Things you need to have read to understand this chapter: Crimson (general background), In the Shadows (again, general background) Twists of Fate (interesting comparison material)

Really lazy disclaimer of Doom: (don't forget the italics. Never forget the italics. It's just Not Done.)
Zhe only thing Urby owns is the story, la.

Lynn cupped a hand to her ear, listening to the babble that was coming from the Katz base.

"So. I go in, get the girl, and skedaddle, right?"

"Please," Sam nodded. Then she mentally hit herself, the girl had a blindfold on and wouldn't have been able to see her.

"Righto. I'll be back in an hour, tops." Lynn opened an air vent and slid in.

"It's always an air vent, eh?" Myn said off-handedly.

"Want me to use a window instead?" Lynn poked her head out of the vent.

"No, no...the vent's fine."

Ruby hummed a nonsense song, twitching her tail. Being locked in a room with nothing to do was rather boring.

She listened to the guard outside, patrolling as usual. Why they wanted her to die of boredom, she didn't know.

She spied out of the corner of her eye an unusual mana signature from the hallway. The guard growled a few threats at whatever-it-was.

"What are you doing here, meow?"

"Move it, overgrown pussycat," a tomboyish voice snarled. Some fighting noises. Claws. Yowls. Weapons clanging. Curses. Roars.

Ruby hid under the bed, afraid of the din.

The fight had stopped by now and the winner was trying to knock the door down.

"Oi, girl," the tomboy voice came from behind the door. "Got a piece of wire? I'm here to get you out."

"I think," Ruby hunted around the room for something to use. "I got a fork! Is that good enough?"

"Slide it under the door," the voice urged.

After a few jabs with the fork, the door opened.

"Whoa..." Ruby blinked, unaccustomed to the light in the hall. "Who are you?" she asked a lanky girl with a blindfold, holding the fork.

The girl simply grinned a toothy smile and said,

"Decide for yourself."

"Where are you taking me?" Ruby worried, following the blindfold girl, who was setting a very fast pace.

"Away," she answered simply, not wasting any breath. "You want away, yes?"

"Right," Ruby shrugged.

The girl turned a corner, tripping over a snare line.

"Awww..." she began, cursing at the alarms that went off. "Why didn't I see that?"

"Because you're blindfolded?" Ruby offered.

"Well...never mind," she got up. "Go lets."

They hightailed it off in the opposite direction, avoiding any more alarms.

"Get them!" a mix of Katz and Desian voices yelled, stampeding toward them.

"Mayn!" the blindfold girl stopped around a corner. "It should take a while before they find us. Hey you," she waved to Ruby. "Take off my blindfold."

Ruby shuffled nervously. "You sure?"

"I said!" the other girl snapped. "Make with the taking off!" she turned around and pointed at the knot tied there.

"O...okay," Ruby slid the silk bandana off her eyes.

"Okay, favor number two," the girl rubbed her eyes a bit. "Run as far as you can away. I'll join up with you later."

"But what about the people chasing us?" Ruby fretted.

"I'll distract 'em," the girl waved nonchalantly. "Now run along."

Ruby dashed down the hall, peering out to find out just what that girl was up to.

She was nowhere to be seen, but she was to be heard, or the people she was facing, at least:

"What the hell is that girl doing?"

"Holy-"

CHRRAUGHHHHGRRRRRR! ROOOOWLLLL...

"HOLY-"

"Oh my god!"

RAWR! GRRR...

"It got me! Help, meow!"

KWEEEEEEE!

"Shoot that thing!"

"No! Please! I'm in the thing's mouth, meow!"

"Whatever! Just don't shoot it in the mouth!"

GRRRROOOAAARRRR!

Ruby tiptoed quietly away, afraid.

After a few, long, agonizing minutes...

The fighting was still going on. Ah-ha! I got you there!

Okay, so, some whiles later:

"Whazzap," the girl's voice said behind her, making Ruby jump.

"Can I have the blindfold back?"

"Sure," Ruby whimpered, throwing it behind her.

"Okay," she tied it quickly. "Now we won't be interrupted anymore, so we can get outta here."

"Who sent you?" Ruby asked, shifting the kitten in her arms into a more comfortable position.

"Two Penguinists...didn't get the names. Whatev."

"Dragon?" a Katz slinked over to him.

"Quit interrupting my catnaps!" Dragon yowled. "What, meow?"

"Sixty-three got away, meow."

Silence.

"...Dragon?"

"Bring me Verti," Dragon hissed. "NOW!"

The Katz saluted and dashed off.

Dragon stretched and grabbed a rock, grinding it into power in a paw. With luck, they might not need that little Katzinist to bargain with the humans.

He was aware of a sudden, quiet presence behind him. It must have been Verti. He had a very...silent aura.

"DRAGON," he said in a doll-like voice. "YOU CALLED."

"Yes, I did," Dragon turned to him, smiling warmly. "Did you get the information about The Weapon from the kitten?"

Verti twitched his green tail. "OF COURSE."

"Good Verti," Dragon patted him on the head. "I knew I could count on you."

"IT IS...OF NO PROBLEM," Verti said in his doll voice.

"Go fetch Marion's Brigade for me, meow," he waved him off, lounging on his throne.

"AT ONCE," Verti bowed and left.

Dragon threw a yarn ball on the table a few times up in the air, his mind wandering. Oooh, the sweet victory of crushing those Penguinist with that grand Weapon of his...

"Whazzap!" Marion yanked Dragon's tail.

"Ouch!" Dragon yelled in an undignified way. "Oh, it's just you, Marion..."

The muddy brown Katz grinned and did a bit of Broadway tapdancing. "The one and only!"

Dragon shook his head and sighed. "I really wish you would stop doing that..."

"But it's in my nature, meow!" Marion did some more shoe-shuffle. "Born on stage...been on it most my life. Can't help it."

"Well, if you aren't careful, you'll die before you get the chance to go back on it, meow," Dragon growled. "Okay, here's what I want you to do..."