Facility Exploration (with some lasers!)

Matcha lost track of time. He’s too weak to grow any daises, only withered petals that would crumble the moment it hits the warm ground. How in the world did he manage to find himself in an abandoned power plant? Honestly, he would rather be back in the snow.

Too hot here, his energy is in the negatives, with each step Matcha was convinced that he would collapse and pass out. I cannot give up now! He gives his pelt a quick shake before trekking forward. I need to find the others!

That spike of bravery lasted for another three seconds until a drop of oil fell in front of him. Matcha yelps and staggers back, back paw hitting a rope and causing him to jump several feet in the air. He landed in a puddle, unsure of the substance, then flees with a high-pitched scream.

Matcha hates this. What a stupid field trip! Scouting is dumb! He wants to go home and read for hours in his room again!

He wanted to give this journey the benefit of the doubt, he believed they would discover something or someone during their trip, and he was fond of the look on Peppermint's face when they stepped into unknown territory. Sirene was amazing as well, this was the first time he and Peppermint met her and she left a nice impression. Serious, direct, but patient with the two. All Matcha knew about her was that her sister was an ex-criminal…and a part of him wondered if she was as well.

It was going okay for the first few days, then it all crumbled literally and figuratively. 

Matcha runs up the metal stairs and throws himself on a ledge, taking heavy breaths and attempting to regain his energy. “Oooh, I just want to go hooome,” he groans. He could not continue for another day- no, another minute longer.

This power plant…what’s with it? The steps that reached the balcony were too large for an average cat, and the building itself was as big as an academy…and then some. All this space, were there several cats working here long ago? Why is it abandoned, is anyone else around?

…What if it wasn’t a cat who worked here? Suddenly Matcha’s paws had a mind of its own and he found himself inside the building. No, bad idea, go back, the smell is terrible. He stumbles back towards the way he came and found himself hitting a metal wall instead. “Oh shucks…”

Everything was pitch black, Matcha had no idea what was ahead or behind him. If only he inherited his father’s bioluminescence! The only way to find his way out of the power plant is to….ugh…explore.

This was all up Peppermint’s alley. She would be so thrilled with this challenge and find a way to escape quickly. Matcha however, needed to take each step slow and feel around the building. One wrong move and he’s going to fall into something disastrous.

Left paw…feel around, right paw. Rinse and Repeat. So far, the ground hasn’t left him, and it’s been rather stable. Matcha does come across a bridge with heaps of nuclear waste down below. Silver linings, it was lightning up the path briefly.

Matcha realised that he cannot be playing the safe and slow route for the entire trip. The air here was hurting his lungs, and he had no supplies on-paw that could cover his muzzle. Matcha speeds up the pace by probably half a second.

That small speed up led to something not-so-good. He presses down on something, a button of sorts, and the lights turned on.

“Oh!” And all he saw were warning signs about radiation and to turn back immediately…

“UNLESS YOU WERE A CERTIFED CIRROCANIUS WORKER”  the sign said.

“Wait! What is a ci-“

INTRUDER ALERT! INTURDER ALERT! UNSEPECTED SUSPECT IN POWER PLANT! CODE RED! CODE RED!

The area began flashing red, alarms blared and shook his entire body, walls starts to tumble down and lead another way out of this power plant—

Noooo, that wasn’t a way out. The walls fell because they were hiding lasers.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!”

Matcha mustered up the last bits of strength he had and bolted ahead. One laser almost got and his back paw, he ducked just in time for the one aiming at his side, then successfully dodged the others. He runs through a hallway, met with more lasers and traps that could easily kill him, encountered several forks in the roads (or halls), then eventually the traps and alarms started to die down.

“Why….what…who?”

Matcha flops on the floor, laying on his side, and groans. Nice security, he thinks, but why so extensive? Did they have others who would intrude in the work? Why was this place huge, and what are…what was the name he saw?

Cirrocanius?

Matcha was trying to question what they could be, but his brain and vision began to fog up. Through the depths of the dark hallway, he catches a small glimpse of red and white. It stops, more white appears, and the stranger starts heading towards Matcha.

He’s too weak to run away or detect who or what it was. The last thing he saw were red eyes before passing out.

———

“Matcha! Matcha! Matcha! Wake up!”

Someone was chanting his name…a familiar voice…

“Matcha! Come on!”

He blinks once. Glasses are gone, everything was blurry, and there’s a pair of icy claws in front of him. “S…” he lifts his head. “S…Sirene?”

Sirene was covered in dirt and reeked of grease. She lowers to his level and presses a nose against his side. “Breathing seems stable,” she mutters. “No nuclear waste touched you either…” She stands back up. “Matcha, what in the world were you thinking?!”

“E-Eh?!” Don’t yell at a time like this!! “We were all separated after the fall! I-I was scared!”

“So you decided to run into a power plant?! An abandoned one at that?”

“Sirene—“

“You are a young cat who possesses plant growth. Your daises are young too, you could’ve permanently damaged them and yourself.”

“Listen! I’m sorry! I couldn’t think straight! This whole place— it…” Matcha takes a deep breath. “Nevermind that. Sirene, have you heard of Cirrocanius before?”

“Ci…” Sirene lowers her ears. “What are you talking about?”

“The power plant….it said that only certified Cirrocanius could be there but…what is that? I never heard of it before.”

“Are you sure you weren’t seeing things due to the radiation?” She huffs.

“No! I am sure I saw that…” Matcha points a paw towards the power plant now several metres away. “That place…this whole place in general, I don’t think cats resided here…”

“You don’t…” Sirene quivers her whiskers. “Matcha, what do you mean?”

“Cirrocanius, they….whatever they are…they could still be around…” And they could be dangerous judging by the power plant. They could be hostile if there were a few straying in this odd underground city.

What if Peppermint encountered one and she ended up hurt? He’s unable to call her, his device broke a few days ago.

“What if…we ran into their home?” Matcha finishes. “W-What’s…going to happen if we run into them?”

“…We won’t, if they exist,” Sirene sighs. “Because we are going to find Peppermint and find a way back above. We are going back home, end of story. Whether these…cloud canines are real or not, children should not be here.” She lays a paw on Matcha’s shoulder. “I…greatly apologise that your first routine check had to end like this. If only I looked for a different place for shelter, or packed extra…”

“Sirene, it wasn’t your fault. Peppermint and her dad say that adventures have their ups and down, and we ended up getting a down.”

“Quite a heavy down,” she growls. “Let’s get going. The sooner we find Peppermint, the quicker we can leave and go home.”