She got down on all fours and began quietly padding through a small hall. It was smaller on the inside than on the outside, but at least she could actually move. She was being forced to get in a different way than Rodrigo had, which was another thing. But soon, she made it to a vent above the cockpit.

Kiki inhaled deeply before pulling out a tool and silently unscrewing it. She took away the grate, debating as to whether she should go for a full-on attack or an ambush. Rodrigo was distracted, so she could try to sneak past him and get rid of the axes one by one until he noticed.

Yeah, that'll work.

The fox quietly lifted up the vent and dropped down into the cockpit. She looked round for a way to disable the axes. Maybe it's a button or something. I hope there actually IS a way to disable these things… Otherwise both Gypsy AND Perry might be in trouble.

Kiki sighed silently. I guess I'm gonna have to do this the hard way.

She leapt out of her hiding spot at her nemesis. Rodrigo yelped but she had already grabbed his collar. "Give it up and turn the machine off," she snarled into his ear.

Rodrigo smirked. "You really think you can take me?"

"Yep." Kiki slapped Rodrigo hard across the face.

Rodrigo growled and rubbed his cheek. "You'll regret that, fox."

"Yeah, sure." Kiki slapped Rodrigo again. "Shut off the machine."

"Or what?"

As a reply, Kiki kicked Rodrigo in the sensitive area. Rodrigo growled and threw her off.

Kiki smirked. "There's more where that came from unless you shut off the machine."

Rodrigo growled. "You don't control me."

"No, you're right." Kiki moved fast and slammed Rodrigo's head into the console in front of him, holding it there as her light tone disappeared. "But someone I care about is dying because of you, and if you don't turn this machine off RIGHT NOW, she won't be the only one. Got it?"

"I refuse to obey you!"

"Fine. Tell ME how to do it, and I'LL do it."

Rodrigo simply growled.

"Or I'll just start smashing things." Kiki paused, a grin spreading over her face. "With your head."

She lifted Rodrigo's head and slammed it into another part of the console, causing the panel to spark.

"Alright, FINE!" Rodrigo snapped, pushing one button hard.

The axes outside stopped spinning and started juddering. After about a minute, they stopped completely. Kiki exhaled. "You seriously made that harder than it needed to be."

Rodrigo rubbed his head, glaring at her. "Did you seriously think I would just give up?!"

The fox shrugged. "You never know." She pulled out a pair of handcuffs and fastened them onto the scientist.

"You are arresting me?!" Rodrigo glared at her. "I think not."

"I think so!"

Rodrigo smirked, before kicking her away. Before she could react, he slammed the self-destruct button on the console. Kiki let out a yelp and hopped out the window.

"GET OUT OF HERE, QUICKLY!" she bellowed to Perry.

Perry nodded and raced over to Gypsy, picking her up. The two of them ran as fast as they could. Behind them, they heard a loud explosion. Luckily, they were far enough away that they felt some of the force, but it wasn't enough to hurt them. Gypsy, however, moaned in pain; more plants must have died in the explosion.

"I'm gonna kill him," growled Perry.

"If that idiot didn't manage to kill himself," Kiki mumbled back.

"Didn't you arrest him?" Perry demanded.

"I tried, but then he hit the self-destruct button!"

"Oh." Perry growled. "I hate him even more."

"Now you know my pain," Kiki sighed dramatically.

Perry couldn't supress a chuckle. "Well, we should get Gypsy home to rest. Do you want to come?"

"Um..." A light flush crept up Kiki's cheeks, and she hoped it was blending in with her fur. "Sure..."

Perry grinned. "It won't be awkward, will it?"

"Maybe a bit..." Kiki chuckled. "I just hadn't been expecting you to invite me over."

"Well, I could use the help, since you're the only other person who knows about Gypsy. AND we can work out where Rodrigo might have gone."

Kiki nodded. "Alright."

"This way." Perry began to lead the way back home.

Kiki hesitated and looked over at Gypsy. "So... How is she? Do you know?"

"She's still breathing but I'm not sure if she's unconscious or...in a coma."

The fox bit her lip. "I see..."

"I'm SERIOUSLY hoping it's the former."

"Me, too..."

They got home, and Perry got Gypsy into her bed quickly. He gently kissed her forehead. "Hopefully, she'll wake up sometime today."

Kiki nodded awkwardly, barely able to concentrate through the fact that she was actually in Perry's house. Several years ago, this was exactly what she wanted. Now… It just felt strange. It was probably to do with the fact that Kiki now had absolutely no chance with Perry.

Not like she ever did. But now it was certain.

Kiki exhaled. She'd find someone. Someday. Hopefully.

The fox looked back over at Gypsy. The she-cat was still sleeping, now more peacefully. Perry was sitting next to her, watching over her. "I hope she'll be okay."

"I'm sure she will be," was all Kiki could think of to say.

Perry chuckled weakly. "How close are the two of you?"

Kiki shrugged. "I honestly don't know. We've been assigned to train with each other, and there's probably some kind of bond between us because I'm the first person she told about her powers, but...I don't even know if we'd call each other "friends"."

Perry nodded. "I understand."

Kiki shifted her feet. "I...I'd LIKE to be friends with her..."

Perry smiled. "Then you should talk to her when she wakes up."

"I think I should," Kiki agreed. She hesitated. "And... When she wakes up... I... I think I'll explain to the both of you why...why I always treated you the way I did." She wouldn't meet his eyes.

Perry's eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Y-Yeah. You were right; you do deserve to know."

Perry glanced down at the ground. "Yeah..."

Kiki bit her lip and inhaled deeply. "I'm nervous about explaining," she admitted finally.

"I won't judge," Perry promised.

Kiki let out a weak and nervous chuckle. "You say that now..."

"It's true. I won't judge. And neither will Gypsy."

"I hope not..."

Gypsy suddenly stirred, letting out a low groan. Perry put his paw on hers and stroked it. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

Gypsy's eyes flickered open. "N-Not b-bad."

"Good." Perry smiled. He lightly kissed her forehead. "We stopped Rodrigo."

"Though he got away," sniffed Kiki.

Gypsy shrugged weakly. "Not a big deal." She grinned. "At least it wasn't my fault this time."

Kiki chuckled. "It wasn't your fault the first time. He's just hard to catch."

"I guess so." Gypsy groaned again and sat up. "I need to touch the earth."

Perry and Kiki exchanged a glance. "Alright. Then let's go outside."

They each slung one of Gypsy's arms over their shoulders and helped her get outside, lying her down on the grass. The cat exhaled, and colour began to return to her paled face.

"Feeling better?" Perry asked her.

"Much," Gypsy nodded. She exhaled deeply again, feeling the grass under her. "Things are a lot calmer now."

"You can feel that?" Kiki asked.

"I don't have a searing pain in my head anymore," Gypsy pointed out.

"True." Kiki hesitated. "I...need to talk to you. Both of you."

Gypsy glanced up at her. "What is it?"

Kiki exhaled. "Gypsy... I think you've figured out part of why I used to bully Perry, but... Not the full thing."

"Oh." Gypsy blinked. "Then please explain."