The Feline Rebellion

Chronicles of the Doomcat

Part Seven: The Feline Rebellion

Author's note: Most of the dialogue in this fic is in the Cat language. I'm not going to write "Meow" or give any indication they're talking in cat, so just assume they are. By the way, this part has very little to do with the overall plot of the story. It just seemed like a nice little side story.

And, in case you missed it the first time, the Cat language isn't nearly as complex as what's been written. Articles (the, a, etc.) and other words have been added for ease of reading.

Swimming is a thing no Doomcat should go too long without. Destroyer Angel decided this as she swam through a lake of cool water, utterly content. She was at least twenty feet below the surface, fully submerged, enjoying the feel of water moving through her feathers as she swam using her wings to help propel her.

She was glad she insisted they stop and land on this apparently uninhabited planet. She and Spirit had argued over it a bit, but Angel persisted, saying that a Doomcat had to be able to handle all types of terrain, including water. Besides, Spirit could sun on the savannah-like lake shore.

What was that dark spot? Time to investigate!

"Hey, Spirit," En said, sitting under a tree beside the small white cat. "Where's Angel?" Neither Spirit nor the Doomcat had bothered to tell En- who had been sleeping at the time- what was going on.

"Swimming," Spirit replied, watching the flat lake surface for disturbances. Angel should be coming up to breathe soon.

"Swimming? Cats hate water!"

"Yes, notice how I'm all the way over here, well away from the wet."

"But she likes it?"

Spirit shrugged. "I don’t get it, either."

"Hey, wow! A dark spot just appeared underwater! It's huge!"

"What? I don't see it." She climbed the tree to get a better view and ran right into- a leopard??

The leopard looked unhappy about being found out.

"Can you tell me what that dark spot is?" Spirit asked him.

"That is the monster," he replied.

"Monster?"

"It feeds on whoever gets too close. No one has ever gotten close and lived."

"Oh, great."

Before either cat could utter another word, the dark spot broke the surface of the lake- a great, beaked, tentacled, snake-like creature, with Destroyer Angel wrapped up in its coils.

"It has claimed another victim," the leopard mused.

Destroyer Angel was more annoyed than anything else. This creature had the nerve to attack the Doomcat? It would soon regret this decision.

Destroyer Angel clamped her jaws down onto the tentacle, biting deep. She raked her claws across its flesh. At the same time, she used her wings to try pushing the coils away.

The pain weakened its grip, and Angel got free. Before she hit the water, it grabbed her in its beak and dove under.

It was trying to drown her. Good luck, Angel thought.

Now that she was closer to the head, she could attack it more effectively. Ignoring the fact the monster was trying to crush her, she clawed at its eyes and nose. She stuck her paw in a nostril, extended her claws, and slashed.

That did the trick. Not only was having a fuzzy paw in one's nose unpleasant, but the sharp pain that followed was excruciating. The monster let its prey go and dove for deeper water.

Angel, who hadn't had a breath for a while, swam upwards. As soon as her nose breached the surface, she took a nice, big breath.

Doomcat: 1, Monster: Zip.

She swam towards the shore, and walked up, bedraggled and waterlogged. She shook off as much water as she could.

"Nice one, Angel!" En cheered.

Instead of answering, Angel coughed up water and sneezed. Her wings were only partially folded, and dripped water.

"Hey, are you okay?" En ran over to her. Still coughing, she nodded. Spirit and the leopard also came running.

"What kind of great being are you? You faced the monster and lived?"
Destroyer Angel regained her composure, puffed out her chest in soggy magnificence, and said proudly, "I am a Doomcat. No monster in the water or out can defeat me."

The leopard seemed excited. "I- no, the entire feline kingdom- need your help!"

"You do?" Angel's official demeanor dissolved into a curious one.

"We are oppressed by an evil god-king. For ages we have been trying to overthrow him, but he is too powerful. The elders speak of a prophecy-"

"A prophecy?"

"Yes, of a great cat who comes and defeats the god-king, and delivers all the cats from his tyranny."

Angel looked to Spirit. "Do you think I could be that prophecy? Maybe there really was a meaning to my creation?"

Spirit saw the hopeful look in Angel's eyes and felt bad for her friend. "I wouldn't get my hopes up just yet." Spirit turned to the leopard. "Can you take us to your elders? We need to know more before we decide to help."

"Of course!" The leopard made to go.

"One moment please," Spirit said. "We need to discuss something alone." The leopard nodded and sat a distance away. Spirit, Angel, and En huddled in a circle.

"Something smells fishy," Spirit said.

"Sorry. It must've been from the water monster."

"Not you! How did cats wind up here? Cats are from Earth, not some dinky planet in the middle of nowhere! And elders? In cat society? As I recall, cats don't hold their elders above any other cat."

"I'll have to take your word on that, Cyberkitty. I've never been in cat society."

"Ditto," En said.

"Well, I used to be part of it, and I can tell you cats don't care about their elders. Anyways, they also don't have gods or royalty, so having a god-king seems suspicious."

"So what do we do? I'm the prophesized one! I can't just pack up and leave!"

"Angel, I wouldn't let that prophecy go to your head. The Seer knows more about what she's talking about than some silly leopard."

"So what do we do?" En asked. "Pack up and leave?"

"I have a better idea. En, go out and do some investigating. Angel and I will hang around these cats for as long as we can."

"You're trusting me with investigating all on my own?"

"We don't have much of a choice. I don't think the cats will bug you. You're a Dinofelis, and bigger than most of them, so they ought to leave you alone. Come back when you find something."

"Okay!" Entropy was about to take off running when he stopped.

"Um, where do I go?"

Spirit got the leopard's attention. "Which way to the god-king?" The leopard pointed. "That way, En."

"Good luck!"

"Catch you later!" En ran off.

"Right. So, take us to the elders, please."

"Of course." The leopard led the way.

Spirit decided this cat society wasn't completely screwed up when the leopard, whom she mentally called Spotty, took awhile to fund the leopard elder. Leopards are solitary, like most cats, and are very good at hiding. Spirit didn't know whether to be disappointed or pleased when Spotty came back with only one leopard.

"Where're the rest of the elders?" Angel asked.

"The lion elder is resting under that stand of trees over there. The cheetah elder is hunting."

Angel understood now. The elders weren't just leopards. It seemed like every cat specie had an elder.

"We will meet at nightfall," the elder leopard said. He was missing a fang, and had scars along his back.

Dang, Angel thought. At latest, it was mid-afternoon. She'd have to wait all day.

The savannah quickly turned into a jungle, and then a desert, and then a forest, and then mountains. En had no trouble crossing any of them, since the climates were small. They were nice to look at, too.

On the other side of the mountains was a huge palace. En, though he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, figured the god-king lived there.

En walked down the side of the mountain and into the palace. Cats didn't build palaces, did they?

Inside, there were no signs of life. The palace was lavishly furnished, but there wasn't anyone around. If he weren't walking on paws, En's footsteps would've echoed off the walls of long halls and vast rooms.

"Oh, not again," a fat, oily voice to Entropy's side drawled. En looked at the- what WAS it? It seemed to be feline, something like all the big cats crammed into one fat body.

"I do so hate it when the wildlife forgets its place," the feline continued.

"I don't think I count as wildlife. I'm not from around here. I'm a Transformer."

"Really, now? Me, too." The feline feigned interest. "Well, since it is apparent you missed the warnings, this is a private planet. Unless you leave immediately, I will contact the authorities and have you declared an outlaw."

"I just have a couple questions: What IS this place?"

"This is a cat refuge."

"Are you the god-king?"

The feline chuckled. "That is what they call me."

"Well, that's all I needed to know. Bye!" En turned tail and ran out of the palace.

"Cats don't meet up in huge groups. This is wrong."

"You said that already, Cyberkitty."

"Well, it is." Spirit was disturbed by how many rules she had been raised on were being broken. Angel took things in stride.

Every kind of cat imaginable showed up- lions, lynxes, caracals, ocelots, pumas, jaguars, tigers, snow leopards, and many more.

The sun sank, and the elders gathered in a big circle- one elder representing each specie of cat. Spirit and Destroyer Angel took their places in the circle.

Spirit noticed another big difference between Destroyer Angel and her predecessor. Destroyer Angel knew she was representing her kind, and did it well- her wings were folded perfectly against her back, her chest was slightly puffed out, and she held her head high. She knew she had to make a good impression, and was doing a spectacular job of it.

"This meeting has been called," the tiger began, calling everyone to attention, "because the prophecy may be fulfilled. The Deliverer may be among us." All eyes turned to Destroyer Angel.

Skeptical, the clouded leopard asked, "And what ARE you, exactly?"

"I am the Doomcat. My name is Destroyer Angel."

"I don't believe it. The Deliverer isn't supposed to come for a long time yet." Many cats nodded their assent.

"She is not the Deliverer."

Angel's spirits shrank.

Spotty, sitting in the shadows, spoke up. "But she fought the water monster and survived!"

"That is true," the serval agreed. "She may not be the Deliverer, but maybe she can lead us to defeat the god-king."

"Angel! Spirit!" En came running up. When the elders saw him, they looked like they'd never seen a Dinofelis before.

"Excuse us for a moment," Spirit said. The Transformers left the circle and huddled again.

"Did you see him?"

"Yeah, and get this: he's a Transformer!"

"Things are making more sense now."

"He says this planet's a cat refuge, and if we don't leave, we'll be declared outlaws!"

"Uh, En? We ARE outlaws."

"That's right! So why do we care?"

"Exactly."

"Yeah, the guy's a jerk. Can't even decide what animal he is."

"Right." Spirit said in a definitive tone, "Angel, you're going to lead a feline rebellion."

Angel was about to say something, but was interrupted by an elder.

"We have reached a decision," the elder announced.

"And that is…?" Spirit and company rejoined the circle.

"The Dinofelis will lead."

"WHAT?"

"He is bigger than the Doomcat. He is a better choice."

"Hey," En said, "I may be bigger than Angel, but she can beat the slag out of me anytime she chooses."

"Is this true?" an elder asked Angel.

"Yes."

"Then you shall lead. What is your command?"

"Uh… Spirit?" Angel said quietly.

"What?"

"I can't command them."

"Nonsense! Try it."

"No, I can't. It's a programming thing."

"Well, try anyway."

Angel opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She kept trying, but the only thing that happened was a twitch in her eye. She couldn't utter a sound. Then, she got an idea.

"I declare Spirit the leader."

"What?" Spirit looked dumbfounded.

"I can't command, and besides, you're a much better leader than I'd ever be."

"But-"

"I have been programmed, however, to relay orders. I can do that very well."

"No!" the elder tiger spoke up. "We will not be led by a… small cat." All cats in the area started talking amongst themselves. Spirit said something, but it was lost in the din. She told something to Angel, who nodded.

"SILENCE!" Destroyer Angel's command rang out, effectively shutting up each and every cat. Spirit again said something to Angel.

"She may be a 'small cat,'" the Doomcat said in a military manner, "but she knows what she's doing. You will follow her or no one at all."

The cats nodded meekly.

"Your orders, Spirit?"

"We move out when the moon is highest."

"You heard the cat! Prepare for the feline rebellion!" All cats busied themselves, getting ready for what was to come.

"Wow, Angel!" Entropy exclaimed. "I didn't know you could do that!"

"It's amazing what a little programming can do."

"And you really can't lead them?"

"Nope. I can't issue commands to large crowds. My functions are enforcing and punishing, not commanding."

"But you can relay commands."

"Yep. The Vok did that so they could command from afar."

"Makes sense. They don't like getting their hands dirty."

"Nope," Angel agreed.

The moon was high. Destroyer Angel flew over the area, counting the number of cats who would be taking the trek to the palace.

She landed, reporting to Spirit, "Three hundred and eighty-two."

Spirit nodded sagely. She wasn't sure why so many cats felt compelled to go to the palace, since it would be Angel doing the hard part, but, so long as they didn't slow Angel down too much, it was okay.

"Are they all ready to move out?"

"Yep!"

"Well, then, give the order."

"Attention, all felines!" All the cats stopped what they were doing. "Spirit and I will take point. Entropy will take the rear. Everyone else will be in the middle. Understood?"

"Yes." Angel blinked. They were supposed to say "affirmative." It sounded more official. Whatever.

The cat army marched out of the savannah. Well, it wasn't really marching, more like organized walking. They went through the jungle, and then the desert, into the forest, and then over the mountains. The cats had to slow down on the final leg, since they weren't robots and therefore tired out quicker.

After the party rested, they went to the palace entrance and stopped. Most of the cats would stay here, but Angel, Spirit, En, and the elders would continue and meet with the god-king.

En was right about the palace being practically empty. The cats moved through, not knowing where they'd find the god-king.

"Hm, what's this?" the fat, oily voice lazily inquired. He was sitting on a velvet cushion, like some overgrown, pampered housecat.

"Hiya," Angel said with a dangerous edge to her voice.

"Not another rebellion. Didn't the failure last time teach you simpletons anything?"

"It's different this time. They've got me."

"Yes, and what might you be?"

"I'm the Doomcat." She twitched her wings to punctuate the statement.

The god-king was unimpressed. "Well, Doomcat, I am the god-king, and I can summon lightning to strike you before you could lift a paw."

"Really? Me, too." Still undaunted, the god-king pushed a button to generate an electrical strike where Angel was standing, but she'd already taken off.

With a paw pressing against the god-king's throat, the Doomcat told him, "Perhaps you've heard of me. I am Destroyer Angel, the Doomcat. And you are nothing more than a toad who has forgotten his place. I am here to defeat you, one way or another, and it is in your best interest to submit quietly or face my wrath. I possess much more power than any gizmo you can come up with."

"I can have you declared a fugitive. You won't be able to show your face anywhere without being arrested," the fallen god-king choked out.

"Go ahead. I already am. But if you dare cross me, you will face my wrath."

"The wrath of the Doomcat?" Even in the position he was in, the feline sounded skeptical.

"I am responsible for leveling part of Cybertropolis. I could flatten this palace- with you in it- just as easily."

Finally grasping the concept, the feline nodded as best he could. Angel let him go, and he got up slowly.

"I trust you have a way to leave the planet?" she growled. The feline-thing nodded again.

"En," Spirit said. "Escort him to his ship. Make sure he leaves."

"Right."

As En and the feline walked away, Spirit turned to the elders.

"And there you have it. You're free now."

The elders looked at each other. They began talking in hushed voices to one another. Neither Spirit nor Angel knew what they were discussing.

"We have reached a decision," the tiger elder informed.

"Oh." A decision on what?

"Spirit is now our permanent leader."

"What? I don't want to be your leader!"

"It is your moral obligation. You have led us to freedom, and we do not know what to do with ourselves. You must lead us to prosperity."

Spirit was a more then miffed. "Well, then my first act as leader is to retire to my rooms," she replied testily. She left without waiting for a response, with Angel in tow.

There was the sound of a rocket lifting off as Angel followed Spirit into a random room. It was furnished with pillows and blankets, so it seemed like a good place to be.

"Those weak-minded fools!" Spirit paced around. Angel sat and watched. "They don't deserve to call themselves cats! They can't even oust some fat buffoon themselves, and they're too soft to even consider governing themselves!"

"You were a cat once."

"Earth cats are made of tougher stuff than anything here. They can't imagine life without some political figure! It's out with one, and in with another! This isn't freedom, this is just another autocracy! And we can't stick around for much longer. Now that that fatso feline's been kicked out, he's going to blab to the authorities that you did it."

"But I did do it."

"They're going to be here soon."

"They're only after me. If I left and you stayed here-"

"Oh, no you don't, Destroyer Angel! You are NOT ditching me- not here, and not ever."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Cyberkitty."

"And they won't let us leave without a fight."

"I can take 'em."

"It's not you I'm worried about. They wouldn't know what they're getting into."

"Maybe if we run away fast enough? I can fly with you on my back, and En can run."

"Darn that Entropy! He's slowing us down."

"Hey, he helped us out earlier."

"You're right. He did."

"So we're not leaving without him."

"Right."

"Flying into the sunset sounds good to me."

"But what about their government? It'll throw them into anarchy."

"Isn't cat society just above anarchy?"

"You're right. We'll let them sort it out- be real cats."

"We have to wait for En."

"What about me?" En walked in.

"How fast can you run?"

"I dunno."

"Angel, if he can't run fast enough, we won't be able to pull this off."

"Hey, I can run fast enough."

"He can run fast enough, Spirit."

"He's standing right there. I heard him."

Angel grinned impishly.

Spirit explained the plan to Entropy, and the Transformers went to meet with the cats. En announced he was going to take a walk, which was his head start.

"I have an announcement," Spirit proclaimed. All cats respectfully gave their attention to their small leader.

"The society you have built it an insult to feline kind. So I am leaving you."

"You can't do that!"

"Actually, it's very easy. Y'see, my friend here-" Angel puffed her wings and chest to look important- "can fly off, leaving all of you on the ground. I hate saying goodbye so," Spirit jumped onto Angel's back, "I'll just say ciao!"

Destroyer Angel unfurled her wings completely, forcing some bystanding cats away, jumped into the air, and beat her wings as hard as she could. Her impressive takeoff from a standstill was lost on beings who didn't know the first thing about flying, but it didn't really matter. As Angel flew out of the palace, she and Spirit heard, "Get them!" and knew things could get bad.

En hadn't really known how fast "fast enough" was, but he didn't think this was it. Running up a mountainside was like… running up a mountainside. Dinofelis weren't the fastest or most agile of cats, and some of the smaller cats were gaining on him. The snow leopards were taking to the rocky crags like mountain goats. Mountains goats with thick fur, long tails, razor claws, and needle teeth.

And the snow leopards were just the beginning. They were the closest- and gaining- but if they got to him, they'd slow him down enough for the others to catch up.

En heard a rocky crunching sound, and looked down. The ledge he'd just jumped onto was giving way. He leaped and- just barely- latched onto the new edge, where the legde had been moments before. Climbing up cost him precious time.

"Angel! They've got him!"

"What? Got who? Where?" She frantically looked over the forest below them. They'd just crossed over the mountain range.

"Behind us! They've got En!"

"Can't he take them?"

"He's not like you! He's not a fighter!"

"You're right! Hold on tight!" Angel dipped a wing, pulling them into a tight turn. She regained speed, heading back over the mountains.

The slashing claws paused for a moment when an angry snarl rang out and a shadow fell over them. There was a loud THUD in front of him, but he didn't open his eyes.

"En!" The voice of rationality spoke to him. "Open your eyes, dummy!" He obliged. The voice of rationality was owned by a small, white cat. She looked annoyed. The voice of irrationality roared at his attackers in an unfeline, but definitely angry, manner.

"Let's get moving!" rationality- Spirit- ordered. En nodded dumbly. Irrationality- Destroyer Angel- was savagely beating the attacking felines back.

"Is she…"

"Berserk? I don't think so, but she's walking a fine line. Don't get near her."

"But we can't just leave her!"

"We'll fall back to the top of the ridge. It'll give us a good vantage point and-" A puma knocked his former leader back, hard.

"HEY!" En, who was much bigger than the puma, thwacked Spirit's attacker with a massive paw, knocking him out.

"Jerk!" Spirit hissed. She led En to the top of the ridge, seething. A caracal jumped into their path. Without warning, Spirit slashed it across the nose, her claws digging deeper than a normal cat's.

The smaller cats were backing away from the Doomcat, but the ones bigger than she thought they could bring her down.

They were wrong.

Finally, the last cat fell back, nursing its wounds. Destroyer Angel roared a challenge, but none answered. She turned and went to her friends.

"So," Entropy said, ignoring the scratches crisscrossing his face, "if Angel isn't ruled by fate, and we came here by chance, what does that mean for the cats? Were we supposed to come along and free them?"

"No." Angel looked straight ahead.

"What's going to happen when the Deliverer comes? Will the Deliverer come?"

"I'm a Doomcat, not a psychic," Destroyer Angel snapped. She was angry things hadn't turned out the way she'd hoped.

"If the Deliverer comes, it just won't have anything to do, that's all," Spirit explained.

"Wow, that's going to be boring."

"They're just organic cats. Who knows if their prophecy'll come true?" Angel mused somewhat testily.

"Whose turn is it to pick the direction we're going?" En asked, trying to change the subject.

"Mine!" Angel chirped brightly.

"Which way?"

The Doomcat looked all around. "That way!" She picked a random direction, of course.

"Let's go!"

End Part 7.