What's new pussycat? Whoa, whoa!

Dawn looked around, mildly concerned by where she’d ended up. Of course, she recognized it instantly. This was her old high school.

And judging by the band playing in the distance, over by the football field, this was… her graduation?

“Graduation, huh?” Dawn sighed, stroking her chin as she walked around the deserted campus. “I hope it’s not a teacher.”

Dawn remembered her teachers, but she was never particularly close with any of them. They either respected her intellect and left her alone (save the copious praise) or they disliked her for it, in which case they also left her alone.

Being a genius wasn’t easy. Everybody liked her, but only from a distance. And Dawn had to admit, she’d never made it easy on herself. She was always so standoffish and cold to the people around her. After all, she’d seen high school as a means of ensuring her success in the future. She’d barely had anyone in her life that she could consider a friend.

“…I hope it’s not my parents, either.”

That could be a massive pain.

Dawn was smart enough to realize that if Dakota was picking the targets for them, she wouldn’t be doing it with kid gloves. She’d probably picked the people who it would be the hardest to transform. Now, Dawn considered herself a decent person, so she wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of giving a punitive transformation to anybody. But if it was someone she cared about… well, that would be even harder.

The students were already coming out, now that the ceremony had concluded. Dawn ducked behind the gym and tucked the gun into her waistband. That was the last thing she needed, someone thinking she was a school shooter.

She scanned the crowd, trying to find her target. Dakota said that they’d recognize the people easily, but- Oh! There it is!

Dawn’s eyes fell upon a shimmering glow among the mass of people.

The only problem was getting there. After all, this wasn’t some random school. There was already another Dawn in the crowd somewhere, and she’d probably mess up the other girl’s reputation quite a bit if someone spotted her with a pair of cat ears.

Wait… if this gun can transform anyone, does that mean I can use it on myself?

It was an option she hadn’t considered before, but now that the idea had crossed her mind, she couldn’t remember Dakota saying anything about NOT being allowed to do it.

So she pictured herself without a tail or cat ears, reached under her shirt, and pulled the trigger.

…

Well, so much for that. Dawn sighed, feeling the familiar sensation of the wind blowing through her twitching ears as her tail flicked behind her. I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.

Of course Dakota wouldn’t let them use the guns on themselves. That would be undoing their own transformations, and as the host, Dakota had a vested interest in that not being an option.

So with little else she could do, Dawn decided to keep her head down low. Luckily, the glow made for an easy beacon, and as the sun set on the horizon, she was able to follow the crowd from the shadows as the horde migrated towards the parking lots.

As more and more people got in their cars, the crowd thinned out enough for Dawn to finally get a clear look at who she was supposed to shoot with the gun.

“That was a nice ceremony, don’t you think?”

“…Yeah, it was fine.”

“I loved your valedictorian speech, dear.”

“Indeed, you worked very hard on it.”

“Thanks, guys.”

Dawn’s heart froze in her chest. For the first time in a very long time, Dawn went through something that almost never happened to her.

Her brain stopped working.

Standing next to the car, wearing a long red graduation gown and looking bored out of her mind as she chatted with her parents, was someone Dawn recognized all too well.

Herself.

You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me! She screamed internally once she was capable of thinking clearly again.

This had to be a sick joke of some kind.

Dawn’s target, the person she had to shoot with the gun and penalize, was herself?!

Well… I guess that makes sense.

Dawn couldn’t think of anybody else who WOULD be a viable target.

Her parents? What would be the point of that? Sure, they were annoying, but they didn’t have a big impact on Dawn’s life. No, there was only one person Dawn really knew who she would have hesitation transforming (other than the regular hesitation that came from transforming ANYBODY against their will, of course) and that would be herself.

She didn’t have any friends or former lovers to transform, after all. No heartaches for Dakota to milk for ratings.

So the wicked host had chosen the best option of the limited ones available.

Dawn was **** to alter herself.

Yeah. It really is twisted, huh? I suppose no one knows what would be the most twisted transformation for me, than me.

The idea of transforming herself immediately lit up several red flags in her mind. Whatever Dawn did to this version of herself, would it ripple across time and affect her? The vet had never applied her genius intellect to analyzing things like time travel before, but she knew that had to be one of the possibilities.

No, it can’t be, she reminded herself. Dakota already said that there would be alternate timelines and the like. That’s probably what this is.

While she didn’t doubt that Dakota, and the audience, would love to see Dawn undone by her own hand and be **** to live with the product of her own work, Dawn was also aware of the fact that this show tried, at least, to be fair about things. Just like how she couldn’t transform herself with her own gun, she doubted that whatever she did to her other self would be permanent, either.

Not out of any morality, of course. But because that would be taking the power of Dawn’s transformation away from the audience.

Dawn doubted Dakota would go that far.

Now that she knew that this was another Dawn, one who wouldn’t affect her in any way, that gave her some more issues to contemplate.

Could she really transform herself? Even if Dawn was “her” did that really give her the right?

These were the kinds of philosophical questions she could have avoided if she’d had a more robust social life in her… ever.

One positive thing, though, was that even if she wasn’t sure whether or not she could go through with transforming herself… she was about to have the opportunity to do it.

“Wait, I need to go to the bathroom,” her past self said just as she was getting into the car.

“Can’t you do it at the restaurant?” Her father asked her.

“Oh, honey,” Dawn’s mom placed her hand on her husband’s arm. “She’s just being coy! She wants to go look around her old school one last time, before she leaves forever! Let her have this. Our reservation will hold.”

Dawn rolled her eyes, just like she knew her past self was doing right now. As if she had any sentimental attachment to this place. She could remember it perfectly, right down to the squeak of her shoes on the blacktop.

No, her other self really did just need to pee.

As past Dawn doubled back to the gym (which was where the only open bathroom was) the Dawn from the future stalked her in the shadows.

She was courteous enough to let her past self pee before confronting her outside the bathroom.

“What the heck?” The younger Dawn recoiled in surprise when she saw her other self emerge from around the corner. “Who… huh?!”

“Hey,” Dawn said, greeting her other self lamely. She wasn’t sure why she was having a direct confrontation; maybe to assuage the guilt she was feeling?

After all, she’d already decided. Right or wrong, she HAD to transform her past self.

If she didn’t she would lose for sure, and she couldn’t have that.

At least this way, she’d be able to talk to herself before she did something she couldn’t undo.

“You… wait, why do you look like me?” Dawn squinted suspiciously. She took off her glasses and rubbed them on her robe before putting them back on, walking closer to get a better view of the other woman under the light. “Yeah… almost identical…”

“I am you,” future Dawn informed her. “From the future.”

Of course, she knew her other self wouldn’t buy that for a second.

“Really,” past Dawn snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “You really expect me to buy that for a second?”

“Not really. But it’s the truth.”

“Okay, well, I’ll admit, I don’t really know how someone who looks just like me can be standing here,” the other girl admitted. “…Especially wearing cat ears. Are you a cousin or something?”

“No. I told you, I’m you from the future.”

“Okay, fine. If you’re me from the future, then you should be able to tell me what I’m thinking about right now,” the other Dawn goaded her. “After all, you would know better than anybody how perfect our memory is.”

“That’s an easy one. You’re thinking about that awful romantic comedy mom dragged us to watch in the third grade. The one that was so bad, we were finally able to tell her we don’t like romance or mushy stuff.”

The past Dawn’s eyes widened slightly, but only for a moment. “You sound pretty sure of yourself.”

“Of course I’m sure of myself. Because that memory is what we decided to use as a test back in middle school, if someone came and claimed to be us from the future,” the cat girl pointed out.

Past Dawn’s arms dropped to her sides and her face morphed in surprise. “You are me! Wow! So time travel is real, then?”

“Sort of. It’s complicated. I could explain it to you, but I don’t think you’d like it.” Dawn’s natural skepticism meant that her past self would probably not react well to the knowledge that magic exists, considering how much she doubted time travel could be possible.

“So… I don’t get any taller?” Now that she sure she was talking to herself, the past Dawn was a lot more open about her feelings. And she couldn’t exactly hide her disappointment.

“That’s it?” Present Dawn raised her eyebrow. “Nothing about the cat ears? Or the tail?”

Her other self shrugged. “I just figured I got into cosplay in college or something.”

Dawn may have been flexible, but she didn’t remember herself being THIS flexible about stuff like that.

“College was a while ago, actually. I’m 27 now.”

“27? Wow!” The past Dawn’s eyes widened in surprise. “You look so… wow.”

Her eyes fell to her counterpart’s chest, and she breathed a sigh of relief. “So… we do get boobs, then?”

The present Dawn fought back her urge to wince at that.

“…Look, I just wanted to stop by and say hello. And also… you’re not going to like this.”

She pulled the ray gun out from under her shirt and pointed it at her other self. Past Dawn took a step back in surprise.

“Wait, what!?” She exclaimed. “You… you aren’t going to shoot me, are you?! I’m no science fiction expert, but doesn’t that break, like, ALL the laws of time travel?!”

The cat girl shrugged. “Thought so. Guess not. But don’t worry, you’re not going to die. This is a transformation gun, that’s all. You get hit, and you’re going to turn into… well, I haven’t really figured that out yet, honestly.”

“Wait, why are you transforming me?!” Past Dawn had started to panic, and that’s when she realized that her other self wasn’t exactly a normal human. Her ears weren’t just decoration, they were twitching like a real cat’s would. And her tail was flicking behind her.

She wondered if she’d severely misunderstood what exactly was happening right now.

“Um… look, you’re my future self, right? So can’t you at least explain what’s going on? Why are you going to shoot me?!” The younger Dawn demanded.

Her older counterpart sighed. “Because you’re not on the right path.”

“Huh? What does THAT mean?” Now the younger girl was just confused.

Present Dawn sighed again. “Dawn… are you happy right now? Don’t lie to me, because I know the answer already. I just want to hear you say it.”

“I’m content,” the other girl stubbornly replied.

Present Dawn rolled her eyes. “Oh, shut up. Don’t give me that double-speak. I didn’t ask about content. Happy. Are. You. Happy?”

“I’m a high school graduate,” the high school graduate answered, still avoiding the question. “High school isn’t about being happy. I’m setting myself up for the future. I’m going to go to a good college, ace everything, then apply to med school. Once I become a doctor, THEN I’ll have everything I need to find happiness.”

“No. You won’t. Well, I mean, yes, you’ll go to college, and med school. But you’ll be miserable, believe me. You’re not going to become a medical doctor working on people. You’ll become a veterinarian.”

The past Dawn blinked.

“…So, what, are you here to zap me with that transformation ray to make me become a doctor, just because your life didn’t go the way you planned? Okay, this is all making sense now,” she sighed in relief. “Fine. Do it.”

“Aargh, why did I have to be such a pain in the ass?!” The woman who was very much still a pain in the ass groaned. “No, you’re not listening, Dawn. This isn’t about becoming a vet or a doctor, or making our parents happy, or whatever other justifications we kept telling ourselves growing up. This is about you- me- US wasting our life!”

“How is become a doctor wasting my life?” Past Dawn demanded.

“Because you don’t do anything with it!” Present Dawn groaned. “You don’t make any friends at college, or at medical school! And even when you get a job, the only thing that brings you joy is coming home every day to play with your kittens! You’re still a virgin by 27, and you’re not even really looking for a date, either! You’re spinning your wheels, and wasting your life… wasting it…”

It all seemed so clear to her now. Back then, Dawn never would have thought about herself this way. But being on Harem Hotel and getting close to everyone, finding love for the first time with the last guy she ever thought…

It had made her happy in ways that the 27 years that had preceded it never did.

At the same time, her past self looked horrified.

“I… look, 27 isn’t that old,” she asserted. “There’s still time. Just because you’ve given up hope and can’t find anything, that doesn’t mean I-”

“I did find something though,” present Dawn cut her off. “Something real. Something that makes me happy. I have friends now. And a guy I love. But… I shouldn’t have had to wait as long as I did. Even though the road you’re on brought me happiness… that doesn’t mean I would walk it again, if I didn’t have to.”

The past version took another step back. The look of determination in her counterpart’s eyes started to frighten her.

“H-hey, come on, you’re not serious, right?” She said, holding up her hands. “Look, if everything’s fine for you…”

“I just want you to be happy,” the cat girl pleaded, keeping her gun drawn on her other self. “And I’ve had a lot of time to think about what that means.

Before her other self could get away, she pulled the trigger, and inflicted the “transformation” of being frozen in place.

It wouldn’t do if the other her tried to interfere; Dawn needed to adjust herself with surgical precision, after all.

The first thing was her chest. Dawn liked her present size just fine, and she’d seen the look of envy in her counterpart’s eyes. So she gave her a nice C-cup. And unlike hers, this one would be permanent. It looked fine on her other self’s svelte figure, just like it did on hers. Seeing herself at 18 again really made it sink in how little Dawn had changed physically over the years.

She was almost tempted to give her cat ears and a cat tail, but she held off. After all, those things might have been okay when on Harem Hotel, but even now Dawn had no idea what she’d do with them once she came back to the real world. She didn’t want to saddle her past self with that.

That was about it, as far as physical transformations went. The only other thing she did, was give herself an adjustment to height.

But she wasn’t a moron. Her family would notice if Dawn suddenly shot up to 6’1”. So she made sure to change her other self in a gradual way. For the next few years, Dawn would find herself growing a few inches at a time, until she was about the height of a regular person.

…She could have done that with her breasts, too, but refrained.

Because she did. And it wasn’t any of your business!

Then, as an afterthought, Dawn fixed her other self’s eyes. She wouldn’t need glasses anymore. And to prove the point, they fell off and broke on the ground.

Once the physical changes were complete, Dawn moved on to the important part.

The mental changes.

Those were what served as the biggest hindrance to her own happiness, after all.

The first thing she changed was her withdrawn, temperamental personality. Dawn liked being opinionated, but one could be opinionated without being such a sour person. So she adjusted her other self’s mental contentment. Now, she would naturally be more optimistic. That was a good foundation to build off of, and she wished she could change her own cynicism so easily.

The next thing she did was change her friendliness. Dawn was naturally a very kind and sweet person, she just had trouble expressing that. Now, her other self wouldn’t have those problems. And that was a good thing! She could just imagine a more approachable, less reserved version of herself really blossoming when she went off to college.

But she wasn’t quite perfect enough.

Dawn thought of her own doubts and insecurities. The things that had held her back all her life. If she was going to create the perfect her, she needed to separate the ones that were valuable and kept her alive from the ones that she could do without.

The first thing she got rid of was her ego. Certainly, she could take pride in herself, but she didn’t want to be so stuck-up that nobody wanted to spend time with her. Then she took her other self’s natural curiosity, and amplified it. The new Dawn would want to know all about other people, but not in a way that would come across as pushy or unwelcome.

She thought about the friendlier people she knew, and made her new self friendly. Then the outgoing ones, too.

But there was one part of herself that she needed to change most of all: her inability to relax.

Dawn remembered how it felt the other night, when she was free from her restrictions and could just be a pampered kitten. The new her would know how to have fun and relax! She’d know when to take it easy, and when to be focused. And most importantly, she kept her mind intact…

Dawn’s finger froze on the trigger.

Will this really be enough to win? She wondered. She wasn’t sure how many people would actually be able to strike vindictively against their targets. But… maybe she was being too cautious. She hadn’t come this far, and altered herself just to lose, had she?

I want to win. I want to win! Dawn had emerged victorious in every challenge so far; or, more specifically, she had never been up for elimination before.

Even though she trusted Morgana wouldn’t suddenly betray her, she didn’t want to put her fate in the hands of someone else. That just wasn’t the kind of person she was.

If the audience wanted something spicier, then maybe…

Should she just go for it?

Dawn wasn’t the most impulsive person in the world. But maybe she should be.

Hesitating for just a second longer, she squeezed her finger on the trigger, and zapped her other self one final time.

Dawn’s hair turned bimbo blonde, and a dopey smile spread across her face. A pair of cat ears popped out of her head, and a golden tail sprouted beneath her gown, which was quickly shifting into a crop top and jean shorts. It was a total makeover, into a bubblier, friendlier, and most importantly, more approachable girl. And Dawn’s ears, her tail, like every other one of these transformations Dawn had just inflicted on her, would be seen as having always existed.

It was the perfect transformation for her to inflict.

The new Dawn blinked, like she was coming out of a daze. Dawn undid the freezing transformation just to be sure.

“Um… hello?” She tilted her head to the side in confusion. “What… what did you do?”

She needed to test her new work. So she started with something simple. “Tell me, Dawn, what’s 345 x 198?”

“Uh…” Her blonde self’s voice trailed off. “Is it… 68,310?”

The cat girl Dawn sighed in relief. “…That’s correct. Great.”

“I got it right?” The blonde girl’s eyes lit up with glee.

That was the insidious transformation Dawn had selected for her other self. She didn’t change the other girl’s IQ one bit. Only now, everything would come naturally to her. She wouldn’t be able to think critically about a problem, but the answer would pop into her head. She shut her other self off from the part of her brain that was consciously aware of her own intelligence! The woman in front of her knew things, and could solve every problem and answer every question that she did before. She’d still remember it all perfectly, but through the lens of an airheaded bimbo. And she wouldn’t feel anything wrong with that, either.

Guilt surged through the cat girl’s chest, and for a moment, she regretted her actions. But then she saw the big smile on her other self.

She looked so happy. She wasn’t weighed down by all the problems and concerns her past self had once held.

This version of Dawn wouldn’t have any trouble becoming a doctor. And everyone she met would love her while doing it. She would still be a genius, she would still KNOW she was a genius…

But she would be a bimbo.

A shiver went down Dawn’s spine as she contemplated how she’d feel if that happened to her. The fact it scared her so much was how she knew she made the right choice.

She held up her gun, and pointed it one final time. There was one other thing she needed to do.

The new Dawn may have been a bimbo, but she was smart. She wouldn’t just ignore having met her other self. So the Dawn from the present removed every memory of her future self from her past self’s mind.

“Feeling better?” She cracked a grin. The other Dawn nodded dumbly, and a big smile spread across her face.

She walked right past the smaller cat girl and returned to her family. Dawn smiled, very proud of herself, and also a little sick to her stomach, and pressed the button on the back of her gun, disappearing.