Wandering the deserted Hollywood streets, Danny had no idea where he was going. All he knew is that his feet kept moving, and along with them, so did he. From the Chinese Theater, he found himself in the Hollywood Hills, where the sprawling mansions of the stars speckled the sides of the iconic rolling bluffs.
A car whizzed past him, a pink and purple limousine. He watched it dash out of sight in the direction of Darla Dimple's mansion. Gritting his teeth, Danny pressed on, now with a destination in mind.
He reached the front gate, golden bars towering skyward over his already short stature. Luckily for him, they were designed to keep humans out, not cats, and his limber body was able to sneak right through one of the larger gaps in the gate. Creeping up the front drive, he watched as Darla's old manservant, Max, stepped out of the limo. He had hoped that he had seen the last of the hulking behemoth at the premiere of Little Ark Angel, but apparently fate had other plans. He crouched behind a bush, hoping he hadn't been spotted.
Max held the door open for Darla, who pranced into her sprawling home without a second thought. Max followed, although he gave the grounds a quick once over from the door before closing the door behind him. Once the coast was clear, Danny began to slowly crawl closer to the house.
He reached a window, and peered over the ledge to see Darla in the process of putting her trademark curls in rollers. Looking for a way in without being detected, Danny noticed a trestle along another wall, covered in white roses. Giving little thought to the flowers, he crawled up the trestle to the second story, right up next to a window. Once there, he repositioned his back paws to strengthen his balance, and pulled up on the window.
It wasn't nearly as tight as he had expected. His overcompensation sent the window launching upwards, thudding against its frame loudly. Biting his lip, Danny quickly jumped into the window, just barely pulling in his tail before he heard another window opening. Judging by the growling he heard, Danny assumed that Max's head was looking up toward the second story window. Hoping with all his might that Max wouldn't be able to see it was open, he pressed on.
Entering the hallway, Danny couldn't help but notice how many pictures Darla had of herself around her mansion. The last time he was here, he had stars in his eyes and was completely ignorant to most of what was going on around him, but now, he noticed every single portrait. While on one hand he too wished he was famous enough to have that many pictures taken of him, the amount of vanity he saw was sickening.
"...and Max, get Dagmouse on the phone," a familiar voice ordered from downstairs. As Danny neared the grand staircase, Darla's piercing voice was all too easy to pick out.
"Yes, Miss Dimple..." Max droned in his usual fashion. Obviously, not much had changed about him. Danny could hear the sound of a dialer, and a ruffle of fabric as Max walked the phone over to Darla.
"Hello there, Wilby!" Darla began sweetly. The way her voice his Danny's ears reminded him of the time he dipped a sucker he had gotten for his birthday in a bag of brown sugar. Sickeningly sweet.
There was a pause as Darla listened to Dagmouse's response.
"What do you mean, losing money? Where?" Darla's voice had quickly abandoned her faux charm in exchange for anger. "Boycott? What are you talking about?"
Danny's ears perked up. A boycott? Maybe things aren't so bad after all.
"You're telling me that the most popular cartoon character in America is losing money because of me? How dare you! If your little studio goes under, that's your problem, not mine. It doesn't matter anyways, it's time to begin the final stage of our plan."
Darla slammed the phone down onto the receiver. "Max," she called, angrily, "come get the phone." Danny, grinning to himself, turned around to leave. Unfortunately, he found herself face to face with the towering mass of humanity that was Max.
"Here, kitty, kitty..." Max said slowly, allowing his face to twist into a terrifying grin as he gripped Danny in his massive fist.
As Sawyer crawled into bed, she wrapped herself around a pillow, attempting to get comfortable. Satisfied for a moment, she placed her head against it... then rolled over. And attempted to do the same on her other side. That didn't work either. Sprawling out across the bed on her back, Sawyer let out a sad 'mew,' the first time she had actually meowed in some time.
"Danny..." she sighed, wrapping her arms around herself the way he would. It was no substitute, but it would have to do.
"Welcome back to my lovely home, Mr. Kitty Cat."
Danny, coming around after he had been knocked unconscious by Max, barely heard Darla's condescension. He looked down to find his arms and legs bound by rope to a chair, the same chair he had sat in months ago when he had visited Darla before.
"I trust you remember, Max," she motioned behind Danny. He looked up to see Max looking down on him, waving with a sick grin on his deformed face. Danny looked away from that horrifying scene as quick as his neck would allow.
"What do you want from us, Darla?" Danny demanded, struggling to get free from his ties. Darla gave Max a nod, who promptly gave the ropes a tug, tightening Danny's bonds. Darla laughed as Danny coughed from air restriction.
"Silly cat, you think I'd actually want something from you and your dopey friends," Darla said, beaming as she walked closer to Danny. "I lost everything I had at Mammoth Pictures. My contracts, my yes-men, my product endorsements... You and your pest friends caught me off guard, I'll admit. But soon everything that you've done will be for nothing."
"What are you talking about?" Danny asked. Darla pulled a poster from under her table and unfurled it in front of Danny. It showed a cartoon representation of animals marching in unison, under the banner of a metallic hawk and the German flag.
"What is this?" he asked, genuinely confused. Darla shook her head sadly.
"Poor, ignorant animal. You obviously haven't been following what's been going on in Europe, have you?"
Danny had a sudden flashback to the newsreels he had to appear in under his contract to RKO Pictures. He had paid it no mind, too busy thinking about his big break in the industry to realize the gravity of what was going on across the Atlantic. After all, he was too young to remember the Great War, and his father had never talked about it in front of him or his siblings.
"War is brewing, Danny. People are going to get scared. People are going to think that there are enemies everywhere, waiting to strike from within. And where do people get their news?" Danny was too petrified to respond, he knew exactly what Darla was hinting at. "The movies, silly. And now, newsreels across the nation are going to paint animals as a threat to truth, justice, and... well, all that jazz." Danny's face twisted into a scowl. Not because he was particularly worried about her plan, more with the glee she took in explaining it to him.
"People will never believe that! Maybe here in Hollywood it's different, but where I come from, humans and animals live in harmony!"
"Don't underestimate the power of fear, Danny. Your neighbors and friends would turn you over in a heartbeat to save themselves, if it came to that. And with the power of RKO and Wilbur Dagmouse, it will come to that. Your friends will be rounded up and caged like the beasts that they are."
Danny, speechless, could only stare at the propaganda poster in front of him. Suddenly, everything that Wooly had told him began to sink in. "Do you realize the gravity of what we did at Mammoth Studios?" echoed through his mind in a nonstop loop, only breaking when Darla spoke again.
"Of course, you won't have to worry about that," she said, rolling up the poster. Danny looked at her, confused. "No, I can't risk you ruining my plans again, Mr. Kitty. They say that curiosity killed the cat, don't they? I think it's time I treated you like the unwanted kitten you are."
Danny's eyes widened in horror just as Max yanked on his ropes, breaking the chair he was bound to. Suddenly free, Danny attempted to run, but found himself swept up into a burlap sack. Panicked, he clawed at the bag, but it was no use. Max tied off the bag, sealing him inside with no escape.
Darla innocently walked out of the room, waving despite the fact that Danny couldn't see her. "So long, Danny. Have a nice swim!" The sound of her cackles echoed through the mansion, the last thing Danny heard before he felt a swift kick and was knocked out once again.
When he came to, Danny was still in the burlap sack. He could feel the surface below him vibrating, leading him to assume he was inside Darla's limousine. He knew all too well his destination, and tried to shove it from his mind. But he found just how difficult it was to ignore the inevitable.
I'm going to die.
He clenched his paws, attempting to swallow his sadness. He thought of Sawyer, and the look in her eyes as he had walked away from her, how she called out after him and he ignored her... He wondered how she would feel when he never returned, how the last thing he said to her was so negative...
He drew his claws and tried scratching against the burlap again. Over and over, he dug his claws into the bag, trying to rip even just a tiny hole in the tough material. He soon realized how futile trying was, his claws had been filed down by the RKO Hair and Makeup department in preparation for Heart of Darkness filming. He curled up in a ball, unable to think of anything better to do with his time.
The sack hit against something hard, and Danny took most of the impact. From what he could tell, Max had slammed on the brakes. Then he heard the sound of a car door, then another.
This is it.
He felt as the sack was lifted from wherever he had been kept. The backseat? The trunk? Not that it really mattered at this point. He could feel himself being carried, at first by the top of the sack, and then he felt himself lifted into Max's massive arms. He could feel the length of Max's stride, and hear the sound of buoys off in the distance. The sound of lapping waves started faint at first, but grew in intensity as he neared the ocean.
Then something happened that startled Danny beyond belief. Suddenly, he felt Max's hand against the bag as well. At first he thought that Max was attempting to make sure Danny was still unconscious, but then the pressure of his hand let up. Then returned again. Then let up again. The rhythm was undeniable, Max was petting Danny.
Danny wasn't sure what to think. He chalked it down to his head being kicked one too many times, and curled up into a tighter ball.
Then came the sound of creaking wood. Max had reached a pier, and with every step, the sound of wood under immense pressure filled Danny's ears. He silently pleaded for it to stop violating his ear drums, but his heart sank when he realized what would happen when it finally did end. The sound of stressed wood began to slow as Max reached the end of the pier, finally coming to a stop. Danny winced, expecting to be tossed into the merciless waves without a second thought at any moment.
After a few seconds, Danny's heart was ready to burst. The suspense, waiting for the drop into the water, the feeling of his blood pumping far too fast through his veins, it was too much. Then he heard the sound of Max sniffing, and felt his arm move as he wiped his nose.
Was he having second thoughts about going through with it? Maybe Darla's manservant didn't have the heart to kill him!
With what strength he had left, Danny gasped out, "You don't have to do this, Max."
With a heavy sigh, Max replied, "Yes, I do." Danny felt the vibrations of the words against Max's gargantuan chest, and also down his spine. "Goodbye, kitty," Max added sadly as he allowed the burlap sack to leave his arms. Danny let out one last 'meow' before the bag hit the water and slowly began to fill.
Terrified, Danny tried to focus on one last happy memory. One last memory to close the show on. He remembered Sawyer, on the streetcar, picking him up after what was the happiest day of his life. He remembered suddenly kissing her, and her responding. Her voice had been so timid, so frightened, as she asked him "Why did you do that?"
"Because I wanted to," Danny whispered, shivering as the water filled the bag. "I wanted to."