Song of the Chapter: Fat Cat  Adventures - Tut Tut Child (Glitch Hop)

Not a Monstercat video because something strange happened and their Old Songs: New Layout and EP Songs: New Layout channels are gone ...

And of course, I had a similar unfortunate event happen to me a month ago and I still hurt, in case you're wondering.

(Phantom's POV)

I only sleep for a couple hours before waking up around five, feeling rested and refreshed. I roll out of bed, careful of Braken, though he's about to fall off of his side. The morning is still cloudy, it looks like, but it's not raining anymore. I keep my sweat pants and my purple t-shirt on and pull on my shoes, heading to the door.

"What're you doing?" Noisestorm mutters.

"Going on a run." I take off my beanie and throw it at him. "Want to come?"

He closes his eyes and lets it smack into his face. "If you let me get some caffeine, sure." He climbs out of the couch bed and stretches. "I need to get out of here."

I hand him a dollar from my wallet. "Fine, but only if it's like a Dr. Pepper or something. Stephen will kill us both of you're high on caffeine."

He grins at me, takes the dollar, and holds it against his chest. "I solemnly swear I will not get high on caffeine."

I roll my eyes and smack him. "Just hurry up."

He puts on his shoes, brushes his hair with his hand, and shuffles out the door. I follow him down to the vending machine and watch as he shoves the money inside. "I need another one," he says. I sigh and give one to him. He presses the button and a can of some energy drink falls down. He takes it out, pops it open, and starts gulping it down.

"Hey, hey, give me that." I snag it away from him and check the amount of caffeine. "Dude, you can't drink this."

"Sure I can." He grabs it back and downs the rest of it before I can take it away again. I stare at him and he laughs. "Remember how we met?"

"I thought you wanted to forget that morning."

"I do, until I need to prove you're wrong." He shrugs. "If I can drink three cups of coffee in a half an hour, this will be a piece of cake."

I sigh and give up. "Alright, fine. Come on."

We go outside into the chilly morning air and I start to jog. Man, I haven't had a good run in a while. I need to go out more often. We're quiet for a while, at least until Noisestorm's caffeine kicks in. Then he won't shut up. He's jogging next to me, breathing hard and cracking jokes, and every one in a while, he grabs my arm to slow me down.

"Hey hey hey hey we should race," he suddenly says when I pause at the street corner.

"I'm going to win," I say.

"How do you know?" He hits my arm over and over again, practically bouncing up and down.

"Because I just do."

The light turns red and the cross walk blinks green. "Okayreadysetgo!" Noisestorm suddenly takes off down the street, flying past crowds of people and narrowly avoiding getting hit by a car. "Youcanthitmeitsillegal!" he shrieks, jumping away from it.

Stephen is going to kill me.

I run after him, but don't dare call his name, in case anyone's listening. I catch up quickly and reach out to slow him down, but he slips before I can grab him. He falls backward with a yell and lands on his butt. I stare at him and he stares ahead blankly and silently for about a second, and then suddenly swears loudly, scaring me.

"You owe me a dollar," I say, holding my hand out to help him.

He swears again and lays down on his back, grimacing.

"Two."

"Shut up!" he shouts. I start laughing as he struggles to stand back up, yelling in pain and muttering something under his breath.

"I heard that. Three in one sentence. That's five."

"I DON'T HAVE FIVE BUCKS." He takes a step and swears again as he loses his balance.

"That's six. Maybe you should stop swearing." I grin at him and he punches my arm. "What happened, anyway?"

"Hit my tailbone," he hisses. "I think I broke it."

I laugh out loud. "Seriously? Alright, let's go back then. What did we learn from this?"

"I hate you."

"Close enough."

We go back to the hotel, and even though it wasn't very long, I feel better after the run. I was hoping to get farther, but with Noisestorm so convinced he broke something, this will have to do.

"Who has six bucks I can have?" Noisestorm asks when we reenter the hotel room.

Most of the others are awake, but still laying in their beds, or in Rogue's case, draped over the chair and staring at the floor.

"Why do you need six bucks?" Nitro asks. Dang it, why does he keep coming in here?

"BECAUSE I BROKE MY F---IN' TAILBONE, THAT'S WHY."

"Seven," I say.

"SHUT UP, PHANTOM. NO ONE LIKES YOU."

"You do," Rogue reminds and Nitro bursts out laughing.

Noisestorm swears at both of them, calling them something I won't repeat.

"Eight," I say. "Why don't you go shower and calm down?"

He does, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Maybe he needs to get a bigger vocabulary," Au5 says with a shrug, the first thing I've heard him say in a couple days.

"NO ONE LIKES YOU EITHER, GOLDIE," Noisestorm shouts from inside the bathroom.

About three hours later, Monstercat calls us all into another meeting to decide how to rescue Tristam, though most of them agree to let me and possibly Aero take care of it and don't show up. I'm relieved to see Braken thoughtfully eating some crackers when we sit down. I smile at him and he returns it sadly.

Noisestorm jumps down on the bed and then yelps in pain. "SHIIIIINIKEYS," he yells, catching himself before he swears again. I pat his head nicely and he punches my arm.

"Alright," Monstercat says, standing in the middle of the group. "First thing's first. What do we know about these guys?"

"Nothing," Rogue says.

"He's right," I agree. "We don't know hardly anything about them. Only where they've been."

"And that they like to chase us and want us before the MI gets us," Nitro adds.

"They know my real name," Rogue says. "I don't know the significance of that, but ... "

"What about that building? The one we were supposed to sneak into?" Braken asks quietly, staring down into his lap.

"What if the same thing happens again?" Noisestorm counters, his arm subtly sliding around me, not quite touching me, but getting close. He's worried. No one's been worried about  me in a long time. His leg is bouncing on the floor and his fingers drum against his knee, but I can't tell if that's a nervous habit or if he's still filled with that caffeine.

"It won't," Aero says. I wish I had his confidence. "Plus, it'll only be me and Phantom. No one else will be there to slow us down."

Braken flinches. We all know Aero was talking about him.

"Why can't I come?" Monstercat asks.

"Because," Aero says, "two people are easier to sneak in. Adding a third would bring up problems, especially if that third happens to be a literal monstercat."

Our alien friend grumbles, but doesn't fight him.

"So we'll go tonight, to the building, and sneak in." I glance at Aero to confirm it. "We'll stick to the shadows and only fight if we have to. We'll grab Tristam and get out, hopefully learning something about these guys."

"You make it sound so easy." Rogue sighs and adjusts his helmet uncomfortably.

"I'm not good at planning," I admit, "but so far, all of my plans have worked."

"Ish," Noisestorm says.

"Ish," I repeat.

"We'll be fine." Aero leans back and stretches his arms.

"But they weren't last time," Braken says quietly.

Nobody says anything for a while. He's right. We said we'd be okay, and instead, Tristam was captured.

Monstercat sighs. "What else are we supposed to do? I guess we'll have to wing it."

"I am good at that." I smile to cover up my nervousness.

We break the meeting and the rest of the day passes uneventfully. At about nine at night, just before we're going to leave, everyone files out of the room and Noisestorm pulls me aside.

"I'm worried about you," he says softly.

"Why? I'm always okay, aren't I?"

"But this time ... " He rubs the back of his neck nervously. "This is bigger than you've ever done. You have to get in with another person and get out with two. Face it. You're not good at working with others."

He's right, but I don't dare admit it. Instead, I stay quiet.

"Phantom, I'm really worried." His voice has dropped to a whisper. "I have this sick feeling in my gut ... something bad is going to happen. I know it. Please, just stay here. Let Aero take care of it."

"You know I can't do that." I crack a smile to lighten the mood. "And are you sure you're not sick from that caffeine this morning?"

"I'm being dead serious." And he is. It almost scares me. He's rarely ever serious. "Phantom, I can't loose you. I have no one else to turn to. You know that."

"I know." I look up and meet his gaze. His eyes are afraid. He doesn't know this, but I'm afraid, too. I have to stay strong, for him. "But you know what? It'll be okay. I'll come back alright."

"Promise?" he begs.

I smile at him, and open my arms up, inviting him. He hesitates for a second, and then grabs me in a hug, one arm over my shoulder, the other around my waist. His fingers are gripping me tightly, as if I'm going to vanish. A moment later, I feel him relax, and I let myself relax as well. Like I noticed earlier, I feel safe with him. He's trembling, barely able to stand up, and I hope he feels safe with me, too. It's the least I can do.

The door opens quietly, but we don't move. I expect someone to comment, to laugh, or something, but that's not what happens. Aero quietly says, "It's time," and then closes the door again, leaving us alone.

"Promise me you'll come back," Noisestorm whispers, still holding me close to him. I can feel his heart beating against his chest, hard and fast. He's more than afraid. He's terrified.

I know that this mission could result in my capture. I know I could get seriously hurt. I know that if I promise him and fail, I'll loose his trust, his trust that I've so carefully gained. He doesn't trust people easily.

"Yes," I whisper, tightening my grip around him. "I promise."