We made our way over to the Counselor's Office after picking up the key Ollie left us. This building looked like a mausoleum from the outside. We climbed the steps up towards the door. There were six columns across the porch. Five windows decorated the building's face; one above the door and two on each side of it.
Once inside, we investigated the long hallways and entered any of the unlocked offices. We looked about for any clues on the place's history….and any notes there might have been on me. But still nothing that mentioned my name or experiment number. There was lots about the orphans though. One kid in particular was ready to be adopted but then pulled back as he was deemed qualified for some sort of testing. No doubt the kind of testing that turns you into a toy. Poor kid…
We scoured the open offices and found keys for some of the locked ones. Unlocking some of the other doors led us toward the generator. The rooms seemed to be getting darker and darker as we traveled farther into the offices.
"Get down! I hear something." I told my friend. We both got low and peeked up into an office that looked pretty empty of any chairs or desks. In the middle of the room was a little Bunzo Bunny toy that seemed to be frantically running away from something. Its oversized rabbit feet tripped over themselves and sent it down to the floor. In a split second, the figure of Catnap swooped in and took the struggling toy away. My friend gasped and ducked back down.
"Oh, great! Catnap's in here with us." He complained.
"We'll just have to try and be quiet….and check every corner before we proceed." I explained. And so we continued our exploration, being as quiet as we could. Double-checking each direction before we took one.
A little while later, we came across a room filled with red smoke. My friend volunteered to go through the vent to the other side and find a way to drain it for me. I was hesitant to let him go alone. But he insisted that he would be okay for just a few minutes. Trusting in his word, I let him go ahead. I stood in silence for a few minutes twiddling my fingers, pacing around, anything to keep my mind from wandering to awful things that could happen to him while he was alone.
Soon enough, the red smoke started to drain from the room. The man was standing in the room with his gas mask on, waiting for the rest of it to dissipate. As the substance thinned out, I noticed a figure behind him. Those glaring purple-white pupils made it clear who it was. I tried to wave my arms at the human through the window on the door that separated us. He didn't seem to understand and waved back. So I pointed instead. My friend looked behind with wide eyes. Catnap's quick reflexes pounced on the man before he had a chance to react. One paw held him down while the other ripped off his gas mask. The feline then breathed that awful red substance into his face. He coughed a couple times but then ultimately fell into a deep sleep.
I had to get in there! My body rammed into the door shoulder first. Its hinges loosened. I backed up a few paces and slammed into the door even harder. This time I broke down the door and rushed to protect the human.
"You've crossed me one too many times now. The Prototype wants to see you….but he didn't say in what condition it had to be. So I think we'll have a little fun first." Catnap sneered at the unconscious human.
"No, you won't!" I yelled at him and rammed into the cat with my shoulder. It took the purple feline off my friend. He skidded across the floor and stopped himself with his claws. "You'll have to deal with me first." I snarled at him, showing my fangs.
"Fine by me. I haven't had a decent fight in years." Catnap purred. "Make sure you don't disappoint me."
I roared at the feline as I stood protectively over the human. A growl grew in Catnap's throat too. I rushed the purple cat, aiming to keep him away from my friend. His paws caught my fists as I tried to bring them down onto him. I pulled out of his grip and tried landing a punch again. This time I managed to hit his head. And then he retaliated with a cuff to my head. We whacked at each other a few times before Catnap lunged forward and pinned me down.
"You're going to have to try harder than that, furball." He taunted me. I turned my head and chomped down on his arm that was next to my head. He yowled in pain, blood oozing from the wound. Using my legs, I pushed him off me. His gangly purple body bounced off the wall. A wave of dust got kicked up from the impact.
"How's that for a furball?" I said as I got up. Catnap merely narrowed his eyes and growled. He now began to rush me. I kept my cool and caught him by the shoulders as he tried to pounce on me. Using his momentum to my advantage, I pushed him upward and slammed him into the low ceiling. He yowled as his back collided with the building's structure. I then tossed him over my head and let him collapse on the ground.
"Had enough?" I hissed at him.
"You wish!" He hissed right back and swatted a fistful of dust at my face. I tried to block my eyes with my hands. But I did not get to block it all. So I started to rub my eyes vigorously and uttered a cough. Catnap took this opportunity to wrap his prehensile tail around my neck. It gagged me. My yellow fingers tried to pry it away, but it was constricted tight. The feline lashed his tail, tossing me to the side and bouncing off a wall. I could feel a couple of my old wounds getting aggravated. The bandages around my torso started to loosen. Pain shot through my back. I put my hands down on the ground and lifted my head. Catnap was going for my friend!
I frantically pushed myself up and hurried over there. The feline had picked the man up in his paw. There was a greedy look in his eyes as he studied the human. I latched my teeth on his shoulder while he was distracted. He screeched and let go of my friend. Acting quick, I caught the man before he fell hard to the ground. A silent sigh ran through my body.
"Give him to me!" Catnap roared and tried to reach for the human in my grip. I held my friend away and pushed against the cat's chest with my other hand.
"No! Never!" I said defiantly as those claws dangled dangerously close to my head and torso. I kicked him away with my leg. This gave me a moment to gently put the man down. I turned to face Catnap again. He had picked up a chair with his tail and tossed it at me. The colorful wooden chair exploded on me, causing my body to collapse against the nearest wall.
"Oof!" I exclaimed as my eyes were forced closed for a few seconds. It was enough time for Catnap to charge me again. I rolled out of the way as his claws tried to come down on my chest. If he was going to throw things at me, I would find something to toss at him too.
I scrambled to the corner where I picked up a filing cabinet. It was kind of heavy but I threw it as best I could. The purple cat went to move out of the way. He wasn't fast enough and ended up getting his tail caught under the cabinet. Catnap yowled in pain and proceeded to take the heavy object off his appendage. It was enough of a distraction that he couldn't do anything about me rushing him. He had managed to get the cabinet off, but then I pinned him down like had done me. I proceeded to throw punches at his face. His head jerked back and forth as I pummeled him.
I thought I had him good…but then that tail reached up and whipped my back. It elicited a scream of pain from me and caused my body to freeze up for a second. Catnap smirked and tossed me off of him. I started to get up when the feline tackled me. We tumbled along the floor, trying to pin one another. I tossed punches at him and he swiped at me with his claws. Those needles of his stung me in a few different spots. One threatening to undo my bandages. He eventually pinned me down and started to wail on my head like I had done to him.
"How do you like it?" The purple cat spat at me. I noticed a chair as my head was jerked right. It should be within reach! So I lashed my arm out for the projectile. My fingers wrapped around its leg. Giving it all I had, I slung that piece of furniture back at Catnap's head. He grunted in pain as it exploded on him. The impact tossed him off me. His body rolled over itself before coming to a stop. We both shakily got up on all fours. Both of us panted as we stared each other down.
"You should stand down, Catnap." I said to him between breaths.
"No, I don't think I will." He huffed with a smirk. I caught sight of that tail coming toward me again. Acting quick, I bit down on the skinny thing. The feline yowled in pain as expected. With a jerk of the head, I tossed him against the wall. I followed up and slammed my hands into his shoulders, forcing him against the dusty structure. My hands kept repeating this action. He had to be slowing down by now, shouldn't he?
Catnap seemed to find a break in my slams to reach out and give me a powerful cuff to the head. This time he aimed his claws so that they would cut into me. The powerful smack sent me spiraling back. A fierce stinging gripped the left side of my head. I knew I had to be bleeding.
My head lifted up to find Catnap right on me again. This time he winded up and gave me a powerful backhand. I hit the ground face first. His breath heated the back of my neck as he loomed over me. The feline didn't let me react and immediately grabbed my head with his paw. He proceeded to smash my face into the floor. The purple cat only managed to do this two times before I forced my elbow back and slugged him in his skinny gut. He grunted and stumbled back.
Despite how dizzy I was, I forced myself to attack while he was distracted. I jumped onto his back to avoid dealing with those claws. My fangs clamped down on his shoulder. The cat screamed in agony and started thrashing about. He then jumped up and crushed me against the ceiling. I squealed in pain, ultimately letting go. My body collapsed to the ground next to my enemy.
"Well, this has been a fun challenge. But I think it's about time we end this now." He taunted as I lay on the ground trembling in pain. Catnap leaned down and bit my shoulder. I felt my body get picked up and then thrown to the side. This likely meant he was going for a death blow next.
Despite my bad shaking, I lifted my head to find the cat pouncing at me with his mouth wide open and claws outstretched. It was as if his jump was in slow motion. Something inside me seemed to snap and I found the strength to get up and counter. I moved my body out of the way and clamped my fangs down on his torso. The feline screeched in utter agony as blood pooled underneath my fangs. I used his momentum to slam his head into the nearest wall. Catnap collapsed to the ground as I let go. His body said he wouldn't be getting up very fast at all. Something inside me wanted to keep tearing at the feline. A gurgle rose in my throat before I latched my fangs on his bloody torso again. Poor Catnap screeched and thrashed around in my grip. My shark-like vice was not letting go.
Memory of the human's voice rang through my head: "Please stop this, Huggy. I think he's had enough. Won't you do it for your best friend?" That was when I realized I had been in that crazed state my friend had mentioned. I didn't want to be like that….not anymore. Maybe I was at one time. But that's not who I really am. Not who I wanted to be.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to let go of the suffering cat. I could taste the blood on my teeth. My tongue licked it off. I took some breaths to calm myself. Catnap's body heaved in pain as well.
"You should leave, Catnap. You've lost." I snarled at him. His ears twitched and he started to get up. The feline shook with every little movement he did.
"L-looks like I have better things to do than play around with you and your little human toy." He stuttered out. "The Prototype wants me back, so we'll have to finish our little dance another time." The Prototype is calling him? Is that what it means when his ears twitch like that? "I'll be leaving now." He began to slink away. His body low to the ground. "But you'll be there watching as the Prototype dissects your little friend."
"What did you say?" I snarled and began to chase him to make sure he was leaving. "You're gonna regret-" The cat whipped back around and huffed a big cloud of that red smoke in my face. I began to cough.
"We will meet again, furball. Good bye and good night." He purred in satisfaction as he left the room. I heard his laugh trail off into the distance. My feet only made it a few steps before I collapsed to the ground. As soon as my head made contact with it, I was out cold in a deep sleep.