A week and a half earlier
⋮ᒷꖎꖎ╎ᒷ's POV-
She blinked her eyes open.
She happily mewed up at Scar, brushing her tail against his leg. It had taken him long enough to wake up! The sun had nearly fully risen! The cat dashed out of the quite literal treehouse and leaped off the side of the bridge into the lake. Quickly looking back to ensure Scar was following her, she dashed into the forest of bamboo. She had found a whole family of parrots over the night and couldn't wait to show Scar!
She was in a cell.
A sound of rockets filled the air, and she peeked out from behind a clump of bamboo. That wasn't Scar. No, it was Xisuma. The bee person stopped in front of her and crouched down. "Hey, Jellie," he said. She cocked her head. "I need you for a second. Okay?"
It was a small cell; one might be able to fit another one of her in it. It had a glass door.
She was being picked up by Xisuma. No, no, no! She had to show Scar the parrot family! One of them even looked like Grian's little bird! The cat struggled in Xisuma's arms, but he held tight and began to fly off, away from the village.
Two people stood outside of the cell, one in a black suit, and one in yellow armor.
Where was he going? This wasn't the way to his base, right? Surely not. In fact, this seemed to look like Mumbo's base. Why was Xisuma bringing her here?
She flicked her tail. She felt so terribly wrong, but so right at the same time.
What was this? A button? Xisuma placed her on a shelf and pressed a stone button, opening a door on the floor. There were stairs here? They weren't there before. She had to show Scar this when she got back home! Xisuma picked her back up and the two began to descend the staircase.
One of the people outside crouched down to meet her eye level. It was the one in the suit.
Soon enough, Xisuma arrived at the bottom. She glanced around. Huh. A laboratory? There was one-- no, two-- more people here. There was Mumbo, in some kind of... box, and... Mumbo? There were two Mumbos, and one had orange eyes. She mewed in confusion.
She knew this person, yet had only seen him once before. His orange eyes met her own. She blinked.
What was the green-eyed Mumbo doing in a box? He looked upset. Was he scared? She turned up to look at Xisuma. She meowed loudly. Hey, Xisuma! Mumbo's not happy in there. Can't you let him out? Apparently, Xisuma didn't understand her, because he just looked at the other Mumbo.
Something clicked. She smiled a bit.
She mewed again, pawing in the direction of the box normal Mumbo was in. The orange-eyed Mumbo turned to her and smiled. She didn't like that smile. Her tail fluffed up, and her eyes narrowed. She didn't like him. A low growl resonated in her throat. The other didn't frown though. He kept smiling. And Xisuma turned around. There was another box. A smaller box.
She stepped forward. The person outside smiled too, beckoning to the other.
What was that?
The suited person opened the glass cell door.
Xisuma opened up the top. He whispered something she couldn't quite make out, and then he began to lower her in the box. No. She didn't want to go in there. The cat struggled, her dull claws desperately clawing at Xisuma's armor. But they just bounced off, not leaving a scratch. Xisuma's eyes widened slightly, but she kept struggling. She kept fighting. But it didn't work. Xisuma dropped her into the box, shutting the lid quickly. Jellie was trapped.
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.
A sound from across the room piqued her attention, and the cat spun around to where Void and Sage were communicating in hushed voices. She couldn't make out much, but her name was definitely being thrown around a bit. Hmph. Citrus licked down a stray tuft of fur that was sticking out before walking up to the two people. She nimbly leaped onto the top of the cell she had been in before calling out, "Would you two mind including me in this conversation about myself?" Her voice sounded innocent, but a hint of sarcasm was not-so-subtle as well, and she cocked her head, her big eyes glaring petty little daggers into Void's own.
Sage coughed uncomfortably, his face flushing just a bit. "Ah, right. Yes." He recomposed himself, before continuing. "Void and I were discussing whether you should be going back outside already, or if you should remain in here for at least a few days."
A few days? Citrus scoffed. "Well, I can answer that perfectly fine." She flexed a paw, her claws stretching. "I don't need to stay in here like some sort of kitten, thank you." She wasn't useless.
Sage seemed to hesitate for a moment, but Void nodded. "My point exactly." He stared at Sage pointedly until the moustached person sighed, then turned back to Citrus. "You want to go now?"
Citrus nodded. Of course she did. Her only memories of the outdoors were hazy, for one because they weren't hers, and also because something told her that being a cat didn't gain her very good remembering skills to begin with. Ah, well. Something she did remember distinctly was the feeling of the sun shining on her fur, which was a lot different than this stuffy room, extremely far from the fresh air. "Absolutely."
X walked over to a wall right beside the stairway, where a stone button was installed on the wall. Turning back to Citrus, he gestured to the stairs. "This button will open the door at the top. It doesn't stay open for long." He opened his mouth to say something else, but Sage spoke from across the room.
"I installed another button at the top while you were out," he corrected. Citrus turned around to see Sage speaking as he dug through a chest. "It's quite useful," he finished, without looking up. From where she was standing, the cat could make out just the slightest glint of something in Sage's eye. Hm.
Citrus turned back to X, who blinked. "Oh."
The cat held back a snicker and bounded over to the steps. "That's that, then," she cooed. Something inside her was itching to go outdoors, though she had no clue why. She didn't even know why she was going outside, or even existed, for that matter. Ah, well. She'd surely find out soon enough. "Shall we go?"
Void nodded, and the two quickly made it to the top. Well, one of them was much quicker than the other, but Citrus could hardly blame Void for only having two functional legs. Void pressed a slightly out-of-place button on the side of the wall and the ceiling opened up, revealing a few more steps and a sun glare directly into her pupils. The cat adjusted to the sunlight and bounded out of the stairwell glancing around. Having memories was one thing, but experiencing outside for herself was oh so much better. Citrus's tail flicked as X emerged behind her. "It's a lot nice than down there, isn't it?" Citrus turned around just in time to catch something flicker in Void's eyes behind his visor, but disregarded it. "Come here, I want to show you something."
He led her over to a shelf where another button lay uncovered. "This is to open back up the staircase," he explained as Citrus hopped up to get a better view. A thin line of red dust led to somewhere or other; Citrus didn't really care to look. She nodded. Void somewhat covered it up with a few trinkets and notes, as he continued, "Make sure to cover it back up when you're done. We don't want someone to find it."
Surely people would find it regardless, right? The Hermits couldn't be that daft. Could they? Regardless, Citrus nodded. "Understood," she said, her high voice resonating in the tall-roofed room.
Glancing around, the room wasn't all that fancy. There were some waterfalls, which were interesting-- though from where she stood she could only hear them-- but the thing that caught her eye was columns and rows of scaffolding outside the far arch. The cat hopped off of the table and meandered over to the mess. Looking up, her eyes landed on a section of cobble, stone, andesite, and other rocks that was beginning to be replaced with chunks of iron, concrete, and quartz. It wasn't the prettiest thing in the world.
"He's been doing.... work... on Mumbo's base," said Void's voice from behind her. Citrus, slightly startled, turned around to see the bee-suited Hermit staring up at where she was looking. When he noticed that the cat was staring at him, Void looked back down. "If you're ready, I have Scar's coordinates pulled up, and we can teleport near there."
"Yes," Citrus said with a nod. Her ear flicked as she continued. "Though I don't exactly know what I'm supposed to be doing. Would you mind enlightening me?" It would be rather hard for her to accomplish anything if she didn't know what she was accomplishing. Was Void expecting to tell her?
Apparently, he hadn't thought of that, because Void seemed to falter before hastily saying, "Right. Citrus, your task is to observe Scar and any other Hermits you come across. Come back every day, every other day, as often as possible, to report your findings." He said this so matter-of-factly as if it was perfectly clear. It wasn't unclear, though Citrus still had questions.
"Alright, but what things really matter?" She questioned, cocking her head. "I don't suppose you want me reporting back on what they had for breakfast."
Void seemed to have almost chuckled. "Anything of importance. Whether someone may be suspicious of Mumbo-- or me or you, for that matter-- for one." Citrus nodded along. She wasn't certain how much she'd find, but at least she didn't have to stay cramped up in the lab all day.
"You got it. I'm ready," she said with a grin.
Void nodded. He held his arm out and Citrus climbed on. He typed a few things into his communicator band, and suddenly, everything changed.
The two weren't standing in Mumbo's-- Sage's-- base anymore. In fact, they were standing right near a few buildings. Void let Citrus down and nodded to her, and instantly the cat's attention was drawn over to the sound of voices, specifically Grian and Scar's. She turned back around to Void, but he was gone. Well, then. It was time already.
The next moments went by in a flash of exhilaration. The first thing Citrus heard was Grian explaining something to Scar, but as she sneaked forward, she realized it wasn't just anything. It was plans to investigate Mumbo's base. What luck that she was dropped here just now, she already had something important. Citrus inserted herself in, approaching from behind the large, oddly familiar-looking building. She saw the glimmer of utter relief in Scar's eyes as he scooped her up. It was strange and mildly uncomfortable, but ah, well. She didn't remember much after that... could she have fallen asleep? How disappointing.
Scar was an interesting person. He certainly cared for his little cat a lot. Enough to disregard any slightly off things about her. Enough to not even fathom that she might be someone else. In a way, it was almost pitiful. Citrus almost felt bad for him.
Almost.
---
Scar hadn't gone far after his conversation with Grian. He only went across the Shopping District to work on something or other, Citrus wasn't paying much mind. She knew that was poor form, but it was only building. It wasn't like he was sparking a conspiracy while he worked. That night, Scar slept in the District, and that gave Citrus the perfect chance to slip away.
Now, if she could figure out a way to get to Mumbo's easily, that would be great. As she slipped away from Scar's work in progress, her amber eyes landed on a glowing purple portal-- a Nether portal. That would do. After a bit, she managed to find the right portal to end up right where she wanted to be: the base. Nether portals were quite convenient.
Pressing the button, covering it back up, and descending the stairs, Citrus arrived in the room, causing the conversing Sage and Void to look up at her. "Hello," she chimed in her high, saccharine voice. "I'm back."
-(Author's Rambling)-
:)
Okay, I promise, no more Citrus chapters. They're just fun, alright? And I'll be better at being consistent! I've just had a rather rough time lately and little free time to spend.
As always, thanks for coming, and see you next time, my little Readers!
Promise out!