DarkFoxKit: Alright, another chapter, another update. Though it's been pretty quiet. I don't blame people for giving up on this story though, but hopefully someone will say something soon that isn't a bot or just yelling at us to review their story. We write and post stories so people can read and enjoy it, not so people can tell us to review their story.
Darkzdragon: It seems like bots are everywhere these days. To those actually reading, thank you for your patience and we hope you enjoy the story.
DarkFoxKit: And unfortunately we don't have much else to work with, so we'll let you guys get into the story now.
Chapter 8: Uneasy Feelings
I wonder what got Juliette so spooked? It looked like she was staring at the lockers intensely about something. Her emotions were going all over the place… Echo heard Danny thinking in concern as they watched Juliette walk off to the Nurse's Office. I wonder what she was thinking about that would make her growl like she did…?
"Yeah, that would be me, her 'imaginary friend'," Echo commented in slight amusement.
Danny gave a small, suspicious glance at Tom. Did he do something that might've caused the sudden intense mental breakdown in Juliette? Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all...
"Please come in and take a seat, Danny," Tom politely instructed.
Danny was trying to decide whether or not he should risk going into Tom's office or bolt it. Weighing the two options, Danny decided he didn't want to deal with the consequences of ditching his appointment with Tom without a good reason to back it up. So, with a reluctant sigh, Danny walked into Tom's office. Echo followed after Danny, wanting to see how this would turn out.
Danny hesitantly sat down on the couch, while Tom sat in the armchair, holding his notebook and pen.
Windows are closed, and the door is closed. Not much of an escape option in case this guy turns out to be a hostile ghost… Danny inwardly frowned.
"You can relax, Danny," Tom chuckled. "No need to try and look for an escape route. I'm just here to talk to you about your reluctance to do your kink class homework."
"I wasn't looking for an escape route." Danny frowned. Was I that obvious or can he read my mind?
"Both," Echo replied.
"I will give you an option," Tom began. "Would you rather play the long game where you hold off as long as possible until I find out why you won't do the homework? Or would you rather take the easy route by simply telling me what problems you are having with your kink class homework?"
"I don't mind sharing. I've already made my feelings pretty loud and obvious about it with everyone else," Danny grumbled. But I'm keeping an eye on you. "I have tried KinkQuest a few times, well actually, several times since Sam keeps making me do it whenever she visits. But I just can't get into it, nor can I understand the appeal of it. I just feel weird and dirty."
"Tell me, what kinks have you tried so far?" Tom asked. "You don't need to reveal any specific details besides the names of the kinks."
"I don't remember every single one at the top of my head," Danny admitted. "But the ones I do remember are rope bondage, pet play, light torture, whipping, wax and latex stuff… vore…"
"What kind of vore specifically?" Tom questioned in response.
"Uh… the uh… soft kind? The one where someone gets swallowed alive?" Danny answered in a questioning tone.
"I meant were you the predator or the prey?" Tom clarified.
"Oh, I was the prey," Danny responded.
"I think I may already see a possible reason you are having trouble, Danny," Tom commented. "All those kinks you've tried so far are submissive kinks. You haven't tried a single kink where you are the one in charge, have you? Where you are the dominating party."
"What? Oh…" Danny frowned a little. "I… usually avoided those."
"Why did you avoid those?" Tom inquired, writing down on his notepad.
"Because I didn't want to do that to someone, it just seems cruel. And I think I'm more of a submissive kind of person, look at how I'm treated in school, not a very dominating type," Danny pointed out.
"While you may feel submissive in real life, that doesn't mean you want to be submissive," Tom reasoned. "When indulging in kinks, one tends to go for what they most want but can't have. In your case, you might actually have a more dominating kink because of how your real life is."
"I doubt it," Danny grumbled. "I don't particularly feel like whipping someone, or tying them up."
"Those are specific dominating kinks, Danny," Tom remarked. "Tonight, when you get home, I would like it if you logged onto KinkQuest again and tried one of the kinks you first tried. But this time, I would like for you to choose the dominating role instead of the submissive role. Instead of being the pet, make someone else your pet. Or perhaps bind someone up. If those don't work for you, try a different random dominating kink. I have a feeling you will have a much better time with a dominating role than a submissive role. And who knows, if you find a dominating kink in KinkQuest, it could help you in real life."
Echo gave a thoughtful look at Danny. "Danny thinks he's submissive? How interesting. Whenever I see him, I feel like he's more the dominating type. Especially when he's confident, and in his ghost form. I mean he can be submissive, but really… he just seems more like a dominating type."
Danny seemed to be thinking as well, but gave a sigh. "I don't know. I'd feel bad, even if it's just virtual AI…"
"You might not, Danny," Tom replied. "If you start feeling uncomfortable at any point, either switch kinks or log out and take a break before going back to it."
"If you think it'll help, I guess… I mean, I've got nothing to lose, I suppose," Danny hesitantly replied. "I do want to pass this class at the very least."
"You might end up liking this class after tonight, Danny." Tom smiled. "At least, I hope you will. I hate to see students struggling or hating any class."
"I'll try, but I can't make any promises," Danny sighed. "I don't know, maybe I just don't have a kink…"
Tom chuckled a little at that. "Trust me, Danny, everyone has a kink. I'm sure even non-kink gods and goddesses have kinks."
Danny huffed a little. Maybe I don't want to know what mine are. Especially if I end up wanting to hurt someone just to indulge it.
Echo gave a small smile at Danny, though he knew that this was something Danny had to come to terms with himself. It was why he didn't want to get Juliette involved.
"Though there is a slight chance Juliette might get involved anyways…" Echo noted to himself.
"Is there anything else you would like to talk about while you're here, Danny?" Tom questioned. "I can't help but notice that you seem to be on extreme edge. You also seem to be remarkably stressed out for even a teenager in high school."
"I'm not stressed out more than anyone else is…" Danny lied. "I just… have to watch out… for myself and my friends. We're not exactly well liked."
"I'd prefer it if you didn't lie to me, Danny," Tom remarked in a disappointed tone. "I'd like for there to be trust between me and the students. Especially after the last counselor turned out to be an emotion sucking vampire of a ghost."
"Well, maybe that's why I'm on edge on the time!" Danny exploded. "We always get attacked by ghosts, people always panic and run around like headless chickens, when they should be getting out or stay out of the way, and most people have no way to defend themselves when it happens. Heck, most of the time there are ghosts among us, and people don't notice them until it's too late. Like with Spectra. Jazz almost died because of her!"
Tom closed his notepad and put it down on a table next to him. "Why is it causing you more stress and anxiety than the rest of the school then? I can see it in your eyes that you have put quite a lot of weight on yourself. And before you jump to conclusions, no it isn't because I have a special magical power, it's because I've been in the field of therapy for decades."
"I just… feel like it's my responsibility to try to get everyone to safety…" Danny hesitated, feeling a bit calmer after his explosion.
"It's unhealthy to put all that pressure on yourself, Danny," Tom commented, a look of concern on his face. "Even heroes like Batman or Iron Man or Danny Phantom would be crushed under that kind of stress. And no matter how hard you try to save everyone or get everyone to safety, Danny, you will eventually fail once. And when that happens, all that weight you've put on yourself will come crashing down on you."
Danny didn't respond to that.
"I wonder if he knows what happened to Asriel…" Echo frowned.
"If you don't mind, I would like to schedule weekly appointments with you, Danny," Tom stated. "I want to help take some of that weight off of you so you are able to be actually healthy and happy."
"What? I don't need more appointments," Danny argued. "I'm doing just fine." I don't want another Spectra incident.
"I understand, Danny." Tom nodded. "I won't force you to attend any more sessions. I will leave the offer on the table if you ever want to or feel like you need to come see me."
Danny huffed a little. "If we're done, can I go now?"
"If you would like to leave, you can," Tom replied, holding a hand out towards the door. "But if you do leave now, you will have to go to your study hall room as there are still 10 minutes left in this period."
"That's fine by me," Danny replied before he walked out of the office.
Echo looked at Tom, who gave a small sigh of his own.
"Working with Danny might be a little tougher than I thought. After all, his nature does resist my voice more than non-ghosts would," Tom muttered to himself. "But hopefully I can get through to the child."
"Heh… you might, you might not. I'll leave that one up to fate," Echo commented.
I really want to help him. Tom thought to himself. After all, he has done so much good for ghostkind.
"Yeah, just about everyone wants to help Danny in some way, well, at least the ones not trying to hunt him," Echo chuckled, but gave a sigh. "Really wish Danielle could've stayed, she could've helped with a lot of his stress and burden."
Echo walked through the door, following Danny down the hall towards the library, where Danny normally went for study hall.
I'm not paranoid… Juliette muttered to herself as she laid on one of the beds in the Nurse's Office.
"But you can't live life on paranoia like that. If you keep thinking that everything that can go wrong will go wrong, you are inviting the worst of the Void Creatures to come!" Echo's voice rang out in her mind.
Am… I really inviting in the stronger Void Creatures by thinking how I was thinking…? Juliette inwardly questioned. I know that negative emotions tend to attract Void Creatures… but… I didn't think that applied to me… I thought it only mattered to regular people…
Juliette decided to do a little self reflection. She thought back to all those times those hordes of Void Creatures came, and when the stronger, scarier Void Creatures arrived. Juliette thought back on what she had been feeling just before their arrival. She remembered talking to some people, she grew to like them, and she wanted to protect them from herself. The more she grew to like the people, the more worried and scared she was of the Void Creatures coming to destroy them. Then one day, it all happened. The Void Creatures came in large packs, stronger ones came when Juliette started panicking and screaming for the people to get away. Then… it showed up, and the town was completely wiped out.
Huh… so yet again… it's my fault… Juliette thought coldly. Because of how I felt… how I worried… I killed all of those people… all 58,129 citizens of Varidous…
Juliette began to think maybe everyone would be safe if she just disappeared.
"It's impossible for it to be completely safe, Juliette. You have to relax, and believe in the people you've come to know and trust to help you." Echo's voice rang in her head again.
Maybe in this world… but perhaps… I should go to another realm… Juliette pondered. Nobody on Earth could get hurt if I wasn't on Earth… But then I wouldn't be able to save Echo.
"Pushing away the people who care about you, would only lead you to a life of misery and loneliness." Echo's voice continued.
Yeah yeah… Juliette softly grumbled. I get that… but… I can't help but worry. It's a part of who I am… and right now, the only ones who can face Void Creatures are Echo, me, and all the gods and goddesses that hunt Void Creatures. I just don't think that we're ever going to be enough...
"If you think you can't handle it, then I ask you to trust in me. You wanted me to trust you to free me from the Void, so I want you to trust me to handle the Void Creatures that are here. Stop worrying about the big, scary Void Creatures out there, okay?" Echo's voice echoed in her mind.
I… don't know if I can stop worrying… Juliette sighed.
"You don't have to face them alone. I can help, but only if you let me," Echo's voice said.
Although Echo hadn't said that to Juliette exactly, she knew that was what he was implying.
I… don't want to face them alone, but Echo can't do it either. Juliette thought. There are only the two of us, and who knows how many Void Creatures will come… Not to mention, once I succeed in getting Echo out of the Void, he wouldn't be able to help me much anymore, as the living can't interact with Void Creatures themselves.
"I will find some help to protect this town from Void Creatures," Echo's voice reminded.
Juliette groaned a little. Okay… maybe Echo is right in saying that I'm crazy. I may legitimately be losing my mind at this point because I'm arguing against a past conversation…
"Ms. Rosescale, your temperature is low, but not dangerously so," The nurse, who was a chienthrope antelope, she had a pair of horns on her head, some red fur on her arms and neck, and a fluffy tail on her backside. "You don't seem to be experiencing any physical illness. Perhaps it's exhaustion or the case of the nerves. How do you feel right now?"
"I'm feeling a little tired… but I think I can make it to my last class of the day," Juliette answered as she sat up a little. "Though I also do feel a bit of a knot in my stomach, but that's mostly due to emotions."
"I see… well, perhaps after you finish your last class of the day, you should talk to your mother about setting up another appointment with Mr. Carbon," The nurse suggested. "He's supposed to help the students with their emotions and stress after all."
Juliette gave a thoughtful look. "I'll consider it. For now though, am I clear to start heading to the last class of the day?"
"Yes, of course, if you feel up to it, you may head to your last class of the day," The nurse answered. "Just don't push yourself."
"Yes, ma'am," Juliette answered as she stood up.
Juliette made it to Anise's classroom just before the first bell rang. Everyone was coming in as Juliette took her seat.
"Ah, Juliette, I'm glad you're well enough to come to class," Anise greeted happily. "When everyone takes their seats, we'll get started."
Danny sat down on the desk beside Juliette, looking a little annoyed about something. Echo sat down in his spot between Danny and Juliette.
"How did that talk with Mr. Carbon go?" Sam asked Danny and Juliette in concern. "Both of you kind of look a little… on edge after your appointments."
"I'm not on edge because of my appointment," Juliette answered. "My mind is on something else."
"Are you okay?" Danny, despite his annoyance, asked Juliette in concern.
"Yeah…" Juliette nodded. "It's something I'm personally dealing with." With you, Echo.
"Me?" Echo frowned. "What did I do?"
"Well, at least you don't seem to be miserable and irritable… sort of, so maybe Mr. Carbon isn't another Spectra," Tucker said with a small chuckle, trying to be positive.
"Hard to say, Tucker, there's something weird about Mr. Carbon, but I can't put my finger on it…" Danny remarked. "I mean I ended up saying way more than I should've to him."
Let's just say that I'm now more than crazy in one way and I think perhaps we should possibly go for a field trip at some point and see if there are any other Void Walkers around who I can possibly teach… Juliette explained to Echo. You and I can't take on Void Creatures alone, but if we can find some Void Walkers who I can teach, then we won't be alone.
Echo blinked a few times, before realization hit him. "Oh, I see. My words actually got through to you, somewhat. At least the 'looking for more help' part did. You know, I actually did see a massive Void Creature once, when Pariah Dark, the Ghost King, invaded Amity Park. There were enough negative emotions, from both the living and the dead, to attract all sorts of Void Creatures. I knew I couldn't handle them on my own, so I had to hide for most of the time. Then there was this big one… this huge, colossal Void Creature. I can't really describe it, it was so big that all I could see was the body of the Void Creature in the sky, hovering over the city when it got pulled into the Ghost Zone. It was like the mother of all Void Creatures."
Sounds like you saw a Garganta. Juliette commented. Not bad… but still not the worst. Be lucky you've never seen a Colossus… they could easily wipe out an entire town with one attack.
"As in have an entire town worth of people commit suicide at once?" Echo raised an eyebrow.
Nope. When a Colossus attacks, instead of influencing people, it can just kill people. Its attack causes people's bodies to stop functioning; their hearts, brains, nervous systems, everything. And while the souls are leaving their bodies, they are instantly corrupted. Juliette explained.
That doesn't sound like a Void Creature, that sounds more like an amalgamate of destruction. Echo thought to himself.
It's a Void Creature that has only formed… 3 times in the past two years. Juliette informed. And each time one forms, the Void Hunter gods and goddesses all team up to destroy it. From what is understood, only one Colossus can exist at a time and they don't naturally appear. They are… essentially the fusion of millions of Void Creatures.
"So I wasn't too far off on my guess… So what about the Garganta?" Echo asked curiously, looking more interested than scared like Juliette thought he would be.
What about them do you want to know? Juliette asked in response.
"The one I saw didn't seem to do anything but hover over the city. It stayed there until Danny defeated the Ghost King, and Amity Park was brought back to this plane of existence. I thought it would've tried to take out as many people as it could while it was here, but it just kind of… floated there, and then disappeared," Echo explained. "What exactly does a Garganta do?"
Not much, surprisingly. Juliette replied. For some reason, Garganta are passive. They seem to only feed off what is there and not try to influence anything itself. They are essentially the blue whale of Void Creatures.
"Wow, really? It sounds more like a Void Spirit than a Void Creature," Echo chuckled.
Except it still feeds off of misery and all those emotions. Juliette noted.
"Yeah, but so do ghosts." Echo shrugged.
"-'re really going to try the dominating option now?" Sam asked, surprised, catching Juliette's attention. "I've been trying to get you to try that out for the past week."
"I'd rather not," Danny huffed. "But Mr. Carbon said that I have to at least try. I do want to pass this class, and I can't do that if I can't get into the whole kink thing."
"Any idea for what you're going to try?" Tucker asked.
"Mr. Carbon suggested I try some of the kinks I tried before but in the opposite role," Danny answered. "And… I guess that makes sense."
"Good, about time someone got through your thick skull," Sam remarked. "Be sure to tell us all about it when you're done."
"You seem way too excited about this, Sam," Danny groaned.
I wonder why~ Juliette inwardly giggled before she gave a tiny yawn. I hope I'm not tired throughout my shift today… Oh right, today is the day I get my uniform if I remember. I wonder what it is?
"Maybe you could ask for some caffeine… or maybe… can kitsunes get re-energized by feeding off of Wisps like ghosts do? Or is that just a ghost thing?" Echo questioned.
I can get energy, but I'd rather not… Juliette replied. If I have to, I'll see if the break room has a coffee make or something.
"You seem to rather not do a lot of things," Echo pointed out. "I guess that's natural though. I wouldn't want to feed off of a Wisp either, not that I could."
The final bell rang, and it was finally time to leave. Anise had been rather tame today, likely because she wanted to wait until her entire class found a kink they liked before she really taught them the 'good stuff'.
"See you later, everyone," Juliette said as she headed for the door. "I've got stuff I have to go do."
"Okay, we'll see you later then," Tucker waved.
"Be sure to have fun, and don't be afraid to let yourself go~" Sam teased.
Both Juliette and Danny groaned at that.
"Sam, please, you're making me feel more self conscious about the whole thing when you say stuff like that," Danny grumbled.
"I'll check up on you at PetSmart later, Juliette," Echo promised. "I just need to make sure Fenton Works is completely safe right now."
Juliette gave a tiny nod as she headed out of the classroom, heading for her locker to store away all her books that she didn't need for homework.
When Juliette got everything she didn't need out of her book bag, she closed the locker and started to walk down the hallway. But as she walked, she was walking past a girl with long black hair, who took notice of her. She had a blonde haired girl chatting with her, and she stopped too when the black haired girl did.
They're Paulina and Star if I remember right… Julietted noted herself. Surprised Paulina finally took off that latex outfit.
"You… you're that Kitsune Rosescale girl, aren't you?" Paulina asked.
"Yes, I am," Juliette confirmed. "My name is Juliette, it's a pleasure to officially meet you, Paulina. I'm honestly a bit honored that you would take the time to talk to me, considering you're the most popular girl in school." For now… At least until I get rid of the whole listing system.
"Well, I am the top girl in school," Paulina agreed. "But I am wondering about you. I'm a bit surprised that you weren't into your mother's kink class as much as I thought you'd be. Considering you showed up on the first day of school in a leather suit."
"Ahh, well the leather suit is because my mom 'forgot' to unpack other clothes for me," Juliette explained. "And I'm not really into kinks because my mom has always tried to push hard and it makes it hard for me to actually try to enjoy any of it."
"Wow, that's quite a bummer, you seemed like you'd be a lot of fun," Paulina remarked.
"So why do you hang out with the outcasts anyways?" Star spoke up. "It seems kind of weird that you'd choose to hang out with them out of everyone in the school."
"I hang out with them because they were the first people to approach me on my first day," Juliette informed. "I'd definitely like to make new friends wherever possible. Oh, Paulina and Star, can I ask a question, since you two probably know everyone in the school?"
"Hmm?" Star gave a curious look.
"I suppose since we're here, we might as well answer whatever question you have," Paulina sighed like she was bored. "What is it?
"Is there anyone who goes here who is named Andy Fenton?" Juliette asked, wanting to see how Paulina and Star reacted.
Both Paulina and Star stared at Juliette.
"Andy Fenton…? You mean Danny Fenton, right?" Star questioned.
"No," Juliette responded. "I thought there was a kid named Andy Fenton who was the twin brother of Danny… perhaps his name is Andrew?"
"Danny doesn't have a twin brother," Star pointed out. "He has an older sister."
Paulina hadn't said anything, but she looked to be deep in thought.
Juliette frowned, looking like she was in deep thought. "I guess that person was lying to me then…"
"Hold on… that name does ring a bell," Paulina spoke up suddenly, surprising Star.
"What? Paulina, are you okay? There's nobody named Andy Fenton. Danny and Jazz are the only Fentons who come to this school," Star pointed out.
Paulina frowned. "I… remember someone named Andy, I don't remember if his last name was Fenton. But he did annoy me a lot, always insulting me, and arguing with me. Though I suppose I could respect that he hasn't fallen for me like every other boy, but still, why doesn't he?"
Star frowned more as Paulina went on. "What boy ever had the gall to do that?"
"I think he moved away or something," Paulina remarked. "Probably regretted his choice to insult me and felt it would be best to move."
"So there was someone named Andy but they weren't a Fenton… okay," Juliette acknowledged. "By the way, Paulina, that latex outfit you had on all of last week was quite beautiful. It was cool how you added those pink and white tiger stripes to it throughout the week. While I might not be into kinks myself, I can still admire them." Hopefully this makes her feel a bit better and perhaps doesn't cause her to hate me or whatever for making her remember Andy.
"Oh?" Paulina looked a little more happy at that compliment. "Why thank you, I of course always wanted to add my own extra touch to the latex outfit. Especially if it would get Phantom to notice me."
"Maybe if you added a golden or silver P to the center of the chest of the latex outfit like the D on Phantom's hazmat suit?" Juliette suggested, trying to build up a good relationship with Paulina.
"Oooh, even better! I should do that as soon as I get home!" Paulina smiled.
"I suggested that before…" Star grumbled.
Paulina then looked at Juliette. "Wait, why were you asking about some kid who moved away a long time ago?"
"I heard that I was to avoid him," Juliette answered. "I was under the impression he still attended this school."
"Avoid him? Why? Is he dangerous?" Star asked in worry. "Is that why none of us remember him? Was he a spy for the government? Maybe part of the Guys in White agency?"
"That… could explain his attitude and why he randomly disappeared," Paulina considered. "Perhaps he was some kind of junior agent sent to infiltrate our school in the hopes of smoking out Phantom."
"Can you remember what he looked like?" Star asked.
"No… I just remember he's a boy," Paulina answered with a sigh.
"I hope you don't mind," Juliette spoke up. "But I should get going, I have a bunch of things I have to get done this afternoon. I'd love to stay and chat more, but I don't want to skip responsibilities."
"Fine, but we're going to continue this conversation at some point," Paulina stated firmly.
"That's fine by me." Juliette smiled. "Perhaps we can continue it tomorrow?"
"If you're not too busy with the outcasts, that would be nice," Paulina answered.
"I can definitely make time for the prettiest, most popular girl in school," Juliette chuckled.
When Juliette left the school, she gave a sigh of relief. She had tested Andy's name, and it looked like she got some sort of results. But it wasn't conclusive, Paulina remembered an Andy, but not Andy Fenton.
I'll need to try it with someone who would know him better… perhaps a teacher or Dash… Juliette planned as she headed to the opera house to drop off her backpack and pick up the costume to take back to PetSmart.
Hannah was as happy as ever when she saw Juliette walk into PetSmart. "Ah, Juliette! I am very happy to see you're not stuck in the costume anymore."
"Yeah, and no longer in… you know what," Juliette said, being a little quieter on the last part before she handed over the outfit. "I managed to wiggle out of the costume with help from my mom. So, I assume you're going to take me back to your office to try out my uniform?" Please don't be kinky, please don't be kinky, please don't be kinky!
"Yup!" Hannah answered with a grin. "Come on, I can't wait until you try it on~"
Hannah took Juliette to her office, where she pulled out a box. She handed the box over to Juliette. "Go ahead and open it~"
Juliette opened the box to view the contents inside.
"Oh right, you can ignore this part… it's simply part of the standard starting uniform," Hannah said as she reached in and pulled out something white and crinkly. "Considering that you're not quite okay with it of course, usually it's mandatory."
"What… is it?" Juliette softly asked.
"A diaper. Specifically a thick doggy diaper for the canine anthro employees," Hannah answered. "But the rest of the uniform you should wear."
The uniform inside was light pink that had darker pink words in front that said 'Pet Pro in Training'. When Juliette unfolded it, she realized the uniform was a onesie, and there was a skirt in the box, likely meant to be used to go over the top.
"Wow. PetSmart has… a weird definition of a starter uniform…" Juliette commented. "I guess the onesie and skirt make sense if new employees are forced to wear diapers."
"The male uniform actually doesn't even have the skirt to start," Hannah informed with a chuckle. "However, new male employees can request a skirt if they want it."
Juliette looked at everything. "I guess I don't mind wearing this. As long as the employees don't try to check for a diaper that isn't there."
"Go ahead, once you get your uniform on, I want you to feed the snakes some live rodents. Don't give them hamsters or gerbils though, only pick between the common field mice or rats. Then after that, I want you at the groomer's area. We're going to have some customers wanting their pets groomed today," Hannah instructed. "In fact, a couple of customers asked for 'the new girl' after seeing the work you did during your test day."
Juliette remembered one of Echo's pieces of advice. I need to use the common field mice instead of the rats as they will be having a sale on rats next week.
"Wait… really?" Juliette realized in a bit of shock. "I've already been requested to do some grooming jobs by customers? I didn't think I did that good of a job."
"They were watching you groom one of our toughest to groom cats the other day, so they were impressed by your work," Hannah explained with a giddy smile. "They can't wait to see how well you'll do with their own pets."
"Hopefully they don't ask for anything too over the top," Juliette sheepishly chuckled. "I may have done well the first day, but I doubt I'm anywhere near the level of a professional groomer."
"Don't worry, I made sure to let the customers know that, they'll only be asking you to do a regular groom, like trimming their pets' fur, claws, and clean them up," Hannah reassured. "Now go ahead and get into that uniform. I have to go check on my other kittens to make sure they're doing okay."
"Oh, before you go, is there a coffee maker in the break room?" Juliette asked as she put the uniform, which she was mostly okay with wearing, back into the box.
"Sadly not anymore. One of our younger employees had too much coffee and ended up breaking it, and messing up half the room," Hannah answered.
"Oh… dang…" Juliette frowned. "I asked because I didn't get a great sleep last night and was hoping to get some caffeine."
"Here," Hannah gave Juliette a few quarters. "There's a vending machine just outside PetSmart, you can buy a soda or something to help keep you going for a little bit."
Juliette smiled and took the quarters. "Thank you, Hannah. I'll make sure to get one later on my break."
Hannah gave a smiling nod before she left Juliette alone to get changed. Juliette took off her clothes, minus her underwear, and pulled on the onesie, snapping it up, before she pulled on the skirt.
This isn't that bad I guess. Juliette thought as she looked at her outfit in one of the mirrors in the office.
When Juliette was ready, she left the office and headed for the snake area. There were several different types of snakes, each one looking content and lazy in their tank-like cages. There was one big tank-like cage with a huge python inside. The python was going to need quite a big amount of mice to feed. If Echo hadn't warned Juliette, she likely would've used rats to feed such a large snake.
Alright, scalies, let's get you fed~ Juliette smiled before she headed towards the rodent area to gather up some field mice. Hopefully Eric was already moved out of the department like Hannah said she would do.
Juliette put the mice she gathered in a large bucket. The bucket was high enough that the mice couldn't climb out of. When Juliette believed she gathered enough mice, she headed back over to the snake area. She dropped in one mice for each of the smaller snakes that wouldn't need much to be satisfied. She dropped two or three mice for each of the slightly bigger snakes. When she finally reached the python, which was the last snake she went to, she dumped the rest of the bucket of mice into the tank. Juliette watched as the python began to move its head, seeing that it had some prey to snatch. The python grabbed about two mice into its mouth, and started to swallow them whole. The python continued to move on to the other mice, wanting to satisfy its hunger.
Heh, you're a hungry little fella, aren't you? Juliette chuckled as she watched the python slither towards the fleeing mice. I wonder if you're normally fed live mice and rats. I would hope so, after all, it's better to work up an appetite than be fed something non-moving.
Juliette blinked, wondering where that thought came from. It wasn't like she liked hunting much herself, it made her feel too feral. Although Tom did tell her to at least try it in KinkQuest.
With that snakes all fed, Juliette headed to the grooming area, wanting to do a good job for the customer's pets, but instead of heading to the grooming area first, she swung by the customer service desk.
"Hey there," Juliette greeted the fellow employee. "Just wanted to inform you that I just finished feeding the snakes. I used 17 of the common field mice. I'm going to head to the grooming area now, so you can let those people who requested me them know that they can come on back."
"Ah, thank you for the information, we'll be sure to add that to our data and remove the field mice from the system so we don't have incorrect stock," The employee responded.
Juliette smiled and nodded before she resumed her route to the grooming area. Had a feeling I would be asked later and I might've forgotten the exact number by then.
Echo was in his imitated ghost form, flying quickly towards the PetSmart. He had a vision earlier that PetSmart would be swarming with Void Creatures. There wouldn't be as much as the army that swarmed Fenton Works, but there would still be quite a lot. Echo knew if Juliette saw those Void Creatures, she'd freak out, and start to spiral down into depression, and would likely lock herself away in the opera house.
"I've got to hurry…" Echo frowned.
Echo made it to the PetSmart, looking around. "Good, I made it in time."
Echo quickly landed, and saw the Void Creatures were approaching. They looked starved.
"Okay, you all want a piece of Juliette? You're going to have to go through me," Echo challenged.
The Void Creatures attacked. Echo summoned several fox skulls at once, he didn't need to be cloaked to use some of Foxfire's abilities. The fox skulls fired heat beams at the Void Creatures, some of them were piercing enough to take out the black spheres, causing the Void Creatures to dissolve into mist. Echo fire a thin ghost ray, it didn't have a lot of raw power like Danny's ghost rays did, but Echo did that on purpose to make it piercing. Echo needed to get rid of the heart of the Void Creatures to defeat them, not just push them back.
More Void Creatures tried to get past Echo, but Echo calmly created two large balls of gray ectoplasm in his hands, and broke them up. The ectoplasm turned into knives, and rained down onto the Void Creatures, striking at their hearts.
"I've been battling you Void Creatures all night and morning, I know the quickest way to get rid of you," Echo stated coldly. "It would be a waste of time to try to cause damage to your bodies, it's best to just aim right for the heart."
Just when Echo thought he got rid of the last of the Void Creatures, two large ones came up. They appeared to be centaur-like ogres, wearing iron masks, while holding iron-like clubs in their hands. Echo frowned, he only saw stronger tier Void Creatures like these two during the most dire of times in Amity Park, like when Pariah Dark invaded, and when Dan almost killed Danny's friends and family.
"Okay, wasn't expecting the two of you…" Echo frowned. "I know Juliette's got some kind of unique energy, but she shouldn't be giving off enough to be summoning stronger tier Void Creatures like this…"
One of the ogres growled at Echo before it lifted its club to swing at him. Echo jumped away from the club.
"Bad news, these ogres are going to be tough to take down. Their bodies are thicker than steel, so trying to get to their hearts quick is going to be an issue. The good news is while they're powerful, they're also slow. I can use this to my advantage," Echo said to himself as he analyzed the two centaur-like ogres.
The other ogre grinned before it began to walk towards Echo, this ogre lifted it's club as well. Echo was about to dodge the second club, when he was caught off guard by a sudden burst of speed from the ogre. In just a few blinks, Echo saw himself standing in front of the ogres, then being inside the PetSmart, and then finally ending up behind it, hitting the ground.
Echo frowned as he stood back up. "Okay, so they likely have small bursts of speed from the looks of it. Best to watch out for that. Really glad I can't feel actual pain, or that would've really hurt."
Echo flew back to the front of PetSmart, and fired two ghost rays at the ogres. The ghost ray didn't do much as it hit the iron masks, but it did make them slide back a bit. Echo got down on all fours, allowing Foxfire to take him over. Now as a fox, Echo was much faster and could attack more aggressively.
The two ogres made some noises as they swung their clubs at Echo. Echo ran across and jumped the swings before running around the ogres. He slashed behind one of the ogres since the iron mask protected their front. One of the ogres turned to him, took off the iron mask, and breathed out some kind of substance at Echo. Echo jumped back, not wanting the substance to touch him. When he stopped attacking the other ogre, however, the ogre let out angry noise before it smashed the ground with its club, causing a non-existent earthquake around Echo. It was the type of earthquake that would only affect Void Beings. Echo suddenly found himself being pinned down by the other ogre's iron mask. Echo let out a roar of anger as he struggled under the ogre's iron masked face.
Echo stopped when he saw the other ogre coming towards him with a much smaller iron mask. The iron mask was actually fox shaped, likely molded by the ogres to fit his face. Echo saw a quick vision of him being under the iron mask's control, and a flash of him fighting against Juliette, and seriously hurting her. Echo gasped as he, in a panic, dissipated Foxfire before they could put it on him. Even though Echo wasn't used to using intangibility, he managed to force himself to turn intangible and phase into the ground. The ground was one of the very few things in reality that Void Beings could interact with, but since Echo turned intangible, he fell through it. Echo flew back up into the sky, a safe distance away from the two ogres, who looked up at him in anger, likely angry he managed to escape their grasp.
Although Echo didn't need to breathe, he found himself panting, shaken up from what almost happened. He had almost went into a terrible, horrible future where he was being controlled by someone, and attacked Juliette.
"These guys aren't mindless… they're coordinated, and they… seem to be trying to control me rather than corrupt me… this isn't normal Void Creature behavior…" Echo noted, frowning. "I need to defeat them fast… otherwise the threat of entering that future will persist."
One of the ogres jumped high, despite its heavy looking body, its horse-like legs were powerful enough to send it launching. Echo quickly flew away, not wanting the ogre to body slam him, and pin him down again.
"I can't damage their bodies fast enough to stun them like this… not when there are two of them…" Echo observed as he kept flying around them, not wanting to be an easy target. "But… maybe I won't have to. I just have to get to their hearts… even the thickest of bodies have a weakness."
An idea came to Echo, he wasn't sure how well it would work, but he knew he had to try every option he could get. I'm getting closer and closer to Juliette's level of crazy every day it seems.
Echo stopped flying around and tried to angle himself to get the two ogres closer together. "This isn't a power I'm used to, so I better make this quick."
Echo waited for the two ogres line up with each other. One of them moved in front of the other, likely ready to jump at him again. "Now!"
Echo shot himself forward, concentrating to turn himself intangible again. It took a second, almost a second too late, but he managed to turn his body intangible just before he went through the first ogre, grabbing its heart and forcing it out, before he immediately went into the second ogre's body, snatching its heart as well. When Echo came out, he turned himself tangible again before he smashed the two black spheres in his gloved hands.
"Glad I'm wearing gloves right now…" Echo muttered as the black spheres melted into liquid after he crushed them.
The two ogres let out a loud noise before they both fell over to the ground, their bodies dissipating into black mist. Echo sighed to himself, glad that it was over with.
"That was close… but more may come back soon…" Echo noted to himself. "I do have to wonder… were those creatures sent after me? Or Juliette? They had a mask that would've fit me, so it would seem that they knew that I would be here. The mask didn't look like it was meant for Juliette…"
Echo knew he would need more information, he could study the timelines to see who could've sent those creatures, and when and where they would strike next, but at the same time, he also knew that would take a lot of time, and he had to protect Juliette, as well as Danny, and his friends and family.
Echo saw the PetSmart door opening up, and Juliette was walking out. Echo gave a sigh of relief, glad he was able to take out the Void Creatures just before Juliette came out for her break.
Juliette walked over to the soda machine and started inserting the quarters Hannah had given her earlier to buy a soda. I doubt I'd be able to make it through the whole shift without this, so thanks, Hannah. Juliette yawned a little as she pressed one of the buttons. When the soda dispensed, Juliette reached in and picked it up before popping the lid.
Juliette took a sip of the soda and let out a sigh of relief before her ears twitched a little. What was that in the distance…? Was that someone screaming…? It could've just been a bird cawing though.
As Juliette was enjoying her ice cold soda in the evening sun's heat, she allowed herself to relax. There didn't seem to be any Void Creatures around like she thought there would be.
Maybe Echo was right. Juliette chuckled. If I'm in a better mindset, less Void Creatures will come my way.
"Would you like for me to knit you something, dearie?" An old grandma looking person asked Juliette in a kind voice.
Juliette jumped a little before turning to the voice, seeing the grandmother like figure standing there.
"Wow… you must be the quietest grandmother ever," Juliette chuckled as she scooted over on the bench she was sitting on so the grandmother figure could sit down. "I didn't hear you approach me at all."
"You'd be surprised what tricks you learn when you live long enough, dearie," The grandmotherly woman chuckled. "You look a little uncomfortable in those clothes though, so I'd like to knit you something better."
"Oh?" Juliette raised a brow. "You can tell that I'm not that big a fan of this uniform just by looking at me?"
"But of course, I can tell when a grandchild is uncomfortable in the clothes they wear. I take it upon myself to make sure all my grandchildren are comfortable in what they wear," The old woman answered.
Juliette had a questioning look at that. Perhaps this woman just likes to call everyone younger than her a 'grandchild'. "Well, I appreciate the offer… but you barely know me and I wouldn't want you to go out of your way to make something for a complete stranger."
"What are you talking about, dear child? I need to make something for you." The old woman frowned.
"I just… wouldn't it be better to save the materials for your actual grandchildren?" Juliette reasoned.
"Everyone in Amity Park is my grandchildren, dearie, that includes you. I won't take 'no' for an answer," The old woman stood up suddenly, and Juliette felt some kind of power surrounding the woman. "I'll knit you something so good, you can't refuse it."
Juliette was beginning to get a little worried. Is this woman using magic? Or… is she a ghost?
As if to answer Juliette's question, a ghostly aura surrounded the woman, turning her skin blue, and she began to summon ecto needles, both sewing and knitting needles, around her. Her eyes glowed a bright orange color. Juliette suddenly found herself trapped to the bench by thread that wrapped around her body tightly.
"Now let's see what would fit you, dearie," The ghost woman remarked as if she didn't just reveal she was a ghost and trapped Juliette. "Perhaps some of these words on your uniform should go."
Juliette watched as the ghost woman had some of the needles take out the word 'pro' on her shirt. However, before the needle could move on the other words, the woman was suddenly blasted away by a couple of ecto blasts, but Juliette was still trapped by the thread.
"Hey! Are you okay?" A familiar black and white ghost kid flew up to Juliette.
"I'm fine… just trapped," Juliette answered.
"I'll get you out-" Phantom began to say before threads and strips of cloth suddenly wrapped around his waist and pulled him away.
"I'll get to you in a minute, honey," The ghostly grandmother said to Phantom. "First I need to finish making some nice clothes for my little kit~"
"Hey, don't-" Phantom began to argue before more threads wrapped around his mouth.
Phantom seemed more annoyed than worried, however, his expression just said 'really?'. Phantom closed his eyes for a second before the threads all turned to ice and shattered off him. Phantom grabbed onto the ghostly grandmother's arm and pulled her back from Juliette.
"Come on, Bessie," Phantom stated. "We have to get you back home."
"Can it wait until after I finish making a new outfit for my grandchild…?" The ghostly grandmother, who was apparently named Bessie, pleaded.
"I know you just want to make a new outfit for every new 'grandchild' of yours, but we've talked about this. You're not supposed to wrap them up in threads, and force the outfit on them, that would be seen as an attack or assault in this world," Phantom explained.
"It isn't just tying them up, sweet heart, it gets me a measurement of them so I know what size to make the outfit," Bessie informed. "Now that I have her measurements, I can untie her. But I really would like to give her a new outfit she may be more comfortable with."
"Then how about you go home and make that outfit? You can come back and give it to her later, but right now, you need to leave. You've already caused enough panic to get unwanted attention," Phantom warned. "And by unwanted, I mean the Fentons."
Bessie gave a small pout. "Alright, little Danphan, but next time I come, I want to see you wearing that shirt and the pants I sewed for you. Understand me, little one?"
Juliette raised an eyebrow at the name Bessie just called Danny.
Phantom gave a sigh. "Yes, Bessie."
Bessie smiled before she gave an affectionate rub to Phantom's white hair. "That's a good ghost boy~"
Phantom grumbled, likely from embarrassment, before Bessie left. The threads that had Juliette tied up dissipated as soon as Bessie left.
"Danphan…?" Juliette repeated questioningly.
"That's just what Bessie likes to call me… it's Danny Phantom combined into 'Danphan'," Danny explained, looking embarrassed. "She's a very grandmotherly ghost, who sees everyone in Amity Park as her grandchildren. She told me she was the wife of the founder of Amity Park when she was alive. So every new person who comes here, she'll seek out and make a new outfit for them. I apologize if she scared you though, a lot of ghosts, especially those who were born a ghost or had been a ghost for a long time, tend to forget about the living culture and go to, what the living would see as, extreme measures to do what they set out to do. But she really meant no harm to you."
"Considering she didn't pierce me with any of the needles and seemed to have an air of comfort and care around her, I wasn't worried she was going to hurt me," Juliette said. "But I was a little… upset and concerned about being helpless like I was." Thankfully you came to save me, again.
"Yeah?" Danny remarked. "You're not scared of me?"
Juliette shook her head. "Nope. You're pretty much known around the world as a hero. Should I be scared of you though? Are you secretly out to fool the world before you take over?~"
"No, of course not, but my pa- I mean, the adult Fentons seem to think so," Danny sighed.
Juliette laughed a little. "I was pulling your leg, Phantom. And don't worry, I'm not going to be another Paulina either. I appreciate what you do for the town and I'm definitely a fan, but I'm not a super fan that wants you to have my kids or whatever Paulina is after."
That comment made Danny shiver a little, before something else Juliette said caught his attention. "Hold on, did you say I was known around the world?"
"Yup," Juliette confirmed. "Quite a few people believe that you're the one who brought about this better world during one of your adventures."
Danny sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I… may have had something to do with it… though to be honest, it was by accident."
"A lot of great things have happened because of accidents," Juliette pointed out. "For instance, from what I can remember from my science textbook, we wouldn't have penicillin if some scientist hadn't accidentally left out a petri dish while he went on vacation."
"Heh, I guess that's true. But still, I'm surprised to hear people actually know me outside of Amity Park. I've always just been the 'infamous ghost boy' around here, so I never really thought my name would spread much further than this town," Danny admitted.
"You should go to Japan some time," Juliette suggested. "You're a freaking icon there. Danny Phantom toys, video games, food, clothes, everything you can imagine. Heck I think there was a Danny Phantom anime in progress when I was last there."
"Wow, Japan of all places? I can't even speak Japanese!" Danny looked, surprisingly a little freaked out at that. "How did I get known all the way in Japan?"
"Word spreads fast," Juliette answered. "Especially if you're a living superhero. I mean you're essentially a ghostly version of Martian Manhunter with your ability to go through walls and fly and turn invisible and all that."
"Considering how much the world has changed, I would've thought there might be actual superheroes now or something," Danny remarked. "I mean I'm just a ghost trying to keep the peace between ghosts and hu… well, living people."
"Yeah, and you're defeating supervillain level baddies," Juliette pointedly replied. "And who knows, maybe there are superheroes out there who just aren't as well known as you."
Before Danny could reply to that, they both heard a loud engine coming in. Danny frowned as he recognized the engine.
"That's my cue to leave," Danny quickly said. "Stay safe, Juliette!"
Danny quickly turned himself invisible and flew away just before a large silver and green tank pulled up. It had a big 'F' letter on it.
"I know that ghost boy is around here somewhere!" Juliette could hear Jack's voice shouting from inside the tank-like vehicle.
Jeez… Maddie must be going deaf if I can hear Jack over the roar of the engine while he's inside the vehicle… Juliette thought sympathetically.
Juliette decided to finish her break and head back inside PetSmart, deciding she had more than enough drama for one day.
Juliette laid down lazily in her bed when she came home to the opera house.
"Juliette~" Juliette groaned when she heard Anise's voice.
"Whaaat…?" Juliette asked softly.
"I know you just finished most of your homework, but aren't you forgetting one?" Anise pointed out, holding the VR helmet.
"Do I have to do it tonight…?" Juliette questioned. "And are you actually living here now? Or only stopping by to bug me? If you are actually living here now, can you please help stock the kitchen with food that isn't kibble? Fresh foods that are healthy and good for me to eat that normal people would eat in their homes. There's a full kitchen down on in the backstage area after your renovations and it's completely devoid of any actual food. The only food I have in this whole place is that bag of kibble over there… which… is it bigger now?"
Juliette glanced at the bag of kibble which looked twice as big as it had before. "Did you expand it or something so you'd have more kibble?"
"Maybe~" Anise chuckled. "You know, you could go hunting if you want actual meat and fruit. There's a hunting area for anthros and chienthropes to hunt in. People release feral animals all the time in the area."
"Yeah… no," Juliette declined. "I'd prefer to eat food bought from a grocery store. Perhaps it would be a good use of the money you're getting paid as a teacher."
"I have my own food that I don't need to waste money on. When you get paid, you can get your own food with your own money. But until then, you'll have to settle for kibble or go out hunting," Anise stated. "And anyways, didn't you promise to try out KinkQuest tonight?"
"Okay, going back to the topic we were just on," Juliette redirected. "You're technically acting as my mother. It wouldn't look good if people found out you were giving your child the options to either eat food meant for pets, go hunt for her own food, or starve until lunch time."
"Oh? So you're going to tell the authorities that I've been a bad mother?" Anise questioned. "So they'll take you into custody in children services and bring you to another family? I was under the impression you didn't want me to actually be your mother."
"They wouldn't take me away immediately," Juliette commented. "Usually they give the parent a chance to set themselves straight and do the right thing for the child before taking them away. And you're right, I don't want you to be my mother because I don't want to possibly insult whatever mother I may have actually had. I'm simply making a request to someone who is acting as my mother at school to possibly use the money, which she doesn't need, to help me out."
Anise chuckled. "How about a deal then?~"
Juliette growled a little at those words. "What kind of deal…?"
"You start playing KinkQuest every night for two hours as per your homework and I will start stocking your kitchen with actual food," Anise offered.
"You really want me to play that game… don't you?" Juliette raised a brow.
"Of course I do, that's why I came here to make sure you actually played it," Anise answered.
Juliette gave a thoughtful look at Anise before glancing over at the giant bag of kibble and the dog bowl before finally looking at the VR helmet. "Fine… I'll accept your deal." Juliette held out a hand. "KinkQuest for two hours a day as per my homework in exchange for you filling the kitchen downstairs with actual food."
"Good, good! I like making deals with you, Juliette~" Anise smiled.
"Oh! One thing before I play the game," Juliette started. "Could you possibly look into putting up some seals around the Fenton household's home? Echo was nearly overrun by an army of Void Creatures last night while he was defending the place."
"Oh? I didn't think there would be that many Void Creatures in Amity Park," Anise noted.
"You have to remember all of the emotions Danny puts on himself," Juliette reminded. "I'm sure he was extra stressed out after his parents practically attacked me."
"That's probably true," Anise sighed. "I'll go set up a barrier then. I actually am starting to like our Void Boy, he's interesting, and has also been helping you out as well, so I owe him that much at the very least."
Juliette gave a grateful nod as Anise walked over and grabbed the full dive VR helmet and brought it back over to Juliette.
"Let me get comfy," Juliette said as she sat on her bed before grabbing the helmet. She slid the helmet over her head and laid down fully. "If I remember right… Link start?"
The visor of the helmet was suddenly on, lighting up with a wide variety of colors. Juliette automatically logged in before she found herself standing in a wide open space.
"Name your avatar." A voice instructed from all around her.
A holographic keyboard appeared in front of Juliette.
"I shouldn't go with my actual name…" Juliette thought out loud. "Perhaps… a part of my name? Or a trait?"
Juliette gave a few seconds of thought before she typed in the name 'Rose'. "There's no way this name isn't already taken." Juliette then pressed confirm to see if the name was available.
To her surprise, the name was accepted.
"Design your avatar." The voice guided.
Juliette saw hundreds of different options appear. "Definitely not going with kitsune… but perhaps something similar? Something there are a lot of in the world?"
Juliette started going through the option until she paused on an arctic snow fox that had pink streaks in its fur and bright red eyes.
"This… actually looks pretty cool," Juliette observed as she walked around the snow fox. "You know what… yeah, let's go with this one. I'm sure if I wanted I could change my avatar later."
After Juliette chose her avatar, different places showed up in front of her. There was a lake, a mountain, a desert, a beach, a forest, a snowy place, and a city.
"Select your starting destination," The voice stated.
"Umm… I guess… let's start with the city," Juliette said as she reached toward the city.
"Accepted. You will now begin at Kink City," The voice said.
"Great name…" Juliette shook her head before she noticed her fur was becoming white and a collar was forming around her neck.
"Submissive start chosen." The voice noted.
"Wait, when did I select that?!" Juliette yelled.
"Your desired start was chosen when you were designing your character," A female voice said before a small fairy floated in front of Juliette. "Hello there, Rose, I'm your companion fairy. I will be here throughout your time in KinkQuest to help accommodate you as best as possible."
Juliette, who figured it would be best to get used to going by Rose inside the game, raised a brow. "Then can you deselect submissive start?"
"Sadly I cannot change your start until you've completed one activity," The fairy answered.
Rose sighed. "Fine, then while the game is loading, I'd like to ask if you have a name. If you're going to be my companion during my time in KinkQuest, it'd be nice to know your name."
"I don't have a name yet. You are supposed to give me a name," The fairy replied. "If you can't think of a name, however, you are able to have me randomly select a temporary name until you decide on a name for me."
Rose gave a thoughtful look, observing the colorful fairy. "How about… Aurora? Your colors look similar to that of the Northern Lights, which is the Aurora Borealis."
"Aurora. The name is acceptable. I am Aurora," The fairy, now named 'Aurora', answered.
"What do you think of your name?" Rose asked. "It looks like you have a small bit of artificial intelligence in your."
"It is a colorful, nice name," Aurora replied. "Please prepare yourself now, you are about to be placed in Kink City."
Rose gave a nod.
Rose then saw lines of a city around her. The lines then became colored in, and looked more real, until it looked like Rose was in a real city. There were AI as well as other players roaming around the city. The players moved with purpose, however, while the AIs just roamed until they were programmed otherwise.
Rose then blushed when she saw that a lot of people were walking around with clothes on while she was only wearing a collar.
"Oh geez… does the submissive start not come with clothing…?" Rose softly asked in embarrassment.
"Most of the time you either started with no clothing, or little clothing," Aurora answered. "You have no money to start with, so you can't buy any new clothing yet. You will have to do an activity to earn money. Or you may go on a quest, but that is not recommended at level 0."
Rose sighed a little.
"Since you are just getting started, it would be wise to talk to some NPCs, they would give you a choice on what you want to do. But watch out for dominating players, they are allowed to hunt and capture submissive players," Aurora warned.
Rose gave a nod as she began to walk and look around. "Perhaps I can find someone to take off my collar."
"You can't remove a Submissive Collar," Aurora informed. "If it was a Lure Collar, then you could remove it."
"Can Dominants remove the collar of a Submissive?" Rose questioned. "And… what is a Lure Collar?"
"Dominants can't remove the collar, unless the submissive chooses to switch sides, only then can a Submissive Collar be removed," Aurora answered. "A Lure Collar is a fake Submissive Collar Dominants use to trick submissive parties to follow them."
"What are the rules to a submissive switching sides?" Rose inquired. "Cause I feel like there would be rules."
"Yes, since you chose to start as a submissive, you will have to go through specific activities that would grant you the option to switch sides," Aurora stated. "The most common one used is when a Dominant asks if you want to join them or be their submissive toy."
"Wait… how would me becoming a submissive toy to some Dominant allow me to switch sides?" Rose raised a brow as she continued to walk down the street.
"The Dominant has to choose to give you the option between the two. It isn't a guaranteed thing unless you can convince them to give you the choice," Aurora explained.
"What if I get made someone's pet or slave and don't actually want to do that?" Juliette questioned. "Is there a way I can refuse? I doubt this game would force people to do things against their will if that is what they truly wanted."
"In that case, then you will have to take on the Dominant's challenge in order to escape," Aurora informed. "If the submissive refuses to be taken in by the Dominant, then the Dominant will have to issue a fair challenge to you to allow you a chance to escape. If you fail, you will have to do the Dominant's activity before you can try the challenge to escape again. So you will always have the option, but you will get consequences."
"I… guess that is fair," Rose admitted. "It allows for fair play between both parties and it also allows those who just want to fight and be forcefully tamed the ability to do so."
"Yes, the programmers who designed KinkQuest always want to give everyone a fair shot so they can relax and enjoy themselves," Aurora remarked. "Are there anymore questions you wish to ask?"
"Umm…" Rose's ears twitched a little before she spoke a little quieter. "Is there someone following us?"
"It is highly likely. It's very common for new submissive players to be targeted by a Dominant player," Aurora answered.
"Can you turn around and tell me if someone is looking at me?" Rose requested.
Aurora turned around as Rose had requested, then she turned back to Rose. "There is indeed someone following you. A Dominant player, at level 44."
"Oh… great…" Rose frowned before she glanced around, spotting an alley. "Does that alley have another way out? Or is it a dead end?"
"Alleys can have hidden exits, but most are dead ends," Aurora informed.
"Are there any alleys nearby that do have hidden exits or go out into a more packed street?" Rose questioned.
"I don't know. I don't have enough upgrades to scan the city," Aurora answered. "Hidden exits are hidden for a reason."
Rose raised a brow at that. "So I can upgrade you over time… good to know…" Rose then glanced back, trying to spot the player. I need to move.
Rose began to pick up speed until she was in a full on sprint, trying to get away from the person following her.
Rose didn't hear any footsteps coming after her, which disturbed her since she was used to being able to hear or sense when something or someone was chasing her. She nearly ran over a few NPCs and other players as she sprinted.
All of a sudden, Rose found herself being tackled into an alleyway. When Rose recovered herself, she saw a growling feral wolf looking at her.
The hell…? Rose questioned as she got back up onto her feet.
Once she was back on her feet fully, Rose saw three more feral wolves entering the alley. All four wolves began to approach Rose, pushing her back towards the end of the alley. Rose kept moving back until she felt her back bump against a solid wall.
"Well done, my pack~" An anthro tiger praised as he began to approach Rose. "Looks like we got ourselves a new submissive player. You'd fetch high on the market."
"I see you're one of the infamous 'newbie hunters' that exist in nearly every game," Rose growled.
The anthro tiger's fairy was bright orange, it matched his fur. "If you sell this one, you would get about 500,000,000 Jewels to 100,000,000,000 Jewels. She is an extreme high rarity species, added to the fact she is a new player."
"That much, huh?" The tiger raised a brow. "I could buy a large piece of land and build a castle on it for that."
"It may be more due to her unique colorations," The anthro tiger's fairy informed.
"Come anywhere near me and I'll rip your throat out!" Rose warned.
"You would only do 0.5 damage to him," Aurora informed.
"Not helping…" Rose hissed.
"Feisty one, aren't you?" The tiger reached down and picked her up by the scruff of her neck, avoiding the collar. "Perhaps I should take you for myself. I've always wanted to break someone's will~"
Rose growled at the tiger.
"Do a coin flip for me, Sunset," The tiger instructed. "50/50 chance. One option is to keep this delectable fox for myself and the other is to sell her. Best 2 out of 3."
"Yes, Ken," The fairy called Sunset answered.
Rose waited as Sunset flipped a fairy sized coin three times.
"2 of them were tails, Ken," Sunset informed. "What does that decide for you?"
Ken frowned a little. "Too bad. A part of me was hoping to have a new pet to introduce to the others by the end of the night. But I guess being able to buy a larger piece of land and a new home is definitely nice. I'm sure my other pets will enjoy having a larger home. And who knows, perhaps I can finally build that bigger guild hall that everyone has been asking me for."
"Um… since you've already capture me… do you mind if I ask some questions?" Rose inquired, figuring she wasn't escaping this situation.
Ken opened up a menu in front of him before selecting an item. A leash was suddenly on Rose's collar. Ken put Rose down as he held onto the leash.
"I don't mind. Even though I hunt and sell new players, I don't mind helping them out as well with information," Ken shrugged.
"What are guilds?" Rose asked. "And I take it Jewels are the currency of this game?" At least the currency you can legitimately earn. Hopefully this game isn't one of those games where you can pay real money for 'premium currency'.
Ken started walking with Rose beside him. "Yes, Jewels are the currency in this game. As for guilds, I usually leave that information to your fairy guide. But since we've got a little bit of a walk before we reach the market, I suppose I can explain it to you. A guild is a group of players that usually come together under a common emblem. A guild is useful for players that want to take on high level missions or just get a little bit of help. Had you chosen a Dominant start, right now is when I'd be offering you a spot in my guild as I'm the guild leader of the Blackened Sun."
"So it's essentially… like those magic guilds that are beginning to pop up IRL?" Rose questioned as she followed Ken.
"Yeah, I suppose so, but since this works in a video game logic, you would be able to form parties, gain experience to level up quicker, collect rare items and Jewels, and things of that nature," Ken replied. "You can also start to get upgrades for your fairy guide, or equipment, depending on your play style. As a submissive player, you're likely to get things that could help you evade Dominants if that is your goal, but if you are owned or preferred to be owned, you will get upgrades to your collar that will allow you to copy the powers of your owner. You would get armor-like latex suit that makes it easier for you to maneuver and gain speed in case your Dominant want to ride on you to get somewhere faster. If you're lucky, you might gain a suit that allows you the ability to fly."
"Are there guilds for submissives that are safe or are there only guilds for Dominants?" Rose inquired in response.
"Yes, there are guilds for submissives, but they are often called havens, rather than guilds. See, the purpose of a haven is to keep submissives safe from Dominants. It has a 'no capture' zone, so Dominants aren't allowed to capture submissives. Though Dominants can still go into havens with a Lure Collar and lure the submissive away from the safe zone, so submissives still need to be wary about that. There are certain activities submissives can do to gather Jewel and items, but otherwise, there isn't much submissives can do in havens," Ken stated. "As havens are simply a location that offers protection and shelter, not activities or events."
"I see…" Rose acknowledged. "Hopefully I'll be able to switch to Dominant sooner rather than later. When I do, perhaps the offer to join your guild will still be available?"
"It might be," Ken chuckled. "Oh, I should probably tell you that there are actually 3 'factions' in this game. Submissives, Dominants, and Free Game. Free Game are essentially players who haven't chosen a side and can be hunted or can hunt. Normally they are hunted and turned into submissives, but sometimes they will hunt a submissive just so they don't become one themselves. A Free Game player, or FG for short, cannot be hunted and made a submissive if they own a submissive of their own."
"Wouldn't that make them a Dominant then?" Rose questioned.
"Not automatically, no," Ken answered. "You see, that rule is actually a bit… exploitable. As the rule only applies if the FG owns another player. If they own an NPC submissive, they themselves can still be hunted and the NPC will then have its ownership transferred to the Dominant that hunted the FG."
Rose nodded, taking the information in.
"Are there anymore questions you have?" Ken asked as they kept walking through town.
A few players looked at Ken and Rose, there were a few Dominants that eyed Rose hungrily, while the others who had collars, which marked them as Submissive, gave her a look of pity.
"What would mark a Free Game differently from Dominants and Submissives?" Rose asked.
"They usually are forced to wear some kind of emblem or flag on them that shows they are an FG," Ken explained. "The emblem would simply consist of the letters FG while a flag would have those letters and usually a neutral color like gray or white."
"I see…" Rose acknowledged, trying not to pay attention to everyone who was eyeing her hungrily or lustfully.
"Anymore questions?" Ken asked. "Best ask them now, we're almost at the market."
Rose could see a large building with neon words that said 'Submissive Player Market'. There were quite a few Dominants taking Submissive players into the market, though there were a few lone Dominants going in, likely to buy a Submissive player.
"In case you were wondering why there's a Submissive Player Market, it's because of the role of a submissive person. Some like to be sold as part of their kinks. And this helps with those who are Dominant, but don't like having to hunt down a Submissive Player themselves," Ken informed. "Some Dominants like to go right to the fun with Submissives. They do have the option to have NPCs as their submissive toys, but NPCs just aren't as reactive as actual players. Though the devs are trying to upgrade the AI of the NPCs."
"I do have to ask… I named my character myself, but can a dominant rename me if they owned me?" Rose inquired.
"They can't change your name completely, but they can give you a 'pet name' as it's called. The pet name will show up above the name you chose for your character," Ken answered. "The pet name can get changed if you end up with a different Dominant owner, however, so it isn't a guaranteed permanent thing."
Rose gave a soft smile at that. "That's a bit of a relief…"
Ken and Rose entered the Submissive Player Market. Inside, Rose could see a lot of fellow Submissives locked in cages, though the cages themselves weren't uncomfortable. They had pillows, personal TVs, food, and water.
"Ahh, Master Ken." A chienthrope rabbit NPC smiled as he walked over. "Here to sell another fine specimen I see. Or is this your new pet and you're here to buy another?"
"I'm here to sell, she is a new player. You can look at her log in time to check," Ken stated. "According to Sunset, she could be sold for at least 500,000,000 Jewels."
"Allow me to scan how authentic she is, and how much she is worth," The NPC stated.
Rose watched in curiosity as the NPC held out a white device that scanned her, causing her to freeze in place and reminding her of when Maddie and Jack had scanned her earlier before trapping her in a cube. The NPC's eyes went wide.
"She is an arctic kitsune, who is a new Submissive Player, you got yourself quite a catch there, Master Ken," The NPC noted.
I could've sworn I had chosen a simple fox race, not a kitsune… Rose muttered to herself.
"Sunset also mentioned that her unique markings may make her all the more valuable," Ken pointed out.
"Would you like to do an auction for her, Master Ken? Or would you prefer simply selling up front?" The NPC inquired.
"How soon can you do the next auction?" Ken asked.
"For a specimen like this one, I could set up one just for her within the next 30 minutes and spread the word to tens of thousands of potential buyers, perhaps hundreds of thousands," The NPC answered.
"Right now is the peak time to have an auction, Ken," Sunset informed. "Currently there are 932 million players online."
"Hmm, any signs or chances of a Submissive Breakout?" Ken asked.
"A submissive revolt? Here?" The NPC laughed. "They would have an easier time escaping the stomach of a latex dragon."
"Then in that case, I will take the auction," Ken replied before glancing at Rose. "If you get enough, I'll even give you a small portion of what you're worth to help you get started."
"R-really…?" Rose asked in surprise.
"Just because I'm selling you, doesn't mean I don't care about new players," Ken shrugged.
"Thank you." Rose smiled.
"Master Ken, if you'd please, set her into a cage so I can prepare for the auction," The NPC instructed.
"Of course," Ken said before he walked with Rose to one of the empty cages. "Sunset, go ahead and groom her so she has the highest appearance rating. Make her fur vibrant, shiny, and soft, perhaps give her a small trim. And if you wouldn't mind, newbie, try to make yourself look cute. The higher you sell, the bigger amount of money you will get."
Rose pouted a little at that. I don't want to be cute… but if it means starting off well, I guess I can fake it for a little bit… make myself seem like 'good pet material'.
Sunset moved around Rose, using her programmed magic to clean her fur, as well as giving her a small trim. Aurora landed on Rose's shoulder.
"How is she doing that?" Rose asked.
"It's part of the grooming upgrade," Aurora answered. "Fairy guides have many different options for you to upgrade. We are extremely adaptable, so we can meet the player's preferred playstyle."
When Sunset was finished, Rose saw her fur pretty much shining and it was surprisingly more fluffed up than it was before.
"Well… I'll admit that I look pretty good," Rose remarked before Ken guided her into the cage.
Once Rose was in the cage, Ken took off her leash and closed the door.
"I'll be back for you when it's time for your auction. In the meantime, maybe you can talk to your fellow Submissive player neighbor," Ken recommended.
Rose looked at the player in the cage beside her. The player looked to be a human boy with black hair, and green eyes. He had a collar on as well. He wore a simple blue T-shirt, with black pants.
"Hey, guess you got caught and brought here as well," The boy stated.
"Yeah…" Rose sighed. "Aurora, how long have I been logged in?"
"23 minutes," Aurora answered.
"23 minutes and I'm already in a cage… that's probably some kind of record for non-willing submissive…" Rose commented.
"23 minutes in? Wow, so you're a brand new player, no wonder you got hunted down so quickly," The boy chuckled. "My name is Nandy by the way, what's yours?"
"Rose," Rose answered. "You act like this isn't your first time in a cage."
"It really isn't," Nandy sighed. "I've been caught several times before."
Rose, following Aurora's instructions, checked Nandy's status, wanting to see if he was owned before. Nandy was a level 2 Submissive player, and he had a pet name called 'Wolfy'.
"You have an owner yet you're in a cage…?" Rose raised a brow. "How did that happen? And… crap… I just realized I never asked how you level up, get XP, and get stronger…"
"I had an owner. They sold me though, because I wasn't reacting to how they wanted me to. My pet name stays until another Dominant changes it, or I become a Dominant myself," Nandy answered. "You get XP by doing certain activities depending on which faction you're in. You can also gain XP by doing the usual 'battle monsters' and grind, or in this case, tame monsters to use for yourself, or kill them for items and ingredients. There are also jobs and quests which any player can take on."
"Do you want to become a Dominant?" Rose questioned.
Nandy gave a sigh that. "Honestly, no. But I… sort of made a promise to someone that I would. I'm just… um… biding my time."
"Is that why your cage isn't even fully closed?" Rose asked, seeing the door of Nandy's cage was slightly off center.
"Someone couldn't bother to fully close it," Nandy muttered. "Since I'm a human player, and not completely new, and had several different owners before, my value is very low. I doubt they would care if I ran off."
"Why don't you then?" Rose questioned. "I mean you kinda have to do something in order to become a Dominant."
"I know… but I don't want to," Nandy huffed. "It's not exactly easy to switch to Dominant once you're a Submissive. You'd either have to get another Dominant to be interested enough to give you the chance, or find a rare item that lets you change faction."
There are rare items? Rose thought to herself before she looked at Aurora. "Aurora, can you go get Ken quickly? Tell him I actually have one last super important question."
"Um, okay," Aurora said before she flew through the bars of the cage.
"Besides, even once I do change faction, I wouldn't know what to do really," Nandy admitted. "I don't like the idea of chasing after a Submissive player or even an NPC for that matter. They'll be so scared, or at least act scared… and what would I do once I catch them? I don't have the faintest idea. Maybe I should've chose to be an FG instead…"
"You could always join a guild," Rose suggested.
"I'd still have to do something dominating when I switch factions, otherwise I will never gain any XP," Nandy grumbled.
"You could always try out different things…" A bright blue fairy that was on Nandy's hair suggested in a slightly annoyed tone.
"Yeah, I know, Arctic, that's what I'm trying to figure out," Nandy remarked before he looked at Rose. "I do have some abilities I can use due to being at level 2, though since I'm a Submissive player, they're mostly evasion abilities. Maybe I can help you escape if you want? I mean if you want to be sold to an owner, then I won't do anything."
"Sadly I doubt I would make it far," Rose responded. "There are about 25 different people looking at me right now, mostly players but some NPCs. A few of them carrying what appear to be tranquilizer guns…"
"Eh… I've seen tighter security," Nandy shrugged.
"Considering I've only been here a couple minutes, we'll probably start to see more and more security at any point," Rose remarked. "After all, I'm apparently worth a small kingdom."
"No kidding? Well, you are a kitsune, that alone is already worth quite a fortune," Nandy chuckled. "Probably should've chosen a more common animal for your avatar."
"I thought I chose a standard arctic fox… not a kitsune…" Rose groaned. "And yeah… apparently I might be worth 100 billion Jewels or more."
Nandy whistled. "Dang, you rival one of the rarest items in the game for that much."
Aurora came back to Rose, and Ken approached the cage.
"What is it that you need that's so 'super important'?" Ken asked.
"I wanted to make a request," Rose explained. "This human here, Nandy, actually wishes to change factions to Dominant. I was… hoping that if I go for a super high price, you might be willing to help him become a Dominant and take him into your guild?"
"Wha- hey!" Nandy sputtered from shock.
"This human?" Ken blinked, looking at the still shocked Nandy.
Ken checked Nandy's status himself. "I don't know, he's really low levelled, and he's got a bad reputation with constantly changing owners and be sold and resold to the market. A Dominant has to be interested enough in a Submissive player to even offer the chance to change their faction. He doesn't interest me. You'd sell for an extremely high price regardless."
"Please?" Rose requested. "The reason he has such a bad reputation is because he's apparently really trash at being a submissive…"
"Thank you for nothing, you useless kitsune," Nandy scowled.
"Please, Ken?" Rose repeated. "I'm sure if he becomes a Dominant he'll prove to be a lot better a player. Call it a gut feeling."
Ken gave Nandy a questioning look. Nandy was glaring at Rose.
"Don't I get a say in this?" Nandy grumbled.
"If it'll help, while he appears to be a standard human, he has some wolf in him," Arctic commented. "It could be possible that at a higher level, he will be able to transform or will become a chienthrope."
Rose blinked at that, she didn't know players could change their species in game.
"A wolf, you say?" Ken perked up, looking interested.
"Arctic dire wolf to be specific," Arctic clarified.
"Arctic, I didn't tell you to say anything! You're like the most rebellious fairy guide ever!" Nandy snapped.
"Maybe I wouldn't be rebellious if you hadn't outright insulted me and tried to swat at me when we first met," Arctic coldly retorted.
"And you wonder why I named you Arctic, you're as cold as the arctic," Nandy hissed.
"It's unusual for a player to not get along with their fairy guide," Ken noted. "But I am interested in the wolf you may turn into. I love my wolves."
"Does that mean you're going to buy this human, Ken?" Sunset asked. "Or do you plan on accepting the request of the kitsune and give the human a chance to switch factions to Dominant?"
"I will decide after the auction," Ken decided. "Depending on how it goes, that will be my decision. First, just so someone else doesn't snatch him up. Reginald!"
The chienthrope bunny NPC from earlier quickly appeared. "Yes, Master Ken?"
"I would like to buy this human," Ken explained as he walked over and securely shut the cage door, having noticed it was ajar.
"This human? He will be about 1000 Jewels," The NPC, named Reginald, stated.
Ken nodded as a screen appeared in front of Reginald. Ken reached forward and pressed the green check mark.
"It is always a pleasure to do business with you, Master Ken." Reginald bowed. "Would you like to change your pet's pet name before I return to arranging the auction?"
"No, I like his current pet name." Ken smirked.
Nandy growled before he looked at Rose. "Why did you do that for?"
"I'm trying to help you, Nandy," Rose explained.
"I thank you for your good intentions, Rose, but next time you want to help me, don't," Nandy grumbled.
"Don't be so rude, Wolfy," Ken stated with a smile. "If you truly aren't Submissive material, instead of reselling you, I will offer you the chance to prove you can be a Dominant."
Nandy sighed, rubbing his face a little. "I hate this game…"
Rose couldn't help but give Nandy a small pity smile, she wondered if the boy was like her, someone who didn't like kinks but had to play KinkQuest anyways.
"I'll be back for you once the auction is done, Wolfy," Ken informed as he turned away.
Rose turned away from Nandy as Ken walked away. "Sorry…"
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have complained so much to you like that," Nandy sighed. "I've just been… having a hard time with this game."
"Well… maybe this could be the start of your redemption…" Rose softly said. "After all, when people usually have a super difficult time with something at first, they'll find it becomes easier soon after."
"Hmm, I wonder about you then. What will you do after you're sold?" Nandy questioned. "Do you like being Submissive?"
"I… don't know, this is my first time on this game," Rose answered honestly. "Not even an hour in this game yet."
"Really? I'm surprised you picked Submissive then. According to Arctic, Mr. Cold Fairy himself, most new players who doesn't know what their kink is would start as either Free Game or Dominant, mostly the latter so they don't get hunted and captured," Nandy informed.
"I… didn't know I was picking my starting role when I was designing my character," Rose admitted.
"You didn't? There was a label that shows 'Submissive' or 'Dominant', or in rare cases 'Free Game' next to the character you're choosing. Did you not notice those?" Nandy questioned. "The rarer the species, the higher chance of them being Submissive characters."
"Perhaps I got an auto Submissive character." Rose shrugged slightly.
Ken came back with two anthro ox NPCs. "Alright, kitsune, it's time. Take her to the center for the auction."
The two anthro ox NPCs lifted up the cage Rose was in and moved her to the center of the market. There was a stage in the center, where they put her on. Rose had a huge audience looking at her in awe and hunger. There were numbers on the far wall that said how many people were watching the auction.
"There's 2 million people watching my auction?!" Rose asked with wide eyes as she saw the number after she stood up in the cage. "Holy crap…"
"Yes," A chienthrope lizard NPC answered as he got on stage. "You may actually rank among the top sales this Sub Center has ever had. The top 2 slots are currently held by a male and female dragon. I predict you may take the number 3 slot which is currently held by a mermaid."
The chienthrope lizard NPC turned to the audience, holding a microphone. "Alright Dominants, settle down. We will begin the auction. This here is an arctic kitsune, with unique pink stripes, a Submissive, of course, and she is a new player. Meaning she is free to be broken and tamed. The bidding will begin at 10,000,000 Jewel."
"10!" Someone in the audience called out.
Rose tuned out the bidding war that quickly ensued the first bid, choosing to watch the number that had appeared below the number of people. The number quickly started to rise, reaching 500 million within the first two minutes of the auction. The number of people watching had also increased from 2 to 4.7 million.
Rose wondered to herself if she'd be in this situation if she hadn't messed up choosing fox.
After what felt like hours to her, the hammer slammed down.
"Sold to Raven of the Blackened Sun guild for 519 billion Jewel!" The NPC lizard announced. "That makes this kitsune #2 on the list of top sales!"
"Yes!" Rose saw an anthro black falcon cheering, a black falcon named 'Raven'.
Really…? A falcon named raven? Rose chuckled before she gave it some thought. Hmmm… perhaps she's basing her name on the super heroine with the purple cloak and magic.
A menu came up for Raven, and she selected the green check mark.
"Can't believe she paid that much…"
"She is known for liking exotic pets."
"We should've known it was over when she showed up."
"Heh, at least we managed to drain that much money out of her account."
Ken was chuckling from not too far away. "Of course, I should've known Raven would get you. Just so you know, she's the Co-Founder of Blackened Sun and second in command. She will probably end up putting both the guild mark on you and her personal mark."
The two anthro NPC ox picked up Rose's cage and carried her off the stage. When they put down her cage, Raven walked up to her.
"Hello there, I can't wait to take you home with me~" Raven greeted before she opened her menu and selected something.
The cage door opened, and Juliette was now wearing a leash again, this time it was held by the black falcon.
"Since you're mine now, I should put a mark on you," Raven noted. "First though, let's take a look at your name."
Raven pulled up the screen of Rose's information.
"Rose, huh? That's pretty cute," Raven remarked. "Now let's see, where to put my personal mark…? I'll put the guild mark on your right shoulder… but perhaps I should put my personal mark over your heart to signify that your life is in my claws~"
Raven reached out and touched Rose's right shoulder, showing a black half sun with a wave at the bottom. Then Raven touched Rose's chest, specifically above her heart, showing a talon mark.
Rose shivered a bit at the feeling of the marks appearing. Rose just noticed a dark green fairy was on Raven's shoulder.
"I can tell she's going to be a good challenge for you, Rae~" The dark green fairy grinned.
"I do hope you're right, Ivy." Raven smiled. "Oh, and Rose, please do give me a bit of a fight. I don't like it when pets just roll over and surrender."
Ken was chuckling as he approached Raven and Rose, having Nandy by the leash himself.
"Well, Raven, looks like that took a big chunk out of your account," Ken chuckled. "I hope that was worth it."
"The money was either going to be spent on an exotic pet or on building that new guild hall that you want," Raven remarked. "This way, I actually accomplished both."
"Essentially killing two birds with one stone?" Ken commented.
"Hey, I'm a bird, so I don't like that saying," Raven pointed out before she noticed Nandy. "You actually bought him? I just sold him here yesterday."
"Shame you did," Ken responded. "Turns out this kid has arctic dire wolf in him which I would love to see brought out. It's the trait that could lead to Wolfy changing species from human to chienthrope and perhaps even full anthro. Who knows, he might even get a feral form."
Nandy just grumbled at that.
"I knew he had wolf in him, but good luck trying to bring that out. It's really rare for a human avatar to get traits of an animal, so some might think he might've hacked his avatar," Raven pointed out.
"I have a feeling it wasn't because he has a hacked character," Ken stated. "I do wonder, when you break your new pet, do you plan on upgrading her and sending her out into the field or taking her with you on missions? Or will you simply leave her at home with your other pets?"
"Considering how rare she is, and how much I had to pay for her, I want to get the most out of her. I'll definitely be taking her with me on my missions, and sending her out to the field, and giving her upgrades to get stronger," Raven answered.
"Great, you do that, meanwhile I get wolf training with Mr. Tiger here, or just getting sold back to the market," Nandy sarcastically quipped.
"Actually, you're only half right, Wolfy," Ken informed. "I do plan on training you, but not as a pet. I want to train you to be a Dominant. I can already tell that if I try to make you my pet you'll simply end up quitting the game."
"You're going to train him to be a Dominant?" Raven asked, surprised. "Him? He wouldn't even chase after a feral NPC."
"He's too wound up, Raven," Ken explained. "Most likely he's never tried anything dominant. Perhaps when he gets into it, he'll shine. Perhaps you'd consider helping me test my theory when we get back to the guild hall?"
"Fine. If nothing else, I would love to see how you'll turn him into a Dominant," Raven commented, giving Nandy a look.
Nandy scowled right back at Raven.
"I think this is a great idea, to loosen up Nandy," Arctic put in.
"Nobody asked you," Nandy snapped.
"I don't care," Arctic shot back.
Rose found herself being walked by Raven, while Ken had Nandy. Nandy and Raven both kept shooting dirty looks at one another, as if they had a sour history.
Rose watched as they were brought onto a colorful crystal pad.
"Teleport, Magnolia," Ken stated aloud before the pad began to glow.
The pad shined a bright light, transporting them to another area in the game. When the light vanished, Rose found herself in a somewhat smaller city. The buildings were taller, and there were a lot of more players and NPCs moving around but it was much more wide open.
"Welcome to Magnolia," Ken greeted. "The town belonging to Blackened Sun."
"Wow… you guys own this entire town…?" Rose asked in surprise and astonishment.
"Yep. Magnolia was built and is owned by Blackened Sun," Ken confirmed as the group stepped off the pad and began walking up the main road. "A good number of the NPCs you see around are actually pets, servants, and slaves of the players of our guild, as well as some of the other players. You see, our guild tries to be a bit freer with our Submissives. When we aren't directly doing activities with them, we let them be free and do whatever activities they want as long as they understand that they have to come back to us."
"That's… actually pretty cool," Rose commented.
"You know… looking at your stats… I'm seeing an anomaly, Rose," Raven spoke up. "Hey, Ken, you mind taking a look at this?"
Raven passed a screen over to Ken who began looking at it as they walked.
"What in the world…?" Ken muttered, sounding incredibly shocked and surprised. "Sunset, am I reading Rose's DNA profile correctly?"
Sunset looked at the information. "I see why you both are so intrigued. It would appear that the kitsune is actually part dragoness according to her DNA profile."
Wait… WHAT?! Rose inwardly shouted questioningly.
"Looks like we both really lucked out," Ken chuckled. "Had everyone know she was part dragon, she could've cost a few trillion Jewel."
"How are you part dragon?" Nandy asked. "That wasn't one of the avatar options. Then again, neither was the human-wolf one either…"
"It's not impossible for a character to become half something else later. They just have to collect enough DNA of the creature and apply it to their avatar," Ken explained. "But the fact you are already part dragoness without collecting any dragon DNA is quite the phenomenon. Perhaps there was a glitch with the character selection for you…"
"That or the RNG gods were looking down on her with a smile," Raven commented. "I wonder what other stats she lucked out on."
"She might just have the highest stats she could possibly have at level 0 if the RNG gods were smiling down on her," Nandy quipped.
"I'll take a look at her stats in better detail when we arrive home, Rae," Ivy promised.
"Speaking of home, we're here~" Ken smiled, causing Rose to look up.
In front of the group was a giant building that had the name Blackened Sun on the front with the guild emblem underneath it.
"This… is your home…?" Rose asked, her jaw practically on the ground.
"Well, it's the home of Ken and I as well as the guild hall," Raven answered with a smirk, noticing Rose's awe filled expression.
"And it's where you two will be staying with us as well," Ken added. "We have plenty of room for our pets, and of course, new members."
Ken smiled at Nandy, who just looked away.
"There are two private rooms for Raven and I that are quite large, so you will have lots of room to run around in. There is also a nice fenced in yard~" Ken added.
"It's a great place for our pets to be able to let loose and run around," Raven explained. "And to train for hunting. Now, let's head inside."
"Not to sound ungrateful, but can I get some clothes?" Rose requested, having recovered from her awe. "I'd rather not continue to be nude if given a choice."
"We'll decide on that soon," Raven remarked.
