Cat

 

…And when I open them back up, I see a setting that is certainly not the bedroom I was in moments ago. It’s blue, very very blue, neon blue to be specific, very sci-fi if I had to give it a word with the smooth navy blue metal plating lit up with neon blue between each groove. The walls are a slightly brighter blue than the floor, only getting brighter the higher it goes until meeting the lights around the perimeter of the ceiling, the top just as dark as the bottom. Yeup. This looks just like Sue-Zee’s house from what I’ve seen of it.

Of course, what would a lab be without its little scientists? The sound of an excited voice and a more reserved voice bickers from a room above, leading me to a little elevator that comes down almost instantly, and brings me up just as fast, opening its doors to reveal the duo’s bedroom.

It’s a lot lighter than the floor below, the colour a little darker than a sky blue with some pale neon green lights keeping the place lit up, giving me a great view of their cluttered tables, giant desktop setup, and anime figurines and mecha kits lined on shelves proudly. And of course, there is a big cozy bed at the back, atop which I find Sue brushing Zee’s hair.

“Can we give ourselves a few days to cool off first before you start chucking fireballs everywhere?” Sue pleads, Zee kicking his legs over the edge of the bed with a pleading whine.

“It could be so cool!” he argues. “Plus the sooner we figure out how it works with me, the sooner we can figure out how to use it in cool and fucked up ways!”

“I always wondered what it sounded like when you talked amongst yourselves,” I interrupt, sauntering in to the surprise of the duo.

“Cat?!” they exclaim in tandem, looking to leap out of bed before I urge them to stay still.

“Whoa whoa whoa, I know this is a dream world, but y’all should really try ‘n stay in bed!”

The two of them sigh, Zee hauling himself back into bed while Sue lays back.

“Alright, alright,” the feisty one relents. “How did you get in here though? Something similar happened yesterday with Fox and Violet and they didn’t seem to have a clue either.”

“Weeeell...”

Reaching into my pocket, I find exactly what I’m looking for, opening my paw to reveal the gate stone to the navigators.

“This thing here. I wanted to come and check in on y’all, without disturbing your much needed rest that is.”

The duo looks at me with wet, sappy eyes as I put the stone back in my pocket, waltzing over and climbing into bed with them.

“Thank you, Cat...” Zee says with a sniffle, throwing himself atop me once I’m next to Sue.

“Hey, c’mon, how could I not?” I tell him, wrapping my arms around him and giving him a kiss on the head. “Someone’s gotta take care of this polycule, and I know Sue’s gonna have her hands full with you already, let alone throwing Fox into the mix.”

“Well Fox has Vi to look after her now too!” Zee argues, which, yeah, alright, I can accept that, nodding down at him.

“Alright, but that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook!” I smirk, pulling him closer and ruffling his hair. “You’re my boy after all, I can’t let anything happen to my boy, self-inflicted or not!”

The pretty boy chuckles, pulling himself up by my shoulders to press his lips to mine, the two of us getting a bit carried away with the affection before I move one paw down to hold Sue’s hand, shuffling my butt over to lean against her.

“How’re you both doing, though? No doubt you’re exhausted.”

“Yeah...” Sue sighs, leaning onto me and resting her head on my shoulder. “This...has been a long time coming. We’ve spent so, so long preparing to defeat Hal, and now that it’s over...we’re not really sure what to do with ourselves.”

“Well, you’ve got a whole lifetime or two to figure that out!” I assure them, giving the girl a peck on the cheek and basking in the glow on her face.

“I-I know, it’s just...really disorienting after we’d had a very specific line up of events planned out in our head, only for it to be cut off so suddenly and abruptly.”

My ears twitch and my head tilts, my tail matching my curiosity as it slinks around Sue’s waist.

“What exactly did you have planned?”

The both of them seem pretty tense, unsure as to what their answer should be, but the tension is relieved with a sigh from each of them.

“This is gonna sound kinda crazy,” Zee admits, to which I shake my head.

“After the last month? I can handle it, promise.”

He smiles up at me and holds me tight, resting his head on my chest and allowing Sue to do the explaining.

“So...”

 

300 years into the future...in a two-faced dystopia, three kids find the resolve to try and fix their broken world...Sue, Zee, and...Coyotl, a child named after a legendary Ascended hero who gave their life to protect those Hal sought to quash and subjugate. These three were the best of friends, bonds forged not just in the fires of a ruined future, but kindled by the warmth they each brought each other. Through their ingenuity and the help of various Ascended folk they tracked down throughout the broken Monorise, they fashioned a means to turn back time, using stolen technology from Hal thanks to a password Coyotl had nabbed, and, surprisingly enough...Janus. The Radiant timekeeper, bound and never freed by the Inktons, had become fed up with this ruined future, and agreed to free themselves from their prison in death, bestowing all his power into the Last Second, the watch Sue and Zee have been using this whole time. The plan was for Coyotl to live up to their name and save the world from the past, but...something went wrong. They didn’t have much time before Hal’s robots found them, and in the last memory the two of them have of their own time, they recall Coyotl sending the two of them into the past instead, sparing them whatever fate may have befallen they who stayed behind.

 

“...Then we spent the next century in your time, looping back again and again until the Last Second only had a single charge left...the one we’d planned on returning to our time with.”

“...Goddess above, I’m so sorry...” I murmur, squeezing Sue’s hand in my paw.

“And now...with our last charge used...we’ll never get to see Coyotl again...”

My paw moves up to stroke Zee’s hair as he sobs, keeping my partners close and comforted to the best of my ability.

“...For this whole time, I’d been trying not to get attached,” Sue explains. “Most of those early loops, you met me before you did Zee. Zee, on the other hand, had no qualms getting very attached, and it was hard not to follow suit.”

“I don’t blame you,” I say, a smirk crossing my face as I nuzzle against Sue’s head. “With all these pretty women around? Sounds just about impossible.”

“It was!” Sue exclaims, poking me in the nose. “You’re goddamn stunning! We’d told ourselves not to get too involved with you all, that we’d have to go back eventually, but...I couldn’t not love you.”

“Oh, sweetie...” I purr, kissing her cheek. “Well, you’re stuck with me now, and I’m gonna give you both the best dang future you could imagine.”

“We’re off to a damn good start then, eh?” Zee says with a big ol’ grin shining through the tears. Goddang I love these two so much.

“Not much longer before we can actually settle down and actually get things started,” I tell them. “I’ll be covering for you at the protest tonight, then I’ve just gotta make sure Liz doesn’t fuck everything up, and then...I promised Coyo I’d help him deal with the ghosts in Subterfuge.”

The duo seems to tense up at the mention of Coyotl, prompting my curiosity further.

“What’s your deal with him anywho? You’re, y’know, not obligated to forgive him, but I’m surprised you seem to hate him as much as you do, more than either Fox or I.”

They both remain quiet for a time before Zee begins with a big sigh.

“Well, part of it was having to watch them kill Fox loop after loop.”

Oh. Yikes. They did mention having gotten this far without any deaths…

“It’s hard to forgive someone after that, but then they show up and we figure out they’ve taken on the mantle of the ancient hero our best friend had been named after, and...”

“Yeah, that...I can see how that might be difficult to take.”

They nod at me, cuddling up closer.

“I thought it was some kind of sick joke, or that maybe we’d fucked up the timeline.”

“Considering the strides he’s made since we first met him,” I consider, “I’d say you’ve done a lot more good for this timeline than you think.”

“Mmn...”

The pretty boy whines and I pull him up, kissing him on the nose.

“Give him a chance. Please? For me? He’s an idiot, but he’s an idiot with heart.”

Another sigh, and he nods, falling onto me and resting his head between my head and shoulder.

“Dammit. You know I’d do just about anything for you.”

“And you’re a damn hero for it~”

As much as he whines, his smile as bright as a thousand suns shines through.

“What was that about the protest, by the way?” Sue asks as she leans on me more, looking up at me with her adorable curious eyes.

“Ah, well I made a deal with Jam earlier,” I explain my paw moving up from her hand to her hair to play with it. “They let a few of us borrow his basement, and in exchange, I’m gonna supervise the protest tonight.”

“You got fucking robbed, babe,” Zee says with a smug face, rolling over onto the side Sue isn’t occupying, sandwiching me between the two of them.

“I know, I know! But it’s not like I’d have said no anyways. Can’t really think of anything else I’d want from them besides staying the hell away from me.”

“Oh, Cat…” Sue coos, kissing my cheek and taking the other in her palm. “Just, don’t push yourself, okay? You’ve got tons of friends who are more than willing and capable of having your back.”

“Oh, trust me, I’ve learnt my lesson,” I sigh, resting my head in Sue’s hand with a mix of a purr and a whine. “I’m not gonna do any fighting. Just rallying the crowd ‘n all. I’ve already made plans for back up anyways.”

“Good.”

“Good!” they say one after the other, like Goddess, they’re so cute together.

“Remind me to come visit you all in here more often. Being the middle of a Sue-Zee sandwich ain’t so bad.”

“When you’re as delicious of a snack as you are, I’d be a fool to not oblige~” Sue coos with a haughty tone, the large girl encroaching upon my lap more and more with each second passed. 

Zee just rolls his eyes while the blushing faces of Sue and I inch closer, and hoo boy, if I thought I was getting caught up on Zee’s storm moments ago, Sue is a raging hurricane of love.

“Oh, one last thing,” Zee pipes up as Sue and I are winding down. “A favour: Could you grab something from our place and bring it here sometime soon?”

As Sue’s lips depart from mine, I turn and tilt my head towards the guy, blinking blankly.

“What’cha need? Please be as specific as possible, I can barely tell head from tails in that mechanical hellscape.”

“He must be talking about the Long Distance Dream Dropper,” Sue says, as if that explains a damn thing. “It’s an attachment for our headset on our nightstand, like the one you see here in the dream.”

The girl pulls back a little more and gestures to said nightstand, a little USB drive with an antenna sticking out the top sitting pretty.

“Not that I’d expect anything like it from you, but this wouldn’t happen to be a step in some risky as hell plan of yours, would it?”

“What? Noooo, no way!” Zee says, but his face tells another tale. “I promise, it’ll be completely safe. It’s like the perfect time to test out its capabilities while we’re unconscious for so long!”

“Oh and it needs testing too, great,” I tease, earning me a light punch in the arm from the pretty boy. “Alright, alright, I’ll grab it for you on my way back from the protest.”

“Ohhh, you’re the best Cat!”

The two of them lean in and leave a kiss on either of my cheeks, my ears pinning back as I purr pathetically.

“Dammit. You two are too good.”

 

We all spend a good bit of time hanging out and cuddling in the dream world until it feels like I need to get going, saying farewell to the duo as I take the elevator down, everything going dark until I open my eyes once more.

It’s already dark as pitch outside, not surprising for this time of year, so I make haste, feeling the navigator’s grip on me loosen as I slip out from under the covers. Considering I’m gonna be fairly out in the open, covering up more would be for the best, so I slip on some jeans and throw a baggy hoodie over my shirt and a jacket over that for good measure. Pulling the hood up and over my ears, my face disappears into the shadows, kinda like how Coyo used to look with his hood up, only my bright eyes peering through. Perfect.

Stepping out and into the house’s living space, I find…awww…Fox in her little feral form, curled up on Coyo’s lap, the two of them sound asleep on the couch. Wow, they hit it off fast. I guess that’s kinda how it works between the two of us, people seem to want to worm their way into my life, while she always finds a way to wiggle into other people’s lives. I’d rather not disturb them, so, as quietly as I can, I depart, checking my phone to see how long I’ve got. It’s almost 7 PM, so I should be able to take my time.

A cold breath escapes me, wondering just how things’ll go tonight. Police are definitely gonna get involved…how am I supposed to avoid fighting while also protecting everybody? I suppose that’s why I texted for help, but…ugh. No. I should trust my friends. If anything, I’ll send Niamh a text asking her if she can, at the very least, keep a lookout over the city. That should do…though…

 

19:04 - Cat Kitten - [ Alright, rat, what’s going on with the protest? ]

19:04 - Cat Kitten - [ I know you’re involved, and I also know you wouldn’t stick your finger in the cake if you didn’t plan on having your tail in it too. ]

 

She actually doesn’t respond right away, allowing me to stroll through town uninterrupted, tail swishing behind me so folks know it’s me.

 

19:12 - Bad Rat - [ who, lil ol me~? ]

19:13 - Bad Rat - [ i’s flattered you’d think so, but i ain’t interested in what happens AT da protest ]

19:14 - Cat Kitten - [ Don’t be coy, asshole ]

19:14 - Cat Kitten - [ Jam told me you’re involved ]

 

Another pause. Guess she really is busy with all the robots down there, huh…ah well, that does give me time to actually get out of town and on my way to Monorise, curling my tail under my coat and around my waist, hidden from sight.

 

19:19 - Bad Rat - [ well of course i’s involved, you dumb feline~ ]

19:19 - Cat Kitten - [ Fuck you, dude ]

19:19 - Bad Rat - [ kehehehe~ ]

19:21 - Bad Rat - [ my job is to stay outta deys noses til we’s get a message from da man himself ]

19:22 - Bad Rat - [ dats when i’s do da talkin~ ]

19:22 - Cat Kitten - [ You do love the sound of your own voice, don’tcha ]

19:23 - Bad Rat - [ everybody loves dis charmin voice a mine~ ]

19:23 - Bad Rat - [ i’s da most beloved and sexy rat around~ ]

19:24 - Cat Kitten - [ Then I’ll see you when the talking starts ]

19:24 - Cat Kitten - [ Yom knows bad things’ll happen if nobody is around to shut you up ]

19:25 - Bad Rat - [ awwww she doesn’t want bad things happenin to me~ ]

 

Whatever man. Shoving my phone into my pocket, I begin sprinting towards the city, more ready than ever to get this night over with.

 

Just as expected, the city is crawling with pigs, nary a civilian soul in sight it’d seem. Guess I’m sticking to stealth regardless, scaling the sides of buildings by their windowsills, leaping over open spaces faster than can be noticed for more than a split second. The occasional cop does turn to the direction I came from, slowly sowing unease among the armed populace until I find myself peering over town hall. It’s one of the few old buildings remaining in Monorise, only it’s been built upon with a massive skyscraper jutting out the top, more tumor than functional body. Checking my phone, it seems it’s not yet 8, so few have gathered, not enough for the police to really have an excuse to do anything about them anyways. That gives me an opportunity to slide down into an alleyway and emerge to join those around.

“Yo,” I greet them, giving them a wave which shows my paw, the group of warmly dressed protesters nodding at me as we loiter on the sidewalk just shy of town hall. One of the characters here seems to be sizing me up, and I think I recognize them from around Aspen Town now and then, though clearly they haven’t seen me considering how surprised they are by how I loom over them. What surprises me, however, is they seem to have a makeshift weapon already on them, an entire tree stump with a metal pipe sticking out of it to form a hell of hammer they’re sitting on.

“How the hell did you get that here without being pulled over?”

My question pulls them out of their awestruck daze, shaking their head and looking back up at me.

“Sorry– This thing?” they ask for clarification, patting the side of the stump. “I keep a few of ‘em around the city, just in case.”

Alright, damn. Resourceful. Sue-Zee really knows how to pick ‘em, the light is clear enough to see in each.

Though we settle in, we do seem to be drawing some attention our way just by virtue of having a group, until the sound of ruckus making sounds off from the distance, pulling police away from our position as my phone buzzes.

 

19:59 - Bad Rat - [ show time, Cat Kitten~ ]

 

Guess she’s a bit more involved in this than I’d imagined, catching the sight of her rat pack scurrying about deviously, giving an emerging group of protesters the perfect opportunity to congregate. Some cops seem to stop in their chase to stare at the amassing protest, but we’re able to get everyone together before they can stop anyone else from showing up.

It’s stunning, the amount of people showing up in support of change, many with a light shining within, some burning just as bright even without. And at the head of it all, I find myself, staring at all the signs, listening to all the chanting…sensing the fear as the cops move their attention away from Liz’s gang despite their continued effort of causing trouble, a great deal closing in on either side of the protest. They continue to stand proud, but even so, I can hear whispers of confusion and doubt, wondering where Sue-Zee is…which I guess is my queue.

Grh…an aching in my arm rattles me, a sudden pressure from all around threatening to consume me. Goddammit, not now…! Deep breathes. I’m needed right now. I’m needed, but…I don’t know what to do. Inspire people? Great fucking instructions, Jam. My own doubt begins to get the better of me, even more so as the crowd before me awaits something, anything. The nuts and bolts held within the stuffing of my arm clatter about, reminding me of my weakness, my fragility…I’m just some girl, what am I supposed to do? I can’t…

 

No.

I can.

I don’t need to do anything more than be myself to inspire, don’t I? Whether it was pulling Fox out from her darkness, igniting Niamh’s spark to sing, hell, even Liz only seems to be as charged as she is around me. And, of course…Coyotl. Coyo who I fought with, who I pushed forward, who I sang with…

I am my own fire.

And it’s time to burn bright.

“PUT ON YOUR WAR PAINT!!”

Immediately attention is brought to me, the crowd overcome with a wave of silence, though the police don’t seem all too interested. Maybe they’d appreciate me if I turned the volume up…I steel myself, taking ahold of my fate within my rattling arm, unfurling the cotton and fabric containing the metal skeleton within. It may shake, aching to the core, but that pain won’t define me.

I’ll define it.

Reshaping its structure, metal bending and curling into the shape of a microphone, remembering what I stand for, the voice, the light, all I put into the burning song I sang for Coyo.

“You’re a brick tied to me that’s dragging me down!

    “Strike a match and I’ll burn you to the ground!”

Already I can see the light in each soul thumping, brightening to the beat of my song, the cops to each side seeming to falter as they watch me with fear and awe.

“We are the jack-o-lanterns in July– Setting fire to the sky–

    “Here, here comes this rising tide, so COME ON!!”

With the pause in the song, the vibrations reverberate through the crowd, the chanting continuing, singing their cause, singing along even.

“PUT ON YOUR WAR PAINT!!”

It’s impossible to ignore me now, the police, weapons out, staring at me, but I won’t falter. I will sing, and I will raise our hopes and dreams to their fragile heavens.

“Crosswalks and crossed hearts and hope-to-dies–

    “Silver clouds with grey liiiinings!”

The cops seem to grow nervous, more so with each verse and chant, and seeing our protest shining so much brighter than their resolve.

“So we can take a world back from a heart attack–

    “One maniac at a time we will take it back–”

They seem rattled even now, unsure of whether to focus on me, or the blazing fire occupying the street, even as more and more of them try and close in on us.

“You know time crawls on when you’re waiting for the song to start–”

    “So dance alone to the beat of your heart!”

“HEY YOUNG BLOOD!!”

    “DOESN’T IT FEEL–

        “LIKE OUR TIME IS RUNNING OUT!!”

And in the next moment, the first shot is taken. Not a single thing done besides chant and protest, and a bullet shoots, my eyes widening and the fire within flickering with a justified rage watching the hammer wielding protestor take a shot and falter. Yet even so…their light refuses to die.

“I’M GONNA CHANGE YOU–

    “LIKE A REMIX…”

Paw extended, I reach for them, the protestor looking up, eyes alight with fury and joy as their hand meets mine.

“THEN I’LL RAISE YOU…

    “LIKE A PHOENIX!!”

Engulfed with their own light, they rise to their feet, then higher than before, rising, overcoming it all until a roaring 12 ft dragon stands before me, brandishing their newly crystalline hammer and charging ahead to defend.

“WEARING OUR VINTAGE MISERY!!

    “NO, I THINK IT LOOKED A LITTLE BETTER ON ME!!”

Our lights chime in tune, all singing and living together.

“I’M GONNA CHANGE YOU–

    “LIKE A REMIX…”

Burning, shouting, rising against all that would snuff us out.

“THEN I’LL RAISE YOU–

    “LIKE A PHOENIX!!”

And now is our time to dance.

“WILL YOU ACCEPT ASCENSION?!”