"Wait for me, wait for me!" Matthew called as he and his siblings ran through the yard. They were racing for the cat door that led them inside. "Me first! Me first!" Michelle called, her little red bow bouncing as she tried to get ahead of her brothers. They made it up the steps and all at once they leapt threw the cat door. Instead of going through, however, they all got stuck.

"Why should you be first?" Alfred asked, looking up at the little white kitten. She looked down at him as she lifted her nose into the air.

"Because I am a lady, that's why," she told him. Alfred snorted and squirmed from his uncomfortable spot beneath his sister.

"Ha. You are not a lady," he told her. She sneered at the orange kitten and managed to squirm her way out from in between her brother and onto the floor. Matthew raised himself up and snatched her tail in his paw.

"You're nothing but a sister, eh!" he said, pulling her back against the front door. She oofed slightly as her bow feel into her eyes and watched as her brother jumped through the door ahead of her.

"Oh! I'll show you if I'm a lady or not," she muttered before straightening the bow and taking off after the black kitten. She ran after Matthew, following him over the ataman and tackling him to the ground. Alfred ran under the frill of the footstool and watched as they rolled around; giggling and wrestling. Matthew grinned wickedly and began tickling his sister.

"Stop tickling!" Michelle shrieked, unable to stop the laughter that bubbled from her lips. Alfred laughed as he watched from under the ataman.

"Get her, Matthew! Get her!" he called to his younger brother. His blue eyes widened and he turned tail though, as Michelle stood and began chasing the two. Alfred jumped up onto a small table and clutched at a candelabra. He watched his siblings fight on the floor.

"Fight fair, Michelle!" Matthew shouted as his sister tugged at the red ribbon tied around his neck. She ignored him and continued to pull on the unkempt bow.

"Females never fight fair," Alfred yelled down to Matthew. He gasped as he fell off the candelabra suddenly, causing one of the candles to fall off as well. It fell down and hit Michelle on the head, breaking the candle and causing her to look up from her position above her brother.

"Ow! Now that hurt!" she cried. "Papa! Papa!" Francis walked in, sighing as he saw his children arguing.

"Michelle, darling. Michelle, you must stop zat. Zis, zis is really not ladylike," he told her, walking towards the kittens. Michelle huffed and pulled away from Matthew. "And Matzew, well, such behavior is most unbecoming to a lovely gentleman," he told the boy. The black kitten sighed and looked at Michelle.

"Well, she started it," he argued softly. Michelle humpfed and turned away from him and stuck her nose in the air.

"Ladies do not start fights," she informed him, "but they can finish them." She turned back to him with a triumphant look on her face. Matthew stuck his tongue out at her.

"Matzew," Francis said warningly, "now, don't be rude." The kitten looked up innocently with his wide violet eyes and smiled.

"We were just practicing biting and clawing," he explained. Francis sighed and shook his head as he fixed the big red bow around Michelle's neck.

"Aristocrats do not practice biting and clawing and zings like that…it's just horrible!" he said, blue eyes wide at the thought of such horrific things. He looked up as Alfred spoke from the table.

"But someday, we might meet a tough alley cat," he said, jumping down hissing and spitting, making his siblings laugh. Francis laughed as his son's fur went up on end and he licked his lips. Francis chuckled as the children pawed and teased each other.

"Now zat will do," he told them gently. "It's time we concerned ourselves wiz self-improvement. Now, you want to grow up to be lovely, charming ladies and gentlemen. Now Alfred, you go and start on wiz your painting." The orange kitten stood up from his crouched position and nodded.

"Yes, Papa." He started walking over to his easel, hissing as he hopped and pounced to his tall stool.

"Papa, may we watch Alfred paint before we start our music lesson? Please?" Michelle asked as they watched Alfred struggle to climb up. He began mixing paints and Francis nodded.

"Well, yes my love, but you must be very quiet," he told the two as Alfred accidentally spilled some of the paints. Matthew narrowed his eyes and jumped to the side to avoid being covered in blue paint.

"Oops! Uh-oh…" Alfred muttered softly, looking over the edge of the table his color palette was sitting on. He cleared his throat, thinking of something to paint before grinning and mixing two colors together. He jumped onto his stool and began dragging his paws over the blank canvas. He grinned and brought a paint covered paw up to his chin, covering his jaw in green paint. He stood back to throw his paw forward and put red paint on the picture to finish a rather childish drawing of Natalia.

"It's Natalia!" Michelle giggled and Alfred stood back to admire his work. Matthew nodded and walked up next to his sister.

"Yeah. Old picklepuss Natalia!" Francis laughed unexpectedly at the comment before covering his mouth and looking down at his son who was rolling around on the floor.

"'Old Picklepuss'? Now, now, Matzew, zat is not kind. You know Natalia is so fond of all of us and takes very good care of us.

Natalia, on the other hand, was in a small side kitchen, preparing a cream of some kind for the cats. She was pouring nearly an entire bottle of sleeping tablets into the concoction and singing to herself happily. "Rock-a-bye, kitties, bye-bye you go. La la la la, and I'm in the dough." She chuckled to herself as she poured different ingredients in to mask the taste and add flavor. "Oh Natalia, you sly fox." She stirred the mixture around and brought the spoon up to taste it when she remembered the sleeping pills.

"Oops! Oh, dear! A slip of a hand and it's off to dreamland," she mumbled. She giggled slightly and continued mixing things into the cream. "I say, that's not at all bad. 'Slip of the hand, dreamland'." She chuckled and went on to pour the warm milk into bowls for the kittens and Francis.

"Now," Francis said, looking at Michelle and Matthew, "let's leave Alfred to his painting. Now dear, you go to ze piano and run along." He nudged Michelle, ushering her to the piano. She walked past Matthew, flicking her tail under his nose on purpose. "Boz of you, go a'ead." The two ran towards the instrument, tackling and playing as they went. "It's time to practice your scales and your arpeggios."

"Yes, Papa," Michelle said. "Yes, Papa." Matthew copied, running to beat his sister. He jumped up onto the piano bench, but Michelle pulled him down by his tail. She ignored his cry of indignation and jumped on to the keys and up to the edge of the piano.

"Ow!" Matthew hissed, watching his sister fluff up her fur. He sneered slightly before grinning and setting down on the bench. He began demonstratively cracking the knuckles on each finger on both forepaws and then on his hind paws, just to irritate his sister. She rolled her eyes and leaned towards him.

"I'm ready, maestro," she said exaggeratedly. Matthew stretched his now cracked fingers and ran his paws down the keys so Michelle's tail, which was hanging inside the piano, got hit.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, glaring at her brother. "Papa! He did it again!" Matthew sighed and rested his elbows on the keys, scrunching his nose at the white kitten.

"Tattletale!" he said in a hushed whispered. Francis sighed and looked at his son.

"Now, Matzew. Now, please, darling, settle down, and play me your pretty little song," he pleaded lightly, jumping up onto one of the cushioned chairs and kneading it lightly before wrapping his long tail around his legs. Matthew nodded and turned towards the piano.

"Yes, Papa." He started playing softly and Michelle smiled and started singing along.

Doe me so doe doe so me doe. Every truly cultured music student knows you must learn your scales and your arpeggios. And the music ringing from your chest and not your nose while you sing your scales and your arpeggios.

Michelle sang happily, looking between her father and brother. She only had to stop once to catch her breath and soon Matthew took over and started singing while he continued playing the piano.

If you're faithful to your daily practicing you will find your progress is encouraging. Doe me so me doe me so me fa fa so it goes. When you sing your scales and your arpeggios

Francis nodded his head along with the music as Michelle rolled her eyes at her silly brother. He wiggled his eyebrows and she huffed slightly. "Doe me so doe–" She stopped abruptly as she realized Matthew was playing out of rhythm. Alfred hopped down from his painting stool though, and jumped onto the piano keys with his paws still covered in paint. Matthew gave him a disgusted sort of look as Francis and Michelle both started singing as Matthew and Alfred picked up the correct rhythm.

Doe me so doe doe so me doe. Doe me so doe doe so me doe. Though at first it seems as though it doesn't show. Like a tree, ability will root and grow. If you're smart you'll learn by heart what every artist knows. You must sing your scales and your arpe-e-e-gios!

Francis and the kittens stopped singing, being it was the end of the song, but Alfred and Matthew continue banging on the piano, dueling each other until they jumped up and bangged their heads together. They all looked up as the doorknob to the room jiggled and Natalia popped her head in.

"Ah, good evening, my little ones," she said, throwing the door open and walking in with a covered dish in her hand. She hummed to herself as she side stepped the kittens playing around her feet. "Your favorite dish, prepared a very special way. It's crème de la crème a la Natalia." She pulled the small cloth away revealing four bowls of milk. She walked back to the door, smiling at the cats as she left. "Sleep well. I-I mean, eat, eat well, of course," she stammered, closing the door behind her.

A small blonde mouse was peeking out from a hole in the wall, sniffing at the air. He smiled and quickly ran back into his hole. He walked back out holding a cracker above his head. He pushed it behind his back and cleared his throat.

"Ahem! Gut evening, Francis. Hallo kittens," he said, gaining the attention of the family. Michelle looked up and grinned at the mouse.

"Hello, Ludwig," she said. Alfred also lifted his head and greeted the animal. "Hi, Ludwig." "Good evening, Monsieur Ludwig," Francis said, lifting his head from his own meal. Ludwig lifted his nose and sniffed the air again.

"Mmm! Somezing smells avfully gut. Vhat is zat appetizing smell?" he inquired, slowly scooting himself forward. Michelle giggled and lifted her head from the cream.

"It's crème de la crème a la Natalia," she replied. Francis smiled warmly at the mouse as he looked him. "Won't you join us, Monsieur Ludwig?" Ludwig's blue eyes lit up as he shuffled his feet.

"Vell, ja. I-I mean… vell, I don't mean to intervupt, but," he chuckled nervously between his stutterings and pulled the cracker from behind him. "But it so happens zat... I have a cracker viz me."

"Come on, Ludwig, have some," Matthew insisted, moving to the side so Ludwig could get to his bowl.

"Oh, danke. Don't mind if I do," he said, scurrying forward and dipping his cracker into the cream. "Just a few dunks," he mumbled. He bit into the cracker, eating about half of it in just a few bites. "Mm. Very gut. Mien compliments to ze chef," he said around a mouthful of cracker.

"Mm! This is yummy!" Michelle said as she licks up some more. Ludwig nods in agreement as he finishes off the cracker. "Mm.. Delicious! Double delicious! Zis calls for anozer cracker," he says, jumping down off the tray and towards his hole. He stops and turns back around. "I'll be vight back," he tells them. Matthew yawns widely as he leans back down to lap up the cream. He has a hazy, sleepy look in his eyes. Ludwig trips and stumbles back to his little hole, yawning and falling into the entrance.

"So, zat's... crème... de la crème... a la Natalia," he mumbled right before falling asleep as the other cats also become drowsy and started to fall asleep.

It was way past midnight as Natalia snuck through the house, carrying a covered basket gently in her arms. She stuck her head out of the cat door to make sure no one was in sight and very quietly opened the door. She tip toed outside and tripped over a stray can. She jumped and turned, looking back at the door to make sure she wasn't being followed. She continued walking backward until something poked her in the back.

She threw her hands up, expecting somebody to be holding a gun to her back. She turned slowly only to find a tree branch. She chuckled softly, trying to calm and sooth her frazzled nerves. She walked over to her small motorcycle and placed the basket in her side car. She lifted up the sheet, revealing Francis the kittens curled up, fast asleep. She lowered it and sat down on her seat and started the motorbike, wincing as it popped and spluttered.

She turned it around and began driving through the quiet Paris streets. She had to make several U-turns until she was safely out of the heart of the city. She rode through the countryside and approached a windmill where a dog woke up, hearing the backfiring of Natalia's motorcycle.

He stood up, knocking his head on the large wheelbarrow he was sleeping under. He grunted slightly but walked over to a small hay bale where an ear was sticking out. "Lilit. Hey, Lilit." He stepped on her ear unknowingly and she lifted her head as far up as she could. "Lilit."

"Hey, I'm rightchere!" she said. Her brother backed off and he leaned down next to her.

"Listen. Vheels approaching," he said as he walked to the top of the hill. She huffed and dragged herself out from under her comfortable bed of hay.

"Oh, Vash, ve've done bit six tires today. Chased four motorcars und a bicycle und a scooter," she complained. Vash turned to give her a look.

"Hush your mouth!" he said. He lifted an ear and concentrated on the sounds of the motorcycle. "It's a motorcycle. Two-cylinder, chain drive, one squeaky vheel on ze front, it sounds like," he stated confidently as they began walking down the slope of the small hill. "Now, you go for ze tires, und I'll go right for ze seat of ze problem," he instructed his younger sister. She sighed and looked at him.

"How come you always grab ze tender part for yourself?" she inquired moodily, really not wanting to have to go after anything this late at night. She stepped on her own ear and fell face first into the dirt. Vash sighed and rolled his eyes.

"'Cause I outrank ya, zat's vhy," he told her, "now stop beating your gums und sound ze attack!" She nodded and began barking only to be reprimanded by her brother. "No, zat's mess call!"

"Made a mess of it, huh?" she teased, looking at him tiredly. Vash glared at Lilit.

"You can be replaced, you know," he said, not really meaning it. She sighed and began jogging forward.

"Okay, let's charge!" Instead of following behind her, Vash stepped on her tail, causing her to land on her stomach.

"Vait a minute, I'm ze leader! I'm ze one zat says vhen ve go," he stated. He paused a moment, listening to the sounds of the motorbike. "Here ve go. Charge!" They ran towards Natalia, making her dark blue eyes go wide. She swerved and instead of going over the bridge she was about to cross, she bumped and banged her way down the hill towards the wide creek. The basket that's holding the cats fall out and Vash and Lilit continue to chase Natalia through the water on her motorcycle.

She rode out of the water, believing she'd lost the dogs, but looked over to her side car and swallowed when she saw Vash and his sister sitting there. He growled and she jumped up, her feet standing on his seat. Vash leans forward and bites the seat of her pants, making her shout.

"Nice doggy! Nice doggy! Heel, roll over, play dead!" she begged as she tried to shake the animal off. The dogs manage to make Natalia fly off the bike with only her umbrella keeping her up. Lilit giggled and leaned back in the side car as Vash took the handlebars.

"Zis sure beats vunnin', Vash," she said. Vash was about to reply until he saw the tree coming straight towards them. It split the motorcycle from the side car, causing both dogs to go in opposite directions. They chased Natalia through the wide field to a large windmill. They managed to get caught on the blades of the fan and the dogs were able to grab the side car while Natalia took the motorcycle. Vash and Lilit chased Natalia around before finally losing her as she rode off, back over the bridge and towards the city.

Francis and the kittens had been completely forgotten about under the bridge as lightning flashed in the distance. Francis laid near the small river, still asleep until a loud clap of thunder woke him up. He sat up, his eyes still slightly glazed with sleep until he took in his surroundings.

"Oh! Oh, where am I? I'm not at 'ome at all," he said, looking around worriedly. "Children, where are you?" he called, leaping into the middle of the creek. "Answer me please! Matzew? Alfred, Michelle, where are you?" he asked desperately.

"Here I am, papa," Michelle said tiredly. He looked up and saw her stuck between two v-shaped branches. He jumped back to the bank and over towards his daughter.

"Michelle, darling, are you all right?" he asked, gently grabbing the scruff of her neck and picking her up and setting her on the ground.

"Uh, I guess I had a nightmare and fell out of bed," the little girl mumbled. Francis sighed and reached down to nuzzle his nose against her head.

"Now Michelle, darling, don't be frightened," he stammered slightly over his words, trying to keep the quivered out of his own voice as he tried to figure out what to do.

"Papa! Papa!" Francis looked up at the sound of his son calling him.

"That's Matthew," Michelle said, looking up and around for her brother. Francis jumped towards the edge of the creek and lifted his head to try to look over the leaves and grass.

"Over 'ere, darling. Matzew, 'ere we are. And don't worry, everyzing is going to be all right," he called. Matthew came into view, his fur soaking wet as he trudged to a dry spot.

"I'm coming, papa," he said just loud enough to be heard. "G-gee, I'm cold and I'm w-wet," he stuttered, sitting down for a moment. He heard a frog croak softly and he looked at it closely. "Papa?" The frog bellowed at Matthew and he tripped over his own feet as he cried out, frightened, trying to get to Francis. "Papa!" He ran towards his father and buried himself as close as he could. Francis laughed lightly and looked the black kitten.

"Oh, darling. Zat's only a little frog, my love," he told him. Matthew looked up with wide eyes and gulped.

"But he had a mouth like a hippolotamus, eh," he said. He heard the frog croak again and he snuggled closer to Francis' stomach. Michelle giggled and Matthew looked at her reproachfully.

"Oh, what's so funny?" he asked, walking forward defensively. Francis shook his head and looked at the kittens.

"Now, now, darlings. Darlings, now you just stay 'ere, and I'll go and I'll look for Alfred," he told them, walking off to look for the eldest kitten. "Alfred! Alfred, where are you?" he called as he walked farther from the kittens and the basket.

"Alfred!" Michelle yelled. Matthew picked up and began shouting for his brother. "Alfred!" Neither kitten noticed as Alfred's little orange head poked up from the basket. "Alfred!"

"Hey, what's all the yellin' about, huh?" he asked drowsily, trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes with a paw. Matthew walked forward and looked at his brother.

"Why didn't you answer?" he asked. Michelle called out for Francis before Alfred could answer though.

"Papa! He's been here all the time," she said accusingly. Francis rolled his eyes and turned back to walk back to the kittens.

"Oh, zank goodness," he mumbled. He walked up to Alfred and looked at him worriedly. "Oh, are you all right?" he asked, starting to groom the kitten.

"I was having a funny dream. Natalia was in it," he explained, pushing Francis away from him to rub his nose, "and we were all riding and bouncing along-" He cut off as he heard the frog croak loudly again. "Frogs? Uh-oh, it wasn't a dream. Natalia did this to us." Francis' eyes widened and he looked at his son.

"Natalia? Tsk! Oh, darling, but that… why, that's ridiculous," he replied, shaking his head slightly. Matthew chuckled and placed his paws on the edge of the basket.

"Yeah, maybe you fell on your head, Alfred," he teased. Alfred gave him a annoyed look but jumped as thunder crashed in the distance.

"Papa, I'm afraid! I wanna go home," Michelle whimpered, scooting backwards towards Francis and leaning against him.

"Now, now, my darling. Don't be frightened-!" He yelped loudly as thunder boomed extremely close to them. "Oh dear, oh dear! Let's get into ze basket, all of us," he said, walking behind the kittens quickly as rain started to fall.

"What's gonna happen to us?" Alfred asked, looking out of the basket as it started to pour.

"Well, darlings, I… I just don't know. It does look 'opeless, doesn't it?" he asked, nudging his nose out of the curtains to look at the storm.

"I wish we were home with Monsieur right now," Matthew mumbled, curling up close to Francis.

"Oh. Poor Monsieur. 'e will be so worried when 'e finds us gone," he murmured, looking out with Alfred and Michelle at the cold, rainy night.

Roderich woke with a start as thunder crashed outside his room. He sat up and looked around worriedly, making his curl bounce slightly. "Francis? Duchess? Kittens? Oh, my gracious! I had the most horrible dream about them," he said, tossing his covers off him and slipping his feet into a pair of slippers. "Thank goodness it was only a dream. Oh dear, what a terrible night," he said, wrapping his arms around himself and walking towards the bed where the Francis and his kittens were sleeping.

"Now, now, my darlings. Don't be frightened. The storm will soon pass." He pulled open the curtains around the bed to find it empty. "Oh! Oh, no! They're gone!" he gasped. He ran out of his room, calling out for them. "Francis? Kittens! Francis! Where are you?" As Roderich ran down the hall, searching for the missing felines, Ludwig poked his blonde head out of his small hole. He could hear Roderich's desperate shouting as he rubbed his eyes. "They're gone! They're gone!

"Francis, kittens, gone?" he asked, looking around as he finally woke up completely. "Vhy, zat's terrible! But vhere? Vhy?" he asked, running up to one of the large windows. "Good heavens! Anything could happen to them on a night like this! G-get washed down a storm drain, struck by lightning." He was frightening himself as he ticked off all the possibilities. He ran into his hole, pulling on a small red coat and hat. "Oh, they'll need help. I've just got to find them." He ran across the floor and towards the cat door, shoving it opening climbing out.

"Francis! Kittens!" He jumped as lightning flashed. He tied his hat under his chin and pulled his small jacket closer around him and took off down the street. "Francis! Kittens! Kittens!"