//------------------------------//
// Catty After That 
// Story: Three More Things! 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

Valmont smiled to himself as he carefully set the Cat of Khartoum in his vault.  While he was a bit disturbed at the danger his new step-daughters had been put in - being sacrificed by a cult of all things - they had handled themselves wonderfully and seemed to know how to work as a team as well.  Not only that, Bastet's mention of Class 2 beings not interfering with each other had made Jackie uncertain whether or not his group should directly confront Adagio and the others to reclaim the statue...and on learning that Valmont's intentions were to keep the statue where it couldn't be misused had been surprisingly happy to leave it with them.  Valmont made a mental note to find some time to talk privately and companionably with Jackie.  Plainly they were past being 'business rivals', and it would be good to put any lingering hostility to rest.

He'd designed his vault very carefully.  Knowing the sheer variety of magic there would be out in the world, he wanted to be certain that any artifact that he placed there would be as safe as he was capable of making it.  As such, it was a perfectly ordinary display room with a light shining on each artifact, with no other visible magic anywhere, and a basic magic concealment charm - one used to conceal active spells - cast over the entire building.  No one would be able to tell that the lights were actually pieces of his own demon body, thus placing the artifacts within his own power...and the total absence of any other visible magic would lead to anyone attempting to break in trying to circumvent the concealment charm, only to be confused when it revealed nothing and convinced there was more to it.  Idiots would walk in and get caught by his power.  The competent would never attempt, convinced the security was greater than it actually was.  David Xanatos would never steal from him.  This covered all bases.

With the artifact secure, he shifted back into his building to check on the children.  As he arrived, Adagio was heading for the elevator in her choker and her own fur.  "And where are you going dressed like that?" Valmont asked curiously, without a hint of judgement in his voice.

Adagio stiffened briefly, but then surprised him by smiling warmly.  "To drive attendees of a costume party insane with jealousy and lust," she purred happily.  "I want to see how close I can push it to a full blown orgy without anyone actually giving in."

Valmont chuckled indulgently.  "Have fun with that," he replied warmly.  "Anyone I know going to be in attendance?"

"Doubt it," Adagio replied ruefully.  "I tried to get Finn to go since parties seemed his scene, but he freaked out about it."  She grinned a wicked cat grin.  "Was fun to watch though."  With that said, she stepped into the elevator.

Chuckling to himself, Valmont followed his magic in the pendants to locate Aria.  Seeing her in the gym pushing her new feline body to its physical limits, he decided not to distract her, and instead followed the trace of Sonata's pendant...to the open door of Ratso's room.  As he saw what waited him there, he cleared his throat.

"Boss!" Ratso gulped, jerking back as what he held fell to the floor with a clatter.  "I-I can explain!  It's not what-"

Valmont held up a hand to silence him.  Turning, he saw the beaming smile on Sonata's face, then turned back to Ratso.  "Ratso, you have my full trust," he began calmly.  "Despite appearances, Sonata is certainly a consenting adult...and what goes on between her and another consenting adult is of no concern of mine as long as she is not being hurt emotionally.  And that's one thing I know you would never do.  I only have two things to suggest for the future."

Ratso swallowed nervously.  "Y-yeah boss?"

Valmont levitated up the object Ratso had dropped.  "Either use a heating stone in this or plug it in," he said as he handed it back to Ratso.  "Curling needs heat, and without thus the iron provides neither."

"Well, she didn't actually want her hair curled," Ratso explained.  "She just wanted to feel pampered, and I thought this'd do it."

"Fair enough," Valmont admitted.  "Second...either put your clothes back on after the fact, close the door, or get a fur coat of your own."

"Her idea," Ratso pointed out again.  "She wanted the possibility someone would walk in on us."

Valmont stared at Ratso, turned to see Sonata giggling wickedly, then turned back to Ratso.  "And your not showering after is also her idea to torment her sisters' enhanced sense of smell?"

Ratso rubbed the back of his head as Sonata giggled again.

Valmont sighed, only to smile when he saw the way Ratso looked at Sonata...and the look she returned.  Well, I suppose if anyone would really get them, it would be each other, he thought to himself.  Turning, he left them to their activities.





Uncle smiled to his guest as he sipped his tea.  "Well, that certainly explains things," he allowed as he leaned back in his chair, one hand idly scratching Sweetie Belle behind the ear as she purred in his lap.  "I must thank you.  Your help made things much easier here."

"I should not let a Boon I grrrranted otherrrrs inconvenience you," Bastet purred back as she sipped her own tea, glancing off to the side where Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were playing in Audrey III's vines looking somewhat loopy, rather than clambering all over the shop.  "Cats of this size arrrre not antique frrrriendly."

"Indeed," Uncle agreed, his eyes turning to where Jade and Hsi Wu were curled up to each other in a shared nap, both furry and purring.  "Despite his objections, Hsi Wu does not seem to mind that part of things."

"I didn't think he would," Bastet chuckled.  "She is the one in denial about things between them, afterrrr all."  She set her cup down.  "I must say, yourrrr story also answerrrs many questions I had."

"Though it leaves me with one," Uncle admitted.  Reaching into a drawer, he pulled out a pouch and set it down.  "One I hope you can help me with."

Curious, Bastet glanced in...and found it not only larger on the inside, but full to overflowing with coins in every color, each with runes of various sorts around the edges, various faces on one side, and numbers 5, 4, or 3 on the other.  "I am not surrrrprised," she purred.  "You have done great good for the worrrld.  It is unsurrrrprising you arrre so favored."

"Now if only Uncle could remember how he earned them," Uncle concluded with an odd grin.

Bastet chuckled indulgently.  "I would be happy to help with that."  Seeing Uncle reaching for one of her tokens within the bag, she waved him off.  "Not forrrr a Boon.  Just...an act of frrrriendship."

Uncle smiled softly.  "The friendship of a Goddess is surely worth more than any Boon," he agreed.

"Well, any of these anyway," Bastet joked as she placed her hand on the bag, reaching in with her magic to read each token's story.  Her eyes widened as she discovered just how many were in there.  "This...might take a while."





Valmont gently set down his drink on the bar.  "I guess we both have our problems adjusting to this new world," he admitted.

"You adjusted easier than I did," Jackie stated as he set his own drink down.  They'd bumped into each other there, and continued to pay for their own drinks even as they talked.  "You were already trying to use magic before it became 'normal'.  I was still trying to figure out how to deal with it."

"And your three new nieces didn't help there?" Valmont asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Half the time I couldn't remember they were magic because of their pendants, so no."

"Ah yes, I'd forgotten about them," Valmont admitted.  "But you're adjusting now?"

"I'm getting there," Jackie admitted.  "Finding peace with myself has helped."

"That's an understatement," Tiger stated from his shoulder, having taken on the feline form Jackie had gained.

"Hush!" Kitten chided from the other shoulder, still a human in appearance.  "Let them talk, it's helping him."

"You don't see us chiming in," a tiny image of Valmont's demon form scolded from his shoulder.  "Let them speak."

"Agreed," said a human Valmont from his other shoulder...dressed in the 'siren' garb he'd used to try and open the portal on Christmas day.

Tiger and Kitten took one look at him and burst into laughter.

"Well what do you expect the manifestation of my desire to be a 'family man' to look like?" the Shoulder Demon demanded angrily.  "That was the day it became real, after all."

"So is it worth it?" Jackie asked Valmont idly.

"What?" Valmont asked curiously.

"Marriage, parenthood, and all the magical insanity involved."

Valmont chuckled dryly.  "Every day...even if the girls can be headaches.  Sometimes it feels like Adagio and Sonata in particular are trying in their own ways to break my brain.  They haven't succeeded, though."  He took a sip of his drink.  "Admittedly, Sonata came close when she and Ratso accidentally created a magical free energy device while trying to make tacos."

Jackie's drink wound up over the nearest wall.  "WHAAAA?  How?"

"An SNL skit they took too seriously, and a visit to 'Uncle Tso Lan' that was too instructive," Valmont explained.  "Trust me, don't ask unless you want your head to hurt."

"What, did they try to make Taco Town tacos and shrink them so they could hold them like tacos and fit their mouths around them, and the magic got away from them and fixing it resulted in a contained singularity generating free energy?" Jackie asked facetiously.

"Yes, actually," Valmont confirmed.  "You don't seem surprised."

"Remind me to tell you about the fillies, Bill Nye, and Magic School Bus sometime."  Jackie opened his mouth to say more, only to let out a wet cough.  Something splatted into his hand, and he dumped a clump of short black hairs into a nearby trash bin.

"So the cat form makes things interesting with Viper, then?" Valmont asked teasingly.

"You could say that," Jackie allowed.  "When we have time working around the hijinks Jade and the fillies get up to."

"If you think they're troublesome now, wait a few years," Valmont joked ruefully.  "Then they'll be teenagers."

Jackie shuddered in fear.  "I don't want to think about it.  When's our turn on stage?"  He gestured to the karaoke area of the bar.

"This song," Valmont stated as he stood up, walking to the stage as a particular song started to play.

Jackie happily joined him as they sang, each thinking about the girl they hadn't known they were looking for.