This one starts with Cattaras and Sebastian discussing Catrina's whereabouts and evolves from there.

I don't want to spoil too much- half the fun is in reading it- but I will point out this is one of those very rare roleplays where Mitch brings all four of his player characters together. And then there's.. well you'll see if you read!

 
Warning: Course language

"She's sulking." The big tiger said with a sigh, his tail hanging behind him. He was leaning against the fountain in Market Square- and he wasn't purring.

Despite the late hour, Sebastian Dash had gotten dressed up for the occasion in his most formal hero garb. Although he hadn't planned on wearing the somber look on his face. He'd gotten the most recent events on world news, but this had to be taken care of first.

It was too important to ignore, world's fate in the balance or not. So Dash would prod a one time lethal rival for more information on the woman who betrayed Dash months earlier.

"Sulking?"

"You know how she is, man." Cattaras smirked- but it was in no way funny to him. "She now remembers everything that happened- especially this." He touched Dash where the tips of Catrina's katana's had pierced through- when she'd killed him. "She's..." The big tiger had to turn away for a moment.

Dash's voice went hoarse. An obvious chill went down his voice, from more than the unseasonal cold. "Yeah... I remember that too."

"Yeah." Cattaras shrugged, not being able to think of anything else to do. "I... I asked Fahari to stay with her while I came to you. I told 'trina that she was there in case she wanted to talk about.. things. But I'm afraid if I left her alone..." He gave another shrug.

"It's weird," Dash said. "The way you were sitting when I got here.. it reminded me of this vision I had right before she.." Dash took a moment to steady his voice. "Kill- nearly killed me. I should have figured out then and there she wasn't in control of herself. But I was blinded by hurt."

"We were all blinded, whether it was from love or hurt." Cattaras shrugged again. "I should have picked up that things weren't right from the start and Daisuke," the big cat had to suppress a growl- although it slid into a chuckle, "well.. he was having too much fun to see what she was- or to let himself see."

"Be honest with me," Dash said, somewhere between a stern command and an honest request. "You honestly didn't know how much she'd be changed from Jester King's little magic games?"

That got another shrug. "You know I didn't think things were right. Goddess knows I talked about it enough with you- even when we were fighting." Another, more genuine chuckle. "Bet I got more damage in from talking your ear off than anything else."

"Not with those claws." Dash looked around, hearing sounds of fighting in the distance. "Putting aside the questionable strategy of trusting someone like Jester King for anything..." That got a wince out of Cattaras. Dash continued. "You do realize the Penguins are in control of the town right? I was barely able to sneak past the guards despite the late hour of the day. I hope Catrina isn't taking them on alone. Although.."

"I'm hoping Fahari will hold her back if she comes. Otherwise.. well you know what she's liked when she's acting like.. um.. a female dog."

"Intimately," Dash answered. "Er.. so to speak. I should probably go find her soon. We've never faced this kind of trouble before. Anyway, I might be able to use a favor to get to the bottom of this situation, but I have to get in touch with Blackpaws first."

"Tavern crawl?" Cattaras smirked again- honestly this time.

"Really?" Dash raised an eyebrow. "Well, if anyone could weasel their way into a Penguin controlled bar, it'd be Todd."

"Knowing that dog he's probably in bed with some... hmm.. What's the word for a female Penguin?"

"I think the technical term is, 'What're you doing with my wife?! I'll kill you, you fish eating son of a yeti!'" Dash smiled slightly. "Are you up for hunting him down while I have a word with your sister?"

Cattaras paused for a second, his tail showing some life- which wasn't a good thing with him actually. "Um.. No offense but I think that I'd better be with you when you find her. Otherwise she's not going to let you talk. Probably she'll run."

"Ahh." Dash smiled. "I was all set to say, 'I know I'm handsome but I'm sure she can control herself.' Okay, lead on. Just watch out for Penguins. Technically, I don't think they are keeping us out, but I doubt they'll be very happy with us sneaking around either."

"Then we don't sneak. If they ask we tell them the truth- that we're looking for my crazy sister before she does something we'll all regret." Cattaras' face was stern.

"Wow that's.." Dash paused. "Either incredibly brave, genius, stupid, or some mix of the three."

"Nope," Cattaras shook his head. "The stupid part comes when they try to stop me from finding her." He then started off, leaving Dash to follow him or not. Dash did so, reluctantly.

=======

Todd fidgeted as he watched the battle develop. He was on stage at some seedy little joint on the Wrong Side of the Tracks.. actually that was its name- the 'Seedy Little Joint on the Wrong Side of the Tracks." The management frowned upon him playing to help one side or another but right now, he was sorely tempted.

He had smiled when the white lioness and black pantheress had come in, but his good mood hadn't lasted for long. Seems there were a few in the bar that still held Catrina accountable for things that happened recently- and from the way she egged them on it looked like she was looking for a beating. Even Fahari tried to stop her but. Some big ox (not literally, of course. Todd wasn't aware of any cowboys in this land) took a swing at her. Todd was glad to see Fahari had her back.

He just wished he could do the same from here. He whined.

"Enough!" Big as he was, the oversized thug still came to a stop when he realized there was a rather large and deadly blade suddenly pressed against his ample Adam's apple. Oh wait, would that be Boris's apple in the Kingdom? Either way, Dash wasn't messing around. "Catrina, I see you're still making friends."

"Leave him alone, Dash. I want this!" Catrina's face was not the usual mask of a warrior feline. No, today that face was blank, sullen. She flinched as a black paw squeezed her shoulder- Fahari.

"Our concern, my friend, is that you want this for the wrong reason." She purred softly, squeezing the tense shoulder muscles.

"Besides, you've got a job to do," Dash said, tossing the thug aside and keeping the blade trained on him until he lost interest in the fight. "If you want to make up for what's happened, this is how you'll do it. Not by letting yourself get beat up by some thugs."

Cattaras finally ran in, panting. "Shit... you're fast when you're runnin, Dash."

Fahari turned to the two males. "I am sorry. I assumed bringing her here would allow her to relax and re-enter society. Let her hair down, as it were. I was mistaken."

Cattaras chuckled. "Forget it. There's only two ways I know of that Catrina relaxes. Fighting is one of them and if she ever starts the second with you I want to be there to watch."

"Um... indeed.. I will let you know." Fahari's tail twitched a bit.

"Let him know what?" Todd said, coming up to the group, then smirking at Dash- although his eyes held a different emotion. "Aw, man, why'd you stop it? I had a dense stack on Feline kick assidute!"

All though this Catrina was silent, head down, tail still. Dash watched her idly, almost indifferently, letting the conversation play itself out.

A fat Penguin waddled up to them, moving as if he owned the place because, well, he did. He took a cigar out of his mouth and used it to point at Catrina, but his eyes were on Todd. "These guys friends of yours, Blackpaws."

Todd did not look happy, but nodded. "Yeah. Yeah they're my friends."

The Penguin nodded and grunted. "Thought so. Beat it- your filthy lucre'll be sent to you."

"We'll be gone before you know it." Dash turned to Catrina, cold and serious. "We need your help. There seems to be a problem with the Chrono Dragon. I wouldn't have come if it wasn't critical, but you know the dragon better than any of us, Catrina. So I'm enlisting your help. Besides Todd and.. wait, did Todd just get fired?"

The penguin grunted and blew a thick ring of smoke at Dash. "Try to keep up, baby face. Yeah, foxy here's been canned. I don't like people who try to bust my joint up," he used his cigar to point at the group, then Todd, "nor do I like the friends of people who-"

He didn't get to finish the statement as, at that moment the doors to the Joint burst open and a squad of pirates entered as if they owned the place- followed closely by woman the sight of whom made Catrina instantly happy. She was tall and very attractive, with long black hair flowing from under her bandanna, and her shirt tied up under an impressive bosom.

"All right, ye scurvy land lubbers!" Coconuts growled. "A moment of yer time and we be collectin' what we came fer!"

The penguin growled right back, as if ready to defend his joint single handedly. "Yous ain't gettin any of my filthy lucre, b-"

He was luckily cut off by her laugher. "We ain't here for no booty, just here to pick up the kitty... er.. Wow, there are two of you now?"

Now it was Catrina's turn to laugh- for the first time in a long while. "Oh, she was on the boat with us to Honorburg- but I'm thinking that you never got to meet her on the trip."

Coconuts smirked. 'Yeah, seein' as a certain puss had me in her quarters from port to port, I'm guessin' I did miss out on a few of the passengers."

Cattaras looked between the two. "Wait.. you .. and her..." He then groaned. "I need to start wearing pants."

Dash almost facepalmed. "Look, I realize the whole 'time is going to collapse on itself' might not be as fun as your lurid adventures, Catrina, but I'd appreciate it if we could talk business all the same."

"Ye can talk 'business' on your way to the Mysterious Isle, handsome." Coconuts interrupted. "That is, if you're up to the trip."

"I don't think I'll be able to join you," Dash said. "We've got some issues.. look, can we talk about this outside of town? I think our friend here is getting impatient."

Coconuts giggled. "Oh, don't worry about ol' tux face here. He'll behave- or he gets a visit from Big Frank." The penguin fidgeted.

Dash turned towards him. "Well then we appreciate the hospitality and invitation to come here anytime. Can we wisely assume this will come with a reconsideration of my friend's employment? I can't imagine why he'd want to work here, but getting rid of him would be a .. hm.. mistake, shall we say?"

"What?" Cocanuts looked at Todd. "Oh yeah.. I've heard you playin around town. Yeah." She gave the penguin a meaningful look. "Firin' him might be a Frank mistake, if you know what I mean?" She winked at him and he took a step backward. The pirates began to clear out- with Coconuts and the others bringing up the rear.

Todd walked close to Catrina and spoke low. "Okay, I'll bite. Who is this Frank character and why is that fat ass so afraid of him?"

Catrina giggled. "Frank is 5 foot nothing and weighs about 85 pounds soaking wet."

Todd looked baffled. "Then why... oh.. OH!" He began laughing.

"'Oh!' What?" Dash asked.

"Dunno if you really wanna know, mate." Todd smirked, even wagged his tail. "Suffice it to say that that guy being a 'fat ass' would be a bonus to Big Frank. Am I right?"

Catrina nodded and smirked. "Dash, do you remember our first meeting with Morgan's crew-and how they all eyed me except one guy? That's Frank."

Dash rubbed the temple of his forehead. "Wonderful. Coconuts, can you brief them on what we know about the dragon?"

Coconuts launched into her explanation of events as they went through the door- but as they passed through Dash and the furrys were in a dense fog and she was not there. Then the fog broke- to a lush savannah.

"Really? This again? Now?" Dash asked, exasperated.

A familiar voice was in his head at that moment- and from the surprised looks on their faces in the other's heads as well. "I am sorry, my Champion, but there is more at stake than you realize. Come forward that we may talk."

"All right, what in Aunt Fanny's garters was that?" Todd asked no one in particular. Catrina was visibly shaken by the voice and Fahari had to take her hand to help her along.

Dash looked at the others. "We lost our pirate?"

The voice again, giggling. "Ooo.. so you want to let her in on what we have as well?"

"Sure," Dash said. "Let her take my place, ma'am. I'm anxious to get out of Penguinville. Besides, there's reports on airships I have to look into. Respectfully, I'd like to leave you to your amusements with your.. er.. flock. Pride?"

The lilt was gone from her voice when she spoke again, but there was no malice. "I am afraid, my dear Champion, that this is.. as you would say.. a 'business trip' and that you will soon find that no matter where you go the events unfolding are all intertwined with what we need to talk to you about."

There was a second voice in their heads, this one making Todd jump. "Dear sister, I am afraid that the situation requires we abandon the usual formalities." There was a sigh.. and then suddenly two women were in front of them. Catrina prostrated herself immediately while Fahari knelt and Todd and Cattaras shared a glance and then, more slowly, bent a knee as well. Dash stood behind the others, bowing ever so slightly, looking respectful but anxious.

The Goddess smiled. "Please. As my sister has pointed out we have no time for formalities. Stand.. relax.. and you." She helped Catrina to her feet, turned the lioness' face up to meet her own. "You of all people have no reason to fear me. I am aware of what has happened to you and while I cannot approve of your actions I understand them."

"She wasn't in control of her actions," Dash said, irritated. "A demon was. I thought you knew that."

The Vixen spoke up, moving toward the group. "Yes, yes... If we spend time rehashing all of this the world will end before we can plan to stop it." She paused in front of Cattaras, seeming lost in thought as she reached out to touch his chest. "Ooo.. Dear you do choose the most amazing warriors- so virile!"

Cattaras closed his eyes for a second but the Goddess laughed. "Now.. who was it talking about the world ending?"

Dash answered first. "Everyone, it seems."

"Kyomi was right- you are a stud." The Vixen turned her attention to matters at hand while Cattaras brought his loincloth back under control. "Yes.. the world and worlds beyond. Events in the world have begun to swing the balance of power in dangerous ways. Dangerous enough that the Dark Ones have begun to openly defy the Covenants." She growled.

"Is it tied to the sword?" Dash asked. "Kadlin's glaive. But how does the Chrono Dragon's illness tie into this?"

Catrina looked at Dash with shock at hearing of her friend being ill but then gasped and turned her head to stare at the Goddess with her next words.

"Not just illness, Champion. If nothing is done to correct matters he will die."

Dash nodded. "That's why we want to send Aleena to help."

Fahari whispered to Todd. "Do you know who they are talking about?"

Todd nodded. "Yeah, kinda. Just a bit after.. well after all that stuff happened between them I talked to Dash. Of course he was a bit blotto on booze but.. anyway. He and Catrina met on this mission to get rid of a dragon threat. Seems Catrina got rid of the threat- by making friends with the dragon."

"It was a glorious battle," Dash said with a reflective smile.

Catrina rolled her eyes at that. "You're starting to sound like Konall. It was a horror show- topped off by you being wiped from existence!"

Dash shrugged. "Every good story has a twist."

The Goddess nodded. "Yes, and some twists are never known by the storyteller, if they are lucky." She smirked like she knew something about that.

"Fair enough," replied Dash. "So what would you ask of us?"

"Nothing beyond your means, Champion." the Goddess purred.

The Vixen continued. "Yes, all you need to do is as the Fates have decreed you do already. We are only advising you of the gravity of the situation. This is no ordinary adventure. This may well be the beginning of the end."

Dash's jaw seemed to tighten. "With all due respect, ma'am, we've been in this position before. We won't let you down, no matter what the odds are."

"Perhaps you have been in a position similar to this-" The Goddess purred- "but never one so grave. There are several ways that things may go wrong- and any would mean victory for our dark enemy!"

Todd smirked. "No pressure there."

The Vixen smiled. "There is plenty of pressure- but none of it is the kind we like."

Todd's smirk grew. "Better not go there. I don't think Dash is in the mood for an orgy."

The Goddess purred. "A pity. He is quite good at it." The two goddesses moved among the mortals, taking their leave of them with kisses fit for less lofty places.

The Vixen paused after a particularly long kiss with Cattaras. "You will meet some old friends soon, my studly kitty. It is a shame, but such is the nature of War."

The look on Catrina's face was a mixture of shock and.. well lust- the lioness being so flummoxed by the intensity of the Goddess' love that she nearly missed her words. "Beware, my child. Not all who fight with you in this battle will be on your side at the end."

The Vixen simply smiled at him. "I am sure you wish to take up where we left off the last time- but for now you need to board a ship." She then kissed him- and as she did the scene faded.

"-Moonbeam's been frantic ever since. Thought I'd come here and get you. Cat- see if you could be any help. Okay here we are- Hey Cap'n! We're back!"

Not even noticing they were on the ship, Dash's face was a bit ashen. "'Not all who fight with you ... will be on your side in the end..' Is that supposed to mean what I think it does?"

Coconuts looked at Dash oddly. "Dunno who you been listening to handsome but I didn't say anything of the sort."

"What?" Dash looked up at her confused before his eyes settled on Catrina. "Oh, nothing. Just something I.. picked up earlier."

Catrina came over to him as they all boarded Captain Morgan's ship. She purred a little- a bad sign, if Dash remembered her past. "So... good at orgies, huh?"

Dash shook his head, ignoring the question. "No. It couldn't be you again. The dark ones wouldn't be that predictable. But they've gotten to you and Kadlin already, so we know they could get to anyone at all. We are so far out of our league here, we need.." Dash turned to the pantheress. "If you have any answers, Fahari, now would be a great time to share."

Fahari looked as stumped as the rest. "I.. I too am at a loss from our meeting. In her parting with me the Goddess said that 'a friend of Felinity’ will help me when it is darkest- and unlock power long hidden."

"I guess we'll have to be prepared for anything," Dash said with a shrug. "As always.. Come on, Rebecca. We'll explain everything to you on the way to the ship."

"Yeah yeah, fine." Rebecca scowled. "Fine good it does me to talk you guys sound like you didn't hear a word I said!"

Dash looked around, remembering they were already on the ship. Man, this whole divine vision thing could be confusing!

I loved the return of our pirates from Catrina's first mission.

I'm glad we got to use the Penguins as well. Not to mention, of course, the Feline and Vixen goddesses. We'll be checking back in with the pirates after a couple more pieces. You can also see the after effects of Catrina's battle with Dash - and her overall descent into darkness, which you can read about in the archives if you want.

I especially like how fluid and consistent Mitch's dialogue is both with his own characters bantering and interacting with my or other handler's characters. Without knowing who he handles as you read, it's quite hard to detect which characters are his.