The Last Dance (The story about how the Cats ended up in ESO

[𝐊𝐀𝐓 ᴀᴋᴀ 𝓡𝓮𝓭 𝓥𝓲𝓹𝓮𝓻]

The story about how the Cats ended up in Tamriel.
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"Alright gang!" Kat bellowed as she tromped loudly down the stairs of the guild hall's mental plane, "Get yer sh*t together, and meet me in Dalaran." Excitement started to ebb its way into her voice, "Got a line on something that is gonna set us up fer a long f*cking time!"

Grim was just starting to turn to look over his shoulder, from his place, sitting on the lower stair,  at the descending woman, when she snorted and roughly pushed past him, shoving her knee into his shoulder as she went by.

"Aw, come on, Kitten, if you wanted to touch me, all you had to do was ask." he grinned, hardly phased by the knee.

Xrailax squinted, making a face from his place on the red couch, where he sat with the small form of Shari curled against him.  "What did the idiot do this time?" he murmured against Shari's ear, doing little to hide the mirth that resonated in his tone.

Ian, who was reclining on the black couch against the wall near the bottom of the stairs, turned his attention from Grim and Kat to X, hearing his words, despite the low tone.  His blue eyes went wide for a moment, darting between the demon hunter, and Kat, head shaking rigidly.

Before Shari could answer, Kat's flared, amber eyed stare fixed on X, causing the air Shari had inhaled to reply to get swallowed.

"The f*cker STILL aint apologized from when he wasted me time."

"Months ago." added Ian, rubbing his face with a sigh.

The large man seated on the bottom stair just rolled his eyes.  He looked tired, like he was a being who lived on pure amusement, that had nearly run out.  "I did apologize already," he said simply with a shrug as he glanced about the room.

Kat pointed at Grim, without looking at him, "And I aint talking to that f*cker until he does it properly!"

"You just did..." Grim chided, fluttering his lashes at her, to which she simply flipped him the rigid bird.

"Oh yeah, clearly..." X chuckled before patting Shari on the head once.  "So," he fixed his sightless gaze on Kat, who had made her way to lean against the side of the fireplace.  It was clear she had been waiting for everyone to give her their full attention.  "What's going down?"

Raising a pierced brow, Kat smiled as she lifted her chin. "Remember that medallion?  The one that c*nt-b*tch Natasha was supposed to be able to use if we were able to put it altogether again?"

Ian's shoulders fell a bit, a dark look crossing his fair features, "Yeah, we had gone through a lot of sh*t to try and get the pieces for that.  Had been getting pretty close, too, before she split."

As Ian spoke, Kat's face twisted bitterly, though she nodded along with his words.  X listened patiently, having little knowledge about the matter beyond the second, even third hand knowledge he had gotten from the others whenever he had been able to make an appearance.  Grim shifted slightly, pressing his wide shoulders against the wall, one foot upon the floor, the other raising to rest upon the stair.  Shari nodded, her infinitely simple expression unwavering.

"Well," Kat continued, licking her lips, like the news she had were the tastiest thing she had sampled in a while, "Turns out, we hadn't been the only ones trying to piece it together." her eyes drifted over each person in turn, before she scowled, "But we had known that too..."

Ian nodded.

"Turns out the 'opposition' decided I be more worthy of it than his original boss." she thrust out her chest proudly with a jerk of her chin, "I mean, naturally, right?  So, he contacted me saying we just had to come get it from Dalaran as soon as possible before his former employer got wind of it."

X stiffened and shook his head, slipping off the couch to stand.  His arms were crossed as he glanced from Grim to Ian before addressing Kat in a cautious tone. "I don't know if that makes a lot of sense, Red.  Why would this person want to suddenly betray the one he was working for like this?"

Ian and Shari nodded their agreement, while Grim only grunted.

There was a loud, exasperated huff as Kat threw open her arms and turned to square off against the large elf. "Yer kidding me, right?" Eyes narrowing, both brows raised quickly as she suddenly laughed, "He wants to join us, of course!  He obviously came to see how f*cking amazing I be, and how the gang be, and knew how much I wanted the damned thing, so is using it as the perfect bargaining chip!"

The room was quiet for a long moment.  No one wanted to speak first.

Grim was staring at his foot mutely, Ian seemed to be seriously considering what she said, while X continued to bore his sightless gaze into Kat's eyes.  

"What!?" Kat countered challengingly.

X took a breath to counter, when it was then Shari piped up, tone cheerful and lively, "Oh Miss!  You're absolutely right!  That does make a lot of sense!  How smart he must be!  Will we get to meet him then in Dalaran?"  The small elf slid to the side of the couch, gripping the side as she leaned forward, regarding the guild mistress with all the adoration of a loving puppy.  X's shoulders slumped as he cast a long, baleful look at Shari, who just smiled brightly back at him.

Kat gestured toward Shari, her face etched into a chiselled and firm, -there-, as she stared at X, both brows raised. "See!  Even Shari knows why!  f*ck man." she snickered, "Pretty bad when Shari gets something before ye do."

"I still don't like the feel of it all, Red."

"Seems a little..." Ian began, causing Kat to turn and stare at him. Stopping only a moment to raise a brow, he pointed one of his remaining digits at X he continued, "Well, like the Right Hand mentioned, there's a chance they might be trying to f*ck us. But You're the Lady. Dalaran it is."

"I'm already there." Grim shrugged.  "Don't see anyone else yet, though."  There was a brief pause before he laughed and smiled at Shari. "Never mind, see one."

Shari giggled and waved at him, in both the mental plane, and the physical.

"On my way..." X growled. 

"I'm just about there." Ian said, leaning back in the couch, his form starting to fade somewhat.

Kat nodded firmly, leaning back against the fireplace, arms crossed as her image began to flicker.

~ ~ ~

"So." X sighed, glancing around.  "Why did they say to meet here, of all places?"

Everyone glanced around as if they hadn't already done so.  They were standing on a small cobbled island somewhere behind the Violet Hold, floating a few feet from the main island of Dalaran.  Off in the far distance, the eerie shadows of Icecrown citadel loomed, and further still some higher peaks of the Storm Peaks.   Below them, the beautifully sparkling forest of Crystal Song yawned.

"Well, it's out of the way, I guess..." Ian shrugged, speaking up against the wind, his eyes keen about them, waiting for Kat to appear.

"It certainly is!" Shari nodded, slipping one bare foot over the other as she chewed nervously on her lower lip.  She, like the others, had chosen to arrive in full battle regalia at the suggestion of X, not fully trusting the situation they were walking into.  The ice-cold wind whipped and tugged at their tabards, as if trying to rip them off.

"Where the f*ck is Kat?" Grim grumbled, crossing his arms over his plated chest.  "My balls are about to freeze off."

"Aw, couldn't someone have brought the old man some furs to wrap himself in?" Ian chided with a wink and grin.  Neither were seen, of course, since he was wearing his plate helm.  However, both were heard in the playful tone of his voice.

Casting a concerned look at Grim, Shari inched up and tried to slip a little thin arm under his, laying her head against him.  "Here, Sir, let me try to help."

Gruffly, Grim gently pushed her away with a grunt, "I'm fine Shari, don't listen to that idiot."

"O-Oh... As you s-say Sir."  she smiled weakly and took a step back, hugging a small hand against her chest instead.  "Look!  I think that's her!" Shari called out, pointing toward the Hold. 

Sure enough, the unmistakable mount of Lady Kat, Ignis, was seen standing on the ledge in all its burning, and smouldering glory.  On his back, the Lady, sitting proudly.  She had been apparently watching them for some time, a wry grin on her lips.  Once she noticed she had been spotted, she waved and nudged her horse forward on fiery wings.

Ignis landed before them with a few irritated snorts, his hooves echoing hollowly upon the stone.  Kat reigned him to the side for a moment, offering the assembled group a loose salute, which was mirrored back.

"My Lady," Ian rumbled warmly, to which Kat rewarded him with an affectionate wink.

"Hail, Red." X nodded, then gestured about, "Where is this guy?  Grim's balls are about to fall off, it's so cold."

Kat cast a casual glance toward Grim, her lips twisting into a cruel smirk, "I didn't think twas hard to lose something ye didn't have..."

He blew a kiss to her with a heavy smirk of his own.

Inhaling, her amber gaze swept around the area, "He shoulda been here already." she growled, slipping off her horse's back, dismissing it.

"Oh, Miss!  Is that him?" Shari asked, pointing behind them with a tilt of her head.

Everyone followed the direction Shari was pointing.  Sure enough, there advanced a lone figure.  Dark robes swept about his feet, a hood hid his face.

"Where the f*ck did he come from?" murmured Grim as he unsheathed his heavy weapons, stepping closer to the group.  The tension rising off the man spread, causing everyone to stiffen and stand at the ready.

"Hail, Cats," the stranger called casually, raising an elegant hand in greeting.  "So wonderful of you all to come, and accept my offer!"

As the man came closer, it became apparent he seemed to be a blood elf, wearing the robes of one of the Kirin Tor mages.  Pulling his hood down, revealed a long, blond ponytail that was eagerly swept up by the wind, as well as fine, fair, elven features.  Glowing golden eyes fixed on Kat as he hooked a hand to his mid-section, bowing deeply.  "My Lady Kat.  It is a pleasure to be in your presence, and that of your notorious gang."

Kat's stance went from a rigid one of caution to one of liquid sex, with each word the elf spoke.  "Mmn, of course tis."

"Kat..." X warned, only to be shushed with a sharp flick of her hand.  He knew the stranger was hitting all the right notes to lowers Kat's defences, playing off her weaknesses.  However, he was not amused.

"So then, elf, ye got that medallion do ye?" she extended a gloved hand, palm up, "Best get this business out of the way, so that we may," her voice dipped to a silken purr, "Get onto the pleasure of getting to know each other."  Her eyes washed over the elfs fom like a tongue, running over an ice-cream cone.

"A woman with a fine business sense, I admire that." he smiled, reaching into his robes.

The Cats watched him like hawks, while Kat stood poised like a greek statue.

Just then, the little island of rock they were all standing on rumbled violently, knocking Shari over with a startled squeak, and causing the rest of the Cats to brace their stances immediately.  Ian reached for Shari to help her up, when the rock heaved again, this time sending separate stones loose and into the air.  An unseen force crashed into the land mass nearby, the force of the shock wave sending everyone air born and over the edge.

Before they knew it, they were all falling through the air, toward the glass forest below.

Their shouts filled the air as they went down. 

The elf who had been standing beside Kat grabbed hold of her waist, and pulled her in close.  He murmured a quick incantation, which caused them to slow fall.  Giving her lots of time to see her family spiraling downward below her.

Ian managed to pull out his magical parasol from the ShadowLands... once the air caught it, he jerked upward violently, then began his safe floating, looking up to find Kat, he gave her a thumbs up, "I'm fine!"

Shari had instantly turned herself into a small raven the moment she was airborn, the action as natural to her as breathing.  She cawed anxiously, frantically circling around Grimun who was falling as gracefully as a newborn deer on sheer ice.

"Hold on Grim!" X snarled as he swept in, large, demonic wings whipping through the air.  There was a loud 'clap' as his hand snapped around Grim's forearm. "I got you!"

"X-!" Kat called out but it was too late.  The moment X grabbed Grim his effortless flight took a bad turn. 

Xrailax hadn't anticipated the actual bulk of Grim's plated form.  With a muted 'urk' ,  they  plummeted toward the ground, crashing and breaking through the canopy of crystal branches with a mingled chorus of curses and grunts, followed by Shari's terrified calls.

"f*ck..." Kat hissed as she watched the horrific clown show unfolding below.

Her attention was then drawn to the triad of glowing, floating platforms which had hooded figures lost in concentrtion channeling some spell.  Giant blue crystals, she had never seen before, spun in the center, surrounded by a pulsing miasmic purple cloud.  "Da f*ck is that?" she mused, looking at the elf curiously.  "Aint never seen crystals like those before.... What are they doing?"

He shrugged, both brows raised, "I'm sure I don't know.  But it can't be good.  It looks almost like some sort of Time disruption, perhaps even a dimensional rift?"

"Ye think so huh?"  There was an odd tone in her voice, one of suspicion, and something that made the hairs on the back of his neck raise.

"Why, I told you I wasn't sure exactly, M'Lady Kat."

Their feet touched down to the ground, not far from the groaning pile of wings and limbs that were X and Grim.  Ian and Shari were stooped over them, doing the best thry could to make sure everyone was ok.  Soft green glows covered the group as she worked.

"That aint what I be referring to..." Kat said, her voice now like razors.  Her right hand, duly called 'The Hand of Death', for more reasons than the fact she had a deathly skeletal tattoo upon it, snapped upon the elf's thin neck and squeezed.  She bared her fanged smile and spoke through her teeth as her eyes flashed, "Ye aint got no f*cking medallion... I checked yer robes on the way down.  What IS this..." she gestured vaguely about them.

The look of feigned shock upon the elf's face faded into a visage of coyness through his gasping for air.  He pointed upward, toward the chanters and the platforms, drawing her attention then, with a grand sweep of his hand, to a small clearing amoung the trees.

She wasn't ready to look, her eyes boring into the elf's face,  as if she was contemplating literally chewing his face off, when X's loud shout broke her trance.

"Kat LOOK OUT!"  Followed by all the Cats chiming in, "BEHIND YOU!"

Growling, she pried her eyes off the elf to glance at her family, which was running toward her at a broken pace, staring past her to the clearing that had been pointed to.

Muttering loudly, she looked over her shoulder to see a portal ripping opening, and a very large creature, slithering through.  At first glance, it looked just like a naga, only much, much larger.

A violent wind whooshed from the portal, making everyone stagger backward, some shielding their eyes with their arms.

The grip on Kat's hand faltered for a moment, the elf grabbed her forearm to try and pry himself free. Without even thinking, she whipped back around and palmed him hard upward into his nose, crushing it, and sending particles of his nasal cavity into his brain, killing him.  "Sh*t," she sighed, eyes dark, "Now look what ye made me do."

The lifeless form fell to the ground just as the rest of the Cats got to her, out of breath, but all wearing smiles.

"I was gonna do that," Ian grinned, his helm having fallen off somewhere during all the commotion. Strips of his strawberry blond hair were stuck across his face. "Stealing my fun!"

Wiping her hand off on his tabard, she sneered, nodding over her shoulder, "Well, lots more fun to be had. There was no medallion. Apparently, twas nothing but a trap."

"I was trying to tell you that!" Xrailax frowned, squaring his shoulders.  Kat shot him a look.

Grimun knuckled at his bruised jaw, rivulets of blood running into his eyes from a head wound that had been healed, his eyes locking on the creature. "Whooo! BIG ugly!"

"Still looks better than your mom, don't it?" Ian jeered, hoisting his shield.

"After seeing YOURS last night, I can say it looks better than yours." Grim countered, hefting his weapons.

There was some shared laughter among the group, before the creature spoke up, over the crackling of the portal behind it.

"How nice of you all to come when called. I didn't expect I'd get you ALL at once, but this will save a lot of time." it sneered, "Time wasted on that foolish medallion lure."

"So ye were behind that..." Kat narrowed her eyes.

"To what end!" X yelled, baring his teeth.

"My Master collects prize souls. The energy you all exude was too fine a prize to let pass. It drew me here like a moth to a flame. I am a traveller, a gatherer.... And now, I am here for all of you."

It began to wave its arms, and the portal grew larger.

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Ian roared, running forward, shield poised, mace at the ready.

Grim and X were not far behind him, following the gang's lead tank into battle. Shari stayed back, but within range of them, her arms out, and fingers poised, already whipping off healing spells in anticipation of what was to come.  A small field of flowers sprouted from a magical mist at their feet, lining their road ahead.

Kat watched her loyal family rallying, and a proud smile crept over her features.

"NOT TODAY !" she roared, "HAIL CHESHIRE CATS!"

"HAIL CATS!" came the pounding echo of passion and combined fury.

The creature laughed at the display, "Yes, bring all of that with you..."

Kat's keen eye noted the weaving of a new spell, and the swelling of the portal. Her heart was racing, the terror she was feeling fuelling her rage. She had to stop this, she had to protect them all.

Reaching into the heavens, she called down hellfire upon the area, as X dashed forward, eye beams blazing. Grim launched himself mightily into the air, screaming at the top of his lungs for the creature to die.

Still, Shyazzell laughed, the Daedric beast hardly phased by their antics. Waving its hands, it sent off bolts of energy, sending the advancing men rolling backward through the ground. Ian narrowly missed one, dodging to the side.

"Play time is over. It's time to go home..." it chided.

All four arms raised into the air, gush after gush of hot air blowing past them as the portal began to glow purple with flashes of blue lightening arcing through it. It enveloped Shyazzell, and came rushing at the others.

"Ian!" Kat screeched, seeing him disappear in the swirling energy, "X! GRIM!" she reached behind her for Shari's hand. She felt the grip of the small elf and jerked her forward. Shari fell to her knees, clinging to Kat's leg.

"Ye can't have them!" Kat bellowed, beginning to murmur her own spell.

"You can't stop me, little mortal...."

"Watch me..."

The crackling portal then descended upon Kat, at the same moment she finished casting her spell, wave after wave of pulsing fel green energy swarming about her. Her blazing eyes locked on Shyazzell's laughing face, then slid to the portal.

The creature's laughing stopped, "NO! You can't!"

"f*ck ye..." she spat.

With that, Kat let loose a powerful chaos bolt, straight into the middle of the portal. The colliding energies caused a loud cosmic boom, an immediate tornado to form, which scooped up everyone, including the beast, into its coiling mass of disrupted pandemonium.  Shari screamed as she was ripped away and sucked into the vortex.

Through Shyazzell's wailing and cursing, the Cats struggled to find each other, catching only fleeting glimpses here and there. All hands were outstretched, trying to find someone. Anyone.

The forms of the Cats in the mental plane were now all hundled together, their forms, and that of the very plane, flickering and shimmering, fighting to hold cohesion.... and failing.

"Ian! X! Shari! GRIM!" Kat howled through the thundering bolts of lightening.

Just then, someone grabbed her ankle. She glanced down quickly to find Grim's face staring up at her. Their eyes locked, Kat's mouth opened to speak, but she couldn't find any words. Grimun spoke instead, his words pained and rushed, "I'm sorry, Kitten! I'm Sor---" he winced as a bolt of energy struck him, causing his grip to release, sending him back into the swirling void.

"NO!"

Frantically, Kat stared around the nothingness about them, "CATS!"

All she heard were their screams and muffled calls, X's frantic "RED!?" , when a branch caught her in the head, sending her into darkness.

-end