The Future Will Change

“Oh and my name? You can call me Aoife (ee-fuh) Aogami,” the oni went on, “I’m from a group down under that deals with nonsensical crap here on the surface. You could call us like our own little agency of sorts.”

Aidon wagged his tails as he gave it some thought. “I see. So the anti-demon faction is still active even long after I left. Interesting. So we have someone here on the surface using a magical film curse to turn people into animals to get them into their cult.”

“Somehow that’s the least strange thing I’ve heard,” Luna muttered as she sat down, and reached one of her leg-paws to scratch behind her ear, “...argh…now I’m really starting to act like one.”

“Yeh, that’s a problem with that kinda curse,” Aoife replied, “You start feelin’ it more and more over time. Thankfully it seems you lot are a tad resistant to it, but we need’ta find out if anyone else has been afflicted by this and see what we can to do track down the perps, yeh?”

“Seems reasonable,” Aidon agreed. But now they had to figure out exactly where to start. “...the problem is: How will we know who’s been affected by this?”

Aoife would sport a wide smirk on her face. “I got myself prepared for this, love.” She pulled out what appeared to be a compass-like device. “This’ll point me in the direction of the nearest state of corruption on the surface world.”

“I see,” Aidon looked over at the rather archaic-looking device, “You really were prepared for this weren’t you, miss? You’re much more intelligent than the common imp.”

“Pshaw,” Aoife scoffed, “You think I’m like the average imp bloke that can barely fend for themselves? I don’t need to suck on a Goetia’s teat to get anywhere, love.”

“Any idea where it’s pointing?” Luna asked with an interested tone as her tail wagged. “I won’t lie, I’m quite interested in dealings of the occult. Twas a little side hobby in my youth.”

“Well you’re both in luck,” Aoife stood up and slipped her sandals onto her feet, “I’ve got a signal comin’ from up the road. Wanna follow it with me?”

“Nothing better to do,” Aidon replied, “Besides, I’d very much like to get to the bottom of this curse.”

“Same here!” Luna added with a fox-like chirp, “Lead the way, Ms. Aogami. Oh, though we should probably put on some jackets,” she warned as she realized their rather inhuman appearances. “Don’t want anyone to see us.”

The group would leave Aidon and Luna’s home and stick to side streets in order to avoid being seen by too many people. A nagging feeling in the back of Aidon’s mind subconsciously passed judgement and suspicion towards Aoife due to her sudden appearance and knowledge of the incident. But given that they had no other information or leads, Aidon had no choice but to trust her…for the moment, anyway.

Eventually, after a few minutes of walking, Aoife’s compass would lead them and start glowing upon reaching a particular home in the suburbs of the city.

“Oi. Over here,” the oni called out, “Got a live one.”

Aidon tilted his head. “Hrm…wait a minute, I believe I recall this address.”

“Wait, so do I,” Luna added as she took a look around the area. Her ears twitched in the direction of the home. “...that’s right. This place is listed as one of the emergency contacts for Rainbow Dash.”

“...that could mean any of her family had been afflicted by the Anima Curse,” Aidon commented. “I’ll take point. They’ll recognize my voice first.” The cerberus-man had decided to venture forth and knocked on the door of the home. “...hello?”

There was a silence, but eventually Rainbow Dash’s voice would call out. “...who’s there?”

“...it’s your old professor,” he continued, “Aidoneus?”

“...Professor? Uhhh…now’s not a good time, I need to--”

Thumpthumpthump….

“...is everything okay in there?” Aidon tilted his head to look into the nearest window, “Are your parents home?”

“...n-no! They’re not…ah forget it, I may as well show you.”

The door opened to reveal Rainbow Dash…

Except she had also become cursed.

The cyan-colored young woman had become a cyan-colored, anthropomorphic rabbit woman with furry hands, long droopy ears, a twitchy nose, and lagomorphic legs that she didn’t bother with shoes over due to how wide her paw-feet were now. And of course, a pom-pom bunny tail on her backside. Her athletic pants were torn and stretched from her new muscular legs, thick thighs, and wide hips, but thankfully her crop top conveniently matched her newfound bustline.

“Look at me! What’s happened?!” she screamed as she pointed at herself, her left foot thumping repeatedly against the ground, “I look like a cartoon character designed to draw in horndogs and creeps!”

Aoife leaned over and inspected Rainbow Dash with one eye shut before opening it. “Yup. That’s the Anima Curse, innit.”

“Oh gee, thanks captain obvious!” Rainbow yelped as she folded her arms, “Tell me something I don’t know! I was watching a kung-fu movie last night and--I NEED LETTUCE!” She quickly stormed back inside with swift hops, leaving the group to munch on a head of green leaves.

“...we need to regroup,” Aidon called out, “Let’s calm down and go over what we know before we proceed.”