Adventurous Anthros
Young Anthros (Part 3)(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.

Kat opened his eyes in a daze, the last thing he remembered was the stand user Alessi forcing him through a strange vortex of dark energy that supposedly lead to the Syndicate of Malevolence, though upon looking around, he saw that he was on top of a building that he recognized was still in Orion City. Kat got to his feet, and looked at himself to see he was still in his younger form, then looked around to see Alessi on the other end of the building top, rubbing his eyes,
“Argh! That stupid little fire cat!” said Alessi angrily,
“Fire cat?” Kat inquired, figuring Alessi was referring to Bruiser,
“That’s right, if it wasn’t for that useless thing spitting embers into my eyes I wouldn’t have lost my concentration and warped us to the wrong location, we haven’t even left this stupid city!!... no matter though, I just need to grab you again, and force you through another vortex, should be easy considering I don’t even need to worry about any of your ankle biter friends interfering,” Alessi explained turning towards Kat, who got out a kunai,
“I won’t let you take me! I’ll defeat you and turn all my friends back to normal!” said Kat confidently as dark aura swirled around him. Alessi chuckled and slowly walked towards Kat,
“Funny, earlier you were crapping yourself at my presence, but now it looks like you’ve grown a pair, though you look a bit young to be going through puberty again,” said Alessi with a chuckle,
“Shut up creeper!” I’ll make you eat your words!” said Kat angrily,
“Oh? Well come on then,” said Alessi with his hands on his hips, ready for the young hybrid’s attack. Kat then lunged at Alessi, and began the fight, Kat did his best to try and hit the stand user, but Alessi dodged his attacks with ease, which was understandable considering Kat was moving nowhere near his usual full speed. The battle raged on for several minutes, though it was fairly one-sided, as hard as Kat tried, he simply couldn’t hit Alessi, who also snuck in some hits between Kat’s attempts to stab him. After several minutes of fighting, Kat’s movements were slowing down,
“Has it finally sunk into that little head of yours? Listen kid, like everyone else, I may not know too much about you, but it’s clear as day that at your current age you weren’t that super quick speed demon we all know and despise,” said Alessi as he punched Kat to the ground,
“I admit, you’d probably be able to beat me at your regular age, but that’s the beauty of my stand, you aren’t in your regular age, you’re a kid, a wimp, a pipsqueak, you don’t stand a chance!” Alessi explained with a smile,
“You... have no idea what I’m capable o- GWAA!!” said Kat as he was kicked in the stomach by Alessi. Kat didn’t even have a chance to get back up, Alessi repeatedly kicked the poor hybrid in the stomach as he spoke,
“Really? I think I have a perfect idea of what you’re capable of considering I was caught up to speed by Dio, how many times have you fought members of the syndicate? Though more importantly, how often did you need someone much stronger than you helping you in those fights?” Alessi asked, his question surprisingly struck a cord with the hybrid,
“I bet you like to think of yourself as a tough guy, but the truth is, you’re the weakest member on that pathetic team of heroes, an over glorified damsel in distress who can’t put his money where his mouth is,” said Alessi,
“Sh-shut up…” said Kat quietly as he was being kicked, doing his best to not let Alessi’s words get to him,
“Face facts, all you do is get in their way and get them hurt, you couldn’t even save one of them from being turned younger!” said Alessi mockingly,
“Shut up!” said Kat angrily as he was still being kicked,
“Or what? You going to get your panther boyfriend to fight me?” Alessi asked mockingly,
“SHUT UP!!!” said Kat furiously before he stabbed Alessi in his foot as hard as he could. Alessi screamed in agony as Kat’s kunai had went through his shoe and had gone all the way through his foot, giving Kat a moment of respite from Alessi’s kicks and allowing him to sit up, though Alessi furiously kicked Kat with his other foot,
“You worthless feline!” said Alessi furiously as he kicked Kat, this kick in particular caused Kat to cough up blood, and sent him to the other end of the building top. As Alessi tended to his injured foot, Kat managed to get back on his feet, using the ledge of the building as a crutch,
“Y’know… even when I was this young, there was one trick I learned,” Kat explained before a giant dark vortex opened behind him, causing Alessi’s eyes to widen,
“Kunai storm!” said Kat before countless kunai flew out of the vortex and towards Alessi, who cried out as he got stabbed in multiple places. After Kat finished his attack, he took a deep breath, and took the initiative to abscond by jumping over the edge of the building, landing in a nearby dumpster before promptly getting out and running as fast as he could.

Kat ran for several minutes, he wasn’t even sure of where he was in the city, just that he needed to get away from Alessi as quickly as he could, though his running was cut short when he bumped into an adult woman, knocking him to the ground. Kat got to his knees and rubbed his head to shake off his confusion,
“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you,” Kat explained timidly,
“It’s ok, it looks like you were the one who got the worst of it,” Kat heard the woman comment, the hybrid looked up at the woman, and his eyes widened upon seeing it was Eliza, the woman he had met earlier who unbeknownst to her, was his mother. Eliza offered a hand to Kat to help him up,
“Oh dear, are you ok little guy?” Eliza asked, after hesitating for a moment, Kat took Eliza’s hand and with her help got back on his feet,
“I-I’m fine don’t worry…” Kat replied dismissively, attempting to avert eye contact,
“Oh hey, you look so much like someone I knew long ago, though you have the same hairstyle of a man I met recently, gee, that hairstyle must be getting popular,” Eliza commented with a smile,
“Yep, it’s the best,” Kat replied quickly, hoping to soon run away from Eliza to avoid talking with her any further. Eliza got a good look at Kat’s face and gasped,
“Oh dear, you have bruises all over your face, did you get into a fight recently?” Eliza asked in concern,
“No, I’m fine,” Kat lied dismissively,
“Where are your parents little guy?” Eliza asked,
Th-they’re nearby, you don’t need to worry!” Kat replied defensively, Alessi’s words about people who help him out ending up getting hurt echoed in his mind,
“I wish my husband were still around, he could fix you up in a jiffy… though I suppose I can help you, here, let me get you a few bandaids and something to clean your wounds,” Eliza offered as she reached into her purse. To Eliza’s surprise, Kat got out a kunai and pointed it at her,
“NO! I already told you, I’m fine! If you know what’s good for you, stay away from me! Stay away or I’ll hurt you!!” said Kat threateningly before he ran away from Eliza before she could even respond, though rather than being hurt or threatened by Kat’s words, she was simply confused, and she remained concerned for his safety, though she decided to give him some space for now.

Meanwhile, Panthro ran all around the city with Kuriboh and Bruiser following close behind, immediately after Kat was forced through the strange vortex, Panthro retained hope that his partner was still in the city and alive, and after a small discussion with his fellow Anthros, it was decided that he and the other anthros would search for Kat in groups and immediately report if they found him, Panthro’s group consisted of himself, Kuriboh and Bruiser. Panthro had been running for so long that he was very out of breath, though he couldn’t bring himself to stop, as he felt responsible for Kat slipping through his fingers minutes earlier. Though Panthro wouldn’t be running for much longer, after another two minutes of running around the city, checking every alleyway he came across, the Panther’s eyes widened upon seeing Kat who was sitting in a vacant alleyway, though as Panthro was catching his breath he noticed that something about Kat seemed off. Kat sat curled up against the building wall and he appeared to be trembling. After Panthro had caught his breath, he got out his communicator and quietly told the others that he had found Kat, and where his position was, then gestured for Kuriboh and Bruiser to stay back as he carefully approached Kat. To get Kat’s attention, Panthro picked up Kat’s tail and carefully stroked the fluffy tip, remembering what Kat had told him about his tail being sensitive. Kat looked at Panthro, revealing himself to having a red face with tear stains running down his cheeks, implying he had been crying, also on his face was bruises and a bit of blood coming from his mouth, implying he had been hurt in a fight, which Panthro had guessed Alessi was a part of,
“Kat? Are you ok buddy?” Panthro asked in a calm yet concerned tone, Kat looked at Panthro for a moment before turning away from him,
“Go away… I’m just gonna hurt you…” said Kat, though his tone wasn’t particularly threatening, but rather sad,
“Why would you do that? We’re partners, you wouldn’t hurt me unless you had a good reason to,” Panthro replied,
“Because that’s what I do, when people get close to me I end up hurting them,” Kat replied in a sad tone,
“Aw come on, I don’t believe that,” Panthro replied, getting in front of Kat before getting down on one knee,
“But it’s true… because of me, you and the rest of the Anthros are little kids, I’m just a damsel in distress who can’t put his money where his mouth is,” Kat explained with tears in his eyes,
“Kat-” Panthro attempted to reply, but Kat simply kept speaking,
“I don’t even know why you guys keep me around, I’m just dead weight,” Kat explained with a sniffle,
“Kat…” Panthro attempted to reply, though once again Kat interrupted him,
“I don’t deserve to be friends with you g- ow!” said Kat as Panthro konked him on the head, though obviously not at full force, just enough to get his attention. Panthro then petted Kat on the head,
“Stop talking about yourself so negatively, that’s not like you…” said Panthro in a comforting tone, Kat didn’t respond verbally but simply swished his tail around,
“I chose you to be my partner, because I know you have it in you to be an amazing hero… and sure, you do get knocked down a lot, but you always get right back on your feet and devote yourself to get stronger, that’s the amazing thing about you,” Panthro explained with a smile, after a moment of silent hesitation, Kat actually looked Panthro in his eyes. Panthro then wiped Kat’s eyes with his own tail, causing the hybrid to giggle,
“And stop crying… it’s unbecoming for a warrior like you,” said Panthro with a smile in an uplifting tone. Kat sniffled and wiped his eyes with one of his gloved hands,
“Sorry, I forgot just how emotional I was at this age,” Kat explained,
“That’s just an excuse, you’re still mentally an adult right?” Panthro asked, Kat gave a quick nod. Panthro then gently took ahold of Kat’s face with one of his hands so he could get a good look at it,
“That stupid hair guy really did a number on you, huh?” said Panthro inquiriously,
“Yeah…” said Kat. Panthro then let go of Kat’s face, got on his feet, and offered a hand to Kat,
“Here, up you go,” said Panthro before Kat grabbed ahold of the thundercat’s hand and he promptly helped him back up to his feet. Kat then timidly rested his head against Panthro’s chest, and wrapped his arms around him, Panthro blushed, though he wasn’t against Kat’s actions and hugged him back. Panthro’s skinnier arms felt odd to Kat, as he was used to them being much more muscular, but he was comforted nonetheless by his partner’s presence and embrace. After just a moment of hugging, Kat let go of Panthro and looked into his eyes, with Panthro doing the same with Kat. Nothing much was different about Kat’s eyes in his younger state, they were still red and riminescant of a feline’s, and Panthro’s were still dark brown, though his right eye didn’t seem damaged, and it looked as though he could see out of it,
“Hey Panthro? Do you have better depth perception now?” Kat inquired,
“Hm? Why do you ask?” Panthro asked,
“I guess I was just thinking about how I’m used to seeing shine from one of your eyes, so I figured you lost the other one, but in your younger form both eyes seem perfectly fine,” Kat explained,
“Ah I see… well yeah, it does feel kind of nice to have my other eye back, cuz I think I can see a bit better,” Panthro explained,
“Are you hesitant to turn back then?” Kat asked,
“Not at all,” Panthro replied bluntly,
“But you’ll lose your eye again,” Kat replied,
“But my adult body had scars that carry stories with them, and muscles that took me years to develop, I’d take those over that eye any day of the week… what about you? Do you want to stay a kid?” Panthro asked,
“Not really, though I do think about how much simpler my life was when I was younger, for the first few years I didn’t need to worry about becoming stronger or surviving, the biggest concern used to be if my favorite cartoon character would be alright by the end of the episode,” Kat explained, causing Panthro to chuckle a bit,
“Is that who the guy on your shirt is?” Panthro inquired, pointing at the cute character displayed on Kat’s shirt,
“Yeah, Devil Kitten, one of my favorite shows growing up, it was about this little cat guy with horns who was born with dark powers but chose to help people with them, and hijinks ensue,” Kat explained,
“Well what would Devil Kitten do in your situation?” Panthro asked,
“He’d never give up, and he’d keep fighting, remembering that he was fighting for his friends,” Kat explained,
“Funny, I think you and Devil Kitten have a lot in common,” Panthro commented with a smile, causing Kat to smile back,
“You’re right, It’s like when I grew up I went from simply watching cartoons to becoming the hero in a cartoon, or maybe like a book, I dunno,” Kat commented,
“What about a fanfiction?” Panthro asked,
“A fanfiction? Who would read a fanfiction I was a part of?” Kat inquired,
“I dunno, though do you feel better about yourself?” Panthro asked,
“Yeah, I feel as though my confidence has come back to me… though I’m not entirely sure what we should do next,” Kat explained timidly,
“Me neither, though thankfully despite being the leader, I’m not the only one who comes up with ideas… you guys can come out now,” Panthro instructed looking towards the end of the alleyway, causing the rest of the Anthros to come out from around the corner and approach them,
“You two are adorable together,” said Sulley teasingly,
“Be quiet…” Panthro replied while blushing, Kat also blushed in embarrassment. Kuriboh floated over to Kat and nuzzled against his face while Bruiser jumped into his arms, both creatures were incredibly glad to see the hybrid,
“Now that we’re all together again, Doggie, did you think of a plan of attack?” Panthro asked,
“I did, though there’s no guarantee it’ll work,” Doggie explained,
“It’s better than nothing,” Panthro commented with a shrug,
“Alright then, Kat, you're an integral part of this plan,” Doggie explained, looking directly at Kat,
“Me?” Kat asked, tilting his head slightly, Doggie nodded,
“Well, alright then, whatever you guys need me to do, I won’t let you down,” Kat replied confidently, causing the rest of the anthros to smile,
“Good,” Doggie replied, before he went on to explain his plan to the rest of the Anthros.

Alessi grumbled to himself as he grabbed ahold of the last kunai that was stuck in him, and pulled it out before throwing it to the ground furiously,
“That stupid cat kid! Thinks he can put more holes in me than a wheel of swiss chess then run? I don’t think so! Dio and Mumm-Ra told me to bring that brat back to them alive, which I will… though he’ll need an iron lung!” said Alessi to himself furiously as he got down from the building and started searching for Kat. A few minutes of Alessi searching went by, the stand user was covered in bloody bruises and he looked crazed, a few hybrids walking around the city gave him an odd look, but ultimately stayed out of his way,
“Cat kid… cat kid…. Cat kid!!” Alessi kept repeating to himself in a crazed tone, with his breathing becoming steadily noisier. Just as Alessi was about to take another step, he could see Kat ahead of him on the sidewalk, looking right at him with his arms crossed, and leaning against a street lamp. Alessi’s eyes widened and a malicious smile spread across his face,
“Cat kid! You came back to me, I’m guessing you realized it was pointless to run from me so you wanted to come to me peacefully,” Alessi stated with a smile on his face, though Kat shrugged,
“Believe what you want to believe freak,” said Kat casually. Alessi reached into his vest and got out an assault rifle before pointing it at Kat,
“Come on now, don’t do anything dumb, I have much more strength than you, so I wouldn’t recommend trying my patience!” said Alessi in annoyance,
“You’re wrong,” Kat replied casually, causing Alessi’s expression to become confused,
“Huh? Wrong about what?” Alessi inquired,
“Wrong about having more strength than me, you don’t have much strength of your own, that’s why you developed a stand like Sethan, your “strength” comes from making your opponents smaller and weaker than you, cowards like you disgust me,” Kat commented as a dark aura flowed around him,
“Yeah yeah, get on your little soapbox and lecture me all you want, as long as you come with me to Mumm-Ra and I rough you up, it makes no difference to me,” Alessi explained,
“And if I refuse?” Kat asked,
“I think you know the answer to that, I’ll have to take my gun here and shoot you… in nonfatal spots of course, though that doesn’t mean it isn’t gonna hurt!” Alessi explained, Kat looked Alessi right in the eye, and replied with-
“Then shoot me,” with a smile, Alessi pulled the trigger, and fired several bullets at Kat at a rapid speed. As Kat was about to get hit by the bullets, a bunch of Kuribohs appeared in front of Kat, one after the other, before they were hit by the bullets and blew up into clouds of smoke that surrounded the area Alessi and Kat was at, causing Alessi to temporarily cease his fire. Alessi coughed and tried looked around,
“You little brat, you think some smoke is going to scare me?! I’ll still fire! I don’t care who I hit!” said Alessi threateningly as he prepared to fire his gun, only to for his rifle to abruptly split in half and become unusable. Alessi was confused, though he looked to his left to see the silhouette of young Doggie close to him with his sword outward, implying that he cut his gun,
“People who are reckless about using weapons, shouldn’t be allowed to even pick them up,” Doggie commented before disappearing into the smoke,
“What was that?! Get back here you little-!” said Alessi furiously before he was hit head on with a bolt of electricity and some embers, causing him to slightly lose his balance,
“Y-you think that scares me?! I’m the one in charge here!” said Alessi angrily before Winston abruptly jumped from the smoke and clapped his hands with Alessi’s head in the middle, not only causing severe damage to the sides of his face, but also leaving him with a ringing sensation in his ears. Alessi fell to his butt, as Winston once again exited the fog to gain some distance. Alessi spoke again when the ringing in his ears stopped,
“You think you’re hot stuff just because your friends are with you? I’ll kill all of them! They can attack me all they want but as long as Mumm-Ra’s dark magic is with me, they won’t be able to knock me out! Much less kill me!” Alessi explained angrily,
“I know,” said Kat as he stood behind Alessi, causing Alessi’s eyes to widen upon realizing that the hybrid had managed to sneak behind him. Before Alessi could react, Kat violently grabbed Alessi’s head by his ridiculous hair, and pulled back, causing a very surprised Alessi to feel a very agonizing sensation on his scalp,
“Thankfully… I remembered that even at this age I could steal dark energy,” Kat explained with a smile as he kept pulling, causing Alessi’s eyes to widen,
“You can what?!” Alessi asked in disbelief before Kat rapidly sapped Mumm-Ra’s dark power from Alessi as he had done with Lord Van Bloot some time ago. Alessi screamed in agony from Kat pulling on his hair, and within seconds he felt all the dark magic that Mumm-Ra had gifted him with disappear, before Alessi could no longer feel the dark magic within him. Upon realizing that his main defense against the surprisingly strong children had been taken away from him, Alessi shook in fear uncontrollably, causing Kat to chuckle a bit,
“What’s wrong Alessi? I thought you said you were going to kill us all, you seem awfully frightened for someone who made such a big claim… Sulley,” said Kat, which was immediately followed by the sound of knuckles cracking, which caused Alessi to jump,
“Yeah yeah, knock him out, I got it,” Sulley replied,
“You’re still strong enough to do it in that form?” Kat asked,
“I’m plenty strong enough, just leave it to me,” said Sulley as Alessi could hear the monster approach him. After a very suspenseful moment of waiting for Alessi, he was met with a punch to his cheek courtesy of young Sulley, knocking him to the ground with an impact so powerful it even put some small cracks on the sidewalk beneath him.

Moments later Alessi regained his consciousness after being slapped in the face repeatedly, upon opening his eyes, he realized that Kat was the one slapping him, the hybrid was back in his adult form and holding Alessi off the ground by his shirt. Alessi trembled under Kat’s vicious glare, from the look on the hybrid’s face it was clear he wanted to hurt the stand user,
“U-uh, hey, it looks like you’re back in your adult form,” Alessi commented nervously,
“Yep,” Kat replied casually,
“Eh heh, well uh, now that you’re back to normal you’re going to let me go right?” Alessi asked sheepishly,
“Oh? And why would I do something like that? After you chase me and my friends all around town with weapons, intending to kill us…” Kat commented,
“I-I wasn’t planning on killing you! I just wanted you to come with me,” Alessi explained nervously,
“Back to Mumm-Ra...my enemy,” Kat commented. Alessi began to sweat uncontrollably after Kat’s last comment and he fell silent, trying desperately to think of a way out of his situation, though right when he opened his mouth to speak, Kat punched him in his face as hard as he could, causing the stand user to gag in pain. Kat followed up the initial punch with several more consecutive punches, each equally powerful and furious, after a good thirty seconds of Kat punching Alessi passing, Kat could feel an adult Panthro’s hand on his shoulder, causing him to cease his punching, and leaving the stand user groaning in pain,
“Now now Kat, sharing is caring,” said Panthro is his regular deep voice. Kat looked over his shoulders to look Panthro in his eyes for a moment, then smiled, before unceremoniously letting go off Alessi’s shirt and allowing the stand user to fall to the ground, and slowly walking away from him to make room,
“You’re right… guys-” said Kat before the smoke finally cleared around them, revealing the rest of the Anthros back in their adult states, with Doggie in his Shadow Ranger form, Elecmon back to being Leomon, and Mercenary back to having his sword since Doggie quickly ran and got it for him. Every Anthro looked eager to fight as Kat took a few more steps away from Alessi to give them room,
“-he’s all yours,” said Kat, completing his previous sentence before the rest of the Anthros moved in closer to Alessi. Upon looking around and seeing the rest of the Anthros in their adult form moving in closer, Alessi’s expression shifted from injured to frightened,
“W-wait! You’re all heroes right?! It uh, isn’t right to beat me up because you feel like it, it’s unjust even!” said Alessi desperately,
“Don’t lecture us about justice creep,” said Jon angrily,
“Besides, we aren’t doing this because we feel like it,” Leomon commented,
“If you do something wrong, you should get punished for it, that’s how the world works, and given all that you’ve done, your punishment certainly won’t just be a slap on the wrist,” Shadow Ranger explained,
“W-we can work something out! Please! Show me mercy!” Alessi begged, as he sat up and crab walked to get away from the Anthros, only to stop in fear upon bumping into someone’s legs, and looking up to meet Panthro’s eyes,
“Sure thing, we’ll show you the same amount of mercy you were planning on showing us,” said Sulley,
“Or anyone else you came across for that matter,” Beast added,
“I’m not really one for dispensing justice, but I certainly won’t pass up an opportunity to get even,” Mercenary explained casually,
“So how does it feel? Being the weakest one in the room for once?... actually, what am I saying? You know the feeling all too well, you’re a weak and pathetic excuse of a man,” Panthro commented coldly as he got out his nunchuk, the only thing Alessi could do was gulp before the Anthros began their attack. All the anthros save for Kat then proceeded to hit Alessi with an onslaught of attacks, ranging from punches to kicks to energy attacks, Bruiser and Kuriboh even joined in, Bruiser helped with his fire attacks, and Kuriboh helped with his exploding clones, several of the attacks sent Alessi off the ground, though the anthros still sent attacks towards him that kept him airborne, as if they were juggling in a fighting game. A good minute of the Anthro’s attacks passed before Panthro concluded the attack with one final punch to Alessi’s cheek which sent the pathetic man back to the sidewalk at full force. Alessi was incredibly dazed and barely conscious, the Anthros formed a circle around him as they looked down at him. Panthro turned his attention towards Shadow Ranger,
“Doggie…” said Panthro before Shadow Ranger nodded and got out his morpher before activating the judgement scanner,
“Alessi, even though we all know you’re guilty, it’s only fair that I determine your guilt as I would anyone else,”Doggie explained before the morpher predictably settled on the red X,
“Guilty, prepare for containment,” said Doggie before he pressed the containment button on his morpher,
“N-No! Wait-!!” said Alessi desperately before he was cut off by being put into a containment card. Though to everyone’s surprise, immediately after Alessi was contained, his containment card instantly went up in blue flames and disappeared,
“Again?!” said Sulley in confusion,
“Again?” Mercenary repeated inquiriously,
“We forgot to tell you guys, the same thing happened to Rubber Soul as soon as I contained him,” Doggie explained upon powering down,
“That’s unsettling, what even happened to him?” Beast asked,
“None of us are sure,” Jon explained,
“But one thing’s for certain, we fell into another trap set by the syndicate,” Leomon commented,
“Yeah, and both instances were false leads on Zero…” Panthro commented, though he noticed Kat seemed glum, and walked over to him to give him a pet on the head,
“Though that being said, we shouldn’t give up our search for her, we’ll just have to be more careful with our leads from now on, for now we should check around the city to make sure no civilians were hurt, then head back to the base,” Panthro instructed,
“Ok,” Kat replied casually before Panthro stopped petting him,
“Adventure on Anthros,” said Panthro with a fist to the sky, causing everyone to look at him in surprise,
“What? Kat thought of the catch phrase and I wanted to try it out,” Panthro explained,
“Do you like it?” Sulley asked,
“I mean… I don’t hate it… let’s just go,” Panthro instructed as he and most of the other Anthros save for Kat, Kuriboh and Bruiser started to walk away from where they confronted and tried apprehending Alessi. Panthro noticed his partner wasn’t moving and turned his head towards him,
“Kat?” said Panthro inquiriously,
“Oh uh, I’ll look with you guys in a bit, I just need a minute,” Kat explained, Panthro shrugged, turned his back to Kat and kept walking. Kat took a deep breath and exhaled to relax himself a bit after everything that had happened to him and his team, Kuriboh and Bruiser nuzzled against the hybrid which also helped him relax, though Kat got out Bruiser’s pokeball,
“Not to be rude guys, but I mean I need a minute… completely alone,” Kat explained timidly, after hesitating for a bit Bruiser nodded and willingly got back in his ball, while Kuriboh returned to his card form, both of which Kat put in his pocket. Kat took some time to look at his surroundings, he was on a sidewalk that was somewhere in the middle of a city that was very nostalgic to him while the orange light from the afternoon sky filled the air with a comforting orange glow, Kat couldn’t help but smile at how tranquil everything was now. Though Kat’s moment of relaxing was cut short upon hearing a familiar female voice behind him call his name. Kat turned around to see Eliza, who seemed somewhat out of breath, as if she had recently been doing some running,
“Oh! Mister Kat, I’m glad I found you, did you happen to see a small child run by here? He’s a feline hybrid and he has the same colored hair as you,” Eliza explained, Kat’s heart beat in his chest uncontrollably, he wanted nothing more than to tell his mother about everything that had happened to him, not only from today's events, but the last several years, though with a heavy heart he gave a much different response that he felt was better in his current situation,
“No, in fact, I’ve been all over this city, I haven’t seen a child like that,” Kat lied. Elza’s expression shifted from hopeful to disappointed within a single moment,
“Oh… yeah I guess that makes sense… I thought that child was mine, but that wouldn’t make sense, he looked like how I saw him from years ago… obviously he’d be older by now,” Eliza commented,
“Yeah,” Kat replied casually, causing Eliza to sigh,
“I guess… living alone for so long can take its toll on me, I think I’m starting to see things,” Eliza commented while she gave a hopeless smile as a fruitless way of seeming happy in her current state. Kat said nothing and it grew silent between the two hybrids before Eliza walked over to Kat and pet him on his head,
“Say, Mister Kat, you seem like a nice person, feel free to come by my house if you ever have the time, what with all the hero work I’m sure you have,” Eliza offered with a kind smile. Kat was overjoyed to be offered to see his mother more often after not seeing her for so long, though he did a good job not making his feelings obvious. Kat gave a quick nod which caused Eliza to stop petting him,
“Great! I hope to see you again sometime, please take care of yourself Mister Kat, the world can be a harsh place,” Eliza advised with a friendly smile, Kat once again gave a quick nod, Eliza responded by turning around and making her way elsewhere in the city. As Eliza got farther and farther out of view Kat felt his knees grow weaker, like they did in the elevator when he took Uni’s trial, though in this case Kat’s own emotions weighed him down. Not long after Eliza was out of earshot, Kat collapsed onto his knees and hands, tears rushed down his face uncontrollably though he didn’t dare make a noise as it would attract unwanted attention of any hybrids passing by, fortunately Kat was alone for the most part in the area of Orion city he was currently in, though unbeknownst to Kat, Panthro did hide around the corner of a nearby building and eavesdrop on Kat’s conservation. Kat attempted to compose himself again as his vision blurred and he could see his tears drop to the sidewalk and leave temporary stains while Panthro casually walked over to him, got down on one knee, and put a comforting hand on Kat’s shoulder,
“It’s going to be ok Kat, someday you’ll be able to tell her the truth,” Panthro commented in a comforting tone, moments later Kat fixed his posture so he wasn’t on his hands anymore though still on his knees with his back straightened, before he wiped his eyes with a sniff,
“You think so?” Kat asked in a sorrowful tone,
“I know so, though you can’t lose hope, the moment you lose hope, is the moment you lose everything,” Panthro explained. After taking a bit to compose himself Kat got back on his feet, as did Panthro, and Kat managed to give Panthro a warm smile,
“Thanks Panthro,” said Kat timidly, Panthro responded by holding his fist out to Kat for a fist bump, which Kat gave the thundercat before the two of them went back to their business in the city.

Some time later in the castle of the Syndicate of Malevolence, Dio was trying to relax in his room by reading a book, only for Morgana to suddenly barge in,
“Dio!!” said Morgana angrily, Dio looked at Morgana with an annoyed expression before closing his book without his gaze breaking from the pictomancer,
“You’d do well to not do that in the future, girl,” said Dio in mild annoyance,
“Look at me! Why am I Morgana again?!” Morgana asked angrily,
“It seems as though, Alessi has failed,” Dio explained casually,
“What do you mean he’s failed? What does that have to do with me?” Morgana asked in annoyance,
“Alessi’s stand Sethan allowed you to become younger thanks to its ability, though given that stands are connected to their users, should something happen to Alessi, such as him being defeated by the Anthros, his ability would be negated,” Dio explained casually,
“What?! Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?!” Morgana asked in annoyance,
“Because then you may not have agreed to the deal knowing there was a chance for your returning to your youth being temporary,” Dio explained,
“Well you know what? I hope you enjoyed that stupid hair guy, because I’m not helping you bring back anymore of your useless idiots!” said Morgana angrily,
“Oh? But we made a deal, I agreed to have one of my stand users turn you younger should you help me bring back three of them by providing me with the necessary ingredients for the resurrection spell,” said Dio casually as he held up three fingers,
“Yeah well, I changed my mind, since you want to cheat me out of my reward I’m not helping you any further!” said Morgana angrily as she crossed her arms. Just as Morgana was about to take her leave, she suddenly found herself up in the air, being held by her neck by an intangible but very strong being that she could only assume was Dio’s stand, The World, and upon looking around Morgana noticed that Dio was much closer to her and a dark yellow aura flowed around him,
“You think you can deny me girl? If I wasn’t feeling so generous I would’ve killed you and turned you into my underling days ago! Can you even fathom the amount of restraint I’ve needed to have to not dig my fingers into your neck to silence you? You little brat!” said Dio angrily as The World tightened his grip around Morgana’s neck. Morgana struggled as best as she could, though both Dio and his stand were very intimidating to the pictomancer, even if she couldn’t see the latter,
“W-wait! I’m sorry! I’ll gather what you need!” Morgana offered desperately, Dio raised an eyebrow,
“Oh? Then why don’t you gather enough ingredients to resurrect two people?” Dio demanded casually, causing Morgana’s eyes to widen,
“T-two?!” Morgana asked in disbelief, The World tightened its grip and caused Morgana to gag,
“Did I stutter? Yes, two, or do you not like being among the living anymore?” said Dio angrily,
“O-Okay okay! I’ll do it! Just please let me go!” Morgana plead desperately. The World released Morgana and Dio called it back to him and caused The World to dissipate, Upon being dropped to the ground unceremoniously Morgana rubbed her throat and gasped for breath as Dio turned his back to her,
“Now leave my room, you’re disturbing my peace woman,” said Dio coldly. As soon as Morgana got back on her feet she immediately ran out of Dio’s room and shut the door behind her.

Meanwhile, Mumm-Ra was on the roof of the castle, and turned to see Van Bloot approach him,
“What do you want Van Bloot? I’m not in the best of moods after the attempt to capture the hybrid went so poorly,” said Mumm-Ra in annoyance,
“I-I know… though uh, I was wondering.... Since I did my part successfully on that operation… could I ask a favor of you?” Van Bloot asked timidly, causing Mumm-Ra to ponder,
“A favor?.... Hm, well I suppose you did help, not only with my last plan, but also by securing the spell book for me… though whether I grant you your wish or not entirely depends on what you’re asking for,” Mumm-Ra explained,
“Well you see… I was wondering if you could give me more power, like how you did before, though this time not your own, but uh… using a different source,” Van Bloot explained, causing Mumm-Ra to look confused,
“What do you mean?” Mumm-Ra asked,
“The girl… could you endow me with her magical power?” Van Bloot asked. Mumm-Ra pondered for a moment before replying,
“Hm… the witch.... Actually, not only is that possible, but it’s not a bad idea since I can’t decide what to do with her…” Mumm-Ra commented, causing Van Bloot’s eyes to widen,
“Really?!” Van Bloot asked in disbelief, Mumm-Ra nodded,
“Though I should warn you: you better not lose this boost like you lost the power I gave you, because if you do, I will personally crush you,” Mumm-Ra explained, causing Van Bloot to gulp in discomfort,
“I understand,” Van Bloot replied nervously,
“Very well, follow me then,” Mumm-Ra instructed before he made his way back inside the castle. Van Bloot did as he was told and followed behind Mumm-Ra, though a smirk spread across his face,
“Prepare yourself Chaor, because I have a feeling you’re about to be dethroned!” Van Bloot thought gleefully as he went with Mumm-Ra to see Zero, still in her cell, unaware of what the villains had in store for her.

End of Chapter 17