Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

His world was dark. He had still not yet opened his eyes. Around him were the mews and squeals of others of his kind… his siblings. He was lying against a soft surface that was rising and falling slowly. There were a few other sounds he could hear; strange roars and beeps that came from somewhere distant. He had no idea where he was in the world, but he knew he was safe, wherever this was.

He felt something nuzzle against his head; a large furry creature. Could it be… his mother perhaps? The creature let out a low meow and a soft hiss as it examined him.

“A runt…” a soft yet familiar voice said. He had no idea what that word meant, but something deep inside him told him it wasn’t anything good. The creature… his mother… sniffed him again and let out another hiss.

“Poor thing won’t survive,” she muttered.

“He seems strong,” Another voice said, this time a male. He sounded calm and commanding at the same time, someone who would do anything to protect those he loved. “Give him a chance. Maybe he’ll live.”

“He’s too small,” the first voice replied. “Too weak. He’ll be a waste of food, especially if he’s going to die either way.”

“What are you saying?” the second voice asked.

The first voice sighed. “We’ll have to leave him,” she said. “It’s for the best.” She nuzzled him again with her nose. “I’m sorry, little one,” she whispered. “But you cannot last in this world.”

“Don’t just give up on him!” The second voice cried. “He might have a chance. You’ll be dooming him if you go ahead and leave him without any food.”

“We have too many kittens,” the first voice replied. “Too many mouths to feed. The birds and rats in Paris are too hard to catch, and they’re the only good food source for miles around.”

“So you’re going to let him starve to death?” the second voice asked. “You might as well end his misery right now.”

The first voice sighed again. “No,” she said sternly. “I can’t bring myself to kill one of my own.” The pillow of fur left his head, and he dropped lifelessly to the cold stone floor. He mewed pitifully, begging for his mother to return to him. “I am sorry,” his mother said again. “Come, we must take the kittens elsewhere.”

The second voice sighed. The other mewing of his siblings faded into the distance along with the warmth of his parents. He cried out, but for how long he couldn’t tell. Even when he finally opened his eyes, there was no one there but himself. It was dark and he could barely see, the only visible light came from somewhere in the distance. There were a few glittering spots in the sky, but they didn’t provide enough light for him to properly see. He cried out again, but to no avail.

Time passed on, and he was growing hungrier every minute. But then, he heard something scurry towards him. Multiple somethings in fact. Two furry shapes appeared from behind a corner. They looked too small to be his parents, and too big to be his siblings. They were something else entirely. One of them cautiously approached him and sniffed his fur.

“A kitten…” it muttered. He couldn’t understand the language in which they speak. It sounded more like squeaking more than anything.

“It looks like a newborn,” the other creature replied. “Its mother might not be far…” It looked around worriedly, its thin tail twitching.

“No,” the other creature replied. Its tiny claws pointed toward footprints engraved into the stone pavement. “Its mother left. She abandoned it.” The creature nuzzled his fur, just as his mother had done. “Oh, you poor thing…” it muttered.

“So, we’re just going to leave it here, right?” the second creature asked.

“No!” the first creature cried. “It won't survive! Not without our care!” It wrapped its claws around him. “We’re taking it back,” it said sternly.

“Won’t it kill us?” the second creature asked.

The first creature shook its tiny head. “Not if we help it. I believe cats are smarter than they look. Come on!” The second creature groaned, but didn’t argue. They both wrapped their claws around him and dragged him into the dark corner in which they came from. He didn’t bother fighting, he was too weak and hungry to fight back. The shadow swallowed him up and plunged him into endless darkness.

He awoke in a small room with tiny glittering lights. The two creatures from before stood over him holding out something toward his nose. It smelled like food, and he was really hungry…

Slowly, he reached out and took the piece of food from the creature’s claws. It was food after all! He swallowed it up in an instant and opened his mouth again, expecting more.

“Oh come on, it wants more?” one of the creatures complained.

“Of course it wants more,” the other one replied. “Who knows how long it's been laying there, starving and confused.” It held out another piece of food, and he took it without hesitation. He could feel his strength slowly coming back to him. Another piece of food was held out to him, and once again he snatched it in his teeth and swallowed it.
“So… we’re keeping it I suppose?” one of the creatures asked.

“Yes,” the food-bearing creature said. No, it was more appropriate to call it ‘mother.’ “It needs a family to take care of it.” The creature stroked his head with its claws. “We’ll call you Apo,” it said softly. “Don’t worry little one, you’re in good claws.”

Chapter Text

It had only been a month, and Apo was already half the size of his parents.

Well, his parents weren’t that big to begin with. For some reason, he remembered someone much bigger who took care of him… or at least, was supposed to take care of him, but the memory was so blurry now that it didn’t really matter at this point. His parents took care of him and loved him, and that’s really all he cared about, even if he did look a little funny compared to the other rats.

“Apo!” His mother’s voice rang through the tiny house that they called home. Apo stretched out his paws and arched his back in a long stretch before bounding out of his room and into the kitchen. A piece of fresh fish was placed on the table ready for him to eat.

Another thing that made Apo stand out from all the other rats, he hated cheese. It tasted disgusting and made him want to puke. His parents didn’t mention this to anyone else, and Apo understood why; it was kind of weird to not like cheese, especially when you’re a rat. Cheese is meant to be a rat's favorite meal, but Apo’s favorite was fresh fish and chicken. Unfortunately, his diet tended to cause his parents quite a bit of trouble. Obtaining fresh meat wasn’t an easy task since most of the time you’d have to steal from the humans, and no rat liked going near humans.

Apo gobbled up the fish in an instant. It still had bits of ice stuck in it, presumably from sitting in a human’s freezer, but Apo didn’t mind, as long as it wasn’t cheese. Apo’s parents were also in the kitchen nibbling on a chunk of cheese. Apo always wondered why they had such long noses and short and stubby claws and he didn’t, but whenever he tried to ask, they always told him it might be just some sort of strange genetic mutation or a birth defect of some kind.

“What did you find outside today?” Apo asked.

“Oh, nothing much,” his mother replied. “We just grabbed a piece of salmon and some cheese from the humans. Nothing else worth mentioning.” She continued to nibble on the cheese.

“When will I be allowed outside?” Apo asked.

“When you’re older,” his father replied. Apo sighed. That was always the answer and was always followed by ‘It’s too dangerous,’ ‘There’s too many humans and cats out there.’ But Apo believed that to live life at its fullest, one must discover everything that life has to offer, and sometimes, that means throwing themselves into danger to experience the thrill of the unknown! But his parents always called him reckless for having such thoughts.

Apo trotted to the window and sat down, staring out into the open world beyond. It was night time right now with the stars glittering in the sky and the moon shining brightly overhead. He longed to be out there in the streets, to meet other rats and scavenge for food for himself, but instead he was confined to a tiny space high up in some random building in Paris. He wondered if there were any rats out there that were like him. If only his parents would just let him outside the house, he could find out for himself!

Apo fiddled with the red hood that his parents had given him. He had for as long as he could remember. It covered up his ears and the majority of his face except for his eyes and mouth. Along with it, his parents had given him a set of gloves to wear around his paws. It kind of made him look like a bounty hunter or a rogue rat, which he liked the idea of.

Suddenly, he heard hissing and the sound of huge footsteps thundering outside. His parents stopped as well, their ears twitching. A low, rumbling voice echoed through the room, “Stupid rats… I keep seeing them around in this area. Hopefully the cats will be able to find them faster than us…”

Cats! That must be what’s making those hissing sounds! Along with the hissing, there were also low growls and meows. It sounded a bit familiar to Apo, although he wasn’t sure why; he’d never seen a cat in his life. Strangely enough, he could also make out a few words that the cats were saying, “Rats… kill… food…”

“Apo, keep quiet,” his mother whispered. Apo stood as still as possible with his tail raised high in the air. A shadow passed over the little door that served as the exit to the house. What looked like a nose poked through the doorway, sniffing.

“Are they in there?” the loud, gruff voice asked.

“Yes…” the cat meowed in response.

A loud bang shook the house. It took all of Apo’s willpower to not run for his life, but even if he did, he’d have nowhere to go. The doorway was blocked and jumping out of the window would lead to certain death. Another bang. A crack appeared in the wall. Bang. The crack spread until it spanned the entire wall. One last bang, and then the wall crumbled before him.

Two cats were standing on the other side of the broken wall. Their mouths were open with drool dripping from their fangs. Their claws were unsheathed and were glinting in the light that came streaming into the room. They looked even more terrifying than Apo had imagined.

The cats attacked without hesitation. They launched themselves toward the kitchen table, smashing it in half. His parents let out high-pitched squeals of terror. Apo’s instincts sprang into action. He sprinted toward the window and launched himself at it. The glass shattered in front of him and before he knew it, he was falling.

The wind grabbed at his fur as he fell from the sky. He collapsed into something large and black, and he watched as the blackness swallowed him up, cutting off the light from the glittering stars and the shining moon. It was all over…

Chapter Text

Apo blinked open his eyes. Miraculously, he wasn’t dead. Through the inky blackness, he could see a small crack in which light filtered through. He reached his paws toward the light, and the surface below him shifted and twisted. He wrigged around until the black surface regurgitated and he emerged into the sunlight.

The smell was awful. Apo was surrounded by rotten food and slimy substances along with multiple black objects like the one that had swallowed him up earlier. And standing above him was a rat he’d never seen. His fur was a dark brown and he wore a mask and donned a black and yellow outfit along with a cape.

“You look comfortable down there!” The mysterious rat said with a chuckle. “Must’ve been nice sleeping in a dumpster!” He laughed.

“Who are you?” Apo asked as he wrigged out of the ‘dumpster’ as the rat called it. His paws scrambled to get a hold on the edge of the dumpster, but finally he managed to get a grip and hoist himself out of the foul-smelling place.

“I am Ratman!” The rat squeaked with pride. “And who are you? Catboy? Oh wait, I’ve got it: Meow Meow!” He laughed again.

“Wh- why are you calling me that?” Apo squeaked. The mention of cats suddenly brought back the memories from last night. The large terrifying creatures with glowing evil eyes… and his parents, were they…? No, no, they have to be alive; they just managed to escape a different path than what Apo took. Yeah, that sounded about right.

“Your little hood makes it look like you have cat ears!” Ratman said as if it was the funniest joke in existence. “You’re like a tiny cat!” He giggled.

“I- I’m not a cat!” Apo protested. Was this rat really calling him a cat? A monster? Apo knew he looked different from most rats, but there was no way that he resembled a cat!

Ratman sighed. “Can’t take a joke can you?” He shook his head. “Whatever. You got any place to stay other than that dumpster?”

Apo wanted to decline. He just wanted to go home and see his family again, but the threat of those cats made the fur on his back stand on edge. And… this was what he always wanted, a chance to explore the world outside his home. Surely his parents can wait a little longer while he ventured out a bit…

“Not really,” Apo replied.

Ratman smiled. “Then follow me!”

The two of them trotted down the streets past roaring cars and crowds of humans. Apo had only seen humans from afar, but he never really had a good idea of the sheer size of them until he was running underneath their feet! They were easily ten times the size of him and could probably squash him like a bug if he ever got caught in the path of one! Thank goodness that humans hunt rats like the cats do, or else Ratman and Apo would be screwed.

“So Meow Meow, how’d you end up in a dumpster?” Ratman asked.

“I’m not ‘Meow Meow!’” Apo hissed. “I’m Apo! And I fell out of a window!”

Ratman shrugged. “Eh, Meow Meow is still a better name.” He giggled again. “How does one fall out of a window anyway? There’s glass, so unless you had the window open, there’s pretty much no way that you would-”

“I purposely jumped out the window!” Apo shouted. “Because- because there were cats! And they were- they were going to kill me!”

“Ohhh that makes more sense,” said Ratman. “Cats are little demons aren’t they? But all you need to do is claw their eyes out and then they’ll stop bothering you! You know, because they won’t be able to see you anymore!” He laughed.

“What do you mean?” Apo asked. “Are you saying that you clawed a cat’s eyes out once?”

Ratman nodded. “Oh yes, many times. I am the local vigilante here after all! Who would I be without a few murders here and there to protect the rat citizens?” He smirked. “I even killed a human once! Like I said before, go for the eyes. Small target, but easy to stab!”

Apo glanced up at the towering humans. He couldn’t imagine a tiny rat killing such a giant creature. “Wow…” Apo gasped. “Can you teach me how someday?”

Ratman laughed. “Of course! I have a feeling a rat like you could go far!”

They ran across the asphalt road until they made it to a gigantic building on the other side. It had multiple floors, but unlike the building Apo lived in before, it wasn’t thin at all. It seemed three times as wide as Apo’s old home, maybe even bigger! And at the top of the building were shining red letters that spelled out “Le Terrière.”

“Welcome to Le Terrière!” Ratman announced. “It’s a hotel for humans! But us rats like to live here as well. Plenty of food as long as you’re clever enough not to get caught!” He beckoned for Apo to follow him as he scurried toward the building’s front doors.

“Wait wait wait, did you say ‘if you’re clever enough not to get caught?’” Apo asked. “What- what does that mean?”

“Oh, it just means that the humans here aren’t exactly friendly to rats,” Ratman replied. “They don’t kill us, but they do try to lock us in cages. It’s not much more than a minor annoyance, unless someone decides to not free you, then you’d probably starve to death, but that’s not very likely. We’re a tight-knit group around here! Once everyone sees you as one of us, then they’ll come save your life whenever you need it!”

Apo didn’t like the idea of being locked in a cage, but it did seem better than getting clawed to death by a bunch of vicious cats. He followed Ratman through the giant double doors and into a massive room. Everything inside was clearly made for human-sized creatures from the giant tables and chairs to the staircase that looked so tall that it might as well have been a mountain. How could any rat live in a giant place like this? Wouldn’t they get lost?

“I know what you’re thinking, and don’t worry, we don’t live here,” Ratman said. “We live in the attic! Or the Rattic I should say. Everything is much smaller and more manageable up there, and the main floor is where we get our food. Just follow me, and don’t get anywhere near the humans!”

Ratman scurried up the stairs, and Apo tried his best to follow. It took a lot of effort to climb up each step with his claws barely grabbing a hold on the top every time he jumped. When he finally reached the top, he was out of breath and panting heavily. Ratman on the other paw, seemed perfectly fine and unfazed.

“Come on, almost there!” Ratman said. Apo felt as if his knees might give in, but he still kept pushing on. Ratman was already five tail-lengths ahead of him, and Apo couldn’t go faster than the speed of a snail. Finally, Ratman stopped at the entrance to another giant doorway with the entrance blocked off by piles of boxes.

“You don’t… you can’t expect me to… to climb up there…” Apo asked, panting between words.

“Oh no, there’s a gap between the boxes,” Ratman assured him. “Follow me!” He squeezed through a crack between two boxes and Apo reluctantly followed. He squeezed through a tight gap between the boxes and popped out the other side into what looked like a miniature version of the world outside.

Dozens of tiny buildings dotted the place and amongst them were over a dozen rats, all of them scurrying about carrying things like tools, empty bottles, and even paintbrushes. It looked just as lively as the human world outside, but scaled down to be rat-sized! Now this, this was what Apo had always dreamed of whenever he thought of the other rats that lived in Paris. These small buildings and bustling streets not unlike the ones that the humans walked on every day.

“Impressed?” Ratman asked. “Just wait ‘till you meet the residents!” He climbed up to one of the tallest buildings in the Rattic and shouted, “Guess what everyone! We have a new rat in the attic!”

Immediately, all of the rats stopped in their tracks. They all turned to Apo, their ears twitching curiously. One by one, all of the rats scurried over to him, and Apo couldn’t help but back up against the boxes. There were so many rats…

“Hiya! Name’s Owen!” One of the rats said. He had brown fur, lighter than Ratman’s, and a nail piercing through one of his ears. He held out his claw to Apo who shook it reluctantly.

“I’m Scott!” Another rat said. This one had white fur that had strange colored splotches that didn’t look natural. There was a rat that had bright purple hair and another that had gray fur and was covered with the same smell that the dumpster had.

“Hello, welcome to the Rattic!” A rat with pale fur and an eyepatch said to him. “I’m Martyn, pleased to meet you!”

“It’s uh- it’s nice to meet all of you too,” Apo replied, his voice shaking. He wasn’t used to so many rats all crowding around him at once. It took him a while to realize that his fur had been standing on edge the entire time.

“What’s your name?” A pale rat with brown hair asked him.

“His name’s Meow Meow!” Ratman announced cheerfully.

“It’s not!” Apo protested. “My name’s Apo!” But it was too late. All of the rats had already begun greeting him as ‘Meow Meow.’ It was the worst thing Apo had ever heard in his life.

“Do you need someone to show you around?” The rat named ‘Owen’ asked him.

Apo nodded. “Yeah…” he replied. At least he hadn’t heard this rat call him ‘Meow Meow’ yet.

Owen showed him around the Rattic, introducing him to the various buildings they had. He mentioned his climbing gym where rats could train to become better climbers, either for fun or to practice avoiding danger when necessary. There was also Scott’s house where he apparently brewed various potions with tons of purposes, Mog’s train station (that didn’t have anything connecting to it), Ros’ castle, Shep’s “space station,” and Eloise’s art gallery.

Apo had never seen so many different things all at once. It was a lot to take in, but also quite fascinating. He had no idea how creative and inventive rats could be. Apo’s parents had always told him stories of the many things humans created with their two hands, but he never heard of what rats could do. He wondered if his parents even knew that this was possible. Maybe if they did, Apo could’ve grown up in a lively and colorful place like this.

“So, where do I stay?” Apo asked once Owen had finished the tour.

“We’ll build you a house, and in the meantime, you can probably find a place with one of the other rats. I’m sure they’d be more than happy to take you in.” He gave Apo a friendly smile.

“Ok, thanks,” Apo replied. One thing was for sure, he was not staying with Ratman, no matter how much he helped him. He couldn’t bear to hear the nickname ‘Meow Meow’ another time today… or ever.

Apo waved goodbye to Owen and trotted down the Rattic’s streets. He could probably sleep alone tonight, and he wouldn’t mind. He was pretty sure that everyone in the Rattic had already taken up on calling him ‘Meow Meow’ and that was the last thing he wanted to hear today. He found a small spot tucked between two large buildings and curled up in a ball inside it. Apo wished he could’ve had some soft bedding like some moss or even a piece of fabric, but this would have to do for now. He could find some soft bedding in the morning.

As Apo closed his eyes, he realized that he hadn’t found a single rat that looked like him. The other rats probably noticed that he looked a little odd by now. What if they threw him out of the Rattic? Apo shook his head. No, of course they wouldn’t. Even though they called him a horrendous nickname, they all seemed too nice to cast him away. All he could do is try to return their kindness and hope for the best.

Chapter Text

Life up in the Rattic was… something else to say the least.

Apo was used to a calm, cozy life with little excitement or interactions with anyone, but the Rattic was the complete opposite of that. Rats were always busying themselves with whatever they could get their claws on; building, scavenging, exploring, and other things like writing plays. These rats weren’t just generic rats either, they had all sorts of occupations from acting, to painting, to even sailing the seas as pirates (or Pi-Rats as they called themselves).

There was something unnerving about being near so many rats, and no matter how many times Apo told himself that he shouldn’t be scared and that he was one of them, seeing an unfamiliar rat always made his fur stand on end.

Ratman still talked to him from time to time, although he still called him ‘Meow Meow.’ Owen spoke to him too along with a few other rats such as Bek, Eloise, and Martyn. Although Apo caught a few rats looking at him funny, nobody really commented on how strange he looked compared to them except for Ratman who still thought it was funny to compare him to a cat.

Apo hadn’t left the attic since he had been introduced to it, but then one day, Ratman invited him to go outside for a bit of scavenging.

“Just so you know, I don’t eat cheese,” Apo said. “I prefer fish.”

“Oh, like a cat?” Ratman asked, chuckling when he got a glare from Apo. “I’m joking! No worries, the humans keep fish in their freezer. Just be warned, it gets a little chilly in there!’

Ratman led Apo through a cardboard castle that led to a balcony overlooking the main room. Now this was the kind of view Apo was used to; a view where everything below him looked like they could fit in his paw. The tables and chairs looked just as small as the ones back in his old home. Another thing caught his eye, a bunch of rubble that looked as if something large had fallen from the ceiling. Ratman paid no attention to it as he clambered down the wall and onto the floor. Apo hooked his claws onto the walls and slid down onto the ground level and then followed Ratman through the many corridors in the hotel.

This whole place was like a maze. Twisting corridors and so many rooms, and everything was so big too. Apo thought that there was no way he could memorize everything this hotel had to offer, but if Ratman somehow knew the way around, surely he can learn too. They found themselves in what looked like a kitchen with lots of metal and the smell of food was constantly drifting through the air.

“I’m guessing the fish isn’t in here?” Apo asked.

“There’s some meat, but not fish,” Ratman replied while he was rummaging through a cupboard.

“I’m ok with meat,” Apo replied. Ratman tossed him a chunk of raw meat from the shelf which hit Apo on the head. He jumped back with a hiss before proceeding to grab the meat in his teeth. Ratman leaped from the shelf carrying a variety of food in his claws.

“We should get out of here before the humans return,” Ratman said. He started toward the door and then paused. “Come to think of it… they should be here right now.” His tail thumped against the floor. “Maybe something is going on somewhere else…”

And then that’s when they heard the shouting.

Ratman and Apo scurried back to the main lobby. All of the other rats were gathered on one of the tables, crouching behind a set of potted plants. “What’s going on?” Ratman asked as he and Apo climbed up one of the table’s legs to hide with the others.

“The humans are… well, I guess you can see for yourself,” the smelly rat replied, raising a claw toward the group of humans. They seemed to be talking, and judging from their voices, it definitely wasn’t about anything good.

“I’m afraid to say it, but I’m worried about the safety of this building!” A human with a squeaky voice exclaimed. “A pillar had collapsed in the lobby, I think it needs a proper inspection!”

“Very well,” a female human responded. “Most of the time, this sort of thing is the result of… rats.” She said the word ‘rats’ as if it was forbidden language. “I’ll have my cats and colleague take a look at it, but if it doesn’t look good, it may be the end for this establishment.”

Cats. Why did it have to be cats? Now that the human had mentioned it, Apo had spotted three cats standing next to her. One of them had pitch black fur with a speck of white at the tip of its tail. Another cat had a mix of brown, white, and tawny fur all splattered together as if someone had taken a bunch of paint buckets and thrown them at it. The last cat had brown fur with dark stripes running all along its back and tail. Each one of them looked like they were craving rat flesh.

All of the other rats looked more concerned about the fate of the hotel than the fact that cats were being sent to hunt them down. Apo didn’t listen to the rest of the human’s conversation; he needed to get out of here.

Apo scurried up the staircase, but he wasn’t fast enough. He cast a worried glance over his shoulder. The cats were already running into the hotel, chasing down any rat they could find. The other rats hurried away, some of them barely escaping a cat’s claws. Apo kept clambering up the staircase. His heart felt like it would explode out of his chest at any moment, and he couldn't tell if he was feeling the breath of a cat on the tip of his tail or if he was just hallucinating.

Apo slammed his claws on the final step and hoisted himself up. He cast another glance back down at the scene of chaos below. The cats were running up the stairs, but the rats were faster. “Go go go!” Owen shouted as he bolted past Apo. Apo didn’t hesitate to follow him back to the Rattic. He could hear the growls of the cats behind him. He refused to die in the jaws of a cat. He was not ending up like his parents.

Apo squeezed through the piles of boxes and tumbled into the attic. He collapsed onto the floor with a sigh of relief. The other rats scurried past them as the cat’s claws scrambled to catch them as they hid outside of their reach.
All around him, rats were screaming.

“The hotel’s getting shut down!”

“Does this mean we won’t have a home anymore?”

“We’re all going to die!”

Apo couldn’t bring himself to get up. He could hear the cat’s annoyed hisses outside. Once again, he could hear some of the words they were saying. “Rats… gone. Kill… later…” Then their pawsteps began to fade away. As the cats retreated back to their humans, Apo heard one last word… “Kittens.” The word made his stomach ache with pain, but he couldn’t figure out why.

The rats were still panicking and arguing about what to do to save their home. Apo didn’t have the energy to join in. He ran past the group of rats, hoping that they didn’t see him, and scurried back to his sleeping spot from the night before. He curled up in a ball with his tail tucked between his legs. Why couldn’t he be back home with his parents living a normal life? Why did he have to live in fear now? He couldn’t stop the tears running down his face. He missed them… his parents… and now, his new home will be torn down too.

Was there anywhere safe for him anymore?

Chapter Text

“Meow Meow!”

Apo jolted awake. He had been experiencing nightmares about red-eyed cats with blood-stained fangs chasing him through Le Terrière. A rat with dusty brown fur was standing above him. He’d seen her around the Rattic before; she is who Ratman called the “Wide Rat.” She had a bite mark on one of her ears and she looked like she could easily punt Apo to the moon if she wanted to. She also had a golden ring on her tail that shimmered in the faint light of the attic.

“My name’s not Meow Meow!” Apo yelled. “It’s Apo!”

“Yeah whatever,” The wide rat replied. “I’m Bek! I don’t think we’ve formally met, have we?”

“No,” Apo replied, pawing at the ground. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to check on you!” Bek said. “You were looking really pale yesterday, like you’ve witnessed a murder or something. Did you actually witness a murder? Was it Blithers?” Her tail was wagging and she had an unusually excited expression.

“Uh… no. Why? Do you want someone dead?” Suddenly, this ‘Bek’ character didn’t seem so friendly.

Bek groaned. “Ah shucks. And yes, I do want someone dead. But I have a really good reason!” She added that last part quickly as soon as she saw Apo’s frightened expression. “Blithers is only the worst rat in the attic! I’d feed him to the cats if I could.” She thumped her tail hard on the ground.

“What did he do to you?” Apo asked.

“He tried to steal my wife!” Bek shouted.

“Oh…” That was definitely a valid reason to hate someone, but it felt a little extreme to want someone dead because of it… Then again, what did Apo know? His parents never told him much about rat culture. Maybe it was normal for rats to constantly fight amongst each other.

“Anyway, are you sure you’re alright?” Bek asked, changing the topic. “You didn’t see any ghosts or anything? We’ve had a little bit of trouble with ghost cats in the past. Are the humans scaring you? Oh wait, it’s the cats isn’t it?” Apo nodded.

“Oh, don’t worry about them!” Bek said. “I’ve dealt with cats before. As long as you’re able to get under a small space quickly, they can’t touch you. Also do zigzags to confuse them. Just be as unpredictable as possible!”

“You’re not afraid of cats?” Apo asked.

Bek shook her head. “Not really. I mean, if I ever get stuck in a room with a cat with no way out, then yes. But if you know the tricks to avoid them, they’re just minor inconveniences. Honestly, humans are way worse than cats. They’ll torture you before they finish you off. At least the cats have some sense of honor and mercy.”

“Er… thanks for the advice… I guess,” Apo stammered. He didn’t think he could handle drawing out this conversation much longer. “I’ll uh, I’ll be going to get some food.”

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” Bek asked.

“I’m good, thanks,” Apo replied. He trotted out of the small alleyway, glad to finally be alone for a moment. He wasn’t actually sure if he wanted to try obtaining food on his own, especially with all of the humans and cats prowling the hotel, but he knew had to learn at some point if he wanted to stay in the Rattic.

Apo squeezed out of the hole and into the main hall. It still scared him at how big the hotel was. What was it like to be a human walking around in this place? Was this place considered small to them? Apo shook off his thoughts and bounded downstairs, keeping an eye out for any cats or humans roaming about. Nothing… so far.

Once Apo landed on the ground floor, he went through his mental map of the hotel. He remembered the way to the kitchen, but nothing else. Ratman did say that there were usually a lot of humans in the kitchen, so it probably wasn’t the safest place to search for food, but he did also mention a freezer where the humans kept tons of frozen fish. Surely the cats and humans wouldn’t willingly wander into an ice-cold freezer, right?

Apo started down the route to the kitchen, his logic being that the freezer would be next to the kitchen so that the humans had easy access to all of the frozen meat. All he had to do was sneak past them and get into the freezer unnoticed, which definitely sounded a lot easier said than done.

Apo spent so much time worrying about the humans, that he had completely forgotten about the cats…

It came out of nowhere. It was the one with brown fur and dark stripes. Its amber eyes gleamed like fire with its pupils appearing like thin black swords. Apo stumbled back and was too shocked to move another inch. The cat lowered its head and sniffed. It was probably testing if Apo would taste good or not!

Apo tried to scramble away, but the cat was too quick. It snatched him in its teeth and lifted him into the air. He thrashed and kicked as hard as he could, but the cat still wouldn’t release its grip. “HELP!” he shouted. There were no rats in sight, but maybe someone up the Rattic would hear him.

The cat carried him across the hotel, its teeth digging into his fur. Apo continuously cried out, but to his dismay, there was no response to be heard. The cat brought him into a small room filled with the stench of cats. It dropped him in the middle of the room as two more cats approached him. The three cats had him trapped.

Apo threw his paws over his head. He was done for. Maybe it would be like Bek said; maybe they would give him a quick death. Above him, the cats were speaking to each other, and he could understand some of their words…

“Found… kitten.”

“Orphan?”

“Yes… scared.”

“...Your litter..?”

“Of course…”

A female black cat gently picked him up and carried him to what looked like a nest. Inside were two newborn kittens, one with splotches of brown, black, and white, and another with black and white fur. The smell of milk hung strongly in the air. The cat set Apo down next to two kittens and curled its tail around him.

This… this wasn’t how cats prepared their meals, was it? The newborn kittens were too young to be eating meat yet, and if the cats wanted to eat him, surely they would have done it by now? Apo’s fur was pressed against the cat’s black pelt. It felt oddly familiar. The scent of milk, the mewing kittens, the rising and falling of the mother cat’s chest.
Suddenly, the other cats didn’t seem so scary anymore, and Apo felt a wave of calm wash over him. It felt like… home.

Apo closed his eyes and rested his head against the black cat’s fur. The mother cat gave him a gentle lick, and spoke to him, and for the first time, Apo fully understood everything she said. “Don’t worry, little one. You’re safe now.”

–

Ratman rushed downstairs as soon as he heard Apo’s cry. What was that rat thinking? Going out alone when he had only started to find his footing around in this massive place? It was his own fault for getting in trouble… and unfortunately Ratman had to clean up his mess.

But when he arrived on the main floor, there was no mess to clean up. No dead body, no blood on the floor, not even a single cat hair or fresh human stench. “Apo?” Ratman called out. Then he heard screaming up ahead…

Ratman ran as fast as he could toward the source of the sound. He turned a corner just in time to catch a glimpse of a brown tabby cat carrying Apo away. His cries for help faded into the distance and then vanished completely.

Ratman felt as if someone had clawed his heart. The young rat was starting to feel like a worthy apprentice, and then he had to go ahead and get himself killed. And worse of all, it felt like it was his fault. He was the one that brought him here. He should’ve seen the signs. Apo was too young.

Ratman trudged back to the Rattic in shame. It probably wouldn’t matter to the other rats, but what would matter was that it was completely Ratman’s fault. He had just found the perfect base-of-operations and now he was about to get kicked out of it!

No matter, he’d just find a new place to set up camp.

All he needed to worry about was how to tell the other rats that the Rattic’s newest member was already dead…

Chapter Text

Apo awoke to the sound of squealing and the scent of milk. He had been so lost in his dreams that he had completely forgotten that he was in the midst of a nest of cats. A moment of panic struck him before he remembered that these cats were acting friendly toward him… for whatever reason. At least they weren’t planning on eating him.

Two newborn kittens were squealing beside him with the mother cat gently licking their fur. The other two adult cats were nowhere to be seen. Maybe he could sneak out and get back to the Rattic without anyone noticing…

Apo stretched his legs and started toward the door, trying his best to act nonchalant. His efforts were immediately thwarted as he felt teeth sink into his scruff and drag him back to the nest.

“Oh no you don’t,” The mother cat scolded. “There are rats out there, and a colony of rats would love to snack on a young kitten like you.” She dropped him beside her and gave him a gentle lick.

Kitten? I’m not a kitten, Apo thought, and those rats are my friends! Why would they want to eat me? It was unfortunate that he didn’t know how to speak cat, or else he would’ve asked the mother cat why she thought that he was a kitten. Was he so weird looking that even the cats had mistaken him for one of them?

The other two cats returned to the little room with something limp and furry in their jaws. Apo’s heart lurched for a moment, but as they set down their prey, he let out a sigh of relief as he realized it was just a mouse, not one of the rats from the attic.

The dappled cat nudged the mouse toward the mother cat. She shook her head and gestured to Apo. “He needs it more than I do,” she said. “He hasn’t eaten since we brought him in.”

The dappled cat dropped the mouse in front of him. It looked so much like a rat, but more helpless and tiny. He couldn’t eat something so small and innocent. Apo turned away, curling his tail over his eyes to avoid looking at the dead mouse.

“Come on.” The dappled cat nudged him with his nose. “You need to eat, or else you’ll starve, and I don’t think Star would take well to losing another kitten.”

Apo forced himself to turn back to the dead creature. It was meat… and he was really hungry, as much as he didn’t want to admit it…

Hesitantly, he reached out and closed his teeth around the small mouse. Fur filled his mouth and tickled his tongue, and he fought the urge to spit it out. Apo ripped out a chunk of the mouse and forced himself to swallow it. To his surprise, it didn’t taste all that bad, even with all of the fur. He took two more bites of the mouse before pushing towards the mother cat for her to finish off.

What would the other rats think of him? Apo just ate a mouse! Did that make him a… a cannibal? Apo buried his face in his paws, but was swiftly interrupted by a tug on his hood. Apo sat up in a panic as his hood was tugged on again, but with more force than last time. Were the cats eating him now that he was fed? He screamed as the hood was yanked off of him, sending him backwards into the mother cat’s fur.

“There. Doesn’t that feel better?” The mother cat said, dropping the red hood onto the ground. Apo blinked in surprise as the mother cat licked the top of his head and the fur around his ears. It felt strange to not be wearing the hood anymore. Apo had worn it his whole life, and he didn’t want to admit it, but it did feel nice to get it off.

After the mother cat had thoroughly cleaned him, she tucked Apo closer to her with her tail curled around him. The other two kittens were sleeping soundly beside him, their small bodies rising and falling slowly with their breath. Apo curled up against the mother cat and closed his eyes. He couldn’t sneak off while the other cats were still awake; he’d have to wait until nightfall and hope that they didn’t decide to eat him before then.

Moonlight shone through the window, its cool gaze dimly lighting the room. Apo blinked open his eyes. All the cats were in a deep sleep, their breaths shallow and quiet. Carefully, Apo climbed over the mother cat’s tail and made his way toward the door, keeping his pawsteps quiet and slow. Once he was far enough away from the cats, he bounded out of the room.

Relief flooded his chest. Finally he was out of that death hole! Now all Apo needed to do was get back to the Rattic where he was safe… if only he could remember where it was. Apo stared at the dark corridors ahead of him. The Rattic was above the main hall, but which way was the main hall? Not allowing himself to waste any more time, Apo chose a random direction and started running whichever way felt right. He ran under giant wooden tables and through hallways that seemed to go on for ages until he felt a cool breeze rustle his fur.

He was outside. It was a garden with walls surrounding it on all sides. Bright flowers gleamed under the moonlight and trees swayed in the light breeze. In the middle of the secluded sanctuary was a fountain with water bubbling from its tip and into a pool below. Now that he had seen the water, Apo couldn’t ignore how thirsty he was. He trotted up to the pool and leaped onto the rim of the fountain, staring down into the clear water. A small cat stared back from inside the pond, its red eyes shining.

Apo fell back with a yelp, landing on his back against the soft grass. Why was there a cat? How did it- unless… was it..? Apo climbed back onto the rim and looked into the water, and sure enough, the cat stared back, looking just as confused and shocked as he felt. Was this… his reflection?

Apo touched the pond with his paw. The cat’s paw met his own, sending ripples through the fountain’s pool. Suddenly, pieces started to connect in his mind. The hood… why he looked so different from the other rats… why the cats didn’t eat him… He was one of them.

“No, no, NO!” Apo shouted. He darted back inside the hotel, tears clouding his vision. It- it couldn’t be true! The cats, they killed his parents, they ruined his life! But everything fit together so well… everything made sense… His parents had lied to him. He was a cat.

Apo had run for so long that he suddenly found himself standing in the main hall. The Rattic was right above him, he just needed to climb up the staircase and… Apo shook his head. No, he couldn’t go back, now that he found out what he was. The rats wouldn’t accept him. He had no choice but to return to the cat’s lair, where he truly belonged.

Apo trudged back to the nest, his head hung low. How could his parents have lied to him? And why would they adopt a kitten in the first place? Who were his real parents? So many questions, but no way to answer them, since his ‘parents’ were dead, and he had no way to find his real parents.

Apo managed to find his way back, and the room looked the same as how he left it. The cats were still sleeping in their beds and the newborn kittens were still curled up against their mother. Apo climbed over the mother cat’s tail and curled up against her fur, letting her warmth envelop him. This was where he belonged…

And yet, even with that knowledge, Apo still longed to be back with the rats. Although he knew it was only hopeless dreaming, now that Apo had found out that he was cursed with sharp teeth.

Chapter Text

6 Months Later…

“Apo, wake up!”

Apo groaned and rolled over in his bed. “Is it even morning yet?” he mumbled sleepily.

A paw jabbed his fur. “No!” the voice shouted. “Father said he was going to teach us how to hunt and I CAN’T WAIT ANY LONGER! So get up or I’ll drag you outside myself!”

“Fine,” Apo groaned. He stretched out his paws and shook out his fur. Standing over him was his little brother, Cocoa. He had brown, black, and white fur, the colors splotched all over him as if someone had thrown a bunch of paint onto a canvas. Cocoa and his sister, Luna, were the two kittens from the mother cat’s litter, now grown up and as mischievous as ever. Cocoa was their self-appointed leader who loved to get them into all sorts of trouble, like yesterday when he convinced Apo and Luna to go “hunting” and ended up in the basement where one of the hotel’s human residents dragged them out angrily.

“Come on, come on! Luna’s already outside!” Cocoa shouted. He bounced out the door without bothering to wait for Apo to wake up. Apo groggily followed his brother out the door. Just as Cocoa said, Luna was already waiting for them along with their father, a dappled cat much like Cocoa but with more whites than browns and blacks. Luna took after her mother with black fur and spots of white on her paws and tail.

“Why are we doing this so early?” Apo asked, plopping down on the floor next to Luna.

“This is the best time to hunt,” his father replied. “The rats are more active during this time. They scurry out from their dens in search of food.”

On Apo’s other side, Cocoa was bouncing excitedly. “Cocoa, calm down,” their father said sternly. “If you’re noisy like that while hunting, the rats will hear you and run away immediately.”

“Sorry,” Cocoa said, although he didn’t sound very sorry.

Their father sighed and went on. “To be a successful hunter, one must have patience,” he said. He dropped down into a crouch. “Don’t make a noise as you approach. One errant step could result in your prey scurrying away before you have a chance to pounce. Once you get close enough…” He suddenly sprang up and pounced on empty air. “Take your prey by surprise.”

“Should be easy enough!” Cocoa said. “Come on, let’s go!” He ran forward and was immediately swatted back by their father.

“One more thing,” their father scolded. “Rats can be dangerous, especially in large groups. Don’t try to sneak into their dens. And avoid getting bitten. Rat bites can sometimes be fatal.”

“Okaaaay,” Cocoa whined. “Can we go now?” Their father nodded, and Cocoa dashed off shouting, “Whoever catches a rat first wins!” A second later, Luna darted after him, laughing joyfully.

As Apo started after them, his father called him back. “Apo, a second?” Apo stopped, his ear twitching. “Remember, we hunt to survive. Just because you are born with sharp teeth doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.”

Apo sighed. “I know…” It was common knowledge in the family that Apo was raised by rats. He had to tell them at some point. His siblings often teased him about it while his parents tried not to mention it much.

Truth was, Apo missed life with the rats. There, he felt free to do whatever he wanted. He wasn’t chained to the fate of the hunt. He didn’t have to kill to survive. Everything he was taught told him that killing was wrong, and yet here with the cats, it was their way of life. Sometimes, he’d sneak out of the den at night and curl up outside the attic, listening to the rats’ hushed conversations in the darkness and wish that he was in there with them.

Apo strolled through the hallways, remembering the first time he ventured into the hotel. He was only a kitten then, and it was Ratman who brought him in, introducing him to the other rats and teaching him how to scavenge for food. He wondered if Ratman was still alive, and if any of the rats remembered him at all.

When he reached the main hall, a familiar scent caught his attention. The scent of rat. Apo dropped to a crouch and slowly surveyed the area. Scurrying between the legs of tables and chairs was a rat with long black fur and a red dress. Apo had seen this rat before near the theater in the attic, but he couldn’t remember its name.

Apo took a deep breath. He didn’t know this rat, surely, he’d be able to kill it. He slowly approached it, putting one paw in front of the other without making a sound. The rat had stopped to nibble on a piece of bread left on the floor. It was just one rat, one rat that Apo didn’t care about. He stopped a few inches away from it, his breath ruffling its black fur. The rat whirled around, and its eyes widened, but it wasn’t fast enough. Apo sprang upward and slammed his paws down on the rat. It struggled underneath his claws for a few moments before Apo quickly ended its life with a swift bite on its neck.

Apo lifted up his prey in his jaws, feeling a bit awestruck. He actually did it. He actually killed a rat! He could feel the juicy taste of meat in his jaws, and his instinct told him to feast right on the spot, but he knew better than to leave nothing for the rest of his family.

As he turned to walk back toward the den, he caught a pair of orange eyes looking at him from the balcony. A rat was gazing down from atop the railing, its eyes wide in shock and fear. But it wasn’t just any rat… Apo could recognize that black cloak anywhere. Ratman.

The two stared at each other for a long moment. Did Ratman recognize him? Was he mad at him for killing one of his own? In the blink of an eye, Ratman scurried away and out of sight, toward the entrance of the attic. He’s going to tell the others. One of their own had just perished. Apo wasn’t even sure if Ratman remembered him. After six months of living with the cats, Apo looked nothing like the scrawny kitten he once was. At least, that’s what he hoped. If Ratman did recognize him… what would he tell the others?

Apo shook his head. He couldn’t be worrying about the rats. He left that life behind a long time ago. Apo carried his prey back through the halls. His father was sitting alone in the hallway, watching him with his eyes fixated on the rat in Apo’s jaws.

“Good job,” his father praised. Apo set the dead rat onto the ground and sat up proudly. Cocoa and Luna weren’t back yet, which meant that he won Cocoa’s challenge. Who’s the scaredy rat now? Apo thought with a grin.

A few minutes later, Cocoa and Luna returned, both of them panting with their paws dragging across the floor. “Those stupid rats are so fast!” Cocoa complained as he collapsed dramatically onto the rug.

“You’re not supposed to chase them,” Apo said in a know-it-all voice. He flicked his tail toward the fruit of his hunt.

“Oh, come on, you caught one?” Luna gasped.

Apo smirked. “Maybe if you paid attention, you could’ve gotten one too.” He took a big bite from his prey and passed the rest to his siblings. As the others returned to the den, Apo saw a flicker of movement from around the corner. A shadow darted away as soon as he turned around. It was Ratman, no doubt. None of the other rats had dark fur like that.

If there was anything Apo knew about Ratman, he was violent and vengeful, and Apo had a bad feeling that he was looking to avenge his fellow rats.