Ryan spotted a red collar and leash with a blank tag for sale near the counter and took one.
"Come along Goldie, it's time for you and I to have some fun-"
But before Ryan could put the collar around Goldie's neck-
"Now what do we have here? Humph! You troublesome little headphones, can't even wait for a master who will pay a lousy 200 dollars for you?" Out of the back came an old man in a bathrobe and night cap covered in glued-on glitter stars and moons. He did not look happy.
Ryan startled. Goldie got up and sat on her hands and feet. Beep! He should run as fast as he can! Ryan turned.
The old man wiggled his fingers while speaking in the most fake 'stage hypnosis' voice Ryan had ever heard. "Yoooou willl stay puut!"
Ryan would stay put. BEEP! Ryan had to run!
"And yooooou wiiiill ignore the beeping that you can't hear while we discuss thiiings."
Ryan felt extremely dizzy he turned around again, what had the old man said exactly?
The old man pointed at a sign next to the register Ryan had failed to notice before. 'He's a Wizard.' And Ryan objectively knew that to be true. The music blared loudly.
"You're a Dalmatian bimbo!" The music pounded the old man, who just shrugged.
"No... I don't think I am, thank you very much."
Ryan felt the head phones quiver. If they weren't an unliving object, Ryan would imagine it was fear.
"Now that was just bad taste you naughty pair of headphones, escalating things like that? Humph! And over two-hundred American dollars? Seriously? With inflation these days? Humph! I say! Humph!"
Ryan rambled, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to steal the headphones! It was an accident! I didn't mean to change your employee! I-!"
"Now now Ryan, yes I know your name, there's no need to lie to me. And I know YOU didn't mean to steal the headphones. Now it's my job to see these little bundles of chaos are unleashed into the world, and how things turn out after that isn't my job, I'm not supposed to meddle. BUT-!" He pointed at Goldie. "My employees are not for sale."
Goldie whimpered. Ryan quivered.
"Ted was a layabout whose family demanded he get a job or they'd throw him out of the house. Being your pet is likely just fine with his heart of hearts. But I still have a sacred contract between myself and my hired hands and interns, transformation antics are for customers, NOT employees. But at the same time, Goldie has her own right to exist now that she does exist, that just transformation 'ethics' one-oh-one." The Wizard coughed.
"Now normally the store relocates to another universe after a satisfied customer is set loose on a unsuspecting populace, but you didn't PAY for those headphones, so I guess that's why we stuck around. And seriously, the arrogance of coming back here after that? Humph." Ryan had the odd feeling the last sentence wasn't spoken to him.
"I! I'm sorry! I've never used my power like this before, and-!"
"YOUR power? Oh yes yes, of course. My mistake." The Wizard gave a stage wink, but Ryan didn't think it was for him. "It's not my place to judge what you do with it, that another department.
"Now then... 200 dollars please. Oh, and you're buying that reality warping enchanted leash and collar and tag, that'll be forty dollar extra."
The wizard pulled a piece of brown paper out of his sleeve.
"Oh, and you might want your magical-morality-license so you don't go accumulating bad-karma. Though there are still stipulation, you can't TORTURE your creations nor untransformed. They're your responsibility, like pets, or servants, or family, depending on what you make them into. Unless you turn them into objects of course, but magical-transformed objects have a right to be valued and used as intended. And if you're into that sort of thing you creation must be made to wanting you as a natural part of their psyche, or charm them the old fashioned way. And if you run for elected office it must be the old fashioned way too, so good luck transforming enough creations to vote for you."
Ryan's head spun. "I'm... not plotting to conquer the world right now."
"And there fifty-dollar registration fee."
Ryan sighed and reached for his wallet.
"And there's the matter of the two CDs you bought for your headphones. Sixty-dollars total."
Ryan cringed. "Well, if I'm being sucked dry, I might as well buy the Inanimate Indies disc too."
'Heh, every time, buy a lot might as well buy a little more eh?' The Wizard thought. "Thirty more dollars please. I'd normally also charge you for transforming one of my employees, but given the unique circumstances, I'll waver that fee."
Ryan didn't look a gift horse in the mouth and handed over the 390 dollars.
"Plus tax."
Ryan groaned and added in another 39 dollars.
"And here is your Inanimate Indie CD."
Ryan placed it to the headphones, absorbing the music as well.
"Though some limits to that CD's power, is that the new enchanted object must be humanoid in some fashion, or have an unmodifiable, irreplaceable, integrated part that symbolizes the human form, like hilt of a sword having a female human shape for instance."
Ryan shrugged he just wanted this over by this point, who knew finding a way to enhance his powers would be so complicated?
"Now normally I don't do this, but like I said, Ted was an employee, and I can't go having my employees being at risk of our own products. It's Ted's own fault for reading the employee's manual-"
Ryan head a wolf growl.
"There is too a employee's manual Nathan! You're our guard-dog, wolf, whatever! You have a separate duties, which if you'd done properly we wouldn't be in this mess."
Another wolf's growl from the backroom.
"I know you were on your break and Ted was an idiot! But he was still your fellow employee. Leave the moral loop-holing to me. If you're as morally creative as me, then there's no contrast and things stop being interesting." The Wizard turned back to Ryan. "Sorry for the distraction. But where were he?"
The Wizard reached behind the counter and pulled out something covered in a white sheet the Wizard removed to reveal a perfect polished silver mirror.
"Now if you'll have Goldie stand in front or the mirror please?"
"Do as he says Goldie," Ryan said awkwardly.
"Yes Master." Goldie did so, sitting on her hands and feet again.
"Now look into the mirror Goldie, remember who you were, what you were, what was yours." The Wizard said, an image of Ted flickered into being inside the mirror. "Reach out Goldie." The dog girl did as commanded. When she touched the mirror, the Ted inside grabbed her and pulled himself out.
"Dude, what happened?" Ted asked.
"Oh nothing, you're just a quantum replica of yourself."
"What-clone!?" Ted's head spun.
"Don't worry about it, fate itself can't tell the different. Now, go back to your owner Goldie."
Goldie yipped and scampered back to you. Good a time as any, as you put the collar around her neck. Goldie shuddered, the name 'Goldie' appeared on the tag, any trace of Ted was purged from her existence, she'd always been Goldie, everyone knew she'd always been Goldie, Master's faithful pet, slave, property, servant, whatever he wished her to be.
"Have a good day Ryan, and good luck with exploring your 'enhanced' powers," the Wizard said smugly.
Ryan nodded, and walked out, pulling the humanoid dog girl along by the leash. As soon as he stepped out of the Spells R Us store- BEEP!
There was nothing more to think about. There was nothing to worry about. He had one glorious new plaything at his beck and command. Now it was time to have as much fun as possible with his new power.