Book 2: Future | Dog Man Dead Petey AU

Chapter 12: The Hardest Goodbye Is Not Saying Goodbye

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Date: September 29th, 2028
Time: 7:02 PM

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Sid was right in front of her. After all these years, half of a decade- her child was finally here once again.

Sydney couldn't tell if they were fake. She cautiously stepped up to them and leaned down, her paw covering her mouth in shock.

Sydney slowly brought her paw up to reach Sid's face, who slightly flinched and was just as shocked as her.

The tears Sydney held back finally started flowing and she wrapped her arms around Sid. The two cats behind her ran up to the young cat as well. All three of them started asking questions: where they had been, if they were alright- and what on Earth had happened to cause all of this!?

Peter's ears perked up at a sound coming from behind Sid. He slowly got up the best he could, considering how stunned he had been as well.

The tabby noticed something, or someone, on the ground. It looked to be what was seen on a glitched computer screen.

Peter: What is that?

The cat asked cautiously. Sid tried to look in his direction and frantically tell him not to go over there, but Sydney pulled them back into a suffocating hug.

Now a few feet away from the figure, Peter could see them more clearly. He was positive that this was another strange dream.

It was orange, almost like a cat- more of a kitten, Peter noticed. Its ear was black and the tip of its tail was white, as if it was covered by a bandage.

It was phasing in and out of a different form, one that looked to have wings. The figure also seemed to be in a great amount of pain- it was on all fours like a weak wild animal that was seriously hurt and on the brink of death. It frantically looked behind to see Peter, and soon froze in fear.

It was as if time itself had stopped. Father and son, staring right back at each other.

Still surprised, and not having much knowledge on what he was doing, Peter leaned down and put his paw out to him. The kitten's ears went back as he flinched and stared at the paw.

After what seemed like an unreasonable long moment, Petey hesitantly tried walking/crawling over to him, but soon fell and stared down at his paws. One of the phases was his normal self, the other had blood dripping from his paw pads and mouth.

He was horrified.

He clung to Peter, but it felt like nothing was holding onto the older tabby. As if it were all air, the ghost of a presence that was once there so long ago.

He buried his face into his father's shoulder, trying not to show any weakness to him- for no matter what, a father should never view his child as frail.

But Peter put his paw on his back, showing just how much his child had misunderstood him over the decades- showing how much he was sorry. Showing how much pain he's felt for the past 12 years, and showing how much regret he's had for 22.

The kitten whispered a small, "I'm sorry," before fading away for good in his mist of black feathers.

Peter stayed there for a moment, trying to process everything that had just happened. It was soundless compared to the booming sounds from the previous bright flash of white light. A gust of wind made its way through the broken windows. Peter shivered, yet stayed still, finding a sense of calm in the cold.