Title: Curses and Kitty Litter
Author: Razberry
Rating: PG
Genre: Humor
Warnings: None this chapter
Summary: After angering an Ancient Egyptian spirit, Danny finds himself going through some very unusual changes… and realizes he must rely on some very unusual companions for help.
Notes: Yay! Part three! I really want to thank everyone who has reviewed- positive feedback really keeps me going. To those of you lazy slobs who haven't reviewed (and I know you're out there!)… I love you too, just not as much.
A number in (parentheses) indicates an explanation/definition at the end of the chapter, kay?
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Danny poked his head out of the garbage can; a Chinese takeout box sat haphazardly on his head. He hopped to the ground and swatted the offending box away. Danny winced as his paw brushed his right ear. Subconsciously, he licked his paw and tasted the coppery flavor of blood.
I'm bleeding? Great. Danny padded out of the alley and paused, realizing he didn't know where to go. Sam. I'll head to Sam's house. She's smart, she'll figure out it's me, call Tucker, and we can work this out together... I just hope her parents' are cat people. He joked weakly inside his head.
His mind made up, Danny trotted down the street toward Sam's. She was only a short five to ten minute walk away as a human- Danny didn't realize how different it was as a cat until fifteen minutes later, when he was only halfway to her house. He tried to take as many shortcuts as he could think of, but there was just no getting around it. Despite the extra set of legs, Danny was getting nowhere fast. Thinking quickly, he spotted a blue pickup truck pulling out of the Nasty Burger, it's tailgate down. He raced over and leapt into the truck bed before the driver could pick up speed.
Danny rode along in the truck for several blocks, then decided to hop out before the driver turned. He was only a short distance from Sam's house now anyway. At the next red light, Danny jumped lightly to the pavement and darted into the alley – a familiar shortcut. He used this alley often when he went to Sam's house as a human. From this angle, someone from the house couldn't really tell if someone else was coming up the alley, which, in Danny's experience, was a good thing. The last time Sam's parents had seen him headed toward the house, they locked the doors and turned out all the lights. Later, they had claimed they were at a fundraiser, but Danny had seen the lace gloved hand of Sam's mother reach out and take the spare key from under the mat. From then on, Danny had always used the alley, much to Mr. & Mrs. Manson's dismay.
Danny reached the back door and stopped. Should he scratch at it? Start meowing? Before he could decide the best way to get in the house, the door swung open and Sam's father stepped out, a large garbage bag hefted over his shoulder. Danny was amused to see the man was wearing thick rubber gloves and a face mask. He would bet anything that Mr. Manson was going to change clothes as soon as he finished with the trash.
Suppressing a snicker (Did cats snicker?), Danny darted between Mr. Manson's legs, through the open door, and into the kitchen.
Well, that was easy. Danny thought to himself. In retrospect, he really should have known better. Danny didn't even get to the stairs before his way was blocked by a pair of pink-heeled shoes. He gazed upward and tried to look cute and adorable.
"What are you doing in here!" Mrs. Manson's high-pitched voice hurt Danny's sensitive feline ears. "Shoo! Outside!" She grabbed a nearby broom and thrust it at Danny. He jumped to the side only to receive a face full of bristles. Instinctively, Danny skidded in the opposite direction and crashed headlong into a table; the vase that had been perched on it shattered with a crash on the floor. Mrs. Manson turned purple.
"Get out!" She shrilled angrily. "Mangy animal!" She beat at Danny until he was back in the alley. With a huff, the petite woman stormed back inside and slammed the door. Danny skittered out of the alley and away from Sam's house as fast as he could, suddenly remembering why she didn't have a pet. Mr. and Mrs. Manson strongly believed that animals belonged in the wild and that there was no such thing as a domesticated pet.
Danny kept running, the cat in him wanting to get as far away from Sam's mother as possible. Frankly, the human in him felt the same way, so he let himself run blindly for a few blocks before stopping in front of a pizzeria. Feeling thoroughly nauseous, Danny decided it was time for a breather. He'd just rest for a short while, and then he'd make his way over to Tucker's. His head hanging low, he padded wearily to the nearest set of steps and curled up on the warm concrete. Within seconds he was asleep.
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"Did you find anything yet?" Sam paced the floor of Tucker's room impatiently as he scanned the computer screen.
"Not much – you'd be surprised at how much jewelry these people had." Tucker scrolled down the list. "So far, the closest thing I've found is this." He brought up an image.
Sam leaned over Tucker's shoulder to peer at the screen.
"See this symbol?" Tucker indicated a small design on the necklace. "Now look at this." He pointed to the photo on the computer.
"They're the same." Tucker nodded. Sam leaned closer and read the caption underneath the picture.
"The cat goddess Bast was often portrayed holding a sistrum such as this one, depicted on- what? Are you trying to say we're dealing with a goddess now?"
Tucker nodded again. "Uh-huh. Check this out." He pointed to the other side of the necklace, where the image of a cat was etched into the gold.
"How is that even possible? If this Bast person came from the Ghost Zone, how is she a goddess? They're not the same thing – are they?"
They both shrugged.
Sam sighed. "Well, at least we know who we're looking for now. Do some more research on Bast, Tucker. Maybe we can figure out what she wants or where she's going. Chances are, if we find her, we can find Danny."
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End Notes: Poor Danny. He's had a rough day. Sorry about the longer wait. I had some trouble uploading this thing (stupid And I also apologize if you think Sam's parents were out of character. I don't like them much, if you can't tell, so I've probably over-dramatized their characters. Oh well. I think this is one of the only times they'll be in this fic, anyway. Ok, well, hope you liked this chapter, and be sure to review!