(Huggy's POV)
We had finally made it back to the Gas Production Zone. A big blue battery pack was in the human's hands. Off to our left was the machine that held three large vats, the middle one having the red smoke inside. Below them was the computer screen by which the production of the gas could be regulated and transferred to different areas of the factory. By powering the Gas Production Zone, we would be able to move the red smoke away from the elevator that would take us to the deepest depths of the factory. That was also where the Prototype would retreat to if he felt threatened.
The battery socket was pulling us in like a magnet. This was the last thing we needed to do to clear the way.
"Okay, here we go." My friend said and approached the battery's socket.
A hissing noise rose from the doorway just to the right of the open outlet. I reached out and grabbed the person's shoulder, pulling him back.
"Hey, what's that for?" He asked.
"Shh! Do you hear that?" The hissing noise got louder.
"What is that?" My friend wondered, squinting his eyes. It was dark in that corner. Even I couldn't see anything until it wanted to be noticed. A bony hand reached out and grabbed onto the doorframe. It then hauled its head out. The long, gaping mouth could've swallowed the human whole. Its small white pupils locked onto us. We started to back away slowly as this bony cat stalked out of the doorway. This thing was definitely bigger than Catnap.
"That can't be Catnap, right?" The human whispered to me.
"No, he's with DogDay right now." I reminded him. Another hissing noise came from our left. We looked and found another bone cat pouncing up onto the gas production machine. It squeezed itself between two of the vats and slunk down the console to the ground. Now both of them were hunting us down. Hisses continued to emanate from both of them.
"What should we do?" My friend quietly asked me. I cleared my throat and gave them a roar of warning. Their little pupils seemed to narrow down as deep guttural roars came from their tight bony necks. It was a menacing sound that made me want to curl up and hide. I gulped.
"I think running is a good idea. To that elevator over there!" I announced as we turned and ran. My friend tripped on an electrical cord on the ground. The jarring motion as he hit the ground tossed the battery pack out of his hands.
"Oh no, the battery!" He gasped.
"We can come back for that later!" I said and turned around to help him up. Those bone cats were starting to pick up the pace. Red smoke seeped out of their mouths too. "Right now we've gotta get out of here!" I picked up the man and ran. A quick glance over the shoulder saw our enemies transition from a swift prowl to a full-on gallop. They were gaining quick now. I got down and let myself slide along the ground like I did earlier to escape Miss Delight. This time I slid right into the elevator with the human in my arms. He squirmed out of my grip and headed for the button that would take us up and away from these dangerous cats. The man pushed the button several times. The words "Please close elevator door" flashed in red under the big red button.
"Huggy, we need to close the door!" He called to me. I looked around, not sure what door he was talking about. "Over here! It's one of those old sliding-cage doors." The person pointed toward a metal grate. My yellow fingers grabbed onto it and frantically tried to pull it from right to left. The door started to come but got stuck halfway.
"Hurry, Huggy!" The human urged me. I gave big heave and the door came crashing closed. My body fell onto its side as the gate slammed shut in front of me. It was just in time, too. One of those bone cats took a leap at us. It ended up colliding with the cage door with a loud crash. The feline then collapsed to the ground. Its bony limbs flailed around in confusion and seemed to be having trouble getting itself up.
My friend smashed the button again and we started to travel upward. It was a slow ascent. The other bone cat watched us with its eerie pupils. My friend gasped as it hooked its claws in the metal gate and started to climb it. The feline stayed level with us as we traveled upward. Thankfully, it could only go so far. Once it reached the ceiling of the Gas Production room, there was nowhere else for it to go.
We both breathed a sigh of relief when it couldn't follow anymore. It was only then that I realized that the human and I had huddled together. He noticed that I was looking at him and backed off a bit. Was he still scared of me after I had gone off on Miss Delight like that?
"So….uh, do you know where this is going to take us?" He nervously asked.
"Back into Catnap's territory…I think."
"Oh, great!" The human pouted. "Hopefully DogDay is still keeping Catnap busy. The last thing we need is another cat after us right now. Two bony cats are more than enough." I nodded in agreement.
Our lift finally made it to the upper floor. I slowly and quietly opened the gate-like door. It squeaked a little from old age but otherwise was pretty quiet. But cats had good hearing. So I stopped for a moment to make sure I didn't hear any hissing coming our way again. We looked left and right, but the area was completely empty at this point. I motioned with my hand for my friend to follow. We stayed silent, hoping we could go undetected from the bone cats…at least for a little while.
We traveled down some desolate corridors. Seldom were they seen by anyone other than Catnap and maybe the Prototype. No one else dared step foot over here in fear of incurring Catnap's rage. That was something that you did not want to be the focal point of.
The pounding sound of a four-legged creature galloping reached our location. We stopped on the spot. Our eyes widened in shock at how close it sounded. How did we not hear it approaching until now?
"Run!" I whispered to the human. We both took off running. I took a corner and ended up colliding with the creature making the pounding noises. It was such a sudden collision that I didn't even get to see who it was.
The next thing I knew, all three of us (me, the human, and the pursuer) had collapsed into a heap, entangled with one another. All three of our voices groaned in pain. I attempted to open my eyes and found myself staring into the eyes of Catnap. Me and the human gasped and scrambled away from the purple cat.
"Oof!" Catnap mewed as his body dropped to the ground from being on me. He put his paws down and lifted his head. Giving it a quick shake, he looked back to us. "There you are! Is everything okay?" He asked us. It was only him here. Where was DogDay? The fact that our puppy friend wasn't here made me suspicious. I gave a growl of warning, showing my fangs.
"Whoa, whoa! Easy there!" Catnap brought his paws up in innocence and folded his ears back. "Huggy, I always thought we were on good terms. What's gotten into you, furball?" But then his eyes widened. "Furball…." He pondered on that word. I let up on my snarling, realizing that he didn't seem eager to attack us. Catnap sighed and looked to us with a heavy heart. "You two were the ones I attacked earlier today, aren't you?"
"Yeah, you did. I thought you were going to kill me." The human replied to him.
"I…I'm sorry. I haven't been myself lately. These past few years are nothing but a blur to me. I'm slowly getting pieces of it back. Realizing all the horrible things I've done under the Prototype's control. And I understand that you two were a couple victims in my wake mere hours ago. So I don't blame you if you want to hurt me to get revenge. Just know that I came to find you on the wish of DogDay to make sure you were okay. We saw the Prototype unleash those imposters upon you." The purple cat explained.
"So where is he? Where's DogDay?" My friend questioned.
"He should be on his way here. He just….had to take a minute to rest." Catnap seemed to have a hard time getting that sentence out.
"How do we know that you're telling the truth?" The human accused, pointing at him. I growled and gave the feline a cuff to the head. He grunted as I proceeded to push him to the ground. My fangs bared at him.
"Go ahead. I'm sure I deserve it." Catnap said submissively, seeming sad. The fact that he didn't fight back told me that he was telling the truth. His pupils shifted away from me.
"Good to have you back, Catnap." I said and got off him.
"Huh? You mean you don't want to get revenge on me?" The purple cat asked as I helped him up.
"Nope. I'm just happy to see that you're back to your old self." I reassured him.
"Oh….thank you." He replied. The sound of DogDay's panting reached our location.
"Oh, thank goodness!" The puppy sighed in relief. "You're all here. The Prototype's new creations didn't get to you, did they?" He slowly dragged himself our way.
"We managed to get away without any injuries." My friend assured the orange dog. Catnap rushed back to DogDay.
"Is everything all right, DogDay? You should rest. Don't push yourself too hard." He gave the puppy a gentle head bunt.
"I'm fine, Catnap." But DogDay still panted hard. "If everyone's okay, we should get out of here. Let's take that shortcut back." Catnap stayed near his friend as they began to lead the way out of the barren factory hallways. A heavy door closed in front of us.
"No!" DogDay cried and rushed the door. He tried desperately with his paws to open the door but it wouldn't budge. When his paws didn't work, he transitioned to pushing his whole body weight against it. Nothing worked. "Please tell me this isn't the only way out of here, Catnap." He begged. But the feline did not answer. He looked a bit distracted. Catnap's ears twitched. A look of fear came over him.
"The Prototype knows we're here. He's not going to let us leave….and now he's calling me."
"Catnap, you can't go back to him!" The orange dog panted and walked back to his friend.
"I have to…" The feline admitted. "But this time I won't obey. I have to go back….in order to end this madness. I'm going to kill the Prototype." Catnap said with confidence.
"Well, you're not going alone then." DogDay replied. "I'm coming too."
"And so are we." I said.
"Yeah, we'll take him down together. We're a team now." The human said, giving a thumbs up. Catnap's eyes watered a bit.
"I don't deserve friends like you….but here you are. Thank you, everyone!" The feline said.
"Lead the way, Catnap. We'll be right behind you." DogDay encouraged him.