A/N: When I saw the time travel/time period prompt, I was conflicted about going into the past into the Victorian Era, American Old West, the Edwardian Era, a Steampunk setting, or even the Disco Fever Era XDD. Maybe go into the future when cats would get their own flying litter boxes or something XD... but instead... I did something a bit more... modern...
(BTW, Return of the Great Cat and Mouse readers, the next chapter is on the way! I'm just going to be uploading some one-shots for The Cat Returns Birthday Bash Week prompts. So don't worry it is not forgotten and will be updated soon!)
Busted
The Cat Bureau watched with tilted heads and squinted eyes, up above them curiously, remaining silent for a long period of time before Muta spoke.
"So um, any idea what that thing is?"
Still looking up, Baron shook his head.
"No. I've never seen such a thing before," Baron said perplexed.
Toto's dark eyes studied the humming object above them closely, his eyes widening.
"I think I saw one of these things before? I think this one time when I was flying a distance away from the city."
Baron turned to Toto, inquiringly.
"Oh? What do you think it is, perhaps then?"
"Well. . . It's definitely not those huge planes the humans make. There is no way even a small human baby could fit on that thing. . . so I doubt it's for transportation." Toto's eyes widened a bit. "Unless. . . there are humans on it, but shrunken. . ."
Muta gave Toto a hard whack on the wing.
"Of course not you birdbrain! Human's aren't advanced enough to shrink themselves yet." Muta rolled his eyes and looked up at the object hovering over the bureau. "At least. . . I don't think so. . . "
Toto shook his head and looked back at the object as it appeared to get closer to them down below.
"But you have to admit, humans are sure getting more evolved by the year."
"Yeah, it's kind of annoying." Muta frowned watching with his eyes as the object got even closer.
Staring up at the object as it descended lower and lower from the sky, Baron's emerald eyes widen suddenly.
"Hold on? It is. . . getting pretty close to us. . . Wait. . . Ah-! It-! It has a lens on it!"
"A what?" Muta frowned.
"A lens," Toto answered. "You know, that thing Haru had on her small box, to capture us in a small painting that one time. A lens. Forgot the name she used though. . ."
"Oh yeah, that camera thing." Muta registered, but turned to the anxious looking Baron inquiringly. "Why that look?"
"B-Because. . . when Haru used the camera, she was able to record us in a picture and in one case even, a moving picture. . . "
Muta and Toto looked at one another and then at Baron again.
"So?"
"When Haru recorded us, she said it would be recording when a light next to the lens was green. . ."
"And?"
". . . That thing above us. . . it has a lens. . . and a light that's green next to it. . ." Baron breathed pointing at it slowly.
Comprehending what Baron just said, Toto and Muta both looked up in sync back at the object again hovering now only twenty feet above them, the lens now in perfect view. . . and a small green light next to it on the contraption.
Muta blinked.
"It's green. . ."
Toto then blinked.
"It's recording. . ."
Baron slowly nodded, still silently pointing at the object.
"We're being recorded. . ."
The three were silent for a tense few seconds.
"WE'RE BEING RECORDED!" Toto yelled, panic edging his voice.
"THAT THING IS RECORDING US!" Muta yelped.
"Indeed!" Baron said his wide eyes watching the object. "Who know's what I'll do with the recording of us?!"
Toto looked to Baron.
"It's definitely a human object, so it would just end up in the hands of a human!"
Muta's eyes widen in horror.
"A human that would set us all up to be science guinea pigs!"
At Muta's outburst, the color under Baron's fur drained and he then turned to Toto, who looked back at him anxiously.
"Toto!" Baron yelled urgently.
"On it!" Toto cried, and leaped into the air and towards the hovering object.
The hovering objected jerked suddenly, like it was shocked by the sudden action, and dodged Toto's talons swiped as he tried to swoop towards it.
"Get it already, bird brain!" Muta yelled up at him.
Toto growled under his breath as the object make an awkward sudden dodge again.
"I'm trying, furball! It just maneuvers faster than me!"
The object, then suddenly made a few panicked loops away from Toto and halted a bit away from Toto, hovering in place.
"It stopped moving! Grab it now!" Muta yelled urgently.
Toto then pushed his wings hard, causing him to shoot out towards the object, but the object suddenly stopped hovering in place and also shot out towards Toto.
"Toto!" Baron cried.
The object crashed into Toto's head, causing the raven to gasp out in surprise, and then fall towards the ground, into the cobblestoned courtyard with a soft slam, causing Toto to groan softly and closed his eyes.
"Oh my gosh!" Muta yelled. "It knocked him out. . . wait. . . can creations even get knocked out?" Muta's nose wrinkled.
"Muta, we don't have time for that!" Baron yelled pointing at the retreating object fly further up into the sky. "It's trying to get away and Toto is unresponsive! Muta! Evasive Maneuver Twelve!"
Muta's eyes widen and nodded.
Both Baron and Muta ran towards the Bureau. Muta jumped up in order to grab the balcony railing, while Baron climbed onto Muta's back and leaped onto the balcony and onto the roof and then took a large leap towards the next building's roof. Baron ran along the rooftops until he reached the highest point and watched the object urgently. Muta now behind him grabbed one paw on Baron's shoulder and the other on his waist. With a loud grunt, Muta then spun around holding Baron, faster and faster, before throwing Baron into the sky and toward the object. The object seeing Baron coming at it with a fast rate of speed, began to zigzag in panic, clearly not knowing what to do. But before it could make a proper dodge, Baron's gloved hands reached out and grabbed its frame. The object couldn't hold Baron's weight and Baron began to fall towards the ground. Muta watched above at the falling cat creation, with a reluctant sigh.
'I hate this part.' Muta cringed falling onto his back with his large belly exposed.
Soon enough, Baron collided into Muta's stomach and hopped off smoothly.
"Ooof!" Muta grunted.
"Sorry about that." Baron apologized and studied the object in his grip, as it was almost as tall as himself.
"Truthfully, I almost thought it would fly away with me, luckily my weight was heavier than it could handle." Baron sighed in relief.
Muta and Baron hopped off of one of the bureau's buildings roof and back into the ground, next to the still unconscious Toto.
Baron studied the object, as its blades hummed loudly in an attempt to break free.
Muta chuckled darkly.
"Now what do we do with it?"
"We destroy it," Baron answered, his eyes narrowed at the object, causing the object's blades to abruptly stop moving.
"Interesting. . ." Baron said and thought for a moment before giving the object to Muta.
"Hold it. I'm going to get some tools that could help us dismantle it, perhaps take out the recording device. We don't know how it works, for all we know the recording has probably already been sent to the source." Baron said and entered the Bureau and closed the door behind him.
Muta groaned.
"Here I was hoping we could just throw it on the ground and dance on it, till it breaks."
Muta studied the object with a frown, as it remained unmoving, with a cheeky grin.
"Ha! Completely unresponsive!" Muta laughed and turned to Toto who still lay on the ground knocked out. "Just like bird brain over there."
"But the only difference between you and bird brain is that you're not going to get out of this in one piece." Muta grinned evilly into the lens.
As if he scared it, the object then suddenly moved its blades causing the object to hum loudly and hit at Muta's paws, startling the large cat causing him to let it go.
"Ouch! What the?!" Muta cried, as he watched the object dart into the sky and zoom off away from the Bureau.
Muta watched the sky, his mouth hanging open.
". . . Ah-! . . . Ah-! . . . Ah-!" was all that Muta was able to choke out.
The Bureau's doors reopened and Baron came out, holding a box full of tools.
"There we are," Baron said setting them down. "Now we can begin."
Baron looked up to see Muta staring up into the sky his mouth hanging agape and his paws empty.
A sudden panic built in Baron.
". . . Muta. . . where is it?"
Muta slowly looked away from the sky and towards Baron, his mouth still hanging as he stiffly shook his head.
Baron's eyes slowly widen.
"Oh no. . ."
Toto suddenly shifted with a groan and got up, rubbing the top of his head with his wing.
"Ouch! That happened too fast. I hope you guys got it instead." Toto said and looked at the dumbfounded motionless duo.
Toto looked at the two with a blank look.
"You did get it, right?"
10 minutes later. . .
Muta, Toto, and Baron all sat around the pillar in the middle of the courtyard, staring up at the sky, with gloom looming over them.
"I can't believe you let it go, Muta. . ." Toto said.
"You were no better, birdbrain! It surprised me and did this to me!" Muta said sticking out his paw to show a now hairless patch on his paw and a bit on his arm, revealing pink skin.
In a normal situation, Toto would laugh, but Toto couldn't bring himself to.
"It got away with a recording of us. . ." Toto breathed.
"Someone now has it. . ." Baron whispered.
"A human that now knows about us no doubt. . ." Muta groaned.
". . . What will we do?" Toto questioned.
Muta shrugged.
"We could move?"
"And go where?! It's not like we can pack up all the Bureau and take it away with us." Toto retorted back.
"Well-! What else are we going to do?! Soon there might be herds of humans out trying to find the mysterious talking, clothes wearing, object shifting, two hind legged walking cats, and raven! Not to mention our own little miniature world!" Muta yelled. "I can see it now. . . We'll be hunted down by scientists from all around and then thrown into cages as scientists probe and poke us with needles or cut us open with scalpels. Or worse! Have us live off of human government issued food! I refuse to be a lab rat!"
Toto sighed miserably.
"Where do you suppose our video is now?"
Baron sighed as well.
"Well. . . according to Haru, it goes where all the other interesting recordings go, 'the internet'."
Toto gulped.
"Where we'll become as Haru calls it. . . 'viral sensations'. . ."
Baron nodded gravely.
"I suppose our recording will cause an uproar in human controversy. Humans will begin to question the existence of the animals around them and become scared that they hold greater intelligence over them and worse case scenario, try to overthrow all of us, meaning not only us, but all animals will be in danger."
Muta gave a weak grin.
"Hey. . . maybe people won't believe the recording or something? Like it's fake?"
"I would really hope so. But. . . it's possible the recording will make us look pretty life like too. If there are non-believers there outta be believers. We'll become cryptids. . ." Baron said.
"I don't think I'm ready to be labeled like Bigfoot, the El Chupacabra, or the Loch Ness Monster." Muta groaned.
Toto looked at Muta sharply.
"Hey! The Loch Ness Monster is real, mind your tongue! I saw her one time during my flight over Scotland last year!"
Baron groaned in irritation and stood up.
"Either way, it'll all start with the humans trying to locate us. Our best chance is that they will never find us and this will all be an elaborate hoax to the humans. I think it's about time I used the seal to hide the Refuge from unwanted guests. I've always known that our Refuge would be discovered sooner or later. I suppose now is the time. It might take awhile. Hopefully, it'll be done fast enough before anyone finds us." Baron said walking towards the Bureau's doors, but he then sharply turned to Muta and Toto. "In any case, while I get this ready, you go and inform Haru of what has happened and get her help to see if our recording has landed in the 'internet' by now."
Toto and Muta stiffly nodded.
"We'll have to be inconspicuous for now on when traveling outside the Bureau. Someone may recognize us." Toto said looking towards Muta.
"Then let's hurry!" Muta said darting off, with Toto following from above.
Meanwhile. . .
"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Haru said angrily to herself as she sprinted home and slammed the door behind her, gasping as she collapsed on the ground.
She quickly threw her backpack off her back and in front of her. She dug into the pack and pulled out a drone.
"They almost got me," Haru said hugging the drone to her chest, trying to calm her nerves. "I don't know what I would have done, if I hadn't escaped, Baron would have had this thing in pieces! And then all that money mom spent on this thing for Christmas would have been flushed down the toilet, thank goodness I managed to get it away from Muta in time."
When Naoko surprised her daughter for Christmas with one of those trendy drones, that everybody has been going bonkers for lately, Haru didn't have a clue what to do with it at first. She wasn't a real tech savvy person, she figured she would fly the thing terribly and break it within seconds of trying it out. There was also the issue with drones not being allowed to be flown in most residential areas, which was hard, considering where she currently lived. But then Haru wondered if she could get a good view of The Cat Bureau with it, which brought her to wonder if she could even find the Bureau using the drone in the first place. Haru always thought the Refuge was sort of exposed for anyone to accidentally stumble upon it, but she wondered if that was really the case. Maybe the Bureau can only be found by those who specifically searched for it who needed help? The latter turned to be false, as she surprisingly was able to find the Bureau using her drone.
Haru set down the drone beside her on the floor and dug into her backpack and grabbed her tablet and turned it on.
She giggled as she watched the video she recorded of her friends panic and attempts at grabbing the done.
"I should probably go and apologize to them. . ."
It's been nearly fifteen years since she first met The Cat Bureau and had their adventure with the Cat Kingdom. Even now, in her mid-thirties, in 2017, Haru still found herself to be childish.
Haru turned up the volume on the tablet, hearing the audio loud and clear, along with the panicked figures.
"WE'RE BEING RECORDED!"
"THAT THING IS RECORDING US!"
"Indeed!"
"Who know's what I'll do with our recording of us."
"It's definitely a human object, so it would just end up in the hands of a human!"
"A human that would set us all up to be science guinea pigs!"
Haru giggled fondly, staring down at the screen.
"Don't worry guys. I'm not a human that would set you all up to be science guinea pigs. You're secret's safe with me."
Haru giggled before putting the tablet and drone back into her backpack and standing up and walked into the living room. Not seeing the glaring eyes of Muta and Toto staring at her through her window.
"She is so going to pay for this. . ."
A/N: Since we have no idea Haru's exact age in the movie except that we can safely say she was a teen, I would either age her as of now (2017) from 2002 (when the movie was released) to be in her late twenties or even in her mid-thirties. Somewhere around there. . .
Hehe, yeah so much for going a different route for the time travel/time period prompt. Just figured that from the time period the movie took place from our time now, is a pretty different time period actually compared. What with drones flying around now. Got me thinking if the Bureau would be easily found. Welp, at least now Baron will fix that issue thanks to Haru. . . x'D