alley cat, during this entire chapter pretty much:

-ᴍɪɴᴛʏ

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"We really should've seen this coming," Timeline sighed. "They can't be trusted."

"You mean, you should have seen this coming," Alley Cat snapped, narrowing his eyes, "Mister you-all-should-listen-to-me-because-I-can-see-the-future."

"Hey!" The Golden Falcon hissed, "There's more important things at stake right now then... whatever it is that you're arguing about!

Timeline and Alley Cat fell silent.

"Nightwave, take Alley Cat and go find Hopewing," The Golden Falcon then said, "The rest of us will keep the Silver Oracle busy."

Nightwave nodded, then she and Alley Cat disappeared into the shadows.

Makeshift knew that they would be outnumbered without Nightwave and Alley Cat, which would put them at a disadvantage. He didn't say that, though. He didn't dare.

The Golden Falcon put her hands on her hips impatiently. Her eyes scanned those in front of her, then narrowed.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go already."

⇝⇝⇜⇜

The hallways were dark.

Alley Cat didn't have a problem with that. He always preferred the darkness, where he could blend almost seamlessly into the shadows.

"Damn," Nightwave hissed from somewhere to his left.

"Too dark?"

"Too dark."

Nightwave could see in the dark. Sometimes. Her eyes would dilate and contract--like a cat's--and grant her vision by reflecting light back out of her eyes. However, if there wasn't enough light to reflect, she was just as blind as anyone else.

Alley Cat and Nightwave slunk through the halls in silence. The duo's search led them everywhere, but they had not come across Hopewing.

Alley Cat was beginning to suspect that they had been lied to, when a familiar girl appeared in the hallway, just visible in the darkness.

Red Heart stumbled backwards away from them, clearly shocked to see them here.

Alley Cat wanted to rip the feigned-innocence look right off her stupid face.

"They know you're here," She spoke hesitantly, her eyes lingering on Nightwave. "If you want to-- Hopewing--"

"What are you going on about?" Nightwave asked sharply.

Reilly didn't say anything else, instead turning around and knocking a large painting off the wall. Behind the painting, Alley Cat saw a narrow passageway.

He heard footsteps, and then Reilly was gone.

"What do you think?" Nightwave asked.

"It's obviously a trap," Alley Cat answered, crossing his arms.

"Well, we've looked all over and Hopewing was no where to be found. I think this is the only place left."

"You're... right," Alley Cat admitted.

"That's why you're the sidekick."

Alley Cat scoffed, imagining the look on his mentor's face. "I still think that one of us should stay out here, in case it is a trap."

"I think you could use the experience," Nightwave said, "So go ahead. You're a smart kid, you already know everything I'm supposed to tell you. Just don't make any stupid decisions."

Alley Cat very much so wanted to disagree with her calling him a "kid". He did not, instead climbing into the passageway.

It was still dark.

There was occasionally a light, but they hardly did anything to illuminate the close space. He continued to move, relying on his other senses to navigate.

It occurred to him that it was a ventilation system. He was crawling through the vents of an air conditioner.

And then suddenly he was falling.

With no hesitation, he stuck out his arms and legs. With his hands and feet firmly planted against the walls, he stopped to look around.

He was okay. He wasn't falling. He wasn't going to hit the ground and die. His powers had saved him. He would be able to safely climb to the ground.

There was a ladder, which he probably would've seen if he hadn't gotten distracted.

He let out a small sigh before shifting and making his way down.

Alley Cat's feet eventually landed on the ground, and he continued along as quietly as he could. Before long, a heavy metal door was in his way. A thought flickered into his mind: what if it was locked?

But what if it wasn't?

He steadied himself with a deep breath, braced himself for what might be on the other side, and turned the handle.

It didn't budge.

Alley Cat should've known better. Of course, Red Heart would never just give away their prisoner. There was probably nothing behind this door.

He became vaguely aware of someone coming down the ladder, and he realized he was right. It had been a trap. It didn't give him any satisfaction.

And then Black Shield was standing before him.

"What did you do to Nightwave? She was standing outside the entrance, so--"

"That's not important."

"What do you mean it's not important?! She's--"

"There's multiple ways to get here, you know."

Alley Cat was quiet for a moment.

"Is Anthony even your real name?" Alley Cat then snapped. "Was anything that you said true? Was anything that ANY of you said true?"

Black Shield didn't say anything.

"Listen, Orion--"

"Don't--" Alley Cat hissed. "Don't call me that."

"Listen, okay? Take this. Go. He's in there."

Black Shield tossed something at him. Alley Cat's first instinct had been to leap out of the way, figuring that it was something dangerous.

But as it flew through the air, Alley Cat realized it was a key.

"But you kidnapped Hopewing!" Alley Cat snorted indignantly, holding the key in his hands. "What are you--What are you doing?"

Black Shield shook his head. "Not really. Ask him."

"What?!"

"Just... Just ask him. You'll see."

Alley Cat didn't turn away. He kept his eyes firmly locked on Black Shield, watching every twitch or fidget that he made. Alley Cat hadn't trust the Silver Oracle sidekicks since he'd first heard that they had Hopewing, and he wasn't about to turn his back to one of them now.

Black Shield took a few steps back, before he turned and disappeared back the way he had came.

Alley Cat honestly had no idea what was going on.

The key actually fit in the lock, much to his surprise. He pushed open the door.

"Hello?" a soft voice asked hesitantly.

"Hopewing--! God, I can't believe it's actually you."

"Come untie me, quick...!"

Alley Cat rushed over to Hopewing's side. He was in what looked like his pajamas, so maybe calling him "Arch" would be more accurate, but that was far from important. He quickly took the blindfold off of his face, and unraveled the rope from around his wrists.

"I shouldn't even be surprised that the Silver Oracle pulled something like this," Alley Cat hissed. "I knew it was a bad idea to trust them.

"What? No, no, no. I agreed to this."

"You what?"

"I..." Hopewing hesitated. "I agreed."

"You agreed... to let them kidnap you?"

"Yeah..."

"Why?"

"Because they asked...?"

Alley Cat let out a heavy sigh. "Do you mind explaining how that even happened?"

"Well, they showed up at my apartment in the middle of the night, and told me that they needed to kidnap me. They said that one of their members had accidentally found out who I was. They told me all about their plan, and I... I was pretty sure that I was going to end up getting kidnapped either way, so... I agreed."

"You accidentally revealed your identity?!"

Hopewing opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again and stayed quiet.

Alley Cat drew in a deep breath. "...You mentioned a plan? What was this amazing plan of theirs?"

"Well, they were going to keep me here for a few days--"

"Which they did."

"--and then they were going to give you guys a tip as to where I was so you could come rescue me and I could make my amazing escape, you know...!"

"Yeah, that was a terrible plan from the beginning. How do they think Saberleaf is going to react after you escape? And... Timeline is pissed off at them all right now, and I highly doubt he's ever going to truly trust them ever again."

"It was the best option...!" Hopewing defended himself. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea, but it had been the good-est idea there had been at the time! It was either that or get kidnapped unwillingly and never get rescued.

"I'm sure..." Alley Cat said sarcastically.

"It was!"

"Let's just get out of here, so you can explain to The Golden Falcon why you were gone for two days."

⟁ ⟁ ⟁

*"slunk" is a great word, you feel me?

*explaining to the Golden Falcon.... you should feel VERY sorry for Hopewing
or maybe you shouldn't since he made some pretty bad decisions during this whole deal

-ᴍɪɴᴛʏ