Chapter 1: An unexpected visitor
It was dark. A dim light bulb dangled from the ceiling flickering occasionally. She couldn't move, couldn't think, but could unfortunately feel. What was she doing here again? An unsettling chuckle emanated from a dark corner of the room as a sinister shadow slowly made its way towards her. Instantly she felt a pang of searing agony rack her body as an unnatural green substance was shot up her veins. Oh, now she remembered.
"That was very noble of you" The man said in mock-admiration. "Making sure your little friend escaped, saving her from the trauma of watching your…transformation take place and the life drain out of you. Ever. So. Slowly." He purred, brushing a single finger across her cheek. "…Or worse" He continued, "Having the process performed on her."
The girl clenched her teeth and looked down, tearing her eyes away from the her capture's intense gaze. "Little Penny is safe." she told herself, "That's all that matters." A single tear graced her pale features as she braced herself for another injection a stifled whimper escaping her trembling lips.
Heavenly aromas drifted through the pink, girlish house and were picked up by a certain cartoon rabbit who traced the source to a pot being stirred intently by a gentle black and white cat wearing a soft pink skirt. She stopped briefly to cut up more vegetables and began putting them inside the pot while the rabbit attempted to sneak a carrot while her back was turned. She turned around catching him red-handed and playfully slapped his hand away from the food. Pausing the two could hear a rather frantic knock coming from the front door,
"Oswald dear, could you get that?"Ortensia asked.
"Sure thing honey" he replied making his way to the door. The knocking continued followed by a rather desperate sounding scritch-scratch on the girly pink door.
"I'm comin'! I'm comin'!" He shouted a bit irritated now. Finally he reached the door and swung it open nearly knocking over the intruder and revealing a very strange sight indeed. Standing in front of him was a small, rather scrawny, cartoon cat not unlike Ortensia, her face was covered in dirt and smudged by what looked like tear streaks. She couldn't have been over 7 years old and was dressed in tatters, a small torn dress which seemed to have completely lost all of its original material and now consisted entirely of mismatched patches. The girl wasn't even wearing shoes so her feet were covered in cuts and bruises much like the rest of her body. She was leaning heavily on her right leg, holding on to the railing for support, she looked exhausted with dark circles under her eyes.
"A-are y-y-you O-Oswald?" the small cat stuttered her wide eyes darting around nervously.
"Y-yeah! Yeah I'm Oswald! What's wrong? Are you alright?" He replied a bit startled.
"I-I n-n-need help I… sh-she told m-m-me t-to b-b-but I-I didn't want…and t-t-then she…and I…" She was trembling violently now and kept looking over her shoulder as if someone were planning to ambush her from behind.
"Ortensia! Come here quick!" Oswald shouted into the house followed by a hurried pitter-patter of feet coming from the kitchen.
"Y-you have to help me! Please! You have to save her, th-they're going to kill her! PLEASE!" she screamed bursting into tears.
"I'm here Oswald what's—OH MY!" Ortensia gasped, stunned as the small toon collapsed on their front porch.