It was early morning in the Capital. The birds were chirping, the breeze was gentle and cool, the city was bustling with activity like always, and the group of mismatched personalities were starting to wake up and begin their morning routines. Caleb stretched his arms up high and got out of bed, heading over to his dresser/vanity combo and picking out his outfit for the day. With a yawn, he headed into the bathroom, not even acknowledging Purdy sleeping on the top of the door frame.

The pink Persian let out a quiet meow mixed with a yawn, stretching as she rolled right off. Thankfully, she landed on her feet like nothing happened, her small and innocent face looking around the dimly lit bedroom. Light poured in from the windows, with a waking Gladius making his way towards the door towards the hallway.

Purdy's tongue stuck out cutely as she headed that way, only to be halted when something long and bendy wrapped around her body and held her up. Looking behind her, she pouted at the culprit, her brother, Maple.

The Wasabi Whip gave his sister a stern look, with their third sibling Z-Tron walking up and looking at the kitten with an equally stern expression. Purdy tried to wiggle free, but Maple was already too on point and simply tightened his hold.

Gladius, none the wiser to the little exchange, left the room and closed the door behind him, making the pink kitten deflate in defeat. She then glared at her brothers, who simply shared a flat look and roll of their eyes.

This was usually how it went with these three. They were super close the moment Purdy came into the picture, but the two PvZ associates usually had to play babysitter because their sister liked to wander aimlessly. Usually into any sort of danger that was possible.

But they were still a trio, one that did stick together when it was needed. Even with the Pokémon coming into the picture, they were always a trio. But also because of the Pokémon, Purdy tended to get into danger so much more because they could help her break away and out of her usual confines.

As the trio remained there, having their silent argument, Caleb walked out of the bathroom, freshened up and dressed in a set of lazy clothes. He looked down at his feet, and smiled at his three small companions. Kneeling down, he pet all three of them on the head, and gestured to them to follow and get breakfast.

Purdy was released, and followed her master closely. She usually stuck close and in sight when food was involved.

The trio headed out into the hallway, eventually joined by Bugsy, Omni, Sundra, Voltula and Hydra. Caleb let out a chuckle at the group behind him, and some of the others waiting outside the cafe let out laughs as the horde of small companions flooded into the cafe and headed right towards their little designated corner.

Their little corner was basically just a few small blocks of wood that were meant to stand in for tables, little plates and a custom food dispenser. The machine worked overtime giving all the critters their breakfast, each platter of food custom made.

As Purdy munched on her various meats mixed with seafood, her ear twitched. She looked up above her, and saw a fly buzzing around without a care in the world. It buzzed over and landed onto one of the wall decorations, and with her eyes wide, the Persian entered prowling mode. She abandoned her food and started stalking after the fly, which took off and headed elsewhere in the room.

The kitten was set on her newest goal, however. So she stalked passed the tables and chairs, all the rest of the ragtag family clueless to what was happening, and eventually made it to the window the fly was resting on. She hunched over, wagging her tail;, and pounced.

Sadly, the window was unlocked, so the fly lazily flew out of the way as the pink fluffball had careened outside.

Maple, Z-Tron and the Pokémon, who were all watching Purdy's little hunt, all stared out the open window with wide-eyes. They all shared horrified looks, and discreetly made their way over to the window. The others didn't really seem to notice the gravity of things, so the group of critters all helped each other and they looked down (except Hydra, oh the woes of being blind).

Down below, Purdy was perfectly fine, and was simply walking down the courtyard's outer wall towards the museum.

Maple went into panic mode and rushed out of the cafe, Z-Tron right behind him the other critters not much further. This, the others did catch, and they watched them all run out with confused expressions.

"What's going on with them?" Ralph asked.

"Maybe they say a billboard for some sort of park?" Eva said with a shrug. She got up and walked over to the window, looked out, and then froze. "Uhhhhhhh… Caleb, you might want to see this…"

Caleb was right by her side, and he followed her gaze out towards the outer wall. His heart lodged in his throat when he barely saw Purdy sit on the wall, and slip off the edge out of sight.

"PURDY!" He screeched.

As the cafe was thrown up in a tizzy, Maple and his group had made it to the museum in no time, and rushed through all the way to the public entrance leading to the parking lot. They burst outside, and Z-Tron extended the rockets in his feet to see if Purdy was anywhere on the roof. Heading up he couldn't find anything.

Back on the ground, Hydra was sniffing around, trying to see if he could pinpoint the cat, but it was Sundra who found her. Pointing towards a nearby tree, the group watched as the cat mindlessly walked across a branch and fell off, landing daintily on the roof of a bus. Omni started to move over to her, but was too slow as the bus started to head off back into the city.

Z-Tron landed down next to Maple, and the group was at a loss. Purdy was now going to be lost in the most dense and maze-like city that existed, meaning she was probably lost forever.

But as they remained there, wallowing in despair, Bugsy spun around -rapidly and grunted. The group all looked at her, and she nodded at an empty, currently unused flatbed trailer. Maple's eyes widened, and he nodded at the Whirlipede rapidly. The Pokemon moved over to the trailer, gesturing for the others to get on. They all did as they were told, with Sundra using her String Shot to create a tether between the trailer and Bugsy.

With everyone on and situated, Bugsy looked ahead, using her two sets of antennae to see, and revved up to max speed instantly. Without a second to lose, she was off, moving at a speed equal to the bus. Maple and the others all braced as the high speed winds beat against them, but soon relaxed.

The Wasabi Whip was in a frenzy, but luckily his brother was offering silent but calm reassurances. Omni, to avoid flying away or falling behind, locked into the trailer so the wheels would keep him turning and secured. Hydra and Sundra were huddled together, with Voltula latched onto the Larvesta's fur since leaving the cafe.

As the critter group sped away from the museum end of the castle and into the city, there was chaos at the front of the castle. The dysfunctional family was in hysterics, rushing to get into the limo so they could split up in the city and find the missing cat.

"How the heck could Purdy even get that far so fast?" Steve asked frantically.

"I don't know!" Caleb cried out, tears threatening to escape his eyes. "She loves to just vanish and reappear wherever, and while she's pretty good being around, this is the most she's wandered."

Vanellope hugged his leg as Rory put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "We'll find her, Caleb. Maple and the others are probably already on her tail, so we'll find her soon."

"I hope so…" The bespectacled boy Looked over to Jenny, Galacta and the Powerpuffs. "You guys are okay with being our eyes in the sky?"

"Don't worry, Caleb", Blossom said with a smile. "We're on it."

He nodded in response, and the group members who couldn't fly entered the limo as fast as possible. Those that could fly shot into the sky and split up, with Galacta heading to investigate where Purdy was last seen, while Jenny and the PPG headed towards the city. Zomboss took over driving, and followed them down the main road as fast as he could.

Inside the vehicle, Caleb was trying and kinda failing at not breaking down under the circumstances. It was chilling how quickly Purdy vanished, and he could only hope they'd find her in one piece as he leaned against Katania…

~X~

The city being so alive during this sunny day, while it would be fine any other day, was a massive detriment today. Bugsy had stopped the trailer on a curb, having lost the bus Purdy was on as she led the trailer into the swarm of cars caught in traffic.

Sundra and Omni were above a light post they were next to, trying to see if they could spot the cat anywhere. Sadly, because of the tense packs of citizens, cars, and buildings, it was close to impossible. They both came back down and shook their heads at the group dejectedly, which made the Wasabi Whip and mini Zombot share a shattered look.

Voltula jumped over to them, looking up sadly, before an idea crossed his mind. With a few hisses and clicks, he explained the idea he just got, and considering the state of things, Maple allowed it. So Volt jumped up into the light post, used his fangs to burrow a hole into the metal, and started to suck out electricity from the power grid.

Now, Voltula wasn't doing this to get a light snack. He was doing this so he could hopefully evolve, which would help out with the search massively. So the electric tick continued to suck away, feeling his energy building.

Outside, the others were keeping watch to make sure no one got suspicious. While many of the citizens just gave them weird looks, none of them made moves to call some sort of animal control or something. Maybe they knew they lived in the castle, maybe their wild appearances made them frightful enough for everyone to keep back.

Back inside the light post, Voltula was feeling full, but was still craving more at the same time. At this point, the whole block would be without power.

His fur started to bristle as he began to glow with a bright light, and let out a hiss.

Back with the trailer, the critters saw a light flood out of the hole Voltula left, and were forced to jump away when a now evolved Voltula exploded out of the light post. Now a bulky Galvantula, Volt crawled out and over to the others, terrified civilians backing away at the size of the spider.

Volt looked over the others and nodded, quickly scaling up the nearest building and shooting out some electrical web, moving to swing through the city.

Maple beamed and looked at the others, pointing out silent orders for the others to split up. Bugsy quickly rolled off, scanning the streets. Z-Tron and Omni headed off in a direction different to Voltula, and the remaining members of the group all stuck together and headed towards the crosswalk. They didn't care about leaving the trailer behind.

Using his whip, Maple pressed the crosswalk button and looked at the passing traffic. But as the traffic light was getting closer to change, the light post Voltula burst out of tipped over and smashed into a parked car, making its alarm go off.

Panicked, the moment the light changed, the critters ran across the road, with Hydra being led along thanks to some of Sundra's String Shot. Some of the citizens watched them run away, and one of them had the idea to call animal control.

With Voltula, he had latched onto the side of a skyscraper. People inside were horrified, but the Galvantula didn't care at all. His many eyes scanned the city scape like a hungry predator, and soon enough he spotted a familiar share of pink amongst the crowds below.

Well, not fully. Purdy had somehow abandoned the bus long ago and was now walking across the awning above the sidewalk, not a thought in her head.

Voltula rolled his eyes and shot out some webs, swinging down to catch the cat. But a combination of Purdy jumping onto a moving delivery truck and a sudden rush of wind, Volt was thrown off course and crashed into an alleyway. He was somehow stuffed almost fully into a trash can, with only his legs free enough.

He scrambled out of the alleyway completely blind, making people freak out as he danced around, slamming into anything and everything. Sadly, he started going in the direction opposite of the truck before finally ripping the can off. People ran away from the thrown can, and the spider spun around and locked eyes with his air headed sister.

Purdy simply smiled and waved obliviously.

Hissing in frustration, Volt started scaling the buildings, running after the truck at his max speed. His claws dug into windows and walls, leaving behind a lot of damage as he neared his target. When he felt he was close enough, which was a lot harder when the truck changed lanes. But Voltula still took his shot and jumped…

Only to slam into the side of a semi-truck trailer that came out of nowhere.

The electrical tarantula was completely dazed as the two trucks went their separate ways, leaving Purdy to take another ride around the city. She looked around at the passing buildings, taking in all the bright signs and colourful characters. It was amazing! Her eyes sparkled especially when she spotted a cat cafe, and hopped off the delivery truck and onto a bush to cushion her landing.

As she headed inside the cat cafe, Z-Tron and Omni flew past just then, barely catching her pink tail disappearing into the building. They shared a look and flew down, looking through the front window. Purdy was somewhat visible amongst the other cats, already seeming to be the talk of the town.

The robot pointed inside and made other hand gestures at the Klink, with the gears looking uncertain. Walking in and taking a cat seemed much too risky, but considering their other options, this was the best idea. So they headed inside, trying to seem proper, but also discreet.

Z-Tron's eyes were locked onto his sister, and he made his way past staff and towards the group of cats. But as he neared, most of them started to hiss and growl. The patrons of the cafe started to take notice, and the mini Zombot was starting to get nervous. But he pressed on and reached out for Purdy…

The cats lashed out and buried him in their collective vicious mass. Purdy was oblivious to her brother being mauled by a horde of cats, and seemingly decided to leave the building. As she started to make her way towards the exit, Omni tried to intercept her… Only to be stopped by the barely opened door. The gears panicked as he watched Purdy pass through the traffic-filled street with ease and vanish into an alley across the road, before turning around to get Z-Tron out of the cat pile.

Purdy wandered down the alley with zero care, unaware of Jenny flying overhead, just barely missing her as she headed into a box to see what there was. The cat left shortly after, continuing along her way, before she found herself in a plaza of sorts.

As she sniffed the pretty flowers, Maple and his little team all walked on from the other side. They scanned around the area, trying to find Purdy, but it was Hydra's sense of smell that helped them locate her. Looking over towards a patch of flowers, they spotted Purdy minding her own business.

Maple's face became determined and he rushed over, picking up the cat with his whip. Purdy meowed in surprise, then looked at her brother in frustration. Maple just glared at her, gesturing around at where they were. Sundra hissed bitterly at how tiring it was to chase her down, but she didn't seem to register the severity of things.

But as the plant and moth larva chastised the cat, Hydra smelt something unfamiliar. Before he could react, he was swept up in a net, letting out a startled and frantic cry. Maple and Sundra turned around just as animal control trapped them in nets like the Dieno.

Purdy was more confused than concerned, but once she was stuck in a cage, she started to get scared. She was meowing frantically, pawing at her cage gate as the truck's back doors closed. As she continued to meow, she looked across to Maple… and stopped.

The plant was looking at her with a blank expression, and looked away.

Purdy blinked, and her ears drooped as the problems finally came at her. She walked away again, and now they were all in trouble. She let out a whine, and ducked her head in shame, curling up in a ball and trying to sleep this all away.

Little did they know, Bugsy and Voltula had grouped back up and saw their family get taken. Seeing red, Bugsy rolled to find Z-Tron and Omni, while Voltula went to go and intercept the truck. As the Galvantula swung through the air, he made sure he was sparking with electricity. He started to move closer when he saw Bugsy, Z-Tron and Omni below on the road.

With now a vicious fire inside of him, Voltula jumped and crashed onto the top of the truck. The driver and his coworker in the cockpit were horribly confused, but when the coworker looked out his side mirror, he let out a squeaky scream when Voltula appeared and rushed at them. He scaled around onto the hood of the truck, glaring at both adults with an overprotective fire.

At the back of the truck, Z-Tron undid the latch to the back and swung it open, making the three captured critters squint. But upon seeing their saviours, they started wrestling to be freed. Omni worked on freeing Sundra and Hydra as Z-Tron quickly freed Maple and Purdy. The cat started rubbing up on the robot and Wasabi Whip, the message clear.

I'm sorry.

They both pet her, and jumped out of the back of the truck. Sundra and Omni were right behind, with Voltula jumping after them. The group all headed to the sidewalk, trying to catch their breath, but at the sound of distant police sirens, Volt put Purdy on his back and they ran into an alleyway. They ran passed dumpsters and miscellaneous discarded objects, but soon made it to another open road.

They stopped once again, but when a shadow loomed over them they all looked up.

Much to their relief, it was a trio of smiling Powerpuffs.

Bubbles was the first one to go down and start petting Purdy, while Buttercup hovered down with a smirk. "We heard you guys were causing a lot of chaos. But I can see you found her easy enough."

"Yeah. I'm going to call Caleb." Blossom pulled out her phone and quickly dialled up her friend. As they remained there, Purdy looked down a bit in shame. Bubbles caught that, and silently nodded.

"Caleb was worried sick when he saw you fall off the wall…" The blue clad Powerpuff whispered. "You really should be more careful, Purdy… You could've been hurt…"

The pink fuzzball looked at Bubbles for a moment, before looking down at Maple and Z-Tron. They both nodded, and the cat meowed sadly.

~X~

Caleb was showering Purdy in so much love after the limo swung by to pick the girls and critters up. As the boy hugged Purdy, Maple and Z-Tron close, the Pokemon all just lazed at his feet or next to him on his seat, exhausted but happy things were done. Voltula did get some attention from the others considering he evolved, but otherwise it was calm.

Heck, even Viz was there, laying down with Hydra and Bugsy cuddling up with her.

Kat pet Volt, making the spider let out a happy pur. "I gotta be honest. The fact that little yellow fuzzball somehow became this beautiful guy is still shocking to me."

"Fantasy creatures are always fascinating", Gladius said with a nod. "There's no telling what each of them can turn into. Omni could become a walking machine, Sundra could be a living fireball, so on and so on…"

Caleb quietly chuckled as his three little ones in his arms started to fall asleep. "I know what they'll become, and while I know you guys will love them… Bugsy might ruffle some feathers."

Galacta flexed his wings as everyone looked at him in curiosity. "Whatcha' mean by that, kid?" Ralph asked.

"She'll be big, I'll say that much." The boy fell silent again and looked down at the three in his arms, leaned back, and started to doze off. Purdy's purring relaxed him greatly, and after the stress and fear of nearly losing her, he was going to make sure she stuck close by. Or at least knew to be more careful.

Even if she was asleep, Purdy snuggled more into her master, feeling more at peace now. When they got home, she was going to properly apologise to her brothers and sisters about wandering off. She knew she had to, and she had just the idea on how to. But for now, she just slept, resting back up after taking on the big city.

And sure, they left their mark, but that just meant there was a story to tell…

~X~

And there's chapter 8! One focused on Purdy, Maple, Z-Tron and the other little riffraff of this chaotic family. Now, why them? Well, I wanted to give Purdy the spotlight once, and I felt this was a great way to do so! She's a bit of an airhead, with her head in the clouds, but when push comes to shove she does let her focus straighten out.

And I always wanted to explore more of the city in this sort of way, so a sort of "Baby's Day Out" escapade was perfect for that! Not a lot of focus on the others, but that was needed sadly. Still, I had a lot of fun with this chapter, and having such little dialogue helped me try and flex my more atmospheric writing! Hopefully it was fun for all of you, I know it's very different from what I usually write.

Anyway, with this chapter means we are ten percent through this story! It's crazy how much has happened with this series, and we're getting so close to the next big plot point that'll really change things up! I'm so excited to get there, so just be patient and wait. I love all of y'all, so keep your eyes open…

Up next: With everyone swamped, Manolo and Maria decide to take the kids to the Capital's amusement park for a day of fun under the sun…

~Caleb~