Zack couldn't help himself. He felt a thrill at having a little fun with Dawn and the remote. While she was engrossed in a book, he took a closer look at the remote's options. There were two buttons that seemed to either speed up or slow down a desired transformation. He pressed the button to slow down, and a timer displayed on the screen. It started at "00h00m05s", which was about how long his satyr transformation took. Must be the default setting, he thought.
He pressed the button a few more times, and the number went up five seconds each time. He held it down and the time increased faster. He stopped when the timer displayed two minutes. Then he looked for an option to go with a hybrid form, halfway between a human and an animal. Being a full satyr was fine, since they were already hybrids. But if he was going to turn Dawn into something, like a jungle cat...maybe a cheetah...he wanted her to keep her upright posture and thumbs.
He noticed the Scan button and nearly gasped. Almost forgot about that! He made sure to do a scan of her real form then and there so she could be changed back easily.
He found a button that set percentages of a transformation. He put it at exactly fifty percent. Then he pressed the full-body TF button and the remote said "Please state creature." Startled, Zack hid the remote behind him.
"Did you say something?" Dawn said, glancing at him briefly.
"No, that was...someone over there, I think."
To Zack's relief, Dawn had already resumed looking through the book and didn't glance up again. He brought the remote up to his mouth, pointed it at Dawn, and whispered "cheetah."
The remote did its thing. On the screen, Dawn's body appeared to change into the profile of a cheetah-woman and the timer began to count down.
Dan picked up a random book and pretended to read it as Dawn slowly made her way down the aisle. Zack kept glancing at her every few seconds, waiting to see what would change first. He noticed her scratching the seat of her pants a couple of times. Then her ears.
He put the book away and started walking toward her, as she was nearing the other end of the aisle. He could see her ears growing bigger, and changing color.
She ducked into the next aisle, and Zack lost sight of her for several seconds. He turned the corner and was suddenly face to face with her. He let out a gasp of surprise, not only at nearly running into her, but at her face, which was growing a light coat of yellow fur and black spots. Her nose was flattening out into a feline's, and her ears were nearly fully formed...pointed, near the top of her head, and tipped with black fur.
"I thought you were right behind me. Sorry to startle you," she said with a giggle, which turned suddenly into a mewl. She looked startled and cleared her throat. "Well that was weird. Uh...why are you looking at me like that?"
Zack turned slightly red. "Oh...just...you look really nice today."
"Thanks...," she said, half believing him. The truth was, he meant it...just not in the way it sounded. He was very pleased with the look of her changes so far. It made him want to transform himself again.
They started to walk again, but a passing woman gave Dawn a puzzled look. She politely said nothing and continued walking past them, but Dawn noticed.
"Okay, something's wrong...do I have something on my face?" She reached up to touch her cheek and felt the new fur there. Dumbfounded, she touched her wet nose, then her ear. "OH MY GOD."
"Shhh, it's all right. You're okay." Zack said, taking out the remote and holding up his hands. "I'm sorry. I just played a little trick on you."
"A LITTLE? What the hell is happening to me?!"
Zack looked around at the customers that had begun to stare at the couple. This wasn't turning out nearly as well as he had thought...but really, what had he expected? "I'm stupid, I'm sorry. It's gonna be fine." He quickly pressed a button that would change the world's perception of what was happening. If he read the buttons right, it would make everyone perfectly fine with the idea of Dawn being a human-like cheetah. He looked around, and saw that fewer people were staring now.
"Zack what the hell is going on?" she asked, turning to hide in the next aisle and clutching her face, which was beginning to push out into a feline muzzle.
"This remote. It changes people. I turned myself into a satyr earlier. Now it's turning you into a cheetah. But it's okay! Nobody will freak out when they see you."
Dawn's voice was a hushed shout. "I'M freaking out RIGHT NOW!" Her voice took on a feline undertone, and she bared her new fangs at him.
Zack held the remote up. "It's harmless. You don't feel any pain, right?"
"My...my lower back feels weird."
Zack looked down and saw a bulge forming in the seat of her pants. "That must be your tail."
"My TAIL?"
"Don't fret." Zack tugged her pants down a little bit and her blossoming cheetah tail began to emerge quickly out of the bottom of her spine. Dawn watched it twitch in the air, totally under her control. She touched it with clawed hands, feeling the soft spotted fur. She seemed to be calming down, horror giving way to fascination.
"This...this is incredible."
Another customer passed by them in the aisle. He glanced once at Zack and Dawn, then started browsing the aisles. Dawn watched him incredulously. "Didn't he see me?"
"He did...he just didn't care." Zack smiled. "Didn't I tell you it would be all right?"
"You scared the hell out of me!" Dawn took a book off the shelf and whapped Zack on the head. "Did you use that thing to zap away your brains?"
"I guess I had that coming. I'm sorry." Zack felt horrible. He'd let his excitement get the better of him, and now he'd pissed off a good friend.
"Give me that thing." Dawn held out her hand.
"What are you gonna do with it?"
Her dark feline eyes glowered at him. "Give it to me." Her throat rumbled with the sound of an angry predator. Zack gulped and placed the remote in her furry hand. Her paws hovered over the buttons, and she examined its features.
"I don't mind looking like this...for now. As long as nobody stares at me. But YOU are going to make up for what you did."
"Okay," Zack said, admitting defeat. "How?"