Adventurous Anthros
Young Anthros (Part 1)(Season 1 Chapter 17)
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.

Within the castle of the Syndicate, Dio waited patiently in the hallway that lead to Mumm-Ra's spellcasting room. It had been an hour since he spoke to Morgana, he had asked the pictomancer to retrieve ingredients that he needed for the resurrection spell, and thankfully it wasn't much longer before he saw her approach him. Dio turned to face the pictomancer,
"Did you get what I need?" Dio asked, Morgana nodded,
"The monsters I created are carrying the supplies, they should be approaching here in a minute," Morgana explained,
"Excellent," Dip commented,
"So this next guy you're bringing back, he has the ability to make people younger?" Morgana asked,
"Yes," Dio replied,
"And as payment for helping you out, he can turn me back into Mora before he goes and does what you need him to do… right?" Morgana inquired,
"Yes, however I need ingredients to bring back one more of my allies once I conclude how well the spell works, then our business will be concluded," Dio explained, Morgana shrugged,
"Welp, fine with me as long as I get to return to my beloved younger form, I can hardly wait for this guy to be revived" Morgana explained,
"Neither can I, for I have a plan for him," Dio explained with a chuckle.

The next day the Anthros received word of Zero being spotted in another world, so during a group meeting Panthro decided that every member should go to the world to investigate, though they'd be sure to do a thorough job locking the doors to the base, as well as leave Athena to watch for any Intruders. While everyone was getting their things together, Kat went into Winston's lab to have a word with the scientist,
"Hey Winston," Kat greeted with a wave,
"Oh, hello Kat, are you excited to find Zero?" Winston asked as he was reading through some papers,
"Yeah, though can we really trust this lead? Following the last one didn't go so well," Kat explained,
"I mean, no one can blame the person who saw Zero in the city and reported it, that trick had us all fooled," Winston explained,
"Yeah.. even me for a bit," Kat commented,
"Not every lead ends well, we'll just have to be more careful when we search this time," Winston explained,
"I guess so," Kat commented,
"So what brings you into my lab? Anything I can help you with?" Winston asked, Kat pointed towards the large monitor that was connected to Winston's computer,
"Can I use your computer? I need to talk to Jotaro," Kat explained,
"Oh, sure," Winston replied before he pressed a few keys, opened a communication software specifically made for heroes called "HeroChat", and did some searching until he found Jotaro's profile, before starting a video call, though Kat looked at the monitor with a puzzled expression,
"Video call? What's that?" Kat asked, unfamiliar with the option on the software considering the last time he talked with Jotaro using the software the action was simply referred to as a call and it was purely audio based,
"Oh, well it'll allow you to talk with him while you can see each other's faces," Winston explained,
"But why would I need to do that?" Kat asked as the call kept ringing
"It's a good way to feel like you're face to face and thus make the conversation more engaging," Winston explained as the ringtone rang a few more times. Kat's ears twitched a bit,
"I dunno, it seems kind of-" Kat attempted to comment before Jotaro's face appeared on the monitor,
"Yeah?" Jotaro inquired with his usually casual tone of voice, Kat quickly turned his attention to the monitor,
"O-Oh! Hey Jotaro!" Kat greeted, the hybrid was caught off guard from Jotaro suddenly appearing on the monitor,
"Oh, hey Kat," Jotaro replied,
"I didn't catch you at a bad time did I?" Kat asked,
"Well I need to attend a Speedwagon Foundation meeting here in a bit, but I've got time to talk, why? what's up?... Also who's the gorilla?" Jotaro asked,
"Hi there! I'm Winston, one of Kat's teammates, don't mind me, I'm just doing a bit of organizing," Winston explained as he went through his papers,
"Right, and I needed to talk to you about our latest encounter with a stand user…" Kat explained. Kat then went on to explain what happened the other night with Rubber Soul, Jotaro rubbed his chin and gave a puzzled expression,
“So Rubber Soul came back from the grave? That’s bizarre…” Jotaro commented,
“I thought you said no stand ability can bring back the dead,” Kat commented,
“No stand ability can do that, though this may not be the work of a stand ability,” Jotaro commented,
“Well what else could it be?” Kat asked,
“I’m not sure right now… are you busy?” Jotaro asked,
“Yeah actually, my team and I found a lead on Zero so we’re going to investigate here in a minute,” Kat explained,
“I see, well get in touch with me the next time you’re available, I feel as though there’s a lot to discuss on this matter,” Jotaro explained, Kat gave a small nod,
“Will do,” Kat replied, a faint voice could be heard from Jotaro’s end,
“I need to go, good luck searching for Zero,” said Jotaro before the call ended. It wasn’t long after the call ended that the rest of the Anthros came into Winston’s lab to join Kat and Winston, everyone was accounted for, Panthro, Doggie, Sulley, Leomon, Jon, Beast, and Mercenary. Winston adjusted his glasses as Doggie pulled up some graphics on Winston’s computer to better explain himself,
“Alright Anthros, we’ve recently received another lead towards Zero, so we’re going to investigate in hopes of finding her, though this time we’re going to do things a bit differently than how we did things following the last lead, if you remember, most of us explored the city on our own as we figured we could cover more ground, however this time around we’re going to be safer and try out a buddy system, so we’re going to investigate in small groups of three to avoid the risk of us being singled out and attacked one by one,” Doggie explained,
“Right, and the teams will consist of- Doggie, Beast and Mercenary for the first team, Jon, Sulley and Leomon on the second team, and Kat, Winston and Myself on the third team, each team will search in a different area,” Panthro explained,
“Where are we even searching?” Mercenary asked,
“I’m glad you asked,” Doggie commented, pulling up a map that showed a few select locations from a certain world,
“This world is where the lead was reported from, the world is like earth, though there are differences in the way the continents are shaped, given that a popular hobby for the founders of this world is stargazing, the world was nicknamed- “Andromeda”, and fun fact- most of the population in Andromeda are hybrids… oh and the area we’re searching in Andromeda is “Orion City,” and-” Doggie explained before he was cut off by Kat, who interjected with wide eyes,
“Wait! What’s the name of the city?” Kat asked, everyone had their eyes on Kat now,
“Orion city?” Doggie replied inquiriously,
“Orion city…” Kat repeated while pondering for a bit, Kat then walked over to Winston’s Gate Hopper, and stepping on the platform,
“Kat? What are you doing?” Sulley asked,
“What do you think? I’m ready to go, let’s do this,” Kat explained,
“Now hold on, I haven’t gotten through all of my instructions,” Doggie replied,
“What else do you need to go over?” Kat asked impatiently,
“Like what teams should search which areas,” Doggie explained,
“Any reason we can’t warp there and then you tell us?” Kat asked,
“I have access to the computer right now, I can show visuals of the city so everyone understands where they need to go and investigate,” Doggie replied,
“There are signs everywhere in the city, it’s easy to find where you need to go, even without a map on hand,” Kat explained,
“How do you know that?” Panthro asked,
“Don’t worry about it, let’s just go already!” said Kat impatiently,
“You seem really eager to go into the city…” Sulley commented,
“I’m eager to find Zero, that’s all…” Kat replied,
“I actually agree with Kat for once, the sooner we’re in the city, the sooner we can investigate, the sooner we can go home,” Jon explained, Doggie let out a sigh,
“Alright, everyone on the Gate Hopper, let’s go to Orion City,” said Doggie before he and the rest of the Anthros joined Kat on the platform, before Winston typed in the necessary information on the nearby control panel, and the Anthros were on their way to Orion City.

The Anthros arrived in the middle of Orion City, being teleported caused Beast and Mercenary to be visibly confused,
"W-What sorcery was that?!" Beast asked in confusion,
"Not sorcery, Science!" Winston replied happily,
"Alright now remember- if your group comes across something that you can't handle, be sure to use your communicators to ask the nearest group for help,
"I don't have a communicator," Mercenary replied,
"Neither do me and Beast," Kat added,
"That's why you were paired up with members that do, now then Team one will search the north part of the city, Team two will search the east part of the city, and Team three will search the west part of the city, the first team to finish a thorough search for their area will go search the south, let's hope we find her," Doggie commented, the teams then went their separate ways, and Panthro noticed that Kat ran away from him and Winston at top speed towards the western part of the city,
“Kat, what are you doing?!” Panthro asked in confusion,
“We should start at the outskirts and work our way to the center!” Kat suggested as he kept running,
“That actually sounds like a good idea,” Winston commented, Panthro sighed,
“Yeah… but we were supposed to stay together… what is with that feline?” Panthro asked as he saw Kat disappear from sight within moments, Winston shrugged,
“I don’t know, let’s try and catch up with him then talk to him,” Winston suggested as he and Panthro made their way after Kat.

Within moments, Kat ran so fast that he was already at the edge of the western part of the city, he passed by several hybrids on his way who collectively sported a variety of animal parts, from ears, to tails, to horns, to beaks, and even wings. Kat knew where he wanted to go the moment he heard the name of the city they’d be searching, for the city was a place that was very familiar to Kat, though the place he wanted to go first was hardly connected to the city. Orion city was a rather large city that was essentially in the middle of a giant forest clearing, the dense amount of trees could be seen from the edge of the massive city from almost every side, though paths were cleared out to make way for roads that travelled in and out of the city. From the western-most edge of the city, a lone house could be seen near the edge of the forest, it was about a ten minute walk away from the edge, Kat took a deep breath, as he was familiar with the house, and seeing it after so long made him feel nostalgic. The hybrid began to contemplate what to do next,
“There it is… it’s been so long… should I?.... Huh?” Kat thought, as could vaguely see something small brown and floating all around the house,
“Is that… a Kuriboh?” Kat thought to himself. Kat had been around Kuriboh for so long he could recognize Kuriboh’s small and fluffy form with ease, even from a long distance. Seeing the Kuriboh near the familiar house piqued Kat’s interest,
“I mean… no one would get mad if I just took a minute to look around… heck, Zero might be over at that house for all we know, leave no stone unturned afterall!” Kat thought, mentally justifying to himself that going to the house for a bit would be ok. Thus without another moment of hesitation, Kat ran towards the house at full speed.

Given how fast Kat ran, he was over at the house within a minute, though as he was running he could see the Kuriboh float over to the back, Kat stopped running a few feet from the house, and slowly approached the door, his heart pounded and he started sweating uncontrollably. Kat raised a hand to knock, though he found his hand was trembling and his breath was uneasy. Kat attempted to calm himself and bring himself to knock as a large part of himself wanted to, but he could feel a cold sensation run down his spine,
“I… I can’t….” Kat thought to himself as he lowered his hand,
“I want to see her again after all these years… I want to hug her… I want to tell her that I’m ok… but… I can’t, I won’t allow her to get caught up in my big mess…” Kat thought to himself as he slowly backed away from the door. Kat was about to run back to the city, though he remembered the Kuriboh he saw near the house, and how it floated towards the backyard,
“Though… I guess a quick look in the backyard wouldn’t hurt,” Kat thought before he casually strolled towards the backyard. At the back of the house, squared off by a chain-link fence, was a rather spacious backyard, near the house itself was a small garden comprised of a large variety of flowers, and at the center of the backyard was a tree about as tall as the house itself with a wooden tree house on top, and a rope swing tied around one of the branches that extended near the ground. The wood that comprised the tree house seemed as though it had gone through some age, though it still looked quite sturdy. Kat looked up at the finely crafted treehouse with a smile as he felt nostalgic, Kat took off one of his gloves, and felt the tree with his bare hand, the tree felt rather healthy. Just as Kat put his glove back on and looked around the garden for a bit for the Kuriboh he saw, his heart stopped for a split second when he heard the sliding glass door on the back of the house open, though to Kat’s surprise the voice he heard wasn’t angry, but rather confused and even hopeful,
“S-Salem?” the voice asked, the voice sounded like it belonged to a woman, Kat turned towards the back door, and the person he saw caused his eyes to widen, and heart to race. The woman was a cat hybrid with long brown hair and brown eyes, her cat ears were covered in brown fur with white tips, as was her tail, and she wore a white long sleeve shirt with a long dark blue skirt that reached to her ankles. The woman wore an expression that seemed somewhat sad with a mix of confusion and hope as she gingerly approached Kat, ignoring the open door behind her,
“Salem? Is that you?... no, wait, it can’t be you…” said the woman, her tone shifting to one of disappointment, Kat cleared his throat and spoke up,
“Uh… no, my name isn’t Salem, I’m sorry,” Kat replied,
“I thought not… sorry, it’s just that you remind me so much of him…” The woman commented,
“I do?... wait actually who’s “him?” who’s Salem?” Kat asked,
“My husband, you look so much like he did when he was younger, though I should’ve known better… he died a long time ago, I suppose I’m starting to go crazy from living alone for so long,” the woman explained,
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear about your husband,” Kat commented sympathetically,
“It’s ok, it’s been so long that I hardly feel the pain from his death anymore, and I’m sure to always keep him in my heart and prayers, so he’s never truly gone… though I do wonder, who are you? And why are you in my garden?” the woman asked,
“Oh uh, my name is Kat, and I thought I saw a Kuriboh around here,” Kat explained, the woman tilted her head. Kat dug into his pocket and pulled out Kuriboh’s card, causing the furry little monster to appear before him in his monster form,
“This is a Kuriboh,” Kat explained, the woman’s eyes widened upon seeing Kuriboh before she carefully moved closer to him and Kat,
“Ah I see, yes there is one who comes around here on occasion, though he has wings, so I just call him “Wingy”, he’s just the sweetest little thing and he makes for wonderful company,” the woman explained,
“A Kuriboh with wings? I’ve never heard of that before… then again there’s still a lot I don’t know about duel monsters,” Kat commented, as the woman gently pet Kuriboh on his head, and he seemed to enjoy it,
“This Kuriboh follows you, right? I once read in an article that Kuribohs tend to follow those with a strong heart and good fortune,” the woman explained,
“A strong heart and good fortune?” Kat repeated,
“Yep, I don’t know how true the article is, but it gives me hope that my life isn’t so bad…” the woman commented,
“Oh yeah?” Kat inquired,
“Yeah… you see, on top of my husband dying, years ago my daughter disappeared one day, followed by my son… the police and heroes searched and searched, but… they couldn’t find either of them for so long that they called off the search…” the woman explained,
“I’m… sorry to hear that,” said Kat with his feline ears drooped,
“It’s ok… even though it’s been years… I still have hope that they are alive and out there somewhere, among all those worlds… and that they’ll return to me someday,” the woman explained with a heavy tone, Kat could feel his heart tighten in his chest from the last thing the woman said. Kat and the woman were silent for a moment, though the woman broke the silence,
“Oh! Silly me, I just realized I hadn’t even introduced myself, my name is Eliza,” the woman explained,
“It’s uh… nice to meet you Eliza… though perhaps there’s one more thing you could help me with?” Kat inquired,
“Oh? What is it?” Eliza inquired, Kat reached into his pocket, pulled out his hero learner’s permit, and showed it to Eliza,
“I’m a hero, and I uh… didn’t just come to this house because I saw a Kuriboh, I’m looking for someone, a woman with long white hair, purple eyes, her name is Zero,” Kat explained. Eliza pondered for a bit before she replied,
“Sorry Mr. Kat, I can’t say that I’ve seen someone like that around where I live,” Eliza explained, Kat gained a look of disappointment,
“Ah, I see, thanks anyway… C'mon Kuriboh, we should go,” said Kat as he walked towards the gate with Kuriboh following after him. Before Kat got to the gate Eliza called out to him,
“Wait!” said Eliza, Kat and Kuriboh turned towards her,
“If you see my son or my daughter during your hero work, please… tell them to come home… It’s been so hard to live with them gone… I’ve had this heavy weight on my heart for years… if I could just see my babies one more time, the weight would be lifted… please…” Eliza begged, looking as though she could cry at any moment. With a heavy heart, Kat took a deep breath and gave the best smile he could before replying,
“Don’t worry, they’ll return to you one day… I….. I promise,” Kat explained, Eliza wiped her eyes,
“Oh thank you Mr. Kat, I’m glad you came to me on this day… seeing you provides me with the hope I’ve been needing for so long… take care of yourself ok? The many worlds that are connected to us are beautiful, but if you aren’t careful they can be very dangerous places,” Eliza explained,
“I know,” Kat replied with a nod. Eliza turned towards the sliding glass door and walked back to it,
“Good luck finding that Zero girl,” said Eliza before she entered her own home, shutting the door behind her. Kat sighed and turned his attention towards the gate, though he jumped when he saw Winston and Panthro standing by the fence gate,
“H-How long were you standing there?” Kat asked. The hybrid was expecting the two Antrhos to be angry at him for running off like he did, or at least Panthro, though both of them just looked at him with looks of confusion and concern,
“Kat… do you know that woman?” Panthro asked, Kat thought for a bit before he sighed and walked past the two Anthros, closing the gate behind him, and of course Kuriboh floated behind him,
“Let’s walk and talk,” Kat suggested as he kept walking. Panthro and Winston exchanged confused looks before walking behind Kat.

On the way back to the city, Kuriboh sat on Winston’s shoulder as he, Panthro and Kat kept walking. Panthro waited until they were a decent distance away from the house before he spoke again, figuring the reason Kat didn’t want to say anything in the backyard was because he didn’t want the woman living in the house to overhear him,
“Kat… who was the woman?” Panthro asked, Kat hesitated for a bit before he replied,
“She’s my mother,” Kat explained, immediately causing Panthro, Winston, and Kuriboh’s eyes to widen,
“WHAT?!” said the three in unison, though for Kuriboh he made a “Kuri” noise,
“Yeah… this world is my homeworld, and I was raised near Orion City… I’m sorry for running off, I just wanted to see her again after all this time,” Kat explained,
“So you were the son she was talking about?” Winston asked,
“Yeah…” Kat replied,
“When are you going to tell her?” Panthro asked,
“I’m not… at least… I’m not anytime soon,” Kat replied,
“Kat! You heard your mother earlier! She’s devastated without you!” said Panthro angrily as he pointed towards Eliza’s house,
“You think I don’t know that?!” Kat asked angrily as he violently turned towards Panthro,
“You think I don’t want to tell her what happened to me over the course of those years?! You think I don’t want to tell her my name? Spend a day with her? Catch up?... I do… but I can’t! I bring disaster wherever I go… people I care about who stick around me just end up getting hurt…” Kat explained with a sorrowful tone as he clenched his fist,
“We’ve stuck around you though,” Winston replied,
“Yeah… but you guys are different, you’re tough… you’re fighters, you can handle whatever disaster follows me, but my mom is nothing like that, she’s gentle and she hates fighting, she couldn’t handle what I deal with,” Kat explained,
“But you made a promise to her! I know you Kat, you never make a promise you don’t intend to keep,” Panthro commented,
“I know… and I plan to keep my promise to her and return to her one day… hopefully with my sister, though I need to take care of some stuff from my past first… and that’s going to take some time,” Kat explained,
“I also didn’t know you had a sister…” Panthro commented,
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me… though that’s for the best” Kat replied. Panthro sighed, walked over to Kat and petted him,
“Kat… your mother isn’t going to be around forever… you need to tell her before it’s too late, believe me, I have had more than my fair share of regrets, I don’t want you to have a regret that large on your shoulders,” said Panthro in a comforting tone,
“I’ll tell her, don’t worry… but, do you guys think you can keep this between us?” Kat asked,
“Sure, I understand,” Panthro replied, Winston and Kuriboh gave a nod,
“Thanks,” Kat replied. After a bit, Panthro stopped petting Kat’s head,
“Alright, we should keep searching for Zero, Kat, why don’t you use your Mirror Vision to see if she’s even in this world?” Panthro suggested,
“Oh yeah, that’s a good idea,” Kat replied before activating Mirror Vision, his eyes glowed and sparks of green electricity came from them,
“Mirror Vision?” Winston asked,
“It’s a long story,” Panthro explained. Kat could see glimpses of the world he was in through Mirror Vision, though unlike the last time he used Mirror Vision, he could actually see Zero,
“Zero! I see her! She’s resting in an alleyway in the western part of Orion City!” said Kat excitedly before he started running back to the city,
“Kat! We need to stick together, remember?” said Panthro in annoyance,
“But she might be injured! I need to go to her ASAP! I’ll be careful, I promise!” said Kat as he ran to the city at top speed,
“Kat!... I swear, that guy is such a kitten sometimes…” said Panthro in annoyance,
“You chose him to be your partner,” Winston pointed out, Panthro sighed,
“Well despite making dumb decisions he has a good heart, let’s just try and find him before trouble does first,” said Panthro before he started running after Kat, quickly followed by Winston with Kuriboh still on his shoulder.

Moving as fast he could, Kat checked every alleyway in the western part of Orion City, it took several minutes of searching for the hybrid, but eventually his eyes widened when he found Zero as Kat saw her in the vision, she laid unconscious against the brick wall of one of the nearby buildings. Kat took a few steps forward to help Zero, but stopped in hesitation a few feet away from the witch,
"Wait...this seems easy… too easy," Kat thought to himself before Kat suddenly saw a fireball flying towards him and quickly backflipped to dodge it. When Kat's feet touched the ground the hybrid saw a large scorch mark on the ground where the fireball hit. Before Kat could wonder who threw the fireball, his ears perked up as he heard the sound of wings flapping, followed by a somewhat raspy voice he was all too familiar with,
"Ah, it's been a while, feline" the voice commented,
"Van Bloot…" said Kat to himself, and sure enough, the underworlder descended from above and landed between Kat and Zero while looking at the hybrid with crossed arms and an amused expression,
"I'm flattered that you remembered my name," Van Bloot commented with a facetious tone,
"Cut the crap! What does the Syndicate want with Zero?!" Kat demanded angrily,
"Well for one, she's good at luring you and your friends to wherever we need you at, like a nice can of tuna," Van Bloot commented mockingly, causing Kat to grit his teeth angrily,
"Though another reason we keep her around is that her power is so great, she'd be a valuable asset if we could harness it," Van Bloot explained as he went over to Zero and slung her over his shoulder, it was then Kat could see her wrists had strange shackles around them, which Kat presumed limited or nullified her ability to use her magic. Kat summoned a dark vortex and retrieved a kunai from it,
"Put her down! I'm freeing her from the Syndicate's clutches, right now!" Kat demanded, Van Bloot simply had his back to Kat as he responded,
"She's coming back to the castle… and so are you!" Said Van Bloot with glee. Kat was confused by Van Bloot's last statement, though before he had time to inquire, he could feel an odd draining sensation that led to the soles of his feet as his body glowed brightly. In a moment of pain of confusion Kat looked at his feet to see a strange shadow in the shape of a man with a round head, a crest on his head, and eyes that looked like they should be on a person rather than a shadow. Kat quickly jumped to the side and off the shadow in surprise, which caused his body to stop glowing,
"It's too late, you already allowed Sethan to touch you…" a voice behind Kat commented. Kat turned around to see a man with a slumped posture, brown hair with a very distinct hairstyle, looking like a dust mop with a few small bells attached to it with strings, a pair of pointy sunglasses, a sleeveless lavender colored jacket over a dark blue shirt, a pair of long black wristbands that went to his forearms, a pair of khakis and a dark pair of boots. Kat could see at the man's feet was the shadow that was under his own feet a moment ago, the shadow appeared to retract itself to be closer to the strange man,
"Take a look at yourself," the man instructed with a smile, Kat looked at his hands to see he was wearing a different pair of gloves, the gloves he currently wore were dark brown in color and thicker, he was also wearing a black long sleeve shirt that was tucked under his gloves, and his arms were visibly smaller and less muscular, though looking down Kat could see a familiar t-shirt with the head of a cute furry monster with horns attempting to look intimidating on it, and the rest of his body looked much smaller and less muscular to match his arms,
"H-Huh?! What happened to me?!" Kat asked in surprise, followed by his eyes widening and the hybrid covering his own mouth as his voice sounded like a child's voice. It was then Kat realized what the mysterious man was about to explain,
"I turned you younger, with my stand, Sethan!" The man explained gleefully,
"Another stand user…" Kat thought in horror, still caught off guard from the sudden age change,
"Excellent work Alessi, I made good on my part of the deal, I'll leave the rest to you, come back to the castle with the feline, or don't come back at all," Van Bloot explained before he began to fly off. Kat quickly tried summoning a dark vortex as he had done several times in the past, but the vortex he manifested seemed shaky and unstable, regardless Kat still stuck his hand in it, though he could only pull out a kunai,
"H-Huh?! What's with me? My powers aren't working right…" Kat commented,
"I turned you into a child, so your power was reverted to when you were that age, though your clothes weren't supposed to get younger with you… that's new," Alessi explained. Kat turned his attention back to Van Bloot who was still flying away with Zero slung over his shoulder, Kat attempted to throw his kunai at the underworlder, but the kunai didn't fly nearly high enough to hit him and instead hit a nearby building before falling and hitting the ground. Within moments Van Bloot was out of sight and Kat fell to his knees with the realization that Van Bloot had gotten away and Kat in his current state was powerless to stop him,
"I let Zero get taken again… I could've stopped him! But I didn't…" said Kat to himself in anger,
"No need to be so sad, you're going to go with her," Alessi explained in delight. Kat looked at Alessi with confusion,
"What do you mean?" Kat inquired,
"I was revived by Mumm-Ra and Lord Dio and sent to retrieve you, and that's what I plan to do… although, it might be easier if you're even younger," Alessi commented before Kat saw Sethan stretch out from beneath Alessi's feet and under Kat, who was surprised by the stand suddenly moving, though unlike earlier he didn't feel a draining sensation from Sethan being under him. Kat tilted his head in confusion,
"Is uh… something supposed to happen?" Kat asked, Alessi looked at both Kat and his stand with a look of confusion,
"You're supposed to get younger!... Though now that I think about it, Dio did tell me my stand might work differently, hence why your clothes changed, I guess there's a limit to just how young I can make you… ah well, no matter," said Alessi before he retracted Sethan and started walking closer to Kat, who quickly got another kunai and held it towards Alessi threateningly as he carefully backed away from the stand user,
"H-hey! Stay back creep! I don't know what Mumm-Ra is planning, but there's no way I'll just let you take me back to him!" Said Kat angrily. Alessi looked at Kat for a moment before laughing,
"You honestly think you stand a chance against me in your current state? Listen kid, Mumm-Ra told me not to kill you but he never said I had to bring you back in one piece," said Alessi as he retrieved a hatchet that was hidden within his vest and showed it off threateningly. Kat soon found his back against a nearby dumpster and his legs trembling as he looked at the stand user who kept approaching him, for as much as Kat didn't want to admit it, even to himself, he was scared of Alessi, which was understandable given that he was currently in a much younger and weaker body. Alessi giggled a bit as he raised his axe,
“What’s it going to be kid? Do you want to come with me peacefully? Or are we going to have to do things the hard way?” Alessi asked sadistically, pressing the axe close to Kat’s face to make a point,
“G-Go away!!” Kat demanded in a frightened tone,
“Yeah, see, that sounds like the hard way… but that’s ok, I was hoping you’d choose that,” Alessi explained as he raised his hatchet. Kat clenched his eyes as he anticipated the swing of the hatchet, though to his surprise he heard the jingling of chains and what he presumed was the sound of Alessi choking, Kat gingerly opened his eyes to see Panthro towering over Alessi from behind, and choking him with the chain of his nunchuk, the expression of the thundercat was furious, and the grip he had on his nunchuk were tight, which greatly contrasted with the now terrified look on Alessi as he struggled to loosen the chain, with the stand user even dropping his hatchet, and allowing it to clatter at his feet,
“Guys like you make me sick! Preying on a little cat boy like that… I’m so tempted to strangle you to death!!” said Panthro angrily as he forcefully moved Alessi to the sidewalk, and promptly handcuffed him to a streetlamp,
“Don’t move!” Panthro demanded angrily while pointing towards Alessi intimidatingly to make his point before walking over to Kat. When Panthro got close to Kat he carefully dusted him off with his large clawed hands and briefly inspected him for bruises,
“Are you ok little guy? Did that man hurt you in any way?” Panthro asked,
“I’m alright… but, Panthro it’s me! Kat!” Kat explained, Panthro looked at the small hybrid with confusion before laughing,
“Oh I see, it’s one of those… what do kids these days call it… oh yeah, “cosplays”, Kat must be getting popular if little kids want to look like him… though tell me little guy, did you see Kat come by here?” Panthro asked,
“I really am Kat! Look!” said Kat as he opened a vortex and pulled a kunai out of it, Panthro’s eyes widened upon seeing Kat demonstrate his ability,
“Kitten… it is you… but, why are you a kitten?” Panthro asked,
“That guy you handcuffed, Alessi, his stand allows him to turn people younger! Watch out for the shadow!” Kat warned, Panthro raised a brow,
“Shadow?- Argh!!” Panthro growled in discomfort and fell to his knees as his body glowed, Kat looked beneath Panthro to see why, and saw that Sethan had stretched all the way from the street lamp where Alessi was cuffed, to where Panthro was in the alleyway. Within a moment, Panthro stopped glowing and revealed himself in a younger form, though before Kat could get a good look at it, the younger Panthro fell forward, though Kat caught him, and looked behind him to see Sethan had retracted to Alessi, who freed himself from the cuffs and rubbed his wrists,
“I just realized… the rest of your friends are in this city aren’t they?” Alessi asked, causing Kat’s eyes to widen. Alessi giggled at Kat’s expression,
“No need to answer me verbally, your expression says it all…” Alessi explained,
“What are you planning Alessi?!” Kat demanded angrily,
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to go all around the city and turn the Anthros into children, that way there’ll be no dramatic rescue for you, and all the Anthros will be so weak I could kill them myself,” Alessi explained with a sense of delight,
“N-No… you can’t!” said Kat desperately,
“Try and stop me… or don’t, If I were you I’d enjoy being spared for now, maybe try and find a decent hiding spot, oh well, do what you will, I have some Anthros to find,” Alessi explained before walking off. Kat was about to chase after Alessi, but he could feel Panthro regain consciousness in his arms. When Panthro opened his eyes, Kat got a good look at him in his younger state, he and Panthro were the same height, though Panthro seemed slightly more muscular, his fur was short and smooth and still had it’s grey color, though he didn’t have his scars nor his facial hair, though he did wear a pair of black wristbands, a black tank top, and a dark red pair of shorts, Both of Panthro’s eyes looked like they were in good condition, and he was barefoot, though that was no surprise given that he was always barefoot, even in adulthood. When Panthro came to, he looked at Kat with his large brown eyes,
“Kat?” Panthro inquired before immediately covering his own mouth upon hearing his younger voice, Kat kept Panthro in his arms to support the young thundercat, as well as calm himself,
“Panthro, you’re younger, just like me…” Kat commented, Panthro took a quick look at himself then nodded,
“I can see that… uh, can you stop staring at me?” Panthro requested while blushing,
“S-sorry, it’s just that you’re very adorable in your current form,” Kat explained while blushing himself, Panthro blushed deeper,
“Sh-shut up idiot…” Panthro replied while avoiding eye contact. During the awkward bit of silence that followed the last instance Kat and Panthro tried speaking to each other, Kat noticed something long and grey swishing behind Panthro, and his eyes widened when he realized what it was,
“Woah! Panthro! A tail! You have a tail!” said Kat excitedly,
“Huh? Oh yeah, I had a tail when I was younger… I forgot about it…” Panthro explained,
“What happened to it?” Kat inquired,
“Cut it off, I was afraid it would get in the way during combat,” Panthro explained,
“Oh,” Kat replied in surprise,
“Heh, yeah… what about you? What’s with your getup?” Panthro asked,
“This was an outfit I wore during my thief training during my younger years,” Kat explained,
“Thief training?” Panthro inquired,
“Well yeah, what? did you think I came out of the womb knowing how to sneak around and pick locks?” Kat asked rhetorically,
“Well who trained you?” Panthro inquired,
“I can’t tell you… besides we have more important matters to attend to,” Kat reminded Panthro,
“Right right, tell me what you know,” Panthro instructed. Kat then took a minute to tell Panthro about Zero, Lord Van Bloot and Alessi, which caused Panthro to ponder for a bit,
"So it was all a set up huh? That's frustrating…" said Panthro in annoyance,
"Panthro, I want to make sure our friends are alright… but I'm not sure where to start looking for them," Kat commented,
"Well first things first, we should find Winston considering he should be in the same area as us," Panthro suggested,
"Ok, sounds like a plan," said Kat with a nod,
"...also, can you let me go now?" Panthro asked, looking down at Kat's arms, the realization that Kat had his arms around Panthro for a solid minute or two caused him to blush and quickly help Panthro to his feet before letting go of him,
"O-Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't even realize," said Kat in embarrassment, Panthro sighed,
"Geez, and I thought you were a kitten before," Panthro commented.

The two young Anthros walked out of the alleyway and started making their way down the street on the sidewalk, Kat walked behind Panthro and was hypnotized by his tail, as they kept walking Kat kept staring at Panthro’s tail as it swished back and forth. After walking for a bit Panthro looked behind him and saw Kat being fixated on his tail,
“Will you cut it out? My tail isn’t that interesting…” Panthro requested in mild annoyance,
“Oh, s-sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you, I got distracted easily when I was this age...,” Kat explained as he stopped looking at Panthro’s tail,
“Sounds like an excuse, anyway the last time I saw Winston he was a few blocks down and still looking for Zero with Kuriboh, knowing how thorough he can be while searching, he should still be where I left him,” Panthro explained,
“Hopefully Alessi didn’t get to him first…” Kat commented in a worried tone,
“I’m sure he’s fine, this is Winston we’re talking about here, he’s a smart guy,” Panthro replied,
“I guess you’re right… say Panthro? Don’t your feet hurt?” Kat asked, Panthro raised an eyebrow,
“Huh? Why do you ask?” Panthro asked,
“Well you’re walking around barefoot, like always, I’m wondering how your feet don’t hurt from doing that?” Kat asked,
“Ah, that, well I suppose I’ve just developed tough fee- Ouch!” said Panthro as he suddenly jumped a bit and abruptly stopped walking, causing Kat to stop behind him. Panthro lifted one of his feet and picked off a pointy looking pebble,
“I guess I need to redevelop my tough feet…” said Panthro with a sigh as he momentarily studied the small rock before flicking it into the road. Panthro resumed walking, and went even faster,
“C’mon, we better pick up the pace,” Panthro suggested, Kat nodded and was sure to match Panthro’s pace.

After walking for a few more minutes Kat and Panthro looked down an alleyway to see Winston looking around with Kuriboh floating near him,
“There he is, Kat, use your thief eyes to see if Alessi is nearby,” Panthro instructed,
“Alright,” said Kat with a nod. Kat then tried using his Eyes of a Thief technique, but after failing to activate it for a good thirty seconds Kat gained a look of confusion,
“What’s wrong?” Panthro asked,
“I… I can’t use my technique…” Kat explained,
“What do you mean?” Panthro inquired,
“I mean, I’m concentrating how I usually do, I’ve used the technique so many times that using it has become second nature to me, but… I just can’t use it for some reason,” Kat explained. Panthro pondered for a bit,
“Hm… maybe when we were turned younger, we lost our mastery over our abilities, like maybe at your current age you hadn’t learned the Eyes of a Thief technique yet,” Panthro suggested,
“I mean, that would also explain why my weapon vortexes are so unstable, and I’m pretty sure I can only take kunai from them right now,” Kat explained as he turned his attention back to Winston in the alleyway,
“Well that’s no good… just keep your eyes peeled then, Alessi might be closer than we think,” said Panthro with a pondering expression as he looked away from the alleyway,
“Uh, P-Panthro,” said Kat in a frightened tone as he frantically patted Panthro’s shoulder. Panthro turned his attention back to the alleyway to see Alessi was at the end of it, peeking out from the corner with the biggest smile on his face, meanwhile Winston and Kuriboh had their backs to him,
“Whiskers,” said Panthro in frustration as he ran towards the alleyway Winston and Kuriboh were in, with Kat following behind.

Alessi casually stepped into plain view at the back of the alleyway,
"Hello there monkey, are you looking for someone?" Alessi asked gleefully, Winston and Kuriboh turned to face Alessi,
"Oh uh, hi there, I'm not a monkey, but yeah, I'm looking for a girl with long white hair, have you seen her?" Winston inquired before he noticed Kuriboh look at Alessi with an angry expression and growling a bit,
"Huh? What's wrong Kuriboh?" Winston inquired before he looked back at Alessi to see he took out a machete. Winston responded by getting his tesla cannon ready,
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Winston demanded angrily,
"Winston! Kuriboh! Watch out for his shadow!!" Panthro warned while yelling and running towards the two Anthros in the alleyway, though his warning backfired, for Winston and Kuriboh took their eyes off Alessi and turned their attention to Panthro and Kat running towards them, and within that moment that Winston and Kuriboh we're distracted, Sethan stretched out from beneath Alessi's feet, and went beneath Winston's causing him to roar in discomfort and glow as his form quickly changed,
"NO!!" Said Panthro and Kat in unison. Before Winston stopped glowing, Alessi threw the machete at him, which Kuriboh blocked by making a double of himself, which disappeared into a puff of smoke upon being hit by the machete. In the midst of the confusion, Alessi ran away, retracting Sethan when he did, and revealing Winston's changed form. Winston was much smaller, his golden eyes looked rounder, and he was wearing a white jumpsuit with the number twenty-eight on his left shoulder. Winston held his head as he was dazed from suddenly becoming younger, Panthro and Kat finally ran up to Winston, who along with Kuriboh, looked at the two of them with a look of confusion, though Kuriboh also looked at Winston with confusion. Winston tilted his head,
"Who are you two?" Winston asked before his eyes widened when he realized how young he sounded,
"What happened to me?" Winston asked while examining his hands,
"You were turned younger by the weirdo with the stupid hair," Panthro explained,
"So were we, It's us, Kat and Panthro," Kat explained,
"Kuri Kuri?" Kuriboh inquired,
"Yeah buddy, it's me," Kat replied,
"Wait a second, Kuriboh was right beside me, why didn't he turn younger?" Winston asked,
"I think you have to physically touch the shadow to be affected by it, not just be in the same area," Panthro theorized,
"Huh, I guess there are benefits to being able to float…" Winston commented,
"Though now I'm thinking about how cute a baby Kuriboh would look," Kat thought while blushing,,
"This is truly a bizarre situation we've gotten ourselves in," Winston commented,
"You don't know the half of it, turns out the lead was a set-up by the Syndicate," Panthro explained,
"So Zero was never here this time either?" Winston asked,
"She was, but she was essentially used as bait while Van Bloot and the stupid hair guy were waiting for an ambush," Panthro explained,
"And I fell for the ambush…" Kat admitted with drooped feline ears, Winston put a hand on Kat's shoulder,
"Aw come on Kat, now's not the time to be hard on yourself, we need to focus on stopping the strange hair guy," Winston suggested with an encouraging tone,
"He's right," Panthro commented,
"Ok, so what should we do next Panthro?" Kat asked,
"Honestly I'm not sure, we know which allies are in what part of the city, but we don't know which part of the city the weirdo is going to head towards," Panthro commented,
"Maybe we should try and find Doggie first, he's the fastest among us, so he might be able to take down Alessi before that creep turns him younger," Kat suggested,
"Kuri Kuri," Kuriboh commented,
"Well I was reverted to before I went through my speed training, so he really is the fastest right now," Kat replied,
"Maybe you should try contacting him on your communicator," Winston suggested,
"Oh good idea, why didn't I think of that?" Panthro asked rhetorically as he got out his communicator. Panthro pressed a few buttons to contact Doggie, causing his communicator to ring a few times before he heard Doggie’s voice,
“Hello?” Doggie inquired,
“Doggie, it’s me, Panthro!” Panthro explained,
“...kid? How did you get Panthro’s communicator?” Doggie inquired,
“I am Panthro! I was turned younger by this guy with stupid hair, I called to tell you to watch out for him!” Panthro explained, he and the three Anthros huddled around him could hear Doggie let out an annoyed sigh,
“Listen kid, I’m sure you think this prank is very funny, but please do the right thing and give Panthro his communicator back, we’re currently on a very important mission in search of someone, and we don’t need a little kid impeding our progress,” Doggie explained,
“No! Doggie listen, it really is m-” Panthro attempted to explain, though he could hear Doggie hang up. Panthro sighed and put up his communicator,
“That could have gone better…” Kat commented,
“We’ll just have to come to him directly, he should still be in the northern area right?” Panthro asked,
“That’s where he said he was searching along with Beast and Mercenary,” Winston commented,
“Then let’s go,” Panthro instructed as he started walking out of the alleyway. Winston attempted to grab his tesla cannon and take it with him, but it was too heavy for him to carry in his current state,
“I should have known…” Winston commented with a sigh, Kat patted Winston on his back,
“Just send it back to the base, we’ll be able to take Alessi down without it,” Kat assured Winston, the young gorilla then pressed a button on his wrist device which caused his cannon to be transported away,
“I hope you’re right,” Winston commented before he, Kat and Kuriboh began following Panthro.

As the four Anthros made their way through the city they kept their eyes peeled for Doggie, Kuriboh even floated over the buildings to see if he couldn’t find the anubian from above. After a few minutes passed of travelling and searching around, Kuriboh returned to the group,
“Kuri Kuri!!” said Kuriboh excitedly, Winston and Panthro turned towards Kat,
“What did he say?” Winston asked,
“He said he found Doggie,” Kat explained,
“Well what are we waiting for? Lead the way Kuriboh!” Panthro instructed, causing Kuriboh to fly through the city streets in a path the other Anthros could follow as he showed them the way to get to Doggie. After running for a minute or two, the Anthros could see Doggie standing near a street lamp with a pondering look on his face, and quickly tried approaching him. Though to the Anthros surprise, just as they were going to call out to Doggie, the anubian called out in pain, and started glowing. The young Anthros stopped and looked on in horror upon realizing that Sethan got underneath Doggie’s feet, meaning Alessi had somehow gotten to Doggie first. While looking helplessly as Doggie was turned into a pup before their very eyes, the young Anthros wondered how they’d manage to defeat Alessi considering Doggie was about to become too young to fight.

To Be Continued...