All of us became confused. Then I remembered that Storm and two other cats fought us, and I was thinking that Crow was working with Ace. Then the news about the war came up, and what Storm said was starting to make sense. I said, "There are traitors among the Night Cats that are working with Ace... Storm. Did Crow talk to you directly, or did he send a cat to tell you orders?"
Storm thought for a bit, then he said, "It was that cat that told us. I think you said his name was Kyle." Smoke grumbled, "He was a traitor from the start.." Jay said, "His plan is working. We need to find a way to stop it somehow." We all thought for a while, and no one thought of a solution. All except for me, but I didn't want to utter the words on my mind.
Jay glanced at me, and he said, "You came up with something, didn't you?" I looked up at him, and he said, "Please say it." Everyone, except for Salt, looked at me. I sighed deeply, and I said, "The humans are a part of this. They also believe that Rudy is dead. If we somehow tell the humans that Rudy is alive, then the humans will get angry at Ace for lying."
Everyone had concerned looks on their faces. Echo asked, "What will happen to Rudy?" I lowered my head and said, "Only time could tell." The forest became silent. There wasn't a single bird, nor a single breeze. Then Jay said, "This is a good plan. If the humans find Rudy, I'm sure that all the cats around will protect him."
That lit up a few spirits, but Hero muttered, "Molotov is kind of unreliable since he got old." That made Bandit say, "You may never know! I'm sure he's a better fighter than you are! Physically and mentally!" That ticked Hero off, and he said, "Do you even know what an old man is? They are weak and slow! They can't even sharpen their own claws! Take that cat for example!"
He pointed at Salt, who was looking at nothing. Smoke was about to come up to defend Bandit, but I said, "Both of you be quiet! You don't even know what's going to happen!" They stopped arguing, but there was still tension between them. Quinn jumped down from a tree and said, "Humans are coming this way!" We all quickly got ready, and we started running towards the alleyways.
When we reached the border of the forest, Bandit said the facility sounded really quiet. We quickly ran into the city, and into an alley far from the facility. Everyone settled down, and I said, "Let's rest first. Tomorrow I'll take a team with me." Lu slept in the back with Smoke, Yuna, and Grace watching over her. Salt slept with Moe, Oliver, and Storm, and Rooster settled down on the roof.
Bell, Echo, Bandit, and Hero slept near the entrance, and Jay and I sat near them. Jay said, "Your belly is getting noticeably more swollen.. Are you sure you can go?" I shook my head, and said, "You're right. I need you to lead the team. But please figure out how to communicate with the humans. I don't want any of them, or you to get caught."
Jay licked my shoulder and said, "I'll find a way." I purred, and I got closer to Jay's warmth, and fell asleep.
The next day, the alley was humid. It felt uncomfortable, so I jumped onto the rooftop opposite from Rooster's. I looked down into the alley, and I saw Lu with three kittens. She must've given birth last night without waking us up. Yuna was closer to her, so that ment she helped with the process. Jay, Bandit, Quinn, Echo, Rooster, and Storm were gone, and everyone else was asleep.
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We walked through the alleyways headed to the place Jay called the "Breeding Facility". Suddenly, an animal I've never seen before came out of nowhere, and Jay hissed, "That's a dog! Stay away from him!" Rooster and Quinn also got on the defensive, and the rest of us were interested in this "dog" creature. Especially Echo. He whispered, "It's cute!"
The dog looked like a fox, but smaller. The tail is smaller, the ears are bigger and floppy, and the snout isn't pointed. I said, "He looks like deformed fox." That made Storm and Echo laugh, and it offended the dog, but he didn't attack. Instead, he lowered his head and walked away.
Jay said, "These dogs have changed since we left. Let's keep going." We continued walking to the facility, but we were stopped by two large adult red dogs, and a bunch of other dogs that were young adults or teens. Then an elderly woman with red hair, and red dog ears and tail came up to us and she said, "What a sight this is. I haven't seen a cat in years since all of you went and hid away."
One of the two large dogs barked at her happily, and she rasped, "He's here? Go on and search for him. This is excellent." She then glanced at us and said, "I don't trust you cats, but you can go on your way. There's someone I need to talk to." Her old southern accent made her sound like a person who's going to kill someone.
Like the curious idiot he is, Echo asked the old woman, "Who are you looking for?" She stared at him for a bit, and she said, "I'm looking for one of Rudy's kids. I got a report that he's around here." Jay growled at her and shouted, "Why are you looking for him?"
The woman bursted out laughing, and she said, "I wonder... you're quite defensive of him. When Rudy's kits were born, there was a chance that the gene that Rudy carries will be transported to at least one of his kits. The one that was most likely was Birch, and from what I figured out, Blossom and Ash are dead. You must be Birch's mate, and the one who asked me the question is your kit because the rest are too old to be your kits."
We all looked at her in surprise. She figured all that out in just seconds. Quinn said, "You're very smart." The woman smirked and said, "My name is Cleo. I'm Rudy's and Jet's old friend." Echo looked up at her with glittery eyes, and Rooster said, "We need to move. The clock is ticking." Jay mumbled, "Old hag... Wasting our time..."
We finally started walking again, and I started to wonder if Birch will recognize Cleo.