Technically this chapter is part of a story that continues for the next two chapters but I wouldn't say it's a three-parter, more like a mini-arc.
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Adventurous Anthros
Panthro's phobia (Season 1 Chapter 12)
Story by TheAnnonymousKat on Furaffinity
Characters belong to their respective owners

Within the Castle that housed the Syndicate of Malevolence, the legendary psychic Pokemon Mewtwo floated through a few of the corridors, he thought about his latest encounter with the Anthros the other day, his battle with Kat especially stuck with him. Even though Mewtwo claimed he would kill Kat several times during the battle, he didn't have any plans to, especially since Mumm-Ra specifically told him and the rest of the Syndicate to avoid killing him. Mewtwo's true goal during his battle with Kat was to test Kat's strength, and though the hybrid only managed to land a single hit, Mewtwo was impressed with his speed and determination. Another thing that stuck with Mewtwo was the Incineroar that fought for Kat, his strength and loyalty was unlike anything Mewtwo had seen from a non legendary pokemon. Ever since the battle, Mewtwo had questioned his viewpoint on humanity,
'While that hybrid isn't entirely human, he's mostly human… and yet that Incineroar fought for him so passionately, as if he was fighting to protect a family member… could it be that not all of humanity is terrible?' Mewtwo thought to himself. As Mewtwo floated through the hallways pondering, Dio walked past him, while Mewtwo thought about his ideals, Dio thought about his reinforcements.

'it wasn't too long ago that I had several loyal stand users at my disposal, each one with an amazing ability, but thanks to those useless heroes, it's just me now, I'm forced to carry out any plans I might have by myself, how unfitting! I am above humanity, doing everything myself makes me feel undignified…' Dio thought. After walking for another minute Dio stopped in the middle of the corridor,
"It's a shame that no stand has the ability to bring back the dead, I'd do anything to get my servants back…" said Dio to himself,
"Is that so?" Said Mumm-Ra, who suddenly appeared behind him, Dio looked over his shoulder,
"Mumm-Ra, we don't speak very often, for what occasion do you approach me?" Dio asked casually,
"I was simply passing by when I overheard that you'd do anything to get your servants back," Mumm-Ra explained,
"Yes, unlike the other members of the Syndicate I don't have powerful servants at my disposal," Dio explained,
"What about your vampires?" Mumm-Ra inquired,
"Run-of-the-mill vampires are obsolete nowadays, with so many heroes going around the many worlds and the amount of weaknesses my vampires have, They're rarely able to complete a task for me," Dio explained,
"I see, what if I told you there was a way to bring back the stand users who once served you?" Mumm-Ra offered,
"Oh? I'm listening," Dio replied,
"My magic has the ability to do anything, including bring back the dead, however, the spell necessary to do so is in a spell book I don't currently possess, however if you would retrieve the spell book for me, I could use it to bring back your servants," Mumm-Ra offered, Dio seemed puzzled,
"What would you have to gain from the book though?" Dio asked,
"There are other spells in the book that could help me along the way, so what do you say?" Mumm-Ra asked, Dio pondered for a moment,
"Very well, if retrieving one book is what must be done for me to have my goals realized, then it shall be done," Dio replied crossing his arms,
"Excellent, I'm confident that you can retrieve the book for me within a few days," Mumm-Ra commented, Dio raised a brow,
"A few days?" Dio inquired,
"I'll explain later, come see me when you're about to depart, I'll tell you where the book is," Mumm-Ra explained as he walked away. Dio was about to walk to his room to retrieve his cloak, when he heard a whisper above him,
"I know you're there Van Bloot, what do you want?" Dio asked in annoyance, Van Bloot dropped down from the ceiling,
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Mumm-Ra-" Van Bloot tried explaining before he was cut off,
"By which you mean you were eavesdropping, but do go on," Dio replied,
"Well… yes, But! I'd like to help you retrieve the book," Van Bloot offered,
"Like I'd want some skinny turkey slowing me down," Dio scoffed,
"Hey! At least I can move around during the day just fine blood sucker!" Van Bloot retorted
"I'd watch what you say, I can punch a hole through you within a split second," Dio retorted casually,
"I thought you prefer having people do work for you, I'm offering you free help here!" Van Bloot explained,
"True, but the only time you ever help someone is if you can gain something from it," Dio replied,
"Well… yes, the truth is, I'm trying to get back on Mumm-Ra's good side, since things didn't go so well during my last plan," Van Bloot explained, rubbing the back of his head, Dio sighed,
"What a pitiful creature you are…" Dio commented,
"So… is that a yes?" Van Bloot asked hopefully, Dio pondered for a moment, then sighed once more,
"Very well, I suppose you wouldn't be the most pathetic creature to work for me," Dio replied,
"You mean work with you, right?" Van Bloot inquired,
"I know what I said," Dio replied casually,
"Ah… well either way is fine, you won't regret this Dio!" Van Bloot replied happily,
"Lord Dio, and I should hope not, slow me down and I'll take you to a taxidermist, have you stuffed, and put you in my room for decoration," said Dio, to make his point, a large fist mark suddenly appeared on the wall behind Van Bloot with a crash, Van Bloot looked behind him at the sudden mark and gulped,
"Noted," Van Bloot replied nervously, Dio then continued his walk back to his room.

Visiting New Tech City, Kat and Panthro were at a basketball court, Kat wore his usual clothes while Panthro was shirtless, had his hair out as opposed to having it in his usual warrior's tail, and wore a pair of shorts. For the past hour Kat had been teaching Panthro the basics of basketball, and Panthro found that he was getting used to the game rather quickly and thoroughly enjoying himself as he played. Kuriboh and Bruiser watched the two anthros on a nearby bench. As the two played Kat of course wasn't moving at full speed to make things fair, it didn't bother him when Panthro managed to make a few baskets on him, it wasn't about winning or losing, it was just a nice, friendly game of basketball with his closest ally. After Panthro made another basket, Kat picked up the ball when it rolled to his feet,
"Wow Panthro, you're a natural," Kat complimented, Panthro rubbed the back of his head,
"Heh, thanks pal, this game is a lot more fun than I originally thought it'd be," Panthro commented,
"Are you ready for the next lesson? Next I'm gonna teach you how to cross someone," Kat explained, Panthro tilted his head,
"Cross… someone?" Panthro inquired,
"Also known as Juking or exposing," Kat explained,
"Why not just call it juking?" Panthro asked, Kat shrugged,
"Not sure, alright now watch me, this takes a certain amount of skill, watch how I move my- HOLY-!!" said Kat when a wasp flew near them, causing Kat to drop the basketball. Kat quickly got a kunai out, and slashed the wasp half while it was flying, causing the two halves to fall to the ground lifeless. Kat put a hand over his chest and caught his breath, when Kat saw the wasp his heart skipped a beat, Panthro snickered,
"What was that? Why are you so scared of a little wasp?" Panthro asked while stifling his laughter, Kat looked away and blushed angrily, crossing his arms
"Hey I wasn't scared, I just don't like wasps…" Kat replied,
"There's another one behind you," Panthro lied, Kat quickly turned around and readied his kunai, while having a scared look on his face,
"Where?!" Kat asked in a frightened voice before Panthro started laughing, causing Kat to realize that Panthro was messing with him,
"You are such a kitten sometimes," Panthro commented, Kat angrily threw his kunai down on the ground,
"Hey that isn't funny! Wasps are awful! All they do is fly around and sting people!" Said Kat angrily,
"Heh, I'm sorry, let's just get back to the game," Panthro suggested, Kat sighed, then noticed that the ball rolled over to the bench that Bruiser and Kuriboh were sitting at,
"Hey, can one of you pass the ball back over here?" Kat requested, Kuriboh nodded and went to pick the ball up, but Bruiser growled at him since he wanted to be the one to pass it back. Bruiser and Kuriboh then had an argument full of Kuriboh noises and Incineroar cries that only Kat could understand, though even without being able to understand them it was clear that the argument was unneeded over such a small thing, Kat sighed and crossed his arms,
"Hey, come on now guys, if we're gonna be a team, you two need to learn to get along," said Kat,
"Why don't Bruiser and Kuriboh get along?" Panthro asked, Kat sighed,
"I dunno, they just keep arguing over petty things, hopefully they move past this at some point," Kat explained.

Eventually Kat retrieved the ball and continued teaching Panthro various techniques. Kat and Panthro had so much fun playing basketball that they played multiple games together. After awhile Kat and Panthro decided to take a break, Panthro sat on a nearby bench in the shade, the bench in question was next to the one Bruiser and Kuriboh were on, while Kat walked away from the court, then five minutes later returned holding two large bottles of water, one of which he handed to Panthro,
"Ah, thanks, I could use some water," said Panthro as he took the bottle, Kat sat down next to Panthro, and opened his own bottle. After hours of playing multiple basketball games, Kat and Panthro enjoyed relaxing in the shade while drinking the cold water. After a minute of sitting quietly, Panthro was the one to break the silence,
"Thanks for telling me about basketball, this game is a lot of fun," said Panthro,
"No problem, maybe we could get more guys to play with us in a future game," Kat suggested,
"Maybe some of the other Anthros," Panthro suggested, taking another sip of his water,
'now I can't get the image of how the guys would look in basketball jerseys out of my head,' Kat thought. As Panthro looked up towards the clouds while he relaxed, Kat got a good look at Panthro through the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but blush when he saw Panthro's muscular body, he figured it must have taken years of hard work to develop his large muscles. Though it wasn't just Panthro's muscles that Kat found appealing, his long dark brown hair that connected from the back of his head to his mutton chops on the sides of his face was also a desirable trait to Kat. Kat found the scars on Panthro's body also had a strangely alluring quality to them. Though looks aren't everything to Kat, what he truly looked for in someone was their personality, though thankfully Panthro didn't lack in that regard either, Kat enjoyed how much Panthro cared about him, as well as how good he was at making decisions, though Panthro had a tough and stubborn exterior, he was really kind and thoughtful once you truly got to know him. Kat blushed and gingerly sipped his water, now avoiding looking at Panthro at all, ever since Kat had first met Panthro, the Thundercat's mere presence had always caused his heart to beat faster. Kat was inexperienced when it came to relationships, so he was unsure if he had feelings for Panthro,
'Is it wrong to have these feelings? I mean… the age gap between us can't be that big, can it?... Although, that isn't the only issue, I'm not sure if he returns the feelings, he very well might not…' Kat thought. Kat took another sip of his water,
'maybe I should try and make small talk to make things less awkward…' Kat thought,
"Hey Panthro, remember when we first met?" Kat asked,
"Huh? Sure I do, we took on a bunch of thugs that night, I'll never forget how you went out of your way to help me,” Panthro replied as he casually pet Kat, causing the hybrid to blush,
“Why do you ask?” Panthro asked,
“Well, I realized that if you hadn’t apprehended me that night, and offered to join your team the next day, I’d probably still be going around stealing things, I don’t know if I ever properly thanked you…” Kat explained,
“You don’t need to thank me, ultimately it was your choice to join my team, I’m just glad you agreed, I'm also glad you’ve been making an effort to better yourself since then,” Panthro replied,
‘Maybe what I’m feeling isn’t love, but instead it’s respect and admiration for my ally… maybe Panthro would know? I should ask him in a subtle way,’ Kat thought, Panthro started drinking down his water in larger gulps,
“Hey Panthro, what’s it like to be in love with someone?” Kat asked, Panthro immediately spat out the water that was in his mouth and started choking on the water that was still in his throat as he started coughing uncontrollably, Kat quickly rubbed and patted his back to help him stop choking, after a few seconds Panthro managed to get ahold of himself,
“Why do you think I’d know that?!” Panthro asked, clearly confused by Kat’s logic,
“Well you know, you’re older than me, I thought you’d have experience being in love, or being in a relationship,” Kat explained,
“Nah, I’ve never really gone through that, most of my life was filled with fighting, there wasn’t really time to have a romantic relationship,” Panthro explained,
“Ah I see,” Kat replied,
“Why? Is there someone you love?” Panthro asked, Kat gulped and blushed,
“U-uh no, of course not, I was just asking so I’d be prepared if I ever did find someone I love,” Kat lied, Panthro petted Kat on his head,
“No need to be so nervous you goofball,” said Panthro with a smile,
“Sorry...,” Kat replied timidly before he purred a bit from the petting,
“Heh, I keep forgetting you’re part cat, in a way we’re not so different, maybe that’s why we make great partners” Panthro commented,
‘That’s right… we aren't so different… maybe a relationship between us wouldn’t be so doomed… though for now I should focus on getting to know him better, and doing nice things for him,’ Kat thought happily. Panthro’s communicator suddenly lit up, Panthro stopped petting Kat to answer it,
“Hello?” said Panthro, both Panthro and Kat heard Doggie’s voice,
“Panthro? You’re in New Tech City right? The rangers and I are fighting a few monsters, but they’re a bit more than we can handle, think you could give us a hand?” Doggie requested,
“Sure, just give me a minute to head over there,” Panthro instructed,
“Got it, we can hold them off until you get here,” Doggie replied, Panthro ended the call and put his communicator back in his pocket with a sigh,
“Well, I guess justice never rests, sorry Kat but I think that’s all the time we have for basketball today, I gotta go,” Panthro explained, putting his long hair back into it’s usual warrior’s tail,
“I can help you guys,” Kat offered, Panthro looked surprised,
“You… want to help us out? I think I can handle the monsters, you can stay here and relax if you want” Panthro offered,
“Nah, I've relaxed plenty, I want to help you, after all, what are partners for?” Kat asked rhetorically with a smile, a smile spread across Panthro’s face as well, Panthro put his fist out to Kat, who promptly responded by giving him a fistbump,
“Thanks, partner,” said Panthro happily.

The next day, Kat woke up in his bed at the Anthros of Justice base, it was early in the morning but Kat was getting used to such a sleep schedule. Kat got out of bed, and was about to leave his room to go to the kitchen, but when Kat opened the door Panthro was at the doorway, and he looked like he was about to knock,
"Oh Kat, good to see that you're up, hey listen, we're having a meeting, do you remember where the meeting room is?" Panthro asked,
"Yeah, what's the meeting about?" Kat asked,
"You'll see at the meeting," Panthro explained,
"Ok then," Kat replied.

It wasn't long before Kat joined the rest of the the Anthros in the meeting room, save for Winston, Kat sat down at a chair next to the Panthro at the circular table,
"Thanks for joining us Kat, now we can start this team meeting, do you remember when we were doing the investigation on Cinnabar Island, and we talked about possibly adding new members?" Panthro asked,
"Yeah, why?" Kat inquired,
"Well, we did some searching, and found someone who'd be a good candidate," Sulley explained, Doggie pressed a few buttons on the side of the the tabe, causing a small panel to open in the middle of the table, which a hologram was projected from. The hologram displayed both a large castle, and a beastly man with dark brown fur all over his body, and large dark brown horns, wearing a dark purple cloak, standing in front of the castle,
"Oh hey I've heard of that guy, he's known as "the beast"... Or is it Prince Adam?" Kat asked, scratching the back of his head,
"I think he goes by either," Sulley replied,
"With his strength and agility, he'd make a nice asset to the team," Doggie explained,
“Well how would he feel about joining the Anthros?” Jon asked,
“That’s the tricky thing, due to the primitive technology the beast has in his castle, the way to ask him would be face to face,” Panthro explained,
"Well that's not too bad, we can use the gate hopper to get to the castle," Kat suggested, the rest of the Anthros had awkward expressions on their faces
"Yeah, about that… just last night the gate hopper started acting up, and it'll be awhile before Winston can have it operational," Panthro explained,
"Oh… then how can we get over there?" Kat asked,
"The fastest way would be to go to the gate leading to the beast's world with the Thundertank, but after that we'd have to travel on foot considering that the area leading to the castle has a thick forest that stretches for miles, it'd be impossible to take the tank through there," Panthro explained,
"We should forget about trying to recruit the beast in that case, we'd be focusing our manpower and resources on trying to ask someone who may not even be interested in joining our team, I don't think it's worth it," Jon suggested, the rest of the Anthros seemed to agree with Jon's point, except for Kat,
"What if I made the journey alone?" Kat suggested, the rest of the Anthros turned their attention to Kat,
"You want to try and make the journey alone? Kat we're talking a journey through a vast land that'll take a couple days at least, and it may be meaningless if the beast isn't even interested in joining the team," Panthro pointed out,
"I know, but the rest of you guys have homeworlds to look after, as well as other worlds that may need your help, meanwhile I'm just sort of backup for you guys, so it's not like things would fall apart if I wasn't here for a few days, plus we could use all the help we can get with all the villains running around lately, and with how good my luck's been lately, I bet I could convince the beast to join," Kat explained,
"So you want to take a long journey to the beast's castle because you think you'll get lucky?" Jon asked skeptically,
"I mean… yeah basically," Kat replied, after pondering for a few moments Panthro spoke up,
"No, I won't let you take the journey alone, I'll come with you," Panthro replied, the other Anthros including Kat, gave Panthro an odd look,
"You really want to go on this journey? It's incredibly risky!" Jon explained,
"I know, that's why I want to come with him," Panthro explained,
"You're our leader, you can simply forbid Kat from taking the trip," Jon replied,
"I could, but what Kat said has some truth to it, we could use as much help as we can get, besides that though, last week Kat was always there to help us when the Syndicate or other villains made an attack, he has a strange habit of always being in the wrong place at the right time, that and his luck has always pulled through for him when he needed it to, even if I don't believe in luck, I have faith in my partner," Panthro explained, Kat blushed,
'Panthro…' Kat thought, touched by his partner's belief in him, Jon sighed,
"If that's the case, then I suppose we could cover for you two while you head to the castle, just come back as soon as you can," Jon explained,
"You can count on us, just come back safely," Leomon assured,
"Then it's settled, you two pack what you need for the trip, we'll take care of any problems while you're gone," , Doggie assured,
"Thanks Anthros, we'll be careful, and we'll come back as soon as we can," Panthro replied,

After two hours Kat and Panthro put together sufficient packs of supplies, and they were about to take off in the Thundertank, when they saw Winston quickly approach the tank from its side. Panthro opened the cockpit, and Winston promptly handed Kat a strange device that looked like a flashlight with strange panels at the end,
"Winston, what is this thing?" Kat inquired,
"It's my latest invention, "The Ready Gate", I believe I've successfully made a device that can mimic the attributes of the gates of light, so if Adam agrees to become a member of the team you could put this device somewhere near his castle, and I could activate the other device back at the base, and we could make our own little mini gate so we wouldn't have to make a huge journey anytime we need to get to the castle and the hopper isn't working" Winston explained,
"Wow Winston, you're really smart!" Kat complimented, Winston blushed,
"Heh, I do what I can to help," Winston replied,
"Thanks Winston, do you think you can have the gate hopper operational before we reach the castle?" Panthro asked,
"I can't make any promises, but I'll do my best," Winston replied with a thumbs up,
"See that you do, take care big guy," said Panthro before he closed the cockpit to his tank again, as Kat and Panthro took off for their journey, Winston waved at them for as long as they were visible,
"Good luck," said Winston, despite how neither Kat nor Panthro could've heard him.

After driving for an hour Panthro made it to the gate that led to the beast's world, after Panthro drove through the gate he and Kat got out of the tank with their packs. Panthro turned to his tank,
"Athena, can you take my tank back to the base?" Panthro requested,
"Of course, have a safe trip you two," Athena replied when she appeared on the monitor within the Thundertank. After the cockpit closed on the tank, Athena drove the tank back through the gate,
"Alright Kat, let's get a move on," said Panthro before he took out his map and started walking, Kat followed behind him.

Kat and Panthro walked for three hours through the vast land before they came across a cave entrance,
"Are we going through that?" Kat asked,
"Yeah, through the cave is part of the shortest route to the castle from the gate, it'd be the thing to do," Panthro explained,
"Ok then, let's do it," Kat replied with a nod,
"Don't worry, I don't think there are any wasps in that cave," Panthro replied teasingly, Kat crossed his arms,
"Oh ha ha," Kat replied in annoyance, Panthro and Kat then entered the cave.

The cave that Kat and Panthro travelled through had a single path to follow for the first few minutes, thanks to the cat-like qualities of both Anthros they could walk through the dark cave just fine without tripping over anything. As they walked and Kat saw the long stone walls that bordered the path, which caused him to wonder if there were any gemstones in the cave, which reminded him of the power stones that he learned about not too long ago,
"Hey Panthro?" Kat inquired,
"Yeah?" Panthro replied,
"You know how you told me about the four power stones?" Kat inquired,
"Yeah, what about them?" Panthro replied,
"Well, can you tell me more about them?" Kat inquired,
"Well let's see, there are four power stones, The Soul Stone, which you already learned about, The Spirit Stone, The Tech Stone, and The War Stone, also known as the Eye of Thundera, that one is currently within this weapon known as the Sword of Omens, whenever all four stones are gathered together, they grant the weider ultimate power," Panthro explained, Kat pondered for a moment,
"ultimate power, huh," Kat repeated
"What, are you interested in getting ultimate power?" Panthro asked,
"Maybe," Kat replied,
"What would you do with ultimate power?" Panthro asked,
"Become the greatest hero ever, and stop villains everywhere," Kat replied, Panthro smiled,
"Well at least you have good intentions, I thought you'd say something like "obtain unlimited money," Panthro replied,
"Well maybe that too, we'll see," Kat replied, Panthro sighed and shook his head,
'Shouldn't have said anything,' Panthro thought to himself. After walking around for a few more minutes, Kat and Panthro entered into a chamber of the cave, though what lied ahead caused Panthro's heart to skip a beat, within the chamber was a small lake,
"Huh, a lake in a cave, I guess we'll have to swim across," Kat commented, Panthro slightly backed away behind Kat. Kat turned around with a confused look on his face,
"Panthro? What's wrong big guy?" Kat inquired, Panthro seemed very nervous,
“Kat, I’m not going to be able to go across…” Panthro explained as he wiped some sweat from his forehead,
“Why?” Kat inquired, Panthro seemed hesitant to answer,
“I… I can’t swim,” Panthro admitted, seeming ashamed. Kat was silent for a moment, allowing what Panthro told him to sink in as he looked at the large panther man with his glowing red feline eyes, before he shrugged and dug through his pocket, casually replying with-
“Ok then,” Panthro was shocked at Kat’s response,
“That’s your response? Just “Ok then”?” Panthro inquired,
"It’s nothing to worry about, if you can’t swim, you can’t swim, I have ways to get across a body of water without swimming,” Kat explained,
“How? Like a raft?” Panthro inquired, thinking perhaps Kat had packed an inflatable raft.
“Try a bridge,” Kat replied, taking out two cards from his pocket, Panthro tilted his head in confusion,
“A bridge? Really now?” Panthro inquired, in response one of the cards Kat was holding glowed, and Kuriboh manifested from it, Kuriboh making his appearance lit up the cave for a brief moment, Panthro seemed just as confused as he was a moment ago,
“Kuriboh? How does he relate to your bridge idea?” Panthro asked,
“Because, I’m about to give him another ability,” Kat explained holding up the other card,
“You are?” Panthro asked,
“Kuri?” Kuriboh asked, apparently being just as confused as Panthro. Kat held the card up, it was a spell card with an image of a large rainbow originating from clouds in the sky with large stone columns on them, and arching forward depicted on it,
“Spell card! Rainbow Blessing, activate!” said Kat, suddenly the card glowed, then it flew from Kat’s hand, and surrounded Kuriboh with a strange energy, which quickly turned his normally brown fur into a rainbow color. Kuriboh was amazed by his new appearance, he got a good look at himself in the reflection of the lake, Panthro turned to Kat,
“Kat, what did you do?” Panthro asked,
“A little while ago, I found that I gained the ability to use duel monster cards, I’m guessing it’s because Kuriboh is travelling with me, and that particular card that I used normally gives a monster the ability to create a path that one can follow to bypass an opponent’s defenses when others attack the opponent, but it also creates bridges made of rainbow energy that we’ll be able to cross,” Kat explained, Panthro seemed skeptical,
“Rainbow energy? Kat do you know what rainbows are?, they’re like arches of light! We can’t stand on them!” Panthro replied,
“Normal rainbows no, but this rainbow will be augmented by magic, you’ll see, we’ll be able to cross it just fine, Kuriboh, make us a rainbow bridge!” Kat instructed, Kuriboh nodded, then flew over the lake from where they stood, as he floated over the lake a rainbow formed beneath him, eventually connecting the two sides. Immediately Kat got on the bridge to demonstrate just how sturdy it was, the rainbow seemed like a physical construct considering Kat could stand on it, Panthro gingerly followed Kat's lead and stepped on the rainbow, upon seeing how sturdy the rainbow was Panthro started to feel a bit at ease,
"A-are you sure this is safe to cross?" Panthro asked,
"Yeah, though the path is fairly narrow, there are no guard rails, and it goes in an arch, so it's important to not lose your balance as you cross," Kat explained as he started crossing. After walking for a few steps, Kat turned to see Panthro still hadn't moved,
"Panthro?" Kat inquired, worried that his friend wasn't going to move forward, Panthro looked away with a frightened expression,
"I don't know about this Kat, if I fall in the lake I'll sink like a rock and drown," Panthro explained as he sweat, Kat walked over to Panthro, and extended a hand to him, Panthro looked at the hand, then looked at Kat's face, he had a smile that was comforting and reassuring,
"I won't let you fall, we'll get past this lake, trust me," said Kat, his voice seemed kind and confident, after hesitating for a moment, Panthro sighed, then grabbed Kat's hand. Kat turned back around, and led Panthro across the rainbow bridge, with each step Panthro's heart skipped a beat, the walk seemed to take so much longer than it really did, and within only a minute on the bridge Panthro's palms were getting sweaty, causing him to fear that it'd slip out of Kat's grip, and he'd fall over the side of the rainbow and sink. After a tense walk across the bridge, Panthro and Kat were safely at the other side, Panthro let out a deep sigh when his feet were on solid stone,
"See? Nothing to worry about," said Kat with a thumbs up, Panthro smiled, wiping the sweat from his brow,
"Thanks for the help Kat, but, let's stay away from any lakes for the rest of the journey," Panthro requested,
"Ok then," Kat replied, Kat then turned his attention to Kuriboh,
"Thanks pal, you were a huge help," Kat explained,
"Kuri Kuri," said Kuriboh happily, the rainbow bridge behind the two Anthros then dissipated, and Kuriboh's fur returned to its normal color, before Kuriboh returned to his card form, and Kat returned him to his pocket,
"He's an oddly helpful little guy," Panthro commented,
"Yeah, he is, so shall we continue?" Kat asked, Panthro nodded,
"Yeah, we better," Panthro replied.

Panthro and Kat walked through the cave for several more minutes, just as they hoped they’d reach the exit soon, they could see a faint light in the distance, which they were sure was the exit to the cave. Kat and Panthro eagerly walked faster, though just when they started to feel excitement to finally be done going through the cave, Kat smelled the air, and commented-
"Huh, smells like guano," a comment that caused Panthro to stop dead in his tracks and freeze up. Kat, with a look of confusion on his face, turned to Panthro,
"What is it?" Kat asked, Panthro nervously looked around,
"Y-you said guano right? A-as in…" Panthro tried to ask but he trailed off,
"Bat poop? Yep… why? Don't tell me you're scared of poop…" Said Kat awkwardly, Panthro shook his head,
"N-not poop, bats!" Panthro explained shivering. Kat said nothing for a moment before he furrowed his brow,
"Wait a sec… I know what you're doing," said Kat in annoyance, pointing to Panthro, Panthro tilted his head,
"What am I doing?" Panthro asked, unsure of what Kat was implying, Kat crossed his arms,
"You're making fun of me, you're just acting like you're scared to show me how pathetic I looked yesterday with the wasp!" Said Kat as he turned his back to Panthro, who was shocked at his friend's statement,
"What?! No Kat I-" Panthro tried to say before Kat cut him off,
"I bet you also pretended you couldn't swim to mess with me," said Kat,
"No Kat, listen! I really-" Panthro tried explaining before Kat cut him off again,
"Well haha, I hope found it funny, because-" Kat tried saying, but this time Panthro cut him off by wrapping one arm around his chest from behind, and covering his mouth with his other hand,
"Kat! I'm not pretending! I really can't swim, and I'm really terrified of bats!" Panthro explained angrily. Kat allowed what Panthro told him to sink in for a moment, his voice sounded genuine, and as Panthro held Kat, he could feel the large Panther man tremble. Kat looked up to see several bats hanging above them, each of the bats made several little squeak sounds that Kat hadn't noticed until now, Panthro held Kat close, and tried controlling his breathing, though he seemed like he was having a panic attack. Kat's ears drooped as he gingerly took Panthro's large palm off his mouth,
"Panthro, I'm sorry…" said Kat in an ashamed tone, Panthro said nothing, he simply held Kat close to him with one of his large arms while he gritted his sharp teeth, clenched his eyes shut, trembled, and did his best to maintain his breathing,
"Panthro… I know you're scared, but the exit isn't much farther… please, we got through the lake, we can get through this!" Said Kat confidently, Panthro, still with his eyes shut, shook his head,
"No Kat… I d-don't think I can… I can't even move forward…" Panthro explained as he continued trembling, Kat was surprised to see Panthro in his current state, Kat had seen Panthro when he was happy, angry, disappointed, and serious on a number of occasions, but this was the first time Kat had seen Panthro scared to the point of trembling. Kat knew that he needed to get Panthro out of the cave as soon as possible, but he wasn't sure how he'd go about it, though after pondering for a minute, Kat came up with an idea. Panthro didn't hold Kat particularly tightly, so the hybrid managed to turn himself around, and reach his hands up, resting them on Panthro's large shoulders, Kat blushed as he thought about what he was planning to do. Panthro hadn't opened his eyes, but he was so close to Kat he felt him move around and put his hands on his shoulders, he was confused as to what the hybrid was planning. Then to Panthro's surprise, Kat got on his toes so his head could come closer to Panthro's, and he kissed the panther man on his cheek. Kat's heart was pounding all the while, both Anthros were blushing red from Kat's action, the kiss didn't last long, only a moment, but it felt as though it lasted much longer. After Kat broke the kiss Panthro's eyes were wide open and he looked directly at Kat,
"Kat! W-what the he- Woah!" Said Panthro before Kat swiftly grabbed one of Panthro's hands, and started running towards the entrance. It wasn't the first time Kat had demonstrated his surprising strength to Panthro, but he was still surprised that someone much smaller than him managed to lead him along like it was nothing, it was likely because Panthro was so surprised by the kiss that he didn't think to anchor himself in place. Kat dashed with Panthro so fast, that before they knew it, they were out of the cave.

After they exited the cave Kat stopped not too far from the exit and let go of Panthro's hand before looking ahead of him, the natural light was nice after travelling through the dark cave for so long, though it looked as though they would have to walk through the dense woods for quite a bit longer. Panthro saw that Kat's attention was towards the path in front of them, so he stepped in front of him,
"Kat, what in the blazes was that?!" Panthro asked, obviously referring to the kiss earlier,
"What? I needed to get you out of that cave," Kat explained, Panthro blushed and scratched the back of his head,
"That's one heck of a way to do it…" Panthro commented,
"Well you weren't thinking about the bats were you?" Kat asked, Panthro thought for a moment, then sighed as he gave an embarrassed smile,
"Nah, I guess not… I'm sorry about the other day, it wasn't right of me to give you hell because of your fear," said Panthro apologetically,
"It's ok, though, why are you so afraid of bats?" Kat asked,
"That's a story for another time, for now let's just get back to walking, going through the cave saved us some time on our journey, but we still have a long way to go," Panthro explained, Kat nodded,
"Ok then," Kat replied. Kat and Panthro then continued their journey to the beast's castle, little did they know that more obstacles awaited up ahead.

End of Chapter 12