//------------------------------// // Much Cattier // Story: Three More Things! // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Adagio sighed ruefully as she walked out of the fifteenth shop she'd ducked into looking for a place she could work her magic and get information. Unfortunately, only three of those shops had actually been bars, two had refused her entrance for reasons she hadn't bothered to understand, and the third had been full of people who - to her eyes - looked as old as she was. Even if she had been tempted to work her magic there to get some information, she'd be half afraid of giving them all coronaries before they could answer any questions. She saw Aria making her way towards her, an angry scowl on her face, bruises on her knuckles, and blood on her bladed star-shaped hair pieces. "I take it you had no better luck than me?" Adagio called out to her rather aggressive sister. "Only that we might be in a bigger mess than we want to be," Aria grumbled irritably. "What happened with you?" "Couldn't find anywhere good to work my wiles," Adagio complained as she leaned back against a wall. "What about you? What makes you think we're in a big mess? Have a hard time finding targets?" "That was easy enough," Aria allowed as she paced, vibrating with nervous energy. "I found at least fifty thugs of various apparent rank within various groups around here, criminal and otherwise. Beating them into submission was easy enough, but..." She paused, staring at one of her knuckles. Adagio frowned. "If you're waiting for me to coach you just so you can make your revelation more dramatic, you'll have a long wait." "Are you sure? This one's worth it." Adagio rolled her eyes, but kept her mouth shut. Aria glared at her for a time, then 'tsk'ed at her. "Fine. The moment I asked any of them about the Cat of Khartoum, they ran screaming, trying to get as far away from me as possible. Some even tried to leap into a river when they couldn't swim! I finally tried to grab hold of one of them to demand answers..." She opened her closed hand and dropped a severed middle finger to the ground. "He cut off his finger with my hair-piece to get away. I was so stunned I couldn't get another grip. I managed to shout in shock, and he shouted something back at me I didn't understand." "What did he say?" Adagio asked nervously. "It sounded like...'Makhalib Sayukhimat'," Aria explained. "Whatever it was, the moment he uttered it, literally every window in the area slammed shut, even the ones who had been cheering while I'd been beating the crap out of him. Any idea what it means?" Adagio ground her teeth irritably. "Whatever it is, it's a proper name. If it weren't, our siren magic would have given you the meaning, same way we can talk to people here without knowing the language." "I still think you use that as too much of a crutch-" Aria began, only to pitch forward as something slammed into her back. "Gyack!" she screamed out as she collapsed forward on top of Adagio. "Ouch!" Adagio snapped as her hand went to her forehead, where she felt a small cut. "What the hell?" "Oops, sorry!" Sonata spoke up quickly. "Wasn't watching where I was going!" As the three sat up, Adagio and Aria stared at Sonata as she sat on the ground behind them with a huge grin on her face...and a black statuette of a cat with glowing red eyes sitting in front of her. The sharp points on the statue's claws showed the source of the sudden cuts they received. Aria was the first to speak up. "Is that...?" "The Cat of Khartoum!" Sonata stated happily as she lifted her leg and started to lick her calf. "How did you get it?" Adagio demanded in shock. "And so fast?" "I waited at the airport for the Chans to show up," she explained happily. "Told them since we were all after the same thing anyway, and it would only end up with us confronting them to try and swipe it when they got it out of whatever ruin or temple it was in, it would be more fun and safer if I just tagged along with them and then tried to swipe it." "And they bought it?" Aria gasped in surprise. "Jackie was even worried about me staying safe after I set off a booby trap and used the distraction to slip the Cat out of the box and into my hair!" Sonata declared happily as she lowered her leg and began batting at a tassel hanging from a nearby drape. "Then I just used the magic New Daddy left in all our pendants to find you after I gave the box back and apologized for putting everyone in danger." Aria stared oddly at Sonata. "Sonata...are you feeling alright?" she asked worriedly. "I feel great, actually!" Sonata stated happily as she rolled onto her back to continue batting at the tassel with both hands and feet. "Why?" "You pulled off an honestly rather brilliant plan putting your best attributes to your advantage," Adagio explained in awe. "Did you hit your head while performing with that juggler and his genie?" "Oh!" Sonata allowed happily. "No, didn't hit my head." Leaping into the nearest residence, she snatched a jar of cream from a fridge before leaping back out and lapping it up. No one tried to stop her. "I thought it was the cat-like behavior I'm doing." "Sonata, it's you," Aria replied, rolling her eyes. "You once spent three whole weeks insisting you were a Golden Retriever and that we call you Spot." She raised her head, staring at a cloud wistfully. "...I kinda miss walkies..." "Aria's disturbing habits aside, Sonata, this is nothing new for you," Adagio explained. "And since you just swiped a cat statue, it's even thematically appropriate." "Oh," Sonata allowed, then turned to stare at her butt. "How about the new tail I just sprouted? Is that something I should worry about?" Apple Bloom, Jade, and Hsi Wu followed Ruby's directions as they prowled the streets of Tangiers, following the trail Sonata had left behind. Unfortunately for them, Sonata was not only quite fast when she wanted to be, but she had run through half a dozen streets, crossing her own path and backtracking no less than seven times by the time they finally found her trail, and seemed to have unwittingly sought out the best ways to conceal her own trail as she ran. Ruby had frequently complained of being a cat and not a bloodhound, and only having the barest sense of the statuette's magic to follow. This had resulted in the group splitting up as they were now. Apple Bloom, Jade, and Hsi Wu stuck with Ruby on the ground, following the trail. Jackie and Viper had climbed to the rooftops to take a direct route back towards the airport, just in case the Dazzlings had already made for their plane. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were riding Cumulo for an aerial view of the city, hoping to spot the Dazzlings' unique hair styles from above. As they walked, Apple Bloom paused as they passed an ice cream shop. She found herself staring at it, licking her lips. When she realized what she was doing, she blinked and shook herself off. "What the hay?" she demanded in confusion. "Ah can't even hold an ice cream pop, so why do ah suddenly want one?" Ruby let out a soft, sighing meow. Jade and Hsi Wu both stiffened in shock. "The Cat of Khartoum turns people into cats?" Jade asked in shock. "And we all got scratched by its claws?" His Wu added. "Does that mean all of you are going to get feline transformations?" "What do ya mean, 'all of you'?" Apple Bloom demanded hotly. "You got scratched, too!" "In demon form," Hsi Wu clarified. "My dark magic is stronger than that of the statue, so it would have been absorbed and metabolized when I got scratched." "...pity," Jade mused thoughtfully as she moved up against him. "You'd look pretty cute with cat ears..." Without even seeming to think about it, she started to rub against him like a cat. "...I am feeling very conflicted right now..." Hsi Wu murmured worriedly as Apple Bloom and Ruby giggled. None of them noticed Apple Bloom's coat starting to get thicker. Jackie leapt down from the last viable rooftop on the path to the airport. They'd have to go the rest of the way on foot, but he wanted to stop for a time before he did. He found his back was really itchy for some reason, and without really thinking about it, he backed into the nearest alley to rub his back against a wall. Just as he'd started to get relief from the itch, Viper leapt down to in front of him before pinning him to the wall, locking lips with him as her nails dug into his back. He was so caught off guard that he reciprocated for several moments before his brain caught up with what was happening. "V-Viper, we don't have time..." he tried to say, only to lose his voice as her teeth dragged along his neck. "Audrey stayed at the airport," she purred softly as she rubbed her body against his. "He's got a mind link with Apple Bloom through plants, and already knows to keep an eye out for the Dazzlings. He won't let their plane take off before we get there. We can spare a few minutes..." Dragging her tongue up his neck and chin, she caught his earlobe in her teeth and twisted. "Or an hour..." Jackie wanted to argue that they needed to be responsible...but he wanted not to a great deal more. Without even seeming to think about it, he began to reciprocate her attentions... ...and neither noticed fur starting to grow in on their bodies. Cloaked figures made their way through the city, tracking the taint of the statue's magic. Their senses were attuned. Soon, soon they would have what they needed. Soon their goal would be accomplished. Soon the blood offering would be ready, and their Goddess would reclaim her throne.