Over the next few days Strong Bad started to get use to being a cat. Homestar kept forgetting to buy him cat food, so he'd end up being fed whatever the athlete was going to eat. During the day Homestar seemed like the same silly headed dork he remembered so well, but during the nights was a different story.
On one such night Strong Bad slipped into the bedroom to look for Homestar. He had previously fallen asleep on a windowsill and didn't catch when the human got home. Apparently he had gotten home, left out some leftovers on the floor for the cat, then it got late so he went to bed. Strong Bad licked his lips of leftover dinner before he bounded up onto the bed.
Homestar lay in a tangle of blankets, curled up in a strange position. The tabby just rolled his eyes and padded over. "Man, what a loser. Hey Dorkerson, you'll get a cramp that way..."
"S... Strong Bad.... No..." The young man tossed suddenly, as though he was trying to get away. He almost knocked the cat over too.
"Watch it Homestar!" Strong Bad raised his claws, tempted to slash his current housemate awake. He stopped when he heard Homestar cry out.
"Strong Bad! Watch out!... " Homestar whimpered and curled in tighter. "I'll save... Hold on. Uhn, almost there... Almost..."
"Huh?" Strong Bad put the paw down and tilted his head at the sleeping human. He sounded panicked, and a little guilty somehow. He took a deep breath and walked over, reluctantly rubbing his face against Homestar's sweaty brow.
With a gasp Homestar woke up and looked wide eyed at the green orbs before him. "W-w-who?" Strong Bad began purring. "Strong Bad? I thought you wanted to sleep by the window... Were you worried about me?"
"No way, I just..." Strong Bad turned to go, but was swept closer to the warm human. "Ok, seriously, let go." He growled.
"I'm glad you're back, Strong Bad. Nothing around here's been the same since you went missing." Between the soft words and the gentle hugging Strong Bad stopped growling and returned to purring. "I guess I've never really believed you were gone for good. A lot happened since you disapeared..."
"Oh, like what?" The purring stopped again for a moment.
The athlete looked away as he he held the soft cat in his bare arms. He was silent for a moment, which was very unlike the Homestar he was suppose to be. Strong Bad perked a little, looking over to those half lidded eyes and furrowed eyebrow ridges. It almost seemed like Homestar was blaming himself for Strong Bad's disapearance, but that couldn't be right. Homestar never took the blame for anything.
"I should have been worried about him. Strong Bad rarely left home for too long. Between his email show and his video games... " Finally came the quiet voice, barely breaking the heavy silence. "Strong Bad..."
"Hey, how were you suppose to know I wasn't on some adventure for the fans?" Strong Bad tilted his head as he thought on it. "It's not just your fault no one was worried. If anything my brothers are more to blame than you." He couldn't believe he was even thinking it, but it was true. He lived with them, after all.
Finally Homestar slipped out of bed, leaving the feline wrestler behind. "Maybe Marzipan's right. You're not Strong Bad... You're just a cat with the same coloured eyes as him."
"No!" Strong Bad followed as the athletic young man walked out of the bedroom. He callled over, almost moaning for attention. "I am Strong Bad! I am! Come on, man, I proved it before."
Homestar stopped in the kitchen, grabbing a glass and pouring himself some water from the faucet. Strong Bad glared, looking around for another way to prove himself. He paced a moment, glancing over to make sure his only human hope was still there. Finally he walked over and slashed Homestar's ankle out of frustration.
"Ah~!" Homestar crumpled to the floor, dropping the glass in favor of grabbing his torn open ankle. The glass shattered spilling glass and water across the floor beside him. Strong bad looked wide eyed down at his paw, backing off at a bit of limp, holding his bloodied paw up. Then his eyes slowly rose to look into the black orbs looking back at him.
"Holy crap, Homestar, I'm... I'm sorry man..."
Homestar's eyes widened as he watched the cat turn and race towards the bedroom. Slowly the gears within the young man's head began to turn. Did he just hear his cat speak in Strong Bad's voice.
"Strong Bad?"
The tabby didn't look back, he had to get out of there. He didn't belong here, in this world. He didn't belong. The words spinned in his head as he squeezed out of the bedroom's open window and ran down the street. He didn't stop until he found his way to the Strong home.
What he found nearly stopped his tiny feline heart.
The house was there, but weeds surrouned it. The windows were lined with dust, even in the dark he could see the thick layer. But what really stopped him in his tracks was the police tape striped across the front door. He slowly stood in front of the abandoned house, once his home and felt his breathing labor. If he could he would have cried.
"W-what happened here?" For a long time there was silence. Then he heard the mailbox creaking under pressure. Slowly he turned his head and saw Homestar standing there. His one leg was quickly and sloppily bandaged, which he was obviously limping because. With ears flattened Strong Bad slunk over and sat in front of him.
"Strong Mad and Strong Sad don't live here anymore." Homestar knelt down and put his hand gently on the tabby's head. "Shortly after you disapeared Strong Sad tried to..." He looked like he was having a hard time saying it. "... Kill himself. The police stepped in and both your brother's ended up in a mental hospital."
"All this because I... Disapeared?" Strong Bad sighed, looking back over to the house. "What about The Cheat?"
"The Cheat moved in with Pom Pom, actually." Homestar gave him a half shrug.
"Wait, you can understand me now?" Strong Bad looked back with wide eyes. "Like actually hear what I'm saying... Or thinking out loud?"
"Yeah..." Homestar slowly stood and headed back towards his house. Strong Bad followed at a slightly brisk pace. "When you said sorry for hurting me I heard you. That's part of the reason why I came after you."
"How is it you hear me now, but now before?" The rusty coloured cat wondered outloud.
Homestar stopped a moment. "I don't know. Maybe 'cause you apologized for like the first time ever." He looked down to Strong Bad and then down to his leg. "You've hurt me plenty of times and never felt sorry. You've knocked me out I don't know how many times."
"Yeah... But you're kinda bigger than me now. You could have hurt me back worse then I ever could... In this form of course." Strong Bad twitched his tail in thought before turning back to him. "Then again, you could have hurt me back anytime before I was a cat.
"Right, right. But you're my friend. I never wanted to." Homestar began to limp again. "Let's get home, I still have to clean up that water and glass."
"Too bad I can't help..." Strong Bad snickered. "Having no imposable thumbs anymore and all."
"Its ok, you'll just get cut again."
"Huh?" Strong Bad stopped, finally noticing his neck was stinging a little. He glanced down and finally noticed the blood trail he was making, little droplets staining the grass and his cream coloured front. "Whoa... I... Suddenly don't feel so good..."
Homestar gently picked him up and he felt his feet stumbling beneath him. "Its ok, man. I got you."
He got the cat home as quickly as he limp would permit, cleaned and dressed the little cut, then put Strong Bad on the bed and redressed his own wound better. "Welp, night Strong Bad."
The tabby said nothing, quite exhausted.
The next morning the warm smell of cinnomon and sugar woke Strong Bad. He felt a bit better from last night, though the guilt of striking his host still twinged in the back of his head, not to mention his brother's predictiment. He slowly got up, stretching long before he stepped down and wandered into the kitchen.
Homestar munched on a slice of toast thick with cinnomon and sugar. His ear was against a phone and he nodded to the voice on the other end. When he saw the cat he smiled, lowering the mouth peice.
"Oh, hey Strong Bad. I made you up some toast here, with butter." Then he turned his attention to whoever he was talking. "No, I'm talking to my cat... So Marzi talked to you, huh? Well I'm not crazy..."
Strong Bad jumped up onto the counter and found the mentioned toast, still warm and cut into mouthsized bits. He glared at the phone before he began to eat. "Who's the loser your talking to?"
"Pom Pom. I can't go in for sports with his bum ankle. So I'm going to stay home and watch tv with you." He heard the voice over the phone, even if it was hard to tell if it was words or bubbles. "Well it hurts. I won't be on top of my game if... Oh, but..."
Homestar sighed in frustration. "Ok, Pom-dog. I'll be there in a few minutes..." He finally hung up and looked down to the tabby Strong Bad. "I guess I'll have to head in anyways." Then he seemed to get an idea. "Hey, wanna come?"
"Hmmm?" Strong Bad thought a moment, then nodded. "Sure, I have nothing better to do, except nap of course, but I can do that over there too."
They arrived at the feild where a large crowd was, both on the bleachers and on the feild itself. Strong Bad stopped short as he looked over, having not seen so many people since The Cheat made a successful pizza place. Homestar didn't stop until he reached the benches, where Pom Pom and Coach Z were waiting.
"Hey guys." Homestar chirped as he limped over. "See? I told you I was a little useless."
Pom Pom shrugged. "I just wanted you here, buddy. Even if you weren't playing. You've been spending a lot of time distant from the team." He motioned to the team, a lot of faces Strong Bad didn't reconize.
Coach Z noticed the cat following behind the young athlete. "When did you get derr pet, Hormstar?"
Pom Pom frowned. "Please tell me you didn't bring 'Strong Bad' with you..."
With an unimpressed look Homestar sweeped the tabby up and held him close. "I did. You have a problem with that?"
"Yes, actually I do." Came the curt reply in his somewhat heavy accent. Strong Bad frowned at the large athlete with blonde and red hair. He was expecting a bubbling sound to come out, not english. He snuffed.
"I liked you better when you were a fat balloon man..." He snuffed before hiding his face in Homestar's arm.
"What are you talking about Strong Bad?" Homestar quietly asked, getting strange looks from both his team mate and coach.
"So yer talkin to yer cat now?" Coach Z pale silver eyes looked over to Pom Pom before back to Homestar. "What did he say?"
"Nothing, he's a cat." Pom Pom instantly retorted, turning to the coach. "We have a game to win."
Homestar just frowned and sat on the bench, petting Strong Bad with swift strokes. "Doesn't anyone believe us?" He quietly asked.
"Hey, don't talk to me while you're in front of everyone. You'll look crazy man, and I don't want to be ta... Er you don't want them to take me from you, do you?" Strong Bad looked up as he got off and sat beside Homestar. "Come on man, this has to be our little secret."
"But Strong Bad," Homestar quietly lisped before he turned away. "I'm not crazy..."
"No, not this time." The cat said as he began to look at his front paw. He was slightly tempted to lick it, but that seemed unsanitary. "But someone's bound to lock you up if you keep talking to me like I'm my usual manly self. I'm a cat, normally cat's don't speak english. Heck The Cheat doesn't even speak 'da english."
Homestar went quiet, deciding Strong Bad was right, he didn't want to be locked away and he didn't want them to take his new cat away. Although he wondered what Strong Bad was talking about with The Cheat not speaking english. Sure the small guy didn't speak good english, as he often mumbled, but he still spoke the same language as everyone else did. He slowly began to passively watch the game, frowning at his friends before looking elsewhere boredly, and feeling a little unwell
Marzipan paced, phone in hand ringing. After Pom Pom reported Homestar acting even stranger with the cat, at the game non the less, she had to call someone. She never thought she'd talk to him again, but Strong Sad admittingly knew all sorts of things about everything.
Finally the phone picked up and a professional sounding voice replied. "Forest veiw mental hospital?"
"I'd like to speak to Sad, Strong?" She quickly stated to the receptionist.
"One moment." Came the reply. A few moments later she heard the almost comforting whiny tone of Strong Sad.
"This is Strong Sad... I wasn't expecting a call at all, so who is this?"
"Marzipan. Hi Strong Sad." She smiled despite herself. "How have you been."
"The doctor says I'm doing better." There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Strong Sad cleared his throat. "Is there something you called for?"
Marzipan sighed. "I've been having some problems, with Homestar... But before I get into that," She bit her lip before continuing. "Do you believe in reincarnation?"
Meanwhile...
Pom Pom helped Homestar home, the limp still pretty bad in the evening as it was in the morning before the game. He had taken his pale friend out for dinner, hoping to get something out of him. Unfortunetly he got nothing to help him figure out why Homestar seemed to think the cat was dead Strong brother. Halfway through dinner he gave up.
They were quiet as they got up to the front door. Strong Bad sat in front of the door, glaring at two. Pom Pom glared back, looking half tempted to kick the cat.
"Are you going to be alright, Homestar?" He asked, turning his attention from the tabby to the young man. "Maybe you should let me see that foot. It might be infected."
"No... Its fine. Thanks Pom Pom... I'll see you on Wedsday. I'll be fine by then." Homestar muttered as he went and opened his door, letting in Strong Bad. "Besides we took first aid together, right?"
"I guess your right." Pom Pom sighed. "I'll call you tommorow, though, just in case. We're all worried about you, Homestar."
"Don't be. I'm fine." Came the reply before the pale man walked in and closed the door behind him. He walked over to kitchen and put the left over on the counter, open. "Here, Strong Bad. I'm turning in..."
Outside the door Pom Pom remained for a moment. He sighed. "Maybe if you actually cried for him, you'd be able to let him go..." Then he quietly left.
Strong Bad jumped onto the counter and began eating. "Mmm, good idea, man. You don't seem to be sleeping well."
Homestar closed the door behind him, before going over to the bed. Gently he undid the bandaging and looked down at the thick scratch. It was no longer bleeding, obviously, but the red scabs were surrounded by greenish puss under the skin. Homestar sighed, looking away for a second.
"Its all an illusion, isn't it?" He quietly questioned, tears filling his eyes. "That's not Strong Bad out there... I'm just making it all up like everyone thinks." He quickly shook his head, crying out in frustration and getting up. "No... Its Strong Bad, it has to be!" He walked out. "Strong Bad!"
The cat looked up with lasagna dangling from his whiskers. "What?" He stared at the man with wide emerald eyes.
"What's the absolute last think you remember?"
"Huh?" Strong Bad looked down again. "I told you already... Er I think I did." He gave it a thought. "I remember getting ready for Halloween, then suddenly I'm facing the headlights of some Cristine car. "
"Yeah..." Homestar muttered as he leaned against the counter, the rush from before quickly leaving him. "Hmm..."
Strong Bad waited a moment before going back to eating. He gave it a long thought. When he was finally done he began to unconsciously lick off his whiskers with his paw. "You know..." He began between licks. "Maybe your girlfriend and Strong Sad did this to me. It seems like a witchcrafty thing, doesn't it?"
"Only during halloween and only as a fun thing..."
"Yeah, but during halloween, man. You don't think that's more than a coinisedance?" Strong Bad pushed the left over carton away from him and smirked a cattish grin. "You never know, they might have wanted to get rid of me."
Homestar shook his head, not finding the humour in the idea. "..." He stood up and shook his head again, slower, going back to his room. Strong Bad jumped down, only to get the bedroom door closed on him. He frowned.
"Come on, man! Let me in." The tabby moaned, glaring at the wooden door. He was answered with silence. "I'll be incredibly annoying if you don't let me in!"
Suddenly an explosion rang out from the other room. In a burst of gold flames Strong Bad's fur raised and he desperately pawed at the door. "Homestar! Homestar we have to get out of the house!"
When he received no answer Strong Bad growled and began to throw his weight against the door, but to no avail. The flames kept closer and the house was beginning to fill with smoke. "This is serious, Homestar! Answer me~!"
With still no reply Strong Bad was quickly figuring something was horribly wrong. He looked around, but could barely see anything over his head, and very little around him. He was beginning to cough a little too. He hurried as fast as he could over to the door, and ended up knocking a lamp over. It hit the window, shattering it. That gave Strong Bad an idea.
Slipping through the broken pane, not caring if he cut himself on the way out, Strong Bad rushed around the house to the bedroom window. It was still open, just enough for him to squeeze through.
When he got into the bedroom the fire was creeping under the door. Homestar was laying in bed on his stomach, pale and sweating. The cat hurried over to his side and shook him. "Homestar? We have to get out of here. Your house is on fire, man!"
He only got a bit of a mumble for a reply. Strong Bad looked at him through the smoke, before touching his nose to the man's cheek. Homestar was quickly burning up with fever.
"How..." The cat shook his head, begining to feel dizzy from the smoke. He rammed his head into Homestar's neck. "This is a crappy time to get sick, man. Get up or you'll..." He snarled. "You're not dying, not on my watch!"
Something cracked above them. When Strong Bad looked up a rafter crashed through the ceiling and down on Homestar. He jumped back before quickly getting back on the bed. Homestar finally opened his dark eyes and looked over to the wide eyed cat. "St..." Was all he could manage before his chest heaved under the heavy block of burning wood, and he went limp again.
"Homestar?" Strong Bad padded acrossed the bed as quickly as he could, until he stepped in something moist. He lifted his front paw and looked down at the deep coloured liquid that stained the bed. Quivering Strong Bad shook his head. "No... Homestar..." The puddle of darkness spread across the wrinkled sheets.
With the house burning around him, and his only chance dying before him Strong Bad could only think of one thing to do. He cried out for help.