The Beast Inside

A special episode of 'Moths Shall Play'
==Plot Synopsis==
While Bri and Matt are out in Germany after a magnetic artifact, Nikki and Tyler are sent to a ping a bit closer to home.  Reports of humans turning into anthromorphic animals are arising from Anthrocon.  Despite a disgust at them, Nikki begrudgingly comes along as backup.
Upon showing up, they first met with a victim of the artifact, a boyfriend of a vendor who was turned into a panther.  Feeling incomfortable, Nikki goes to talk to the head of the convention to see what he knows.
Meeting up a bit later, the two of them realize that they have gotten no where with the investigation, only to fall victim to the artifact as they change from humans into a fox (Nikki) and lion (Tyler).  After Nikki's freakout, they hear a cry of a familiar voice, that of Aden.
Splitting up, Tyler goes to find Aden while Nikki uses herself to figure out what triggers the artifact.  When Tyler arrives back with Aden (ospery) and Mary (another fox), Nikki shares that the artifact is activates when looked through.
----
Cut to another person at Anthrocon, Felix Draco, small time thief who has been using 'magical items' for the last few months, and Anthrocon has become common stealing ground for him.  This time, he's after an item that has been turning humans into really furries.  It isn't until he sees a group a four, an ospery, lion, and two foxes that piques his attention
---
Splitting up, Aden takes to the high points to see what he can see while Tyler takes to the floor.  Meanwhile, Nikki and Mary make it to the security booth, only to come face to face with an older balding security guard who required a bit of 'encouragement' to let them in.
Outside, Tyler runs into a group of anti-furry catholics lead by Edwin Heath, the church's council president.  After being told off, Tyler heads in, only to run into Felix.  After an exchange of words, Felix uses an abacus on him to increases Tyler's attractiveness to him.  Agreeing to meet back in his room, Tyler makes a quick call to Nikki and Mary to not only let them know he's going after another artifact, an abacus owned by Alfred Kinsey, but to also ID the man at each site as Edwin and to let them know the artifact belonged to Fred Patten.
With this new info, Nikki and Mary meet up with Aden and head out to the protesters.
---
When Tyler gets back to his room, he takes a quick glance at the guy's stuff, only to be cornered by a seductive Felix.  Pulling out the State vs. Bonner Cap Gun, Felix quickly backed off and made a break for it, leaving Tyler with the artifact and short a wallet.
---
Back outside, the three manage to get the crowd in a state of panic long enough for Nikki to find Edwin and confront him.  He explained that in hopes of getting people to convert that he'd turn them into abominations to scare them into conversion.
Neutralzing the artifact, she was pleased to find that she had reverted back to human form, as did the others.  As the group met up, they found themselves back to human form with Tyler returning, abacus in hand.
---
Later that night, Felix was pondering about his adventure, having learned that there were other people out in the world also collecting artifacts.  As he thought of this, he was contacted by Mrs. Frederic and offered a position in a world of endless wonder...
==Artifacts Mentioned==
Fred Patten's Glasses: Having had a heavy influence in the Furry Fandom world, the glasses are capable of turning humans into their furry counterparts.  The longer that they're in their 'furry' form, the more likely they are to fall into the media's stereotypes.  Main artifact for Nikki, Mary, and Aden
Alfred Kinsey's Abacus: Made of wood with two bars, each containing ten beads. The top has a male symbol carved on the left and a female symbol on the right, opposite on the lower bar. The top bar controls males, the bottom females. By sliding the beads from one side to the other, it can influence the sexual attraction of one person for a frew hours before it wears on on its own. Depending on the attitude to the user, it can also boost sexual drive.  Main artifact for Tyler
State vs. Bonner Cap Gun
==Quotable Quotes:==
*"Shut up, I am freaking out over here!  You are not allowed to enjoy this."
:: -Nikki to Tyler upon transforming
*"Don't try that again.  We're part of the Historical Artifact Recovery Personal.  Think of us as the Smithsonian Special Forces.  Now, about that footage?"
:: -Nikki upon getting harassed by the security guard
*"Burn in Hell you heretic! Burn in hell!"
:: -Edwin Heath at Tyler
*"Let's see what Kinsey has to say about that.  I'd say you're about a solid six now, don't you?"
:: -Felix to Tyler after using the abacus
==Trivia/Notes==
*Chronologically, the episode takes place before the end of Season 2 due to Nikki being on the team, and  Leena still being alive.
**Interestingly, the team doesn't meet Sandy until Season 3 in 'Welcome to the Wilds'
*This is the first venture for the H.A.R.P. Agents into the world of fetishes.  Later, bondage would be tackled in 'Preadator and Prey' and mentioned in 'Von Dichi Saga' in the forms of Thersa Berkley's Whip and Terri-Jean Bedford's Leather Bondage Straps
*Tyler's failure/inability to shoot Felix is later refernced in 'An Agent Paradise' after Tyler shoots him in the back stop him from killing Blaine and Juan.  As Tyler puts it: "A shot that took five years to take."
*Tyler's time as a feline also comes up again in 'An Agent Paradise' when he is able to smell the scent of cat off of Felix.