Those of you that are watching this story are probably very surprised. :) If you haven't already, please go back and reread the first five chapters. I've been redoing them these past few weeks, and I apologize for the extremely long delay.

Enjoy :)

The problem was, the lack of sleep told on Kasu worse than trying to switch lifestyles had. She stumbled along for several nights until one night she woke to find herself dangling by her scruff from Firefang's jaws. The big cat pointedly ignored the smaller 'mon's feeble protests, and eventually, Kasu gave up and let herself fall asleep.

Two nights later, Kasu's world again changed.

"That's the end of the forest," Tenebrae said, pointing. "Two hundred yards or so."

"There's a human town at the forest's edge," Firefang commented. "Ah know loads o' the Meowths in town - they can point us in the right direction. That is, if y'all are sure your fourth member is in Queen Emeria's range." She glanced at Archimedes for confirmation.

"Fairly sure. It seems like the kind of place Nimahri would attach herself."

"Right. Once we get close, Ah'll look up some o' mah old friends in the alleys, get directions, an' we'll be on our way."

"I am not going down there," Tenebrae said firmly, his eyes glittering (more so than usual, at any rate).

"No one's makin' you," Firefang said. The Persian and Sableye had been at each other's throats since they had first met - Firefang's former status as a human's battle partner being the outward reason for Tenebrae's dislike. After several attempts to reconcile them, both Kasu and Archimedes had given up and now only got in the way when things got out of hand.

"I never said -"

"Let it go," Archimedes muttered. For once, Tenebrae did, and fell silent for the next half-hour, until they emerged on the edge of the forest.

"Okay, y'all, who's comin'?" Firefang asked.

"Tenebrae and I will meet you on the other side of town," Archimedes said. "Kasu, are you going with Firefang or coming with us?"

"I'd like to go with her, if I can," the silver Eevee said quickly.

"Ya know you're welcome ta come," Firefang grinned, "but it's liable ta be dangerous for an Eevee like yaself."

"I'll stay close, and I'll defend myself if I have to, I promise!" Kasu wasn't going to let an opportunity to see a human habitation go to waste. Archimedes chuckled.

"Better let her have what she wants, I guess."

"Yeah." Firefang grinned. "Ah'll look out for her, don' worry."

"You'd better," Tenebrae growled. Kasu wondered at his protectiveness.

Firefang chose not to respond to that, but instead said to Archimedes, "You'd better get a move on. We'll meet you by sunrise."

"Agreed. Luck," the owl said, taking wing. Tenebrae stayed put another moment or two, as though he was about to say something, but then shook his head and followed his friend. Firefang turned to Kasu.

"First things first, hon. Ya can't go inta town lookin' like that."

"Huh?"

They approached the town, Kasu's questions coming thick and hard.

"What are these?" she asked, rearing up on her hind legs and putting her paws on a metal pole. "Metal trees? But there's a light on the top!"

"Street lamps," Firefang explained. "Humans don' see well in the dark at all. They need these lights ta travel at night."

"Oh." Kasu set her paws back on the paved road (she didn't like the smell of it, nor the way it felt under her paws, but Firefang assured her it was the main trail into the town). "Do they often travel at night?"

"In a little town like this 'un? Probably not - but it's a custom."

"Are they so set on customs, then?"

"More than they will admit," Firefang winked.

Kasu didn't understand, but she let it pass.

"In any case," the cat continued, "in this little town, most humans won't be awake and on the streets at this hour."

"Streets? Like this road?"

"Exactly," Firefang said, pleased. "Ya catch on quick."

Kasu passed under another street lamp, wincing a little at the bright light. She glanced down at her paws, stained brown by a berry growing in profusion near the edge of the forest. Firefang had mercilessly rubbed the dye into her fur, telling her that if she thought traveling with an odd-colored coat in the wilderness where only an occasional trainer passed was dangerous, she would be a fool indeed to walk boldly into a human town with the same pelt. Kasu's entire pelt was stained a dirty brown (Firefang assured her it would wear off in a few days) with the exception of her ruff, which Firefang said looked normal anyway. Kasu thought it was great, looking like a normal Eevee for once. When she voiced that, however, Firefang had made a very odd face and refused to comment.

They went deeper into the town, keeping to the shadows and backstreets as much as possible. Firefang's steps were lightning quick; in the forest, she had often given off an air of boredom, but here she was very much alert, despite the deserted streets. Kasu was dogtrotting to keep up, swallowing a hundred new questions that had occurred to her and following Firefang's example of silence.

She had promised to stay close. But it was hard, as she saw things everywhere that interested her. Here, a human's home, with a strange black dog 'mon in the window, barking at her and Firefang; there, a stranger place, with openings that glittered oddly (Firefang said they were "windows" and that she shouldn't try to go through them) and with strange spidery bug things on the top that shone colors that hurt her eyes (Firefang said it was the name of the "store", whatever that was, and that the bugs were the "letters" making up the store name). She frequently lagged behind, often catching herself just in time to see Firefang disappear right around a corner and barely in time to catch up.

A flicker startled her - a sign of life in a town she had begun to think dead. She turned. The flicker had come from one of the human dwellings.

Without stopping to think, she slunk toward the fence, peering through the hole she'd originally seen the flicker through.

Nothing.

Curious, Kasu poked her head through the hole, then pulled the rest of her body through.

Still nothing.

She was in the backyard of a human home, she realized. There were strange objects everywhere, one of which caught her eye - a black-and-white ball, checkered, that moved easily when tapped with a paw. She batted it around for a moment, losing herself in the childish game, before something finally happened.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Startled, Kasu leaped up. She spun and found herself facing a pair of dark eyes in a red face.

"Uh - sorry, is this your ball?"

"Actually, no, it belongs to my human's niece," the big lizard-thing said. "I don't play with human toys."

"Right." Kasu noticed the tail-flame and finally identified the 'mon - a Charmeleon, scarred over one eye and hugely muscled. She wondered how close he was to evolution. "I'm sorry I trespassed..."

"It's not my lawn either," he shrugged. "But you probably shouldn't hang around here too long - my human doesn't want an Eevee, but his niece sure would." He sniffed the air. "You're not attached to any human, are you?"

"No, I came from the forest," she admitted.

"You need a bath, kid. What have you been rolling in?"

Kasu chose to ignore that. She went back to the hole and peered out. Something hit her right then.

"Oh no, I lost her!"

"Lost who?"

"Firefang - my friend. She knows the way, I don't..." Kasu sat down. She was honest enough with herself to admit that this was her fault, but she was still a little annoyed with Firefang for not waiting for her.

Then again, Firefang had been so intent on her search that she probably hadn't noticed that Kasu was gone yet. The young Eevee wasn't sure what to do.

"What business could a forest-born Eevee have in a human town?" the Charmeleon asked.

"We wanted directions to the range of... oh, I forgot her name. Firefang knew some 'mons here who knew the way..."

"Huh. I guess that makes sense. Who were these 'mons?"

"Meowths, I guess," Kasu said, sounding - and feeling - defeated.

"Meowths? Odd. I know the Meowths around here are always in and out of town, but I didn't think they made friends often."

"Well, Firefang's a Persian, so..." Kasu shrugged.

"That would make a difference." The Charmeleon sighed. "Well, I'd love to help you, but I don't know anything about this town. My human's only visiting."

"That's all right," Kasu said hurriedly.

"But I have heard tell that there's a Poochyena living in an alley two streets down that knows just about everything. Maybe he'll help you?"

"Really? Wow, thanks!" Kasu made as if to go through the fence, but stopped. "Uh, which way did you say it was?"

The Charmeleon pointed, a smile playing around his lips. "I'll wish you luck - you're going to need it. Remember - the alleyway two streets down, and if I were you, I'd hurry."

"Thank you so much, sir! I won't forget you helped me!" Kasu squeezed through the small opening and darted off.

As soon as she was gone, the Charmeleon shook his head.

"Good kid. A little odd, though. Now, was it two streets, or was it three? I hope it was only two." He thought about it for a while, then shrugged. "Oh well."

Kasu followed the Charmeleon's directions exactly, and found herself in a dingy alleyway, lined on both sides by overflowing dumpsters and trash cans. She picked her way down it, getting jumpier by the second.

"Hey!"

For the second time, she jumped in alarm. This time, however, she went face-to-face with a 'mon barely her size.

"Oh, it's just an Eevee," the black dog 'mon said dismissively. He sniffed the air. "A rather rank Eevee," he finished.

Kasu felt her fear melt into annoyance.

"Well, you don't exactly smell like a field of lilies yourself," she snapped.

The Poochyena glared at her.

"Say your piece and get out of my sight," he growled.

"I'm looking for the Meowths," Kasu said, emboldened by her success. "I have a friend who's looking for them."

"Huh, Meowths," the dog snorted. "I don't deal with cocky cats. I don't know where they are."

"But - but I was told you knew everything about this town."

"Nobody knows where the Meowths are. Except other Meowths." The Poochyena bared his fangs at her. "Get out of my alley, Eevee, or I'll make you leave."

Kasu decided not to press her luck. She backed out, careful not to present her back to the snarling dog. As soon as she was out of sight, she broke and ran, intending to return to the house where the Charmeleon had been.

She had gone several blocks before she realized she had no idea where she was.

"Now what?" she muttered to herself, fighting down her panic.

Well, she decided, the more she kept moving, the better her chances of encountering a Meowth or of finding the forest again. Sure, it would make it harder for Firefang to locate her (surely the Persian had realized she was missing by now) but she was sure that if she simply sat and waited, she'd eventually give in to the creeping panic.

Not to mention she'd eventually be found by some human, and that was the last thing she needed.

After several more hours, however, the eastern sky was beginning to lighten, and Kasu was growing very frightened. While she didn't run into any humans, she had also not seen any Meowths - nor had she seen any way that lead back to the forest where Tenebrae and Archimedes were waiting. There were now, occasionally, huge, growling, smelly, metallic monsters on the roads - the first such monster had borne down on her in the wee hours of the morning and came very close to ending her career permanently. After that encounter, she prudently avoided the road surface and stuck to the sidewalks, grass, and curbs where she could. Humans were starting to come out, and that fact worried Kasu more than anything. She had no desire to wind up as a pet this early in her quest, and she began to avoid the lighted areas and slink through alleyways filled with dirty 'mons and humans alike.

So, when a small paw tapped her shoulder, the tension all came to an immediate and painful apex.

"Eeee!"

This time, in her alarm, Kasu did a full back flip, right over her assailant's head and to the ground.

"Woah! Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." The other 'mon laughed. "You looked lost, so I thought you might like some help."

Kasu shook herself.

"Uh, well, that'd be..." She trailed off.

Her companion was an Eevee.

And her fur was silver.