melody, where are you going? Not to tell someone about this I hope."

"No, I'm ... uh ... just going to bed."

"Uh huh. I believe you." Dawn said sarcastically. She clasped the stone in her hand as she looked up at Melody.

"Melody." She fell into a blank stare. Her jaw hung slightly open as all fear of her current situation left her.

"You will never leave this house again."

"I will never leave this house again."

"You will never contact the outside world in any way."

"I will never contact the outside world in any way."

"You will always refer to Annette as Fuzzpuppy."

"I will always refer to Annette as Fuzzpuppy."

Melody blinked as she got her bearings once more.

"That's better isn't it?" Asked Dawn, still stroking Fuzzpuppy.

"Oh my God." Melody choked back tears as she realised what had just happened. "How am I going to live? I can never leave the house! You can't undo that!"

"Oh don't worry sweetie. When my parents left me this house, they left me a hell of a lot of money as well. I'll take care of both of you." Dawn smiled.

The next day, Melody tried many times to leave the house or make a phone call. Each time was the same. She'd get an overwhelming feeling that there was no way for her to continue. She could open the front door, but she could never step outside. She could easily pick up the phone, but dialling was impossible. She felt like a cripple.

Dawn however, was cheerful and bright all day. She had her new Fuzzpuppy sleep on her bed with her all night. During the day she loved playing typical dog games with her and was pleased to see that she could now sit in one spot for hours on end without shifting or moving. She'd simply stare off at nothing, all the while, panting away with her soft tongue hanging out of her mouth.

Fuzzpuppy was beginning to forget that she was ever Annette. At times she'd get flashes of a blonde woman who used to go on dates and have a good time, but those were pretend images and could never relate to her. She was not a person, just a silly looking toy. If she had more intelligence, she would have noticed that she didn't need to eat or drink anymore. And barking was becoming a rare thing. It seemed that she was making the leap from animal to toy.

That evening, Melody stayed in her room and locked her door. She didn't want to give Dawn any reason to do anymore takes on her. She figured that she was in no danger of being turned into a stuffed animal, because she'd never given Dawn a reason to seek revenge on her like Fuzzpuppy did. But who knows what else she might try.

In the living room, Dawn stood in the center of the room as she got Fuzzpuppy to leap onto the couch. She was very excited about the fourth take and wanted to get a good view of anything that might happen.

"Are you ready to say goodbye to some more of your humanity?" Fuzzpuppy just stared off at her owner, not understanding what she was saying.

"Fuzzpuppy." Dawn clasped the stone and released it's power.

"You are my Fuzzpuppy."

Fuzzpuppy just gave a soft moan.

"You are my little toy." Another moan escaped the blonde woman's lips.

Dawn took mental note that it seemed as though she was still taking in the new information, she was just no longer capable of repeating it, so she was simply doing the most she could. Which was a simple moan.

"You are not a person." Another moan.

Dawn watched in amazement as Fuzzpuppy's blonde hair turned a bright pink. Her pink eyes became even more glassy and even though her tongue still hung out her mouth, she no longer panted. Her hands remained in a mitten shape with her fingers pointing outward and her thumbs sticking straight up as she stared off with almost no intelligence behind her eyes.

"Okay Fuzzpuppy, let's go to my bed." As Dawn led the woman into her room, she noticed that she had a great deal of trouble moving around.

"We'd better just keep you on my bed from now on. After tomorrow's take, you'll be all mine and you might not be able to move at all." Fuzzpuppy let out another quiet, feminine moan in response.

That night Dawn slept soundly, with Fuzzpuppy laying next to her. Although, the toy/girl didn't actually sleep anymore. She simply stared through the ceiling above her. She'd stay almost perfectly still in that position until her owner played with her, however far away that might be.

Slowly, the door into Dawn's room opened and Melody carefully poked her head inside. The dim illumination from the hallway lit the room and created a beam of light that ran along the floor, up the wall and across the ceiling. As the door was carefully opened further, the light beam grew in width, matching the opening into the area. Melody's creeping shadow slid across the floor as the girl nervously walked over to Dawn's bed.

Fuzzpuppy paid no attention to Melody and Dawn seemed sound asleep. As she reached the bedside, Melody's heart sank as she saw that even in her sleep, Dawn wore the stone. She'd hoped to simply find it on the nightstand and steal it away, but this was far more difficult. For minutes that seemed like hours, Melody stared at the sleeping Dawn, trying to find the courage to reach down and gently slide the necklace off of Dawn's neck. Finally, she held her breath and made the attempt. Her heart leapt as Dawn's hand shot up like lightning and grasped Melody's wrist.

"Well, what do we have here?" Dawn looked up from her pillow to see Melody looking terrified.

"Could it be that my 'friend' is trying to screw me over?"

Melody tried to answer in the negative, but a powerful sense of fear had her by the throat and she couldn't speak. She had to settle for nervously shaking her head.

"Now why would my dear friend Melody try to steal the necklace?" Dawn asked as she sat up, not letting go of Melody's wrist.

"Is it because she's jealous of all the attention I've been giving Fuzzpuppy? I have an idea that will fix that."

Melody's heart was pounding in her throat as she became more terrified with each word Dawn said.

"No, Dawn please." She squeaked.

"Please what, please make you just a little more loveable so I can stomach your presence?"

"No! Please don't do anything to me!"

Dawn grinned as she grasped the stone.

"Melody..."