Unrecognizable

~(The Real) Chapter Twenty-Three~

She stepped out, and the suited person lifted her in his arms. "Hello, Citrus," he said with a grin. "My name is Sage. It's nice to meet you."

"Hello," she responded like it was something she has done many times before. Her voice was high, like the voice one would use while talking to a pet. Woah, okay, she wasn't expecting that. And it seemed Sage didn't expect it either, as he suddenly dropped her and stepped back as the cat quickly maneuvered her feet to land on all fours. The bee one, who she now remembered as XisumaVoid, nodded, smiling behind his helmet.

"See, Sage? I told you it'd work," he said. He was clearly attempting to have a matter-of-fact tone, but he also sounded like an excited puppy. He then bent over to where Citrus was, her tail swishing as she continued to process all of this. "Hello, Citrus. I expect you at least have a general idea of what's going on?"

The cat nodded. Well, she thought she did at least. She pretty much knew everything the other cat-- Jellie, that was her name-- did, but with some extra pizazz. Having woken up so suddenly with someone else's memories was disorienting, but the initial offset had since worn off. "Yes," she vocalized. The words slid right out of her maw as if this was all a normality. Citrus wasn't complaining; this made communication much easier. "I do. Though, I'm not entirely sure about everything."

Why this was even happening, for example. The cat wasn't completely omnipotent. She knew everything Jellie did-- which wasn't much-- and she knew the truth about this world. That was all. And, frankly, it was rather annoying, not knowing things.

But one thing she did know, was that the suited person-- Sage-- was special. Citrus didn't know what it was about him, but it just clicked with her. He felt... right. Her whiskers twitched as she studied the person.

Soon enough, Sage and XisumaVoid-- Void would work, she decided-- began to converse, and Citrus began to explore the laboratory.

Her investigation began with the cell right beside the one from which she emerged. It was connected to her own via a metal pole, and a computer-like screen sat in the middle of the two. The cell, like her own, was about three feet tall, with the pole going up another two. And inside the cell was a very familiar face. Her fur pricked, and her claws slid out automatically, somewhat shocking the cat, as she stared into the lime green eyes of Jellie. Her own pupils dilated, and she narrowed her eyes a bit, causing the identical cat to back up a bit. Almost reluctantly, Citrus slid her claws back in. Why was she feeling like this? It was as if every particle of her being felt some sort of unreasoned hatred towards Jellie.

But this didn't quite affect her negatively. She didn't understand her hatred, but she wasn't rejecting it either. Her lips curled into a small, twisted smile as she turned away from the other cat, her tail swishing rhythmically. The next thing she noticed was a similar cell, if only on a much larger scale. She couldn't make it out at first, but she stepped in front of the cell to see a shadowed figure sitting in the back, drumming its fingers on the floor idly. Seemingly noticing Citrus, the figure stood up and walked to the front of the cell, crossing its arms as it stared through the glass cell at the cat. "Wh- Jellie?" 

Citrus chuckled, her tone high and nearly squeaky. "Not quite! The name's Citrus." She found it a bit odd that Mumbo seemed to not have been paying attention at all. Had he been spacing out the entire time? 

It was no wonder he was stuck in there if this was the height of his attentiveness.

Mumbo's eyes narrowed. "Of course he'd pull something like that," he muttered. "You'd think he'd avoid doing that again after last time..." Citrus's ears perked up at this, and her tail flicked in curiosity. Last time? She hadn't heard anything of this. Perhaps Sage or Void would enlighten her. A small tug in the back of her mind wondered why they neglected to already, but she shook it out, turning away from the captives' cells. They merely hadn't had the time to yet.