Things you need to have read to understand this chapter (now with reasons, so you dun go "But whyyyyyy?"): Crimson (general background), In the Shadows (About Shadow), and, if you want, Time (if you want to know a bit more about Azure and Garnet)

Really lazy disclaimer of Doom:
Ph33r my lack of ownership.
(Told you it was lazy)

"Is that all?" Ruby panted, tail swishing.

Sam brushed some dust off her suit. "Yeah, I think so." She was amazed at how much the little Katzinist could carry, but hey, appearances were deceiving.

"What's the Head Penguinist like?" Ruby asked, scratching an ear.

"Huh," Sam began. "He's a good leader, but I think the war is kinda making him nervous. He's lead us well so far. I'll follow him, even to my last battle."

"You must look up to him," Ruby licked a tooth/fang/thing.

"Well, without him, we'd be just a bunch of silly little people in penguin suits running around throwing snowballs at each other and being killed by the Katz."

Ruby's ears dropped and her eyes widened questioningly. "Katz...kill?"

"You haven't heard?" Sam flexed a flipper. "War?"

Ruby shook her head.

"Katz? Penguinists?"

Ruby shook her head. (Hoorah, copy and paste!)

"Doesn't sound familiar to you?"

Ruby's head still shook.

"..."

Ruby continued to shake her head.

Sam sweatdropped. "Are you done?"

Ruby rattled her head frantically to clear it and blinked. "Sorry...what was that about?"

Azure poked the sleeping black and grey shape.

"Roll over," she commanded.

The shape remained put.

"Speak," Azure tried next.

The shape's tail twitched, but otherwise did not move or do anything.

"Do something!" Azure sighed, exasperated. "Lay down!"

The shape yawned, blinked, and fell back asleep.

"Good girl," Azure patted it on the head.

"What are you doing?" Garnet asked, looking up from her studies.

"I'm trying to teach this thing tricks," Azure indicated the Chimaeracore kitten.

"Cats don't do tricks," Garnet said flatly.

"Well, I'm trying to get it to do something," Azure played with its tail. "I mean, all it does is eat and sleep, and now it eats like a horse."

"It even ate a horse, from what I've heard," Garnet returned to her studies.

"Now for your next trick," Azure knelt to eye level with the creature. "Be exciting!" she ordered, waving her hands about.

Shadow growled, not impressed at being woken up for the sillyith time, and raked her claws over Azure's face.

Byruu hopped off, in a good mood, pie tends to do that.

"Sam?" she called out, wondering where the Penguinist went.

"Here I am," Sam responded, waddling over to the half-Katz' voice.

"Who's she, mew?" Byruu pointed at Ruby.

"I'm Sixty-Three...uh, Ruby," she replied.

"Sixty-Three? That's not a name," Byruu snorted.

"It was mine," Ruby said with a certain amount of pride.

"Well, it ain't anymore, mew, so don't be so uptight about it," Byruu's tail curled into a knot, and undid itself.

"Well...it's a name, right? It's special, they don't really grow on trees, ya know."

"Whatever you say," Byruu shrugged. "Can I go home now?"

"Ah yes, we wouldn't want to leave you in the country, now, you're such a city bumpkin."

"Hey. I just wanna go home, be in my room, and be in familiar surroundings again. Break things. Scream like a madcat. Steal from the kitchens. You know, the usual. Mew."

Dragon was interrupted from his rest by a small beeping from a corner. He yawned and stretched.

He hadn't realized he'd drifted off to sleep. As he slinked over to the remote, he thought, hey, it's tiring being evil.

"What is it, meow?" he roared into the remote.

"Dragon," the voice on the other end responded coolly. "Is everything alright in your camp?"

"Yes, everything's swell," he hissed.

"Did I call at a bad time?" the human asked calmly in that oh-so-superior tone. Dragon hated that. He hated how the humans treated him...like a dumb beast. Well, it was hard to be taken seriously when you're walking around in a cat suit and said "meow" every couple of sentences.

"No," he seethed, tail lashing. "Speak your piece."

"We have lost something of great importance to us. We need you to help us find it."

Dragon spat. (Not into the remote, of course) "Me? Help you find something that's yours? Whadda you take me for, meow?"

"We have heard that you are looking for something as well, Dragon," the voice continued. "Find ours, we find yours. Simple."

Dragon blinked, shocked speechless. "How did you-"

"Is that a deal, Dragon?" the voice cut him off.

Dragon's tail lashed, deep in thought.

Oh, how he hated those humans.