Deanna's Surprise

The rest of the night went off without a hitch. There did come the odd time when another patron came up to Reika to ask for a personal performance in one of the private booths. She was more than happy to comply. I couldn\'t begrudge her that; she was here to earn money. To make sure the other patrons didn\'t end up thinking I was trying to hog Reika to myself, I held off of making any open show of closeness. A simple glance when she looked my way, then a subtle nod towards one of the private booths, was enough to make sure she got the message. Russ didn\'t do anything to butt in on what was happening between us. No doubt, he was dead serious about having me eventually become Reika\'s and Irene\'s new owner, so he clearly wanted to give me every decent chance I could use to get to know my future charges.

I wasn\'t sure what to think about that, to be honest. Being a freed \'bot\'s \"owner of record\" wasn\'t the same as being a plain \'bot owner, at least as much as I came to understand the concept when I first learned of it. Yes, by the laws of certain parts of the States and elsewhere, you were seen as being no different than a normal \'bot owner. At the same time, according to Canadian law (and the laws of those other places where this sort of situation was respected), you couldn\'t seize your \"property\'s\" personal belongings, to say anything of her earnings, for your own use. Legally, you really had no right to make use of a freed \'bot\'s remote control to press your own ends...

I shook my head as I considered that, sitting by the bar close to last call. I couldn\'t see myself doing that to Reika or Irene. Damn it all, they EARNED the right to be seen as freed robots. I respected that. Besides, if I really wanted a \'bot to obey my commands, fulfil my every desire, I could get one fresh out of the factory -- if I could AFFORD such a unit, of course. And getting a second-hand \'bot from a resale outlet meant that you risked inheriting problems, screwball programming or fouled-up commands from said \'bot\'s previous owners.

I certainly would enjoy having a \'bot as a personal companion. I loved the many times I purchased the services of \'bot hookers working the streets of places I had lived in during my sojourn around the world. Almost all of them had been fembots, who didn\'t mind the fact that I was a hermaphrodite and could do it with them as a guy as much as I could as a girl. Even the few M-\'bots I\'ve slept with were quite nice, especially after I suppressed their assertive attitudes when it came to dealing with human girls. A good screaming session or two guaranteed that, I\'ll tell you. I might look like a girl on first glance -- unless you catch me in the shower! -- but I can play just as rough as the boys could when pushed to the wall. The assholes who tried to gang up on Drew Keir learned that the hard way fourteen years ago.

\"Hi, Russ! How\'re things here tonight?\"

Russ, working on cleaning glasses a metre off to my right, looked up, then chuckled. \"Pretty good. What brings you around?\"

\"Oh, just checking my handiwork, that\'s all!\"

I glanced over to see a woman about Reika\'s height standing by the cash register, two metres away from me. Seeing her brownish skin made me blink as a haunting sense of recognition hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks. The shoulder-length blonde hair, which seemed to me so odd to appear on a woman like this, sent my heart into my throat as it dawned on me who this person was. Seeing her eyes, as brown as pure Swiss chocolate, not to mention a finely-sculptured face that hinted at a cultural smorgasbord of ancestors, confirmed it.

She had matured a lot since I last saw her fourteen years ago, but it was her.

Her...

\"Marlenn,\" I whispered...

Marlenn.

God, it was like receiving a back heel kick in the gut.

Save for the fact that she was well over a decade older, she didn\'t truthfully look any different from when I had last really seen her up close. When I was in the hospital recovering from my aborted suicide attempt, having just learned that the knife had badly cut up both my ovaries, damaging the eggs embedded there so much that the chances of my being a mother were essentially nil. When Marlenn\'s parents, who were distant friends of Mama\'s, had brought her to the hospital to make her apologize for the words that had hurt me so badly. When the anger, shame and pain of what those words had done to me, had made ME do to myself, exploded like Mount Saint Helens with an attitude.

When I had wished that she would just die so she wouldn\'t pollute the human race any further with her homophobia.

I wasn\'t ready to see her. Not so damned soon after coming back after fourteen years spent travelling as far from Welland as I could.

I had to go.

Get away from her.

Go somewhere and think.

Go somewhere and cry...

\"Deanna!\"

I stopped, realizing that I had stumbled out of the Retreat, now standing on the street corner. Spinning around, I gaped on seeing Reika standing there, worry etched on her face. \"Reika...\" I blinked, then rubbed my eyes. \"What are you...?\"

\"I came after you,\" she walked up to steady me with an arm. \"Are you alright? What happened?\"

What happened?

Why...?

Why?

\"I...\" I felt my throat choke up, then the energy in my body started to flow out of me. \"Home...\"

\"Deanna...?\"

\"Yes, we are,\" Irene answered. I was quick to see the relieved smile cross her face via the rear-view mirror. \"How did you guess, Deanna?\"

\"Your sister,\" I gave Reika\'s arm a tender squeeze as I relaxed my head on her shoulder. My heart was still going a million kilometres a minute thanks to seeing Marlenn, but the rest of my body was starting to come down from the adrenaline high. \"She telling you to get the car sounded a little too forceful for a normal fembot. I\'ve never met any bi-\'bots -- at least I think I haven\'t -- before, so it was pretty much a wild-ass guess even after that.\" Taking another deep breath as Irene swung into the turn-off lane for the 406 southbound, I looked up into Reika\'s face. \"Does Russ know? Is that why he came to ask me about me becoming your owner of record?\"

\"He does,\" Reika nodded, then leaned up to kiss my forehead. \"Still, he confessed to us that even if we were normal fembots, he would\'ve still come to ask you about becoming our owner, Deanna. Even if you decided never to come back to Welland again, he would\'ve found some way to contact you and helped arrange a meeting between us. That\'s how much he likes and trusts you.\"

I felt my cheeks heat up. \"I guess I\'m lucky,\" I chuckled.

Actually, even now as I reflect on this, I\'m still amazed at how valuable Russ has treated our friendship. With only the occasional postcard from me, sent from whatever far corner of the world I lived in, he had stayed true to his friendship vow of so many years ago.

Hell, if I hadn\'t been so emotionally tied up because of Marlenn, well...

Silence fell as Irene drove the car down the 406 to the East Main turnoff, then headed west for a couple blocks before making a left onto Saint Andrews. Seeing my apartment block, I pointed it out, then Irene stopped the car to let Reika and I off. As Irene moved to park the car, I guided Reika across the street to the main doors. We waited for Irene to catch up to us, then headed inside.

Soon enough, we were inside my apartment. It\'s a simple affair: living room with kitchenette, one bedroom, bathroom. It wasn\'t furnished very much; I had little in the way of furniture to call my own and what I did have either came with the apartment, was borrowed from Master Lily or one of her friends or had been purchased from a second-hand store. \"It\'s cozy,\" Reika commented as we slipped off our shoes -- that was a habit I had acquired when I lived in Korea; no doubt, the girls felt it only proper to do that when visiting someone else\'s home -- then headed into the living room, relaxing on the thick wool rug that covered the space save for the area around my kitchenette.

\"It serves its purpose,\" I admitted as a sense of relief, of safety, started to flood me. I was in my home. Two new beautiful friends -- friends I now knew who were more like me that I had first suspected meeting them on Saturday -- were currently visiting me. The cause of so much of my personal pain and self-doubt was about three kilometres west of me, still chatting it up with Russ no doubt.

I wondered what hap happened to make Russ warm up again to Marlenn. Fourteen years ago, after what happened to me, he refused to have anything to do with her. Then again, fourteen years HAVE passed. No doubt, since he wasn\'t directly involved in what happened, Russ had decided to let bygones be bygones. I couldn\'t begrudge him that, could I? He was still my friend and would remain so. And clearly, given what he wanted to help arrange between Reika, Irene and I, he saw me as his friend. That mattered just as much.

\"Deanna, what did Marlenn do to you?\"

I jolted, surprised by Reika\'s question, then I stared at her. \"How do you know her? Did Russ tell you something?\"

She shook her head. \"I was unaware of what, if any, part Marlenn had concerning whatever happened to you back in high school.\" As I felt my heart start to race again, Reika reached over to hold my hand in a show of comfort. \"Russ hasn\'t spoken openly about that incident, Deanna. Neither have Tom or Jim. They haven\'t betrayed your trust in them, Deanna. Still, I am aware that something awful did happen to you at that time in your life. It\'s what prompted you to leave Welland, go across the country to attend university in Victoria, then go further still around the world. After what I just saw at the Retreat, it was easy for me to conclude Marlenn had something to do with what happened.\"

I stared at her, my heart slowly calming. That shouldn\'t have surprised me, I guess. Robots are remarkably observant when it comes to witnessing human behaviour. Atop that, they are also very discrete. \"You didn\'t answer my first question, Reika.\"

\"She\'s a robot technician now,\" Reika smiled apologetically at me. \"Certainly one of the better ones I\'ve dealt with. In fact, your old public school currently serves as her laboratory, home and workshop. Irene and I\'ve been staying there while we\'ve been working in the peninsula. She offers living space to any travelling free \'bot seeking a place to stay for a short while.\"

My jaw dropped as images of Marlenn acting as Victor von Frankenstein, hovering menacingly over a strapped-down, nude Reika, flashed through my mind. I had to laugh at that. Reika gave me a curious look, then I waved her down. \"God, I never suspected that she\'d end up doing THAT sort of thing!!\" I tried to stifle back my snickers, then sighed. \"Does she help out with the \'bots at the Retreat, too?\"

\"Yes, she does,\" Irene nodded. \"Not to mention many other robots in Welland and Pelham.\"

\"Really?\" I stared at her, then whistled. \"She must be busy.\"

\"She is,\" Irene coned.

Silence fell as that particular item of conversation seemed to loose interest with me. Finally, realizing that I hadnanswanswered Reika\'s original question, I stood up. \"C\'mon,\" I waved my guests with me into the bedroom.

They wordlessly followed me. I nodded for them to sit on my bed -- fortunately, it\'s double-sized, so all three of us could fit onto it quite comfortably -- then moved to undress. Reika and Irene remained silent as I slipped off my shirt and sports bra, then got to work on my slacks. Fortunately for me, I knew of an underwear dealer who could supply me with modified panties that gave me both comfort when it came to my dick, plus a nice fit over my vagina whenever I went through my monthly cycle -- yes, despite the fact that my ovaries are pretty much scar tissue these days, I still go through THAT! As soon as I took those off, I turned to display myself to my guests.

\"Beautiful!\"

That was both Reika and Irene, by the way.

Hearing that made my member twitch as blood started to flow into it. Seeing that, my guests moved to touch it, their fingers feather-soft on its flanks, that contact making me gasp as a welcurgeurge started pounding my loins. I felt my heart start to hammer in my ears as jolts of passion rocked my body from head to toe. It had been a long time since I\'d allowed myself to react without restraint.

Then, without warning, their fingers withdrew from my dick as they stood up. Staring at them, I moved to ask what was wrong. Their only answer was to guide me into sitting on my bed. Once there, Reika turned to the pile of CDs I had beside my player. Scanning the titles, she grinned. \"Good,\" she pulled out one, then slipped into the player.

A flute started off the James Last rendition of Kiminori Nasawa\'s Yosaku as my lovely guests began the most incredible floor show I had ever seen -- and yes, I HAVE seen two \'bot dancers go at it together back in my favourite showclub in Tuscon! As one of my hands began to stroke myself, I watched as Reika slowly pulled Irene\'s skirt and panties -- no doubt, both girls wore bras and panties in response to the \"maintain proper decorum\" command their old owner gave them long ago -- down. In the blink of the proverbial eye, Irene\'s own dick -- damn, hers was as friggin\' big as MINE! -- was out, then quickly filled Reika\'s mouth right to the gorging point. Lucky thing for both of them that they were \'bots; I don\'t know if human strippers or hookers could\'ve done something like THIS for a stage show.

Soon enough, Reika\'s own cock was in the open as they mashed their bodies against each other, swaying perfectly to the base drum, synthesizer and flute as they trailed kisses all over their faces, ears and neck. As the song worked its way to the climax, both shifted themselves so their legs could brush up against mine. Before I knew it, their hands were gently stroking my own dick as they moved to relax to either side of me, gently showering my face with playful kisses. I moaned, then nearly swallowed Irene\'s -- or was it Reika\'s? -- mouth wholesale as they forced me to lay back. As I felt their bodies press against mine, I wrapped my arms around them.

I felt myself collapse on the bed as their lips and tongues began to tickle, suck, lick and caress every square centimetre of my skin. From the area around my ears -- I\'m very sensitive there -- to my breasts, down my flanks, around my navel, then right straight to the promised land. A shudder warped through me as I felt someone\'s lips wrap around my cock, then swallow it wholesale. A gasp escaped me, then I felt one of them -- who was it? -- shift herself to straddle me at the level of my own breasts. Before I could try to make out who it might be, the blunt end of her dick was pressing against my lips. My mouth automatically opened to allow it in. Thankfully, since both Reika and Irene are \'bots, I didn\'t have to worry about things like exhaustion making them collapse on my tits. Being someone who shares both male and female body parts meant that I also could experience the utter joys of being kicked in the nuts or punched in my breasts.

It\'s something I don\'t relish experiencing.

A welcome rush filled my gut as I felt the girl sucking on my dick pick up the pace. I responded automatically by picking it up with the girl straddling my chest. A brief glance up before the torrent of ecstasy overcame me revealed it was Irene trying to feed me her ivory gold. Her eyes brightened as she sensed me looking at her, then a cry burst from her as she exploded. Her dick slipped from my mouth as I gasped for air, synthetic cum splattering my face. I hit the big \"O\" an instant later, Reika swallowing everything my body pumped out...

...but by that point, I really couldn\'t spare any brain cells to notice...

I opened my eyes. Morning light was shining through my bedroom window. Blinking, I soon came to sense the warm bodies pressed to mine on both sides. My arms ached slightly; Reika and Irene were using them as pillows. Both were asleep, though that could change in an instant; they were \'bots after all even if they needed to sleep themselves. It was necessary for them; it gave them a chance to properly sort out the previous day\'s thoughts, pretty much like what humans do when they dream. It was also a way for them project a sense of safety and comfort. After all, would you be able to sleep when you have a beautiful \'bot staying awake, staring at you while you were counting sheep?

Carefully glancing down, I noticed that both had a hand resting on my gut, effectively covering the plastic-like scar that crossed my body a couple centimetres over my pubes. A scar that, even now, still sig signs of the stitches and flesh staples the doctors needed to put me back together fourteen years ago. They were still in \"male\" mode. Their still-erect dicks were now lying against my thighs. And...! Yep. There was my own joystick, fully at attention and ready for more action.

Lying back on my pillow, I stared absently at the ceiling for a moment before my hands drifted up to gently feel my companions\' hair. They shifted slightly in response, their arms drifting up to wrap around the lower end of my rib cage. Neither of them said anything. Either they wanted to get some more sleep or were politely waiting for me to start up a conversation. All \'bots are like that, I guess, even the freed ones. Shuddering, I felt tears wet my eyes as my hands softly pushed their heads closer to my own.

Was THIS what I needed now?

Did I want them, even if they were both freed?

Did I...?

\"Reika? Irene?\"

Both hummed, their eyes opening as they gazed expectantly on me. Staring at one, then the other, I took a deep breath.

\"Do you want me to be your owner?\"

\"Yes,\" both replied in lock-step.

Did I want them?

Did I...?

\"I\'ll do it.\"

\"Thank you.\"

Damn right I did! This might be the only family I\'d ever start.

I took the whole of Wednesday and Thursday off from work so I could give Reika and Irene a personalised tour of the Niagara peninsula. When I told Master Lily about my new companions, she was surprised but pleased -- especially after I told her that my new lovers were bi-gendered robots. After getting a chance to talk to Reika and Irene over the phone, Master Lily insisted that they both come visit the tojang when the opportunity presented itself. As Irene told me later that morning, \"She said \'These days, I look on Deanna as my own daughter. That\'ll make both of you my daughters-in-law when the necessary arrangements are made. It\'s only right for me to get to know my daughters-in-law.\'\"

Hearing that, I cried.

The tour of the area covered all the bases. From the countless tourist ghettos in Niagara Falls to historic Niagara-on-the-Lake, from the local wineries to Welland\'s many murals, from Crystal Beach and Sherkston to the various museums in Saint Catharines and elsewhere. We even got as far as Hamilton on Thursday afternoon. We kept the tour to the daylight hours so that Reika and Irene could get back to the Retreat and the Mansion House to do their shows during the evenings. I suspect Russ would\'ve been willing to let Reika take a couple nights\' off so she could spend even more time with me. Reika wouldn\'t hear anything about it. After all, she wanted to do her best as a freed \'bot stripper. Part of that included honouring what agreements she made with the showclubs she worked in. That was understandable.

To get a chance to learn more about Irene first hand, I spent Wednesday and Thursday nights at the Mansion House, located on Lundy\'s Lane at the edge of the urban part of Niagara Falls. Like the Retreat, the Mansion was a showclub that didn\'t make use of a fembot control network. The same was true of all the other clubs in the Falls, Saint Catharines, Fort Erie, Port Colborne and Welland. Curious as to how that came about, I soon learned from one of the Mansion\'s patrons that Russ Willis, when he opened his doors, had been the first club owner in Ontario to run his business without a control net. It had been touch-and-go for the first couple of years, but as soon as Russ smoothed things out, the Retreat became the hottest club in Niagara. The other clubs had no choice but to follow suit if they didn\'t want to lose customers.

While at the Mansion, I also came to discover that while Irene loves her sister dearly and would never leave her side, she truthfully has come to enjoy working as a solitary act when it comes to strip-dancing. The \"why\" of it is easy enough to understand; in a beauty contest, Reika would win hands down over her \"younger\" sister. Performing by herself, I\'m pleased to admit, Irene\'s more than sexy enough to win the adulation of the crowd at the Mansion. That point was driven home to me on Wednesday night when the Mansion\'s owner, a nice middle-aged man named Dale Perry, came up and told me to take care of Irene when I became her owner. \"A lot of folks here\'d be really put off if Irene got hurt while she was under your care, Ms. Hordye,\" he explained. \"They don\'t want that to happen to their favourite feature dancer.\"

\"I\'ll remember that,\" I assured him...

As we warmed up to each other over those two days, Reika and Irene explained to me why they had come to Welland in the first place.

Part of it was because of my true sexual nature. I am well known among my fellow intersexuals; there are entries on me you can easily find in various Web sites concerning those like me. I should note that such sites are few. Just type my name in any available search engine. No doubt, after Reika and Irene first started hearing about me from Russ and the others, they took the chance to scan the Web and find out more; I do have my own LiveJournal site, after all. Realizing that, I mentally kicked myself for assuming that the girls weren\'t Web-literate.

Further, the fact that Mama and my father never elected to \"correct\" me makes me stand out among that crowd. Of course, what happened to me in high school isn\'t for public consumption; my doctors and the police saw to that. But given what I am, the fact that I\'ve come to accept myself as I am regardless of what others might think of me, makes me very unique. As unique in my way as Reika and Irene are in theirs. I believe I\'ve finally made peace with myself. The incident with Marlenn at the Retreat warned me, however, that I still had some ways to go.

Still, I\'m more than willing to help others like me -- human or \'bot -- come to enjoy that same sense of peace I\'ve long sought.

That was point one.

Then there was a small problem that had the potential to grow into a much bigger problem if Reika and Irene didn\'t obtain a new owner sometime very soon. That stemmed from the reaction of certain parties to Cranston Aldred\'s will, what he had set aside in trust for Reika and Irene. Though I wasn\'t quoted an exact dollar figure when they told me this, it clearly was a large chunk of money. And sure enough, there were some greedy little jerks who wouldn\'t mind it at all if Reika and Irene lost all access to their trust fund. How that could happen, I\'ll leave to your imagination. But the mere threat of it had been enough to force the girls to seek out an out-of-the-way place for them to duck their heads and establish a new life for themselves before trouble came to smash down their front door.

I hate bullies. I became a martial artist in part to ensure that I could help people defend themselves from slimebags like that.

That was point two.

And finally, there came the question of Reika\'s and Irene\'s relationship with each other. Atop being sisters in the human sense, they were also very passionate lovers (as they willingly demonstrated to me every chance they got when we were touring around the peninsula, not to mention during times we slept together in my apartment). They didn\'t want to loose that relationship, a possibility that could become a very ugly reality should two separate would-be owners chanced on them. They wanted one owner and only one. The only way they could bring themselves to accept separate owners was if the owners were a married couple. In this day and age, what were the chances of that happening?

I\'m a romantic at heart. I could tell how much Reika and Irene loved each other. I wanted that to last.

That was point three.

It was enough for me.

\"Irene, can I ask you something?\"

\"What is it, Deanna?\"

It was very early Friday morning, an hour before I had to get myself ready for morning adult classes at the tojang. Reika was busy in the kitchen preparing breakfast; Irene had done it the previous morning. Atop being great lovers and superb dancers, they were excellent cooks. That didn\'t seem so surprising to me; Reika and Irene were built with digestive tracts that allowed them to absorb extra energy from whatever they ate. I wondered what else I would be discovering about them over the following days, months and years. \"Doesn\'t it bother you?\"

\"Deanna, can you please be more precise when you ask me a question?\" she teased.

I sighed, reminding myself yet again that this lovely woman lying beside me was a robot. Be precise, be precise, be precise...! \"I mean, about you and Reika, how plain you look compared to her? Is there some way to make you look just as good as she is?\"

\"Don\'t you think I\'m beautiful?\" she coyly mused.

\"Of course I do, but still...!\"

She placed a finger on my lips. \"Hush,\" she whispered, drawing her hand back. \"Yes, I suppose I could get some sort of cosmetic surgery to enhance my breasts and looks, make me equal to Reika in every way. I could easily go all the way to having my mind transferred into a new body, but \'bots prefer to avoid undergoing something like that. Then again, don\'t humans say \'beauty\'s in the eye of the beholder?\'\"

\"Well, y-yeah, they do...\"

A finger yet again to my lips to cut off my words. \"Well, to me, the most important beholder of my beauty is myself. And I very much like the way I am,\" she smiled, drawing her hand back to lean on her palm. \"And yes, when Reika and I work together, she draws the lion\'s share of tips and private dances. But I don\'t mind that, Deanna. I never will. Even if we work together, Reika and I still earn money, which helps us survive. Every dollar we earn helps us. Does it really matter who earns it in the long run?\" She paused as if to consider what else to say, then shifted herself to stretch an arm around me. \"I don\'t let my \'lack\' of looks compared to Reika get in the way of the important things. Why do you think I prefer to work solo? I earn more money that way. That helps us both.\"

I considered that for a moment, then reached around her to draw her in for a kiss. \"That\'s true, I guess.\"

We gazed into each other\'s eyes for a moment, then she reached down to stroke my gut. \"Besides, why are you asking me about my looks?\" Irene grinned. \"If you cared so much about people\'s looks, why haven\'t you done something about this?\" she tapped my scar.

\"It\'s just cosmetic surgery, for Heaven\'s sake...\" I sharply replied, then caught myself as it dawned on me what Irene was driving at. \"Touche,\" I chuckled, shifting myself onto my side so we could hug each other under the covers. \"There are times I have been tempted to be rid of this. It\'s easy to do in the long run. But...\" I closed my eyes. \"I guess there are also times I need to be reminded of what I once had, what I lost. Not just for me, but for others like me. There are many more like me out there than what might be hinted at on the Net. One of them, I got to know very well when I was going to university; she\'s a Dineeh from Arizona...\"

\"\'Dineeh?\'\" Irene blinked confusedly.

\"You\'d probably know her people by the name \'Navaho.\'\"

\"Ah,\" she nodded. \"Is she mentioned anywhere on the Net?\"

\"No. The Dineeh consider it impolite to brag about anything others might become jealous at. In her own culture, being born a herm means Christina -- that\'s her name, Christina Tokachi -- is seen as doubly-blessed because she has both a man\'s and a woman\'s spirit.\"

\"So being what she is could be interpreted as some as a potential threat because she spiritually has \'more\' than her fellow Dineeh?\"

\"Yeah,\" I nodded. \"While I was wandering around, I always kept my eye out for other intersexuals. Be as much of a big sister to them as I could given what their native culture demanded of them, too. I\'ll still do that even living here in Welland. But there are times...\"

\ nee need to have a big sister of your own?\"

I pauses for a moment, then nodded. \"Yeah.\"

Irene stared at me, then leaned in to give me a long, warm kiss. We held each other close, not wanting to move from that position, for what seemed an eternity -- that is, until Reika peeked into the bedroom. \"Breakfast is ready,\" she announced.

\"I\'ll do it.\"

Reika and Irene looked at me. \"Do what?\" the former asked.

I closed my eyes. Be precise, you idiot! \"I\'ll be your owner. If you\'ll have me.\"

Smiles crossed both their faces. \"Let it be done,\" Irene leaned up to kiss my forehead...

With the decision made, things happened very quickly.

The following Monday, one of Cranston Aldred\'s legal assistants, a woman named Cora Crispin, flew in from San Francisco to handle the official turnover of ownership, which had fallen into her lap on Cranston\'s death. After a brief getting acquainted session at the tojang between Cora, Master Lily and myself, Reika and Irene were brought in. Both were demurely dressed in designer slacks and ruffled blouses. One glance at their crotches told me right away that both were in \"male\" mode.

When we were lying together in bed the previous night, I admitted that if I had the right to do so, I\'d want to make one small change to the command Cranston gave them. That while they were out in public beyond the limits of a showclub, that both would physically emulate what I had to live with 24/7. Deep down, I envied their ability to \"sheathe it,\" something I could never do.

Reika and Irene made no comment about that immediately afterward, but by appearing as they did in the tojang\'s main training room, I realized that they were willing to give this new behavioural pattern a try.

Master Lily assumed her place at the head of the training room, then beckoned Cora to place herself across from her. I sat to Lily\'s left, then Reika and Irene sat down across from me. Once that was done, Cora drew out two small sheets of paper, handing them to me. On them were written the girls\' names, the phrase activation code, plus a string of letters and numbers. Once that was done, Cora reached under her blouse to draw out two tiny silver necklaces. Noting the beautifully scripted \"R\" and \"I\" on each of them, framed on both sides with small stud buttons -- the left marked with \"A,\" the right with \"C\" -- I was quick to recognize the pendants for what they truly were.

Realizing that, I had to wonder:

Had Cora kept the remotes with her since Cranston died?

Or had the girls kept them with them, only giving Cora access to them just for this ceremony?

Cora then drew out two more slips of paper from her pants pocket, then holding up Reika\'s remote, read off what was written there while pressing her Command button. Reika\'s body locked up for a second before her eyes closed, her head drooping slightly towards the floor. Handing me the remote, Cora then repeated the procedure with Irene and her remote. Once that was in my hands, I glanced down at the sheets with their activation codes written there. I took a deep breath before palming their remotes in my hands.

No backing away now.

I touched the \"A\" button on Irene\'s remote. Her eyes snapped open as she gazed my way. \"Activation code?\" she asked in a flat monotone.

I read off the code. \"Code input acknowledged and accepted,\" Irene reported. \"New owner of record identification?\"

I gave Irene my full name and place of birth, plus my social insurance number. Her finger pointed at me. \"You are Deanna Sophia Hordye, born in the city municipality of Welland, regional municipality of Niagara, province of Ontario, the Dominion of Canada?\"

\"I am she,\" I nodded. Giving the full names of all the political elements of where I live would ensure that Reika and Irene would now be willing to subject themselves to the laws of Canada and Ontario, not the United States or California.

\"Continue or reinitialize?\"

\"Continue.\"

\"Please activate this unit\'s sister unit to complete joint transfer of ownership.\"

With that, I pressed Reika\'s \"A\" button, then repeated what I had just done with Irene. Once she had caught up with her sister program-wise, both then asked in lock-step, \"Confirm choices.\"

\"All choices confirmed,\" I nodded.

Silence fell for a moment as their minds quickly clicked back into gear, then brilliant smiles crossed their faces as they turned to each other. One very passionate kiss later, both then turned to face Master Lily. Giving her a kneeling kyoung\'ye as I\'d taught them, they then asked -- to my surprise, in perfect Korean! -- \"Kyoulhon\'eul hourak\'anda?\" before looking once more at Lily. May we have your blessing?

\"Kamsadeurimnida,\" Lily nodded in return, smiling. I appreciate your asking.

With that, both turned to face me again. I nodded my own thanks to Lily, then touched the girls\' \"C\" buttons with my thumbs. \" the these with you at all times,\" I ordered them before pulling my fingers away from the studs. That having been done, I quickly slung the pendants around their necks before being bowled over by an embrace from a pair of very happy young women...

We spent the rest of the week enjoying a semi-honeymoon. My teaching duties at the tojang were limited to evening classes while Reika and Irene temporarily cut back on their shows at the Retreat and the Mansion, with the full blessings of both Russ Willis and Dale Perry. As an extra show of thanks for my giving my lovers a renewed sense of security, I was awarded \"comped\" -- complimentary -- drinks at either establishment whenever Reika and Irene were performing there. That was soon extended to every showclub in the peninsula as soon as the news got around. Of course, since I always stuck to soft drinks, the potentioss oss of revenue wouldn\'t hurt anyone too much.

Our days were spent getting a new apartment, since my current one was way too small for three people, even if we did share a bedroom. By Tuesday, Reika -- with the help of Cora Crispin, who stayed in town to ensure her former charges were fully settled in -- obtained the lease to one of the apartments in the very building Mama spent her last years in. That was located on Denistoun Street west of the old Canal, no more than five minutes\' walk from the Retreat. Even better, we got an apartment with a view of the canal, which sure beat out looking at some low rent housing across the street. Once I had my stuff moved over on Wednesday, we went furniture shopping at the local Ikea store.

First item we needed: a queen-sized bed.

After all, you just never know...