"What the..." Ally couldn't believe her eyes. There was a tiger, standing on two legs, talking with her mother's voice. It was like something out of one of Kyle's perverted fantasies. She looked over at her brother, wondering if he was to blame. Unfortunately, he flashed the hypnosis coin at her, causing her to drift off into space.
Kyle had acted on instinct. This whole situation was crazy, and so he waved the coin in front of his sister, purely in self-defense. He didn't actually think it would hypnotize her that easily. The tiger meowed, curious at the object in Kyle's hands.
"What's that?" Amy playfully teased, as she rushed up towards him.
Not knowing what else to do, Kyle swung the pendant in Amy's direction. As soon as she spotted it, Amy instantly went into a trance. She plopped down on to all fours, and stared up at the coin. She looked like a cat mesmerized by a shiny object.
Kyle couldn't believe it. Something like this couldn't happen in reality. His mom had turned into a tiger. What should he do? His two family members were both staring at nothing, not registering the world around them. That at least gave him time to think.
The obvious solution was to turn Amy back to normal, smash the coin into pieces, and forget about this incident. He realized he had no idea about how powerful the coin was. What if his mom was stuck like this?
"Amy, turn back to normal." Amy's body rippled as her fur receded, turning her back into a human. Unfortunately, she still wasn't wearing any clothes. Kyle tried to look elsewhere. It was his mom after all.
Well, that was progress at least. If anything went crazy, at least he could fix it. Deep down, he knew he should stop meddling with this stuff, but the thought of Amy's tiger form made him pause. Her transformation gave him goosebumps.
"Amy, how did being a tigress feel?"
His mother pondered the question. "It's hard to explain. As soon as I transformed, I had all these new urges and desires. It was silly stuff, like craving raw fish, or wanting to let out a huge roar. As a human, I would be totally embarrassed by them, but as a cat..."
She trailed off.
"It felt good to have them. I stress all the time about you guys, and have to work long hours just so we have enough to get by. I never have a chance to let loose. Honestly, I thought I forgot how to."
She chuckled slightly.
"Tigers don't worry about that kind of stuff. They have instincts, and they act on them. I didn't have to worry any more, and just let myself have fun. It felt so good to let it all loose. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish I could turn back into one. I never would have imagined this before, but now that I've changed, I want to be a tigress."
Kyle was shocked by his mother's admission, but he couldn't deny her that happiness. Plus, there were his own more selfish reasons.
"Okay then Amy, you can turn back into a tiger."
Amy smiled as her body rippled, feeling the magic surrounding her. She roared and shifted into her tiger form in less than a second. Kyle wished the change took longer, but it was evident that his mom really wanted to get back to being a feline.
He turned his attention back to his sister Ally. There was no way she would agree to this. He also didn't want her knowing about the hypnosis coin. Ally would try to destroy it if she got the chance. In a flash of inspiration, he realized how to kill two birds with one stone.
"Ally, Amy, listen up. Ally, you were the one who transformed Mom."
"Huh?" asked Ally, dumb-founded.
"You found a necklace with a strange orange and black stone on it walking home today. It looked pretty cheap, but you thought Mom would like it, so you decided to surprise her with it. When Amy put it on, it turned into a collar and triggered her transformation."
Kyle noticed that a thin black leather collar had appeared around his mom's neck. An oval tiger-striped stone hung down from it, shining in the light. The power of the coin was amazing.
"The necklace is magically attached to Amy, and will never come off, no matter what. She hides the stone while human, but proudly displays it while a tiger. It also has another power. When Amy transforms, the necklace will suck up all her clothes, but when Amy goes back to being human, her clothes will return."
Kyle smiled at that part. He didn't want to see his mom naked, unless she was wearing a fur coat.
"Mom, would you demonstrate how the collar works?"
Amy frowned, but did as she was told. As she shifted back into a human, her work clothes reappeared. She stood up, looking just like she had when she walked through the door. Her new necklace was hidden under her shirt.
"Could you show me your necklace?"
His mom pulled the stone up. It had gone through a transformation of its own. The chain was made of black plastic, and the stone was obviously painted. It looked like a cheap hand-made toy. Kyle supposed that made sense, given its fictional backstory.
"The necklace is what gives Amy her power. Both of you will forget about my hypnosis coin. The necklace is what transformed Amy, not me."
Kyle thought things over, making sure he wasn't forgetting anything. As he thought, Amy put the tacky necklace back under her shirt, the hypnosis already affecting her. He finally remembered one other thing he wanted to change.
"You must keep your double life a secret. Only Ally and I know your secret, because we saw you transform. However, other people might see you while you are a cat. You will not transform in front of them, and you will be able to avoid capture. You will be able to keep your secret identity of Amy hidden. You're free to act like a cat in public, as long as they don't realize you are Amy."
Kyle hoped that his instructions weren't too complicated. He needed to make sure they understood.
"Explain what has happened to Amy."
Ally started first. "I found a necklace on my way home from school. I thought it would be a good gift, so I gave it to Mom today. However, it turned her into a tiger. Nothing can remove the necklace, and it turns her clothes into a collar when she transforms. She hides the stone when human, but proudly displays it when she is a tiger."
Amy continued. "The necklace turned me into an anthropomorphic tiger. I can speak English and walk on two legs, but I prefer to act like a cat. I enjoy being a tiger, and surprisingly I like turning into one. I can turn back into human, but I don't really care for it. I can become a tigress whenever I want to, but I make sure that no one knows my secret identity, except for my family."
Kyle nodded. This was exactly what he had in mind.
"Okay then. When you wake up, Amy will have just put on the necklace for the first time. You will know that I had nothing to do with her transformation. Now, wake up!"