Counterfeit Reality

[Temno the wolf]

Rest assured, you'll have more of that with the subsequent Chapters!

Chapter 9)

Peanut was tossing & turning in his bed when he heard a familiar voice come from downstairs
He got out of bed to see what it was, going past Grape's room he had barely noticed that the drawer was open as he went downstairs
There in the living room was Earl & Jill on the couch with a pair of cat ears in the middle
"Who's that on the couch?"
"Inbetween Mom & Dad?"

"They aren't replacing her, are they?"

When Peanut entered the room & got closer his fears were subsided as he could see the purble fur
"It was a nightmare!"
He thought

His tail started wagging before he ran around to the other side of the couch but before he was able to give her a hug
He woke up in bed...
There was silence, not a single sound was heard

Peanut opened the door to & entered Grape's room only to be haunted by all the ghosts and memories, seeing the claw marks on the floor & the broken frame... Peanut's head ran a mile a minute thinking of what could of happened before he returned to his bed & buried his head into the pillow



Later the next day)


"What do you mean you can't do anything?"
The Pomeranian asked the Kitsune

--Kitsune "I can't, it is just like with any other crime Tarot"

Tarot picked up the morning's paper "Missing pets, unknown lights! Petnapping or conspiracy?"
--Tarot "Just a normal petnapping then?"
"So those UFOs wouldn't have anything to do with what the witnesses at the shelter saw?"

--Kitsune "Can't intervene my dear"
He said patting Tarot's head with one of his tails

"Don't call me that!"
Shouted the small dog as she moved the tail aside

--Kitsune "I won't intervene however if it were another celestial that was behind this?"
"Then I would"

Tarot dropped the morning's paper and left the room

Outside the Wolf House)

--Peanut "Then it is king, Tarot and I think that's it"
"Tarot's place isn't that far from here, could I go there?"

--Jill "Then head back, we still have one to put up on the bulletin board in the vet"

--Peanut "Ok, got it Mom!"
He said taking a flyer and started walking down the block to Tarot's house
Jill looked over to Peanut before she heard the door to The Wolf house open & Tarot walked into Jill causing her to drop some flyers

--Tarot "Whoops, err sorry about that"

--Jill "No worries, no harm was done"

--Tarot "Who are those for?"
"The last lot of pets haven't been found and it has been days since their disappearance, so why the flyers?"
She asked in a solemn manner, Tarot could see that Jill looked somewhat uncomfortable with the question being asked

--Tarot "I'll help you pick 'em up, my mistake after all"
Tarot said before assisting Jill with picking up the flyers, that's when she saw who was on them

--Tarot "Grape?..."
"When did that happen?"

--Jill "Yesterday morning"

--Tarot "I'm... Sorry to hear that"
"I am sure she'll show up sooner or later"

--Jill "We were handing them out, so if someone knew..."
She paused

--Jill "Is it ok if you could keep an eye on Peanut, whilst I hand out the last of the flyers?"

--Tarot "I understand"

--Jill "Peanut?"
Peanut turned around and ran back to Jill

--Jill "You can hang out with Tarot, I'll come get you at 3 ok?"

[trekkie]

Aw, poor Peanut I feel like hugging the poor guy. Will we send more of Maxwell?

[Amazee Dayzee]

I'm hoping that we do see more of him because I like how he is being used so far.

[Temno the wolf]

Aw, poor Peanut I feel like hugging the poor guy. Will we send more of Maxwell?

Can't help but feel sorry for him, well hopefully Tarot can cheer him up & maybe take his mind off of Grape...

Yes we will see more of Maxwell, keep in mind that it has only been one day since Grape's disappearance

[Amazee Dayzee]

I just hope that Tarot and Maxwell don't end up coupling together. I hate it when couples end up switching partners with each other.

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 10)

Maxwell was flicking through channels when he heard a knocking at the door

--Maxwell "Bino, you get it"
"Oh right, he is out with his date"
The knocking continued

--Maxwell "Gimme a sec!"
He said before resting the remote on the arm of the couch

"Who could it be at this time?"
"Probably a door to door salesman"
Maxwell thought before heading towards the door & opening it slightly

--Maxwell "Oh, hi MRS. Sandwich"
"If you want to talk to my owner then he is out back"

--Maxwell "I'll go get him"

--Jill "No, I'm here about Grape"

Maxwell opened the door
--Maxwell "You'd like me to stop going out with her?"
Jill shook her head

--Maxwell "Is she sick? Not feeling well and at the vet?"
"I swear I never took her to that place, we were just watching a movie!"

--Jill "No Max, she isn't sick"
"Was something, wrong with Grape that night?"

--Maxwell "Why ask that?"
Maxwell was looking bewildered by the current situation as Jeff got in

--Maxwell "She said she preferred the effects used in the original over the remake but that was it"
"Still a good movie though"

--Jill "That night she disappeared,

Maxwell's ears went flat and turned back
--Maxwell "She's gone?"

--Jill "Unfortunately yes, I don't know what else to say Maxwell"

--Maxwell "Anything to go by?"

--Jill "No, well if there's a development then I'll let you know"

--Maxwell "Likewise"
"How's Peanut dealing with it, speaking of which where is he?"

--Jill "Over at Tarot's, though he has been a bit down in the dumps lately"
"I was on my way to the vet to put up a flyer"

--Maxwell "Well you're lucky he is over there & that Bino isn't in"

--Jill "Here's one,"
She said handing one over to Max, before long Jill was on her way to the vet as she waved to Maxwell goodbye...

[trekkie]

Well, now Max knows, and I feel like hugging him. Nice of him to ask about Peanut.

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 11)

Echo & Grape were walking in the woods outside the cabin when the sky started flickering before going dark

--Grape "Uh, Echo has something like this happened before?"

--Echo "This is new, even for me"
He said as everything stood still and all the sky went red before turning white with a gird pattern, followed by the walls which were now visible in the distance and lastly the floor
All the decoration in the room including the trees and cabin started sinking into the ground
Then before the two could react, they were in complete darkness before the walls in front of them folded open inwards

The light shined through like one from the end of a dark tunnel

Grape and Echo looked towards each other

--Grape "Well then, looks like we have a way out"
"Shall we?"

--Echo "I don't think that's a good idea, what if something is on the other side?"

--Grape "And staying here till whoever or whatever put us here shows up is?"

--Echo "Fair enough"

--Grape "Then let's get going then"
Grape said as she started running towards the light followed behind by Echo, as the two were getting closer to the light they started shielding their eyes with their arms and had slowed down the pace
After a minute or so they had left

They entered a wide open room
The room was light grey and was relatively clean even though it looked like it hadn't been used in years with some containers all over the place with what appeared to be a charging unit for the robotic double being knocked down

Grape noticed there was one cube in each of the corners which had a blue haze, there appeared to be a connection on top of the cubes going up into the room above with beams of blue light going up through it which helped illuminate the otherwise dark room

She then looked over her shoulder only to find that they were in one but it was red, she took a few steps forward before looking around the corner of the one they came from only to see another one in the corner

--Echo "Right there, there's a open door!"
"Just at the other end of the room"
He said running towards it as Grape explored the room
There were three doors in the room

One facing the exit from the cube they had just left, another one to the right of the exit and one behind it
The one facing the exit was the only one that was open

--Echo "Notice how you said there were other missing pets?"
"You don't think they are in those cubes, do ya?"

--Grape "Well there's five of them and we just left one so..."

--Echo "What do we do now?"

--Grape "That place we were in had a connection to the floor above?"

--Echo "It looks like it..."
"Are the other doors open?"

Grape went over to Echo shaking her head

--Grape "Nope, only that one you're at"

--Echo "Can't you open them?"

--Grape "Unless if you know what those markings on the panel beside the door means?"
"Then no..."

[trekkie]

Excellent job on this! Keep up the good work!

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 12)

--Echo "Well let's see where door number one leads us, shall we?"
The Collie said before going through the open door followed behind by Grape

--Grape "Remember when you said that you didn't have much to return home to?"

--Echo "...Yea?"
Echo looked over to Grape

--Grape "Then what's that small thing that you do have to return to?"

--Echo "Braxton, my owner's son"
"He must have been heartbroken the day it happened"

--Grape "And you're content with leaving him behind?"

--Echo "What else am I supposed to do?"
"I can't exactly return home if I don't know where it is"
Echo said in a defeated tone, then the duo had ran into a fork in the road so to speak

Two paths, the one to the right seemed to lead to a dead end whilst the other kept going with what appeared to be a huge window going out until the doorway on the other side of the corridor, with panels on the floor lighting it up

--Echo "Uh ok, seems like we're going left"
Said Echo as ran through the corridor
"Finally some idea as of where we"

Echo came to a halt as his ears went flat against his head & his tail remained still
--Echo "I... Retract my statement about it not being aliens..."

"What do you mean?"
Said Grape as she caught up to Echo when see saw what was outside the window

An empty void with specks of glistening lights which came from the stars, after a couple of seconds it had dawned on them

--Echo "A car or van I could possibly drive but a spaceship?!"
"Come on"
Echo said with a slight whimper

--Grape "Well that sure does throw a spanner in the works for the plan"

--Echo "You had a plan?"

--Grape "Find a way out and free the others"

--Echo "Doesn't sound like much of a plan, you're missing a lot of key details there"

--Grape "Look on the bright side, at least we can actually watch the stars this time?"

--Echo "I guess you're right, anyway who should be on watch?"

--Grape "Say again?"

--Echo "If one of us has to sleep or go somewhere then who will stand watch?"

--Grape "Can't it just alternate between the two of us?"

--Echo "That's the idea but you don't even know how to"

--Grape "How to take out one of those doubles?"
"Hit it with enough force around the top of where the muzzle is or would be, that's how you took care of that last one?"

--Echo "And that should be it dealt with, just don't stand too close to it though"
"Anyway I think it is best that we keep moving, this is probably not the safest of places here"

[trekkie]

Keep up the good work on this.

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 13)

Fin took a seat in the interview room as a black cat entered

--Fin "Name? "

--??? "Maxwell"

--Fin "Alright Maxwell, you probably know why we're here?"
"Something to do with your girlfriend?"

--Maxwell "I do"

--Fin "And you were one of the last pets to be with her?"

--Maxwell "Yeah we were out watching a movie"

--Fin "Could you tell me what happened?"

--Maxwell "Well I went over to Grape's place to ask her owners if she could come out for a bit"

--Fin "And what did they say?"

--Maxwell "They didn't answer, it was Grape who answered"

--Fin "Did it look like there was anything bothering her?"

--Maxwell "Nothing seemed to be bothering her"

--Fin "What was your relation with her like?"

Maxwell just remained silent for a moment
--Maxwell "It was good, I was...Am her boyfriend"

--Maxwell "I wouldn't have done anything to harm her, I just wouldn't..."
He said in a slightly raised voice

--Fin "Calm down, ok?"
"So when you were going to the movies did you two notice anything to cause alarm?"

--Maxwell "What do you mean?"

--Fin "People or pets who looked suspicious, lights from a car that was following behind? "
"That kind of stuff"

--Maxwell "Not really, we just got popcorn and watched the movie"

Fin nodded before moving the chair closer to the table
--Fin "And what about afterwards?"

--Maxwell "She said that her owners didn't like her being out late"

--Fin "Then she went back home?"

--Maxwell "That's the last time I've seen her, yes"

--Fin "Anything else that you'd like to add?"

--Maxwell "Nothing that comes to mind"
Maxwell slid out of the chair pushing it against the table and left the room

"There nothing new, so that's all you could do and nothing"
The German Shepherd said to himself as he got off of the chair

Outside the police station)

Jeff was waiting outside in a car as Maxwell walked up to it & opened the passenger side door then entered
And Fin had walked out of the station, with no uniform on and Jeff drove off just as Fin started walking back home

--Fin "Come on, there's gotta be a detail that everybody is overlooking"

[trekkie]

Aw, I want to hug Max. Poor guy is so anxious and insecure.

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

This is a really good story, there's a lot of emotion to these characters. You've also set up a great mystery. This sci-fi stuff raises a lot of questions...
And poor Peanut and Max

[Amazee Dayzee]

Still am enjoying where you are going with this! Wonderful job!

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 13, part 2)

"Join the force you'd make a difference, that's why I joined but do I see much of a difference?"
"People are still scared and nobody knows what to do"
Fin thought as he opened the door to the house and entered the study


--Fin "All we know is that lights were seen by both of the witnesses"
Fin said to himself getting onto the chair close to the desk

--Fin "Of course we could try looking into the possible connection between the lights & UFOs"
"But every time I even suggested that, the idea has been laughed at"
Fin's head dropped onto the desk

Richard heard it and stood outside the door
--Richard "Usually I'd commemorate you for your dedication to your job Fin"
"But when you take home its problems with ya, well then..."

--Fin "There's no problem, just that this case is gonna run cold"

--Richard "Don't beat yourself up over it, there's tons of unsolved cases"
Fin raised his head off of the desk and swivelled the chair around

--Fin "That's easy for you to say, try comforting the victim's adopted brother or their friend"
"Knowing that there's probably no chance of finding them alive, the first 72 hours of a missing person or pet are vital"

--Richard "But the important thing is that they haven't given up"

--Fin "Every attempt to get them to look into the lights in the sky and what the witnesses saw at the shelter has been dismissed"
"Though I guess that just shows how desperate I am, almost as if we're chasing our own tails"

--Richard "You did like doing that when you were a pup, think I still have the home video of that"

--Fin "Isn't the time for that"

--Richard "All I'm saying is that if this is getting to you, then take a break from it"

--Fin "Like Kevin?"
"No I'm not gonna abandon them"

--Richard "I'm sure you'll find something, you were always good at that"
Richard said walking away leaving the German Shepherd in the study who as he closed the door behind him


Meanwhile)

Echo and Grape continued on their way to the floor above, taking a right turn

--Echo "How do you know where it is?"

--Grape "I don't know but this must lead somewhere"

--Echo "Am I the only one who is hungry?"
He said as his stomach growled

--Grape "You're not the only one"
"Besides I don't know where the food is nor would I like to try it"

--Echo "It has kept me alive for this length of time, hasn't it?"
Echo noticed the fifth door along the right-pawside was opened slightly
--Echo "There!"
He said drawing Grape's attention to it

--Grape "It is a door, your point is?"

--Echo "My point is that there might be something in there"
"Help me open it?"
Echo said going over to the door getting ready to try and push it as Grape went over to where it would slide open, trying to get a grip on it to assist Echo

--Echo "Alright?"
"On three..."
Grape nodded

--Echo "One.....Two.....THREE!!"
He said as he pushed the door inwards as Grape pulled back causing the door to shift ever so slightly leaving a narrow gap

--Grape "Think one of us could get in now?"

--Echo "You should be able to, I'll keep an eye out"

When Grape entered the room through the narrow gap she was caught by surprise by how bright the room was which were in sharp contrast to the rest of the place
There was what looked like containers along either side of the room stacked to chest height
A covering on one of them was loose so Grape decided to open it
Only to see what she assumed were rations in blank grey packets, stacked on top of each other

--Grape "Think I've found something"

--Echo "Like what?"

--Grape "I don't know, food I'm guessing?"

--Echo "Get as much as you can"

--Grape "We don't have anything with pockets, maybe the collars?"
"Don't know about you but I don't want it rubbing against my neck"

--Echo "Nevertheless we now know where the food is"

--Grape "If it is even food"
Grape took a sniff of the packet
"I've had some... Unique cuisine in the past let's put it like that but that stuff?"

--Grape "No thank you"

--Echo "Won't you starve though?"

--Grape "I don't intend on staying here for long"
She said leaving the room with three packets in paw, giving them in the Collie who put them between his neck and collar

--Echo "Was there anything else in there?"

--Grape "Not really, just containers full of it"

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

And we thought airline food was bad
Great chapter! I like the two perspectives.

[Amazee Dayzee]

At least with that they did get airline food! On my plane ride back and forth during my vacation I didn't get anything! DX

But I am really liking where this chapter is going. Great job!

[Temno the wolf]

And we thought airline food was bad
Great chapter! I like the two perspectives.

Thank you,
It can't be that bad if a pet could survive on it for a prolonged period of time, though I suppose taste comes second
And I thought it would be a waste to have a group of characters separated and not show the two perspectives


Chapter 14)
The duo had exited the corridor only to find themselves in a room which was shaped like a pentagonal prism with a walkway connected to a somewhat spiral staircase, which continued up the way with walkways connecting to the other platforms every couple of steps
It was a fairly big drop from where they were

The stairs were grey and seemed to be in good condition
However the platforms had clear remnants of a railing but most of them only had a base and that was it
At the centre column was a figure which looked similar to what Grape had witnessed the night she was taken

It was lying down with its upper half appearing to be contorted upwards, the glass covering its face was shattered
Instead of just a tainted covering this time she could see a series of mechanisms and lights that would have been obscured by the covering
One of the lights moved around slightly, surveying the area

Grape slowly moved towards it where as Echo stayed further back

Upon getting closer Grape saw that the right leg had broke off of the joint with some sparks flying out of it on occasion
Like embers from a campfire in winter
The left arm wasn't much better, it was just loose in the socket it was attached but barely

The thing tried making a lunge for Grape but she had doged causing it to collapse off of the staircase, Grape retreated back to Echo
It tried holding onto the walkway with its left hand before the bot attempted to pull itself up onto the walkway, it swung the right arm around to get a grip
At this point the left arm snapped off from the socket as the bot clattered against the staircase, leaving the bot's claws and left arm attached to the walkway as the two pets heard the thing smash against the ground when it hit

--Grape "Echo, have you seen anything like that before?"

--Echo "Yeah that's similar to what brought me here"
"What happened to it?"

--Grape "It looked like it has seen better days, perhaps we are not the first in this predicament?"

--Echo "I hope not"

--Grape "Either that or this place is automated"

--Echo " Anyway that thing probably isn't coming back"
Echo said as he peered down from where it had fallen before stepping back

--Echo "Grape??"

--Grape "Yes, Echo?"

--Echo "What if we are not the first group of pets who've been here?"
"What if some woke up here and never returned home, cause they thought they were already there?"

--Echo "If there was a way to change that however..."

--Grape "Echo, things happen that we can't change"
"There's a lot of stuff that I would change if given the opportunity, but I can't..."

--Grape "It just doesn't work like that"
"Though we're making a change now, we are going to be the last lot of pets who end up in here"

Outside of the facility)

A craft headed towards the facility
As it got closer it slowed down to a steady pace before clamps folded out from the bay doors and latched onto the facility's exterior
Soon after a metallic arm dropped from the underside attaching something to the exterior

Inside the craft were a group of five cladded in all black, making final preparations as a series of red lights turned green
They were in some kind of spacesuit which had a display on their wrists as well as a blue visor with lights which surrounded the rims of visor closest to their mouth
The group of five all had a relatively humanoid appearance despite of the digitigrade stance and the shape of their helmets
A hatch had opened up with a weapon rack being lowered, three of them (FR2, FR4 & FR5) took a short and compact, twin barrelled bullpup
Where as the others (FR1 & FR3) took a pistol that had a light beneath the barrel which complimented its slick design

All of them were checking their gear except for FR3 who activated something on their display, whatever was attached to the facility exploded
The bay doors then opened as they entered through the breach and fanned out as the clamps detatched and their craft disappeared from sight, as the blast doors closed

Inside the facility)

--Echo "I guess you're right"
"Anyway, you think they heard that?"

--Grape "Doubt it"
The cat said as the two heard a loud explosion coming from one of the lower floors

--Echo "Okay, they definitely heard that!!"
Echo said as he started running up the staircase followed by Grape

[Amazee Dayzee]

I am loving how everything is coming together! Awesome job!

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

These aliens aren't messing around. What is their agenda??
Great chapter!

[trekkie]

Nice job on this, keep up the good work.

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 15)

The group of five entered a room similar to the one that Grape and Echo had escaped from but it was in a serious state of disrepair
FR2 & FR5 trained their weapons on the other entrances as FR4 checked the corners, FR1 gave the all clear
After a quick survey of the area they had found that the only cube in use was the one in the centre

FR3 got to work on it, using a device to make an opening
A couple minutes later there was a hole big enough for entry, FR3 was the first to enter followed by FR1 and FR4 however it was almost pitch black
As FR3's lights lit up the area they could see two bots which raised their heads in unison, FR3 took a couple steps back followed soon after by three shots in quick succession...

The bots dropped to the ground at the same time as the casings, FR3 stepped over them as FR4 & FR1 dragged them out of the cube
FR1 & FR3 were side by side with FR4 taking point, the group of three were in a simulation of a bungalow
However when they entered the living room they were greeted by a ghastly sight as their lights illuminated the room

Meanwhile in Babylon Gardens)

Jill was walking home with Peanut

--Jill "So, did you have a good time over at Tarot's?"

--Peanut "Yeah, it was alright!"
He said with his tail wagging,

--Jill "Didn't she dress up as a witch on the same Halloween that you were dressed as a wizard?"
"You two looked so cute together back then"

--Peanut "I remember that"
Peanut said, letting out a small chuckle as he remembered when Tarot pretended that she had forgotten how to land the broom

[Amazee Dayzee]

Definitely thinking this story gets better and better! Stupendous work!

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

The intrigue continues. Nice chapter, I look forward to more

[trekkie]

Good job on this chapter. Keep up the good work.

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 16)

The two had found a way into the cavity on the level above, it wasn't the best of places to get sleep but it was better than nothing, it was wide enough for the two to walk side by side
There were pipes going along either side and over the covering which they had entered from

--Echo "This must be some kind of maintiance area"

--Grape "It appears so, let's just hope that nobody needs to do some last minute work"

--Echo "So just a quick rest then back to what we're doing?"

--Grape "That's the plan"

--Echo "What did you mean by we would be the last lot of pets who end up here?"
"We don't have an escape plan yet and the only way to guarantee that would be to"
Echo's eyes widened

--Echo "Oh, if we can't find a way out then we go up with this place"

--Grape "We aren't gonna die here, you hear me?"
"We are going to release the others if they're here and then trash whatever is powering those things"
Grape reassured Echo

--Echo "What's it like, over there?"

--Grape "Babylon Gardens?... It is a great place, only downside is what the other pets get up to"
"If you want to call that a downside that is"

--Grape "I'll give you a tour of the place when this is all over, I promise"

--Echo "I'd appreciate... That"

--Grape "What's that thing over there, beside the pile of junk?"
Echo went over to investigate,

--Echo "I'm no expert on this tech but I'd say it is a gun of some description"
He said picking up the slick silver and blue pistol off of the ground with the barrel pointing towards the floor

--Echo "Should we?"

--Grape "No, we're not killers"

--Echo "And you're a cat"

--Grape "What does that have to do with it?"

--Echo "I don't know, kinda funny hearing that come from a cat"

--Grape "Regardless I don't think either of us knows how to work that..."

-Echo "Point the barrel at whatever you want to obliterate and pull the trigger"

--Grape "I meant how to reload it"
"How many shots does it have?"

--Echo "Well there's a display with lights in each individual segment on the back of the grip"
"Seven shots I'm guessing"

--Grape "Bring it along with us if you want but watch out where you're pointing that thing"

--Echo "I know"

--Grape "I don't think either of us would like to be blown out into space"
"Also don't waste those shots on the first bot or double we see, only if absolutely needed?"
Echo nodded

--Grape "I'll be on watch this time"

--Echo "Ok then, also here you go"
Echo handed it over to Grape as he decided to rest under the pipes, taking off his locket and holding it in his paws

Grape placed the pistol on one of the pipes
Keeping a firm eye on the entry point whilst looking for a possible hiding spot or escape route if it were needed

Heavy footsteps were heard just on the other side of the wall and a faint voice which sounded like Grape's followed by a succession of muffled cracks was heard waking up Echo, in a few seconds the two then heard something hit the floor followed by a loud thud

A shimmering light came in from the covering, as a scraping sound came from behind it before another succession of muffled cracks and it stopped...
Whatever was on the other side tried to get in making a lot of noise on the other side then nothing
Grape reached over to the pistol, her paws shaking as she raised it aiming for the covering
Echo stayed close to the wall, he heard a distorted voice mixed in with static and then there was silence

Counting in his head as the time passed
Seconds turned into minutes and minutes felt like hours
Before long it seemed that whatever was on the other end had moved on
Grape lowered the pistol slowly as Echo got away from the wall before attaching the locket back onto his collar

--Echo "I think it is gone"
The Collie whispered, peeking out trying to get an idea as of what happened... He saw empty casings over at the walkway connecting to the platform And a double of Grape lying on the ground close to the covering, with the blue liquid flowing out of it
Its right arm was behind it sparking
After a couple seconds the body went up in flames

--Grape "Echo, is it clear?"

--Echo "For the time being"
As a series of footsteps were heard coming from around the corner, Echo snuck back to where Grape was hiding
Moving the covering back into position

--Echo "I think they're coming back"

--Grape "Then shush, till they pass"

[trekkie]

Nice chapter. I hope that we get to see Echo in Babylon Gardens.

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

Something tells me there's going to be a close encounter soon. I hope the aliens are friendly Great chapter!

[Amazee Dayzee]

I'm just hoping that the aliens leave their probes behind when they meet up with the pets.

[Temno the wolf]

Nice chapter. I hope that we get to see Echo in Babylon Gardens.

Something tells me there's going to be a close encounter soon. I hope the aliens are friendly Great chapter!

Thanks everyone!

Chapter 17)

The two pets had been waiting for what felt like hours, Echo had already finished what food was in the two packets


--Echo "That must be them?"
"Can't we check?"
The Collie whispered

--Grape "And what if they return or worse what if they are still there?"

--Echo "We either run, die or our memories get erased and thus continuing some kind of cycle"

--Grape "Cycle?"

--Echo "A series of events which end in a reset back to the status quo before said events"
"I could list a couple I know of like the back of my paw"

Grape glanced over to Echo
--Grape "You can't be serious?"

--Echo "I've watched too much sci-fi, that's my excuse"
Echo shrugged

--Echo "So are we going out there or?"

--Grape "I think they aren't aware of us, and I'd like to keep it that way"

--Echo "But they could be friendly considering they took out that double"

--Grape "Yes Echo, a double which sounded and probably looked like me"
"I wouldn't like to go ask them to find out"

--Echo "There was a room right there with what probably powered those things in it"
"We have to go back"

--Grape "And risk cutting the life support?"
"We weren't directly over where we came from and we can use this place to get away from them"
Grape started walking onwards followed behind by Echo

--Echo "It was still there"

--Grape "What we are doing is trying to find what those cubes were connected to and figure it out from there,"
"I doubt anyone would have the power supply for those things in a random room"

--Echo "We don't know that though"

--Grape "Shelters just don't have the standby generator in a random room"

Echo stopped in his tracks
--Echo "Oh, you were from a shelter?"
He said trying to catch up with her as she turned round the corner

--Grape "Yeah I was, but now I have loving owners and Peanut"

--Echo "W-wasn't your previous owner good to you?"

--Grape "They were"
"The reason why I was in a shelter was due to 'em dying, they didn't have any relatives"

--Echo "No neighbours?"

--Grape "The closet neighbour was a good couple of miles away, so the only real option was shelter"
Grape said shaking her head slowly

--Echo "Mind if I ask, but how'd they die?

--Grape "I was only a kitten back then, I don't remember every detail"
"I'd rather not dwell on that, I'll always cherish those memories and time I had with 'em... Even if it were cut short"

--Echo "I'm so"

--Grape "Sorry?"
Grape sighed
"Echo... I've heard it all before, what is done is done and nobody can change that"

--Echo "That reminds me of"

--Grape "Can it wait until we aren't being hunted?"

--Echo "It can wait, also it looks like there's a covering up ahead"

Echo rushed over removing the cover and exiting before helping out Grape but they were both blinded
When the two had gotten their bearings they saw three figures in black, two of them had their weapons trained over Grape and Echo
Grape tried aiming the pistol at one of the three figures, a shot was fired knocking it out of her paw
Followed by a distorted voice

Echo got onto his knees and placed his paws over his head, Grape had done the same
As the Third figure had walked inbetween the other two figures, with pet tags hanging from its right hand

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

Nice chapter. What a cliffhanger...

[Amazee Dayzee]

Have to agree with that. It was a great cliffhanger! This is a great story!

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 18)

The figure in the middle looked over towards the two pets as Grape looked at the tags and closed her eyes when she noticed the other two figures had steadied their aim
The two pets were both waiting for the inevitable

She could hear each footstep as it drew closer then it stopped
Grape reluctantly opened her eyes only to see that it was just standing there as it turned around slightly and gave a quick nod to the other two figures before turning to face the two pets again
The two figures behind had lowered their weapons

--Echo "Come on, just get it over with!!"
"You took everything from me"

The figure just stared at Echo

--???-- "Plan-Planet of residence?"

The two pets moved their paws from their heads and looked towards each other

--Grape "Was that?"

--Echo "English?"

--???-- "It was rather easy patching it in,"

--Echo "Probably from your double, Grape"

--???-- "Now, I won't be asking you again"
"Planet of residence?"

--Echo "Who or what are you?!"
"We are not gonna divulge that cause why does it matter?!"
The Dog shouted before getting up

--Grape "Echo"

--???-- "That's on a need to know basis"

--Echo "Well I need to know!!"

--???-- "You don't"
Grape got up slowly

--Grape "Oh I think we do, considering we were brought over here & placed in a simulation of our homes"

--Echo "Those tags?"
"Where did you get them?"

--???-- "Casualties"

--Grape "Casualties?"

--???-- "Two bodies..."
The figure raised up its right hand showing two pet tags
One was just silver with a silhouette of a bird flying whilst the other was just a red tag with no special markings or anything

--Grape "You could've done that for all we know"

--???-- "If that were the case, then you two wouldn't be here right now"

--Grape "So we weren't the first ones here...."

--Echo " Uh Grape, aren't you forgetting about me?"
"I've been here for either a couple months or a year"

--Grape "Ok, so what now?"

--???-- "FR1 & FR2 will continue to the objective, you lot just stay behind us"

--Echo "FR?"

--???-- "Fiacee Rescue..."
"I'm FR3, those other two are FR4 & FR5"

--Echo "Good to know"

FR3 noticed something was up with FR2's feed, FR4 & FR5 thought it was something causing interference with the sensors on the helmet

The feed shown FR2 & FR1 in what looked like a generator room when FR2 saw something scurrying off into the distance, they fired a couple shots in its general direction
FR2 then went over to investigate only to be ambushed by something before flatlining

FR1's feed picked up something dragging FR2 into the shadows
Then screams were heard as the feed was cut off and FR1's vitals flatlined

--FR3-- "Alright, change of plan"

[trekkie]

Very nice work on these chapters, they are very well-written.

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

Interesting developments. I look forward to knowing more about these FR-dudes

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 18, part 2)

--Echo "Change of plan?"
"What plan?"
The Collie started pacing around the room

--FR3-- "That doesn't concern you two"

--Grape "Echo stop pacing, we will find a way"

--Echo "Aight, but what about the others?"

--Grape "That's assuming that they're in here with us"

--FR3-- "Others?"

--Grape "Missing pet...."
Grape cleared her throat

--Grape "Missing persons"

--FR3-- "So you were planning on releasing them"
 "With whatever took out FR1 & FR2 still lurking around in this facility?"

--Echo "We didn't exactly know that at the time..."
"Just do whatever to get us back... Home"

--FR5-- "Look we don't even know where your planet is located"
"Nevermind how advanced your civilization is"
FR5 said whilst adjusting the sights on its weapon

--Grape "No worries we've landed on a moon and we have a space station"

--FR5-- "So we can drop you off at the latter?"

--Echo "No, that probably isn't a good idea"

--FR5-- "Any colonies established on other worlds?"

--Echo "Nope"

--FR3-- "So, it isn't that advanced?"

--Grape "It isn't, unfortunately"

--FR3-- "We can work around that at the time"

--Echo "What about that thing? "

--FR3-- "That creature?"
"Firstly we will have to trap it & then it should be straightforward from there"

[NHWestoN]

Intriguing …

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

I hope our alien friends don't think our stranded Earthlings are too primitive to be worth rescuing.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I do enjoy how this is all coming along! Wonderful work!