Hello again, Everyone!
Once again, here's a chapter for the story. Warning: there is some blood, violence, and a murder. I won't say any more, but I hope you like it.
Reveals and Short Tempers:
Max POV:
"So you mean to tell me," Johnny asked, "that some humans actually still think the world is still flat?"
"Yes," the human explained again, grabbing another chip from the nearby bowl. "I know, we solved the issue centuries ago, but some people legit think that the world is flat."
"You're lying," Chance interjected, opening another can of milk. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard of!"
"Says the guy who thinks a children's cartoon is quality television," the kamerakat muttered.
"HEY! Scaredy Kat is a MASTERPIECE, and the fact that it wasn't nominated for a Kitty Award again this year is OUTRAGEOUS!"
The movie was playing in the background, but the three friends were ignoring it, too focused on their conversation to pay it much attention. Max liked the time he spent with his friends; it made him feel like a normal person again. However, he tried not to think about how someday, this would all be over, since Johnny would most likely marry Ann and go and start his own family. He wasn't sure what Jake and Chance would do, but he decided to focus on the present, which was good and full of laughter.
"But seriously," Johnny continued, still snickering at the mechanic's comment from before, "we know you like that show, but there's no way you could honestly expect it to be nominated for a Kitty!"
"Fine," the blond kat grumbled unhappily. "But I don't have to be happy about it, right?"
"You could write to the people in charge," the human suggested jokingly.
"I've tried!" This brought on a new round of laughter from the others, and Chance got up from his seat, sulking to the kitchen as he took another swig of milk.
"But I realized something," Johnny spoke up, turning towards Max. "Out of all the places you've been in Megakat City, you haven't been to the movie theatre yet."
"Yeah, because the last thing I need to see is your version of Men in Black."
"Do you mean Kats in Bl-"
"I think I've made my point!"
"Speaking of movies," Chance spoke up, "does anyone else realize we're supposed to be watchin' one right now?" The three friends looked over at the movie, where a kat version of Matthew Broderick (named Kat Broderick), was currently setting up his master plan to skip school.
"Oh yeah… no sense starting it over now; might as well finish it."
"Agreed."
Suddenly, the siren went off in the living room, scaring all three friends as they noticed the flashing light. It looked like the movie would have to wait for now.
"I got the phone," Chance called, dashing towards where it was as Johnny quickly changed the channel to turn on the news.
"Any idea who it is this time," Max asked the kamerakat.
"Probably Taskmaster."
"I think so too."
"Hello," they heard the blond kat say, then noticed his eyes go wide. "Jake?! What're you- - - WHAT?! … And they're- - - Oh… But we can't- - - Okay, I'm coming." He put the phone back on the receiver, giving his friends a dark look. "Somekat's holding up the restaurant Jake and Callie're at!"
"What crazy luck," the human commented, though he secretly felt scared for his best friend.
"And Ann's there too, and-"
"ANN'S THERE," Johnny asked, looking like he'd just been struck by lightning. He quickly tossed the TV remote aside as he walked towards the garage. "We gotta save her, we gotta-"
"You can't just go bargin' in there," Chance told him, preventing him from leaving the living room, which was difficult, giving how frantic the kamerakat was. "Besides, the individual holding up the place is someone new."
That momentarily stopped Johnny from trying to leave. "A new villain?"
"What're the odds of that," Max asked.
"Slim," the blond kat replied, "and get this; he's asking for a ransom."
"How's that different," the tan kat asked.
"He's asking for a human as a ransom, or he'll kill everyone in the restaurant," the Swat Kat told him.
Silence fell upon the room, and the two kats turned to look at the only human in the world, who simply sat there in shock, just as silent as them. Eventually, however, he broke his silence.
"I don't know if I-"
"We know," Chance told him. "You stay here, and I'll-"
"What do you mean," Johnny suddenly asked. "Ann's in trouble, and the only thing keeping her from dyin' is Max showing up, and you're lettin' him stay here?"
"It's not that I don't want to help," Max told the tan kat, standing up and walking over to him. "I know Ann means a lot to you, but if this person knows what humans are-"
"That means they're workin' for the Benefactor," the kamerakat interrupted. "So what?! Lives are in danger and you're still too scared to do anything about it?"
"You know what will happen if I get captured," the human told him, feeling his anger rising as well. "You know I'm still not 100% ready to go back to fighting crime!"
"It's been over a year," Johnny yelled at him, which was unlike his usual self. "When will you be ready to actually do something productive again? In another year? In five? At some point you gotta stop makin' excuses and do what needs to be done!"
"Guys, stop," Chance tried to interject but was cut off by Max.
"I'm not making excuses; you have no idea what I had to go through these past 15 months! You say you're my friend, then act like it! I know you want me to go because your girlfriend's in trouble-"
"You would ask me to do the same, and I would do it if the roles were switched," Johnny told him angrily.
"B.S! You didn't go through what I went through; don't act like you know what's going on in my head to make a what-if decision!"
"But I know that you do jack-shit around here! You've been mobile and keeping yourself ready for when you want to go back into battle, but you shy away at every opportunity that would bring you there! Right now, you're just a waste of space; we'd be better off if Turmoil had just killed you!"
Max swung first, cutting off the kamerakat's tirade as he whacked him in the mouth, a spray of blood and spittle flying from the kat's mouth. He had no idea where this side of Johnny came from, but he wanted it to stop. Didn't the stupid kat know that he wanted to help, but didn't want to be a hindrance in case anything went wrong? So what if he didn't have frequent nightmares anymore? It was his life, so Johnny just needed to mind his own business. Hearing himself, he sounded deluded, but now Chance was yelling something.
"Cut it out you two," Chance said again, sounding more urgent and upset this time.
Johnny, feeling his bloody mouth, suddenly turned and tackled Max to the ground, returning the punch with one of his own. Rolling across the floor, they continued to hit one another before the human kicked the kat off of him. Climbing to his feet, he made to attack the camerakat again when he felt someone grab him by his shirt collar, holding him in a headlock. Right now, Max was too pumped on adrenaline to even have a flashback; he just wanted to take Johnny down.
"STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU," Chance yelled, holding Max in a headlock while Johnny climbed to his feet, holding his broken pair of sunglasses. "This isn't solving anything! Right now, Jake, Callie and Ann are being held hostage in a restaurant right now; the longer we wait, the higher the risk of them dying! Johnny, if Max wants to stay, he stays; I'll take care of this guy by myself! Max, don't attack Johnny! Do both of you understand?!"
The two fighters gave one another wary looks, anger still written on their faces. However, they knew that the Swat Kat was right; they needed time on their side, and fighting wasn't going to help anyone. Slowly, they nodded, and Chance released Max, who marveled at the fact that he hadn't had a flashback.
"Now," Chance continued, "I'm going to go downstairs, get everything I need to take this guy down, and go. Johnny, either stay or come with me, but know that I won't let you near the action. Got it?"
"Y-yes," the tan kat sputtered, blood still dripping from his mouth. "I… I'll come with you. You may need backup, and I'll be ready." Max made to punch the kat again, but was again held back.
"It's fine," the blond kat muttered in his ear. "He's just emotional; he isn't thinking straight."
Understatement of the year, the young man thought, but he sat down on the couch, glaring as Johnny followed Chance down to the hallway, both of them disappearing through the hidden door underneath the rug.
For several minutes, Max just sat there, not staring at anything in particular, but just letting his mind become a mixture of all the thoughts and emotions he'd experienced in the past five minutes. Never, throughout the whole time he'd known Johnny, had he seen the angry side of him. Apparently, it was ugly, and so unlike his usually calm and funny side, that the human couldn't help but feel a little scared by their altercation.
What was I thinking, he thought. He could've killed me, or I- He didn't finish that thought, quickly getting up off the couch and turning up the volume on the news, which showed the outside of a restaurant building.
"-only communication saying that he demands that we bring forth a 'human,' whatever that is, in the next half hour or everykat in the building dies," the news reporter said, looking visibly worried as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "Enforcers are closing in, but there's no sign of the Swat Kats yet as families and friends hope that whatever this human thing is-" He turned off the TV, turned it back on a few moments later, then back off, then on again, trying to make up his mind.
"I gotta go," the young man muttered, turning off the TV and heading towards the hidden door.
You can't, his mind told him, stopping him in his tracks. You might fall back into a bad memory; you might make things worse and end up dead along with the rest of them!
"But if I don't, dozens of kats will die," he argued with himself.
So what? They're not even your species!
Max was a little stunned by what came from the depths of his mind, and he shook his head. "They saved me-"
And you're gonna what? Save them? What happens when they see you're a human? What if this mysterious villain guy just wants to trick you into exposing your identity to the world and let them deal with you?
A brief flash of a memory illuminated his mind, and the human stumbled back, determined not to think about it. "No, NO! You're not gonna do this to me now," he screamed out loud, as if that would prevent his mind from messing with him. "I don't care if I'm not ready, or if I'm still scared; Jake and Chance and Johnny helped me, and now I'm gonna help them!"
He made his way down the ladder to the underground bunker, going over to his locker and opening it. His uniform, helmet, and weapons were still there, ready to be used. About to grab the uniform, he noticed the ring on his finger, a sudden thought entering his head; looking over at Jake's worktable nearby showed that he had a pair of scissors there. Whoever this bad guy was, they were looking for a human, and if they called out how covered up his uniform was, it might be suspicious for the news vans there.
"Just some quick alterations," he muttered, grabbing his uniform and walking towards the work table.
..
332 Days after T-Day:
"I still don't know about this," Max told them, fidgeting with the new ring, a gift from Hackle, on his finger. "I mean, what if it breaks?"
"It's not going to break," Chance assured him. "Plus, you're wearing a coat, hat, gloves and scarf; if it breaks, then no one would be the wiser."
"Not to mention the place we're going to is just a plain field," Johnny added. "I doubt anykat'll even be outside!"
"Fine," the human said, turning the ring to the side as the device altered his appearance into that of a kat. "It still feels weird."
"Well, you haven't been outside like this for months," the blond kat told him. "This is your first real glimpse of freedom!"
"Yeah," Max muttered, looking out the open garage door with apprehension. "So… I'll be fine?"
"Of course; I promise." This was a big step, according to Professor Hackle; once Max started going outside more and more, his confidence would improve, he'd start to move on from T-Day, and he would maybe, just maybe, be like his old self again.
So, taking a deep breath, the human stepped out into the open for the first time in months, taking the first step towards truly getting better.
..
Jake POV:
As Jake examined the grains in the hardwood floor his face was less than an inch from, he wondered if he had the worst luck of any kat that ever lived.
I mean, he thought, first there's the whole thing with Feral and the Enforcer Building years ago, then all the times we had to fight villains last-minute and at inopportune times, and now-
He looked over at Callie, who also lay on the floor next to him, holding one of his hands in a vice-like grip as she muffled her mouth with her other hand, giving him a fearful look.
And now Callie's in danger, again, and I can't do anything to help her without revealing my secret. The cinnamon kat heard the heavy footsteps of the villainous kat as he walked by them, stalking between the tables. Jake wished he had something that could help him take the kat down, but he knew that it would be useless.
When the grenade had gone off, it emitted some sort of smoke that made everkat gag and fall away from the window, scrambling under their tables in an effort to feel safe. He had pulled Callie under their own table, but it wasn't until after their coughing subsided that he realized that he didn't know what had happened to Ann. Then, the figure had emerged from the smoke, holding a gun as he surveyed the room.
"Stay down if you value life," he told them. "Don't make sudden or stupid decision that make me kill you." Then, he pulled out a small communicator, putting it to his ear, allowing the cinnamon kat a good view of the villain.
The kat was about as tall as Feral, maybe taller, and built like a tank. His black commando outfit matched his black fur, and he had enough grenades and bullets to take out all of them in one sweep. However, it was his eyes that scared everyone; they were solid yellow, and gave everykat a look of pure hatred. Listening carefully from his spot underneath the table, Jake heard him talking to somekat and noticed that while he spoke with no accent and didn't appeared to be dumb, he hesitated every few words, as if trying to remember how to talk, and left out some words that would clarify the sentence.
"Enforcers? I currently holding some 54 or so kats hostage at Tail's End restaurant on 20th. If you want them alive, you will NOT get involved, but will bring me the human in one hour." He hung up after that, crushing the communicator in his hands, letting the pieces fall to the ground.
Human? Jake froze at that word as his mind raced. This guy must work for the Benefactor! Or he IS the Benefactor! Probably the former, since the Benefactor had sent Turmoil to do his dirty work and this guy had poor grammar choice; this was probably some other lackey of his.
"Jake," Callie had whispered to him, her voice shaking as she tried to keep quiet, "my purse is on your other side; inside is a communicator that is a direct line to the Swat Kats. Call them!" And so he had.
Now, back in the present moment, some five or ten minutes later, he wondered what was keeping Chance so long. He also wondered how his friend would do without any backup, knowing that Johnny and Max would most likely still be at the garage. I hope he didn't mention Ann to Johnny.
Suddenly, a scream echoed across the restaurant, followed by the sound of a table crashing into the wall.
"Trying to leave soon," he heard the villain say. "Why- Miss Gorra! What an unexpected surprise!"
"Ann," Callie screamed, before covering her mouth again, eyes wide with terror.
The sound of boots approaching them was their only warning before the table covering them was lifted into the air. The evil kat towered over them, giving them a wide grin.
"The Deputy Mayor," he exclaimed. "And her date! Father's gonna love this!"
Father, Jake thought before he was pulled to his feet along with Callie, carried towards the front of the restaurant. Ann was currently huddled near the broken glass of the front window, giving them a fearful look.
"Let's keep you all together," the kat said, dropping the two of them onto the glass, which cut into their shins and hands, "at the front so I keep eye on you! Let's hope for your sakes, the human shows up!"
"What are you talking about," Ann asked, though she was stammering so hard, it sounded like, "AWhawehiadfjiodf?"
The tall kat gave a small laugh. "Of course! You don't know what that is, but I know that somekat out there does, and if they care about this city like they claim to, they bring him here!"
"Somekat-" Ann quickly looked over at Callie. "Is he talking about the Swat Kats," she mouthed to them, not wanting to say anything else out loud. Jake, meanwhile, was frozen in his spot as he thought; this kat has to be involved with the Benefactor! He knows that Max is human; but how?
Suddenly, the sound of a door bursting opened interrupted his thoughts, and he turned around in time to see T-Bone burst through the door leading to the kitchen.
"Someone rang," he said sarcastically, Glovatrix aimed at the hostile individual.
The evil kat laughed, shaking his head. "Nice try, T-Bone, but I am afraid you don't have a prayer. See, while you fast, you not faster than bullet." He pointed his gun at one of the tables, earning a few screams of fear. "You attack, I pull trigger." Again, Jake wondered why his language seemed… simpler? He didn't look dumb, but why did his speech suggest otherwise?
"Don't worry," T-Bone said, slowly making his way across the restaurant, though he still pointed the Glovatrix at the bad guy, "I won't attack unless you make me. Now, why don't you tell me who are and why you insist on ruining everykat's dinner plans?"
"I Gorgan," the kat told him, still pointing his gun at the table. "And I am the Solution to the Sickness that is Katkind!"
"Okay, well I T-Bone, and I go to grammar school as kitten," the Swat Kat said mockingly. "And as for bein' 'the Cure' or whatever you call yourself, I've got a mental hospital on speed dial!"
"I am not dumb," the tall kat growled angrily. "I know that something is wrong with you; you nervous. Where is friend?"
"Oh, Razor? He's a little held up at the moment, but he should be coming soon."
Smooth, Jake thought from his spot on the floor, internally rolling his eyes at his friend's cockiness. Though he could tell Chance was nervous too; this wasn't their usual crime, and the guy hand enough weapons to stock the Enforcer Armory. Speaking of Enforcers-
"ATTENTION," a voice suddenly rang from outside. "THIS IS FELINA FERAL OF THE ENFORCERS! WE HAVE THE BUILDING SURROUNDED; SURRENDER NOW BEFORE YOU MAKE A DECISION YOU'RE GONNA REGRET!"
"Damn Enforcers," Gorgan said angrily. "I told them to leave us alone!" He grabbed another grenade from the many hanging from the belt over his shoulder, and tossed it outside the window. Seconds later, it went off, sending bits of street (none big enough to hurt anyone) in through the broken window.
Suddenly, some kat burst out of the kitchen, chucking a skillet at the distracted bad guy, hitting him in the back of the head. Roaring in pain, the evil kat dropped his gun, and Jake quickly kicked it away before the dark kat could grab it. Then, turning around, the bad kat grabbed the tan kat by the face, lifting him up as if he were a kitten.
"A dumb move," he said, holding the struggling Johnny in his hand. "Now you will pay the price!"
"Johnny," Ann screamed, noticing the blood on his face.
Now T-Bone leaped into action, shooting a grappling hook at the kat as he ran forward. The grappling hook wrapped around the kat's free arm, and the Swat Kat pulled the bad guy forward, sending him and Johnny crashing to the ground. As Gorgan looked up, T-Bone kicked him in the face, causing him to scream and let go of Johnny, who scrambled away, running towards Ann. Unfortunately, the kamerakat tripped over the gun in his haste, and kicked it back towards the villain, who grabbed it and pointed it right at the Swat Kat's face.
"Now you die," he grinned.
"I think not," a new voice said, and everykat turned to find Lonestar standing in the opening of the broken glass, holding his staff and sporting a new look.
"Sorry I'm late," he said, giving them all a grin. "What'd I miss?"
Lonestar POV:
Lonestar surveyed the chaos in front of him, trying not to let his brave face falter.
The restaurant was a wreck; several tables lay broken while others had diners cowering under them. A couple yards from the window was Jake, Callie, Ann and Johnny sat on the broken pile of glass, staring at him in shock. Meanwhile, some giant kat was currently pointing a gun at T-Bone, who also gave him a shocked expression.
And they every right to gape; the new Lonestar came with a new 'd quickly cut the sleeves of the uniform shorter, up to his elbows, leaving his fore arms bare and allowing him more movement. He had also ditched the mask, replacing it with a simple bandana that covered his eyes, with two holes allowing him to see. However, he was not out there as a human; the Professor's ring made him look like a kat, and he grinned, mainly loving the stupid look on everyone's faces as they gaped at the first time Lonestar had shown what he looked like underneath his uniform. Behind him, he vaguely took interest in the news crews or the Enforcers as they gaped at him; he was too busy staying in the present moment so he didn't fall back into a memory.
"You seem a little upset," he told the evil kat. "And I know you're not about to shoot my friend here, are you?"
The villain took a while to answer, but when he did, he glared at him. "Lonestar… I knew you would come. So did Father, but he is always right."
"'Father,'" the third Swat Kat repeated. "You're that kind of crazy?"
"He also says he's the cure to Katkind," T-Bone called out before the kat hit him so hard, he fell to the ground unconscious.
"I am Gorgan," the bad kat roared, walking forward, stepping out onto the sidewalk, now aiming the gun at Lonestar. "And I have message for you, human!"
"A message… So you couldn't find me in the yellow pages?" He didn't know if those existed back in the 90's, but he figured they were old enough to at least be in the early stages.
"I know you are not who you say you are," the tall kat continued, sniffing the air. "I can smell the human-ness of you underneath whatever you're wearing to disguise yourself."
"Pal," Lonestar said, feeling a little nervous but not trying to show it, "you've made a mista-"
"MY FATHER DOES NOT MAKE MISTAKES," Gorgan roared, his voice echoing off the buildings around them. "And I will not disappoint him! He told me to give you a message, so you know what will happen before he leaves; he is going to your human world to bring about the new era of katkind!"
Max felt his stomach drop, and for the first time, he let his fear become visible. "Wha-"
"And he will start at pathetic state you call home! Even if takes months, he will destroy everything and everyone you love and rebuild them to his desire! Your humankind will become the new katkind!"
"Enough," a voice yelled, and Felina, looking more tired than when Lonestar had last seen her, ran forward, aiming her gun at the villain. "Drop your weapon and surrender!" She'd probably been waiting for him to leave the hostages in the restaurant before coming forward to avoid hitting any of them with stray bullets. Lonestar was a little concerned with her approaching this dangerous individual, but she'd been in worst scrapes before.
Gorgan turned to her, giving her a small smile. "Oh, Lieutenant Feral," he said slowly, pronouncing each syllable as if it were a struggle. "My Father told me how to deal with you, but he also said to not waste bullets on future victims."
"I will not fall to you," she said confidently, still aiming the gun at the villain. "And as for your 'Father' knowing how to deal with me, he can come out of whatever hidey-hole he's in and tell me himsel-"
The dark kat lifted his gun and shot her, cutting off her comment and sending her crumpling to the ground. Lonestar stared in shock, a splatter of something on his face, his heart leaping to his throat in terror as he stared at the motionless kat.
"He told me you never wear face guard," the murderous kat said simply as somewhere behind him, someone screamed.
Callie POV:
When Felina crumpled to the ground, dead, all Callie could do was stare in shock.
Felina… how… no!
Someone was screaming, naturally, but it sounded faded in the background, like it was coming from the end of a tunnel. Eventually, however, it grew louder and louder before it finally became clear.
"NO," Ann was screaming, Johnny holding her back as she tried to run towards the kat who killed their friend. Jake stared in shock as well, and T-Bone was still unconscious. Fortunately, by some miracle, Lonestar was able to move. He jumped out of the way as Gorgan swung at him, and shot one of those tranq darts into the kat's back.
"Immune to those too," the dark kat cackled, aiming at the Swat Kat and pulling the gun's trigger.
Lonestar quickly brought up the shield from his staff in time to block the bullets, yelling as he tried to keep upright. As soon as the bullets ceased, he pulled out a small disk from his belt, aiming it at the murderer. The evil kat grimaced, as if he'd been shocked by lightning, but he slowly looked back up at the third Swat Kat, giving that sadistic smile once again.
"Your toys won't work on me," he said, leaping forward and knocking the red kat to the ground, sending his weapon flying out of his hands. A few Enforcers now started shooting at him, but their bullets simply bounded off of him as if he were made of metal. Ignoring the bullets, he walked over to the Swat Kat, picked him up off the ground by his neck, and held him up for the world to see.
"Your Texas will be the first to fall," he told the Swat Kat. "And though we don't know who your family is, my Father will make sure no human is left for you to go home to!" The kat tried to kick the villain so he could break free, but it did nothing. Gorgan looked down at the hero's hand, noticing something. "Nice ring. I don't recall Swat Kats wearing jewelry; it must be device."
"No," Jake suddenly shouted, trying to run forward to stop the evil kat as he crushed the Swat Kat's hand, destroying the ring with it.
Lonestar screamed, his voice echoing as the tall kat dropped him, but then Callie gasped as his appearance flickered. One minute, he was the rusty-colored kat; the next, he was a… a…
When the cloaking device finally failed, a monster crouched in the kat's place, holding his broken hand. It looked kat-like when it came to the number of limbs and how they were arranged, but the differences stopped there. It had no fur, but was covered in some sort of pale skin, save for a mop of red hair on top of his head. It also lacked pointed ears, whiskers, and sharp teeth, not to mention no tail, either. As he stood up, he looked at his hands, which had five fingers and no claws, muttering something to himself and looking around with a panicked expression. The news cameras were all aimed on him, broadcasting this reveal to everykat in the city; maybe even the whole world.
"Behold," Gorgan shouted. "The creature that will take your place in this world!" He tossed a device onto the road, which melted it like acid, creating a hole underground that he disappeared into.
"DON'T FIRE," Jake yelled, trying to run towards the human but being stopped by a pair of Enforcers. "DON'T SHOOT HIM! HE'S FRIENDLY!"
Callie didn't even know or care why her date would know that the human wasn't harmless. All she knew was that her time-travel theory was wrong, and the truth hit her like a ton of bricks. Texas wasn't a future place. It was a current place in another dimension. A dimension filled with creatures like Lonestar. One where this Father figure was about to attack and destroy before moving onto this dimension.
She heard something move behind her, and heard T-Bone ask, "What happened?"
The Deputy Mayor could only stare in silence as the other Enforcer ran forward, some going to her dead best friend, with others ordered the human to his knees and arrested him on live TV.
..
224 Days after T-Day
"Why won't you tell us?"
"Because you would never fully understand what it was like, or why it still affects me," Max told Chance, flipping through the contents of one of the books Johnny had brought over from the public library. "And… it'd be like living through it all over again."
"But what if you told us at least one of them," the mechanic asked. "You don't even have to say any of the details; just a basic summary."
"No."
"What if-"
"Just drop it," the human snapped, hands shaking slightly as he set the book down. "Just… please." So the blond kat dropped the subject, not bringing it up again.
However, he found something odd the next day. Getting his tool kit to find a certain screwdriver, he found a folded piece of paper lying on top. He definitely didn't put it there, but he had a feeling who did. However, since he was busy, he kept it in there for the rest of the day. That night, as Max was downstairs training to himself, the blond kat opened the piece of paper, staring at what he saw.
What he expected to be a written story was instead a picture; he vaguely remembered Max having some skill at sketching (Hackle even suggested he start drawing in a sketchbook for therapy, and he'd already filled half of the pages). This, however, was not like those still sketches he sometimes drew when he was alone. No, this was terrifying.
A line split the page in half vertically, with the left side having a solitary figure with red hair and human features, sitting off to the side with a scared and pained look on his face. On the other side was a group of kats, most of them appearing to be scientists or doctors, all looking scary and holding clipboards, as if gauging his reaction. The kat realized that the line in the middle might be a wall of glass, separating him from the group, and, with a sickening look, realized that Max was a prisoner, about to be tested on who knows what. Then, he froze as he recognized two figures in front of the group, scowling and wearing familiar uniforms, condemning the human to his prison.
Chance tore up that photo, threw it into the incinerator, and never spoke of it again; Max never mentioned the note, so they both pretended that it never happened, and the kat never asked about the nightmares again.
Yeah… I don't know how many of you probably hate me now, but surely you expected there to be at least ONE death besides Turmoil's, right?
But in all sincerity and seriousness, I'm really sorry it had to be Felina; she was one of the best characters on the show, and one of the strongest, too. She worked hard, didn't mess around, and was one of the best parts of the cartoon as a whole. However, I knew that there couldn't be zero casualties, so Felina had to die; I couldn't do it to anyone else. But rest assured that her memory and name will not die, and that in the chapters to come, she will live with those who fight in her memory. And please know that I am just as upset as you are about how dark this chapter ended, and how sudden her death was. She didn't deserve it.
Now, however, we come closer to the big climax of the story; Max's secret is finally revealed to the world after a tough decision to go back to crime fighting again, Felina is dead, and Dr. Void is about to invade the human world to create a new species of kats to take over the current kat world. What happens next? You'll have to keep reading to find out.
Of course, I hope you enjoyed this installment of the story. Feel free to follow and favorite the story if you don't already, and feel free to leave a review. And, as always, have a happy and safe week/weekend!
-aggiefrogger
Note: I do NOT own Ferris Beuler's Day Off, Men in Black, Matthew Broderick or the Lone Star State in ANY way, shape or form!