The Yin-Yang Complex

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Sebastian kept his body low to the ground as he approached the cage. He hated that Barry and his friends were towering over him, judging his every move. It was unnerving, but he wanted to see if he could get close to Rico without scaring him. Rico seemed wary, really wary, his whole body was tense and he never moved an eye off of him. Sebastian slowly unlocked the cage with his teeth. He heard a gasp of surprise from behind him, "that cat is so smart," Caitlin mumbled. Nutella let out a soft meow as though he agreed. Sebastian dipped his furry head into the cage, Rico completely froze at first, his feathered body tensed up, but then his curiosity got the better of him. The bird hopped down onto a low perch near Sebastian's face and sniffed gently. His intelligent beady eyes bore into him like knives. Sebastian could see the cogs turning in the birds brain. His little eyes were like miniature black holes, they drew him in. After a moment of tense silence the bird chirped happily and kissed Sebastian nose. It jumped softly onto the cats head and traveled downwards till it rested between his shoulder blade. The bird tweeted happily, its colourful chest rising and falling softly.

Sebastian could feel a deep rumble emit from his chest. He tried to stop it, but he was too happy, this bird recognised him at least. "I didn't expect that," Cisco frowned down at the unusual pair. Not once had he heard that cat purr, but now he was purring like a kitten because of a bird. He had to admit he was jealous.

Sebastian slowly walked over to Barry's feet, he looked up at his brother and meowed. He desperately wanted Barry to recognise him, he wanted to be human again with all his heart. However Barry just looked at him with a puzzled expression, "what do you want?" He asked softly, even though he disliked cats, he wasn't going to be mean to them. Sebastian meowed even louder, he tried to form his meows into English, but he was awful at it since he still wasn't used to his body. "I am sorry buddy, but I don't understand," Barry replied.

"Does he maybe want pet?"Cisco asked, trying gently to get Barry to become more accustomed to the cat. It was plain as day the feline made him uncomfortable, but maybe if he spent more time with it he could become more relaxed around him.

Barry knelt down by the cat and bird duo, he gave the bird a stroke on the back and patted the cat on the head. Nutella didn't seem to fond of being patted, but he reluctantly accepted it. He meowed again, the lovebird was still nestled in his shoulder blades. Barry stood up and shrugged at Cisco, "I have no idea what he wants," he replied.

"You and me both," Cisco snorted, everything they discovered about this cat just made it so much more confusing.

"Okay, so can we agree that this isn't a normal cat?" Caitlin asked in conclusion. She knew Barry had been a doubter but she was hoping that now he was seeing why they kept the cat. Nutella meowed loudly and made an awful attempt at nodding his head. Barry stared up at Cisco and Caitlin in surprise.

"Yup, I agree," Barry admitted. The closer he got to this cat, the more it felt like he should be close. It felt like Barry should know something about this cat, but he had no idea what.

"Anyway, as Caitlin and I were working on the disappearances we thought of an idea, the victims were all seen with an old lady, right? So what if we visited the nursing homes near the tumble weed to see if any of them have disappearing patients," Cisco suggested, shaking away all of his feline thoughts. Nutella meowed loudly, with a nod of his head.

"I think Nutella agrees," Caitlin laughed, "it's almost like he can understand us.

Barry stepped into the dreary and grey nursing home. Out of all the ones they had visited so far, this was the worst one. It's whole aura was thick with misery. He adjusted his tie and patted down his formal suit. Barry could feel shivers down his spine and he walked up to the old and tatty front desk. The lady behind it had a plastered on, fake smile. She clearly didn't want to be there, "hey, I was wondering if you had any patients that often leave the building at night," Barry asked, he could see the woman beginning to frown, "it's just that we sometimes walk by here and we have seen older ladies walk past looking very lost and talking gibberish," he lied through his teeth, "we wanted to know if there was a place they were to be returned to?" He could see the woman's face slowly become more understanding and soften up.

The woman flicked her long brown hair behind her shoulders, "that would be Grace you are looking for," she replied.

"Where would she be right now?" Barry asked. He wanted to meet this lady, he wanted to know if she knew what happened to Sebastian and all the other victims. It was one of the only leads they had, he needed to follow through.

"In the common room," she answered bluntly as though it was clear as day. Barry thanked her and headed off, following the crooked signs to the common room. On his way he walked through an open and dark corridor. There were wooden doors on lining either side of it, and they all had a slit of glass Barry could see through. They were all full. There were elders in bed, hooked up to advanced looking machines, there were others with blank stares on their faces, looking into the nothing in front of them, not reacting a beads of drool dribbled down their chins. Barry felt pity for them yank at his heart. He knew if they had been put in this kind of home, they had been forgotten.