After another long day, night falls again. I'm sitting in the Southern Tunnel when an idea strikes me.

Why not escape the tunnel? The entrance is almost right next to me. I can still guard my section out there. It feels pointless to stay in this disgusting place.

The idea feels so tempting that I do it right away with barely any hesitation. I stand up, turn around, and crawl up the path to the exit.

Once I leap out, the cool and inviting breeze greets me. The indigo sky gives me a thrill, even though I've seen it many times by now. My tail sticks up in the air, and I purr out loud with joy of being out of the tunnel. I'm so happy that I only notice the two silhouettes turned towards me a few seconds after my brief celebration.

The warmness in my chest turns to ice. My entire body freezes with dread and pure fear as my ears connect with my head. Two pairs of glowing eyes, one green and the other yellow, meet mine. Both of the black figures are poised low, as if they were about to pounce on each other before I came along. They are only about ten tails away from me.

        I nervously stammer, "Uh, sorry, I didn't mean to walk in on you. I just needed to stretch my legs, that's all-"

        My voice cuts off as I take a closer look than before and realize who the two cats are.

        Ash and Ice.

        I see Ice's actual eye color as he steps forward to meet me. "I knew you were somewhere nearby," he growls with a tone that sends shivers down my back. "I am afraid you ran out of strikes a long time ago."

        Despite the electric fear running up and down my spine, I narrow my eyes and hiss, "I'm not on your side. I choose to be a rebel, and no one can stop me."

        Ice stares straight into my eyes, beating my glare with a much more menacing one. "You are very mistaken," he growls, "and I have enough of your snarky attitude. You shall slowly die under my claws. I suggest that you finally accept your destiny, Forest."

        Before I have time to react, his weight slams into me, and my back hits the ground. I desperately try to kick him off with my back legs, but he is positioned between them, out of reach. He is too heavy for me to even try to slip out of his grip. Ice's gigantic, powerful paw forcefully presses into my throat.

        Panic overtakes me. I can't breathe. Ice is choking me. I don't know how much time passes by, but black spots begin to dance in my vision. Cold blue eyes unblinkingly look down on me as I try to plead for mercy, to scream for air.

        But I can't even whisper. I can't even breathe.

        My vision becomes more distorted. I feel my life slipping away second by second.

        Why do I have to die like this?

         Swoosh. The weight is suddenly thrown off me. Fresh air flows back into my lungs as my body collapses onto my side. I'm so much in shock that it takes me a minute to recover and process what just happened as Ash and Ice appear in my line of vision once more.

        "I will not let you kill Forest," Ash snarls. He is on top of Ice. However, a moment later, Ice manages to skillfully escape him, and he ends up standing next to his brother.

        Ice replies, "I do not see how Forest's death can be a loss for you or me. All that he is useful for is for causing trouble."

        I stumble to my paws. My throat is sore, but I manage to fight back, anyway. "Causing trouble?" I spit. "Why kill me? If I really bother you that much, then just take me back to Earth. That's all I ever wanted in the first place!"

        Ice doesn't even look at me. "That would take too much effort. Besides, why should I give you what you want when you have not fulfilled what I want?"

        Ash interjects, "Forest is not going anywhere. He will not die, either." His fur is not ruffled with anger, but I hear a hint of harshness in his voice. Ash turns and walks toward me. He stops when he is right in front of me.

        My muscles stiffen with discomfort, and I start to back away, but Ash says with a gentler tone than before, "Relax. I will not hurt you."

        I stare at him in silence. What does he want from me?

        "Forest," Ash continues, "it is clear that you are not a Superior spy unless Ice is staging something with you."

        I interrupt his speech. "What? Why would I be a Superior spy? And most of all, why would I be trying to stage something with him?"

        "Exactly, which is why I am confused as to why you have the amount of power in your soul that is equivalent to one of a Superior cat's."

I fall completely silent, left without any words. How is that even possible? My gaze proceeds to stare into his eyes, waiting for the point of what he is trying to say.

Ash states, "This is not exactly new. While it is not very common either, I have seen Earth cats like this before on the Superior side."

        "I still do not understand your point, Ash," Ice growls, appearing next to the other tom. "What does the power of his soul have to do with his usefulness?"

        I notice that they are the same height as each other. A shiver crawls down my back as I realize that the only physical differences between them are their eye colors and the white spot on Ash's chest.

        Ash still stares straight at me as he retorts with a monotone voice, "If you are still wondering about that, Ice, then I believe you have acquired some memory loss."

        Ice doesn't reply. There is a dangerous glint in his eyes. His entire body is still; he doesn't even twitch a single whisker. But then I look down and see his unsheathed claws. Swallowing nervously, I absorb all of those hints as warning signs and slowly take a few steps back in case I need to run.

        Ash also happens to steal a glance at Ice's claws. He roughly pushes them with his own claws and growls, "Don't even think about it." He pauses, but not long enough for Ice to answer. "A while back, I have learned about something else I can do with my power. Perhaps that alone nudges your memory, Ice?"

        Ice gives Ash a cross look and gives a single nod with his ears tilted downwards. "Ah. So you want to do that to him. Now let me arouse your memory by saying that last time you did that, it worked out well for the Superior side."

        Ash grimaces. "That was only a coincidence. It was not my fault." He slightly raises his head from its bowed position to look at me. "Forest, you seem like an honest type of cat, so I will ask you. Do you think you would be able to handle a power?"

        "Power?" I stammer. Confusion clouds me. "What type of power? You can do that?"

        Ash sits down to be at eye-level with me. "Let me explain. I found out some time ago that if I can sense that a cat possesses enough strength in their soul, I can exchange some of that energy inside of them for a power that they can use. It is like transforming into a Superior cat."

        "What do you exactly mean by the strength in a cat's soul? What is that?"

        "Truthfully, I am not certain. I am the only Superior who specializes in this type of magic, and I have not fully learned about it, yet. All that I know is that everyone is born with it."

        Ice mutters, "In other words, Ash somehow dabbles with a risky, abstract substance that should probably not be tinkered with."

        Ash ignores him.

        I feel slightly unsettled by all of this, but the idea of possessing a power feels very tempting. One more question that should be answered lingers in my mind, though.

        "I'm thinking about it, but...what happened last time you did this?" I meow.

        Ice slowly glances at him, and Ash sighs. The amber-eyed cat explains, "There was a rebel cat that came from Earth and escaped from one of the camps, just like you. He even looked like you. I did it to him. Soon after, he switched sides because he seemed to change heart about the entire situation after he got a taste of what being Superior really means. He also fell in love with a cat on the Superior side. After that entire catastrophe, Rain came up with the new rule for all rebels."

"The one about never leaving the rebel side?"

"Correct."

         Silence reigns in the air. Frustration tears through me. Of course I'll never leave the rebels; what does he think?

        Should I agree to let Ash do it on me? I'm perfectly fine with who I am, but I'm also curious about what would happen.

        Ice quietly snorts, "I do not object to this. If you want to try to lend another cat to our side, then let it happen. Either way, Forest will die anyway unless he proves to be a useful weapon for me."

        I furiously glare at him. First I'm a prisoner, and now I'm a weapon? I continue my thinking. Will this affect if I will be able to go back to Earth?

         However, by Ice's behavior, it's pretty obvious that I won't be back for a very long time at best and forever at worst.

        Whatever. Why not?

        I shake out my fur and gaze up at Ash. "Fine," I meow decisively, "do it."

        Ash doesn't say anything. A few seconds later though, he stands and narrows his eyes at me. "Very well, then."

        With that, as Ice watches, Ash closes the remaining space between us and puts his muzzle on my forehead. "This may hurt," he murmurs.

        After that, he begins to say a series of unrecognizable words under his breath. In the middle of doing that, he firmly plants a front paw on my chest. I'm so startled that I almost fall over.

        Suddenly, Ash stops his whispered ramble of words. And suddenly, pain explodes in my head and heart. I make an attempt to turn and run away, but my legs are attached to the ground. My jaws open, and a terrified, high-pitched screech escapes from them.

         Once the blinding pain subsides and my mind is able to function again, my entire body is sprawled on the ground.

        A deep voice drags me out of my confusion. "Are you alright? You passed out."

       I peer up at Ash. Yikes, I was so out of it that I didn't even notice that I fainted.

        "Yeah," I croak. My voice is hoarse, but that's all that is left after what Ash did. My head and heart feel fine, which is strange since both felt like they were on fire seconds earlier. Uneasily, I get back on my paws.

        What happened to me?

        Ash and Ice stare at me, both with wary looks in their eyes. I look back at them.

        "I don't feel any different," I say. "I feel the same."

        Ice pads over to Ash and briefly mutters a few words into his ear. Then, he steps towards me. His claws are unsheathed again. "This is a good time to kill you, then, unless you want to switch sides."

        "What? No," I hiss.

        "Apparently, you are now a Superior, correct?" Ice tilts his head towards Ash for an answer.

        "Technically, yes," Ash replies coolly. He stays still and just observes Ice as he continues to stalk towards me.

        Ice narrows his light-blue eyes. "Then join me. Superior cats were meant to rule Gardinia. They were born for it." He halts when he is inches away from my face. The night-black tom drops his voice in a sharp whisper. "Join or die. The choice is yours."

        "No!" My scream echoes throughout the entire field. I have enough of him.

        And that's when it happens. Soon after, the gigantic explosion comes back to my head. My heart also throbs with pain. My eyes stay wide open in shock as my body stretches out strangely. I can't even describe what is happening, but this time, I don't pass out. I know this because seconds later, I am still standing.

        But even though I'm standing, I'm somehow in a new body. Before, I was shorter than Ash and Ice, but now I am much taller than them. Ice is now standing next to Ash. Both of their fur is ruffled, and their eyes are widened to the point that their eyeballs could fall out of their sockets.

        As I look down, I also realize that I am on only two legs, and that they are covered in some foreign material. Finally, I stare at my front paws, or whatever they are right now. Up to this point, I was just extremely puzzled, but now, I know what I am as I look at them.

        My so-called 'front paws' are not covered in fur anymore. They are covered in skin. My arms are also clothed with the strange material.

        I now understand. I remember the creatures I lived with back on Earth, the humans. Humans are very tall. Humans cover themselves with...whatever I have on me at the moment. Humans have skin instead of fur.

        Once I finally figure it out, the panic spreads quickly. I am just as terrified as Ash and Ice. My jaw drops open once again as I let out a scream.

        I am no longer feline.

        I am human.

~~~~~

Happy New Year, everyone! I plan to update this book more often.

How did you guys like this chapter? I've been looking forward to write this scene in forever. Feel free to comment your thoughts and vote. 😊

-Midnight