In the crisp light of day, everyone seemed to be nearing a state of anxiousness and fear. It was pretty well known among those that didn’t entirely support Macavity that the Rebellion would begin in the coming evening and even some of his loyal followers knew as well. Although, most of them wanted to tell their leader of the threat that was mounting, they also knew that he had a notorious reputation of killing the messenger. Rather than risk their own hides, those who supported Macavity decided to wait until it actually happened to help their leader.

~*~

Zia shook herself awake, blinking and looking around. She felt dizzy and disoriented and waited until the feeling passed to sit up and rub her eyes. She looked around the room again, her eyes adjusting to the lighting. She had only meant to take a quick nap, but apparently that hadn’t happened. Sighing and shaking her head, the little queen stretched out, digging her claws into the mattress which she was laying on.

“Are you certain that this room in empty?” she heard a voice ask and jumped.

Her head jerked around to see the dark silhouettes of Gypper and Raptor in the doorway. Although she knew she ought to make herself known, the little queen slid off the mattress, quickly darting into the corner, behind a wooden crate that seemed to be near the brink of collapse. Crouching low, it didn’t even occur to her why she had suddenly decided to run and hide.

“Of course I am,” she heard Gypper reply. “I checked it out before and, besides, this section of the warehouse has long since been abandoned. Even by the strays. Not even Pacer would venture back here and he’s as crazy as anything when he gets on one of his exploring kicks.”

“Yes, well, good, then,” Raptor said quietly. “Come inside, then. I have something I need to discuss with you.”

“I figured as much,” Gypper replied and Zia heard them enter into the room. The fur on the back of her neck prickled, though, for what reason, she had no idea. “What about?”

“Do you recall that Pacer sent that dog out to finish off Skeet?”

“Of course. It was only this morning it happened, Raptor.” Gypper paused and longed to see what he could possibly be doing. “Now, if this is about Pacer,” he continued, his voice getting a little more bold and stern, “I want to say that it wasn’t his fault. After all, how was he to know that little, old Skeet would have a few tricks up his sleeve and manage to survive.”

Raptor grunted. Zia could just picture his scornful look.

“I understand that it wasn’t Pacer’s fault. I’m not blaming him. Entirely. I mean, he could’ve done a bit more research and not just pulled some random Pollicle off the street.” Raptor paused. “Still, this isn’t why I wanted to talk to you. It really doesn’t have anything to do with Pacer.”

Zia thought that she heard Gypper breathe a sigh of relief. “Oh. Good, then. Mind telling me what it’s about then?”

“He was with someone else when the Pollicle decided to attack.”

“Right. That girl. The one that he came back with.”

“Yes.” Raptor paused thoughtfully and Zia dared to peek around the box to see him. The strong, black tom was seated on the mattress, staring up at Gypper with a thoughtful expression. “It appears that she was found on the streets the other night by Pippen.”

“How do you know?”

Raptor laughed, leaning back onto the mattress. “I have my sources, old friend. Now, I don’t know exactly why she was with Skeet, but I’ll be damned if I won’t find out.”

Gypper shook his head, offering the black tom an almost apologetic smile. “Sorry, but how does this have anything to do with me, Raptor?”

“You, Gypper, are going to help me out some by keeping tabs on everything while I go figure out just why the two of them were together. I want you to keep an eye on Zia, particularly.”

Zia bristled, her eyes narrowing.

“Why her?”

“Because. I just don’t feel entirely trusting of her. The girl is in love with that idiot Pippen and I don’t want anything to happen.” Raptor tapped his paws together in front of him. “Nothing that any of us will regret, that is.”

“Sure, I suppose. What about the others?”

“Pippen, I would assume?” Gypper nodded in agreement. “Well, just find a way to keep him from hunting down the girl and make sure that if he tries to, you restrain him.”

“All right.”

Zia watched, lowering herself to the ground a little more as Raptor sat up, then stood. The black tom nodded at Gypper, as though to dismiss him, then started to walk out the door.

“Wait, Raptor.” Raptor turned, an eyebrow arched. “What are you going to do? To the girl, I mean.”

“Whatever I have to do to get some answers.”

Zia shivered, then narrowed her eyes angrily as Raptor strode out of the room. Gypper stared after him for a moment, then followed.

The little gray queen slowly crept from her hiding place, filling with rage and uncertainty. What was she going to do? Was there even anything that she could do? Deciding that she would just wait until something happened, Zia slipped out of the room and into the depths of the warehouse.

~*~

Pippen watched in silence as the older, motherly queen fussed over his brother. He had been to the infirmary plenty of times before, being not the most careful kittens, but it was strange to be here when someone was really injured. The only other time he had even been seriously hurt, he had been nursed back to health with the Jellicles.

Skeet turned his eyes to his brother, arching an eyebrow in reference to his brother’s thoughtful expression. Pippen started, not realizing that Skeet had been watching him staring at him.

“There now. All set,” the queen said, smiling at Skeet and patting his arm. “Now, what I want you to do is to watch that paw of yours. You sprained it and I’m shocked that you even were putting your weight on it. Of course, it should be better in a couple of days, so not to worry too much, my dear.” She glanced at Pippen, her face turning thoughtful as well. “Well, I need to grab something, so I’ll just leave the two of you alone for a moment.”

Skeet nodded, watching her leave, then turned his eyes back to Pippen, realizing that Pippen seemed ready to ask him something.

“What is it?” he asked. “Why do you keep on staring at me as though I were some sort of strange and bizarre specimen?”

“What happened between you and Anaakii?” Pippen asked bluntly.

Skeet immediately tensed, adverting his eyes to the ground. He knew that Pippen was studying him carefully. Damn it! Couldn’t he ever hide anything from his twin?

“Nothing happened,” he said quickly, daring a look up into his brother’s eyes. “I don’t know where you came up with that idea.”

“Nothing happened? Nothing at all?”

Skeet jerked his head up, nodding. He felt angry that Pippen doubted him, but didn’t want to give him a reason to think that he was lying.

“Nothing, Pip. Why are you acting like you don’t believe me? I don’t lie to you.”

“I know you don’t…” Pippen replied, trailing off. Skeet curled his lip up in disdain.

“Well, then, don’t act like I’m lying to you now.” He shook his head. “Besides, why should it matter if anything happened at all? Is it really any of your business?”

“No… I just wanted…” Pippen studied the almost aggressive look on his brother’s face for another moment, then shrugged his shoulders. “Forget it. Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“It’s all right,” Skeet said, sounding doubtful himself.

Pippen was silent a bit longer, then opened his mouth again: “But, Skeet, what happened? Not about Anaakii. About what happened to you? How did you manage to get yourself so beat up?”

Skeet nodded, relieved that he had moved onto another subject. “I don’t know, exactly. We had gone for a walk and when we were about to return, there was this Pollicle.” He noted silently Pippen’s eyebrows raise. “He claimed that he was supposed to kill me. That I was getting in the way of something.”

“What?”

“He didn’t tell me. He just said that I was a problem and that he had been hired to kill me.” Skeet suddenly shivered involuntarily. “It was awful. I just barely managed to save Anaakii, let alone myself. I ran out into the road and a car hit him.”

“Wow,” Pippen said, sounding distracted. “A Pollicle? Hired to kill you? But, why would anyone think of you as a threat?”

“Gee, thanks,” Skeet grumbled, looking somewhat offended. Pippen glanced at him and grinned, patting his arm.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I meant, why could any think that they needed to kill you off? I can’t think of any reason.”

“Neither can I. I just know what once he told me that he had to kill me, I just ran and tried my best to get Anaakii the hell out of there.” Skeet’s eyes begged Pippen not to ask why he had been so intent on rescuing Anaakii as well.

“Well… it’s a good thing that you’re safe. I mean, that’s the most important part,” Pippen insisted. He hesitated as the queen walked back into the room, her smile back in place. “Uh, so, I guess I should look into this.”

Skeet’s eyes darted up to examine his brother’s, growing wider with concern. “You are? But, Pip, I don’t-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Pippen reassured him. He cast a quick glance at the queen, then smiled. “I’ll be careful.”

Skeet shook his head, but didn’t say anything. Pippen felt guilty about making his brother anxious like this, but knew he had to find out whatever he could. He turned to the queen.

“Could you make sure that someone helps him back to his rooms? You know, because of his paw? I have to go someplace.”

The queen nodded, glancing quickly at Skeet as Pippen turned and strode from the room quickly. She decided not to ask what was going on, turning back to Skeet with a gentle smile.

“All right, you. Let’s get you something to rest that paw on until I can find someone to help you back.”

~*~

Anaakii turned the corner, looking about. She wasn’t sure that it had been entirely wise to have left Skeet to explore on her own, but she couldn’t stand being in the same room as Pippen and have him staring at her as though he was terribly of suspicious of her. She guessed that he sensed something had happened between her and Skeet, but she wasn’t sure why he would be so upset about it. Maybe it was something Skeet had neglected to tell her.

Whatever it was, she didn’t have a clue and decided not to stress over it and worry about it. She brushed her fur away from her face, still looking about curiously.

Anaakii jumped as she turned another corner, nearly colliding with a smaller queen. The smaller queen jumped as well, looking as though she had just seen a ghost.

“I’m so sorry,” Anaakii quickly said, reaching one paw out, as though to steady the other queen. “It was my fault.”

“It’s all right,” the other queen said, then paused. Anaakii’s brow furrowed as the smaller queen studied her carefully.

“What?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“Are you that girl that Pippen brought back, by any chance?”

Anaakii felt her heart lunge. “Yes… how did you know?”

The smaller queen shook her head, offering Anaakii a small, almost bitter smile. “Word travels fast around here. Besides, I think I saw you at one point. With Skeet.”

“Yes… I was…” Anaakii suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. “Why do you want to know?”

The queen studied her a moment longer. “What happened? Did you sleep with him?”

Anaakii gasped as the brashness of this little creature. “How dare you? What gives you any right to ask-”

“Because. It’s important. I’m a friend of his. Besides, it could be very important if I know.”

Anaakii studied her doubtfully. “I…” She suddenly raised her head, trying to look proud, although she felt uneasy. “Yes. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, is it?”

“Oh, no. I never said that.” The little queen sized her up for another moment, then extended her paw. “My name’s Zia.”

“Anaakii.”

“Listen, Anaakii, you might want to watch your back,” Zia said in a low voice. “I fear something bad could happen to you since you’re… you know, involved with Skeet.”

“Why? Is he…?”

Zia shook her head quickly, pressing a finger to her own lips. “Don’t say anything. Please. Just watch yourself.” She looked around, as though checking to see if anyone had overheard. “Skeet’s rooms are down the hall, to the left. I strongly suggest that you head back there right away.”

“All right,” Anaakii answered nervously. She rubbed her paws together anxiously as Zia turned and quickly hurried away from her.

~*~

Pippen stormed into the room, looking around in anger. Gypper rose to his feet, his face tense with anticipation. Pacer started and spun to look at him, not getting to his feet. Raptor blinked, appearing to be startled himself, then smiled overly sweetly.

“Pippen? Is there something I can help you with?”

“You damn well can,” Pippen growled, quickly moving forward. Gypper tensed further, glancing between Raptor and Pippen. “Would you mind telling me about the Pollicle?”

Raptor’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Pollicle?”

“Don’t play stupid, Raptor. The one that attacked my brother. Did you have something to do with it?”

Raptor’s face darkened and he sneered. “How dare you accuse me of that? You have no right to say that I would deliberately try and hurt your brother?” He allowed his scornful look to be turned into a sly smile. “Besides, how do you know for sure about this Pollicle? How do you know it just wasn’t some random Pollicle that decided you precious brother looked like a tasty snack.”

“The dog told my brother. He was hired to kill Skeet,” Pippen growled, his eyes narrowing as Raptor climbed to feet.

“You’re crossing a dangerous line, Pippen,” he said softly. Pippen felt his fur bristle along the back of his neck and down his spine. “You’re doing a very dangerous thing to accuse me of having anything to do this little incident. Do you know that?”

Pippen snarled, curling his paws into fists. “Are you threatening me?”

“Call it what you will, Pippen, but I seriously think that you need to watch what you say to me,” Raptor growled in return, the cold tone in his voice making Pacer shiver. “If you know what’s good for you, that is.”

Pippen suddenly lunged at Raptor, snarling. “You bastard!”

In a moment, he found himself on his back, looking up at the ceiling. He started to climb up, but was stopped as Raptor knelt beside him, pressing down on his chest and holding him down on the ground.

“Never try that again,” Raptor snarled lowly. “I’ll kill you.”

Pippen stared up at him in disbelief, wondering how he had gotten on the ground so fast. Both toms turned their heads at Pacer’s nervous plea.

“Raptor? Please? Maybe we ought to just leave. I don’t think Pippen really thinks you had anything to do with it, all right? He’s just upset,” the small tom said.

Raptor shot Gypper a quick look, as though disbelieving that Pacer would dare to suggest such a thing. Gypper nodded, obviously supporting Pacer’s nervous statement.

“Yeah, Raptor. Maybe we ought to just leave him alone.”

Raptor scoffed, pulling away from Pippen and was on his feet again quickly. Pippen rolled onto his hands and knees, pushing himself up. He met eyes with Raptor briefly before the black tom hissed and strode angrily from the room. He looked over at Pacer in startled shock. The younger tom shrugged.

“I… sorry about that,” he quickly apologized, hurrying after Raptor. Gypper sniffed in disgust, following the two of them.

Pippen sat on the ground, watching after them, then got to his feet. He had to do something, but what? He didn’t even know what was going on, so how could he prevent whatever it was?

~*~

Gracie sat chewing on her bottom lip nervously. She was a wreck. Anaakii had just disappeared without a word and all she could think was the worst. She didn’t even know what to think had happened to her.

She brushed her fingers through her head fur, standing and starting to pace again. She could see Pascal out in front of the small, cave like hole in the ground where they lived. Heavyside, what were they going to do? She didn’t even have a clue of where to begin looking for hints as to where her child had gone.

As though it were a sending from the Everlasting Cat, she noticed a scrap of paper lying under the mattress on blocks that her and Pascal slept on. She rushed to it, scooping it up and unfolding it with almost shaking hands.

Her breath flowed out quickly and she sat down on the mattress, pressing a paw to her chest. Anaakii was all right. Well, theoretically. Her letter showed that the child Gracie had helped to rear was busy stretching her wings elsewhere. But, still, even this letter didn’t help to calm her.

What did Anaakii know about the outside world? Nothing. Nothing whatsoever. She couldn’t survive out there. She would be killed or worse.

Grasping the letter in her paw, Gracie rushed out of the cave, hurrying to Pascal’s side. The tom looked up at her.

“What is it?” he asked, sounding almost dull and wary.

“I found a letter,” Gracie replied, thrusting it at him. “From Anaakii.”

Pascal took it quickly, reading it over twice before reacting. He sighed.

“Thank God. Then she is safe.”

“But, Pascal, where is she? Where could she have gone? And, how do you know that she’s safe.”

The tom shook his head, touching Gracie’s paw gently. “Because our little girl is smart. She’ll be all right.” He smiled a little. “Besides, she’ll be back soon. I bet you she’ll get bored or nervous by herself and return home.”

Gracie nodded reluctantly. “But, if she doesn’t?”

Pascal seemed nervous suddenly. “If she doesn’t return soon, I shall go out and look for her.” He forced a smile. “I promise. I’ll go if she’s not back by nightfall.”

“All right,” Gracie agreed reluctantly, trying to ignore the falling feeling in her stomach.