Chapter 3: Trying to Make Amends

The picture was painful to look at.

Falco's expression in the picture was one he had not used in a long time. He and the flirtatious pink feline that once considered him a boyfriend looked happy in the picture; Falco was hugging Katt from behind and staring forward while Katt was staring affectionately at him.

Falco could make out the picture in the aura of the streetlight outside; he was wide-awake at 5:30 in the morning, unable to shake the memory of the despicable act that drove Katt away from him.

"Should I go over there? I really need to get this guilt off my chest." He sat up and rubbed his stinging eyes, his palms slapping the mattress in frustration. "What the hell am I thinking? Why kind of good would it do? I'm virtually screwed." These thought violently knocked around in his head as he paced his bedside and contemplated which decision he would ultimately choose. Rubbing his eyes once more, he threw on a white t-shirt and snatched a leather jacket out of his closet. His mind was made up.

"This isn't going to work. What chance do I have?"

Coincidentally enough, Katt Monroe was also awake. She was up preparing for her weekly workout, but the unanswered call from Falco still bothered her. She knew why he called, but something like what he did was something incapable of being forgiven. Still, a gut feeling lingered, one that told Katt to consider otherwise.

Baring sharp teeth with a huge yawn, Katt slipped on a black sports bra along with ridiculously short white silk shorts – shorts that revealed much of her sleek legs– with "Q-T" printed on the backside. She slung a short gray t-shirt over a shoulder and prepared a small breakfast in the kitchen of her single story house. She poured a glass of orange juice and heated up a blueberry muffin before sitting down at the small dining room table to put on her running shoes. Just as she removed the warm muffin from the microwave, the doorbell rang.

Katt looked at her watch, confused. "Who could be here at 5:45 in the morning?" She quickly bit off half the muffin and cautiously walked to the door. Katt slipped on the gray shirt – "Bay-B Gal" printed across the chest in yellow letters– and peered into the peephole. A somewhat tall shadow stood waiting patiently on the sidewalk under the pale glow of the streetlight. The shape of the shadow was all too familiar to Katt; as she stared at the figure, her paws tensed in trying to restrain herself from clawing the door. "Falco, what the hell do you think you're doing?" She whispered to herself. Taking a deep breath, Katt quietly opened the door. She leaned against the doorway and crossed her arms with an impatient, yet stoic expression.

"What do want, Falco?"

Falco whipped around in surprise, not having heard Katt open the door. "Katt! Um, I, uh, I – I need to tell you something."

Katt remained still. "You show up on my doorstep at 5:45 a.m. because you wanted to tell me something? Why? What's to say? What's done is done."

"Please, Katt, just listen…"

Katt straightened up and pointed. "No, you listen! What you did really hurt me, Falco. I don't think I can…"

"Hey! Shut up! I'm trying to sleep!"

Katt glared at the anonymous neighbor briefly before fixing her stare on Falco again. "You're gonna have to explain yourself. Get in."

Falco trudged into the house; Katt slammed the door behind her as Falco slumped onto the soft loveseat and lowered his head, disappointment etched on his face. Katt paced in front of the adjacent couch, arms crossed once again. "Falco, what compelled you to do what you did?"

"Katt, please bear with me…"

"I'm through with bearing with you, Falco!" Katt fumed. "I've put up with some of your shit before, but I have had it with you!"

"Please, Katt. I'm very sorry…"

"Sorry for what? Sorry that you didn't tell me sooner that you were FUCKING MY SISTER? I bet that's what you were doing for the last three weekends, wasn't it?" Falco rubbed his eyes. Katt had just figured him out. "I should've known. I should've FUCKING KNOWN!" Katt angrily kicked over a stand of tray tables. "What the hell compelled you to do that?"

Falco fiddled nervously with some tassels on a pillow. "The Bistro, it – it's too expensive for me, and…" Falco lowered his head. "I virtually have no money."

"WHAT THE HELL?" Katt collapsed on the recliner. "Why didn't you SAY anything?"

Falco swallowed hard. "Celia was in town and…she promised to get my money back." Falco paused to look at Katt who was staring in disbelief. "The rest is history."

Katt pressed the heels of her paws into her eyes, stunned by the news. "Oh my g… Falco, how could you do this?" Katt was visibly shaken and appeared as if she was about to break into tears. "You could've said, 'Katt, I don't have a lot of money. Can we please go somewhere else?' But no! You allowed yourself to be swindled by my sister, who, by the way, still lives with mom and dad!" Her voice began quivering with utter heartbreak. "Falco, I'm a girl. It's my nature to like expensive things, but communication is key! I wouldn't have minded going somewhere else, but you need to tell me these things!" Now Katt was visibly crying. "None of this would be happening right now!"

Falco felt a weird feeling in his stomach. Despite his rough exterior, seeing Katt in such a distressed state put a knot in Falco's stomach. Katt had grown on him and he felt guilty whenever she appeared hurt. "Katt, I'm sorry. I really am…" Katt threw a paw up to stop him.

"Just leave, Falco." She thrust a finger toward the door.

"But…"

"LEAVE!" Katt buried her face in her legs and cried some more.

Falco slowly stood up, rubbing his eyes. "Dammit, I just knew this wouldn't work." He walked to the door, passing Katt's huddled form as he reached for the handle. "Katt, please forgive…"

"Do me a favor and get out my life. I never want to see you again!"

Falco shut his eyes, utterly dejected and thoroughly depressed. He stepped out the door, letting a solitary tear trickle down his cheek.

"Dammit, Falco. I told you it wouldn't work."

That thought pounded his brain relentlessly the entire walk home. Problem was, he didn't want to go home, but he had nowhere else to go, with every one of his close peers preferring time to themselves. Late rent and the memory of him and Celia just angered him further.

"I wonder if Fox and Krystal are home. Anywhere else is better than being in this hellhole." Falco thought as he sulked up the stairs to his floor. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knock up ahead. Proceeding slowly, Falco saw the source of the knocking – a young white tomcat in a gray trench coat was knocking…on Falco's door.

"Dude, what the hell are you knocking on my door for?" Falco asked irritably.

The albino feline turned to Falco and smiled. "Ah, you must be Falco Lombardi. I'm glad to meet you." He extended a strong paw to the testy bird.

Falco slowly extended a hand toward the visitor. Something about him seemed odd. "Do I know you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Angora." Falco grasped Angora's paw and immediately grimaced as he felt Angora squeeze his hand tightly. "Your friend Katherine has told me a lot about you."

"Katt?" Falco lowered his brow in suspicion. "How do you know her?" Falco yanked away his sore hand and massaged it.

"She is just an acquaintance, but she is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." Falco noticed Angora's shit-eating grin. "Pity you treated her the way you did, my friend."

Falco was on the verge of fuming. "Look, pal. She may have told you my whole fucking life story for all I care, but I admit I did something wrong and I regret doing it."

Angora pursed his mouth. "You've got a bit of a temper there. Just don't let it get in the way of my plans."

Falco cocked a brow. "Plans? What kind of plans?"

Angora chuckled softly. "I can't tell you, but I'm sure your Katherine will be pleasantly surprised."

Falco was now glaring at Angora. He knew something was quirky about the white feline and wanted to warn Katt, but feared she wouldn't believe him. "Look, mister. Katt is a very special friend of mine and I'll be damned if I let you hurt her!"

Angora held his chin high, smiling. "Be careful what you say, mister Lombardi. It might come true." Falco kept his stern gaze locked on Angora as the cat walked away until he disappeared.

"Damn him!" Falco slammed the door closed inside his messy apartment. "I gotta warn Katt, but she won't talk to me anymore. I have to tell someone!" Falco pulled out his cell phone and dialed his best friend.

"Hello?"

"Fox, it's Falco."

"Hey, pal. What's up?"

"Are you and Krystal home yet?"

"Yeah. We just got in this morning."

"Good. I need to talk to you; it's important. I'll be right over."

KNOCK, KNOCK!

"Falco!"

Falco took off his sporty sunglasses. "Hey, Fox. I got here as soon as I could."

Fox closed the door after Falco entered. "You said it was important. What's wrong?"

Falco sat down on the couch. "I think Katt's in trouble but she doesn't realize it yet."

"What makes you say that?" Fox took a bite out of an apple and sat down across from his friend.

"I ran into this guy at my apartment who said knew her" Falco continued. "It looked like he had something…" Falco waved his hands around trying to find a certain word, "weird on his mind."

Fox noticed Krystal walking in with a towel wrapped around her, dripping wet. "Did he say anything?"

Falco watched Krystal sit down next to Fox. "He said he had a 'pleasant' surprise for her, and the way he said it sounded very foreboding."

Krystal crossed her legs. "What was his name? What did he look like?"

"His name was Angora and he was a white cat in a gray trench coat." Falco said. "Why?"

"Because I bumped into someone at the resort hotel the other day who looked just like that." Krystal said. "My staff reacted to him."

"I take it that's not a good thing."

"It only reacts the way it did when it encounters a certain kind of evil." Krystal informed Falco. "But I don't recall what kind of evil."

Fox grinned, hoping to cheer Falco up. "Wow, Falco. Your intuition is actually right this time!"

"Dammit, Fox. Katt's in trouble and I need you to help me!" Falco shouted.

Fox replaced his smile with a look of concern. "Okay, okay. What do you want us to do?"

Falco calmed his tone of voice. "I need you to warn Katt for me."

"Why us?"Fox asked. Falco slouched back and looked away. Fox saw the look on his face and knew immediately what was wrong. "You had an argument, didn't you?"

Although Falco didn't answer, his expression proved Fox correct. "Fox, please do this for me. I lost her trust because I made the worst mistake of my life."

"Falco, you got yourself into this mess; you're gonna have to get yourself out of it."

"But she'll believe you!" Falco pleaded. "She's known you longer than she has me!"

Krystal grabbed one of Fox's paws and whispered to him. "Fox, we really should help him. Falco's really distressed about this."

Fox rubbed his temples. He was really hoping Falco would take care of the problem himself. "Okay, Falco. We'll see what we can do and tell you if we find anything."

Falco displayed a look of indifference, too depressed to show any hint of emotion. "Cool. Later."

Katt sulked on her bed. She had been hoping to work out, but Falco showing up with the news he brought took all her energy away. The day definitely did not start out the way Katt had hoped; nothing, she believed, was going to rescue her from her emotional funk. Too bad the day wasn't over.

DING DONG!

The pink feline moaned. "Go away! I don't wanna talk to you!" She turned over and hid her head under her pillow. She didn't, however, hear the front door open and close quickly. Katt jerked up when a familiar paw touched her back. Angora stood in front of her with a paw hidden behind him. Katt clumsily wiped her eyes dry as she sat up.

"Good morning, Katherine." Angora said with a disarming smile. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."

Katt attempted to straighten her wavy white hair. "No, no, uh, of course not, babe. Come right in." She attempted a weak smile when she saw Angora hiding something behind him. "You got a present for me, hon?"

Angora whipped the present out from behind him. What he held in his paw was a magnificent floral bouquet of arrow-leaved violets. "Surprised?"

Katt was awestruck. Her blue eyes were wide with amazement as she took the flowers in her trembling paws. "Oh, Angora. They're amazing!" She inhaled deeply the sweet aroma and sighed. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Angora sat down next to Katt and hugged her close with one arm. She felt incredibly warm in his hold. "Katherine, I deeply regret that you have suffered through this troublesome episode." He grinned slyly. "But I want you to know that you can trust me with anything."

Fox frowned and shook his head. He and Krystal sat in his dark-colored sports car across the street from Katt's house. "Falco, you really need to take care of your own problems." Fox pulled his hi-def device from the backseat and focused on the house. They had followed the ominous signal from Krystal's staff.

"I hope this guy shows up soon, Krys. I'd like to see what we're up against."

Krystal pounded a fist on the dashboard in frustration. "Damn! I know I've encountered this feeling before, but where?"

Fox continued to look on in hopelessness. All of a sudden, he saw him. Angora walked out the door with an ugly, satisfied grin. Fox anxiously tapped Krystal's shoulder. "There he is! I see him! Get down, quick!" Krystal ducked out of sight and Fox did the same but kept his leery stare on the white feline as Angora walked by. Fox narrowed his eyes as something on Angora caught his eye: two abnormal bumps in the back of trench coat. "Oh, damn. We're dealing with some sort of freak!"

"Fox, is everything okay? Is he gone?" Fox turned and saw worry written in Krystal's aqua-blue eyes.

Fox looked back out the car. "Yeah. He's…" BEEEEP! Bewildered, Fox reached into the console for his cell phone.

"Fox, what are you doing outside my house?" It was Katt. She was peering through the blinds and down the road where Fox's car was located.

The vulpine was struck dumb. "Katt! Uh, um, I uh…" Fox continued trying to utter an excuse while Katt snickered from her house. Krystal just shook her head.

"Fox, you're a terrible liar, so save it. What do you want?"
Fox was about to answer when Krystal interrupted. "Can we come in?"

"Oh, hi Krys. I guess you can since you guys are already here."

Krystal and Fox emerged from the car and walked the ½ block to Katt's house. As they approached, Krystal kept a steady paw near her staff, ready for anything suspicious.

"Well, Fox. What's the problem?" Katt straightened out her workout shirt and sat on the couch. Krystal, on the other hand, went to investigate other parts of the house. "Where is she going?"

Fox sat down next to Katt, ignoring the second question. "Look, Katt. I won't beat around the bush. We're here about your boyfriend."

"Angora?" Katt sounded surprised. "How do you know him?"

"Falco ran into him this morning and told me."

Katt snorted at the sound of her ex's name and spoke in contempt. "Oh, he told you THAT, but did he tell you he CHEATED on me?"

Fox grimaced. "Ouch. No he didn't. Sorry."

"Don't apologize for him." Katt snapped. "He stuck me in the gutter for a month while he…" She stopped when Fox rested a paw on her shoulder.

"Katt, I know you're mad at Falco, but he's not what's important right now. We're here about Angora."

"What about him?"

"We think he has something bad planned for you."

Katt's voice said she was not convinced, but smiled anyway. "Really? What else did Falco tell you to say?"

Fox sighed. "Katt, please. You're one of my best friends. Falco cares about you as much as I do and he wouldn't have warned me if he didn't care."

Katt looked away from Fox's stare. "Fox, I love you as a friend, but after what Falco did to me, I can't trust him anymore."

Fox scooted closer to Katt and put an arm around her. "But I do. Don't you care anymore that he's worried about your safety?"

"If he's so worried about me, then why doesn't he tell me himself?"

Fox had to think for a moment. "Because he's afraid you won't talk to him anymore."

Countless feelings of longing raced through Katt's heart and body, but maintained composure. She wasn't going to let Falco's seemingly empty warnings affect her. "If that bird thinks I'll just forget every rotten thing he's done, then he better think again! Angora's treated me better than that jackass ever has!" She threw Fox's arm off and began crying. Fox bent over and hugged the depressed feline, speaking softly.

"Katt, you have every reason to be mad at Falco, but I trust him, and you trust me. Right?" Katt slowly nodded. "At least be careful. We all care about you and we'd feel guilty if something happened to you. Could you do that, please?"

Katt turned and looked at Fox through teary eyes, smiling. "You bet, babe."

Smirking, Fox patted Katt's back as he stood up, just as Krystal emerged from one of the rooms. She had something in her hand but waited until she and Fox had left before showing him.

"Look at this, Fox." Krystal said. She held up the object – one of the bouquet flowers.

Fox shrugged. "It's an arrow-leaved violet. So what?"

"Smell it, Fox."

Fox reluctantly inhaled the fragrance; it was extremely sweet and smelled sugary. "Damn, that's a strong odor!"

"It's also not normal." Krystal stated. "Violets don't smell as much as these do."

Fox rubbed his chin. "I'm willing to bet this violet didn't come from Corneria."

"Then where did it come from?"

Fox grinned as he stepped into his car. "I know just the hare who knows!"

"Master! Master! We have disturbing news!" Lord Cephil appeared panicked inside the purple mist.

Angora sat in the dark corner of his hotel room. "Calm yourself, Cephil. What is it?"

Cephil calmed somewhat but still appeared worried. "Your queen, sir! Someone is trying to take away your queen!"

Displeasure etched itself on Angora's face. "What? Who is it?"

"His name is Fox McCloud, master. He has close contacts with your queen."

Although the news disturbed Angora somewhat, he appeared calm. "I am not worried, Cephil. Everything will be fine."

Cephil was perplexed. "But your queen, master! McCloud wishes to steal your queen! How can everything be fine?"

A diabolic smile pierced Angora's slim mouth. "Because tonight's the night."

More to come in Chapter 4!