The Villains' Hero (second draft)

Chapter 9: Catastrophic Cataclysm

            A few hours had passed. Blythe had created a device that Paxton brought over which would allow Karma to stay in the cat form through the night. He was given lots of pets from the little girl before she had to go to bed, and the father came home soon after. “What’s with the cat, Love?” He asked, spotting Karma who tried to act natural. He went over to the man, rubbing against his legs then rolling over. ‘This is so humiliating…’

            “Your daughter found her, named her Magpie. Cute isn’t she? You know I couldn’t deny Kaylee, when she has her heart set on something she does it.” The man chuckled and gave Karma a quick pat, which made him shiver but he began to purr slightly to hide his discomfort. The man then turned serious as he turned towards the woman. “We need to talk.. It’s important.” They went out onto the balcony to discuss things in private. Karma managed to slip out when they opened the doors, and while everything in him was telling him to leave, he said to listen in. As they sat down, he hopped up into their laps, curling up into a small ball. One perk to being a cat, he can listen in completely outside of suspicion. “It’s Eros, Hun. They’ve really done it this time.”

            “What did they do?”

            “There were some children spraying graffiti on the city hall today. Gryph and Flamix came to stop them.  They did but…”

            That must have been the call his parents received before they left off in a hurry, Karma pieced together. He did a quick scan and saw no cameras. This balcony was completely private. Karma figured it was due to the little girl’s parents’ position within Eros. “Did something happen to the children?”

            “Yes. Gryph and Flamix only went to scold them, but then Maha from Eros’ top council came down herself.  I was nearby and she called me over. She made me arrest them.” Karma’s ears flicked as he looked over to the man, who looked disheveled and very guilty. His brown eyes showed long hours as did his scruffy stubble. His brown hair was military cut and he had scars over his lips. This man had definitely had some serious encounters. He stretched his white wings behind him, being of a lower angel class. “She made you arrest them?”

            “There’s more. Once they were arrested, they were forced to take their pills early. Kids were probably only 15. They wouldn’t be ready for the pills for another 5 years. It uh… It transformed them incorrectly. It appeared they were going to become angel class but their wings caught flame… Then changed into demon wings. Maha said that not only did they preform criminal actions, but she said they were Fallen because they couldn’t keep a Risen form as a test for proof… It was awful bearing witness… She said it was a warning to others to not uh not follow the ‘darkened path.’ I don’t understand…” He ran a hand over his scruff, clearly distraught by what he witnessed. “Then she sent them down to Hunloy, made them fall.”

               The woman covered her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. "They were just children...!" Karma understood her dismay. His blood boiled just thinking about it. 'Eros is now punishing children...? This has got to stop..!' He lashed his tails, still disguised, extremely angry. Though cats can't see red, he might as well have been. The man ran a hand through his hair, tears in his own eyes.

                 "I can't stop thinking... What if that happened to our kids..?" Kids? Karma only knew of the little girl. There must be an older one he hasn't met yet. His wife offered a consolidating hug and Karma was accidentally pushed off onto the ground. He softly landed on his paws, looking up at the couple. He felt like this was a private moment he shouldn't be apart of, so he went over to the door and quietly meowed, pawing it. The man got up and let Karma in before returning to his wife while they comforted each other and tried to move past what had happened. Karma then took the opportunity to explore the house.