WARNING: Torture, violence, gore, and death.
Chapter 9: The Fall.
7 PM in the night...
Vita shivered in the cold of the caves. Inside her cell, everything was wet and cold, even though Spring was around... actually, Spring hasn't been around enough, the rain has won this last week and the cold wind overrun the days' and night's warm. She shivered. Where's Connor? If only Connor was there, he wouldn't let them be this mean to her. She missed him, and wished dearly he could be there right now, these men were so evil to her, not even telling her where Hope was.
Hope.
She frowns and embraced her legs as she sat against the wall. If it wasn't for Hope's dumb and weird obsession with the caves, none of this would've happened, she wouldn't be sitting here in the cold and shivering like a baby. She didn't want to see him right now, everything was his fault... Vita opened her eyes guiltily; she agreed as well as the others to explore outside without any of the older kids' watching over them, it wasn't only Hope's fault, all of them did something to get to this point. She sighed. If only I stayed inside...
She heard footsteps outside of her cell and looked through the bars, expecting Connor to come through the entrance to her prison, but her hopes were shattered as she saw Bleeder's men come through instead. One of them -a sleek man with grey hair and a horrible scar across the lips- carried something, or more like someone, over his shoulder. Vita gasped. Hope!
He seemed lifeless just hanging from the man's shoulder, and Vita shivered, hoping nothing too bad happened to her brother. He opened her cell and the other two men grabbed her tightly, keeping her in place. The sleek man tossed Hope across the cell and into the rocky floor of the cave, he landed near the wall Vita was sitting against before.
The men tossed her into the floor again and closed the cell hastily once more. She looked at them with a pout in her face and stuck her tongue out once they turned around, hating them for whatever they did to her brother and for treating both of them so badly.
Talking about her brother, Hope laid on the floor lifelessly, and Vita sat beside him touching his ribs and then moving her hand into his chest, fearing that she won't feel his chest move up and down again. She let out a sigh of relief once they moved and he let out a small breath escape his lips, putting her brother's head on her legs so once he woke up, he wouldn't feel any ache. Drops of water falling from the roof wet her red hair and her face, and some of them fell in Hope's face, and she shook her hair to shook them off and used her hand to wipe away the ones in Hope's cheeks.
Voices echoing on the walls of the caves caught her attention. She looked at Hope, and then back at the bars of the cell, then back at him. She gently put his head down on the rocky ground then moved next to the bars to hear the conversation between whoever the voices belonged to.
"Are you sure about Bleeder's plan? That Blue Cat has beat him before, I don't see what's gonna be different this time."
They are talking about Connor!
"Yes, because this time we have something the Blue Cat treasures a lot: the two little peasants we caught."
Vita growled. Peasants yourselves!
"Doesn't that make him more dangerous? You know what he did to Bleeder's face last time we caught people he cared about..."
"He might've made Bleeder a One Eye, but we have the two little pests locked down. He knows if he makes one wrong move, goodbye pests."
Vita gulped and walked over to Hope once again, feeling sick and with a pale face. Please, Connor, hurry up. She looked at her brother laying on the ground. But be careful...
Connor stood still on the center of the basement in the Headquarters. Alongside him were Riley and Silver, waiting for him, and tied to a chair was the man who tried to capture Unità a few hours ago. Through the panel on the wall, he could see the outskirts of the city, which was dark as rain pelted calmly over it. He watched the man unconscious in front of him with narrowed eyes.
Everything was quiet as he did, so Riley, feeling a little bit unsettled, spoke up. "Are we gonna do anything or...?"
Connor, giving his back to him, replied curtly. "Quiet." He stood there, watching the man unconscious, deep down wanting to harm him back for hurting Unità.
The man shifted awake, lost and confused as to where he was. He looked around to try to make out where he was, but after he recovered fully, he shook his head and tried to jump at Connor, who only cast a death glare at him. "Whatever you want from me, I'm not giving it to you." The sleek man spat.
Connor stood there, in deadly silence, looking at the man with fierce anger burning in his blue eyes. After a few seconds, he walked around the man, observing him as much as he would like a wild cat stalking his prey. He stopped behind him, and the man twisted his neck to try and look at him, with no success. "So," Connor started. "What's your name?" He inquired.
The man gave no answer, so Riley used his strength to grasp his jaw tightly, and Riley looking at him straight into his eyes menacingly, make the man show in his eyes surprise a little bit of fear; he didn't think someone of Riley's size could be that strong. "He asked you something, answer." Riley obligated. He let go of the man's jaw and stood back in his place. Connor nodded at him and waited for an answer.
Hesitatingly, but with a grim expression, he answered. "Oculus, the One-Eye Hawk."
Connor snorted. "Oculus... guess your name makes justice for you." He walked in front of the man again, with slow steps that echoed in the place. Oculus followed Connor with his gaze, which sparked with burning anger and a desire to kill Connor right on the spot. Connor finally stopped and looked at him from his peripheral vision. "So tell me, Oculus, what's your purpose on life? Besides of course, being Bleeder's bitch."
"That's none of your concern, kid." Oculus growled.
"Except that it is," Connor said, his calm and threatening tone drastically changing to a furious one. "You make it my concern when you decided to play Bleeder's bitch and mess with my family." He kicked the chair Oculus was sitting on and the man fell backward, hitting his head harsh against the cold rocky ground of the basement. The fall and the man's head hitting the ground echoed around and Connor stood over him, the lights contrasted him, so shadows covered his face and the blue of his eyes shone like fire. "Now tell me, where are the others?" He kneeled down beside the man's head. "Where's Bleeder?" He demanded with a deadly tone.
"I already told you, I'm not telling you." Oculus simply dismissed the question. He grimaced at Connor with a disgusted expression and Connor wanted to kill him right there.
"I don't have time for this, we can do it the easy way," Connor passed his finger through Oculus left eye, which was the one that was healthy as a whole, but poked it. "Or the hard way, you decide."
Oculus gritted his teeth as he clenched his eye closed. "Either way, I'm not telling you." With a naughty smile on his face, which trespassed Connor's line, he said. "You can do whatever you want to me, and yet I won't tell you nothing."
Connor stood up and not taking his eyes from him, he signaled Riley and Silver. "Alright. Riley," He turned to look at the Asian boy, and he waited for his command. "Fetch the tools. Silver," He nodded at her and she waited for him to tell her what to do. "Tie him harder." She nodded and walked behind Oculus, tieing the ropes around him twice as hard as before, making it difficult for Oculus to breath right.
Once Riley brought the 'tools', Connor looked at Oculus. "Just so you know, this is techno no one has ever created before." The two metal sticks Connor had in hand lighted up and made an electric sound. With a grim expression, which showed hatred, Connor warned. "I would prepare if I were you, this won't be easy."
Oculus looked terrified at him before Connor pushed the sticks onto his sides.
Hope shifted awake, opening his eyes slowly in the semi-dark of the place... wherever the place was. He was really cold, and his wet clothes didn't help at all, but that sensation was overridden by the feeling of confusion. Where was he? He didn't remember anything about what happened, especially not how he got so cold and wet in the first place. The last thing he remembered was walking beside Vita and Unità on the forest.
He sat up slowly, only to find himself in a rocky cell with old oxidated bars enclosing him there, not letting him go. He looked around and lay his gaze on Vita, who was sleeping on the ground not so far from the wall. Why were they inside a cell? He crawled over to her and sat by her side, shaking her awake. She shifted with a frown and a protest, but as soon as she turned around, she met his gaze and instantly sat up. "You're awake! Are you okay?" She asked, worriedly.
"I... think so?" He was still confused about everything; what happened? "Where are we?"
"In the caves..." She looked down at her hands, frowning. "Captured."
He felt as if he had a heavy rock on his belly. "W-what? By who? H-how did we ended up down here?"
She looked puzzled. "You don't remember?" He shook his head and she looked more confused than before. "Stop playing games, this is not funny."
He got annoyed. "Why would I play a game in this situation?!" He said, showing her around to prove his point. "I really don't remember anything!" Was this all his fault? What has he done?
Vita shifted uncomfortably on her place. "You... ran away from us while we were walking on the forest, and we thought you came into the caves, so we came down to look for you but instead," She sighed. "Bleeder captured us, or well, at least me."
"What about Unità?" Hope asked, waiting for her not to answer his fears.
"I don't know, she ran away..." Vita said, and everything fell quiet. "Hopefully she reached Connor and the others..." The drops of water from the roof fell into the puddles they have created on the ground and echoed around the walls of the caves. Small rocks fell too, but neither Hope nor Vita knew why and neither wanted an answer, these caves were strange enough and they didn't want to do anything with them again.
He didn't know why he had the impulse to ran away, nor did he knew in which moment he ran away, everything after the walk on the forest was only a blurry memory. He concentrated; he remembered the sound of rushing water, the foggy forest, the entrances of the caves and the sound of voices as faint as the wind. He frowned even harder. The sound of rushing water, the foggy forest, the caves, voices. What did they have in common? Where did he head to? And why couldn't he remember anything more than that?
He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate harder, but he opened them scared as a scaring image popped in his mind: an entity, with ginger hair and red eyes that shone in the dark with a silver mask over the eyes and the half of a heart-shaped ruby that matched the crimson eyes. He didn't remember seeing the entity somewhere else, in any shape.
Everything was so weird, and Hope felt scared that whatever was happening with him, it would be worst in the future. What does this mean? Who was that? He looked at his hands. Was it me? He looked at Vita then tried to picture the entity again. That thing seemed evil, and I'm not evil! I'm a hero, whoever it was, it wasn't me. He thought of his siblings fondly. I could never become a villain, I could never harm them that way.
The quiet of the caves was disturbed when bursting into their spot, Bleeder walked over to them. They huddled together, waiting for the man to do something to them. They had seen him before meeting Connor, they -or at least him- remembered the nights in which people would beg this horrible man to stop doing whatever he was doing to them, and especially the days he would steal from the poor. To Hope, that man was evil, and he didn't deserve anything, especially not being alive.
"Stood up." He ordered to both of them, and they stood up, shaking to their bones, and not only from cold. He glared at them amusedly, then with a menacing smile, he grabbed the bars of the cell with his enormous hands. "Tell me, where can I find the Blue Cat?" None of them answered, and that drove him mad. "ANSWER ME!"
"We don't know..." Answered Vita, obviously lying.
"LIES!" He punched the bars, which made debris and pebbles fall from the roof. "We saw him with you, there's no escape for you now..." He walked to the side Vita was standing. "If you tell me where he is, I might go a little bit easy on you. A little bit."
"Dirt face!" Vita yelled at his face, and Hope horrified looked back and forth between her and Bleeder.
Bleeder outrage tore the bars out of place and entered the cell with them, going angrily towards them. Vita and Hope ran to the wall, with no escape, and huddled together against the ground. Bleeder put his arm up to punch them but Hope, with his eyes closed, said. "You can't harm us!"
Bleeder laughed. "Oh really? And why is that?"
Hope felt burning hate towards Bleeder, a kind of hate he never felt before, and watching him with menacing eyes, he answered. "Because if you do, the Blue Cat won't stop looking for you until he has done to you everything you did to us." Bleeder stood there, rage burning in his eyes. "He won't stop until he has killed you."
Bleeder gritted his teeth and slowly put his arm down. "You have the instinct, kid." He smiled naughtily. "The evil instinct." Hope only glared back while he embraced his sister protectively. Bleeder stood over them, his shadow covering both of them, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Lust, Thorned Heart!"
A sleek woman with pale skin and really dark hair and a teenager with dark skin and pale blonde hair walked inside. "Yes, Bleeder?" They said in unison.
"Go into the forest, I want you to find the Blue Cat." Bleeder said, not taking his eyes away from the kids.
Lust, the sleek woman, seemed uncertain. "We didn't find him before, what would change now?" Bleeder turned to look at her and smiled maliciously.
"Them." He looked back at them again with an ugly smile. "He will be looking for them, mark my words. When you cross paths with him, tell him I'm willing to trade them for something of value."
Lust seemed puzzled. "Since when do we trade?"
"Since never." Bleeder said, a crazy look on his face.
Lust seemed puzzled, but Thorned Heart shivered in excitement beside her. "He's gonna lurk him into a trap and kill him!" The tone the teenager was using scared Hope deeply. Thorned Heart looked with joy and admiration at Bleeder, a twisted smile on his face. "It's been a long time since I presence a death!" A dreamy look on his face. "The screams of pain, the blood streaming out of their necks, the lifeless bodies lying on the ground..."
Lust smiled and looked lustful at Bleeder. "Now that sounds more like our Bleeder."
Bleeder walked out of the cell and put in place the bars he dislocated. He smiled proudly at his subordinates. "Then what are you waiting for? Go and find him!" Lust and Thorned Heart nodded excitedly and left the caves, leaving Bleeder and the kids alone again. He smiled at them evilly.
"I'll make sure your kitty friend doesn't witness another dawn, before that," He laughed maliciously. "His blood will be streaming down on the grass and he will lay dead before sunrise!"
He exited the place laughing maliciously and Vita and Hope looked alarmed. Hope shivered. If only there was a way to warn Connor. Please, Connor, don't agree to this!
Greg watched as Connor, Riley, and Silver stepped in the room, their clothes stained with small splotches of blood. Riley had it worst, his knuckles were tinted in crimson red and his sweater was the most stained. Silver's hair was tied in a ponytail and the tips of it looked hard and greasy, the dark of the points of her hair seemed to also have a tint of crimson red.
He followed them with his gaze, appalled by their doings. Amaya was currently with Unità in the upper room, and for a few moments he stayed with them, not enduring the screams of pain of the man they captured, but when they ceased, he came down again but with a sickly feeling.
Silver grabbed a pair of clothes from her luggage and used one of the elevators to go up, while Riley used a small bowl with water and a towel to clean himself up. Connor walked over to the Picture Player and tapped a button, which opened the door to the bathroom. Greg watched from outside how he washed the blood from his hands, red water streaming from his forearms and into the handwash. Not being able to keep his mouth shut, he walked to him. Riley followed with his gaze.
Greg stood on the door's frame. "Did you really have to torture him?" Connor didn't even look at him, neither did he answered. Greg gritted his teeth. "We are heroes, not the villains! We don't torture people!"
Connor still didn't look at him, he only washed his hands. "He didn't want to talk, and I was willing to go easy on him, but he asked for it." There was a strange tone in his voice that Gekko was sure he never heard before. Not from Connor or anybody he ever knew, not even the villains.
"You should've pushed further into that, not into-" Greg signaled at the blood streaming down his arms horrified. "N-Not into this!"
Connor grasped the ends of the handwash. "We don't have time, Greg. It was the only way."
"The only way?" Greg asked out of breath. "Torture is the only way for you?"
Connor looked at him outraged. "Yes, when the man standing in front of you has killed dozen of people before, including children, and was willing to harm them as well!" He put his finger in Greg's chest. "I bet on my whole life that if your father was alive and he would be their prisoner, you would've done anything to get him back, Greg."
Greg stood there with his eyes wide open, shock overrode him. He noticed the moment Connor regretted saying that, and Connor shook his head at what he just said. With watery eyes, Greg slowly said. "I don't know what's worst: The thing you just said or the fact that I tried to forgive you." Connor wanted to say something but Greg turned around and left, not giving him an opportunity of apologizing or doing anything of the sorts. Connor touched a nerve, a very delicate one, and Greg was not going to forgive that.
Riley, who had heard the exchange between the two of them, tried to approach him. "Greg, Connor didn't-" Greg pulled his arm back hastily, not letting the other touch him, he was as guilty as Connor. Riley seemed surprised at his sudden change of mind, and a voice behind him made him turn around.
"What you did is no better." It was Federico. "You tortured somebody, and there's no coming back from that now." He walked to Greg's side, grabbing him by the shoulder, he clearly understood what Greg was feeling about all of this, even though in the past they didn't share the same opinion in a lot of things. Greg stood in place, out of words. "Do you think we'll ever saw any of you the same way again?"
Riley kept quiet, shocked. He tried to make a step on them. "I-"
Federico made a step back with Greg. "There's no excuse for the blood on your hands, Riley, nor Connor's or Silver's. You did it, but at what cost? You got no answer." He nudged Greg out of the room, far away from the ones Greg thought as guilty, and into the elevators.
On the way down, Greg's tears finally started to stream down and the ache of everything that has happened so far felt heavy on his chest, especially on his heart. Everything seemed fine so far, why had something ruined it? Why had Connor ruined it? When they stepped into the room, Federico approached him. Quietly, Greg asked. "Why did I ever thought he changed? Why did I ever thought about forgiving him?"
"Because you know what you did was wrong," Federico said, but he looked down at the floor, where his feet fidgeted. "But what they did here? It was even worst." He walked out of the room and headed to the main door, the one that leads outside. Greg followed, he needed some air, none of this met with his ideal or his believing, nor his sense of doing the right thing. But lately, has something met his expectations?
Both stepped out into the clearing, where the grass extender up to their ankles. It wasn't foggy anymore, but rain pelted slightly and created a dark and humid ambient around. The forest looked wet, and the pines shook slightly with the wind that the rain carried. Now Greg would usually hate getting his clothes wet due to rain, but now? It felt relaxing and as if it washed away everything he was feeling now or at least some part of it. He was calming down when he felt Federico tense beside him and he instantly prepared for whatever got Federico tense.
He looked ahead, where two persons stepped out of the forest and headed towards them. When they approached enough, Greg realized it was two of Bleeder's followers. The sleek woman seemed to notice his uneasiness and put her arms in the air. "The name's Lust and this is Thorned Heart," She signaled at her companion. "We are not here to harm you, we come with a message from Bleeder."
Greg stood in a fighting position, Federico by his side. "And how do I know you are not gonna lie about it?"
"Because we came alone, you would've noticed anyone by now if we didn't." Lust answered. Greg arched an eyebrow but stood the same as before, he wasn't going to put his guard down, Bleeder and his followers were full of surprises. When Lust realized he was waiting for her, she proceeded. "Bleeder wants a trade."
Federico spoke up now, suspicious. "A trade? What kind of trade?" He asked with narrowed eyes.
"We want something that can satisfy us, and we give the two little peasants back." Thorned Heart answered with a satisfied smile on his face.
Federico growled. "Their names are Vita and Hope."
Thorned Heart snorted. "Whatever, they are no use to us, that's why the trade." He said. "Like my companion here said, you give us something that can satisfy us, and we give the peasants back. Easy."
Greg wanted to punch the smug expression out of his face. "How, and when?" He demanded carefully.
"Tonight, 11 PM, at the gorge at the end of the Finch Pines forest." Lust said. "We'll be waiting." They turned around, but before they went out of sight, Lust turned around with a menacing spark on her eyes. "But don't think there won't be consequences if you don't, or if you plan something."
Thorned Heart smiled smugly. "Yeah, we know everything. Don't try anything stupid."
When they finally left, both Greg and Federico headed inside to tell the others about the trade.
After getting rid of Oculus, Connor stood in the middle of the main room alongside Riley and Amaya, listening carefully to what Greg and Federico were saying. Curtly, he asked. "How do we know they aren't lurking us into a trap?"
Federico was the one to answer. "They seemed pretty convinced about this 'trade'."
Riley answered this time, coldly. "They are killers, they aren't and don't get convinced with anything. Whatever this 'trade' is, is not something we can trust on." Amaya and Silver nodded in agreement and Connor only kept his gaze on Greg, empty.
"But if the trade is true, what are we gonna give them that can satisfy them enough?" Greg inquired with a raspy voice. He cleared his throat and when he noticed Connor looking at him, he looked away; Connor didn't blame him for that this time.
He sighed and thought, what would be worth enough for them to give back both Vita and Hope? He analyzed the room. Maybe there was something in HQ that could worth a thousand euros, or more, something like that should satisfy them. He gazed from artifact to artifact, but nothing convinced Connor enough, that's it until his eyes laid on his luggage, just where a small and blue shining object was placed.
Without taking his eyes from it, he answered. "I know something we can give them in exchange." The others looked expectantly at him as he made his way into his luggage and took out from it a small blue and shaped crystal. The others stood in shock.
"You can't give him that!" Amaya opposed.
"Imagine if that fell on his hands, it could be deadly!" Silver added.
"There's no way we are trading that for the kids," Greg said angrily.
"You are not trading anything," Connor said as he looked at them. "I am." The object he was trading was the Crystal Cat that allowed him to transform without his pajamas, it did hold such a strong power, and the others were right about it not being the best option, but Connor wouldn't just sit around and wait for the kids to be killed. "You'll stay behind while I go and trade this."
Amaya hated, even more, that idea. "Heck no, you're not going alone." She crossed her arms. "As much as I hate this idea, I hate the idea of you facing them alone even more."
Greg stepped out of the circle. "If you are going, I'm going too." He looked at Connor but gritted his teeth, anger clearly in his green eyes. "I'm hating your guts right now, but I don't want you dead." He spat.
"As you wish," Was all Connor said. He turned around to face Riley, Federico, and Silver. "They know where HQ is located, stay behind in case it's a trap to break into here." They nodded hesitantly as if they didn't know if they should follow his command or not. When he looked at them with narrowed eyes, nervously they nodded their agreement and Connor walked to Federico.
He looked at him. "He said 11 PM at the gorge, right?" Federico nodded. He looked at the Crystal Cat hanging from his neck and thought of Unità, who was in the upper room. "Then 11 PM it is." He was determined to get the kids back and together, none was getting hurt, or dying, tonight. He won't let that happen.
"This ends tonight."
10:30 PM in the night...
Catboy walked through the rain forest alongside Owlette and Gekko, who didn't even say a word. He didn't either, he wasn't in the mood to think about anything beyond the kid's safety and the trade. The Crystal Cat was hanging from his neck and bounced on his chest every time he made a step on the muddy ground, which made his feet slippery and annoyed him to a great end.
Everything was going just fine this last week, no problems over the betrayal or anything he did, everyone was getting along, he was getting along with Greg... That drifted his mind to the argument he and Greg had a few hours ago... Greg had said that he tried to forgive him this past week, but now he knew he didn't think of doing it again. Had he broken their friendship forever?
He knew he had touched a nerve when he mentioned Greg's father, Daniel, who sadly passed away in a car accident a few years ago. He remembered how bad it broke Greg when it happened... so bad, that Greg had become a villain named Drakko who only wanted to destroy anything on his way to the throne. Saying what he said earlier had broken something bad as well, he saw it in Greg's green eyes... something broke in there, something was completely gone, and Catboy feared it was their friendship.
He looked at the trees, and his face was welcomed by the drops of rain that the sky cried. Of course, it was their friendship, what else could it be? He used Greg's dead father to excuse a horrible act he committed... a horrible act he will regret for the rest of his life. Greg now hated his guts, and he will ever do as far as he is concerned, nothing he'll say now will ever fix what he broke in there, and Catboy just wanted to drop into the floor and wail like a defenseless kitten to his mother.
No one will ever understand that everything he did was for the good of everybody else, and while the act he just committed wasn't his ideal, he did it so he could find the kids safe and sound. He didn't consider it was okay, but he knew he had his reasons for doing so. He knew how Bleeder was, unpredictable and evil, a killer, he had collected information about him with people on the Downtown. If given the chance, he would kill the kids right on the spot and Catboy wanted to avoid that, he wanted them safe, not dead.
He growled. Once he got the kids safe, he would return to Tarabiscoville with them and raise them by himself, either with help or not. He didn't think to have them around him was safer, but it was safer than leaving them here where they risked the possibility of being killed by anything around the corner. He made his decision, and after the trade, he was gonna grab all of their stuff and leave, he didn't want to do anything with this place, not after this, especially, he didn't want the kids to do anything with this place anymore.
In this place, they had faced hunger, cold, sadness, hurt... He was gonna change that. He didn't want them around this place anymore, and he didn't care if their animal totems, or his own, agreed with this, he was gonna do the best for him and them. He decided that it was time to stop doing what everyone else expected him to do, from now on, he was gonna take his own decision if he thought they were the right ones.
Suddenly a hand grabbed him and stopped him, taking him out of his thoughts. He looked back and saw Gekko staring at him expectantly. "What?"
Gekko let go of his hand with an annoyed expression. "I said: we are here."
Catboy looked around and noticed that far ahead he could see that at the border of the gorge Bleeder and some of his followers stood, including the ones Gekko talked them about: Lust and Thorned Heart. Catboy's heart pound hard on his chest as he looked around, something was quite off, he could feel it on his guts. He turned around and faced Gekko and Owlette. "Owlette, come with me. Gekko, stay hidden unless something goes wrong." Both nodded, though Gekko curtly, and they split up.
Catboy took a deep breath, and with Owlette flying above him, he stepped into the clearing between the gorge and the forest. Bleeder and his followers turned to look at him with a curious spark on their eyes, Bleeder with a smug smile that Catboy wanted to rip off his face. Vita and Hope were being held by Lust and Thorned Heart, but their mouths were tied with a gag and their arms held tightly against their torsos with a rope.
They expressions told him something was very wrong and he held his head high, whatever they brought within their hands, he was not letting it happen. He stepped into the center of the clearing with his tail and head held high, a fire sparked from his blue eyes. "I came."
Bleeder looked at his arm as if he had a watch on there and then looked back at him amusedly. "Early, I noticed."
Catboy gritted his teeth. "Let's finish this. Where are the kids?"
Bleeder walked over to him, and Catboy unsheathed his claws, Bleeder stopped and both looked at each other dead in the eyes, or well, Catboy looked deadly into Bleeder's good eye. Bleeder circled him but took a quick glance at Owlette, who was flying near Catboy. "I can see there are more of you."
"And there will be until the day I'm gone." Catboy hissed, Owlette landed and stood by his side, hatred in her eyes as well.
Bleeder stopped and looked at him with an unreadable expression, and then smiled smugly. "Where's your part of the agreement?" He pointed at the kids with his big and dirty hand. "I have my part," He put his face so close to Catboy's, that the cat-themed hero could feel his ugly breath. "Where's yours, kitty?"
Catboy, without taking his eyes out of his, took the Crystal Cat out of his neck and grasped it tight in his hand. "Here."
Bleeder stood up with an amused expression, he laughed. "You're exchanging that for them?" He looked at his followers. "Are you witnessing this? He's trading a toy cat for these two peasants." He laughed hard and his followers laughed as well.
Catboy stood in the middle with a serious expression and holding himself back from blinding him on the other eye, he closed his eyes and Bleeder stopped laughing once the Crystal Cat started trembling and shinning. Catboy's body was suddenly covered by a neon light, which made it hard for Bleeder and his followers to look. The blue light gave an electric feeling through his body, and a frenzied state to his mind for a moment, witnessing images he couldn't recall and hearing voices he didn't know.
After all that, he stood there as Connor, but the only difference is that he had his hair in a slicked back hairstyle and his face had a black mask over his eyes. Bleeder watched with shocked eyes and his followers' mouth hanging open. Connor grasped the Crystal Cat even tighter and the blue flash came again, transforming him back into Catboy. "Yes, I brought my toy in exchange for the kids." He spat. "Now give them back."
Bleeder walked over to them, giving Catboy's his back. He looked back with a malicious smile. "As you wish," Bleeder spun around instantly, a Glock 19 on his hand, shining under the moonlight that peered through the clouds. "Hero."
Owlette reacted before he did and pushed him out of the way on time as Bleeder shot three times in a row, killing one of his followers instead of Catboy. Catboy let out a screech and battle exploded in the clearing. Owlette flew around, using her Owl Feathers and her Owl Wing Wind to slow down Bleeder's followers from jumping on Catboy as Catboy roared in and made his way to Bleeder.
Catboy's light suit up and he jumped onto Bleeder, but the man got a strong grip on him and for a moment asphyxiated him and Catboy swayed his legs in the air aimlessly. He looked around for something that could help him get free but saw nothing besides the scared faces of the two kids. They knew what he was gonna do!
"I told you kitty, you don't mess with Bleeder. And see those peasants here?" Bleeder pointed the gun at them. "I will shoot them and you will watch them die in horrible pain, you will watch how they will call for your name without you reaching them." He prepared the gun and Catboy clawed his forearm in an attempt of getting free.
He tried to look around for something else. When lightning hit, he could see Owlette's shadow fighting against Bleeder's followers, but he could also see a shadow near the kids. He smiled. "N-no," Catboy said, out of breath. "Y-You won't do that." He smiled and when Bleeder understood what he said, he spun around only to find Gekko pushing Thorned Heart and Lust into the Gorge and going after him.
Gekko punched Bleeder hard on his back and sent him flying a few feet away, freeing Catboy, who hit the ground hard and needed a few moments to recover, and as soon as he did, both he and Gekko started untieing the kids. Hope, once the gag was out of his mouth, said. "We tried to warn you, but we didn't know how!" He said, breathlessly.
"I noticed it in your eyes," Catboy said, passing his hand over Hope's hair. "Thanks." He looked at Gekko. "Get them to HQ!"
Gekko looked worried. "What about y-"
"I'll be fine, go!" Gekko hesitated but took the kids with him. He ran towards the forest with both of the kids hanging from his shoulders but he didn't get far when Bleeder shot from the mess in the clearing and into him. Hope fell a few feet away, while Vita slipped into the muddy floor and headed for the gorge. Catboy cast a quick glance at Gekko who understood it was an order for him to take Hope away from Bleeder.
Gekko stood up and as fast as he could, lifted Hope and ran away from the place, reaching out of Bleeder's reach. Bleeder, seeing his lost chance, aimed his gun at Vita, who was near the end of the Gorge, a mad look in his eyes. Catboy saw it and jumped instantly on him, using his claws to get a grip on him. Both rolled in the muddy floor and once Catboy was pinned down on the floor, Bleeder sank a ranger dagger in Catboy's side several times.
Catboy yelled in pain while he did, but he used his Cat Leap power to give a powerful kick and sent Bleeder away as much as he could. He landed near Vita, and putting his hand on his wound, Catboy watched horrified as the man stood over her with the dagger on hand. "NO!" He raced for her, adrenaline running through his body and the pain of the wound gone. "I won't let you!"
He landed on the man with a hatred look, and unsheathing his claws once more, which shone as he put his hand up and lightning struck, Catboy sank them in his throat and ripped it open with the most hateful look on his eyes someone has ever seen. Blood streamed from the wound on Bleeder's neck and blood ran out of his mouth. With his last breath, he sank his dagger into Catboy's side to immobilize him again and rolled into the gorge with him. Vita not being able to stand up due to the mud, slipped with them.
Catboy twisted in the air and kicked Bleeder's body out of him, watching it fall into the ominous rushing water at the end of the gorge and being swapped away, logs and water covering his body. He got a hold of a branch that stuck out from the wall of the gorge with his hands and later witnessed how Vita headed for the water's edge as well. Using the last effort, Catboy used his Cat Stripes and aimed them to Vita, catching the girl on time before she fell more into the gorge.
Both hang from the branch, terrified by the river at the end of the gorge. He saw other two men fall into the water, one hitting the water's edge instantly, the other hitting Catboy's branch and breaking his back with a horrible crack, falling dead into the water. The branch, because of the weight of the man who fell and the weights of Vita and Catboy, broke in half, and Catboy noticed that at any given moment both of them were going to meet their end.
Someone else fell into the water, and against the lightning's blinding light, he could see a shape heading towards them. Owlette! Catboy felt weak, blood streamed hard from his side, and with the effort that it took to pull Vita up, is streamed even harder, his blue suit was now almost as red as Owlette's on the side where he was stabbed. Almost giving up, he looked with tired eyes at Owlette then at Vita. She won't make it on time... Catboy thought. He breathed out in pain, and started swinging his body from one side to another, making the stripe Vita was holding on, swing as well. I'm not letting anything happen to her...
He closed his eyes and the happiest moments of his life filled the darkness of his eyelids. He saw his mother, his brother, his friends, everyone he knew, but mostly and finally, he saw Greg and Amaya. He smiled. Everything I did, I did it for them. He thought of every wrong he ever did and how it harmed them, especially how he harmed Greg. I'm sorry, I'm so, so, sorry. I never meant for any of that to happen... I just wanted to protect you, all of you. I'm sorry... He opened them, and with a last effort, he tossed Vita over to Owlette, who almost didn't catch her but managed to get a firm grip on her. Owlette cried out his name and he smiled, tears streaming down his face.
I'm so sorry.
He let go of the branch before it could break and fell. The last thing Catboy ever remembered was the dark water's edge and Owlette's agonizing scream filling his ears.