Notes: Wow, thanks for all the reviews! I didn't expect it to go over that well! Because everyone's asking me to, I've decided to continue. I hope the following chapters will amuse you as much as the first one did. In this episode: Ratchet's Fight to Keep His Balls! Heheh, sorry… That's maybe a bit crass… Besides, that's sort of a lie. The fight scene doesn't happen until next chapter. But anyway, enjoy! ^_^

Chapter Two: Imprisoned

Ratchet didn't like the sound of the woman's words. She had mentioned neutering, and that was never a good thing. He began to panic as he was carried to a wheeled vehicle parked on the other side of the street. The woman carried him the entire time, stroking his head and murmuring things that didn't ease his fears at all. "Come on, precious!" she cooed, "Let's go to the doctor, and he'll fix you right up! Yes, he will!"

He wanted to curse at her, but he was afraid that any admittance of verbal ability would alert the white-coated beings. One syllable from him, and they were sure to come rushing at him from all sides. Perhaps these two creatures were of the White Coat's ranks, disguised to test him. They seemed to accept that he was just like the furry critter he had seen earlier, so he decided to keep his mouth shut.

However, they were not going to take him without a fight.

As they neared the vehicle, he began to squirm in the woman's arms. She told him to be still, calling him "precious" and "baby", and this added fuel to the fire. Ratchet began to claw at her arms, though his nails weren't long or sharp enough to cut her. He wished they were. He had a nasty habit of biting them, and that would have to stop if he was to survive this world and get back to his ship.

The woman gasped and held onto him tighter, as the man opened the vehicle door for her. She got in and buckled up, holding Ratchet under her arm before strapping him into the seat with her. The man got in on the other side, put Clank in the back seat, and started the car. Ratchet kept up his fight as the vehicle began to move, and the woman continued to hold him tightly.

"Harold, look at him… He's scared, but he won't even claw me! He might be really sweet."

Sweet? Ratchet growled at that word. He would show her how sweet he was. Moving his head up a little, he opened his mouth and bit down on the woman's arm.

"OW!" she let go of him immediately, and he dropped to the floor. There was no place for him to go, though, and soon she had him by the scruff of his neck. "Naughty kitty!" she set him back on her lap, but kept her grip on him so that he faced away from her.

"I told you to be careful," the man said, "I hope he doesn't have rabies…"

"Oh, Harold, he's just scared!" the woman petted Ratchet's back, ignoring the growl that issued from his throat. "Besides, the operation will tone down that aggression."

That didn't sound good. Ratchet tried not to gulp down the lump in his throat, and he suddenly grew slack in the woman's grip. Perhaps if he came peacefully, he'd get out of the "operation."

"See?" the woman said, patting him again, "He's starting to calm down. Poor thing… I wonder if he once belonged to someone?"

"I don't know," Harold said, "You know, Jenny, I'm starting to think that you'll like him more than Alexis!"

Jenny laughed. "Well, he is cute, isn't he?"

"Sure," Harold muttered, rolling his eyes.

Ratchet rolled his, as well. He objected to being called "cute," but he didn't have time to protest the matter. The car stopped and the woman stepped out. "I'll be just a minute," she told the man, and carried Ratchet towards a small building.

Ratchet's stomach churned as he realized that Clank was still in the car. He squirmed, trying not to shout profanities, but the woman's grip was too strong for him. He watched in horror as the building came closer. Then they went through the door.

It was definitely some sort of doctor's office. Ratchet recognized the smell of cleaners and latex, but there was another smell that mingled with the usual doctor's office scents. It was the smell of wet fur. He looked around as he was carried up to a desk; Jenny stood behind another woman with a small furry thing in her arms. Looking around, Ratchet could see that there were several furry things in the room, each a different color and shape, and that they were each with a creature that resembled the tall woman who held him now. They were obviously masters with their pets, and that really scared him. These people thought he was their pet.

Jenny stepped up to the desk as the woman in front of her left. "Hi, Margo," she said with obvious friendliness in her voice. They were obviously partners in crime.

"Hi, Jen," the woman behind the desk smiled up at Jenny, then grinned at Ratchet. "And who's this?" she asked, extending her fingers to Ratchet's face. He tried to resist the urge to bite her.

"A stray we found just now," Jenny explained, "I know it's a little short-noticed, but… Well, could you board him? Just until Christmas; we've been looking for a cat for Alexis, you know, and… Well, he just sort of came along!"

"Aww!" Margo beamed up at them, scratching Ratchet under his chin, "Well, we can probably fit him in. We have a lot of kennels reserved, but let me see…" She typed on the computer for a minute, and then said, "OK, I've reserved one for you. I can take him now… Would you like us to check him over, too?"

"Yes, that would be good. Give him his shots, too. And would you recommend neutering him? Harold thinks we should, but I don't know…"

"Oh, absolutely!" Margo stood up and brought a cage over, "It's very beneficial, and it won't hurt him at all!"

"Yeah, right!" Ratchet thought, and growled as he was lifted into the cage.

"OK, then that's it?" Margo asked, setting Ratchet's cage on the desk and turning back to the computer.

"Mm-hmm," Jenny said.

"All right, then! That's the neutering, shots, and check-up… That'll be a hundred twenty."

There was a pause as Jenny gave Margo a plastic card. Margo typed something on the computer, then handed the card back to Jenny.

"We'll charge for the boarding when you come get him," Margo stood up and Ratchet felt that the cage was being lifted, "Alexis is going to love him!"

"I know," Jenny said, "Bye, little guy! Be good for the nice doctors!"

"As if!" Ratchet thought vehemently as he was carried into a hallway. The sound of barking hit his ears as they approached a door in the back. When Margo opened the door, Ratchet felt like cursing again.

It appeared to be a prison. The opposite wall from the door was stacked with two rows of cages in at least six columns. There were even more cages on the wall beside the door. Inside some of the cells, furry creatures barked and meowed and generally caused an uproar. Ratchet felt that he was going to wet himself as he was deposited into one of the empty cages. Margo closed the door and walked away, leaving Ratchet crouching in the corner of the steel cage next to a box of gray sandy stuff.

Margo returned soon and filled two steel bowls with water and a mixture of what looked like rocks. Then she left Ratchet to contemplate his surroundings and plan his escape.

*****

Meanwhile, Clank sat in the back seat of the car as Harold and Jenny drove home. Based on his observations, he concluded that these people had left Ratchet at some sort of doctors office to be operated on. That couldn't be good. They also thought that he, a highly-functional robot equipped with the most advanced A.I. features, was a mere toy.

The indignity of the situation made him angry, and yet he felt that saying something would not be the best course of action. If he was to be a toy, then he would be a toy. Perhaps he could even get away with speaking, as long as he didn't sound too thoughtful.

Soon the vehicle stopped, and both people got out of it. Harold picked Clank up from the back seat and carried him towards a modest-looking house with an assortment of decorative shrubs in the yard.

Clank couldn't quell the feeling of apprehension that built in him as he was carried through a door and up a flight of stairs. "I'll hide him for now," Harold said to Jenny as he mounted the stairs. Clank was carried through another door, into what appeared to be a bedroom. Then he was unceremoniously shoved into a closet. The door closed, and he was surrounded by darkness.

*****

"NOOOOOO!" the cat seemed to scream as he was held down on the examination table. Sarah could almost swear that he was actually saying "No," in plain English. She shook her head; it had been a long day. She needed to rest.

Beside her, Margo struggled with the cat. Sarah looked at the thrashing feline, then at her co-worker. The other woman nodded her head, giving Sarah the go-ahead sign. She pulled out a syringe and filled it with sedative.

The cat yowled again when the needle found its mark. It took only a few seconds for the drug to take effect, and soon he was lying on the table weakly mewling. "Strange one, isn't he?" Sarah commented as Margo began the examination, "I mean, I swear he just called me a bitch!"

"I bet he would, if he could!" Margo grinned, shining a light in the cat's ear, "He certainly doesn't like us too much."

As the two nurses examined him, they became more aware of how different his anatomy was from other cats'. "Look at these toes," Margo said, holding up a front paw, "No pads… I wonder what that's about…"

"I don't know…" Sarah sighed and frowned as she felt him over for any injuries, "I've heard of cruel people who actually do things like cut the pads off of their pets' feet…"

"I know," Margo nodded grimly, "There are some sick people out there."

"Hey, look at this," Sarah lifted the cat's tail a little, "It's sort of thin… Do you think the fur was just cut?"

"Maybe."

"And look at those ears!"

"Aren't they cute?" Margo rubbed one of the fuzzy orange ears, "They're so big! I've never seen a cat like this before!"

"Yeah, he's weird!"

Once the examination was complete, they gave him his vaccinations and put him back into his cage. As they moved on to their next patient, a Pomeranian that needed stitches in its leg, Sarah said, "Isn't he scheduled for a neuter? The cat, I mean."

"Yep," Margo said, petting the dog on the head reassuringly as it wagged its tail, "Not until next week, though. The doctor's too busy to fit him in earlier. Besides, his owners don't want to bring him home until Christmas. It's a present for their daughter."

"Aww, how sweet!" Sarah sighed as she readied the sedative. Her thoughts drifted away from the orange cat, towards this dog that she was now sedating. However, as she began to prepare the surgical thread, she thought that she heard something from the nearby cage where the orange cat was waking up.

"Bitch…"

TBC

It's more of a filler chapter, but I've already gotten started on chapter three. Hope you liked it!