"My friends will be here soon."

"Can�t stay here! Must go!" Kari barked, sliding a long, heavy sword under her belt, "They�ll know where we are! We don�t have long!"

"What? How?" Jayce stepped back as Kari reached out and touched the small silver stud in his left ear, then the one in hers.

"Trackers."

"Why didn�t you say so sooner? We�ve go to get them off and�" She grabbed his hand as he moved to remove the earring.

"You can�t. It�s explosive. Break the circuit, it goes."

"Damn�. Gillian will figure out a way to get it off� We have to go now!"

"Go where?" Jayce swung around to face cold gray eyes behind silver rimmed glasses. Kari immediately moved in front of Jayce, her sword drawn. Falco chuckled.

"What�s so funny?" she hissed.

"You, my dear. Don�t think him capable of defending himself? You obviously don�t know him that well, does she, Jayce?" Ice met fire as they locked gazes for a moment.

"Why? Why do this to us?"

"Why, child? Can�t you feel it in you? The power running through your veins? You�re the perfect beings. Not just a typical felidae, but one possessing the greatest aspects of both humans and cat. You are the height of my work, my greatest masterpieces."

"Change us back."

"I�m afraid I can�t do that."

"Why not?"

"Well, the melding process leaves something to be desired. It�s� how would you say it� a one-way street. I can�t undo the process. Nor would I." Jayce looked at the floor, his feet, the tip of his tail swirling around his ankles. Rage boiled inside him.

In a second, before he himself was aware of it, he stood with a sword tip pressed under the doctor�s throat.

"Kill me, if you think that I�m lying. Either way, you remain as you are." Falco�s eyes reflected colder than the mirrored steel. Kari watched with gleaming eyes as a droplet of blood appeared where the blade touched flesh. Jayce�s hand wavered for a moment, the thin rapier still steady at the tip. Jayce�s eyes narrowed.

"Pftah!" Turned his head away, and dropped the sword to his side. He heard a hiss of frustrated disappointment from Kari as he lowered his head. Falco smiled.

"That�s a good�" Falco gasped as the sword came up like lightning and slashed an inch-deep gash in his chest. Jayce� body spun like a top. Falco crashed to the ground as Jayce�s heel made contact with his jaw.

"Come on!" He grabbed Kai�s wrist and both left the doctor on the floor, blood pouring down his face and body.

"GET THEM!"

"Kid�s on the move� and fast!" Herc whistled as he watched the little blip on his radar screen, "Hey, kid! Pick a spot and stay in it! We can�t chase you all over this place."

"Sorry, Herc, but we got trouble on our tails and it�s closing fast! Try and.-" Dead air.

"Jayce? Come in, kid!" Nothing, "DAMMIT!" "At least we still have him on radar." Gillian pointed out.

Falco approached the two cats tangled in the energy net. He dabbed a trickle of blood from his mouth away with a tissue.

"Oh, yes. Far beyond my expectations, but also far below my hopes. I had such plans for your futures. But you�re so set on defying me.. I suppose I must learn to choose subjects who are not so� strongwilled.." Falco turned to the drones that had quickly hunted down the two cats. "Kill them."

"Understood." Two pairs of slitted eyes closed tightly. Jayce felt warm arms pull protectively around him. Ears now sensitive to minute sounds heard the powering up of laser banks, and a more distant, somewhat familiar whine�

Jayce�s eyes snapped open as Drill Sergeant erupted from the ground. The drones weaponry bounced off the armored side of the vehicle. Returned fire easily scattered them. Jayce sighed with relief and got to his feet, dragging Kari with him. Flora jumped out of the vehicle and ran over to him. She stopped short, staring at him with wide eyes. Oon, too, bounding from Armed Force in one leap, stopped to stare.

"M-master Jayce? Is� Is that really you?" Jayce reached out a clawed hand to touch his squire. Oon shivered and pulled back a bit. Jayce�s claws curled out as his fingers curled into a fist. He shut his eyes tightly, not noticing as blood dripped down his wrist and onto the cold tiles from the gouges he was cutting in his palm. He looked down with confused eyes as he felt small hands touch his.

Flora took one of her pompons off and pressed it against the open wounds, hoping to stop the bleeding. She looked up at him, some fear still flickering in the emerald depths of her eyes, shadowed by concern. Jayce smiled, then crumpled to the ground, holding his right shoulder.

Crimson flowers bloomed on the white field of his tunic. The bolt from the energy bow had embedded itself deep in his shoulder muscle. Oon was at his side in an instant, panicked.

"Master Jayce, what do I do."

"Get down!" He saw Gillian and Herc approaching, "Stay back!" He warned, eyes focused on the madman before him.

The wounded cat growled softly, his ears flat against his skull. Falco moved carefully, keeping Jayce in firing range. He had intended to kill him but his hands were not as steady as they once were. Jayce�s lips pulled back in a feline stalk-smile. Four crescents of ivory-white gleamed silver under the gently-humming fluorescent lights. The crouched stance he had adopted gave the appearance of a hunter about to strike.

"You�ve turned on me. Look. You�ve drawn your first blood. I�m proud of you, kitling. It�s the first step to becoming the killer I wanted you to be." Jayce narrowly missed another bolt. His lean body arced out of the way. The energized metal burned the tip of his ear, and he could smell the singed fur, so close had it come.

"I don�t want to fight you. Let us go in peace and�" He dodged a third bolt, but could not et out of the way of a rapidly fired fourth. It pierced deep into his left thigh.

Herc looked on for a moment, stunned, then shook himself back to reality at Jayce�s pained yowl.

"What am I doing just standing around here?" He quickly drew his pistol and aimed at the doctor�s head. Jayce�s command froze his finger on the trigger.

"STOP! Don�t kill him." He struggled to his feet, and collapsed again. His friends moved to help them, but he waved them back. Using his tail as a balance, he managed to take a semi-upright position. His head tilted up to stare the doctor in the face, a cold light burning in feral eyes.

"I understand your fear. I made you, and I can destroy you. You can�t kill me. Without me you are nothing."

"No, you�re wrong," Jayce breathed, near-trembling from pain, "I don�t fear you. If I did I would have let Herc shoot you where you stand. I would be safe with you gone. But I don�t fear you. You�re little more than a sick old man who took what could have been used for good and twisted it in order to play god with others. I�ve seen the others. Seen your earlier attempts. Some were begging for an escape from the life you dealt them. You denied them that. Even those who wanted death. Were you so afraid of your own creations that you had to keep them chained by their necks to the wall? It�s you who fears. You fear what you�ve created because you know it�s more powerful than you could ever hope to be. You surround yourself with these� drones� and hope they�ll protect you from what you�ve done."

Jayce moved closer, limping slowly, to the shaken scientist. Falco didn�t move as the cat�s whiskers brushed his face. Jayce slowly took the crossbow from the doctor�s shaking hand. He spoke softly, almost purring.

"They�re free now. We released them from the sublevel control room before you found us. I�ll let them be your judge. You see, despite all your efforts, it�s still against my nature to kill. That�s the only reason I haven�t torn your throat out." Another smile, another flash of inch and a half teeth. The cat turned back to his friends. Kari ran to him and lifted him into her arms as he collapsed.

A distant howling echoed softly in the room.