May 31st, 2018. 7:35 PM.
Gendross sets Elio down on the couch in his quarters, placing the egg in the backpack pocket. After he zips up the bag and looks at Reggie; “Alright, how about that water?” “Yes, please! I’m dying here!” Reggie shouts, getting Gendross to chuckle. He walks over to a fridge that’s on his desk, Reggie looks at the size of it; “Don’t tell me-” “Yeah, this is a mini fridge. Given how large us Jovians are, we have much larger refrigerators than Earthlings do. Though, it doesn’t exactly stop Earthlings from owning these, especially Americans.” Gendross answers, reaching into the mini fridge and taking out a large bottle of water.
Gendross unscrews the bottle cap and sets it on the desk for Reggie to use as a bowl, he pours some water into the cap; “Drink up!” Reggie, instead of licking the water, he dips his whole face in it, slurping all the water in the cap within a second. “More.” Reggie looks up at Gendross, surprising him. “Even though I’ve known it for years, I’ve never actually seen how voracious the Martian Tabby’s appetite really is.” He responds. Reggie instantly drinks the water; “Yep.” He then points his paw at the bottle, wanting more.
As he finishes pouring some more into the cap, Gendross blanks for a second, unaware that Reggie has already finished his third serving. Reggie sits on his hindlegs, reaching upward, he taps him; “Gendross. Gendross.” He repeats until Gendross snaps out of it; “Oh, right.” He pours him his fourth serving, the bottle now being a quarter empty. He watches Reggie drink; “Hey Reggie, I’m curious about something.
Reggie stops drinking and wipes his face with his paw; “What is it?” “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I’m curious as to how you and Elio met. Given that you’re a Martian Tabby, there’s likely a story to it. At least, that’s what I figure.” Reggie’s ears fold back as he hears that, he speaks a bit more softly; “Oh… that…” Gendross immediately picks up the change in tone. “Sorry, if that was an intrusive question. You don’t have to tell me-” “No, no it’s fine. It’s just not something I like to remember is all, but I’m fine with telling you. I trust you enough.”
“Wait, really? You trust me? Not even two hours ago, I was trying to get rid of you two.” Gendross answers, surprised. “That’s all in the past now. Besides, Elio trusts you, and frankly, as long as he trusts someone, I can trust that person as well.” Reggie yawns as Gendross nods to his reasoning; “I understand. So then, what is the story?” “Let’s see… I wasn’t even a year old when I first met Elio. I met him a short while after my previous owner had died.” Reggie starts. “I’m sorry to hear that.” Gendross responds calmly, pouring Reggie another serving; “If I may ask, what was the name of your previous owner?” Reggie looks down at the bowl, reminiscing about his previous owner as he looks at his own reflection; “His name was Maxi Flav.”
Gendross suddenly feels dazed upon hearing that name; “Wait, you said ‘Maxi Flax?’ Maxi died?!” He asks in disbelief, hoping it wasn’t true. “Wait, you knew him?” Reggie asks curiously; “Yes, I knew him. I haven’t spoken to him in several years, sadly. He and I were good friends, so I’m really pained to hear that he died. When was it when he passed?” “It was around two years ago when he died. That was the same year when Elio had rescued me, it’s the only part of that year that I like to remember. Where to start…” Reggie then drinks the water, finishing it again as he becomes lost in thought, trying to figure out how he could tell the story of what happened without wasting time. Gendross refills the cap while he ponders. “Alright, it was around two and a half years ago, I was on a large carrier, sort of like this one…” Reggie begins.
November 30th, 2015.
A room is dimly lit, with faded beige walls and worn linoleum flooring. Rows of large cages lined the walls, each containing and being stuffed with near endless Martian Tabbies, seeming unable to move due to the crowdedness of it all, their fur matted and eyes glazed over. The air, stale, carrying the scent of old litter and neglect. Amongst the litter of Martian Tabbies, Reggie cries out from the cage; “Someone, please let us out! I can barely move!” Reggie starts to get light headed, his consciousness slowly fading as his stomach growls loudly, just for it to be entirely overshadowed by the sound of the others meowing loudly, desiring food just as much.
Someone walks into the room, her body covered in brown, needle-like hair, possessing eight eyes, a set of chelicerae, six arms, and a spinneret on the bottom of his back. A Uranian, wearing a black six-sleeved jacket and crimson red pants, the spinneret still sticking out. “Feeding time.” She hums with a relaxed, yet phlegmy voice. Reggie’s ears perk up as he tries to shift his position to see what’s happening. He notices that the Uranian isn’t opening the cages, instead, she releases a web from her spinneret, laying it out on the floor to keep any of the cats from escaping when she lets them out.
She finishes laying out the last of the webs, leaving the room and coming back with crates of food. She sets them down, her voice sounding laidback; “Alright, time to let you out.” She walks over to the cages, but right as she’s about to unlock the first one, the keys are suddenly nabbed from her. “What the- Who?!” She shouts in surprise, getting in a defensive stance as she hops back and looks around. As she looks up, she spots a short green person, sticking onto the ceiling, holding onto the keys.
The person’s hair is long, spiky, unruly, and white. His eyes are large, round and pitch black, no visible mouth, a Martian. All he’s wearing is a pair of orange shorts. The Uranian takes a good look at him, her eyes glaring a cold stare; “You… You’re Maxi Flav. What could a criminal of your caliber want from here?” She asks coldly. Maxi casually jumps down from the ceiling, as his body touches the floor, it compresses as though it were a pancake, his body reforms into its normal shape as he stands. “Keeping you and the rest of the people on this craft from trying to put these poor critters down, Loxo.” Maxi answers with an attitude.
“And I take it that you’ve taken out everyone onboard, besides me?” Loxo asks, Maxi casually wipes his foot on the floor, dissolving the web underneath his feet; “You got it! Guess there actually is something inside that webhead of yours.” Upon hearing that, Reggie’s mind races; “Wait, if this guy’s telling the truth, then we really were taken from Mars just to be killed?! For what purpose?! And Loxo isn’t even hiding it, nor trying to deny the fact, so he must be right about it! Darn, and I still can’t move! Come on, Martian, just bet her, please!” He hopes.
As Reggie looks back at the two, he views how Loxo’s demeanor has changed, she’s more pressed, annoyed by Maxi’s racial comment. “How did you sneak your way in here?” She asks slowly as she puts her hands up, her middle set of arms making fists while her top and bottom arms get in a grappling formation. “Before everything was loaded onto this ship, I snuck my way inside one of those tiny lockers that was being brought aboard. I then used my slime to dissolve it, that’s how I got out. Bet you’re wishing you were a Martian right about now so you could use our abilities, huh?” Maxi asks as he locks his fingers together, stretching out his arms and starts slinging them to use them like a jump rope.
Loxo’s irritation at Maxi's unserious attitude grows, she gets ready to attack, but Maxi holds up an index finger; “Let’s not be hasty now.” He speaks cockily, he then holds up the keys he snatched, putting them up to his radula, thousands of tiny, microscopic teeth begin to scrape up the keys, they go inside his face, he swallows them. “What is wrong with you?! You’re a green Martian, you produce sulfuric acid! You’re just going to melt the keys!” Loxo shouts in frustration and confusion.
Maxi’s mouth closes as he responds in a calm, smug tone; “I’m aware. I just know that I can beat you before my own body corrodes them.” “You’re too cocky for your own good!” Loxo rushes and jumps up in the air, touching the ceiling. She lands on it and proceeds to jump down at him with immense force, hurling toward Maxi at high speed.
Maxi reacts by stretching his body out by widening his stance and height, going from roughly five feet to almost three times his height; “What?! Just how much can Martians even stretch?!” Loxo questions herself as her body then gets wrapped around by Maxi’s flattened, enlarged shape. Maxi begins compressing himself, Loxo’s scream of agony is muffled as her body’s compressed underneath him. Her arms break, Maxi even hears the bones crunch, he unwraps himself and backflips off of her.
Maxi looks at her body, seeing how her arms aren’t moving, she’s just laying there, unsteadily breathing. Maxi taunts her by putting his hands on his waist, he leans forward, even stretching his body to make his torso reach as close up to her face as possible. He looks her dead in the eyes; “Were you saying something?” He continues to taunt her, his torso then slings back into position as Loxo utters; “You don’t know what you’re doing… this is a horrible mistake…”
Maxi grabs his radula and stretches it way open, he then uses his other arm to reach inside his mouth and digs around; “Come on… where did you fall?” He wonders. “Ahah! There you are!” He shouts, his voice muffled. He takes his arm out, safely removing the keys from his body, shaking off the slimy acids. Reggie’s pupils dilate; “This can’t be real! He rendered her powerless in just one attack!”
Maxi shakes all the slime off the keys; “Don’t worry, little ones. I’m just gonna clean off the floor so you don’t get hurt by the acid I left out.” He chuckles a bit, feeling more relaxed about winning. “That’s ok, just make sure not to take too long.” Reggie responds, Maxi’s curiosity peaking instantly as he extends his neck, lunging it toward the cage; “Holy shit, did you just talk?!” Reggie tries to move his head back, but can’t because of how crowded the cage is. “Yeah, I did.” Maxi’s eyes widen, his neck snaps back into proportion; “Oh wow! You actually did! Alright, when I finish cleaning this mess, I’ll let you all out! I want to have a talk with you though, you intrigue me!” Reggie answers softly; “I’d love to have someone to talk to, it’s been too long since I’ve last had a conversation.”
Maxi nods, some minutes pass as he finishes cleaning up the floor, removing the webbing and acid. He unlocks each cage, one by one as Martian Tabbies start rushing out of the cages, scattering across the room and stretching their aching bodies, running around and playing, getting much needed exercise. Reggie rushes out of the cage and perches onto Maxi’s shoulder; “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Reggie gleefully yells as he rubs his head vigorously on Maxi’s face, showing his gratitude. Maxi finds Reggie contagious and begins to laugh; “D’awww, you’re so cute. So tiny!” He scruffs Reggie; “Look at you.” Reggie doesn’t respond as he goes completely limp. Maxi sits down on Loxo’s stomach and sets Reggie on the floor, Reggie looks around as he regains his senses.
“So, tell me, little one. What’s your name?” Maxi asks. “I’m Reggie, just Reggie. That’s me.” “Reggie, that’s a nice name. But, why R-” Maxi cuts himself off. “Never mind.” He uncrosses his arms and points to himself with his thumb; “I’m Maxi Flav, but just call me Maxi. I don’t like formalities.” “Well, Maxi, I’m glad that you rescued us. I’m indebted to you, and as the one who can understand all the others here, I can safely say that they wouldn’t want to leave your side either.” Reggie answers as he leans his head forward. Maxi tilts his head; “Wait, the others understand the situation? How so?” “We’re good at understanding the emotions of those we’re close to. Because I knew the situation, the amount of relief I felt when you took down to roach you’re sitting on had reflected onto all the other cats. They’ve already burned your image into their brains, associating you with comfort and safety.”
Maxi leans his head back; “Well, now that you mention it, I guess that explains why so many of them are nudging their heads on me. As well as how loud the purring is.” “By the way, since you’re now aware that none of us will leave your side, what will you do?” Loxo takes notice and accidentally responds; “Huh…?” Maxi swiftly compresses his fist and lands a fast, powerful jab to her neck, knocking her out; “Don’t want her listening in on us, now do we?” Maxi chuckles. “Absolutely not!”
“Glad to see we’re on the same page. Though, I guess to answer your question, I’m just gonna have to take care of you guys.” “I’m happy to hear that!” Reggie replies, hopping back on his shoulder and slumping over. Maxi relaxes further; “Hey Reggie?” “Yes?” “I was thinking, since you and all the others were rounded up and taken from Mars, we’ll have to find some other place to settle.” Maxi takes a map of Kosmesen out from the pocket in his shorts. He points to an area on Earth; “Out of all the places in the world, I think Earth would be the safest place.” “Earth? If I’m correct, that’s the continent surrounded by water, right?” Maxi nods at Reggie’s question. “But wouldn’t that be the second place that they’d look if it’s so close?” “Well, yeah, but we can just land in an area that’s vast and green, that way you all can blend in.” Maxi explains.
Reggie listens as Maxi keeps explaining; “Besides…” He taps Loxo’s head; “...Uranians can only see green and ultraviolet light, so you’re way less likely to be spotted in an open field on Earth than you are in other parts of the world. Trust me, you’ll be fine.” Reggie listens to the full explanation, he then rests his head, relaxing; “Alright, I trust you.” He purrs, resting his eyes. “Damn, I wanna get up, but now I’m feeling relaxed as well…” Maxi ponders as he quickly starts dozing.
December 28th, 2015.
As the weeks passed by, Maxi had not only gotten all the Martian Tabbies to safety, but also found a new place to stay, a meadow within the mountainous outskirts of Gull’s Bay, surrounded by trees in all directions, making for a secluded space. He had even built a decently sized lodge big enough to keep them all under a roof, as well as providing enough room for basic living needs for himself. “So Reggie, what do you think? Pretty good, huh?” Maxi asks as he carries Reggie and stretches his legs to stand super high, giving him a look at the lodge. “It looks perfect! There’s more than enough room for all of us! I’m more surprised with how quickly you built it!” He answers with enthusiasm. Maxi returns it; “Alright, let's go inside then!” He responds, he drops Reggie and he begins to fall, Maxi’s legs snap back into proportion. He swiftly jumps under where Reggie’s going to land, lying down on his back and puffing out his stomach, making Reggie land on his belly, bouncing softly and rolling onto the grass. “Don’t do that!” Reggie shouts irritably.
Reggie smacks Maxi’s face multiple times with his paw, getting him to laugh; “Ok, I’m sorry, buddy! You said you trusted me, so I decided to take advantage of that!” “That doesn’t make it ok!” Reggie retorts, biting him on the neck; “But… you didn’t get hurt, so-” “No, just don’t do that!” Reggie bites a bit harder. Maxi keeps laughing; “Ok, ok! I’m sorry, I won’t do that again! I was being a dick, I get that I was wrong now! Please forgive me!” Reggie glares at him; “You’re positive?” “Yes.” Reggie keeps staring from the response. His face relaxes and he stops biting; “Alright, I can’t stay mad at you.” “Thank you! Alright, you go roundup the others, I’m gonna head inside.” Maxi stands up and starts walking to the lodge. Reggie responds as he takes off; “Got it!”
Reggie runs through the vast open field, the gargantuan amount of other Martian Tabbies sprawl lazily, basking in the warm sunlight as some engage in playful antics, chasing each other in circles, their tails swishing with excitement. Other groups of them lounge by the tranquil stream, their eyes half-closed in contentment as they watch the gentle flow of water. The air, filled with soothing purrs of relaxation, truly a paradise for any feline. Reggie takes a look around, his mind relaxes further as he decides to take it easy, he tackles one of the kittens and joins in on the fun as well.
Maxi kicks back inside the lodge, the door left open for when Reggie and the others decide to come in. He sits on the living room couch, his legs resting on an ottoman while his arms cross. His head lowers as his eyes close; “Well, I guess this is my life right now. Playing with fire. Destroyed all forms of technology I had on me, I can't contact anyone that I know, but at the same time, this keeps me from being tracked by any government dogs, as well as the Superhero Branch, not even Loxo…” Maxi tightens his grip on his own arm; “That atorcoppe cares more about the Martian Tabby Extermination Act more than anybody. Good thing those little fellas know not to leave the pasture. All I have to do is just be careful when I’m out in public…”
Maxi stops thinking as he hears the sounds of loud purring in large numbers, he sees a large portion of them roaming the lodge, exploring the interior while still playing. He straightens his posture; “Heh, this reminds me of that one Earth story, One-Hundred-One Dalmatians, except, let’s see, if I can recall, there’s…” Maxi’s eyes focus on each one in the room at the moment; “Only eighty-seven cats. The hell am I saying? ‘Only’ isn’t the appropriate word.” Reggie comes up to him; “Maxi, Maxi, Maxi, Maxi…” He keeps repeating himself, tapping his paw on Maxi’s elbow, he looks at him; “Oh, Reggie! What’s up? You need something?” “I’m hungry. Actually, I think all of us are hungry, some of them have started eating blades of grass.” Maxi stands up; “Oh, right, I forgot it’s feeding hours. I’m not used to not having a clock yet. Yeah, let me go get some food, there’s still a decent amount left from the ship I jacked.” He chuckles. “Check if there’s a Mine Worm, I love those!” Reggie answers excitedly. Maxi walks over to the basement while watching his step; “Yeah, we still have a couple left.” “Yes!” Reggie spins while hopping, excited.
The herd watches Maxi come out of the basement and walk outside, he sets the preserved Mine Worm down on the ground, its segmented body shimmering with iridescent hues, reminiscent of opals glinting in the darkness. Enormous, lidless eyes peering out from its sleek, armored head and rows of razor-sharp mandibles lining its gaping maw. Despite it being dead, it’s still intimidating through its appearance with an eerie beauty to its form. They quickly start tearing at their dinner as Maxi opens up a bottle of beer and takes a swig, exhaling; “Hah! They’re like furry piranhas! It never gets old!” Maxi shouts while laughing. As they’re eating, he stretches his leg and steps onto the roof, getting a good view of the setting sun over the cliffside. “Honestly, I think I’m down for a simple life like this. Just me, the critters, and this beautiful pasture.”
As the sun continues to set, Reggie comes up onto the roof, perching on his shoulder; “So, what are you doing up he-” Reggie pauses mid-question as he gazes toward the sunset, absolutely stunned by the view. Maxi strokes Reggie’s cheek; “Hey Reggie, you were saying something?” Reggie snaps out of his state of awe. “Oh, right, I was wondering what you were doing up here? You’re not going to eat anything?” “Nah, I’m not hungry.” Reggie’s ears fold back, feeling concerned; “But it’s almost been a month since we’ve met each other and I haven’t seen you eat once.”
“Oh, that! Yeah, us Martians are gastropods, and we don’t have proctors, nor do we have kidneys, so each species of Martian convert their waste byproduct into whatever chemical slime said color produces. Slime from a gastropod is mucus that we excrete from our bodies, though it becomes a problem when producing too much as it could harm the environment. So, to avoid that, we do something called ‘false estivation.’ It’s a type of dormancy in the digestive system that allows for some species to go without a lack of food in extreme conditions, specifically hot and dry climates. To do that, we drink a lot of alcohol to make our bodies feel hotter from the sped up heart rate. Hell, I actually haven’t even eaten for almost three years, but I can still do all that I’ve done on just a single meal.” Maxi explains to reassure him.
Reggie holds his paw on his head; “Oh, I see… No, I don’t. All I feel is my head spinning, the only thing I really get from that is all the food here is only for us.” “Well… yeah.” Maxi answers. “Wait, but how are you going to provide us food when we run out of Mine Worms to eat?” Reggie asks, concerned. Maxi finishes taking another swig; “Oh, that’s easy. I’ll just hunt some monsters. This area’s got a good variety of them, so I’ll do that.”
Reggie stays quiet for a few seconds; “Ok, just be careful then.” Reggie continues to watch the sunset. Enjoying the moment, he wraps his body around Maxi’s neck and shoulders, relaxing even more. Maxi watches as Reggie yawns, easing up. He decides to drink some more beer. As the sun continues to dip below, casting hues of pink and gold across the sky, Maxi finds true solace with his companionship for Reggie. Amidst the tranquil moment, his mind drifts, reflecting on the fleeting beauty of life and the bond he’s shared with not just Reggie, but all the other tabbies as well. Silent witnesses to his joys.
April 4th, 2016.
During the middle of the night, Maxi wakes up to see all the others passed out asleep, he gets up and gently taps Reggie’s head; “Hey bud, I’m going hunting. I’ll be back at around eight or nine this morning.” Reggie opens one eye, taking a glance, he closes it as he yawns; “Got it. Stay safe out there. “You bet!” Maxi gives a thumbs up. He puts on a hoodie and walks out the lodge; “Let’s see… the easiest monsters would’ve been the Chupacabras, but that’s too many miles south and passed the Mexican-American border, so… Tentacled Gorillas it is. Off to the beach I go!” Maxi begins running through the pasture, slinging his arm over to a tree branch, grabbing it and compressing his body back to normal, hurling to the tree and swinging out of the pasture.
He reaches the beaches of Gull’s Bay, perching on a lamppost and peering over the shoreline. A few seconds later, he spots a pack of tall ape-like creatures, the Tentacled Gorillas, giant red octopi with enough muscle mass to use their own tentacles to stand up and walk on land. He realizes that they’re engaging in a fight with someone; “The fuck is that idiot doing?! That Earthling should know better than any other race that these beaches aren’t safe at night!” He yells in a panic as his protective instincts kick in, he jumps down and rushes over to the scene while grabbing a pair of curved twin blades from his side.
“You shouldn’t be out here, especially not by yours-” Maxi’s own words get interrupted as the man being ambushed by the octopi pivots on his heel, performing a spin kick to Maxi’s face and sending him flying a few meters. The man is confused by the sudden appearance, he forgets about the monsters, adjusting his visor and runs up to Maxi. “Dude, you ok? I’m sorry for kicking you, you scared the shit out of me!” He offers his hand to help him up.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Maxi looks at him, he reluctantly declines the offer since he’s a bit annoyed by the kick. He gets up on his own; “Yeah, I’m fine. I was coming over to help you out because I thought you were in trouble, but judging by your form, you seem to be just fine.” The man smiles, responding in a laid back and friendly tone; “Is that so? Well, I appreciate it! It’s rare for me to find people that are willing to help me out like that. But what’re you doing out here anyway?” “I could ask you the same thing!”
A Tentacled Gorilla grabs the man, putting him in a bind. Maxi gets his blade ready, preparing to attack, but the man stops him; “It’s fine. Trust me, this is just part of my training.” He answers, not sounding worried at all. Maxi’s head tilts; “Training?” “Yeah.” Maxi glances with a side eye. “Well, that answers my question as to why you’re out here. You’re using these guys as training. You wouldn’t mind me killing those things though, right? I’m out here hunting.” “You hunting for sport?” The man asks. “No! No, why the hell would I do that?! I’m hunting for food.” Maxi retorts instantly. “Alright, go for it.” He responds. “Thanks! I’ll just kill the one binding you last then.” Maxi dashes toward the others, using his twin blades and slicing the nerve between their eyes, killing them near instantly.
The tentacled gorilla vice gripping the man turns around and realizes what’s happening. It puts one of its tentacles towards the man’s neck, he realizes what it’s trying to do. “Hey! Martian!” Maxi’s attention instantly shifts toward the voice, he sees that the beast is attempting to keep him hostage and threatening to snap his neck if he doesn’t stop killing his pack. Maxi catches the creature off guard by throwing his arm forward, it stretches and travels in an arch, the dark sky preventing the approach from being seen. His hand reaches and the blade pierces the nerve, instantly killing the monster.
Maxi pulls the blade out as the tentacled gorilla falls to the sandy floor, letting go of the man. As he gets up, Maxi swiftly cuts down the rest of the pack, the man walks over to him with his hands in his pockets as he finishes. “That’s for helping me back there! I’ve never seen a move like that before, you’re strong! I’m surprised we haven’t met yet!” “Oh, I don’t really go out that much. But yeah, no problem. Who are you, if I may ask?” The man pops his shades up, putting them on his forehead, making his hair move up a skosh; “I’m Elio. What about you? What’s your name? Also, just another question, you said you’re hunting for food. Why do you need so much food? These creatures are massive, and yet you killed like twenty of them.” Elio speaks quickly.
Maxi pauses for a second, playing it as though he’s just surprised by the fast questions; “Oh, my name is Geoma-” “No it’s not.” Elio interrupts him. Maxi pauses instantly; “His whole attitude just changed! I thought he’d be somewhat of an idiot, but he knew instantly?!” He takes a deep breath, side eyeing him; “How can you tell that’s not my name?” “When people lie, they experience a thing called the ‘Pinocchio Effect,’ it’s an increase in temperature around the nose and in the orbital muscle in the inner corner of the eye.” “But you couldn’t seriously know that just from sight!” “I generate and manipulate heat, meaning I can detect the change in temperature for anything within a 10-meter radius.”
Maxi goes silent, Elio can sense the stress that he’s feeling, he takes out his phone, turning around and chucking it far away on the beach. He looks back; “You cool with answering that question now?” He asks. “This Elio guy, I didn’t sense any hostility from him. He’s definitely strong as well, and with what he just did, he has great awareness. Alright, I’ll answer him…” Maxi takes another deep breath. “I’m Maxi Flav.” Elio’s surprised; “Well, now I see why you didn’t want to say your name when my phone was on me! This night just got stranger!”
Maxi readies his stance, his twin blades glinting in the moonlight; “So, since you know my name, what is it you’re going to do?” He asks with some paranoia. Elio holds up one hand, his stance completely relaxed. “I’m not gonna fight you, I know exactly why you’re hunting now. I saw the news story back in December, a giant aircraft was reported missing, the same one holding a large herd of Martian Tabbies.” “You serious? You’re actually chill with a criminal like me being here?” Maxi asks.
“Criminal or not, you saved my life, so I’m not going to fight you. Also, I love studying animals, I’m an expert on them. If anything, I’d be more curious to see all those Martian Tabbies in person.” “Is that so? Then if you see a cat, how do you approach it without making it run away?” “Well, that’s easy! I just force my approach and annoy them, which makes them want to stay.” Maxi immediately throws his arm forward, grabbing Elio’s shoulder and slinging toward him. He stops in the sand and pats him on the shoulder; “Glad to see you’re not lying about knowing animals!” He answers with enthusiasm.
Some time passes, Elio eats a tentacle that he fried with his heat manipulation while listening to Maxi talk. “...Yeah, and then when I get back to the lodge, I walk inside, and I kid you not, there was a fucking Wendigo head in my living room. SKINNED, might I add! Its eyes and horns were still intact, but it was there!” Elio swallows a bite and starts bursting into laughter; “That’s hilarious! So you’re saying a Wendigo showed up and all those tabbies banded together and chewed its head off? And then put its head in the house as a present for when you returned home?!” “Yes!” Elio only starts laughing more; “I know I shouldn’t be laughing because that must’ve looked disgusting, but that’s just so funny!” “I’ll admit, it was pretty funny to see, thankfully I didn’t have to clean up the thing. I let them know they could have it, they went to town on it…” Maxi shutters; “The sound of their teeth scraping the bones rubbed me the wrong way though.” “Like nails on a chalkboard.” Elio responds.
“Yeah…” Maxi then stands up, brushing some sand off his shorts; “Well, I better get going. I have a long trek back.” “Alright then. Great talk by the way, it’s nice talking to someone on the same wavelength.” Elio stands up as well. “For sure. Oh by the way, Elio? I need to ask something.” He starts picking up all the tentacled gorillas. “What’s up?” “Well… after getting to know you a bit, I figured that if anything were to happen to me, would you look at the little ones for me?” Maxi asks sincerely. Elio pauses for a bit, a bit stunned by the sudden question and hearing such a request; “Wait, really? Are you sure that you want me to do that?” “Of course. You’re strong, you have great power, and you’re good with animals.” Maxi affirms.
“Then I’ll do it.” Elio answers while bumping his chest with his fist. Maxi sighs in relief; “Thank you, Elio. You’re doing me a huge favor here, I appreciate it.” “Of course, man! Last thing I’d want is to know if someone or something needs help and I just sit around, not bothering to.” Elio smiles. Maxi nods; “That’s good to hear, you’re a good kid. Don’t let people tell you otherwise. Anyway, I better get going. Take care.” He starts walking away, but Elio starts following. Maxi looks at him, confused; “I threw my phone this way.” Elio takes a bite of the tentacle. “Oh, right.” Maxi nods as a small silence passes while they walk; “There we go.” Elio picks up his phone from the sand. “Alright, I need to get some sleep. I got school in the morning, I’ll see you around-” Elio stops himself from saying his name. Maxi nods, acknowledging his awareness, he starts walking toward the mountains again as Elio pockets his phone and runs the other way while taking a bite of his food.
Maxi treks for while up the mountain road, softly humming a Martian tune; “In the crimson glow of Martian skies, Where the red sands stretch and dust flies, We dance in the starlight’s gleam as we live out our cosmic drea-” He pauses instantly as he feels something suddenly spike into his thigh, stopping halfway through. The object that had punctured his thigh then explodes, blowing off his right leg and sending him hurling high into the air. He drops all the tentacled gorillas by mistake, soon plummeting to the ground, hitting the dry, rough road. His blood, a dark blue hue, begins spilling, leaving him hyperventilating, left to process what had just happened.
He raises his hand from the puddle of blood, putting it on his face, only to quickly take it off as the shock wears off. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Maxi agonizingly wails, his cry echoing through the mountains, even reaching the pasture. Reggie, as well as all the others, wake up to the sound of it; “What was that…?” He asks, confused. “Wait, that… that couldn’t have been Maxi, right?!” He stands up, now concerned about the thought of him in trouble. Reggie rushes to the door, but can’t get it open; “No! Come on! We’re locked in here!” Reggie backs up and charges to the door, failing to bust it down and only hurting his head.
Maxi struggles to move as he just keeps looking at his leg; “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, it hurts! I can’t move!” He grunts, unable to move an inch. After a bit, the sounds of footsteps can be heard, getting closer, a group of government agents, all pointing guns as they surround him. One taps his earpiece; “Target subdued. We’ll be bringing Maxi Flav in now, over.” He reports, a voice comes through from the other side; “What about the Martian Tabbies?”
“We haven’t found them yet.” “You shot Maxi when he was alone and not wherever he was hiding them?!” The person behind the line yells. “Our mistake, with all due respect, this is Maxi Flav we’re dealing with-” “I don’t care! Just bring him here! I’ll interrogate him!” The person orders irritably. The agent puts his pistol away and picks up Maxi, carrying him over the shoulder and begins walking with the other agents. They bring him into a van, as they drive off, Maxi has stopped making noise from fatigue; “What’s… happening? I can’t see straight… Reggie…”
The van makes its way through Gull’s Bay, parking in front of an administration center, the agents clear out while bringing Maxi with them. They walk inside, moving down a series of halls until they reach a room, they open the door, Loxo is seen in the room, eating a giant bug. She swallows her meal; “Good, you’re here. Now leave.” The agents nod silently, setting Maxi on the floor before walking out of the room to leave it guarded.
Loxo looks at Maxi laying on the floor in pain; “Maxi, it’s been a while. If you’d please, just answer my question.” “Fuck you.” Maxi retorts instantly. Loxo grabs a salt block from the desk and walks up to him, crouching over; “Listen, I don’t want to have to use this more than once.” She presses the block of salt on his wound, he yells in agony as his wound shrivels and dries up, closing and stopping the bleeding. She sets the salt down; “Now talk.” Loxo speaks in a cold, demanding tone. “No! I’m not telling you anything about where they are! I know that’s all you care about!” Maxi utters.
Loxo picks him up by the side, she uses her middle arms and starts pressing against his side with immense physical strength; “Talk.” Maxi still refuses. “Talk.” She repeats herself, slamming Maxi on the floor. She then backhands him in the face, her urticating hairs poke through his skin. “If you don’t talk, I’ll make sure every hair on my body skewers you.” She begins to start pummeling him, causing blood to drip from his face.
Loxo stops slamming her fists into his face, pulling back one of her punches, she takes a deep breath; “Ok, then let me ask you a different question. I don’t understand, but why are you putting your life before the lives of an illegal species? Do you not care about the countless people that could be helped if you just let us deliver them to where they have to go?” She asks calmly. “They’re my pets, they’ve been my pets for months now, that’s enough reason for me to wanna protect them. What I wanna know is why do you care so much about getting rid of these ones in particular? I can understand wanting to exterminate the ones in other parts of the world, but why the ones on Mars? They’re… they’re from Mars, where they’re supposed to be.” Maxi retorts.
Loxo makes her top hands grab the desk behind her, she then leans on it while sitting down. “How do I get him to give me the location? I’m so used to using my looks as a way to scare people into giving me the details, but he’s just not budging.” Loxo’s eyes begin to widen; “Wait, if he won’t give me a lick of information, why don’t I just keep him? If he’s in my custody, I can just keep trying to press info out of him. Doing that, there’s likely two outcomes. The first is he’ll eventually crack and I’ll be given the location, the second being he won’t, but if I keep him for one week, those tabbies should starve to death by then. I’m really praying for the former, as optimal and likely as the latter is, it’s utterly barbaric to let anything starve to death.” She ponders.
Loxo just looks at him; “Maxi. Let’s just talk, alright? It’s clear that I’m not going to get anywhere with these questions. So why don’t we just get to know each other instead?” “Come on, take the bait. If I can just know you somewhat personally, I’ll be able to keep those Martian tabbies from dying by starvation.” She hopes. “What are you trying?” Maxi asks angrily. “Nothing, I’m just giving up on this interrogation. The mission almost went well, then you snapped my arms, which took nearly four months for me to make a full recovery. I finally find you again, and you won’t cooperate, and I can only be so patient with a mission. Sadly, I’m not allowed to let you go, so I’m just going to keep you around for the hell of it.”
Maxi becomes perplexed from what he hears; “I can’t get a read on her. Her voice sounds convincing, but I can’t detect any sign that she’s lying. Dammit, I’ve gone without technology for so long that I can’t remember the signs of a lying person besides Earthlings. It’s best if I just roll with this until I can hopefully fight again.” He thinks as critically as he can. “Ok.” He answers hesitantly. “That’s good to hear!” Loxo responds, enthused; “I’m surprised you actually believe me! Though then again, it might be because most Earthlings here are arachnophobic, so my appearance makes them uneasy.”
“Right… anyway, how did the agents know where I would be? That’s what I’m wondering…” “Oh, that? That one Earthling you were talking to earlier, Elio. He had his phone on him, when you said ‘Geoma’ and he heard your lie, I had one of the agents track the coordinates of his device. To prepare, I had four different vans park in various spots, specifically ones where you would likely be heading in the direction of. That’s how we were able to track you.” Loxo answers. Maxi groans irritably; “What pisses me off is that I’d rather the outcome be Elio ratting me out, but no, I just had to have bad luck after meeting a genuine person!” “Come on, Reggie, just hold out with the others until I come back. Please!” He prays.
April 11th, 2016.
Reggie’s stomach growls loudly as he continues to chew the door while the house grows louder from the rising hunger between the Martian tabbies. “I hate this… I’m starving, everyone’s getting violent with one another, the noise is hurting my ears. Maxi, where are you?!” He worries, eventually chewing through the door and making a hole big enough for him to crawl through. “Oh my God, finally! I’m finally out! Don’t worry Maxi, I’m gonna find-” He stops as his nose picks up a bad scent; “What is that?” He turns around to notice one of the tabbies is yowling, her kittens lifeless on the floor. Reggie’s ears fold back in sadness; “No… her babies couldn’t get their nutrients because the mother couldn’t have enough nutrients. I need to find Maxi quickly before the others start dropping as well!”
Reggie turns around and begins to hobble his way over to the stream and starts to drink tons of it as though he were a sponge absorbing water. While he’s drinking, he spots a tarantula on the other side of the stream, he pounces on it and begins to eat it ravenously; “It tastes so horrible, but I’ll just eat anything at this point!” He finishes chewing the spider and swallows it. The shock of having food allows him to run again, he leaves the pasture, ready to find Maxi.
Loxo sits in a room by herself, pondering as she takes deep breaths; “Dammit, it’s been a week and I didn’t get a single bit out of him. I just feel awful for those critters, nothing deserves to starve. I give up.” She gets up and walks out of the room. She looks at the agents guarding the door, speaking with a tired tone; “Those Martian tabbies are likely dead from starvation. Just release Maxi Flav, there’s zero purpose in keeping him in custody any longer.” She walks away, all six of her hands in her jacket pockets.
The agents glance at each other, both equally confused by the order, but they quickly go back to acting professional; “Right.” They say in unison. Loxo walks out the administration center; “This mission was just… that wasn’t right. Having my arms broken being the best part of the whole experience, I don’t even know how to feel about that. I just hope the paperwork for the mission report gets filled out soon.” She reflects as she looks at the seaside. Feeling the salty breeze, she decides to try and take her mind off of it by going for a walk.
April 12th, 2016.
Loxo sits in a sports bar, patiently waiting to be notified that the report is finished; “Come on… it should’ve been done in just a few hours. Why are these people so slow with it?” “Your party pack, ma’am.” A server tells her as he sets down a large platter of wings. “Thank you.” “Enjoy.” The server replies as he heads over to another table. She puts two wings up to her chelicerae and injects each fang into them, melting the wings partially and slurping them down.
Loxo finishes her meal, she then places down some cash. As she gets up off the stool, the TVs in the bar are interrupted by a sudden news report, making her eye the closest one. After a minute, she rushes out of the bar, sprinting through the streets of downtown Gull’s Bay, many Earthlings move out of the way, frightened due to their arachnophobia. “What the fuck is wrong with them?! I told them to release him, not take over and try to squeeze out more information! Those cats are already dead!” Her mind races, unaware of her surroundings as she almost causes an accident. A truck isn’t able to stop on time as it’s about to hit her, but Loxo swiftly puts her hand on it, sticking to the hood and using her strength to push herself upward. She flips over the truck and makes her way to the sidewalk, she continues running.
Loxo makes her way to the Gull’s Bay Hospital, rushing inside to the front desk, she puts her middle hands on the desk to catch her breath while her bottom right arm reaches into her pocket to pull out her superhero ID. She tosses it up to her top right arm, presenting it to the receptionist; “Which room is Maxi Flav in? I need to speak with him, it’s urgent!” The receptionist looks at the ID; “Fifth floor, eleventh room. Though with the condition he’s in, it might be hard to speak with him.” “Thank you!” Loxo responds, putting her ID back in her pocket and taking the stairs up to the fifth floor and reaching Maxi’s room.
She opens the door and steps inside, closing the door after and looking at Maxi, she becomes appalled by what she sees; “They salted his whole body?!” She walks over to Maxi, his body’s once vibrant hues now muted, ashen grey. His own body shrunken, desiccated and withered looking. She speaks with a worried tone, but a quiet voice; “Maxi, it’s me, Loxo.” Maxi breathes unsteadily, slowly shifting his gaze to see her. “What… could you possibly want? Can’t you see… that my answer… is still ‘no?’” He speaks with resent. Loxo shows her shame in her voice; “I’m not here for that. I’m just… I’m sorry about how this ended up for you.” Maxi glares at her; “I need you to elaborate on what the hell you’re talking about. I’m like this… because of you…” He coughs after finishing.
“The reason I kept you in custody for a week was because I didn’t want the Martian tabbies to die in such a cruel manner. I was afraid that if I didn’t figure out their location within that week, they would-” “They all starved to death… that’s what you’re saying, right?” He interrupts. “Yes.” Loxo answers bluntly, Maxi lets out a weak sound that was meant to be an exhale of frustration. “I felt horrible after the week had passed, I didn't even care that the mission was done, I just wanted to save them from starving. As for what was done to you, I told those Earthlings to let you go, as there was no reason for them to keep you in custody any longer, but for some reason, they decided to keep trying to squeeze information out of you.” She explains herself. “That… is true, they wanted me… to leak the location. I wouldn’t say a word, so… they did this to me. I believe what you’re saying… even though you were attacking me last week, you never did it again after the first time.”
Loxo nods; “You get what I’m saying now, right?” “Yes… I understand now. Despite the goal… you just wanted the mission to be finished in a quick… and easy manner in the most humane way possible. Knowing that you were planning on letting me go… at least you have sympathy. I’ll forgive your reasons… though… could you do me one favor, please?” He asks weakly. “Yeah… I can do that. What do you want me to do?” She asks sorrowfully. “I’m… likely going to die in a few hours. Could you open the window for me? I like the salty breeze from the beach… it soothes me.” He asks, sounding weaker and more raspy.
“Yes, of course.” Loxo nods and she walks to the window, opening the curtains and sliding the window open, allowing air to blow in. “Thank… you.” Maxi says happily, but weakly. He takes in the breeze; “You can go now… I’d just like some me time…” He requests. Loxo nods, leaving him to rest, she hops out of the window proceeding to put her hands on the wall, clinging to it. She shifts her position, facing downward, she moves down the wall a bit before sitting on it. She slumps her arms and sighs, an hour passes as she reflects on the mission as a whole.
A couple of hours pass as she still sits there, she then sees something on the floor below. She’s unsure of what it is and decides to get a closer look, silently getting lower to the ground. “That’s… no way! That’s a Martian tabby!” Her eyes widened in realization. She acts quickly by jumping onto the roof of a shorter building next to the hospital, as she lands, she spots an air vent and rips the cover off of it. She takes a deep breath before looking back at the open window; “Come on, little guy, please follow where the noise is going to come from.” She chucks the vent cover at the wall, hiding just beneath the windowsill. As it thuds, Reggie immediately turns his head and looks up, seeing the piece of metal fall down.
The vent cover hits the floor; “I don’t know if that’s where Maxi is, but it can’t hurt to try and find him in there.” Reggie immediately takes off running, scaling up the wall, dashing as fast as he can. His paws grab onto the windowsill and he props himself up, hopping over and landing on the floor of the hospital room. He notices the shriveled up man, unaware that it’s Maxi, he perches onto the bed and takes one sniff, his ears instantly flattening as his pupils dilate in shock, fear and disgust; “No! Maxi! What happened?!” He shouts at him, realizing why he was gone for so long.
Reggie nudges him rapidly with his front paws; “Maxi! Maxi! Answer me! Give me a response! Please!” He cries pathetically, trying to get his attention. Maxi can’t see or hear anymore, silently waiting for his death. Reggie bites him to try and get a reaction, but as they sink into his skin, Maxi doesn’t react, all Reggie’s given are the sounds of the electrocardiogram beeping. He gets frustrated, trying to get his attention, he lets go of the bite and takes out his claws. Reggie attempts to get his attention by clawing at him, easily slicing up his skin due to its dryness, he loses blood, which makes Maxi react as his body moves a bit. He stops clawing and crawls on his stomach, staring him in the face; “Maxi! It’s me, Reggie!”
Maxi doesn’t hear a thing, he just lays there for a bit as the electrocardiogram beeps faster due to the loss of blood. He utters as his consciousness begins to fade faster; “I wish Reggie were here…” Reggie stares at Maxi. His ears fold back as he tail tucks around him, his hairs standing up. The electrocardiogram goes flat, letting out a long beep, Reggie’s eyes begin to tear up; “I… was here…” He answers faintly as more tears start to fall, sitting there in silence, knowing that Maxi had just died right then and there. Reggie curls up and lays on top of him, feeling heavy and depressed.
Several hours later, Reggie picks up the sound of footsteps from the hallway outside the room; “I’m sorry, Maxi…” He gets up and sprints toward the window, jumping onto the windowsill and diving out, landing on the building next to it, falling into a trash pile. He crawls out of the trash, limping, trying to avoid being spotted. During that moment, a nurse walks in to do a checkup on Maxi, quickly noticing the flatline.
Later in the night, a news report comes out, addressing the death of Maxi Flav, during the middle of the report, Loxo gets a notification on her communicator. She taps on it; “What is it?” She asks, tired and empty. “The mission took longer than expected, but we just received word of the situation from our allies on Earth. You can come home now, you’ve been gone for too long, so take it easy.” After hearing that, Loxo decides to just disconnect from the line. “Yeah… because I totally deserve one…” She mutters ruefully as she walks through the streets.
April 26th, 2016.
Torrential downpour unleashes its fury, drenching Gull’s Bay’s streets in sheets of rain. The relentless deluge overwhelms storm drains, causing minor flooding in low-lying areas. Pedestrians hurry, seeking shelter as the coastal wind whips through the city. Reggie stumbles into an alleyway, freezing, soaked, and injured, unable to catch any food due to his fatigue; “I.. can’t keep going…” Reggie falls over next to a dumpster, too weak to get up. As he lays there, he hears someone’s feet sloshing as the noise gets closer to him. Elio scoops up Reggie with one arm and partially tucks him inside his coat to keep him warm. Reggie freaks out and starts hissing as he attempts to break free by kicking him.
Elio smiles softly while looking at Reggie; “It’s ok, I’m not here to hurt you. I feel awful about what happened to you, loss is a horrible thing to go through. I lost someone dear to me as well, so I know how you feel. I’ll keep you safe, I can promise that.” He speaks soothingly. “He knows?” Reggie wonders, relaxing without realizing due to his tone. “There we go. Don’t waste your strength, just relax…” Reggie fully calms down upon hearing it, using some of his energy to cling onto Elio’s body, feeling the warmth.
Elio continues to smile as he begins walking, adjusting the umbrella he’s holding so it can keep the water from hitting Reggie. “So… you have a name?” Elio asks jokingly. “Reg..gie…” Elio is surprised, but keeps his composure so as to not frighten Reggie. “Oh, you can speak! That makes it a lot easier. So your name is Reggie, I like it. I’ll be sure to protect you from now on, Reggie.” “Thank… you…” Reggie purrs. “Of course, anything for you. I’m Elio, by the way. Just call my name if you need anything, I’ll be there.” Elio tells him. He wipes the gunk from Reggie’s eyes, making him feel safer. He nudges his head on Elio.
May 31st, 2018. 7:40 PM.
Reggie yawns after finishing the last of the water; “That’s what led to me meeting Elio, which is also why I have so much faith in him and will never leave his side.” Gendross looks off to the side, putting his hand on the back of his head; “Shit… I can’t believe that’s how Maxi went out though. Knowing why he cut himself off from technology makes sense now. I’m glad you met Elio as well, I can’t help, but respect him for doing all that because Maxi asked him. But, I’m left wondering, what happened to the other Martian tabbies?” Gendross asks.
“Apparently, when I was gone, before Elio found me in that alleyway, he discovered the location of the pasture and when he opened the door to the lodge, all he saw were the dead bodies of my herd. He figured out that they became so hungry and ravenous that they started fighting in an attempt to eat each other.” Reggie answers, sounding unphased. Gendross has a look of revulsion; “That is… that must have been a nightmare to hear.” He answers, shocked. Reggie just licks his paw; “Yeah, it was bad. But I’ve learned how to move on, and frankly, I’m just glad to be here now.” He answers nonchalantly. “Oh by the way, Gendross?” “Hmm?”
“What time is it currently?” Reggie points at Gendross’ communicator; “It’s seven-forty. Why?” “Oh geez! Alright, thanks, cause I better wake up Elio then!” Reggie shouts as he hops off the desk and runs over to go and wake up Elio.