Adventurous Anthros
Temperance and doubt (Part 2)(Season 1 Chapter 16)
Story by TheAnnonymousKat on Furaffinity
All characters belong to their respective owners, this fanfiction is a nonprofit project for fun, please support the official release of the respective series shown.

Kat stood atop The rooftop of one of the many buildings in the city during the night time. Kat's cloak danced with the gentle breeze as he slowly paced around in a circle,
"Ugh! This is so boring! why do I have to stay in this stupid city for so long?" Kat asked in a whiny annoyed voice, suddenly a magical projection of Dio appeared next to Kat,
"I already told you, you have a mission to complete, now quit your whining and keep a low profile," Dio explained through the projection, Kat sighed,
"Yes Lord Dio," Kat replied,
"Good, don't let me down, you wouldn't like what awaits you if you fail," said Dio before the projection of him that was beside Kat disappeared. Kat sighed as he looked at the large city below him,
"There's gotta be a way to keep a low profile and entertain myself," Kat commented as he looked for something that would be fun to do.

Meanwhile, Crossing the desert that separated the base from the city, Kat shivered from the freezing cold air that brushed against his face and arms. Kat was running a while ago, though he was too tired to keep running, and his sweaty body made the already unbearable cold feel so much colder. Kat wanted to cry from the miserable state he was in, but he resisted the urge as best as he could, partly because he didn't want to seem weak, but also because he could imagine how painful it would be for tears to run down his face while in the freezing cold. Kat thought back to what had transpired in the Anthros of Justice base about an hour ago.

Most of the Anthros stood near the entrance as Doggie held his Morpher out while it was making a judgement on Kat who stood near the couch. It was tense to see the Morpher alternate between flashing the red X and the light blue O, and when the Morpher finally settled on an appropriate symbol, everyone's eyes widened, and Kat could feel his heart skip a beat. Though to Kat's relief the Morpher displayed a light blue O, Doggie looked at his Morpher with a look of confusion, as did Jon and Leomon,
"Innocent?" Said Doggie out loud,
"I knew it," Panthro commented,
"But… that's impossible! We all saw him in the city! There must be something wrong with Doggie's Morpher!" Jon suggested, his continued disbelief caused Kat's feeling of relief to turn into sadness as his ears drooped,
"Jon, that's enough! The Morphers were made by some of the best scientists of my world, they have a zero percent chance of giving false information," Doggie explained,
"Then explain how we also saw a Kat in the city," Jon suggested,
"We're just about to get to the bottom of that," Panthro explained,
"We?" Kat inquired in a quiet voice, all the Anthros turned their attention to Kat,
"Yeah Kat, all of us," Doggie explained, Kat shook his head,
"I'm not," Kat replied, the rest of the Anthros looked at Kat with confusion,
"What are you talking about? We're a team, we need to get to the bottom of this together," Winston explained, Kat shook his head,
"You guys aren't my team, a team wouldn't treat one of their teammates the way you did," Kat replied,
"Kat please, Jon doesn't mean anything personal with all his accusations, he's just trying to get to the bottom of this," Winston explained,
"It's not just Jon, it's all of you! When you walked through the door you all thought I committed a bunch of crimes in the city!" Kat replied,
"We had good reason to believe that, we met someone in the city who was a dead ringer for you," Leomon explained,
"Yeah right, I bet he only kind of looked like me and you all jumped to the conclusion that it was me because none of you trust me!" Said Kat angrily,
"That's not true and you know it!" Panthro replied,
"Yes it is! The whole reason you told me to stay at the base tonight was because you didn't trust me!" Said Kat before he walked towards the group and put something in Panthro's hand before moving past the group and towards the door,
"Where are you going?" Doggie asked,
"Into the city, I'm gonna find Zero and give her back her grimoire… after that, I'm gone, I guess I'll just go back to wandering around," Kat explained,
"Kat, Zero wasn't in the city, we looked all over, the lead may have been false," Doggie explained,
"You also said that I was in the city, I can't trust anything any of you say… just leave me alone," said Kat before he left the base, after stepping outside he immediately started running towards the city at full speed. Panthro unfurled his hand to see that Kat had placed his Hero Learner's permit in it, which caused Panthro's ears to droop a bit. Jon was about to go after Kat, But Panthro stopped him with his arm,
"No… just leave him be for now, I know Kat, he just needs some time to calm down," Panthro explained, the rest of the Anthros then started to think about their next course of action.

After walking for some time Kat was finally entering the city, though he was still shivering from the freezing cold air he was exposed to from walking around the desert during the dead of night. Kuriboh appeared in his monster form beside Kat,
“Oh, h-hey Kuriboh, did you happen to hear the fight between me and the Anthros?” Kat asked as he kept walking and attempted to warm himself by rubbing his arms, Kuriboh nodded,
“S-sorry you had to hear that, I w-wasn’t expecting this night to turn terrible,” Kat explained, Kuriboh floated close to Kat, and hugged him, his soft brown fur felt pleasant and warm against Kat’s body,
“Kuri Kuri Kuri?” Kuriboh asked,
“What? No! Why would I go back to them?” Kat asked,
“Kuri Kuri,” Kuriboh replied,
“They were my friends, not anymore,” Kat replied,
“Kuri Kuri?” Kuriboh asked,
“Well no, I wouldn’t go as far as saying I hate them, but I don’t feel like I’m safe around them, what if they go so far accusing me again?…” Kat replied before he looked away in contemplation,
“Kuri Kuri?” Kuriboh asked,
“No… well, actually… I think the thing that hurts me the most about this whole thing… is that part of me doesn’t blame them for thinking I did something bad… despite how much I tell myself that I’ve changed… that I’ve bettered myself… It doesn’t make up for all the terrible things I did before I became an anthro… all the things I stole… all the laws I broke… I… I’m a bad person… and no matter how many lives I save… no matter how much good I do, it won’t change my past…” Kat explained,
“Kuri Kuri, Kuri Kuri” Kuriboh suggested,
“Say it again… but to Panthro?” Kat repeated, Kuriboh nodded,
“Well… alright, once we’re done in this city, I suppose I could talk with Panthro at least one more time… I owe him at least that much…” Kat replied, Kuriboh nuzzled against Kat’s face affectionately,
“Haha, geez, when did you become a little furry therapist?” Kat asked rhetorically, Kuriboh made a cute little chuckle sound.

Kat and Kuriboh walked around the city streets for a few minutes, looking all around them to search for Zero,
"Where could she be buddy?" Kat asked,
"Kuri Kuri," Kuriboh replied with the best shrug he could manage with his stubby arms. When Kat got close to an alleyway someone particularly small ran out of it and bumped into Kat's legs, the person was the size of a child, so them bumping into Kat's leg didn't faze the hybrid all that much, though the person was knocked back and on to their butt. Kat and Kuriboh got a good look at the small person who bumped into him, and saw that he was a little white anthro goat boy wearing a green robe with a black heart symbol on it, glasses, and a fuschia colored scarf though he seemed to be barefoot. The goat boy was dazed for a bit from bumping into Kat, though when he composed himself and saw Kat he had a look of fear and confusion on his face as he frantically kept alternating between looking at the alleyway behind him and Kat,
"W-What?! How could you have gotten ahead of me?!" The goat boy asked in a frightened tone, Kat tilted his head,
"Huh?" Kat responded in confusion, the goat boy got on his knees and bowed in submission,
"P-please don't hurt me! You already took my hat, just leave me alone!" The goat boy plead, Kat gestured with his hands for the goat boy to calm down,
"Woah hey now, I'm not going to hurt you... I also didn't take your hat, I arrived in this city a few minutes ago," Kat explained,
"I just saw you!" The goat boy replied in a frightened tone, he looked like he was fighting the urge to cry, Kat pondered for a bit,
"Maybe this goat boy encountered the guy that looked like me…" Kat thought, Kat looked towards Kuriboh,
"Kuriboh, can you calm him down?" Kat requested, Kuriboh nodded before he floated down towards the goat boy, and nuzzled against him affectionately, the goat boy seemed to calm down and even chuckled softly. Kat bent his knees to be closer to the goat boy's level, the goat boy looked at Kat with fear in his eyes, Kat just gave a warm smile,
"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you, the person you saw was someone who was impersonating me," Kat explained, the goat boy looked at Kat for a bit before he nodded his head,
"O-okay… I believe you" the goat boy replied,
"You do?" Kat asked,
"You have a genuine look in your eyes, I know you're telling the truth," the goat boy explained, Kat smiled and pet the goat boy on his head, while also feeling his horns,
"What's your name little guy?" Kat asked,
"Ralsei… " the goat boy explained,
"So Ralsei, is the person who looks like me down this alleyway?" Kat asked as looked down the alleyway behind Ralsei, who gave a timid nod,
"It's where I last saw him at least," Ralsei explained, Kat stood up,
"Alright, time to see what this guy is all about," said Kat, causing Ralsei's eyes to widen,
"W-wait! You're not going to confront him are you?" Ralsei asked,
"Of course I am," Kat replied, Ralsei grabbed a hold of one of Kat's legs,
"Please, you don't understand, that guy is intimidating and scary, I don't think he can be reasoned with," Ralsei explained,
"You'd be surprised of what I'm capable of," Kat replied,
"But…" said Ralsei, though he struggled to think of something to say to convince Kat to avoid the alleyway, though he ended up releasing Kat's leg,
"Don't worry, I've dealt with bad guys before, I'll be alright," Kat explained before he started walking down the alleyway with Kuriboh floating close behind him. As Ralsei saw Kat walk down the alleyway he couldn't decide what he wanted to do, though after a bit of hesitation, the young goat monster followed after Kat against his better judgement.

With every step Kat took as he travelled down the dark alleyway he readied himself for a fight, though after taking a few steps he remembered that he came to the city to search for Zero,
"I should really continue my search after I deal with this guy… oh I know, I should use my Mirror Vision to see where she is so I can go to her afterwards," Said Kat to himself before he activated Mirror Vision. Kat's eyes glowed and sparks of green electricity came from them as he continued walking, in the corner of Kat's mind he could see all around the world from a bird's eye view, though when he was getting close to the end of the alleyway he saw someone up ahead that caused him to stop in place and look forward with wide eyes and his jaw dropped. At the end of the alleyway was none other than Zero, she had her back to Kat, but the hybrid could tell it was her due to her distinct white hair and spellcaster apparel, after worrying about Zero so much it felt amazing to see her. Kat tried to speak, though multiple feelings came to him at once, happiness, disbelief, relief, confusion… though after taking a deep breath Kat summoned the courage to talk to the woman in front of him,
"Zero?" Kat inquired, Zero turned to face Kat, sure enough it was her, from the shape of her eyes, her expression that somehow always seemed somewhat reserved, and even the stray lock of white hair atop her head, it was unmistakably the witch Kat had met not too long ago. Upon seeing Kat, Zero's face lit up,
"Kat! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Said Zero excitedly,
"But Zero… how are you here right now? Dio captured you…" Kat asked in disbelief, Zero crossed her arms
"I managed to get away from the Syndicate, they were foolish to think they could keep a powerful witch such as myself as a prisoner," Zero explained,
"Zero… I've been worrying about you since you were captured… it's so good to see you!" Said Kat happily,
"Silly Kat, I'm the last person you should worry about, though I do appreciate the concern, now come on, let's get out of this city," Zero instructed, Kat nodded,
"Right, I heard there's someone who looks like me who was causing tr-" Kat tried explaining, though he noticed Kuriboh start growling at Zero,
"Hm? Is that your familiar?" Zero asked,
"Uh, no he's just a friend," Kat explained before he stroked Kuriboh's fur to attempt to calm him down,
"Kuriboh, calm down, that's Zero, she's a friend," Kat tried explaining, though Kuriboh kept growling, his angered gaze not breaking from Zero. Kat could feel someone pat his back, and looked behind him to see Ralsei, who then pointed towards Zero,
"Uh K-Kat, that lady has my hat," Ralsei explained timidly, Kat wasn't sure what Ralsei was talking about, though upon looking at Zero's feet he could see a green wizard hat,
"Huh? But… why would she be near your h-" Kat tried to say, though what he saw next caused his heart to stop for a second. Through his Mirror Vision, Kat saw a message appear in front of his eyes that read- "not in this world," Kat had the most confused look on his face,
"N-Not in this world? But… she's right in front of me!... Or, is she?" Kat thought to himself before he got the idea to use his Eyes of a Thief technique. Upon looking at the woman who stood before him, Kat saw that his magical eyes reveal that the person wasn't Zero, nor even a woman, but a muscular man with black hair that was slick at the top but the area of his hair that dropped to his neck was curly, he was shirtless though wore dark pants and shoes,
"What's the hold up? Come on Kat," said the man who stood in front of him in Zero's voice. Kat deactivated his eyes and shook his head,
"You aren't Zero," said Kat bluntly,
"You figured it out huh? Well, I guess I should ditch this disguise," said the person in front of Kat before the person he thought was Zero turned entirely yellow and slimy, before expanding in size, what was originally Zero's likeness became unrecognizable and became a mass of a strange yellow substance. The top of the mass parted to reveal the face of the man Kat saw, it was as though the man had been using the yellow substance like clothes to hide his appearance. Ralsei's eyes were wide with fear as he couldn't believe what he had seen, while Kat and Kuriboh looked at the man with a furious expression,
"Who are you?" Kat asked in disgust,
"The name's Rubber Soul, and the yellow blob you see before you is my stand, Yellow Temperance!" The man explained,
"Wait a sec… Rubber Soul… Yellow Temperance… I've heard about you! Jotaro told me all about you and your cowardly ways!" Kat explained,
"Ah, so you met Jotaro, then surely you know about how I nearly ended him in our fight," Rubber Soul commented,
"Wait… how are you here? Jotaro said you were dead!" Kat asked,
"It's hard to keep the servants of Lord Dio's army down for good," Rubber Soul commented with a smile, Kat clenched his fist as it trembled with fear,
"So the lead… it was a lie! You took on Zero's appearance and came into this world to give us false hope, then you turned into me, robbed a museum, and attacked my friends!" Said Kat angrily,
"That's right, but what do you plan to do about it?" Rubber Soul asked mockingly,
"I'm going to take you down and clear my name, that's what," said Kat furiously as dark energy swirled around his body. Rubber Soul was about to respond, but stopped when he saw Ralsei hiding behind Kat's leg, causing a devious grin to spread across his face,
"Well well well, if it isn't the little goat boy, y'know I let you live because I hoped you would spread the word about the guy you're hiding behind taking your hat and antagonizing you, but seeing as how you came back, I think I'll just feed you to Yellow Temperance," Rubber Soul explained maliciously as the yellow blob that was his stand slowly moved around his body, Ralsei responded by shivering behind Kat. Kuriboh readied his claws while Kat summoned a dark vortex, reached his hand into it, and pulled out a kunai,
"Leave the boy alone, he has nothing to do with this!" Kat demanded, Rubber Soul chuckled a bit,
“You’re a heroic type huh? I’ll have my stand devour you as well!” Rubber Soul threatened menacingly. Moving at top speed, Kat ran at Rubber Soul and decked him in the face as hard as he could, causing him to spit up blood, and even knocking out some teeth, Kat moved so fast Rubber Soul’s stand couldn’t react in time to block Kat’s attack. To Kat’s surprise, before Rubber Soul even hit the ground he sent Yellow Temperance to attack, though instead of attacking Kat, the hybrid saw the yellow slimy mass go past him and head for Ralsei, who stood paralyzed,
“Ralsei!!” Kat called out in concern before he ran back to the little goat monster at top speed, quickly outrunning the yellow mass, and scooping up Ralsei into his arms before he moved out of the stand’s range. When Kat came to a stop a few meters away from Rubber soul, Ralsei could feel the wind stirred up from Kat’s speed, his robe and floppy goat ears fluttered as the air rushed past them. Kat held Ralsei in his arms and panted as he was worried about the goat boy, who held onto Kat securely by wrapping his arms around the hybrid’s neck. Kat looked into Ralsei’s eyes with his own sharp red eyes,
“Ralsei… are you ok?” Kat asked with a smile, Ralsei could see a kindness in Kat’s eyes that would go unnoticed to many given how the eyes ordinarily give off a sense of mystery and danger, though for the small goat monster, he instead saw confidence and resolve. After hesitating for a moment Ralsei nodded his head in response to Kat’s question, who smiled,
“That’s good, here… let me take you somewhere safer,” said Kat as he started walking away from Rubber Soul,
“Oh? Are you sure you want to do that?, my stand did manage to get someone after all,” Rubber Soul explained mockingly, Kat turned to see Kuriboh was caught in Yellow Temperance, his small body nearly covered in the slimy yellow mass, Ralsei trembled in fear while Kat didn’t seem fazed by what he saw, Rubber Soul took notice of Kat’s indifferent reaction,
“Hey what the heck? Aren’t you scared? My stand is about to digest your buddy!” Rubber Soul explained angrily, though Kat simply shrugged,
“I’d be more scared if that was the real Kuriboh,” Kat explained before another Kuriboh floated over to him. Rubber Soul looked at the Kuriboh beside Kat in confusion, then looked back at his stand to see that where there was one Kuriboh there were now several, and they all started glowing, Rubber Soul quickly shielded himself with excess from Yellow Temperance as the Kuriboh clones detonated. When the smoke cleared Rubber Soul looked around to see Kat was gone,
“Tch, sneaky feline… no matter, I’ll find him, and then the real fun can start,” said Rubber Soul to himself as he started walking out of the alleyway.

Kat ran for several minutes with Ralsei in his arms and Kuriboh doing his best to keep up, Kat ran all around the city to make sure he gained some distance between him and Rubber Soul,
“Do you think those explosions killed that guy?” Ralsei asked,
“Not a chance, I need to confront him again and apprehend him!” Kat explained as he slowed down and eventually came to a stop in a different alleyway in the city. Kat then carefully put Ralsei back on the ground,
“There we go, we should be a good distance away from that Rubber Soul guy by now,” Kat explained, Ralsei sighed,
“That’s good… oh hey, I don’t think you ever told me your name,” Ralsei commented,
“My name is a secret, just call me “Kat”... spelled with a K” Kat explained,
“Thanks so much Kat, you saved me back there!” said Ralsei happily,
“Don’t mention it little guy,” said Kat with a smile, Ralsei noticed blood on Kat’s shoulder,
“Huh? Kat, you’re bleeding!” said Ralsei in a concerned tone, pointing towards Kat’s shoulder, Kat looked at his shoulder to see that blood,
“Huh? That? Ah that’s just a small cut, must have gotten it while running, don’t worry about it,” said Kat dismissively. To Kat’s surprise he saw Ralsei bow his head, close his eyes and fold his hands, the hybrid tilted his head in confusion,
“Huh? What are you doing?” Kat asked, Ralsei then whispered a small, nearly inaudible prayer, and to Kat’s surprise he saw a soft green light come from his shoulder and felt a soothing sensation, within seconds the cut on Kat’s shoulder was gone, as was the blood that came from the wound. Ralsei unfolded his hands and turned his attention back towards Kat, who was impressed by what the goat monster had done,
“That’s amazing… are you a cleric?” Ralsei asked, Ralsei shook his head,
“Not a full fledged cleric, I just know how to heal people with magical prayers,” Ralsei explained,
“That’s a very good gift you have, though speaking of good gifts…” said Kat as pulled out something from behind him that he revealed to be Ralsei’s hat,
“Ta Dah!” said Kat with a sense of showmanship, Ralsei’s eyes lit up upon seeing his hat,
“My hat! You grabbed it for me!” said Ralsei happily as Kat put the hat on top of the cute goat boy’s head for him,
“Yep… huh?” said Kat as he noticed when he put Ralsei’s hat on his head, he saw his head and hands seemed to be covered in a mysterious shadow,
“Your fur… it’s black now,” Kat commented, Ralsei gave a sheepish smile,
“Heh, yeah, that’s what my hat does,” Ralsei explained, Kat stood up,
“Well, that’s neat, though I should get going,” Kat explained,
“Huh? Don’t tell me you’re going to fight that goo guy again!” said Ralsei in disbelief, Kat nodded,
“I am,” Kat explained,
“Buy why? He’s dangerous! Why would you go out of your way to fight him?” Ralsei asked,
“That reason, he’s dangerous… if I leave him be he’s going to hurt more people… heck there are more reasons, he hurt you, he robbed a museum and made it seem like I did it! He hurt my friends!” Kat explained, becoming progressively more heated as he explained,
“Kuri Kuri!” said Kuriboh happily,
“I know I called them my friends! Don’t rub it in!” Kat replied in annoyance,
“Your friends?” Ralsei inquired, Kat nodded,
“The Anthros of Justice, they’re a hero group, you might have heard of them,” Kat explained,
“Wow! A hero group… then you must be a hero too!... Gosh I wish I was a hero like you…” Ralsei commented timidly, Kat blushed deeply as he could feel his heart skip a beat, though this time not from fear. Kat cleared his throat as he kept himself composed,
“Nah, you shouldn’t want to be a hero like me Ralsei… I may not have done the horrible things that Soul boy did tonight but… I have done some bad things in the past…” Kat admitted with his ears drooping,
“But you look as though you regret those bad things, if you feel guilty about doing bad things then surely you’re a good person at your core… I mean, no one is perfect, and no one is beyond redemption,” Ralsei explained, Kat shook his head,
“I don’t think that’s entirely true,” Kat replied,
“But I do, in fact… When I get older do you think I could join your hero team?” Ralsei asked with the most adorable look in his eyes. Kat looked at Ralsei for a bit, before he smiled and sighed, then bent his legs so he and Ralsei were at eye level,
“I dunno, I’m not really in charge of recruiting new members, that’s up to our leader, and after I deal with Rubber Soul I need to talk things out with him to see if I’m still on good terms,” Kat explained,
“Oh no, is your leader mad at you?” Ralsei asked, Kat shrugged,
“I dunno, though I did storm out on him while we were trying to discuss something, so I wouldn’t blame him… though if I do manage to convince him…” said Kat before he held his hand in front of Ralsei with his pinky extended,
“You… want to make it into a pinky promise?” Ralsei asked,
“Heh, well you may not know this about me, but I never break a promise, so a pinky promise is like a blood oath to me,” Kat explained,
“Ah, ok then,” said Ralsei before he connected his pinky to Kat’s and they folded their pinkies over one another,
“Become older and stronger, and I’ll do my best to convince my leader to let you join the team,” Kat instructed, Ralsei gave an eager nod,
“Ok, I will!” said Ralsei excitedly. After Kat concluded the pinky promise he separated his pinky from Ralsei’s, stood up once again, and looked at Kuriboh,
“Alright Kuriboh, I need to find Rubber Soul so I can fight him, can you follow Ralsei and make sure nothing bad happens to him?” Kat requested, Kuriboh responded with a cute little salute with one of his stubby green arms,
“Great,” Kat commented before turning his attention back towards Ralsei,
“You can trust Kuriboh, he’s the mascot of our team, as well one of my most trustworthy friends,” Kat explained before he turned his back towards Ralsei and Kuriboh and started walking away to look for Rubber Soul,
“O-ok… good luck Kat,” said Ralsei timidly before he started walking as well, with Kuriboh following close behind.

Kat made his way through the city, keeping his eyes peeled and ears focused on finding any signs of Rubber Soul, and after walking for several minutes he could see the strange stand user standing in the middle of the city park and decided to approach him. When Kat got close, Rubber Soul turned to face him,
“Ah, there you are!” said Rubber Soul happily,
“You… waited for me?” Kat asked,
“Of course, after all, I’ve had so much fun taking on your appearance and using your powers, I thought of a nice way to end off the night…” Rubber Soul commented vaguely,
“And what is that?” Kat asked, Rubber Soul smiled before his stand covered his body and changed his appearance to look like Kat, except with his dark cloak on, though upon looking at himself, his body turned yellow and slimy for a moment then cleared to reveal Kat in the casual clothes he was currently wearing,
“I’d like to have a mirror match with you,” Rubber Soul explained in Kat’s voice as he summoned a dark vortex and pulled out a kunai. It looked odd to Kat to see his powers being used by someone who wasn’t himself, even though it technically did look like he was the one using the powers, as though he was looking at a twisted mirror. Kat summoned his own vortex and got out his own kunai,
“You’re on Rubber Schmuck!” said Kat angrily, Rubber Soul smiled before he charged at Kat with his kunai ready, given that his stand allowed him to imitate Kat’s abilities, he charged at Kat at a quick speed, though it was nothing the real Kat couldn’t handle, so when Rubber Soul got close and attacked, Kat quickly dodged the attack and countered by punching the fake Kat in the face, quickly stabbing him in the chest several times with his kunai, and finally knocking him to the ground with a roundhouse kick. The fake Kat was surprised to be outmaneuvered the way he was as his butt hit the ground,
“Wha-?! How?” the fake Kat asked in disbelief,
“You may have my powers but you don’t have my experience, now get back up, I’m not done with you!” said Kat angrily, the fake Kat smiled as his chest wounds seemed to heal on their own,
“Don’t get cocky, this fight is far from over!” said the fake Kat as he stood up. Kat quickly ran to the fake Kat, and put him back on the ground with a sweeping kick before getting onto his knees, grabbed a hold of the fake Kat’s hair with one hand, and started pummeling him with the other. Kat landed a good twenty punches on the fake Kat before deciding to let him go, stand up and gain some distance between him and the fake, he could see the damage done to the fake Kat’s head, his nose was broke, eyes swollen, bleeding in various places, several bruises, and Kat even knocked some teeth out of his mouth, though to Kat’s surprise all the damage he did to the fake Kat seemed to go away within moments, like the fake Kat’s body was repairing itself at a quick rate. When the fake Kat looked good as new he flashed the real Kat a mocking smile,
“What the hell?” Kat asked in disbelief,
“Haven’t you figured it out? I’m wearing Yellow Temperance right now, any damage you do to me I can just repair, you are just damaging an outer layer after all, I don’t feel a thing!” the fake Kat explained gleefully,
“All those punches did nothing?” Kat asked in disbelief, the fake Kat stood up,
“Nope, so really all your experience means nothing, I’ll just wear you down with my impenetrable defense until you can’t fight anymore, and devour you with my stand… although I suppose you could just run away… oh wait! No you can’t, everyone will think you robbed a bank and attacked your friends! There’s no way out of this!” the fake Kat explained with a laugh, Kat clenched his fist,
“Don’t think you’ve won, I’ll find a way though your so-called impenetrable defense, defeat you and clear my name!” Kat explained before he lunged at the fake Kat again.

Ralsei ran through the city with Kuriboh floating close behind him, it had been several minutes since the young goat monster parted from Kat, and he was beginning to worry about him, though he still focused on moving forward. Ralsei was in search of the subway station so he got the idea to cut through a nearby alleyway, though as he was passing though the alleyway the heavy black ladder that was connected to the scaffolding of the fire escape suddenly fell down, and was about to hit Ralsei in his head, though Kuriboh quickly floated over Ralsei’s head while clenching his eyes shut to shield him, although something that saved both Ralsei and Kuriboh from getting injured was a large unknown monster scooping them up in his arms and quickly rolling out of the way before the ladder hit the area where they would be. Kuriboh opened his eyes to see that the person who saved him and Ralsei was in fact Sulley, who sighed in relief upon seeing that the two smaller furry monsters were safe,
“You should watch your step little guy, some of the fire escapes in this city have been around for a while, they don’t hold the ladders in place like they used to,” Sulley explained, his voice was still somewhat raspy. Behind Sulley, the other Anthros approached, Sulley turned around to show his allies Kuriboh and Ralsei in his arms,
“Hey guys, check out who I found,” said Sulley,
“Kuriboh! Where’s Kat?” Panthro asked,
“Kuri Kuri!” Kuriboh tried explaining, but all the Anthros exchanged confused looks,
“Did anyone understand that?” Jon asked,
“I’m still rusty with Kuriboh’s language, I wish Kat was here… though really, why isn’t Kat here? Him and Kuriboh are almost never apart, and come to think of it, who are you little guy?” Panthro asked, clearly referring to Ralsei,
“I’m Ralsei… are you guys the Anthros of Justice? Kat’s friends?” Ralsei asked,
“Well we are indeed the Anthros, though I think whether Kat considers us friends or not is up in the air right now,” Doggie explained,
“Ralsei, did you see Kat?” Leomon asked,
“Yeah I did, and I also saw this guy who had powers that allowed him to take on someone else’s appearance, I think earlier he disguised himself as Kat and did some horrible things!” Ralsei explained,
“That was a possibility we considered as we travelled over here, I thought it was strange that Kat would rob that museum , work with those Krybots, and attack us” Winston commented,
“Is this disguising guy still in the city?” Panthro asked,
“He should be yeah,” Ralsei replied,
“And where did Kat go?” Jon asked,
“I don’t know, he just told me he was going to confront the disguising guy, he could be anywhere…” Ralsei explained, Panthro sighed,
“Yep, that sounds like our Kat,” Panthro commented,
“Ralsei, where were you going? And why was Kuriboh following you?” Doggie asked,
“Kat told me to head somewhere safe, so I was going to the subway station seeing as I intended to head there when I came to this city anyway, and Kat asked Kuriboh to follow me to make sure I was safe,” Ralsei explained, Panthro smiled,
“Yep, that sounds like our Kat too,” Panthro commented,
“Well we should look around the city for Kat, here, let me see the boy,” Doggie requested before he carefully took Ralsei from Sulley’s arms, Kuriboh left Sulley’s arms as well and floated near the Anthros,
“Out of the six of us… well, seven of us counting Kuriboh, I’m the fastest, I’ll quickly take him to the subway station, make sure he boards safely, and meet up with you guys later, hopefully you’ll have found Kat and Mr.Disguise by then” Doggie suggested, Panthro nodded,
“Sounds like a plan,” Panthro commented,
“Wait! Let me do something for you all real quick,” said Ralsei before he folded his hands and said a short prayer, the Anthros were unsure of what he was doing but they soon saw their bodies glow with a green light before all their wounds they acquired hours ago were healed and it felt as though they were never injured in the first place. The Anthros examined themselves in amazement, Sulley was relieved to be rid of the pain he felt in his throat just as Leomon was glad that the pain in his groin was gone, as were all the other bruises the Anthros acquired in their battle with the fake Kat,
“Wow, thanks kid, that’s a nice power you got there,” Sulley commented, Ralsei blushed,
“Thanks, that’s what Kat said too… he also said that if I become older and stronger that I might be able to join you guys someday,” Ralsei commented timidly,
“Well, he wasn’t wrong, I’d be glad to have you on the team if you think you’re up for it, but for now, just leave the hero work to the pros,” Panthro explained, Ralsei looked at Panthro with a look of amazement in his eyes before he gave a small nod in response to Panthro’s explanation. Doggie then ran towards the subway station with Ralsei in his arms before Panthro turned towards the rest of the Anthros,
“Alright, before we start running around the city, Winston, why don’t you get on the rooftop and tell me if you can’t see Kat?” Panthro suggested,
“Oh, sure thing,” said Winston before he used his jump pack to get on top of the roof, landing with a grunt, after a moment Jon asked-
“Do you see him?”, Winston looked around for a bit before replying,
“Hm… no, I don’t think- Wait!... I think I see two people fighting in the park!” Winston explained,
“I bet that’s Kat and the disguising guy,” Sulley suggested,
“I think so too, come on Anthros, let’s head to the park,” said Panthro before he and the rest of the Anthros starting running towards the park.

As Doggie quickly made his way through the city he decided to speak to Ralsei,
“Say, Ralsei, if you don’t mind me asking why are you heading to the subway station?” Doggie asked,
“I need to meet up with my master, he’s in this world, though in a different city,” Ralsei explained,
“Your… master?” Doggie inquired,
“Yeah, he taught me how to use magic, though I’m still learning from him,” Ralsei explained,
“I see… and is your master your legal guardian?” Doggie inquired,
“I guess so, I’ve never really known my parents,” Ralsei explained,
“Ah, I’m sorry to hear that,” Doggie replied,
“It’s ok, I may not know who my parents are, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have people who care about me and help me, and plus my master is a nice guy!” Ralsei explained with a smile,
“That’s a good way of looking at things,” Doggie replied,
“Say… mister… is Kat going to be alright?” Ralsei asked,
“Of course he is, you’d be amazed how lucky that guy can be at times, he’ll be alright… why do you ask?” Doggie inquired,
“Well… because he was really nice to me earlier, and I’d like to meet him again,” Ralsei explained,
“D’aww, looks like Kat is gaining his own fan club, don’t worry Ralsei, I’m sure you’ll see him again, for now just focus on your studies,” Doggie instructed,
“Ok,” Ralsei replied timidly as Doggie was getting close to the subway station.

The fight between the two Kats raged on in the park for several minutes, though both of them stopped fighting when they saw the other Anthros approach them,
“Kat!...or… Kats?” said Sulley in confusion,
“That’s one Kat too many…” Jon commented,
“Which one is the real Kat and which one is the guy in disguise?” Leomon asked,
“I’m the real Kat! Guys this other Kat is an imposter, a guy named Rubber Soul with an ability like Dio’s that allows him to change his appearance!” one of the Kats explained,
“He’s lying! I’m the real Kat! The other Kat is Rubber Soul!” the other Kat explained,
“How can we tell them apart?” Winston asked, Panthro turned his head towards Kuriboh,
“Kuriboh, can you tell who's the real Kat?” Panthro asked, Kuriboh floated over to the two Kats who stood still while Kuriboh gave them a look over, then Kuriboh floated back to the other Anthros and shook his head. After pondering for a bit Winston came up with an idea,
“Oh! I know, how about Kuriboh says something, and we see which Kat can understand him!” Winston suggested,
“Kuri Kuri,” Kuriboh replied,
“He said good idea… huh?!” said both Kat’s simultaneously, as they looked at each other with wide eyes, the Kats then pointed at each other inquiriously before they once again spoke simultaneously,
“You also copied my ability to understand Kuriboh?” both Kat’s inquired, Jon sighed,
“Well that didn’t work…” Jon commented,
“There has to be a way to find out which Kat is the real Kat!” said Leomon in frustration. The Anthros then pondered for quite a while before Panthro spoke up,
“I know! We’ll call Kat’s communicator, only one of them should have one!” Panthro suggested, one of the Kats had a confused look on his face while the other spoke up,
“No! Wait, the other Kat stole my communicator, that won’t work!,” the Kat explained, Panthro immediately went over to the Kat who spoke up, and punched him in the face as hard as he could, causing him to fly back and roughly land on his back, Panthro then walked over to the other Kat, and patted him on the head,
“We haven’t given Kat a communicator yet,” Panthro explained to the fake Kat,
“Yeah, about that, when are we going to rectify that?” The real Kat asked, then to his surprise Panthro knelt down and hugged him,
“Shut up Kitten,” said Panthro, though his tone didn’t seem particularly rude or mean, but rather casual. Kat just blushed as Panthro held him close, the other Anthros took the time when things were calm to gather around Kat and Panthro,
“Kat, we’re sorry for doubting you…” Sulley explained,
“No, it’s ok, when you said there was a person who looked like me in the city, I didn’t think he’d really be such a dead ringer, but now that I’ve seen how good he is at disguising himself, I can see why you thought I was the one who robbed that museum earlier… if anything I should apologize for storming out like I did, we could’ve come to the city together and avoided the confusion…” Kat commented,
“Kuri Kuri,” Kuriboh replied,
“Yeah that’s true, then I wouldn’t have arrived in time to help Ralsei..” Kat commented,
“Let’s save it for after we deal with the copycat, or… what did you say his name was? Rubberband man?” Sulley asked,
“Rubber Soul,” Leomon corrected,
“Right, let’s take care of him first,” said Panthro,
“I’ve been wanting to get back at the guy who repeatedly hit me with a bat for hours!” said Jon as he cracked his knuckles,
“I’m feeling angry!” said Winston with a smile on his face. The Anthros turned their attention towards Rubber Soul, who finally sat up while he was still dazed by Panthro’s punch, the Anthros noticed a yellow gooey substance running off his face and evaporating, revealing his true form,
“What is that stuff on that guy’s face?” Panthro asked,
“You remember how I told you about Dio and his stand? That’s Rubber Soul’s stand: Yellow Temperance,” Kat explained,
“But… I thought only stand users could see stands… and I guess you with your magical eyes,” Panthro commented,
“Some stands are an exception,” Kat explained. Rubber soul looked in horror as his stand seemed to fade away until nothing remained of it,
“Wh-What?! My Yellow Temperance! Where did it go?!” Rubber Soul asked himself in horror and confusion, before he heard his stomach growl loudly, Rubber soul then remembered the conversation he had with Dio when he was first revived,
“Remember Rubber Soul, bringing you back had a heavy cost, your soul is slightly different than it was when you were first alive, so you may have a new strength or weakness,” Dio’s words echoed in the evil man’s mind,
“Wait… so my weakness is if I’m starving I can’t summon my stand?! I was so focused on causing trouble I forgot to eat!! Crap! I need to find something to eat!” said Rubber Soul in a panic as he looked around the park, though he couldn’t find anything he could snack on. When Rubber Soul was frantically looking around as he sat up, he was frozen in place as he saw the Anthros approach him,
“Well, it looks like your defense isn’t as impenetrable as you thought, goo boy..” Kat commented in a casual mocking tone, Rubber Soul looked at the Anthros with a sheepish smile,
“H-hey come on now guys, you aren’t still mad at me about earlier are you? It was just a joke! I didn’t actually kill you all, did I?” said Rubber Soul as he attempted to bargain with the group with his pathetic visage. Jon picked him up by his neck and held him in the air,
“You said you were hungry right? How about I give you a knuckle sandwich?” Jon asked with a devilish grin,
“Hang on a second Jon, Kat, you want the first hit?” Panthro asked,
“Nah, I had fun fighting him earlier, he’s all yours guys,” said Kat as he walked away from the group to give them some distance,
“You heard him Panth,” said Sulley as he cracked his knuckles,
“This should be amusing,” said Leomon with a grin,
“Let’s show him what happens when you mess with the Anthros,” said Winston before the Anthros finally started beating the snot out of Rubber Soul, taking out the aggression they had accumulated earlier in the night, leaving several cuts and bruises on his body, they went for several minutes until they could see Doggie approaching them. The Anthros then stood aside to make way for Doggie, revealing Rubber Soul in his battered state,
“Ah, I see you guys found the disguising guy… and you sure did a number on him,” Doggie commented,
“Yep, now put this creep in a card so we can go home,” Panthro instructed,
“Right,” said Doggie before he pulled out his Morpher and activated the judgment function,
“Rubber Soul, you are charged with theft, assaulting multiple heroes, attempted murder, antagonizing a child, and attempting to frame someone, you will be judged,” said Doggie as the symbols kept alternating on his morpher,
“I-It wasn’t me! I’m innocent! It was that cat guy, everyone saw it right?! Arrest him!” said Rubber Soul desperately before the morpher obviously displayed the guilty verdict,
“Guilty, and you know what? You’re so pathetic you don’t even get the satisfaction of getting contained with a containment slash,” Doggie explained before he pressed a button on his Morpher, causing some sort energy wave to shoot from the Morpher, and instantaneously put Rubber Soul in a containment card. To everyone’s surprise, as Doggie was walking over to Rubber Soul’s containment card to pick it up, it bursted into blue flames, and Rubber Soul’s screams of anguish could be heard before the blue flames disappeared, and Rubber Soul’s card was nowhere to be found. The Anthros exchanged confused looks before Kat spoke up,
“Is that a new function on your morpher?” Kat asked, Doggie shook his head as he examined his morpher,
“I’ve never seen anything like it, I need to ask Kat about this,” Doggie explained,
“I don’t know what happened either though,” Kat replied,
“Not you, the othe-... Ms. Manx,” Doggie explained,
“Not sure what happened to the copycat guy, though I hope he gets what’s coming to him after everything he did to Kat and the rest of us,” Sulley commented,
“I hope he’s suffering in the pits of hell,” Jon commented,
“Well regardless of what happened to him, he’s out of our fur for now,” Leomon commented,
“Right, we should go back into the city to explain to the authorities what happened so they don’t blame Kat, then head back to the base, it’s been a long night,” Winston suggested,
“Sounds like a plan… but uh, can you guys give me and Kat a minute? I need to talk with him… alone,” Panthro explained, the other Anthros looked at each other, but still decided to respect Panthro’s wish and leave them to talk, Kat turned his head to Kuriboh,
“You too Kuriboh,” Kat requested, Kuriboh nodded, returned to his card form, and Kat placed him in his pocket. Kat then turned his attention towards Panthro, the two Anthros were silent for a bit, though Panthro was the first to break the silence,
“Kat… I’m sorry,” said Panthro,
“What do you to apologize for? Even when you thought I committed the crimes in the city, part of you still believed in my innocence,” Kat commented,
“All this started because I had you stay at the base to prove you could be trustworthy… but you’ve already done so much for this team, if I would’ve just let you come with us to search for Zero, you probably would have proved your innocence much quicker… I’m supposed to be the leader of this team, but I can end up making bad calls from time to time, and because of my bad call you ended up suffering tonight,” Panthro explained, though Kat simply smiled,
“Panthro, it’s ok if you make bad calls, no one is perfect, I’ll follow you even if you make billions of bad calls, you inspire me to do good things, and when I’m around you, I feel like a better person… “ Kat explained, Panthro blushed deeply from Kat’s kind words, the hybrid continued as he started fidgeting with his tail, remembering what Kuriboh advised him to tell Panthro earlier,
“besides, I don’t mind you having doubts in me, I’ve done some pretty bad things to make it to where I am now, and no matter how much good I do, It'll never make up for the things I've done in my past” Kat explained, Panthro pondered a bit before replying,
“You’re right, you'll never be able to change your past… but you shouldn't focus on your past, you should focus on doing better moving forward, though I don't need to tell you that, you've already been making an effort to do better…" Panthro explained, causing Kat's eyes to light up,
"You think so?" Kat asked, Panthro nodded, then thought about what he wanted to say next before he spoke,
"Kat, you know you're my partner, and well…” said Panthro as he trailed off, Kat tilted his head,
“Well?” Kat inquired,
“Well… I like you a whole bunch… almost like family,” said Panthro, managing to finish his explanation as he blushed deeply,
“Really?” Kat asked, also blushing,
“Yeah… just don’t read too deeply into that, ok Kitten?” Panthro instructed,
“Ok, I won’t… but.... Am I still on the team?” Kat asked timidly,
“Huh? Of course you are, numbskull!” Panthro replied,
“Even after I stormed out like I did?” Kat inquired,
“Well you needed to sign some paperwork to make it official,” Panthro explained, Kat took a breath then sighed,
“That’s good… can I get my permit back then?” Kat requested timidly, Panthro then reached into the pockets on his pants and pulled out Kat’s hero learner’s permit, still in perfect condition, and offered it to the hybrid. When Kat walked closer to Panthro and tried to gingerly take his permit from the thundercat’s hand, Panthro carefully grabbed Kat’s arm, pulled him closer, and wrapped his own large arms around Kat’s comparatively smaller body, Panthro was careful not to accidentally jab his partner with the spikes that adorned his vest as he held him close, Kat was surprised by Panthro’s actions, and couldn’t help but blush,
“P-Panthro… I thought you weren’t really a hugger…” Kat commented, Panthro shrugged,
“What can I say? After everything that’s happened tonight, I thought you could use one,” Panthro explained, Kat was surprised, but still wrapped his arms around Panthro’s muscular torso, and even purred a little,
“D’aww, I’d love to see softie Panthro more often,” Kat commented happily,
“Don’t make me konk you on the head Kitten,” said Panthro, he was slightly annoyed, but overall very happy. The two Anthros held each other for a bit before they broke the hug and headed back into the city to tie up loose ends with the other Anthros.

Within the castle belonging to the Syndicate of Malevolence, Dio and Mumm-Ra had been watching Rubber Soul up until he went up in blue flames,
“Well, it would seem as though that plan didn’t work out so well,” Mumm-Ra commented,
“Quite the contrary,” Dio commented,
“What do you mean? Rubber Soul was found out, Kat’s name is going to be cleared,” Mumm-Ra replied,
“You don’t know mortals very well, do you? They believe whatever they want to believe, even if they have absolute proof of the contrary, and with the seeds of doubt planted, there are bound to be people who still distrust Kat after what happened in the city, and if Kat sees how little he’s trusted being a hero... “ Dio explained, allowing Mumm-Ra to finish his point,
“Then he might just come to us… and we’ll be able to use his power, I like the way you think Dio,” Mumm-Ra commented with a smile,
“What can I say? I know how to use people to my advantage… speaking of, why don’t we get started on reviving the next stand user I wanted to come back?” said Dio,
“And who might that be?” Mumm-Ra inquired,
“Let’s just say he could potentially eliminate most of the Anthros, while bringing Kat to you,” said Dio with a smile before he gave off a devious chuckle.

The day after the mission last night Panthro and Kat were playing a game of basketball on a court in the city,
“Aw come on Panthro, I know you can move faster than that!” Kat teased as he juked past the thundercat,
“Hey cut me some slack, I don’t usually stay up as late as I did last night,” Panthro explained,
“Hey, mind if we join?” asked Doggie’s voice, Panthro and Kat looked at the fence entrance to the court to see their fellow Anthros, all of them shirtless and wearing a pair of gym shorts, even Sulley who normally didn’t wear clothes, among the Anthros were also Beast and Mercenary, who also wore appropriate clothing for the occasion,
“Oh hey, Beast, Mercenary, where were you two last night?” Kat asked,
“I was getting my equipment ready,” Mercenary replied,
“And I was making sure my wife and home were safe, Doggie filled us in on what happened last night,” Beast explained,
“We saw that you two were having so much fun playing basketball over here so we thought it’d be nice to join you, though unfortunately we couldn’t get Winston to come with us,” Sulley explained,
“Oh wow, we’d actually have enough players for a team on team game… though do you guys know the rules? Or do I need to fill some of you in?” Kat asked, certain Anthros gave sheepish looks,
“We can just learn as we go,” Leomon offered,
“Sounds like a plan, Doggie you’re on my team, I need a fast guy to keep Kat from doing whatever he wants,” Panthro explained,
“You got it,” said Doggie as he walked over to Panthro,
“Maybe I should sit this game out,” Jon commented,
“Aw come on Jon, don’t be like that, play with us” said Kat encouragingly,
“I threw so many accusations your way last night though,” Jon replied,
“Well throw the ball at the net’s way, c’mon, you can make it up to me by playing on my team,” Kat suggested,
“You don’t seem like you hold any ill will towards me…” Jon commented in confusion,
“I will if you don’t get your tail over here,” said Kat as he gestured for Jon to walk over to him, Jon sighed and managed a casual smile,
“Very well you strange feline,” said Jon as he walked over to Kat. It wasn’t long before the teams were made and the Anthros started to play a few games of basketball with each other. There were moments of confusion, moments of greatness, and several moments where Leomon got hit in the face with the ball, but at the end of the day the Anthros enjoyed themselves as they played, even the grumpier members such as Jon and Mercenary, to some, a game of basketball between friends wouldn’t mean much, but to Kat, it meant the world to him to spend time with his teammates. So the Anthros had their fun on the court, unaware that the next lead for Zero would come sooner than they would expect.

End of Chapter 16