Pretty Kitty Petshop

Kitty
Updated Location: Some kind of storeroom?

You detect shiny.

You must have the shiny.

You open the box to find it is indeed a very high-quality shiny.  A green orb.  The glow fades when you touch it, as if it was just trying to attract you.  But it is still shiny and pretty.  And it feels like it's yours.

You notice a simple wooden door with a glass window a few feet to the side.


Awkward continues to sleep.

Kitty

You absorb the orb into your body and turn to pick up Awkward's box.  I mean, it's a box.  Of course you want it.  Awkward's just a bonus.  It's a bit heavy, but you manage to pick it up and carry it out of the storeroom.

You find yourself in some kind of store.  You check the immediate area.  The room you came out of is labelled 'Inventory - Staff Only.'  There's a metal door nearby marked 'Break Room - Staff Only.'  Several shelves filled with bags of pet food obscure your vision to the front of the store.  Signs hanging from the ceiling help mark what's around.  You're currently in the 'supplies' section.  You can see two sections marked 'large pets' and 'small pets and birds,' as well as 'checkout.'  A wide aisle a few yards away looks like it leads to the front of the store.  On the back wall on the far side of the main aisle, you notice a pair of bathrooms as well as two people.

One of the people is a white-haired man wearing a black cloak and heavy leather boots.  A pair of pointy ears poke out from the top of his head and a white, poofy fox-tail pokes out from his butt.  He's currently leaning on the wall next to a person-sized display, reading a book and clearly slacking off.  He's wearing a blue apron labelled 'Pretty Kitty Petshop.'

Updated Location: Pretty Kitty Petshop

The other person is standing inside the display case, which also contains all the things you'd expect to see in a rabbit's hutch, like a hanging water bottle.  A label at the bottom says 'Elysia.'  She's a tall, lithe woman with curly, blue hair and long rabbit ears that are currently drawn back against her back.  She seems to be screaming.   As she violently punches.  An unending stream of lightening-fast punches against the plexiglass.  A few cracks are starting to form on the surface.

The employee reading the book glances over and lowers his book for a moment.  He pulls out a roll of duct tape and shoddily covers some of the larger cracks, then goes back to reading.

Kitty

You un-absorb the orb and stick it in your pocket.  You feel it being sucked into your thigh...  It looks like it just does that anytime you aren't using it.  You walk over to the glass, set Boxward down, and wave.  "Hi."

The bunnygirl stops punching for a moment.  "Let me out of here!"  Her voice sounds distant.  The glass must be, like... sound-resistant.  Makes sense, considering the punching.

The fox guy glances out of the corner of his eye, then jolts and hurriedly tucks his book away.  "Hello.  You're a new employee?"  He seems to be staring down at the still-sleeping Awkward.

You seem to be in the small pet area.  Looking around, this bunnygirl isn't the only humanoid animal-person in a display.

There's a brown-scaled snake-woman labeled "Sarasahla."  She has a pretty red-and-black diamond pattern running down her back.

An empty-looking display box labeled "Mech."  You notice something with purple scales tucked away under a wooden house-thing.

A wire-frame cage labeled "Sonja" is sitting out on the floor.  A black-haired female with black bird wings jutting out of her back, dressed in a nightgown, is perched on a swing.  She opens an eye and glances at you, then goes back to sleep.

An empty box is sitting by itself away from anything else.  No, it's not empty.  There's something very small inside, you can barely see it.  The box is labeled "General Pik Pik."

Kitty

"It's a pet store?" the fox guy answers.  "Wait, are you not a new employee?  Did you just take that Awkward from the back room!?  ...Eh, whatever.  I'm not paid enough to care.  You saved me the trouble of getting it out and sticking it in its case.  Just take it up to the cashier and lie that I got it for you."

"This isn't a pet shop, it's...  I don't even know what this is!" the bunny yells.

"It's a travesty is what it is!"  You turn to see a blonde-haired young woman.  A totally normal human in a black skin-tight suit and mask standing on top of the Sonja cage.  Sonja looks up at her, then goes back to sleep.

The fox groans.  "You again?  Just... go away."

"Nyaaa-ha-ha!  Never!  I, the great Black Cat, shall dismantle your little shop of horrors!"  She leaps from the cage, deftly kicks off the wall, lands on a high shelf, and it collapses beneath her.  She squeaks and falls to the ground, buried under an avalanche of pet food.  "...Ow."  She passes out.

"Ugh.  Now I'm gonna have to clean that up..."

Whenever you look at the woman, your head... throbs.  Something about her is very wrong.  She's covered in this thick red static or something.  Every time you try to look at her, your brain buzzes and your vision skews.

Kitty

You pull out your orb and examine her code. She has definitely been edited. Very edited. To the point her original form is almost entirely corrupted.

You could fix it while she's asleep, but...

Kitty

You try reverting all changes on this mysterious Black Cat.

About the only thing that doesn't change is her hair color.  Her haircut changes, she shrinks a few inches, her physique shifts slightly.  Her outfit changes from a skin-tight black outfit to a pretty white sundress with a floppy, floral hit and sandals.  Her eyes flutter open and she looks around groggily.  She sees Sonja, then Elysia, then you and the fox.  And she whimpers nervously.  "Where...?"

"Illusion magic...?" the fox asks.  "Well, whatever.  Hey, do you mind helping me toss her in one of the displays?  The boss said to try to catch her.  Not that I really care, but I'll get in trouble if anyone finds out.  I don't want to end up in a cage myself."

"C-cages?  What...  What is this place!?" she squeaks as she looks around.  "Y-y-you'll...  I w-won't go quietly!" she yells.  She pulls out an umbrella and points it at the fox.  She doesn't look particularly threatening, on the ground and still half-buried in kibble.

"Ugh...  Please just go quietly?" the fox asks.  He pulls out a knife and takes a fighting stance.