Hi, all!

Another opening for it, another "Treasure Planet" fanfic!

In this story, Amelia has lost her entire family(the poor dear)and is so sad and heartbroken that she knows she's got to make sure that she does nothing that would be considered a weak, pathetic response to that horrible feeling(suicide, food and/or drink comfort or anything else in that fucking category, none of which are going to solve shit for anyone in her position, of course)with what little of her previous self she's got left.

After ensuring no such things will happen and removing her captain's outfit to replace with a robe so that she can get into her bed, lie down on her stomach and forearms and cry, this is found out by Jim, as well as by five OCs of mine.

Said OCs consist of a beagle named Carlos, a goldfish named Max(who, unlike the others, has a special power, which is to psionically control his fishbowl so that it does what he wants it to do unless he is not focusing on so doing, something that he was born with somehow), a rat named Lilly, a mouse named Annie and a cardinal named Maria, who is the leader of this quintet of good friends who live in a nightclub when they are not on the move to this spot or that spot.

Now, when they are on their latest journey, they, albeit quite by chance, happen by one of the windows of Amelia's house, and see her at the time she is alone in bed and crying for her dead family, as well as, due to how it brings back the memory of the three of them, both of her dead parents and her just as dead closest friend Mr. Arrow.

Given that Carlos is a dog, so he would naturally hate cats, and since the other four are part of a species in the category of what cats prey on, all five of them believe that Amelia's sadness, emotional pain and internal hurt are all absurd and bogus, as they don't think cats are capable of any kind of feelings outside of predatory, killer instinct kind of ones.

Problem is(for them, anyway), that the ever so competent inventor and adept mechanic Jim Hawkins, finding out both about Amelia's undeserved misfortune and about the five "cats don't have feelings" believers, has recently invented a special machine that can take any shape or form that he wants it to and be designed any which way he wishes and for whatever specific purpose he desires, so though he intends to give Amelia much needed comfort, he will do so after he decides to try and teach my OCs a very harsh lesson with the help of one of the first things that he turns his machine into.

How will he do this, and can he manage to make one or more or even(hopefully)all of them learn their lesson?

Let's see if he can.

THINGS TO NOTE:

This story takes place a year after the events of "Treasure Planet".

Believe it or not, this story was actually inspired by a scene in the installation in the "Saw" franchise, specifically the movie "SAW 3D", in which that Horsepower trap was used on those four racist scumbags in order to punish them for constantly scaring anyone who wasn't white like they were(if you've seen "SAW 3D", you know what I'm talking about).

And, to a far lesser extent, but still existent one, it was inspired by a couple of parts of the 2004 movie "The Punisher", and to think that the first "Saw" movie came out in 2004, as well, to say nothing of how, IMO, "The Punisher" was also a damn good movie, just like the "Saw" movies I've seen all were, the first or otherwise.

Though there is a moral to this story, I will not tell you what it is, as that would spoil a big part, though not all, of this fanfic, and it will make itself rather obvious during the story, anyway.

Except for my five OCs, I own none of the characters, since they all belong to "Treasure Planet", and I don't own the Horsepower trap from "SAW 3D", as that belongs to the "Saw" franchise, no part of which I own(although it is a very awesome series for one who loves horror and has a strong gut, me or otherwise, and I loved every film in it that I've seen thus far, though I have not yet seen them all).

I don't own "The Punisher" movie, either.

Cats Have Feelings, Too

Amelia had never been this sad in her life, not even when both of her parents were killed protecting her from murderous bandits when she was nine years old or when, years later, when she had become a beautiful young felid woman captain, Mr. Arrow died, as well.

After all, a merciless, heartless, vile, greedy and unthinking band of pirates(read: they were the kind of pirates that even the bulk of pirates in any world would be put off by)attacked the R.L.S. Legacy just as it was returning back to Montressor, where her husband, Delbert, awaited her with all four of their children in his hands, each and every one as eager to see her again as he was.

And, though she and her crew, after her husband took off to try and make sure that the children had as much of a chance of staying hidden and surviving along with him, did every single last thing that they possibly could, she and most of her crew survived after bringing down all but a few of these diabolical pirates, but her family didn't.

Because, see, the brutal, cutthroat captain of this dark, dark, dark crew of pirates, just after Amelia had brought down his top ranking followers and as many other members of this cruel crew as she could, pushed her into one of the ship's masts from behind and made sure to do it as hard as he could so that, when she inevitably hit her head on it, she would be knocked out, however briefly.

And this left the door open for him and his wife, who, instead of being one of his top ranking followers, was his sub-commander, to do as follows, thanks to how Amelia's exhausted(from doing their part in all of this)and shocked(from seeing what happened to her)crew had their focus diverted to said unconscious captain.

Upon seeing footprints on the ground from what side of the ship Delbert had taken off from, she got the idea(unfortunately correctly)that there might have been someone or other who tried to escape when she and her husband attacked along with all of the other pirates in that crew.

She and her heinous husband got off of the ship and went that way until they saw where said footprints ended after her signaling him about that, and looked about until they saw Delbert and the Doppler children, the latter of whom their father was holding close to him in his arms.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" asked the sub-commander wife maliciously with a mean grin.

"A canid, three kits and a pup, from the looks of things." her captain husband said to her. "All of them hiding here, and still being found despite how it was where they could best hope to stay hidden, this silly-looking dog doofus holding the brats close to him in his arms. I wonder why."

"I hear you're the captain bitch's husband, loser. Well, I don't know what the hell she fucking saw in you, but I'm certainly going to fucking see to the death of you!" stated the evil sub-commander bitch.

With that, as a frightened, suddenly pale Delbert's eyes flew open widely, she swung her sword this way and that, making sure it cut his throat plenty deep enough to be fatal, and, just to be sure, she sliced off his head.

Tossing Delbert's severed head aside, she said: "Now for the terrified tots!"

"Petrified in both senses of the word, I see!" put across the captain, looking down at the three female kits and the singular male pup as they were paralyzed with absolute fear.

"Indeed, he and the captain are parents!" said the villainess sub-commander, and the captain said: "Or at least WERE, as we'll make the fuck sure of!"

This was followed by their satanic, heartless, soulless, unforgivable act(WARNING: HORRIBLE, SAD, SHOCKING AND SURE TO BOIL YOUR BLOOD!)of cutting all four Doppler infants into pieces with their swords, and making sure there were as many of those and as much blood as possible while repeatedly stabbing the headless corpse of Delbert, as well.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHA!" the captain's wife cackled. "So much for all but one of the Dopplers! Now let's hope that their fucking matriarch has woken up so that we can let her know what the hell we did to the fam before we do the same damn thing to her!"

"Sounds excellent!" laughed the captain, but then they saw Amelia running over to them, obviously having been told by her living crew members that they saw the two run off after seeing tracks on the ground, and realizing what this meant, all after she regained consciousness.

"Speak of the devil!" said the captain, and then his wife added on: "As if on cue!"

Seeing the two remaining members of the pirate crew standing right in front of her, she also saw, as her eyes opened wider than they ever had in her life, their swords laden with blood and the demonic grins on their faces.

"Well, hello there, bitch." the captain said. "From one captain to another, your crew must have told you what the hell we did."

"Just wait until you see what the hell we further did!" the captain's wife added, and then she pointed her sword to the destroyed hideout that contained the mutilated and impaled remains of her family.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Amelia screamed in shock and horror, and the sub-commander bitch smiled: "YES. Here they are. It's your one, big, hacked-up family. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"But don't fret. Your agony, fury, sadness and lust for revenge against us will only be brief." said the captain. "After all, you're joining them right now."

"NEVER!" thundered Amelia as she fired her rifle at both pirates and kneecapped them, then blasted off their arms and, as they dropped their swords while screaming in agony during all of this, she shot off their ears and put her gun away, then ran over, picked up both of their swords and stabbed them both in their thighs until all four femoral arteries present were severed, and she also literally went for the jugular as she drove one sword apiece through each of their necks and, finally, pulled them both out and rammed them through their faces and out their skulls, yanked them out, dropped them and clawed off their faces before ripping their throats out.

Dropping from exhaustion after that, Amelia then looked at the disgusting, bloody pieces that were once her husband and children and began to feel sadness and tears bubble up into her throat, saying: "DELBERT…MATEY…SONNY…JIB…TILLIE…"

She was unable to get up despite staying conscious, but thankfully, her crew, true to loyal, devoted and helpful form, knew what her not returning with her family had to mean and quickly, while ignoring the shock and horror they suddenly felt, made sure of it that a taxi was contacted to pick her up and bring her home at once(and, since she was the famous captain of the R.L.S. Legacy, it was well know where she lived when not commanding the ship).

Once it arrived and she heard it, she looked up and saw the door next to the driver's seat open, with the driver himself informing her of what her crew did and why, to which she nodded and told him to give them her thanks like she now gave him before she managed to quickly push herself up, open the door to the backseat, get in, close it and put on her seatbelt, followed by the driver closing the door he'd opened and, well, driving her back home.

Getting out after taking off her seatbelt, she got out, slammed the door shut, ignored the excruciating emotional feelings she was currently, well, feeling as much as she could and, once the driver opened his door, she paid him quickly and told him: "Thank you. You…you can keep the change."

He nodded and said: "Sure thing." before driving away, and Amelia ran over to her door, unlocked it, opened it, went into her house, slammed the door shut, locked it, went up to her bedroom as fast as she could after grabbing a refrigerator lock and using it on said appliance, plus tossing the key to that refrigerator lock and all of her weapons to a spot where they were all WELL out of her reach and took off her captain's uniform as fast as she could after slamming her bedroom door closed and hanging it up before putting on a robe, also as fast as she could.

Subsequently, she swiftly got into her bed and, once the covers were over her and she put her chin over her forearms, which she had laid down onto the pillows to opposite sides in a crossed square formation with one on top of the other, keeping them pinned down, what little was left of what she normally was, well, was finally gone and she began to cry, alternating between one tear coming out of an eye apiece to a tear coming out of only one of her eyes, both continually and something she obviously couldn't control.

But more than this, she was thinking to herself: "I'm a hazard! No one is safe around me! I'm a danger to everyone within ten feet of me! Why…why did I have to marry Delbert and give birth to four children? If…if the same…same thing had happened with…with a different wife, he'd still be alive now, just like they would. Hell, if Mr. Arrow had…been so close to someone other…other than me…he'd have survived…and…really…what was God thinking when he allowed me to be born, anyway? Suppose I hadn't been? Then maybe my parents wouldn't have been killed! I…I wish that I was dead…that sure would be a blessing to the world and to me, as well…"

Hoping that she would lose the will to live and fall into a sleep from which she would never awaken, though glad that she had managed to keep what she knew, much to her dismay, were the inevitable tears and crying that were to follow what happened to her family bottled up and held back long enough so that they would only start when she was alone in her bedroom, it was, at this time, unbeknownst to her, that a group of five different individuals were in a tree near the window of her bedroom that, if one looked into it right now, they would see her in the sad, agonized state that she was.

This group of five had the following members of a different species apiece.

First, there was their leader, who was a cardinal who went by the name of Maria, and she was the one who gave the commands because she was both the smartest member of the lot and the only one who could fly, so her four friends followed her every word and direction.

Two rodents, a mouse and a rat, named Annie and Lilly, respectively, were accompanied by a goldfish whose name was Max, and, oddly enough, he had somehow been born with the ability to control the fishbowl that he now called home with his mind and it only did nothing when he wasn't using that mind for said manipulation.

Finally, there was the biggest member and the muscle of the group, a beagle named Carlos, and, though they resided in a nightclub, they also were constantly going from place to place, being the adventurous, fun-loving bunch of close friends(they had, by freak chance, met as babies and come to really like one another in one of those once in a blue moon kind of instances)who had been and were that both before and after they had to leave their mothers and were now an independent quintet of pals(in a way, they were a family of their own, in fact).

Now, in their most recent trip, deciding to look about and then explore about the entirety of this yard that was around what was once the Doppler residence but now just Amelia's house, they didn't make it further than looking about because Maria noticed the window I mentioned before while flying out to stretch her wings a bit and said: "Say…that's odd…I see something in that house's window…"

"You do?" asked Annie, and then Maria said: "Yeah. I'm gonna go check it out. I'll tell you guys what it is once I come back."

The other four nodded and, after Maria did what she told them she would, they saw and heard that she was laughing hysterically upon coming back.

"What the hell is so fucking funny, Maria?" asked Lilly.

"You…you guys are not gonna…believe this…" Maria managed to squeeze through her laughter. "In that window, I saw…lying on a bed…a…a…a…"

"A WHAT, Maria?" Max asked, urging her to tell them already.

"A WEEPING FELID!" Maria yelled before she exploded into even more gutbusting laughter.

"WHAT?!" cried out Max. "YOU MEAN TO TELL US THAT YOU SAW A SAD, CRYING CAT IN THAT WINDOW?!"

"REALLY?!" Annie let loose. "THAT IS PREPOSTEROUS BEYOND WORDS!"

"A CAT! SAD?! ARE YOU KIDDING?! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE SHITTING ME!" Carlos howled with laughter.

"THAT IS SUCH A LOAD!" Lilly cackled. "SERIOUSLY, THAT'S THE SORT OF FUCKING LOAD THAT SIX OF THE BIGGEST SHIPS IMAGINABLE COMBINED COULDN'T HOPE TO HOLD!"

"REALLY, COME THE FUCK ON!" Max laughed even harder. "CATS DON'T HAVE FEELINGS! I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF ANY FUCKING IDEA SO GODDAMN DAFT!"

"THEY'RE THE ONES WHO, IN CARLOS'S CASE, ARE ALWAYS ENEMIES TO FIGHT WITH AND/OR CHASE DOWN, AND THEY HUNT DOWN, KILL AND EAT THE LIKES OF US, TOO!" Maria laughed explosively, referring to Annie, Max, Lilly and herself in terms of the latter part of what she was saying.

"THEY'RE SAVAGE PREDATORS WHOSE MINDS ONLY FOCUS ON STALKING, KILLING, EATING AND/OR ATTACKING! THEIR FUCKING THOUGHTS END THERE!" boomed Annie before she spiraled into even greater amounts of laughter.

However, they did not know it, but Jim Hawkins was coming along to visit the Dopplers today, looking forward to seeing them all, and he had also recently invented a special machine which would do and/or turn into whatever he wanted, something he currently had as a special metal square in his pocket, eagerly anticipating showing it to the Dopplers along with seeing the family themselves, all after having heard about how Amelia was returning today and having, immediately after he heard of it, requested to go see the family, something he was granted both by them and his mother, Sarah.

Jim was saying: "Man, oh man, is this visit ever going to be what memories are made of. I wonder which…" but suddenly heard the thunderous laughter from above, so he looked up to its source and got confused, saying in his mind: "Huh? A cardinal, a rat, a goldfish, a mouse and a beagle? Odd group. And they're all laughing like there's now tomorrow? What the hell is this crap, anyway?"

So he took out his square machine and had it give him all of the knowledge about this that he needed, and besides how Jim was shocked, enraged and hit hard as hell beyond words about all of this, which, given what it all was, is quite understandable, he thought to himself: "I…I have to do so…so many things…but first of all, I'm simultaneously comforting the captain while teaching this unthinking quintet a lesson about the idea that just because one has a natural enemy doesn't mean that natural enemy is incapable of feeling emotions, sadness or otherwise. I should actually make it one that puts their lives in danger, because then they'll take it seriously and listen to what the hell I have to fucking say. First thing's first, though. I need to get the fuck in there and do what I can to ease the captain's pain."

Using his machine to teleport himself into the captain's bedroom, specifically sitting right in front of her on her bed and stroking her, he said: "Hello, ma'am."

Amelia, hearing his voice but not lifting her head, asked: "Mr. Hawkins?"

"Yeah, it's me. I heard about what happened. Long story as to how I did. I guess I'm here for a different reason, but you need condolence right now. So just lie still while I stroke you and know that I'm here." Jim replied.

Amelia wanted to protest and insist that what he was doing wasn't necessary, but she was too sad and in far too much emotional pain to do much of anything but cry, so she stayed as she was while Jim rubbed her to try and ease her broken heart.

"I'll be here as long as you need me to be." Jim said softly, and he thought to himself: "But unless they comply and do the deed in time, those five little thoughtless assholes won't be here or anywhere else for much longer."

After thinking this angrily and making his special machine do something else by his control, he further thought: "I'm not telling my felid friend what I'm about to do or anything about it, though, because the last thing she needs right now is to know about shit like that. But anyway, here we go."

Creating a special solitary confinement room out of his machine that consisted of nothing but four tall, metal walls, a metal floor, a metal ceiling, a special installment of power beams that would help restore Amelia's, optimism, bravery, self-esteem, confidence and knowledge of her true self, plus decrease what she was currently feeling bit by bit and a button which was to be pressed if said beams were to be activated and shine down on the feline, he also made it teleport Annie, Max, Lilly, Carlos and Maria into it, with the door on one of the walls shut nice and tight after he created it, and besides how it was the only way out, succeeding in letting loose the beams was the only way it could be opened.

Not to mention the only way that the now captured quintet could survive, because here's how the hell things would fucking go the fuck down.

After all five of the previously laughing members of that group suddenly stopped laughing upon seeing they were somewhere else, Carlos said: "Say, where the fuck are we?"

"Yeah, where the hell did we just go, anyway?" asked Max.

"Some kind of metal room?" guessed Maria.

"BUT NOT JUST ANY METAL ROOM." they heard a deep version of Jim's voice(which sounded a great deal like the voice of John Kramer AKA Jigsaw from the "Saw" movies whenever the killer was talking to victims who were in his traps, which this containment unit was very similar to)say, with him projecting it through to sound like that despite how he was, back in Amelia's room, sounding like he always did, though he kept it at a whisper so she wouldn't hear him and made sure that whisper was much louder and more audible to the five trapped members of that group of, well, five.

"Who…who's that?" asked Maria, as she went almost white from fear due to how the voice sounded, while the others felt almost as much fear and all but came close to going white.

"HELLO, MARIA. YOU AND YOUR FOUR FRIENDS ALL TAKE A GOOD, LONG LOOK AROUND YOU AND OBSERVE WHAT YOU SEE IN THIS ROOM." Jim commanded.

After she heard these words, all five of them complied, and after a time, the cardinal said: "This is a giant metal room with a very firmly shut door and a giant button all the way up there at the top of the right wall. What gives?"

Jim went on: "YOU FIVE RECENTLY BURST OUT LAUGHING UPON SEEING A CRYING AMELIA, THAT'S THE FELID'S NAME, THROUGH THAT WINDOW OF HER HOUSE. SHE HAD JUST LOST HER FAMILY AND MADE SURE THAT EVERY POSSIBLE WAY THAT MIGHT RESULT IN SUICIDE, COMFORT EATING, COMFORT DRINKING OR ANYTHING SIMILAR ON HER PART WAS UTTERLY ELIMINATED BEFORE SHE WENT UP TO HER BEDROOM, WHICH IS WHERE YOU SAW HER AFTER SHE TOOK CLOTHES OFF, PUT A ROBE ON AND GOT INTO WHAT POSITION YOU SPOTTED HER IN WHILE SHE WAS CRYING."

They all opened their eyes widely and Jim continued: "YOU DID SO BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT THAT JUST BECAUSE CATS AND DOGS ARE NATURAL FOES AND MERELY BECAUSE MICE, RATS, FISH AND/OR BIRDS ARE OFTEN PREY FOR CATS MEANS THAT NO FELINES HAVE FEELINGS. THAT THEY ARE INCAPABLE OF FEELING OR THINKING ANYTHING BEYOND PREDATORY KILLER HUNTING INSTINCT. THAT THEY CANNOT FEEL EMOTION AND ARE UNABLE TO BE FEEL LOVE LIKE AMELIA DID FOR HER FAMILY WHEN THAT FAMILY WAS ALIVE. YOU BELIEVED THAT THE IDEA OF A SAD, CRYING CAT LIKE THE ONE WHO IS CURRENTLY PRESENT WAS ABSURD AND A LOAD OF SHIT. YOU ARE ALL VERY WRONG. DEAD WRONG. AND YOU, MARIA, NOW HAVE THE FUCKING FATE OF YOUR FOUR FRIENDS AND YOUR OWN IN YOUR WINGS."

"What the fuck are you talking about? And what the hell are you saying, for that matter?" Maria snapped.

Jim explained: "NEVER ONCE HAS ANY ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS FAILED TO OBEY YOUR COMMANDS. YOU HAVE LED YOUR GROUP FOR A VERY LONG TIME, INDEED. SO THIS IS WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. THE BUTTON THAT YOU SEE ABOVE YOU IS ONE THAT REQUIRES A PRESSING IF IT IS GOING TO LET OUT SPECIAL RAYS THAT WILL SHINE DOWN ON AMELIA AND HELP HER GET HER CONFIDENCE, STRENGTH OF CHARACTER, POSITIVE OUTLOOK ON LIFE, BRAVERY AND SELF-ESTEEM BACK. SHE HAS LOST ALL OF THOSE THINGS AND BELIEVES HERSELF A HAZARD TO EVERYONE AROUND HER, AND SHE NEEDS TO BE RID OF THAT FEELING. THOUGH THEY ARE SLOW ACTING, SO IT'LL TAKE A LITTLE WHILE BEFORE THE JOB IS DONE. BUT IN ANY CASE, I AM GOING TO UNLEASH A SPECIAL GAS INTO THIS ROOM WHICH WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THAT HER EMOTIONAL PAIN IS EVERY BIT AS ABLE TO EXIST AS YOUR OWN IS, IRONICALLY THROUGH THE USE OF YOUR PHYSICAL PAIN AND THAT OF YOUR FRIENDS!"

"You're not serious." Maria said in a tone of voice full of disbelief.

"OH, I AM MOST SERIOUS. DEAD SERIOUS, IN FACT. AS A HEART ATTACK, WHICH OFTEN MAKES ONE'S HEART STOP BEATING FOREVER, AND YOUR HEARTS WILL CEASE TO BEAT IF YOU, MARIA, DO NOT MAKE IT TO THAT BUTTON IN TIME AFTER I'VE UNLEASHED THE GAS." they all heard Jim's voice say.

"Well, if everything that you say is true and we need to do all of this, could you at least explain what part the gas plays in all of this?" Maria asked.

Jim's response was as follows: "ONCE THE GAS HAS ENTERED THIS ROOM, HER TEARS WILL CONNECT WITH YOUR BLOOD, WHICH IS THE WAY YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS WILL UNDERSTAND HER EMOTIONAL PAIN THROUGH YOUR PHYSICAL PAIN."

"How…how so?" Maria asked, suddenly shaking hard while her friends shook almost as hard as she did.

Jim put across: "FOR EVERY TEAR THAT SHE SHEDS OUT OF ONE EYE, YOU WILL BLEED, FIRST FROM BOTH OF YOUR OWN, ALONG WITH THE INEVITABLE TEARS, THEN YOU WILL DO SO EVEN MORE FROM BOTH OF YOUR NOSTRILS, FOLLOWED BY BOTH OF YOUR EARS, SUBSEQUENTLY YOUR ASSHOLE AND, FINALLY, SHOULD IT REACH THAT POINT, YOUR MOUTH. AS WILL ALL FOUR OF YOUR FRIENDS. WHICH MEANS THAT YOU HAD BEST REACH THAT BUTTON BEFORE SHE'S CRIED FIVE TEARS, BECAUSE THE INCREASING AMOUNT OF BLOOD WHICH YOU WILL LOSE DURING ALL OF THIS AND WHAT THAT WILL MEAN MAKES SURE OF IT THAT, SHOULD THAT HAPPEN, ALL FIVE OF YOU ARE DONE FOR. HER LIFE COULD BE IN YOUR WINGS, AS WELL, DEPENDING, BUT YOURS AND THAT OF YOUR FRIENDS MOST DEFINITELY ARE. THE PROCESS BEGINS NOW."

Jim used his way of manipulating his machine to let loose exactly the kind of gas that he had described, and after it sprayed itself into the room and vaporized, the cardinal gasped and looked up at the button she was to fly up at, reach and press according to Jim's words.

"COME ON, MARIA! DO WHAT THE HELL HE FUCKING SAYS, DAMMIT!" cried out Max.

"YOU'VE LED US COMPETENTLY FOR YEARS! DON'T FUCK UP NOW!" screamed Lilly.

"OH, CRAP! I'M BLEEDING! YOU AND THE OTHERS MUST BE, TOO!" exclaimed Carlos as he saw a mixture of blood and tears coming out of his eyes. "WE'RE CRYING TEARS LIKE SHE IS, BUT HERS SURE AREN'T LADEN WITH BLOOD!"

"HER HEART'S BROKEN, BUT IT'S STILL BEATING! KEEP ALL OF OUR OWN ONES THAT WAY, MARIA!" yelled Annie.

Maria flew up towards where the button was as fast as she could with all of her might, but suddenly saw her nostrils bleeding, saying: "DAMN! OH, SHIT! ANOTHER TEAR'S DROPPED FROM ONE OF HER EYES! OKAY, THIS GUY'S AS SERIOUS AS HE SAYS HE IS! I GUESS CATS DO FEEL JUST AS MUCH AS ALL OTHERS, AFTER ALL!"

"YEAH, SO HOW ABOUT YOU MAKE THAT A LIFE LESSON WE LEARNED THE HARD WAY WITH AT LEAST NO ONE LOSING A LIFE BY DYING HARD?!" howled Lilly as she went pale from looking at the blood gushing out of her own nostrils.

Maria did a huge thrust of her wings to get her six inches away from the button, and though she was now ready to fly in and press it with her beak, she felt blood flooding out of her ears and, despite where said bleeding was coming from, heard Max bellow: "YOU DO THIS NOW OR NOT AT ALL, MARIA! YIKES! NOW WE'RE SHITTING BLOOD, TOO! A TEAR MUST HAVE FALLEN FROM AN EYE APIECE!"

"PUT EVERYTHING THAT YOU FUCKING HAVE INTO YOUR NEXT MOTHERFUCKING MOVE, BOSS LADY," let loose Annie, "BECAUSE OTHERWISE WE'RE ALL FUCKED!"

Thus Maria pushed herself with all the strength and stamina she had left to make it so that her beak pressed the button, unleashing the special beams for Amelia as they shone down on her, then she fell down, no longer able to fly or even keep her eyes open due to how much blood she'd lost and how much she'd exerted herself.

"UUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN…" she said as she then passed out, though Carlos was able to muster just enough stamina to leap up and break her fall by catching her in his jaws with precise timing, then placed her down and passed out himself.

"…wow…cats have feelings too…who woulda thunk it…?" groaned an all but unconscious and very badly debilitated Annie.

Afterwards, Max, who was just as weak and nigh-unconscious as Annie, managed to moan: "…some say one can cry themselves to death…don't know if this felid would have or not…but she sure almost cried us to death…"

"…is she better…?" asked Lilly, who was an inch away from being out cold. "…do we get to live…?"

"YES ON BOTH COUNTS, BUT NONE OF YOU ARE TO FORGET WHAT YOU HAVE ALL LEARNED TODAY." they heard the deep version of Jim's voice say.

It continued with: "JUST BECAUSE ONE IS ANOTHER'S NATURAL ENEMY DOES NOT MEAN THAT ENEMY IS MINDLESS OR WITHOUT FEELINGS. NO MORE THAN IS THE CASE WITH THE OTHER WAY AROUND. AS EVIDENCED BY WHAT HAS HAPPENED JUST NOW AND WHAT WOULD HAVE IF MARIA WERE A SECOND SLOWER IN DOING WHAT WAS REQUIRED OF HER TO ACTIVATE THOSE BEAMS, FELINES, AMELIA OR OTHERWISE, ARE EVERY BIT AS CAPABLE OF CRYING OR SHOWING ANY OTHER KINDS OF EMOTIONS AS EVERY OTHER FORM OF SENTINENT LIFE. THAT ONE OF THE ONES SHE WAS CRYING FOR, HER NOW DEAD HUSBAND, DELBERT DOPPLER, WAS A DOG AND DOGS AND CATS ARE USUALLY FOES, COMPOUNDS THIS FACT QUITE WELL. WHEN YOU HAVE RECOVERED, YOU MAY LEAVE, BUT YOUR NEW KNOWLEDGE COMES WITH YOU."

"…yes…yes…of course…" squeezed out Annie. "…good…good…we're not bleeding anymore…although…you said those beams…were slow acting…"

"…so is she still crying…for her dead friend and family…?" asked Lilly, and after the deep version of Jim's voice told them: "YES, INDEED. AND THIS SHOULD SERVE AS FURTHER EVIDENCE THAT AMELIA, AS WELL AS ALL OTHER CATS, ARE, IN FACT, LIVING, BREATHING CREATIONS OF GOD WHO HAVE FEELINGS JUST LIKE ALL OTHER ONES OF THEM DO AND THEY CAN HURT JUST AS MUCH AS ANY OTHER ONE OF THOSE VERY SAME CREATIONS CAN. HER SADNESS ISN'T CAUSING YOU TO LOSE BLOOD ANYMORE, BUT IT IS STILL PLENTY PRESENT. THIS MAKES SUCH A THING WELL CLEAR."

"…got it…" Max went out, subsequently passing, well, out along with Annie and Lilly, just like Carlos and Maria had before, and, after a while, all five of the ones who formerly believed that there was no way in hell that cats could possibly feel any kinds of emotions outside of predatory ones awakened and saw the open door to Jim's special confinement room that was clearly the way out.

Waiting until they were absolutely certain that they had enough strength and energy back to leave the place, they then followed Maria's lead and, when they were out of there, Maria stated: "Okay, here we are!" as they heard the door close behind them.

"So where to now?" asked Annie, and then Maria replied: "The closest diner, I guess. I mean, after all of this, I sure am starving."

"Likewise." the other four said in unison and agreement on both counts. "And speaking of diners," Maria added, "besides how Amelia is undoubtedly being given some much needed consolation right now, the fact is that it might seem only fair to give her some, as well, but the problem is that, with or without her feeling just as anyone else does like we learned almost the hardest way possible, the way that she locked that fridge well before we were locked in that machine means that she is most likely just as famished as we are, and since, outside of Carlos, we're still all in the category of natural food sources of any cat, we are NOT risking it, even if it is obviously true that she'd be sorry about eating us if she saw us approach her ironically sad face."

"Good call, boss lady." said Annie as the other four nodded in absolute outright agreement.

And so it was that they then took off to that diner, though Carlos mentioned the irony that, if he were a canid alien instead of a standard beagle and Amelia were a small standard cat of some sort, it would be HIM who would be the one viewed as the predator who supposedly was "emotionless" while she would be with the others and yet be unable to help but suppress her craving for them after she woke up starving.

The others briefly laughed along with him, but then stopped almost abruptly, and, also ironically, they had just gotten to the diner for their much-needed meals, so they quickly made their way in there after just as quickly thinking up a way to make it so that they could order something just like humans, aliens, hybrids and the like could.

As for Amelia, she was ignoring how hungry she was just now because she was still really sad, the fact that her confidence and hope were coming back and she was now realizing that, despite the death of her parents, then that of Mr. Arrow and finally her family, she was not a hazard and they could have just as easily stayed alive with or without her around them, notwithstanding.

Thankfully, as her five once true enemies, now semi-foes all believed, Jim was indeed comforting her and letting her know: "It's okay, Amelia. These beams are restoring what you once had and you will be 'right as rain' soon enough. In the meantime, just let me comfort you and make sure that you are not left to cry with no one there to give you that comfort when you need it most. There's a girl."

"Thank…thank you, Jim…" Amelia said after she was certain had regained enough of what had been pulled from her so that she could speak through her tears, and while Jim looked into her sad, still somewhat wet eyes, he thought to himself: "Wow! She called me Jim! I've really done a great job here! A better one than even I knew!"

"Anytime, captain." Jim smiled warmly at her as he continued to hold her close to him and rub her head like he would a pet cat(yes, that is indeed the way he was giving her the comforting she needed so badly, and Amelia didn't care that she was being treated like a pet at the moment, since any kind of consolation would do with what emotional shape she was in right now)while Amelia wrapped her arms around his torso.

While the beams continued to lessen her pain little by little and would until she was right as rain again, Jim letting her know that they both had tea with Sarah, Morph and B.E.N. to look forward to, since he told his mother(via reshaping his machine for that purpose as a round device that Sarah would find in front of her that would tell her everything that she, Morph and B.E.N. needed to know, right before it teleported itself back into his hand as a small marble version of itself which he'd then put in his pocket)that, as soon as Amelia felt better enough to get up again, he would call her to get it all ready, something that she could easily do quickly and would do with everything Amelia loved the most being what was part of it(besides, everyone else loved it just as much), Jim also pointed to where Amelia had hung her captain's uniform.

She looked back and Jim told her: "Remember who you are." and Amelia nodded with a smile, her first one in hours, and, though her tears still came down, they were gradually starting to stop continuing, with her looking up into the sky and enjoying the glow of the beams while also seeing the faces of her parents, Mr. Arrow, Delbert and all four of her children, all eight of them smiling warmly down at her and she then did so towards them.

THE END

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