Adventurous Anthros
The Witch and the Mercenary (Season 1 Chapter 13)
Story by TheAnnonymousKat on Furaffinity
Characters belong to their respective owners

"I can't believe this is happening again…" Zero commented, Zero is a girl with long white hair with a stray lock atop her head that's curved upward, sharp purple eyes, she wore a black robe with large white cuffs, the robe in question exposes her navel, as well as a belt with a triangular pattern that went over her robe as it clung to her waist, a black pair of short shorts, a large pair of cuffed brown boots that reached up to her knees, and a pair of lavender stockings with two black X's on them. Zero wasn't very tall, but she was quite the powerful and beautiful witch. Zero was resting in a cave in the dead of night as it rained, along with Zero was her loyal friend and bodyguard Mercenary, who was a white tiger beastfallen. Beastfallens are a particular type of anthros that came into being due to being cursed, forced to take on appearances of animals, though as a plus side, beastfallen are granted increased strength, speed, stamina, and senses. Mercenary in particular was a very tall and muscular beastfallen who wore a brown vest with a metal shoulderguard on his left shoulder over a red crop top shirt that had a semi-circular opening from the bottom that showed most of his developed chest muscles, a large green belt that holstered three knives that went over his chest and shoulder, on each of his wrists were large metal wristbands with spikes on them, fingerless gloves on his hands, and bandages on his forearms, on his legs he wore a pair of brown pants that were suspended by a green belt with a rectangular metal buckle, and on his feet was a pair of dark brown boots with large metal knee guards, though currently his clothes were conceiled by his large black cloak that covered his massive body. While Mercenary expertly cooked some of his renowned stew at a small fire, Zero, who on any other occasion would be looking over Mercenary's large shoulder to witness the process of the tiger beastfallen make the delicious food, was instead too busy thinking about recent events. Zero's grimoire was stolen not too long ago, what especially frustrated her was that it wasn't the first time she lost the grimoire. Within the grimoire was a number of spells that could help people in their everyday lives, the spells would allow one to hunt without wasting arrows, make a fire without a flint, heal wounds without medicine, as well as several other uses. Though while the contents of the book were made with good intentions, in the wrong hands the book has the power to destroy the world. Zero sat quietly against the stone wall, and kept thinking about where her book could've gone. Mercenary looked up at the stew to see Zero in her troubled state,
"Zero? You ok?" Mercenary asked, Zero slumped against the wall and sighed,
"I can't stop worrying about my grimoire," Zero explained,
"This isn't the first time it's been stolen," Mercenary replied,
"I know that, but this time it's not even in our homeworld, with so many worlds it could be in it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack, and the longer it's in someone else's hands the likelier that it's power will be abused" Zero explained clenching her fist, angered by the thought. Mercenary continued stirring the stew, it wouldn't be much longer before it'd be done,
"Isn't there some spell you can cast to help you search or something?" Mercenary asked, Zero furrowed her brow,
"Fool! If I knew a spell like that, don't you think I would've used it by now?" Zero asked in annoyance, before pondering for a bit, then widening her eyes with a realization. Zero properly sat up , crossing her legs, Mercenary looked up from the stew,
"What is it?" Mercenary inquired,
"I just remembered, a while ago Albus showed me this spell book which contains a spell that can help lead us down the right path," Zero explained as she frantically looked through her robe for some chalk, pulling out a fairly used stick out of her pocket after a bit of patting herself down. Zero then got on her knees and started making a magic circle using several symbols that would be unknown to most, but to a seasoned spell caster like Zero, she knew what they meant. After Zero finished making the spell circle she sat up and extended one hand toward the circle before beginning the incantation. After Zero had finished her incantation, a blue flame appeared within the center of the circle, before it started to sway and slowly take a shape. Within moments the blue flame turned into a projection of a person, the person in question had dark spiky hair with feline ears protruding from it, a cat tail coming from his rear, slightly slanted eyes, he wore a sleeveless shirt, had gloves on his hands, a basic pair of pants and shoes, and around his neck was a gemstone in the shape of a clover. Zero studied the person that the flame projected for a while,
"Do you know that guy?" Mercenary asked, Zero pondered for a moment before she shook her head,
"No, I don't think I've ever seen him before… what even is he? He has ears and a tail of a cat, but the rest of him looks human, he doesn't look like any beastfallen I've ever seen," Zero explained,
"Zero, I think he's a hybrid," Mercenary replied, Zero raised a brow as she studied the projection closer,
"Hybrid?" Zero inquired,
"Yeah, I heard about them a while ago, they're kind of like beastfallen, but instead of being part beast, they have aspects of a certain animal," Mercenary explained. Zero inspected the projection carefully,
"Could he have been the one who stole my grimoire?" Zero asked, Mercenary shrugged,
"I dunno, maybe, who is that guy anyway?" Mercenary asked, suddenly glowing letters appeared on the ground next to the projection,
"According to the projection-
"his name is unknown to most, but he goes by "Kat," Zero explained. Zero then crossed her arms,
"If the circle is showing me this person he must either be the thief or he can lead me to the thief… but… where will I be able to find this person?" Zero asked, suddenly the projection of Kat turned back into the blue flame, then it expanded, and shifted its shape until it turned into a castle, glowing letters appeared next to the projection of the castle, which Zero read aloud,
"To find the feline hybrid head to the world with the castle of the beast," Zero tilted her head,
"The Castle of the beast? Which world is that?" Zero asked, Mercenary got two bowls out of his bag before the projection faded away,
"I think I know which world that is," Mercenary commented, Zero turned her head towards him,
"You do?" Zero inquired, Mercenary used his ladle to distribute stew in both bowls before he stood up, walked over to Zero, and handed her the bowl,
"Yeah, we can go there first thing in the morning, hopefully the rain will have stopped by then," said Mercenary as he handed Zero a spoon, Zero smiled, feeling a bit more at ease with Mercenary helping her out,
"Thanks Mercenary, I don't know what I'd do without you," said Zero, Mercenary walked back over to the pot and his own bowl,
"Sure, I bet you're only saying that because you like my cooking so much," said Mercenary dismissively before he started eating his stew.

A few days passed for Zero and Mercenary as they traveled, meanwhile Kat and Panthro continued their journey to the beast's castle, a day had passed for them since they went through the cave. It was the middle of the day as Kat and Panthro continued their long trek through the vast land, passing by several trees on their way. Before Kat left the base he assured the rest of the Anthros that he could convince the beast to join the team, though they were skeptical of his claim, though Kat wasn't too bothered considering he was skeptical of his own claim, the hybrid deeply hoped he could make good on his claim. The more Kat thought about his uncertainty, the more he looked troubled, after walking for a bit, Panthro eventually noticed Kat's troubled expression, and inquired-
"Kat? Are you ok?", Kat looked away and sighed,
"I guess I'm just thinking of the worst case scenario, we've been walking for quite a bit now, I hope it's not for nothing," Kat explained,
"I thought you said your luck was so good lately that you could convince the beast to join our team," Panthro commented,
"I know what I said, but I'm not too sure anymore," Kat explained,
"Hey now, there's no need to worry, I have faith in you," said Panthro reassuringly, patting Kat on his shoulder,
"But what if we do fail and this big journey was just a waste of time?" Kat asked,
"Well, I guess we'll just try and recruit people who are easier to get a hold of, travelling through this land may not be a complete waste, we may come across someone who needs our help," Panthro replied,
"That's true," Kat replied as he and Panthro kept walking in the direction the map marked. After walking in silence for another minute, Kat looked at Panthro and asked him something he'd been wondering for a while,
"Hey Panthro? How did you get your scars?" Kat asked,
"I got them from the many battles I fought alongside Claudus," Panthro explained,
"Who's Claudus?" Kat asked, Panthro gave a somewhat sad expression,
"He was my original Lord… as well as a good friend and the original wielder of the Sword of Omens," Panthro explained,
"Was? What happened to him?... did he die?" Kat asked timidly, doing his best to remain respectful when he asked, Panthro gave a slow nod, then clenched his fist in anger,
"He was killed by Mumm-Ra…" Panthro explained doing his best to keep calm, Kat's eyes widened upon hearing Panthro's explanation,
"I'm sorry to hear that, I'm sure he was important to you…" Kat commented,
"He was… though to make things worse, I heard that Mumm-Ra used his magic to look like me so he could get close to Claudus to kill him…" Panthro explained in a somber tone,
"Jeez, I'm sorry…" said Kat,
"What do you have to be sorry for?" Panthro asked,
"I was just curious about your scars, I didn't mean to remind you of a painful memory," Kat explained,
"Nah, it's fine, it actually feels kinda nice to talk about this with someone I trust," Panthro replied,
"Though, you said Claudus was the original wielder of the Sword of Omens, does the sword have a wielder nowadays?" Kat inquired,
"Yeah, his name is Lion-O, he's Lord Claudus' son, he was the leader of the Thundercats, as well as a good friend, he has spiky red hair and a strong desire to help people, just like his father," Panthro explained,
"I see, you said he was the leader of the Thundercats, he doesn't lead them anymore?" Kat asked,
"Well, after Mumm-Ra created the Syndicate, there was a dispute between us as to what to do about the situation, in the end most of us went our separate ways, joining forces with other heroes to hopefully create a team strong enough to put an end to Mumm-Ra and the rest of the Syndicate," Panthro explained,
"If you and the rest of the Thundercats split up, why do you still use that cat symbol?" Kat asked,
"Because despite going our separate ways, we're still Thundercats at heart, we'll keep fighting for what is right till the day we die," Panthro explained,
"So what will you do if we can defeat Mumm-Ra?" Kat asked,
"Not sure, that's a big if, as it stands now, I don't think I'm anywhere near strong enough to take him on… as much as it pains me to say that," Panthro explained,
"You're not strong enough? Look at you, your guns are huge!" Kat commented pointing to Panthro's large Biceps,
"True, but physical strength isn't everything, Mumm-Ra's immense magical power is nothing to sneeze at, trust me, I've been on the receiving end of it," said Panthro, Kat pondered for a bit,
'Hmm… fighting someone with immense magical power, I wonder how that would go,' Kat thought.

After Zero and Mercenary cut through a thicket they walked for quite a bit until they saw Kat and Panthro in the distance,
"There he is! Kat, the man I saw in the projection!... But, who is beside him? Is Kat traveling with a beastfallen?" Zero asked, Mercenary shrugged,
"Maybe, so how do you want to go about approaching him?" Mercenary asked, Zero pondered for a bit,
"I'm not sure if he stole my grimoire, so let's be reasonable, do you think you can get further down the trail so we can confront him?" Zero asked, Mercenary nodded,
"No problem, here hop on," Mercenary instructed, pointing towards his shoulder. Zero climbed onto Mercenary's large shoulder, and held onto him firmly as he stood up and started running through the thicker part of the woods in a way that would leave him undetected. Mercenary often carried Zero considering he could run much faster than her, not to mention she could watch his back and defend him against surprise attacks with her magic.

After walking for another two minutes Kat and Panthro stopped when they saw Zero and Mercenary further down the path, standing right in the middle to get their attention. Zero was the first to speak
"Pardon me, are you Kat?" Zero inquired, Panthro leaned towards Kat to whisper,
"Friend of yours?" he asked, Kat shook his head,
"Yeah I'm Kat, who are you?" Kat asked,
"I am Zero, and this is my Mercenary, recently something was stolen from me, and according to the information I obtained from casting a spell you're the person to approach to retrieve it," Zero explained,
"Kat, I thought you didn't steal anymore," Panthro commented in a whisper,
"I don't, though it might've been something I stole before becoming a hero," Kat replied to Panthro while also whispering before turning towards Zero,
"What was stolen, and how recently?" Kat asked,
"My grimoire, and it was stolen from me a week ago," Zero explained,
"Ah, yeah I didn't steal that, a bit more than a week ago I stopped stealing, the last thing I tried stealing was a gemstone," Kat explained,
"I see, but if you aren't the thief perhaps you can help me find the thief," Zero suggested,
"I can't right now, I'm busy," Kat replied,
"You don't understand, it's imperative that I get my grimoire back, in the wrong hands it could destroy the world," Zero explained, Kat crossed his arms,
"Listen little girl, I don't think you understand, I'm currently on a lengthy journey towards a castle, I don't have time to go on a wild goose chase looking for a spell book," Kat explained, Zero looked angered by Kat's reply. Panthro responded by konking Kat on his head, Kat rubbed his head,
"Ow! What? We have our hands full as it is, I was being honest," Kat explained to Panthro,
"You can be honest without being rude," Panthro replied angrily, Zero crossed her arms,
"Perhaps you're just incompetent," Zero commented, Kat turned towards Zero,
"Excuse me?" Kat asked in annoyance,
"You heard me, if you were a competent hero retrieving my grimoire would be simple for you, I guess that's not the case though," said Zero in a matter of factly tone,
"Maybe you're the incompetent one, what kind of spell caster can't keep track of something like a spell book?" Kat asked in a spiteful tone as he stepped towards her. Zero furrowed her brow, Mercenary went to grab his sword, but Zero gestured by putting her hand up in his direction, implying she could handle herself in this situation. Zero stepped forward and two rings of energy formed around her while dark energy started flowing around Kat, making motions like a flickering flame,
"Kat! Come on, this isn't necessary!" Said Panthro,
"You're right, Zero, get out of our way and find some heroes who aren't too busy right now to help you," Kat suggested, Zero put a hand on her waist,
"You're no hero anyway," Zero commented, her comment clearly got to Kat,
"Excuse me?" Kat inquired in annoyance,
"You heard me," Zero replied bluntly,
"Zero come on, you don't need to instigate," said Mercenary, Zero shrugged,
"What? I'm just stating facts," Zero replied,
"I'll have you know I got my hero learner's permit not too long ago," Said Kat angrily, the dark energy around his body spiking wildly,
"But no license, so I was right, you aren't a hero, just a poser" Zero replied, the aura around her body glowing brighter. Panthro attempted to put a hand on Kat's shoulder to try and calm him down, but as soon as Panthro touched the energy he jerked his hand back, the energy left Panthro's hand with an unpleasant stinging sensation, and Kat was so blinded by anger that he didn't notice,
"You're pissing me off, get out of the way," Kat demanded,
"Or what?" Zero asked, Kat summoned a dark vortex, and got a kunai from it,
"Well since you insist on impeding our progress, I'll have to make you," Kat explained. Zero raised her hand, and a bow made of blue energy formed in her hand,
"You're not nearly strong enough to take me on feline," Zero replied,
"I'm stronger than you think, I'm Kat, the thief of darkness," Kat explained,
"And I am Zero, the legendary witch, if you truly wish to go down this road, then make the first attack thief," Zero replied. Kat had a look in his eyes that seemed as though he was tempted by Zero's taunt,
"Kat! Don't do-!!" Panthro tried to say, but before he could finish his sentence, Kat threw his kunai at Zero, who responded by pulling back the string on her energy bow, which conjured an energy arrow to appear between where she held the string back and where the shelf of the bow would be, before she released the string and fired the arrow. When the arrow and kunai collided it caused a miniature explosion, when the explosion cleared, Kat's kunai flew back and stabbed the ground near his feet,
"Kat, we don't have time for this!" Said Panthro angrily,
"This won't take too long," Kat replied,
"If you fight this girl I'm gonna konk you on the head later!" Panthro threatened, Kat shrugged,
"It'll be worth it," Kat replied, Panthro grumbled to himself. Mercenary turned to Zero,
"Zero, you were the one to instigate this fight so don't expect me to help," Mercenary explained,
"Not a problem, I won't be needing your help for this fight anyway," Zero replied before she lunged at Kat with an outreached hand, and conjured a flash of light.

When the flash cleared Kat looked around to see he and Zero were now in a clearing within the forest, Panthro and Mercenary were nowhere to be found. Zero patted the dust off her robe,
"I brought us somewhere more open to fight," Zero explained,
'that makes it harder to pull off sneak attacks,' Kat thought as he got out another kunai. Zero jumped back then fired several more blue arrows at Kat from her magic bow, Kat managed to use his quick reaction speed to either dodge or swat away the arrows with his kunai, each arrow made a miniature explosion upon making contact with Kat's kunai. Zero then put away her bow and was about to conjure magical fire and send it towards Kat, when Kat threw his kunai at Zero, who quickly responded by firing the flame she conjured from her fingertips, and using it to deflect the kunai. Before the kunai hit the ground Kat ran over to Zero and landed some swift punches on her, hitting her in the cheek and shoulder. Zero quickly shot another arrow at Kat, this one hit him dead on and sent him back, though Kat was still able to stay on his feet despite being hit by a point blank explosion. Zero motioned with her hands and suddenly rocks in the clearing that were scattered behind her rose up, then flew at Kat at a blinding speed. Kat quickly conjured another dark vortex, and reached into it, he was surprised to pull out a few broken knives and pistols as it had been a while since that happened, though fortunately Kat managed to pull out a missile launcher in the nick of time. Without skipping a beat Kat fired a few missiles at the oncoming rocks, the brief explosions shattered them to pieces in midair, though after only three shots Kat found he was out of ammo, and more rocks were flying towards him, so he tossed his launcher aside and started dodging the rocks. After dodging the rocks for a bit, Kat quickly jumped onto one of the rocks that flew towards him, then quickly used other rocks flying towards him as stepping stones to get closer to Zero. After Kat jumped off the last rock to lunge at Zero, Zero quickly snapped her fingers, and a small fire erupted in front of Kat which sent him back. As soon as Kat landed, Zero shot another arrow at him, which he quickly dodged with a quick roll to his side. Kat then pulled a katana out of his dark vortex, which caused Zero to give a look of intrigue,
"Ah, a sword, that gives me the idea to try out this new spell I learned about not too long ago," Zero explained reaching out a hand, as a flowing light blue energy enveloped her body,
"Gods and Goddesses of magic, lend me your power, guide me as I fight with a blade for I am Zero!" Said Zero before a flash of light hid her body. When the light cleared and Kat's eyes readjusted, Kat could see Zero now held a rapier and stood with a battle ready pose as the light blue energy continued coming from her body. Despite the demonstration of magic that would be unbelievable to most, Kat simply shrugged,
"Big deal, you have a sword now too," Kat commented with an unimpressed tone,
"That's not all," Zero replied before she made a swift lunge at Kat with her blade. Kat quickly parried Zero's blade then as Zero made several more quick slashes towards Kat he parried the follow up slashes as well. As Kat and Zero continued exchanging parries, Kat noticed just how expertly Zero handled her sword, which Kat found odd as he didn't really see witches practice their swordsmanship. After a few more clashes Kat jumped back to get some distance between himself and Zero, who struck a confident pose with her blade in hand,
"My magic expertly guides me as I fight with my sword, I bet it feels as though you're going up against a seasoned swordswoman," Zero commented, Kat sighed,
"I knew I should've gotten those sword lessons from Doggie," said Kat to himself before he motioned towards Zero at full speed. Kat moved so quickly that he made several after images that came to Zero from multiple directions with their swords, though surprisingly Zero managed to keep up with the after images and counter their attacks, every time Zero managed to parry an attack, the after image she countered disappeared into a puff of smoke, Zero defeated multiple after images so quickly that it wasn't long before she was surrounded with smoke, but she still managed to parry more after images, her other senses guided her blade. For a solid minute Zero continued expertly fending off the after images until Kat was starting to feel exhausted from creating so many after images so he jumped a good distance away from Zero, who immediately made a quick circular slash with her sword to clear the smoke. Zero then tossed her sword high into the air, and proceeded to fire several blue energy arrows at Kat, as well as send more rocks flying his way. Kat was finding it hard to dodge the onslaught of projectiles that Zero was flinging towards him given that he didn't even have a moment to recover after creating several after images with his speed. After dodging for a bit, one of the arrows managed to hit Kat's katana out of his hand, which Zero immediately capitalized on by reaching out her hand and casting a spell Kat hadn't seen before. Roots suddenly shot from the ground, and tied up Kat's hands, Kat attempted to free himself but the roots, but they were far too sturdy. After catching her sword, Zero began to casually walk towards Kat,
"You require your hands to reach into those vortexes and pull out weapons correct? I've restricted them, this battle is mine," Zero explained as she moved closer. Kat growled as he struggled to free his hands from the roots,
"Relax, I won't kill you, I'll just have my sword near your throat to cement my victory, you were foolish to think you could take on a witch as powerful as me," said Zero as she walked closer,
'so this is what Panthro was talking about when he talked about fighting a powerful magic user… no… I'm gonna be an amazing hero someday… I can't lose here! I can win this battle, I just have to dig deep!' Kat thought as he concentrated as hard as he could. After only a moment, Kat started yelling as his clover shaped good luck charm started glowing, as did the blue highlights in his hair, an intense energy started flowing from Kat, which caused Zero to stop in her tracks,
"What is this?" Zero asked in a confused tone before she shook her head and readied her rapier,
"Whatever you're planning I won't let you go through with it," said Zero as she lunged at Kat. Just as Zero was about to raise her sword to Kat, a large dark vortex opened behind him, which caused Zero to jump back. The vortex was different than the ones Kat had used before, flashes of purple light came from it as Zero saw two red objects fly from the vortex. Zero recognized the red objects as mechanical gauntlets with blue lights within their palms, and they seemed to be flying on their own from small flames shooting out the backs propelling them forward. Both gauntlets spread their palms to unleash a small but powerful blast of blue energy, one blast was directed towards Zero, who did her best to counter the sudden blast, but had her sword knocked from her hand, upon landing it stuck in the ground a decent distance behind her, the other gauntlet blasted the vines that held Kat's hands back, breaking the restraints instantly. After Kat got the remaining parts of the vines off his hands the gauntlets quickly attached themselves to Kat's hands. Kat looked at the strange mechanical gauntlets, he was just as surprised to see them as Zero since he had never pulled out a weapon like them. Kat curled and extended his fingers a few times as he examined the gauntlets before he realized that they weren't just any gauntlets, but the gauntlets of Iron Man, a legendary hero! Kat was astonished, he pulled thousands of weapons from the dark vortexes over the years, the quality of said weapons varied greatly, but never before had Kat summoned a weapon that was so iconic. Before Kat even had a moment to take in how amazing it was that the gauntlets came to him, he saw Zero go for her sword, and quickly blasted it away with a repulsor blast, which caused Zero to jump back, Kat then aimed the gauntlets at Zero,
"Looks like this battle is mine, surrender," Kat demanded, Zero once again surrounded herself with her magical aura,
"Don't get cocky, it'll take more than a pair of gauntlets to defeat me!" Said Zero before she raised a hand up high, suddenly a large tree behind Zero at the outskirts of the clearing was uprooted and lifted high in the air before it came rocketing towards Kat. Kat quickly aimed his gauntlets at the tree and blasted it to pieces with repulsor blasts. The next thing Kat knew, Zero was running at him with her rapier once again in her hand, time slowed down for the hybrid as the witch attempted to move the blade near his throat in one swift motion, though her attempt was stopped when Kat grabbed the blade, and stopped it with his left hand, then immediately drew his right hand back, tightening it into a fist, before he punched Zero in the gut. Zero's sword dissipated in her hand as her legs buckled, and she fell onto her back unconscious, Kat's eyes widened when he saw Zero hit the ground. Kat quickly took off his gauntlets, knelt down beside Zero, dug a hand under her back, and raised her head and torso off the ground a bit. Kat lowered his head and put his feline ears against Zero's chest, when he heard her breathing and heartbeat he let out a sigh of relief as he was afraid he went too far in his battle and killed her. Before Kat even had a moment to think about what he'd do next, while still unconscious, Zero started glowing with her magical aura and glowing rings. As Kat held Zero he could feel an odd sensation welling up within his body that he couldn't describe, the feeling caused him to clench his eyes shut, then when Kat opened them again they were glowing brightly, so much so that Kat's pupils and irises weren't visible. Kat was frightened, he could feel his body grow numb, and the world around him seemed to dissolve to white.

Kat slowly opened his eyes and rubbed his head, he noticed that Zero was no longer in his arms and he was no longer in the forest clearing, but instead he was on a gigantic circular stained glass platform. Kat looked around to see that the platform seemed to be in the middle of an abyss, he could see nothing but darkness around the platform for miles. The design of the platform showed an image of Zero in the center with four circles arranged in a symmetrical way above her. the biggest circle displayed an image of Mercenary while the rest of the circles which were the same size displayed characters Kat wasn't familiar with. One of the circles displayed an image of an anthro wolf man, another displayed a girl with sharp looking eyelashes and hair that was fairly short, but still long enough to cover her ears, the last circle displayed a man with dark hair that covered his ears, and an expression that seemed to be void of any joy. The rest of the platform was adorned with symmetrical patterns and colors that made the whole thing look exquisite. Kat was so busy studying the platform that he didn't notice someone was behind him with their arms crossed,
"Do you like where you are?", Said the person behind Kat, the person spoke with a voice that sounded like Zero's. Kat turned and looked behind him to see that the person was Zero, she had her arms crossed, and had a small yet genuine smile on her face, which was odd considering moments ago they had a fairly intense battle. Kat looked around before he asked-
"Zero? Where are we right now?" , Zero uncrossed her arms,
"My station," Zero explained, Kat tilted his head,
"Your… station? What does that mean?" Kat asked,
"You came here early, I don't need you here quite yet," Zero explained, ignoring Kat's question,
"What are you talking about?" Kat asked,
"You'll know soon enough, for now you should continue heading towards the castle," Zero explained,
"So you're gonna find someone else to help you search for your grimoire then?" Kat asked, Zero shook her head,
"No, now that I've seen how strong you are, it absolutely has to be you who helps me," Zero explained crossing her arms, Kat sighed,
"You're very stubborn you know that?" Kat asked, Zero smiled,
"I know, I'll talk to you in just a bit," Zero explained as Kat once again saw the world around him dissolve to white.

Kat once again opened his eyes to find himself once again in the forest clearing and on his knees holding Zero. Kat looked around but he didn't see the Iron Man gauntlets anywhere, he was curious as to where they could have gone. Not long after Kat returned to the clearing, Zero regained consciousness within Kat's arms. After Zero opened her eyes she slowly directed them towards Kat, they stared at each other in silence for a bit before Zero spoke up,
"Didn't you punch me in the stomach?" Zero asked, Kat nodded,
"That's odd, I don't feel any pain…" Zero explained rubbing her stomach,
"No?" Kat inquired, Zero shook her head,
"No, it's as though I never got hurt in our battle," Zero explained,
"But… you definitely did though, I knocked you out," Kat explained,
"True… can you let me go please?" Zero requested, Kat carefully lowered Zero's body to the ground and took his hands out from under her, Zero promptly sat up. Zero examined Kat for a bit in silence,
"What are you doing?" Kat asked,
"Why were you holding me?" Zero asked, Kat scratched the back of his head,
"I was worried that I went too far during our battle," Kat explained,
"I see……." Zero replied in contemplation, after a moment of silence, Kat sighed,
"Zero, you really want me to help you retrieve your grimoire?" Kat asked, Zero nodded,
"Ok… I'll do it…" Kat explained, Zero's eyes widened with excitement,
"You will?!" Zero asked excitedly, Kat held up his pointer finger,
"Yes, but on one condition," Kat explained, Zero tilted her head,
"What is it?" Zero asked,
"Come with me and Panthro to the beast's castle, and allow me to attempt to recruit him, after that I'll help you find your grimoire," Kat explained, Zero smiled,
"Ok then, it's a deal," Zero replied, extending her hand to Kat, who promptly shook it,
"Hey, wait a sec, can't you warp us to the castle like you did to this clearing?" Kat asked, Zero shook her head,
"I can only warp to places I've been, and I've never been to the castle," Zero explained, Kat looked disappointed,
"Ah… ok…" Kat replied, his feline ears drooping with disappointment. Zero stood up,
"Speaking of warping though, I should warp us back to our friends," said Zero before she conjured up the flash of light from before.

Zero and Kat returned to where they left Panthro and Mercenary to find them in the middle of a lengthy conversation, which they stopped as soon as they saw their respective allies return. Panthro approached Kat,
"I assume you're done with your battle," said Panthro casually before he konked Kat on the head. Kat rubbed his injured head,
"Hey, I warned you, so are you ready to get a move on?" Panthro asked,
"Yeah, but I decided to let Zero come with us, then right after I try and recruit the Beast, I'm gonna help her look for her grimoire," Kat explained,
"You are?" Panthro asked,
"Is that ok?" Kat asked, Panthro pondered for a moment before replying with-
"Sure, just don't take too long looking for it, I need you back at the base too y'know," Mercenary turned to Zero,
"So we're heading to the castle now?" Mercenary asked, Zero nodded,
"That's the agreement we came to," Zero explained, Mercenary sighed,
"Then we better get moving while we still have daylight, said Mercenary before the four of them continued on the path towards the beast's castle that Kat and Panthro we're initially traveling on.

A few hours of walking passed before the sun was starting to set, Panthro decided to set up camp for the night in a decently spacious area amongst the trees, Kat went to a river a decent distance away from the camp to try and catch some fish for Mercenary to cook. Kat took off his shoes and rolled up his pants a bit before walking into the shallow river water. Kat carefully stared into the running water, studying it meticulously for any fish that might rush by him. A few minutes passed as Kat scanned the river for fish before he finally saw one rushing towards him. Kat drew his hand back as he was getting ready to catch the fish in one swift and clean motion, though as he was about to strike he realized someone standing was behind him, causing him to jump in surprise and fall face first into the river. When Kat got his face back out of the river, he got a good look at the person who was standing behind him, it turned out to be Zero, who had a large smile on her face,
"My, that's an interesting way to catch fish," said Zero as she pointed towards Kat. Kat was unsure what Zero meant at first, but not a moment later he felt something wiggling in his mouth, then after looking down towards his mouth, he realized a fish was hanging from it, the fish was a decent size too, roughly eight inches. Embarrassed, Kat carefully grabbed the squirming fish, took it out of his mouth, and gave it a swift death by hitting its head against a large nearby rock that protruded from the water. Kat then turned his attention towards Zero,
"Zero, what the heck?! What are you doing sneaking up on me?" Kat asked angrily, Zero crossed her arms,
"I did no such thing! I simply wanted to see you fish, it's not my fault you weren't paying attention to your surroundings," Zero replied, Kat stood up and walked onto the river bank,
"I was fishing with my bare hands, that takes a lot of effort y'know!" Kat replied before he took off his shirt, Zero tilted her head,
"What are you doing?" Zero asked,
"What do you think? I'm ringing out my soaked shirt!" Kat explained with an annoyed tone, Zero moved closer to him and raised a hand, a small ring of energy appeared around her forearm,
"No need for that, here," said Zero before she snapped her fingers. Kat suddenly felt himself swiftly being dried off by some unknown force, within a mere moment Kat, from his clothes to his skin to his hair and fur, was completely dry. Kat was impressed with how he was dried off so quickly, he even took a moment to feel his shirt in his hand, Zero couldn't help but smile at Kat's look of wonder as he examined himself,
"Wow Zero, your magic dried me off!" Said Kat in amazement,
"But of course, my magic can do many things, though if the wrong person is using it, it can lead to some disastrous events..." Zero explained,
"That's why you're so adamant about getting your grimoire back?" Kat asked, Zero nodded. Zero sat down next Kat and the two of them remained silent for a short while before Kat spoke up,
"Hey Zero? I'm sorry for getting into a fight with you earlier, that wasn't very mature of me," Kat explained. Upon hearing Kat, Zero smiled and slightly shook her head,
"No, it was my fault, I was unnecessarily instigating, if I had been more mature we could have avoided that whole fight," Zero replied,
"Let's just both agree to try and be more level headed from now on," Kat suggested,
"Agreed," Zero replied. It then fell silent once more between the hybrid and the witch, though thinking back to the battle got Kat thinking back to the strange realm he went to after the battle. Kat thought back to the stained glass platform he stood on, within the design was Zero and Mercenary, plus three other individuals who he didn't recognize, Kat thought perhaps if Mercenary was on the platform, then the other individuals may also be people that Zero knew. Kat turned his head to Zero,
"Hey Zero? Do you know a wolf guy?" Kat asked, Zero tilted her head,
"A… wolf guy? Oh! You must be talking about Holdem, yes, he's one of my companions," Zero explained,
"What about a girl with short hair that covers her ears?" Kat asked,
"Um… I believe that's Albus, she's another friend of mine, and a fellow witch," Zero explained,
"And a guy with dark hair… he looks kind of miserable," Kat explained,
"Thirteen…"Zero replied,
"Another friend of yours?" Kat asked,
"My relationship with him is a bit more complicated…" Zero explained,
"I see," Kat replied,
"How do you know about them? Have you met them before?" Zero asked,
"No, but I did see them, their images were designed on this large platform, and so was yours, in fact, you were very focal to the platform's design, and I even spoke with a physical version of you atop it," Kat explained,
"Surely you were dreaming," Zero replied,
"But, I've never met your friends before, why would images of them appear in my dream?" Kat asked,
"Perhaps it was a vision," Zero replied,
"A vision?" Kat asked, Zero nodded,
"It's not unheard of for people to see glimpses of future events in their dreams, it's especially prominent with magic users," Zero explained,
"Future events? Nah all I really saw was you telling me how you didn't need me at your station yet… whatever that means," Kat explained,
"Perhaps something may happen to me in the near future," Zero speculated,
"You think so?" Kat asked,
"It's possible, though if that's the case, can you promise me something?" Zero asked,
"What is it?" Kat asked,
"Promise me that if something happens to me, you'll keep looking for my grimoire, and you'll keep it safe," Zero requested,
"Is that all? Ok then, I promise," Kat replied. Zero smiled, then her magical aura surrounded her body along with the glowing rings of energy,
"Good, shall we get back to fishing?" Zero asked,
"Yeah, we probably should while we still have daylight… are you going to use your magic to fish?" Kat asked,
"Of course, my magic makes everything I do much more convenient, why would I not?" Zero asked,
"I mean personally I wouldn't want to become too reliant on my magic," Kat commented, Zero raised an eyebrow,
"Why?" Zero asked,
"Y'know… in case something happens to me that prevents me from using it, but hey if you want to use your magic to fish that's fine," Kat explained. Zero pondered for a bit before she took off her boots and stockings,
"Actually, why don't you teach me how to fish with my bare hands?" Zero requested,
"Really? You want me to teach you? It's not as easy as it looks, it takes reaction speed, focus and precision," Kat explained,
"Nothing is impossible for me," Zero replied,
"Well… ok then," Kat replied before he got back into the river with Zero following behind him and studying his every movement. Zero and Kat fished until the sun went down, returning to camp with a decent amount of fish. Mercenary used his master culinary skills to turn the fish into a delectable meal, after the four of them ate, they talked about past experiences around the campfire for a while until they felt tired. Mercenary and Zero went to sleep while Panthro kept watch for anyone or anything in the forest that might attack them, after a while passed, Kat decided he couldn't sleep, and kept Panthro company while he kept watch. As the two Anthros sat near the campfire, they felt as though they got to know each other so much better on this journey, though as nice as that was, they hoped they could get to the beast's castle sometime soon so they could return to their friends. Panthro and Kat knew that the castle wasn't too much farther, but what they didn't know was what awaited them when they finally arrived.

End of Chapter 13