Hey everybody!
Due to being off the internet for a week starting tomorrow as well as Jafax coming up, I decided to give a little treat. Here ya go!
Turnabout Kittens Investigation Phase 1 (Part 2)
Fuzzycon Courtyard
April 29
6:05 PM
There was nothing that could have prepared me for what I saw. Kittens, literally EVERYWHERE. Posters, flyers, toys, movies, video games, costumes, t-shirts...the list of products could go on and on. 9 out of every 10 people had at least one Fuzzy Kitten item on hand or person, and 5 out of those 10 wore costumes.
Now, I consider myself to be normally pretty okay with this kind of thing. I was quite the trading card gamer back in the day, and I had gone to quite a few conventions myself. But this...this was something completely different. Those products, while mainly aimed for kids, had some very interesting concepts and were often also aimed towards adults as well. But...this was just a kid's show. Aimed at 5-8 year olds. And yet I was seeing full grown adults in full kitten costume. I could feel my masculinity fleeing from me for it's own safety.
"Remind me WHY I have to come to this...this...thing?" I said, more than slightly annoyed.
"Because I want you to!" Jenna said, glowing with excitement.
"WHY!?"
"We have no clients right now, I don't like being alone, and all you were going to do was sit in front of the tv and look at your cards all evening!"
I sighed. Sometimes, I questioned whether or not my assistant was actually an adult, or whether she was actually 13 years old and just really tall. But, she did have a point. There wasn't exactly anything else for me to do...well, beyond organizing my cards. You know, IMPORTANT THINGS.
"Besides," she said grinning, "there's someone here who wants to see you."
"Hmm?" I said, immediately interested. "Who?"
"You'll see," she laughed, then grabbed my arm and ran to the nearest stand pulling me with her. Figures.
Fuzzycon Courtyard
April 29
7:30 PM
By this point, I was really ready to go home. I was tired, stressed, and beginning to wonder if I had accidentally fallen into Wonderland. Seeing so many bright colors in one day can make you wonder if you're actually sane. Jenna had really been enjoying herself, which made things easier, but I could only take so much. I sat down at a nearby bench to rest.
"So...now what?" I said, attempting to relieve some of the stress by resting.
"Hmm?"
"We've been to every single stand multiple times, seen quite a few episodes, bought things from every store...and you STILL haven't brought me to the person who supposedly wants to see me."
"Oh..." she said, surprised. "I kinda...forgot...?"
I sighed. "Just try to go find...whoever it was. Hopefully they haven't left already."
"Umm...okay!" She said, running off. I wondered if she really was actually going to look for the person, or actually going to visit another store again.
I sat back and sighed. I really did enjoy having her as an assistant, but I could only take so much...energy. Having a quiet office for so long made her sudden arrival much worse than it actually was, of course. I'm sure it was mostly my fault, but it would be nice to be able to have peace and quiet for once.
"So...the fool finally shows himself. I was beginning to wonder if you had finally thrown yourself in the garbage where you belong."
I almost jumped. I knew that voice, I knew it all too well. But all of the places I expected to hear it, it certainly wasn't here.
I turned towards the voice and then proceeded to fall off the bench. It was Brea Firehawk, one of my old opponents in court, the one I had cleared innocent in court. I hadn't heard anything about her since then, not even from Jenna....but that's not what shocked me. Her voice was fairly calm despite having gone through so much pain...but that's not what shocked me. She held her old stiff and powerful posture she once did despite almost going insane not long ago...but that's not what shocked me.
She was wearing a shirt. Now, wearing a t-shirt at all was unusual for her, she often dressed pretty professionally, usually something the mafia would wear...but this was no ordinary t-shirt. The shirt was a light blue color, and smack dab in the middle was a green kitten...with a pink bow...and the name "Cuddles".
It was the most horrifying thing I had ever seen.
"What's so shocking?" she said, curious.
"I...the...you...you...um...I..."
I stood up and pulled myself together. I decided I was only going to make eye contact for the rest of the conversation.
"Sorry about that.." I said, saving the previous mental image for my nightmares that would obviously be happening tonight.
"Well, I didn't think you'd be happy to see me, but I wasn't expecting that reaction," she said in a fairly mature tone.
"Neither did I. So...what brings you...here of all...place?"
"Hmph," she said, disgusted, "Why do you THINK I came here, foolish fool!?"
I shrugged. I expected to see Aaron hula dancing more than seeing her...here.
"Well..." she said, showing a very, VERY slight bit of red in her cheeks, "I haven't had too much work lately, and decided to take a day off."
I was about to ask exactly why she spent her day off at "Fuzzycon", but decided I was better off not knowing.
"So, are you enjoying being dragged around like a rag doll?"
"Hardy," I said, groaning.
She giggled creepily, then suddenly sobered up.
"Anyways, there is something I want to talk with you about."
That got my attention. So she was the person who wanted to meet with me. I silently chuckled: Jenna still hadn't returned. My theory about the store was probably correct.
"So, what does her majesty want with garbage?" I said, sarcastically.
"Silence, fool. It was against my better judgement to meet you, but the other fool insisted."
"Jenna?"
"Yes," she grimaced. "I'm here to...thank you." She looked as if she might vomit.
"Thank me?"
"As much I hate rewarding pitiful lawyers, you did somehow manage to get the right verdict."
"Ah...no problem." I said, not exactly sure what to say.
We both stood there in silence for a few minutes. Neither of us had spent more than a minute speaking with each other outside of court before, this was definitely not an ordinary situation. Though what confused me more was the fact that she was still standing there, as if she still had something to say. What more could she possibly have to say to me?
Then, what happened next I certainly wasn't expecting. She jumped at me, and in a few seconds I was on the ground with a dagger hidden from outside view against my throat. In court, I wouldn't have surprised, but it was rare for her to ever show violence somewhere where she could easily be caught by camera.
"If you ever cause Jenna any harm...you're dead. Understood!?" she said, quietly but quite menacingly.
"What are you talking about!?" I said, against my better judgement.
To add even more surprise to my day, she suddenly backed off. She brushed herself off, and began walking away. As I stood up, she stopped, stood still for a second, and turned her head around.
"Don't think I haven't seen it....you're a dangerous man, Dalmin."
She then walked away and disappeared into the crowd. I sat back down on the bench dazed and confused. What did she mean!? Did I say something wrong to Jenna!? Did I accidentally hurt Brea? What did I do!?
Then, I heard a scream. It was incredibly loud, and everyone stood still in shock...that was, except for me. I had bolted in the scream's general direction. I knew that scream well...I had heard it many times, too many times. If I was correct, this happy place was about to become a den of nightmares.
