Action thread (What's Up, Pussycat?)

[Drakey]

Ollie shook his head. "Not just a small squad. Cats picked personally by me. It'll be six cats, counting myself. You need to hurry if you want to be let in by noon."

[Silfedac]

"See, it'll all be fine. Now come on, let's go. I'm starting to get kind of antsy here."

[Orangey]

"All right, we're off."

Mr. Grey and Simon move towards Garfield Valley. They head into the woods first so that the Garfield cats see them enter from the unaligned area, not Felix Hill. They approach the barn.

(I assume we're confronted here?)

[Drakey]

(You know what they say about assuming things, right?
That you should do it more, of course!)

Lucky Star was there. It was her turn to patrol, and she spotted them first.
"Hold up, boys. What's your hurry?"
A larger figure loomed up behind her. Flufferkin.
"Yeah. I'm kinda curious myself. What's two fleas doin out this far at this prime hour?"

[Orangey]

"We're just a pair of unaligned cats; we've been watching what's been going on lately, and we fear that there's conflict ahead. I don't much like our chances if war breaks out, so we came to the obviously stronger of the factions to see if there was room for us in your ranks."

[Drakey]

Flufferkin glared at Grey. "Prove it. You're a declawed, honorless freak. I don't trust nueters. Too clever."
"Flufferkin," Lucky said in a warning tone, "If you scare off too many cats, their ranks will grow and ours will stay the same. That spells disaster for us."
He stared hard at her for a moment, and then he turned and sauntered away. "Use your judgement, Star."
She hated when he called her that.
Lucky turned to the cats who had come out of the woods. She walked up to Grey. She sniffed at him. "Ollie. You're going to be the vanguard in a rescue, aren't you?"
Grey started to turn and run, but she had a claw to his throat before he could make the turn. "Don't run, just listen. I don't want this to happen any more than you do. We keep that kitten, this goes to war, but if we can get her back, we might stop a war. Carry out your mission. Act scared around Flufferkin. He's terrifying, and you know it. It's just what's done. Don't blow it, and for the love of catnip's creator, don't preceed anyone through any doors. You're bottom cats on the pile here, and once you blow your cover, you'll be the targets first. Don't show anybody your hind end, especially you, clawless."

[Mophtran]

((I'm'a prolly join this soon. Gotta think up some bios))

[Drakey]

(Kewl. I look forward to having the new player. Try to join on the Garfield Valley side. If we have a villain, it's them, and I demand depth from my villains. You should see how I write Sith.)

[Orangey]

Grey licked his paw speculatively. "I forget how much other cats smell. I'm glad you're up for this though. We may have to talk later.

For everyone's sake, I think it's best we do this quickly then; you're a local cat, why don't we follow you into the barn? Simon, I'm faster than you; I'll grab the kitten, and you cover my tail. I believe your name is Lucky Star, yes?what kind of resistance should we expect once I have the kitten?"

[Mophtran]

((Ooooohhh... I get to be evil? Sounds like fun ))

[Drakey]

(Not evil per se... more villainous than evil. You'll go a little farther to accomplish your ends.)

Lucky shook her head. "You don't get into the barn yet. We have to wait for your friends to arrive."
"You know about that?"
She purred. It was a sound that was somehow sensuous. If he had the capacity. Grey would have been aroused by it. "I do now. Don't worry. I'm guessing they'll come at noon. You need to wait a while before you move. Flufferkin posted extra guards for noon. He thinks that's when the attack will come. You can expect heavy resistance, but the mother cats will get in the way, some of them deliberately. I'm not the only one who wants this rescue to succeed."

[Orangey]

"Clever; I'd like to get to know you better once things calm down. I did, however, want to scope the area a bit before we attempt the rescue; I hate to go in blind.

More importantly, though, is where the guards are; my companions are just here as a defensive vanguard. If we can ensure that they distract the guards, I'll have a much better chance of getting out safely with the kitten."

[Silfedac]

Simon turned to Lucky Star. "Would it be possible for us to contact the group and inform them of this development?"

[Drakey]

Lucky let out a long, low hiss of displeasure. "The guards are laid out in a random pattern. It's wherever they feel they're best. Avoid the high spots. They tend to stay on top of piles of hay, where they can jump down on anything they don't like. You could get eriously hurt if you get in the way of that."
Grey stared at her. "And how hard is it to stay out of range of those leaping guards?"
"It's virtually impossible. You could try staying right up against the edge of the pile of hay, but then you'd be pinned. The best idea is to run fast and be unpredictable if you want to get out intact."
Simon turned to Lucky Star. "Would it be possible for us to contact the group and inform them of this development?"
She thought for a moment. "Not for you. But I might."

(Inserted your post in there so it would make sense.)

[Silfedac]

(I is okay with that.)

[Drakey]

(If I thought you would object, I wouldn't have done it.)

[Orangey]

"I recommend you try then. I think the best idea would be for you to tell them to mount an attack once we get inside. We can escape best in the chaos of battle, where we're not the only targets."

[Drakey]

Lucky nodded. "Done then. Follow me."
She led them to Flufferkin. He was in a room that the humans seemed to call the warming room. The reason for it was obvious. There was a space heater in the corner.
In the winter, they would come in there to warm up at the barn.
"Flufferkin, I've interrogated them. They're okay, but I wouldn't put them on patrol. Let them guard the kitten when the time comes, they shouldn't give you any trouble."
Flufferkin gave her a knowing look. "Excellent." He turned to them "Have you ever killed, clawless?"
Grey gave him a startled look. "No, of course not!"
"You may have to before the end of tomorrow."
Lucky started for the exit. "Where are you going, Star?"
She gave a little tail-twitch. "Out. Is that a problem, sir?"
"I'll be wanting your... services... later."

Ollie stared out over the Valley below. In just a few hours, he'd be there. He was terrified of it. The dark form of the hay barn was a monster waiting to kill him, and he cowered in fear of it even as he sat nonchalantly tormenting a mouse.
"Hello, Ollie."
He jumped. "Lucky Star! What in the world are you doing here?"
She paced over to him, purring. "Your agents got through to us. I let them in."
"Going to have Flufferkin kill them?"
"No, Ollie. That would end in war. I don't want war. Attack as soon as they go inside the barn, and you'll need to wait for a while, they can't go in at noon, there'll be too many guards."
Ollie sighed. "I suppose it was too much to ask that they fool you."
"You're lucky they didn't. If they'd gotten past me, we'd have a war on our paws."
She was still purring. "Will you stop that? It's very distracting."
Lucky just laughed. "I can't stop distracting you, can I?"
He batted at her with the back of one paw.
"Get lost, Lucky."

[Orangey]

Mr. Grey watched Lucy walk off. As he and Simon slowly approached the barn, waiting for the time to come, he turned to Simon.

"Do you trust her? Are we walking into a trap?"

[Silfedac]

"I certainly hope we aren't. I don't want to think what would happen to Celly without us. Also, the whole 'torture' thing is kind of making me nervous."

[Drakey]

Ollie watched her leave. Lucky was a good cat, even if her taste in friends was deplorable.
She had a certain style of doing things all her own.
He would have liked her if he didn't hate her.

Several hours later

The bright afternoon sun was something of an annoyance. Mr. Grey tried to turn away from it, but it kept getting in his eyes. Too high in the sky to be really avoided.
"Hello, boys. Ready to start your guard duty?"
Simon looked up. "Hello, Lucky Star."
She laughed. "Call me Lucky, boys. Everyone else does."
She led them into the barn. "The kitten you're guarding is over there," she began, and then all hell broke loose.
Six cats rushed into the barn, Ollie among them.
Ollie, for his part, wasted no time.
He pounced on the nearest guard as one of the Felix Hill cats batted Lucky aside and started rushing towards the kitten...

[Orangey]

Mr. Grey sighed inwardly. This wasn't exactly what he had in mind.

"Simon," he hissed. "Grab a kitten that looks like the target and run. Make sure you leave before I do."

Mr. Grey sped towards the actual target.

[Drakey]

Simon burst towards the kitten that Lucky had pointed out, running full tilt, but this left him an open target.
Cats began jumping down from the tops of haystacks, and Simon had to slow down to avoid them.
But he could get there.
Until Flufferkin showed up. He stepped out from behind a haystack.
"I thought I might have a rat in my ranks. Now I just need to know if it was you or Star."
His massive bulk was all the shield he needed for that kitten. No one would dare get near him.
He stepped back and grabbed the kitten, sweeping her around in front of him and placing a restraining paw on her throat.
"Tell me who the rat is or the kitten dies."

[Orangey]

Mr. Grey looked at the cat Ollie was fighting.

"It was him! He told us he could promise our safety if we did this for him! I was only thinking of my family!"

[Drakey]

Flufferkin laughed. "Very well. I shall see to it that he is properly punished."
And with that, he bent down to kill the kitten. One swift bite to the throat and her lifeblood spilled out on the hay.
Ollie yowled in rage and launched himself at Flufferkin.
Lucky tackled him.
She swiped her claws at his nose, and he backed off just in time to avoid getting them buried in his flesh.
"Don't be an idiot, Ollie. This isn't a fight you can win," she whispered. "Get out." He jumped away, slashing at her and yelling to his team to follow.
Flufferkin jerked his head at his guards, and they started chasing after the Felix Hill cats.

[Orangey]

Mr. Grey was surprised, but not shocked. He spun around and rocketed towards the door, using all his impressive speed and his small frame to escape before things went farther south. As he passed Simon he hissed, "Come on!". Without waiting to see what happened, he sped out the door.

(At this point, I want Mr. Grey to get on the roof; is this possible at this time?)

[Drakey]

(The roof of what?

And why?)

[Orangey]

(Of the barn, of course. And because I said so.)

[Drakey]

(Go for it, but keep in mind that war is now inevitable.)

[Orangey]

(Aww, nevermind... It wouldn't have done me much good anyway...)

Mr. Grey didn't slow down until he reached the border-fence. He looked back, and waited for Simon and Ollie to arrive.