Chapter Two

He Seems Determined To Drag Him To Hell

For a while the two walked, and since Vash, Rodreich and Matthew had left long before they had, they walked alone. Most of the walk was silent, with neither of them talking much. The silence was almost awkward, and Alfred was starting to get irritated. Eventually, they came to a large building. Without even bothering to knock, Arthur opened the door and stepped in. Cautiously, Alfred followed him, looking around inside. "Is this your headquarters?"

"No," Arthur replied. "This is a cover-up for our real headquarters." The inside of the building wasn't very show, but it wasn't shabby either. It was perfect for its purpose. Alfred followed Arthur into a back room, where a small brown trapdoor sat. The smaller blonde opened it and started to walk down the stairs it revealed, before turning back to look at Alfred.

"Are you coming or not?" he asked, one green eye half-narrowed in curiosity. "Or are you getting too scared to follow?"

Frowning, the bigger cat started to follow him down. "I'm not scared," he replied. "Just cautious." Both of them fell silent as they walked down the stairwell, and eventually it became pitch black. Alfred held one hand out to touch the wall and steady himself and made sure that he could still feel Arthur's presence. Eventually, light began to creep into the bleak tunnel, and Alfred's ears perked up. He could hear people talking; the amount of people was unknown, but as they travelled closer, he could tell that it would be a lot. Eventually, they came to another door at the end of the stairs, and Arthur pushed it open.

Alfred was not prepared for the sight in front of him. The door led to something that looked like the center of a city, with a water fountain and everything. There weren't any cars, but there were buildings. He didn't see any structures that looked like houses, but that was possibly because the houses were farther away from the city. Roaming around the city were shifters, many of them. Their faces were strange and unfamiliar, and Alfred's ears flicked back and his tail quickly went between his legs. The scents were even stranger and less familiar. However, the thing that startled him most were the cats.

Hundreds of hundreds of cats swarmed around the whole place, rubbing up against the legs of the shifters, some running away, some hiding. These were cats, regular sized cats. Well, most of them were, anyway. He noticed a few big cats that he instinctively knew weren't shifters, due to their smell. Noticing his fearful position, Arthur nudged him.

"Don't do that," he told him. "The others will pick up on your fear and use it against you." Taking his word, Alfred straightened his posture and picked up his ears and uncurled his tail. As soon as he'd done that, Arthur continued on into the underground city, and Alfred had no choice but to follow him. He had no idea what was going on or where he was going, but Arthur seemed to understand, so his best bet was to stick around him for a while.

"So, uh, where are we going?" Alfred finally asked, trotting up to walk beside the smaller cat. He regarded his words with a flick of his ear, before turning to look at him.

"I'm going to let you meet a few of the higher-ranking cats," Arthur replied. "It's important that you know them right away. Eventually, you'll be able to remember them by not only their name and description, but also their own individual scent as well. I'll let you meet the Healer and her apprentice, the Head Warrior, the Spy, the Messenger, and the Jinx."

Alfred was silent for a few seconds after Arthur had spoken, before saying, "I didn't hear the name of anyone who sounded like they were in some kind of second-in-command position. Don't you have someone to back you up, or someone to take your place if you decide to step down?" For a moment, Arthur was silent, before sighing.

"I had someone like that, up until recently," he replied. "Her name was Rikki, and she'd been with us ever since we first broke out of the testing laboratory where we were born. She was one of the originals who helped us plan to escape."

"Wait, you were born in a testing laboratory?" Alfred asked, eyebrows half-raised in question. "But...but how? If we're both of the same kind of shifter, then...how..."

"You and your brother must be second generations," Arthur replied. "If you have no memory of a laboratory, then that's the only explanation. You are, aren't you?"

"Well...I guess so," Alfred sighed heavily. "To be honest, neither one of us knows much of our past. It's like my memories were wiped before a certain age..." After he'd finished speaking, he looked up and noticed they were standing in front of a house like structure. Above it hung a sign reading "The Healer's Den," and directly below it was a sign that read "Open."

"This is the home and office of the Healer and her apprentice," Arthur told him. "I'm warning you, our Healer can be a bit...nasty, sometimes, in temperament, but don't mind her. She won't bother trying to actually kill you unless I tell her too." Alfred didn't bother to tell him that what he'd said didn't help ease his anxiety at all.

Walking up to the door, Arthur knocked a few times and waited, before a little blonde girl wearing a soft pink dress and a bow in her hair opened the door and looked up at him, smiling.

"Hello, sir," she greeted. "What brings you here today?"

"Introducing a new member," he replied, before motioning for Alfred to come and stand beside him. "Alfred, this is Lillian Zwingli, or just Lilli, nicknamed Flower. She's the Healer's Apprentice."

"Pleased to meet you, sir," Lilli greeted, dipping her head in respect for the older cat. Alfred had seen kittens do that before when greeting an older cat, but it had never happened to him. Unsure of how to react, the cat just twitched his tail and a half-smile crept its way across his face.

"It's nice to meet you too, Lilli," Alfred told her. After he'd finished greeting the younger cat, Arthur made his way into the building, motioning with a flick of his tufted ear to signal Alfred to come in. Cautiously, the bigger cat followed him in, curling his lip at the scent of herbs and flowers. It's not that he didn't enjoy the scent; it was just that since there were so many of them in one place, they were clogging up his nose, and he didn't enjoy that.

Eventually, they came across a lump of brown and white tabby fur lying on a table. The lioness-sized Ocelot, at the sound of the two entering the room, rolled onto her back and looked at them with frightening green eyes, before getting to her paws and jumping off of the table.

"And who," she growled at Alfred, "might you be?"

"A-Alfred," he stuttered, freezing in her venomous glare. "Alfred F. Jones."

"He's Matthew's older brother," Arthur told her, and the cat seemed to unstiffen just a little bit.

"Matthew's older brother, eh?" At this point she decided to turn back into her human form and looked over at Alfred with disdain. "Humph. I sure hope he changes like Mattie did when he got here. Boy, did he make an improvement..." Alfred didn't react at all to her words, just lowered his head and narrowed his eyes at her. "Anyway, I guess it's best not to be too rude to this newcomer. My name is Elizaveta Héderváry, but you can call me Scar." Alfred noticed why her nickname was scar; a jagged white line cut its way across her left eye, and he shivered, wondering what could have given her such a mark.

"Every shifter in the Hellcats gets a nickname," Arthur murmured to the bigger cat. "You'll get one too, at your Naming Ceremony. It will also be like your initiation into the group."

"He'll be lucky if he survives it," Elizaveta huffed, rolling her eyes. "He's kinda puny and skinny. He doesn't stand a chance if someone decided to attack him."

"Maybe someone won't," Arthur growled warningly, and Elizaveta just chuckled. Something about her told Alfred that they wouldn't be getting along.

After they'd left the Healer's Den, it was apparently, from what Arthur had told Alfred, time to meet the Head Warrior. When they arrived at his "workspace", as Arthur put it, Alfred wasn't prepared for who he met there.

"It's you," he said breathlessly as he saw the blonde cat. "The cat I fought today."

"What are you doing here?" Vash growled, tail twitching angrily. His lips were already curled back in a snarl, but he let them fall when he noticed Arthur's glare.

"Good to see that you already know each other," Arthur muttered. "This is Vash Zwingli, Lilli's older brother. His nickname is Gun." Alfred could see why. All around this workspace of his were guns, all types of them. Machine guns, pistols, assault rifles, you name it, he had it. Alfred swore he could see a grenade launcher hiding under a sheet.

"I can introduce myself you know," Vash hissed at Arthur, before turning to Alfred. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Alfred," he replied, tail twitching uneasily. "Matthew's older brother."

"I was wondering why he was treating you so nicely," Vash muttered, before sighing heavily. "Well, kid, I'm sure you've already heard this before but, welcome to hell."

After their meeting with Vash, they were on to the next cat, the Spy. Unlike the others, this cat didn't have his own workspace or headquarters of any kind. Alfred had a good idea why, but he didn't bother to say anything until they'd finally met him. Once they did, he was in for another surprise.

"Rodreich," Arthur hissed at the same black-haired cat he'd met earlier that night. "Hey, Rodreich. Come here for a second." Turning, the cat trotted up to Arthur and Alfred and huffed, obviously unimpressed.

"What is it?" he asked, looking at the two cats before him. His violet eyes glared deeply into Alfred's sky blue ones, and, uncomfortably, Alfred looked away. It was then that he noticed the cat's truly impressive ears; six inch long ear tufts sprouted from the tips, and they were pure white, sticking out against the blackness of his fur and hair. He'd never seen tufts so long before.

"This is our Spy, Rodreich Edelstein, nicknamed Note," Arthur told him. "He doesn't have his own headquarters for his protection."

"It would be stupid to have a headquarters for a spy," Rodreich cut in. "If, for some reason, we were infiltrated, it would be like a beacon for them to take all of our information and figure out what we knew about them."

"I see." Noticing Rodreich's questioning stare, Alfred's ears twitched. "Oh, uh, my name's Alfred. I'm Matthew's older brother." Now he'd seen that what he'd just said was obviously the right way to introduce himself, seeing how Rodreich's eyes lit up. His brother seemed to be very well known.

"Matthew's older brother? Well, I welcome you here, so long as you don't get in my way." With a quick nod, the cat turned, and just like that he was gone.

Moving on, they were now going to meet the Messenger. Only one more cat they had to meet, and then Arthur had agreed to go on with the Naming Ceremony.

"It might take some searching to find this one," Arthur told Alfred. "He's never in one place for very long—" the blonde looked like he was going to say something more, but he stopped as a lean figure wove itself between his legs. Both of them looked down and noticed the brown-furred cheetah that was so lovingly rubbing himself against Arthur's legs, and the blonde grinned and stroked the cat's head, careful to avoid the cat's mask. "Hey, quit that and introduce yourself." He sounded like he was scolding him, but the half-smile on his face told Alfred everything he needed to know. The cat chirped before removing himself from Arthur's legs and sitting a few feet away from them, before finally turning into his human form.

"Good evening to you," the shifter yawned, stretching his legs. "It's a good thing you caught me when you did. I've been running around all day." Noticing Arthur's dissatisfied look, the cat let out a nervous chuckle. "And by all day I mean...a few hours."

"Of course," Arthur sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair. "Alfred, this is Sadiq Annan, nicknamed Runner. He's our messenger for a reason, out of all of us he's the fastest and best suited for the job."

"Nice to meet you," Alfred greeted the cat. He seemed like one of the less aggressive cats, one cat that Alfred figured he could at least be friends with. "I'm Alfred, Matthew's older brother."

"You're Mattie's brother?" By the sound of his voice Alfred was sure Sadiq's eyes must have been the size of saucers, but he couldn't tell due to the shadows his mask cast on them. "That's not surprising, you look just like him." Alfred had been wondering when that comment would come up. Often times his brother would get very flustered and sometimes upset when people said that, but Alfred didn't mind it. Sometimes he'd even been mistaken for his father.

After they'd said their goodbyes to Sadiq and watched the restless cat run off into the city, they went to meet the last cat on the list, the Jinx. Arthur led him to a darker, abandoned-looking part of the city and led him into a large cement building. He had explained that the Jinx kept himself in this building most of the time to keep him from accidentally hurting others. Alfred had questions in his mind about it, but he didn't voice them. If Arthur had something to tell him he'd say it. After entering the building, Arthur led him to a back room and knocked on the door. They waited a few moments before a soft voice spoke;

"Come in." Arthur opened the door and Alfred had to look around before he found the source of the voice. Sitting cross-legged on a desk was a brown haired man, ears pricked and alert. Although he had noticed them come in, his hazel eyes were focused on something other than them.

"This is Hercales Karpusi, nicknamed Clover, our Jinx. When we were being tested on the scientists gave him the power to kill using his mind. All he needs is a name and a face," Arthur explained.

"Nice to meet you," Alfred greeted the cat. Hercales twitched an ear, but that was the only reaction he had to Alfred's statement. "I'm Alfred, Matthew's older brother."

"Matthew?" a small smile crept its way across Hercales's face. "I like him. He's almost as crazy as I am." Surprisingly, Alfred didn't feel the smallest bit of discouragement by Hercales's statement. Instead, he asked;

"How come they call you the Jinx? Isn't a jinx something that brings bad luck?"

For a moment the other cat looked like he was thinking, before he replied. "It's kind of a long story, but when I was being tested on, and the scientists gave me my power, they messed up my brain. Supposedly I only had eleven years left to live. However, it's been fifteen years since then. That's why they call me the Jinx, since, essentially, I'm a ticking time bomb." Smiling, the cat tilted his head. "Does that answer your question?"

"Yes," Alfred murmured. "But, why do you keep yourself all locked up in here? Do you ever get out?"

"Sometimes," the brown-haired cat replied. "But I keep myself in here so I don't accidentally get ticked off and kill someone. It's better for me that way." Obviously, Hercales had a lot of social issues, but he wouldn't let that get in the way. He wasn't aggressive, and so, Alfred figured he could at least talk to him without worry.

Finally, all of the introductions were over. It was time for Alfred's Naming Ceremony.

Arthur led him to a tall cliff-like structure that cut out into the heart of the city. Arthur, who was obviously experienced in climbing the steep edges, made it up in a few minutes. It took Alfred a little longer, but Arthur waited patiently until he was finally up there with him to call the others to gather. Stepping to the edge of the structure, Arthur let out one of the most bone-chilling sounds Alfred had ever heard; a lynx scream. When he was younger and lived in the mountains with Raven, Alfred would sometimes hear the lynx scream like that to frighten their prey just enough for them to attack. Even far away it had been fearsome, but up close it was downright scary.

At the sound of his call, the cats and shifters started to gather under the cliff. There were more than he thought, and Alfred's ears pinned back against his skull. A quick nudge from Arthur told him everything he needed to know, and Alfred slowly picked up his ears. It would be best not to show fear in front of them. As soon as all of them were gathered, Arthur began to speak.

"My cats," he addressed them. "Today is a special event. As you may already know, this year spring has come late, meaning less kittens born and less breeding, giving us a shortage of members. However, I have met a former street kitten who is willing to become a Hellcat. Alfred F. Jones," he called, looking down at the blonde haired cat and motioning him up. Cautiously, he approached the top of the cliff where the smaller blonde stood and took his place beside him. Immediately he could hear the whispers;

"Who is that?"

"Where does he come from?"

"Look at that pitiful street creature!" a familiar voice called. The crowd parted as Elizaveta moved through, the hatred glittering in her eyes almost making them look like they were glowing red. "He's nothing but a kitten! And look at him, he's scrawny! There's no way he'll last through the winter. His pitiful cries will ring out through the city, calling his little friends to come and rescue him! I can hear them now; help me, help me!" she let out a mocking laugh and looked up at Alfred. "Am I wrong, you little shit? Come down and fight me if I'm wrong!"

Alfred stiffened in fear. Elizaveta was probably a seasoned fighter, Alfred just acted out of instinct. There was no way he could fight her and win...

"She's challenging you." Alfred's head turned as Arthur spoke. "She thinks she's in charge. Are you just going to let her push you around like that? Or are you going to put her in her place?" Alfred didn't respond, he just focused on Elizaveta, squared his shoulders, let out a challenging caterwaul and leapt straight from the cliff onto her, bowling her over and efficiently surprising her. Hissing and snarling, she kicked the bigger male off of her and fell back, hair raised, tail fluffed out and ears pinned flat against her skull. Alfred did the same, lips curled back to show off his sharp canines, snarling dangerously. Around him, the crowd was silent, but he could feel the tense energy radiating off of them.

After a few minutes, Elizaveta lunged at him, snapping her jaws dangerously close to his neck as he dug her claws into his shoulders, snarling and hissing. Using this to his advantage, Alfred in turn sunk his own claws into her ribs and embedded his teeth in her bare shoulder, revealed due to the fact that she wasn't wearing her signature coat, which helped him out. For a moment the two scuffled, neither one wanting to let go, before Elizaveta relaxed her grip and let go, scurrying back, hissing painfully as blood trickled down her neck and shoulders. Standing up, Alfred shook the blood from his face, ignoring the pain in his arms from where Elizaveta had gripped him and the ache in his chest from where she'd kicked him. As he stood, the light cast a strange glow on him, reflecting off of his hair and eyes, making them appear to glow silver. It was then that he'd earned his name.

"Hear me now!" Arthur called, placing a hand on Alfred's shoulder. "This street kitten has earned his name! He is a wild cat!" Looking Alfred straight in the eye, Arthur slightly lowered his voice. "Alfred F. Jones," he started to ask. "Do you promise to abide by the teachings of the Hellcats and uphold the word of your Leader as law?"

Alfred didn't hesitate as he stared right back at Arthur. "I promise." he replied, voice strong and loud.

Alfred smiled, flashing his white teeth. "Then I now give you your honorary gang nickname. This cat will be known to us as Silver. We welcome him as a cat in training." Alfred lifted his head as he heard the cats around him chant;

"Silver! Silver! Silver!" Alfred felt a strange ripple of pride and freedom run through him as they chanted, and he closed his eyes and tilted his head up towards the grungy ceiling. This was where he truly belonged.