I sat myself at the edge of the platform and watched as Kat jumped across several of the worn down and broken planks that made up the train track.

"So, what has the Fearless Fox been up to?" she asked as she hopped, balancing on one foot effortlessly.

"Is that one of Gust's new nicknames for me?" I asked, surprised. "Usually they aren't so—"

"No, it's not. He's learned some new words this past year...You don't want to hear the new nicknames."

"So what's with the fearless thing?"

"That's my new nickname for you."

"Oh, well, thanks. I guess."

"It's not a compliment, Foxy."

Kat sat herself down on the edge of the platform across from mine, directly across from me. "You and Mouse could have a competition on who's the more reckless. After a few months of not hearing about any of your exploits, I half-assumed you had died."

"Oh, come on." I avoided the intense green eyes and focused on nudging some loose rocks with my feet. "You're overreacting."

"I'm not," she affirmed, but then sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "But, whatever. I'm not here to scold you. Whatever is in Mouse's head is in your head too. You both were always...wired the same way."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I asked, leveling her with a glare.

She looked back at me, un-blinking, almost bored. "It doesn't mean anything," she assured, waving it off with her hand. "Just wanted to say that I'm glad to see you're not dead. That's all."

"Well...thanks."

"Yup."

Kat yawned. The sun was sinking ever lower. A few more hours and it would be pitch black. It was quick approaching the time for our Masters to arrive.

Kat gazed down the tracks. They allowed for a pretty unobstructed view all the way down the station until the end. As soon as the tracks left the safety of the steel archways and stone platforms, they were lost in a sea of tall grass that made up most of the freely growing wilderness around the station.

I would see her again. I know I would. But Mouse was right; it might not be for a very long time. An entire year had passed between yesterday and the last time I saw her. Now was the time to ask her, to tell her anything I had to.

But, what did I have left to say?

Kat yawned again as she scratched the back of her head. Her hair had grown out more. The color of the green dye had long faded away, revealing her natural dirty blonde hair. It fell around her shoulders in a tangled mess. Much like me— the me before Jamie's treatment— it looked like she hadn't groomed herself in months.

She didn't seem worried at all. Even though she was stepping right into the fire. Kat was going to become part of another one of Mouse's life or death tales, only she's going to be the one on the other side. The one potentially getting hunted by the Stalwart and his familiar.

"Kat, are you sure you're okay with this?"

"I was a little worried that being out here, alone with you, would be awkward," Kat said, looking away from the tracks and smirking at me. "But, so far, you aren't doing too bad."

I tried to laugh, but it got caught up in my throat. My face was getting warm. I wished she would stop smiling.

"I don't mean that. I mean about having to be Maple's—"

"Okay, now you're going to make things awkward," Kat interrupted, holding up a hand. "Please, let's not talk politics. If that's what you want to do, go back inside and shout it up with Stallion and Mouse."

"That's not what I'm trying to do," I insisted, leaning forward. "She almost had you kill us several times in the past, remember? I'm just worried—"

"About your safety?" Kat finished. "Well, don't worry. If you stay far enough away from us you won't get caught in the cross-fire."

"Would you stop that?" I shot. "I'm worried about you, alright? I don't like what you're doing or what the community witches are doing. I don't think you should be her familiar."

"It isn't like I have a choice," Kat pointed out, leaning back and resting her arms on the ground. "I was her familiar the moment her father died."

"I know that, but you don't have to go and make it easy for her. This whole situation is too easy. Why is she choosing to work with Wildwood when she can just take you by force?"

"Because she isn't the all powerful god among witches everyone likes to think she is." Kat tilted her head back and stared up at the archway above her. "You think those hunts Wildwood had us go on were easy for her? That she dealt with us no problem? She's still a little girl, Foxy. No power over fire or power over me will change that. She's afraid and alone and that won't change unless we go about this a different way."

"She isn't that same little girl, Kat," I said, staring back down at my feet. "I didn't want to believe it at first, either, but she has changed. She killed her mother; she tried to kill me— us— several times. And when she gets you, she's going to change you too. She's going to turn you against us again, but this time you're going to want to."

"I already said I don't want to talk politics."

"This isn't politics!" I shouted, standing up. "We're talking about your life, Kat! About you handing yourself over to a murderous witch who is going to change you into something you're not!"

Kat raised herself a bit, studied me with her bright eyes. I held her look as best I could.

Finally, she sighed and smiled yet again. "You just don't see things as I do." She laid back down and placed her hands under her head. "And why do you care anyways? After today you're going to have your hands full living in a cozy home and being some free witch's little pet."

"I care because I'm your friend," I snarled, trying hard not to yell again.

Kat snorted. "Friend. Okay, sure."

"We are friends."

"Jeez, Foxy, if you still consider us friends maybe I should take back what I said about everything being alright for you."

"You are my friend, Kat, whether you like it or not." I jumped down onto the tracks and walked over to her side. "And I am worried about you."

I got up beside her on the platform. She remained lying down and staring up at nothing, even when I sat down right next to her.

When I lied down she heaved a sigh. "Do you still remember all the things we talked about then?"

I tilted my head over to her; she was still staring up at the arch. "When?"

"You know when."

I guess it was Kat's turn to ignore my one rule.

Her skin was darker since the last time I saw it. Tanner. There were new wrinkles in the corners of her eyes and new freckles on her face and arms. Other than that, and her longer hair, she looked exactly the same as she did back then. Tall, thin, and impossible to read.

Mouse did say that we should forget my rule, just for tonight.

"Yeah, I do."

Kat made a strange sort of grunting noise. Like she was clearing her throat and nose at the same time.

"What," I said.

"I see," she said.

"Why did you ask me that?"

"Because I wanted to know." She sighed again. "And because, well, I remember too."

"I see." I bit my lip. "So, then, you still don't consider me a friend?"

Kat sat up and looked down at me. I felt like getting up too, but didn't dare move under her gaze.

"I've tried hating you, forgetting you exist, pretending that I had never met you. But you, just like the others, seemed to have wormed your way into my brain. And, no matter how hard I try, I can't get any of you out." Kat ran a hand through her hair. "Today really helped to hammer the nail into that coffin. It took all I could stand to not just bawl like a child when I saw Stallion and Mouse...and then when you came in looking like that..."

"Stallion said something like that," I quickly brought up, struggling for words as she continued her unbroken stare. "Though it didn't so much make him want to cry as it did piss him off enough to hit me."

"Yeah, he mentioned that," Kat mused, stroking her chin thoughtfully before grinning. "You told him you thought of him as a friend still too?"

"Something like that," I muttered, finding myself in need of changing the conversation again.

"I can relate, I guess," Kat went on before I could think of anything. "When you were talking all that crap about Maple just now I felt like smacking you around a bit. But, maybe I can see where you're coming from. If Maple decided you were her familiar and tried to take you away from us I think I would be a little upset too."

"You would?"

"Yeah, but I also think things would work out better for us if you really were her familiar."

I tensed up at that. "How do you figure?"

"Stallion said that he told you the plan, right?" Kat asked.

I thought for a brief minute before realizing what she was referring to. The plan to convince Maple to turn over a new leaf, an old leaf. To try and bring back the young girl who cared so much about her brothers and sisters. Who gave up her own cherished treasure to a complete stranger just to try and make him feel better—

I swallowed back the memories and nodded.

"Well, in all honesty, I think things would go a lot smoother if you were the one who was Maple's familiar. You could talk with her much easier than I ever could."

"Now you're thinking of a different Foxy, as well as a different Maple," I said.

"She's worried about you."

"She tried to burn down the tree I was using to keep from falling off of a cliff!"

"That isn't the real Maple," Kat said. "That's the witch, not the girl."

"Is there a difference?" I asked, honestly, but flinched when Kat glared daggers at me.

"A big one," she said.

            A heavy silence fell between us. I sat up and decided to walk across the tracks, kicking loose bolts and stones along the way. When I got to the other side, I climbed up onto the platform and remained standing, facing away from Kat.

            "Her brothers and sister still believe in her," Kat spoke up. "They believe she can still be brought back."

            "They haven't seen her like I have seen her." I spun around to face her. "Like we have seen her, Kat. You're letting a bunch of kids cloud your judgment, don't you get that? It's going to lead to nowhere but pain and disappointment...for all of us, once you join sides with her."

            "I'm not joining sides with anyone, Foxy," Kat said, rising up to stand as well. "There aren't any sides here. Maple isn't our enemy. She isn't a rouge witch. She's a child who lost a father, mother, and sister and is dealing with power she can't have any real understanding of."

            "Oh, I think that witch understands enough," I retorted. "What with the way she ensures that we don't burn enough to die, even when given the opportunity. She wants us to suffer and I don't know why, but maybe there isn't even a reason. Monsters can just be monsters for no good reason at all."

            "Is that why you let Mouse kill Mallard?" Kat asked me. "Because you thought he was just a monster?"

            "I was half dead at that point! I didn't even know what was going on!"

            "You can't use old excuses like that around me. I heard you. She asked if you wanted her to do it and you said 'I don't care'."

            I don't care. Those three words rang in my head. They followed me, hounded me, haunted me. I couldn't even remember saying them, but everyone says I said them. Insists I said them. Wouldn't let me forget that I said them.

            And I had to have said them. I didn't regret he was dead. I wasn't sad. I wished it was me who killed him.

            My throat clenched up. My hands had started shaking again; maybe they had been shaking for awhile. I finally managed to force words out through clenched teeth. "I think that's enough talking about the past. I'm done."

            "You don't just get to decide when we're done talking, Foxy," Kat said, steeling me with an icy glare.

            I turned around. I made to move back to the building, but Kat leapt in front of me, her arms at her sides.

            "You've been trying to forget too, haven't you?" she asked.

            "Stay away from me, Kat," I snarled, taking a step forward.

            She didn't move. "They said the tea was supposed to make us slowly forget everything that happened since you joined us," she said, her un-blinking gaze shooting straight into me, through me. "But it hasn't. I haven't forgotten, you haven't forgotten. None of us have, at least not completely. There's still blurred images, isn't there? Words, phrases, moments; like those talks we had. You made us swear to not try and bring up the past again. You hoped that ignoring it would make you forget it completely. But that isn't working, right? The smallest of things break months of work and you find you still remember everything. You remember Mallard. You remember Dr. Quincy and his children. You remember what happened in that cabin."

            "SHUT-UP!" I shouted, racing up to her and dragging her to the ground. I pinned her easily underneath me, gripping her shoulders and fuming at her calm demeanor.

            "You remember me too, don't you, Foxy?" she asked, smiling and quirking her head. "You said you remember our talks. What else? Do you remember when I stood up for you in that hallway? How about that hat I made? Or those dumb charcoal things I used to draw. Maybe, even, you remember how much you used to like me?"

            "I..."  

My grip on her shoulders relaxed enough for her to break free and suddenly wrap her arms around my neck. My entire body went numb when she pulled me closer and all I could see were the sparkling green orbs of her eyes.

            "K-Kat," I moaned, feeling very weak. "Please..."

            "Oh? Does this bother you, Foxy?" she asked.

I felt her breath on my lips. It was like back in the bathroom. But, this time, I could not summon the desire to break away.

"Silly boy. You can't honestly tell me people change when I can still make you feel this way."

            "That's enough!" a shrill voice cried out.

            I nearly leapt out of Kat's arms and fell back on my backside. Mouse was stomping in our direction. Stallion remained standing in the open doorway, mouth open and face pale.

            "Mouse—"

            "Shut-up, Foxy," she snapped.

She continued her rapid approach and stopped only when she could stand over Kat and glower down at her. "Stand up, Kat, so I can kick your ass on equal footing!"

            "Eh. I think I'll just stay down here," Kat said, folding her arms back behind her head with a smirk. "But you're welcome to still try."

            "Guys...Ladies..." I tried. "This isn't going to solve anything..."

            "As soon as I'm done with her, you're next," Mouse said, shooting a glare that rooted me in place.

            "Oh, give him a break, Mighty Mouse," Kat said with a sigh. "It wasn't like I gave him a warning."

            "It wasn't like he tried to break away either!" Mouse returned. "Now, stand up and fight me you harpy!"

            "Nah."

            Mouse looked like she was about to explode. "How could you both be so completely stupid!?" she finally shouted, rounding on me. "Kissing? On the night we're to join with our Masters? Are all of you just trying to make my job harder?!"

            "It wasn't what you think," I tried again. "Kat was just...trying to prove a point."

            "And did Kat succeed?" Kat asked, raising her head up slightly.

            My cheeks went hot at the sight of her face and I suddenly found the setting sun very interesting. "...Maybe."

            Mouse looked between us both. I was beginning to debate how far I would get if I ran when she heaved a sigh. "Whatever the reason behind it, maybe next time you guys decide to submit to your carnal desires you can do so someplace private, maybe? Or at least not within ten flippin' feet of the Stalwart's familiar?" Mouse tugged at her pigtails as she continued to groan and made her way back to the small building. "I swear, if I catch you guys again I won't go easy. We aren't even supposed to know each other by now. I swear, you two are going to get us all killed."

            She pushed past Stallion who still remained frozen in the doorway. When our eyes met, he slowly closed his mouth. He glanced from me to Kat and seemed to debate on what to do.

             In the end, he shook his head and smiled. "First Jamie and now this?" he said, walking out to join us. "Man, I guess it wasn't an accident that you were called Foxy, huh?"

            Kat raised an eyebrow in my direction. I chose to ignore it to level a subtle, cold glare at Stallion who continued to smile innocently.

            There were quite a few ways I wanted to answer him. But before I could decide on one, someone else answered for me.

            "Nah, that was me. Remember, Stallion?"

            Stallion stopped mid-stride. Kat sat up like there had been a gunshot. I couldn't move at all. The voice had come from right behind me. How did he get that close without any of us seeing?

            "Hey, Foxy. Long time, huh?"

            I turned around, slowly, on the spot. It was him alright. Dark olive skin, hair shaved short, long, crooked nose, a nasty burn scar that snaked its way around his neck. The only thing out of place was a lop-sided grin that contrasted heavily with his tired eyes.

Damn that Kat. The memories were flooding in with no hope of slowing down. The classroom, the chase, the cursed children. Everything I had tried so hard to forget was suddenly there like it all happened yesterday.

            I tried to hide all the renewed troubles behind a smile of my own. It felt as forced as his looked.

            "Yeah, Mutt," I said, giving up on the smile. "Long time."

...

Author's Note

...

And the gang is all back together again. For better, or worse, as the case may be.

Time is quickly draining away before the fated encounter with their future Masters. Can Mouse and Stallion put the politics on hold? Can Kat and Foxy express the complicated feelings festering between them? And just what in the world is going on inside the head of Mutt?

You may get more than you bargained for in the next chapter, but I'd love to hear what you guys think is going to go down now that the gang is all back for one last reunion.